LONDON – The number of Sainsbury’s Local convenience stores now outnumber the company’s supermarkets, The Telegraph reports.

It’s a dramatic transition for the company, providing further evidence of the dramatic shift that’s taking place in England’s grocery industry.

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury’s group commercial director, said the company’s convenience store growth is a reflection of how consumers are now shopping little and often, rather than during one large, weekly shop.

However, even Coupe said the pace of change has caught the company off-guard. “The surprise is how the dynamics came to fruition in the way they did,” he said.

Sainsbury’s opened its first convenience store in 1998 and now operates 594, opening two new convenience stores every week. Coupe said that as its convenience store format evolves, “the blur will become greater” between convenience stores and foodservice businesses such as coffee shops and QSRs.

“Our Local stores, with their convenient locations and emphasis on fresh food, something very much part of our heritage, are in a fantastic position to help customers do this,” Coupe said.