'Nothing over $10': Aldi to be challenged by new supermarket
There’s a new player in the supermarket retail game and it’s set to impress bargain hunters across the country.
Ten Tops is a discount retail outlet with a grocery and frozen food offering. It's the latest retail chain going up against German-owner grocer Aldi and major Aussie supermarkets Woolworths and Coles and offering consumers a huge range of choices.
But there’s one big point of difference - nothing is priced over $10.
So what will you find in store exactly? Ten Tops stocks everything from everyday grocery items right through to homewares, make-up and health care, pet care, toys and games, tech, household cleaning, gardening, party, and even automotive products.
Why Top Tens is in a league of its own
The Australian business is owned and operated by the Bernardi Group - an independent supermarket business - who has established the concept store in Australia.
The idea for this new arm of the business was established after company owners did a trip to the US and loved a concept store called 5 Below (where nothing is over $5).
The store's marketing manager Isabella Bernardi said the business was excited to offer this great new concept to Australian shoppers.
"We’ve seen a great appetite so far for our stores. So much so, our first store in Dubbo was basically stripped bare in its opening weeks," she said.
"It was bittersweet as we were thrilled that the town loved the offering but were somewhat underprepared for the demand."
The new concept store offers shoppers a supermarket experience that combines everything customers like about stores such as Aldi, Costco, and The Reject Shop.
Like Costco and Aldi, Ten Tops is a warehouse-style shopping experience but has a huge range to choose from. The store is separated into different sections, with some products displayed on pallets throughout the store.
With everything in-store selling for $10 or less, customers can pick up a real bargain buy.
Eagle-eyed budget conscience shoppers have already spotted flannelette shirts for $7, a 1kg bag of Skittles for $10, children’s books for $2.50, bluetooth headphones for $10 and even $4 pet beds.
The store even has an answer to Aldi’s famous Special Buys offering customers their “Top Pick” products.
These products are one-off buys and "when it's gone, it's gone" to make way for more Top Picks. The store's "Top Picks" can range from pop-it fidget toys from $3 to deals like Ben & Jerry’s 458ml ice cream varieties for just $4, save $8.
So where can you find a store?
The first store, which opened in Dubbo in September, quickly picked up a cult following.
Now the supermarket chain has three more stores nationwide in Fyshwick, Canberra, Wagga Wagga, and another opening soon in Richmond, in the NSW Hawkesbury region.
The chain’s latest store offering will open in Nowra on July 17.
"Our store in Nowra is set to open for it’s Covid-safe grand opening this Saturday and Richmond will open up late August/early September," Ms Bernardi said.
"It’s already our most followed Facebook page and we haven’t opened the doors yet, so we anticipate this to be one of our busiest stores."
The family-owned business is set to roll out further offerings of the chain store throughout Australia in the near future, with the company already scouting locations.
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New offering giving customers more choice
Ten Tops isn't the only new store to take on the supermarket retail giants with a new offering. IGA also recently launched their new look Supa IGA stores.
The first of the two revamped IGA Supa Valu stores was launched in the western Sydney suburb of Doonside in May.
Much like Aldi, the new Supa IGA stores have been designed with wider aisles and larger trolleys and the prices go head-to-head with the German retailer too.
“The centre aisle isn’t about making you buy in bulk or providing strange special offers – it is about providing the lowest prices on the brands you love,” an IGA spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
“We buy in bulk, so you don’t have to and so that shoppers can save big.”
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