In the last year Andrew Wright has managed to triple his turnover at his store on the outskirts of Portadown in County Armagh. Here he tells us how he did it.
“We opened a new store right next door to our old shop last September, going from 380sq ft to 2,500sq ft. We put the SPAR name above the door and our turnover went from £12,000 per week to £24,000 and has settled at around £32,000.”
It’s quite a tale in these straitened times but Andrew has retailing in his blood and knew last year was time for a change.
“Ours is a family-owned business spanning three generations and we’ve been trading for over 80 years on this site.
“Things had changed. The local community had grown; new houses had been built and we needed to change too. We decided we needed a brand above the door, a wider product range and a reliable delivery service.”
Andrew did his research and was impressed with everything about SPAR – its shops, its imagery and its people.
The new-build store, just 10m from the old one, is bright and open with wide aisles. “We wanted to make it a real community store – where people could shop but also have room to stop and chat to each other.”
The old shop with its limited trading space had to make do with a core range of basics. The new, bigger store is a complete contrast. “We are strong on fresh produce and try and support local farmers. The old shop had a post office so that was incorporated into the new one with open-plan service at the tills.”
Other services include a rural hardware section, hot food, passport photos, an ATM, whipped and scooped ice cream, photocopier/fax facility and the lottery.
The hot food counter is doing particularly well: “My mum makes fresh meals every day – stews and bakes. Sales have risen 50% since we opened the new shop and we get good margins of 50%.”
There’s only one thing missing from the store and that’s an off licence. “It’s something I’ve been considering but here in Northern Ireland you have to buy a licence and that can cost you £100,000 plus legal costs.”
The SPAR is a forecourt site, and petrol sales have doubled since the changes. In the future Andrew would like to invest in new pumps as well as pay@pump technology so customers could get fuel 24 hours a day.
Four Wright family members ran the old shop; the new one is staffed by five of the family, plus a part-time team of 12 – and they’re definitely doing something ‘Wright.’ They recently won the UK’s Most Improved Store at the National Retail Awards, and Best Newcomer in Northern Ireland’s 2010 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards!