The stress is over for Andrew as the deal he spoke about in our last article finally completed, with the sale of his store in inner city Belfast and the takeover of a store in Comber, a leafy residential town about seven miles outside the city.
The new store is much bigger than the old one and has a much higher turnover, but Andrew is already looking to make some changes to see whether he can bump it up further.
He’s already persuaded Coca-Cola to supply a replacement chiller for the tired old one he inherited and is looking at putting in more new chillers. He does £500 a week in milk sales alone and wants to see what effect new chillers might have.
In addition, he wants to put some new lighting outside the front of the store to brighten it up and emphasise the fact it is under new management.
He is also considering putting in an ATM but is not sure he wants the extra insurance costs that would entail.
One service he is glad to see the back of is Payzone.
“It was a nightmare in my last shop and we only got 0.25% commission. I won’t be taking that on again.” He’s not too sure about the National Lottery either, which he is getting to grips with for the first time. “I have to pay for extra staff on Saturday night and there’s only 5% commission,” he complains.
One of the factors that helps to bump up custom is that there is a primary school and a secondary school next door. “We see a huge turnover out of them at lunch time and before and after school,” he says. Confectionery, soft drinks and water with sports caps are all very popular, he adds.
At his last store he knew almost every customer by name, and could almost predict when they would come in.
He is finding it a little more difficult to get to know his more reserved new customers but he is helped by the staff whom he kept on and who he says are “really good”.
Despite being a more affluent area, he says his new customers are more careful with their money.
“At my last store they tended to go for top brands and were less price-sensitive, but here they go for cheaper brands and shop around more.”
The new store is much bigger than the old one and has a much higher turnover, but Andrew is already looking to make some changes to see whether he can bump it up further.
He’s already persuaded Coca-Cola to supply a replacement chiller for the tired old one he inherited and is looking at putting in more new chillers. He does £500 a week in milk sales alone and wants to see what effect new chillers might have.
In addition, he wants to put some new lighting outside the front of the store to brighten it up and emphasise the fact it is under new management.
He is also considering putting in an ATM but is not sure he wants the extra insurance costs that would entail.
One service he is glad to see the back of is Payzone.
“It was a nightmare in my last shop and we only got 0.25% commission. I won’t be taking that on again.” He’s not too sure about the National Lottery either, which he is getting to grips with for the first time. “I have to pay for extra staff on Saturday night and there’s only 5% commission,” he complains.
One of the factors that helps to bump up custom is that there is a primary school and a secondary school next door. “We see a huge turnover out of them at lunch time and before and after school,” he says. Confectionery, soft drinks and water with sports caps are all very popular, he adds.
At his last store he knew almost every customer by name, and could almost predict when they would come in.
He is finding it a little more difficult to get to know his more reserved new customers but he is helped by the staff whom he kept on and who he says are “really good”.
Despite being a more affluent area, he says his new customers are more careful with their money.
“At my last store they tended to go for top brands and were less price-sensitive, but here they go for cheaper brands and shop around more.”
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