Grocer Gold Awards 2022: symbol/franchise retailer of the year

Winner: Premier

Premier launched a brand new store format last year to focus on fresh and chilled products, food to go, vaping and premium spirits. Named ‘Latest Thinking’, the format was first revealed at the 1,750 sq ft Singh’s Teynham Road store in Sheffield, where weekly sales have doubled to £70k since the revamp.

To up its game further, the Booker-owned fascia launched a more compressed version of the format to help smaller-sized retailers keep pace in the increasingly competitive market. Initially trialled at the 600 sq ft Premier store in Wheatley Hill, near Durham, the site has also boasted a surge in sales from £8,000 to £20,000 a week.

The new formats have led Premier to its “strongest year of recruitment ever”. Around 400 new customers have joined since March 2021 with 30 ‘Latest Thinking’ stores opening. Another 30 of the smaller format are due to open soon.

Shortlisted:

• Costcutter
• JW Filshill
• Nisa Retail
• One Stop
• Parfetts Go Local