UK entrepreneur plans first cashless supermarket

Easyjet entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou hopes the store (mock up teacher) will become the UK's leading cashless supermarket.

It will sell low-cost unbranded food in cheap locations aimed at people 'on benefits' and in poorly-paid jobs.

And, true to its founder's philosophy of offering pared-back, no-frills service, eventually it won't even take cash.

EasyJet entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou has unveiled details for his first easyFoodstore budget supermarket - his latest venture after bargain easyJet flights and windowless rooms at the easyHotel.

He hopes it will eventually become the UK's first cashless supermarket, suggesting it is cheaper to process card payments than to cash up every day and pay a security firm to bank it.

But the company admits that, in an effort to compete with discount chains such as Aldi and Lidl, staff wages will also be low-cost.

All goods will be unbranded 'with white labels' and, with a mark-up far lower than local corner stores, will cost an average of 50p per item.

Baked beans could cost under 20p, threatening to trigger a repeat of the price wars of the 1990s started by now-defunct Kwik Save, when own-label beans fell to 3p and bread to 7p.

Sir Stelios claims he was inspired to create an ultra-budget store after reading about the growth of food banks in Britain.

He said even if he only breaks even or runs at a small loss, he will persist if the venture meets a need.

He revealed a mock-up of the store in an office block in Croydon this week - a rather barren layout covered with orange posters saying: 'No expensive brands, just honestly priced.'

His honesty about workers' wages might be less welcome. His spokesman said: 'We are aiming to be a low-cost supermarket so we need to keep costs low, property rent has got to be low, stock prices have got to be low and, inevitably, we will be looking towards the bottom end of the salary scale for employees.'

EasyFoodstore is looking to open in deprived parts of south-east London 'which fit our demographic', who 'will either be on benefits or in low-paid or zero-hour jobs'.

The first store had been due to launch this year but came up against Croydon Council's planning restrictions. The firm now hopes to open its first shop next summer.

It will sell frozen and dried food, and only a few fresh items such as milk, bread and 'maybe apples and oranges'. There will be 'no booze or fags' because it is too liable to theft, the spokesman said.

First Supermarket That Won't Take Cash

The easyFoodstore could become the country's first cash-less supermarket.

Customers would have to pay by debit or credit card or an Oyster card-style system where they top-up a payment card online or at the Post Office.

The firm said cash was more expensive for the business to process, and 'the demise of benefits received by Giro cheques means the vast majority of benefits recipients all have to have bank accounts' and therefore will have cards.

More than half of all transactions in shops were made with cash last year, but is declining.

In terms of the total amounts of money taken, cash accounts for just a quarter.

But the British Retail Consortium said it was 'absolutely not true' card payments were cheaper to process. Head of payments Richard Braham said: 'Stores can negotiate on costs associated with cash but you can't negotiate on card costs.'