As newcomers to retail, Wanda and Marc Winchester were on the hunt for a fascia as fresh to the market as they were.
When the couple decided to switch their Swansea city centre store from Booker’s Premier symbol after just four months, citing a lack of support, communication and a disappointing layout, their attention turned to Bmorelocal.
“Throughout the process, I’ve learned to look for someone who matches my priorities in a business partnership,” says Wanda. “When we sat down and started talking about the Bmorelocal concept, we thought, that is us! It has 100% nailed what I wanted. The best of everything including customer service, uniforms, fascia, variety of groceries, food to go, so it was bang on.”
The couple began their entrepreneurial life running a call centre in Swansea that grew to employ over 500 staff. They sold up in 2007, had daughter Zsa Zsa, and bought some city centre property to manage from home. Seven years on, with Zsa Zsa just starting school they wanted to do something new.
“We’re young, we’re passionate about what we get involved in, and we saw a gap in the market and said, shall we? And it has been the best thing we have done.”
Some symbol operators might have had reservations about teaming up with relative newcomers to launch a one-month-old fascia, but Blakemore Wholesale shared the Winchesters’ enthusiasm.
Indeed it only wants to recruit the cream of the crop of retailers to Bmorelocal - entrepreneurs who share its vision for the brand, want to use the integrated EPoS system and adhere to their promotional programming.
“For us, it is very much about good quality retailers and good quality stores, it isn’t always about the length of time you’ve been a retailer,” says Blakemore Wholesale MD Russell Grant. “We could see Wanda and Marc’s store had previously been managed well; they just had a few issues with the provider. They were determined, committed and prepared to invest in their business and we invested with them, and that’s the perfect partnership.”
Costa tie-up
The Bmorelocal fascia has sharp green and black imagery and a mission-based layout, with fresh bakery, including the very first Blakemore tie-up with Costa Express catching sales from commuters in the morning, meal deals throughout the day, and a range of dinner solutions for the student residents nearby.
It may not have the same high-end effect as a Simply M&S but it carries stricter terms and higher levels of compliance than the previously available Lifestye Express format, giving it a premium edge within a small, local convenience space.
Available to fit now, the three-year fascia contract comes with no weekly charge but interested parties must be willing to spend their cash up front to bring stores up to standard. Even if that limits interest.
“We’re not chasing store numbers,” says Russell. “We see the Bmorelocal fascia as a huge investment in the future of Blakemore Wholesale so we’re very passionate about maintaining the standards while growing the group. We’re looking for loyalty.”
The Winchesters are backing Bmorelocal to the hilt. “From day one, we have invested £50,000 to £70,000. Because it initially wasn’t the way we wanted it, we’ve put more money in, but now we’re bang on where we want to be,” says Wanda. “We have the high-end image we wanted, the look is right, the brand is right.”
And the expensive refit has already started to pay dividends. The Winchesters recorded a 23% sales rise in their first week of opening the doors as a Bmorelocal.
“I am loving retail,” says Wanda. “I talk too much so I really enjoy speaking to the locals and hearing their life stories. I can’t imagine doing anything else and I would just like a chain of these now.”
Interest in Bmorelocal has soared, with 18 new retailers already passing the initial phase within the first month of launch. The group is making light of the original target of 30 stores in the first year.
“We’re passionate about maintaining quality,” says Russell. “We only want it to grow with good retailers and become known as the quality fascia within this sector.”
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