Revamped grocery store offers discount for being green

Brothers Wayne and Andrew Correia offer the saving to anyone spending more than $25 in cash.

Their “new shopping concept” is already a hit with consumers keen to watch their pennies.

Wayne Correia said: “As far as regular customers go, they are all in tune with it. If you were to spend $100, you would save $10.

“It’s a way of doing away with the brown paper bags and to give people an incentive to bring their own.”

Labour

The brothers believe they are the first on the island to offer such a deal, which also saves customers on tips for grocery packers.

Andrew Correia said: “A lot of people think we are doing away with the schoolkids but we will still have them in to pack during the summer.

“Everyone is supposed to be going green so we thought this was a way to get more people involved. It also saves our staff labour.”

The brothers’ father, Tony Correia, started C-Mart in 1980 and the store has just undergone its “first major refurbishment”.

Wayne Correia said: “This is the first time we have completely stripped the store and started again.

“We have widened the aisles so there is enough room for people to get by with a shopping cart.

“The wider shelving also creates more floor space.”

The new-look C-Mart is “more user-friendly” for the disabled, moms with buggies or customers with shopping carts.

The aisles have been reduced from three to two and the brothers have installed new shelving.

The tills have also been upgraded to a barcode scanning system.

The linoleum flooring, partial to cracks, has been replaced by easier-to-clean rubber-based carpet tile.

Another new addition is the fishing tackle section.

Wayne Correia, an avid fisherman, said: “We have always had handlines and weights but over the years the interest has increased.

“Now we have custom rods and reels, lures and jigging. There is a lot more offshore tackle.”

The store’s location, at the junction of Blackwatch Pass and North Shore Road, brings a lot of passing trade.

Wayne Correia said: “We’re right on the border. There are a lot of public parks nearby, so there is a lot of fishing off the rocks.”

The brothers cleared the store for the refit by having a 50 per cent clearance sale.

Since opening, trade has been “steadily increasing”.

C-Mart offers a one-stop shop option for people catering for barbecues.

It sells bulk frozen food, disposable cutlery, plates, tablecloths, cooking trays and burners.