One of the key figures in the c-store industry, Mike Taylor, is back in business after disappearing off the retail radar for the past two years.
He was part of the management team that built up the One Stop convenience store empire before it was taken over by T&S. After that he joined the management buy-in of the Balfour c-store chain before it was sold to the Co-operative Group in a £30m acquisition in June 2003.
He is now back in business with his son, also called Mike, and running a small chain of convenience stores under the Spar banner.
“I was restricted as to where I could go immediately after leaving Balfour. I looked at a couple of other business opportunities, but the convenience store business has
always held a big pull for me,” he said.
The father and son team now own two independent stores in the south of England - in Whiteley Village in Hampshire, and Bishops Waltham in Southampton - and are in negotiations to add another couple. The current store in Whiteley Village is about to be replaced with a new-build, 3,000 sq ft outlet. Taylor currently employs just over 40 staff, and is in the process of recruiting more ahead of the new store opening in October.
He plans to build the business quickly, and told The Grocer that he would like to have acquired a total of five stores by Christmas.
He then aims to open four to five stores across the south of England each year.
Taylor’s stores are supplied by Appleby Westward, and he is pleased with how the business is progressing under the Spar brand.
“It’s quite different to working for a big chain like Balfour, but having a smaller business means that I am able to have a far greater involvement and share in the running, which is great,” he added.
Gaelle Walker
He was part of the management team that built up the One Stop convenience store empire before it was taken over by T&S. After that he joined the management buy-in of the Balfour c-store chain before it was sold to the Co-operative Group in a £30m acquisition in June 2003.
He is now back in business with his son, also called Mike, and running a small chain of convenience stores under the Spar banner.
“I was restricted as to where I could go immediately after leaving Balfour. I looked at a couple of other business opportunities, but the convenience store business has
always held a big pull for me,” he said.
The father and son team now own two independent stores in the south of England - in Whiteley Village in Hampshire, and Bishops Waltham in Southampton - and are in negotiations to add another couple. The current store in Whiteley Village is about to be replaced with a new-build, 3,000 sq ft outlet. Taylor currently employs just over 40 staff, and is in the process of recruiting more ahead of the new store opening in October.
He plans to build the business quickly, and told The Grocer that he would like to have acquired a total of five stores by Christmas.
He then aims to open four to five stores across the south of England each year.
Taylor’s stores are supplied by Appleby Westward, and he is pleased with how the business is progressing under the Spar brand.
“It’s quite different to working for a big chain like Balfour, but having a smaller business means that I am able to have a far greater involvement and share in the running, which is great,” he added.
Gaelle Walker
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