It’s six years since Rusper Village Stores in Rusper, West Sussex, reopened as the second community-owned retailing project. The site has quite a pedigree, having been the location of a village store for more than 100 years.
The relaunch of the 1,400 sq ft shop was sponsored by major suppliers and wholesalers and sales had grown by up to 12% per annum until this year, when they slipped, admits manager Daren King. “The drop began in February. How much of that is down to the stranglehold of supermarkets, who knows?”
Certainly, he says the retail climate as a whole has become tougher. The post office that is part of the store is a footfall driver, but even with it he has not been able to completely weather the storm.
He is grateful for the resources provided by local wholesalers, but says recent experiences have been mixed.
Since he began running the shop with assistant manager Dave Manning in 1999, he has had to supplement a delivered service from Palmer & Harvey McLane with visits to Booker depots. “P&H delists things local people find popular and sell obscure versions of popular products,” he claims. But his relationship with Booker is varied as well, he says. “I do three runs a week. The Salfords branch is great. The staff are brilliant and the service first class.” But as for the the larger, busier Brighton depot... “The staff are rude. They ignore you. It couldn’t be more different.”
Adaptability is essential for an independent to compete with the supermarkets, he says.
“We have always adapted and changed our products. We get pies delivered directly by the Real Pie Company in Crawley. You can’t get them in supermarkets.”
If independent retailers fold, he says, it’s not just down to larger retailers muscling in, it’s down to the fact that they are not prepared to adapt.k
The relaunch of the 1,400 sq ft shop was sponsored by major suppliers and wholesalers and sales had grown by up to 12% per annum until this year, when they slipped, admits manager Daren King. “The drop began in February. How much of that is down to the stranglehold of supermarkets, who knows?”
Certainly, he says the retail climate as a whole has become tougher. The post office that is part of the store is a footfall driver, but even with it he has not been able to completely weather the storm.
He is grateful for the resources provided by local wholesalers, but says recent experiences have been mixed.
Since he began running the shop with assistant manager Dave Manning in 1999, he has had to supplement a delivered service from Palmer & Harvey McLane with visits to Booker depots. “P&H delists things local people find popular and sell obscure versions of popular products,” he claims. But his relationship with Booker is varied as well, he says. “I do three runs a week. The Salfords branch is great. The staff are brilliant and the service first class.” But as for the the larger, busier Brighton depot... “The staff are rude. They ignore you. It couldn’t be more different.”
Adaptability is essential for an independent to compete with the supermarkets, he says.
“We have always adapted and changed our products. We get pies delivered directly by the Real Pie Company in Crawley. You can’t get them in supermarkets.”
If independent retailers fold, he says, it’s not just down to larger retailers muscling in, it’s down to the fact that they are not prepared to adapt.k
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