Tiv Taam to Eliminate All Checkout Counters Across Its Chain
In the first phase, checkout counters will be removed from ten branches, starting with Ramat HaHayal. These will be replaced by 'Mizrah-Ma'arav' departments. CEO Hagai Shalom stated that customers will scan and pay for their items independently at terminals.
Tiv Taam is set to eliminate all checkout counters across its chain. The first branch to undergo this transition will be the location on Dvora HaNavia Street in Ramat HaHayal, Tel Aviv. The change will subsequently be implemented in Poleg (Netanya), Rishon LeZion (East), Rehovot, Ashdod, Beersheba, Pardes Hanna, Bnei Dror, Herzliya, and Haifa, eventually reaching all branches.
Hagai Shalom, CEO and owner of the Tiv Taam group, told Ynet:
"We are starting with ten large stores that will operate without checkout counters within a year. Every customer will arrive at the payment area, scan their items, and pay independently at a terminal. We are removing all checkout counters, including existing self-service stations."
According to Shalom, the freed-up space will be used to install 'Mizrah-Ma'arav' stores—the chain's Asian food brand—featuring a "store-within-a-store" concept with a distinct design. The first such unit will open in two months in Ramat HaHayal.
Addressing staffing shortages, Shalom added:
"We are missing at least 100 cashiers. Two employees will remain in each branch to assist those who may have difficulty. We have 2,500 employees in the chain, including 200 workers from Sri Lanka, and we are very satisfied with them."
For elderly consumers, the chain may retain one or two traditional checkout counters.
Simultaneously, the company is investing hundreds of millions of shekels in real estate and development, including a logistics center for its import arm, 'Yesherako', and a robotic center for online order fulfillment. The chain is also expanding in Rishon LeZion, opening a 400 sqm branch in the Protea complex with an investment of approximately 6 million shekels.
