Shop to get £8m rebrand

The Savacentre store in Oldbury is undergoing an £8 million transformation which will see it rebranded and stripped of its well-known name.

The shop, one of the biggest in the Black Country, is being completely rebranded and refurbished as part of the project, which is set to change the face of the town's premier store.

Despite earlier attempts by bosses to phase out the name by changing signs, Savacentre has remained synonymous with shoppers.

But bosses are determined the huge revamp will mark the dawn of a new era for the shop (pictured), which will be rebranded as a Sainsbury's.

The petrol station at the site is to be demolished and rebuilt as part of the overhaul, and the the store's fleet of on-line delivery vans will be quadrupled from eight to more than 30.

A planning application has been submitted for an extension to the front entrance, new loading areas, new toilets and a new cash machine

Workers have already moved in to start some of the interior refurbishment, with the project expected to be complete on April 28.

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said: "There is a total refurbishment of the store and it will no longer be known as Savacentre.

"We have been phasing out the Savacentre name and this is why it is going.

"The work includes a total rebranding to make the store generally more pleasant for shoppers and we are also demolishing the petrol station and building a new one."

When the store opened in 1980 as the first new-style shopping complex in the run-down town, it was credited with "rescuing" the area. It measured almost the size of two football pitches.

Back in 2005, during celebrations to mark its 25th anniversary the original customers who flooded through the doors spoke of their excitement at its launch, with queues of shoppers lining the blocks to get a glimpse inside.