Bambos Charalambous has been debating the merits of taking Booker's Premier fascia in the course of the year, but has finally decided to go it alone.
He's going to continue buying from Booker, but will also make trips to the cash and carries. "It means I'm not accountable to anyone. I want to stay my own boss."
But Bambos is still looking to buy a new business, and would not be adverse to selling the store if the right offer came up.
Turnover has dipped a bit in the last two months, although he is still doing OK. Bambos has dropped his offer of fresh meat from a local butcher after an unsuccessful trial. "I don't know why it didn't sell. I've replaced it with more prepacked sausages and bacon. They're doing much better."
He is relaxed about the changes in the c-store sector and reckons the fact that Tesco and the Co-operative Group are powering ahead in the convenience sector will encourage shoppers to shop in small stores across the board his included.
He says running an independent shop is tough, and not something he particularly wants any of his four children to pursue. "You work really hard, but the rewards and profits are fairly low. The more stuff you put in, the more money it costs. Paying the minimum wage to staff hits me hard, as well as the fact they all have to get four weeks' holiday."
He's subdued, and admits it has been a relatively quiet year. He hasn't had a holiday since February. "I need a break," he smiles. "I want my kids to do other things, though if one of them did want to run a shop, they would make a better job of it than me."
Shadow of fishing moratorium
Lara Anderson's family business, the refitted Neish's Store, is doing so well, with turnover a steady £45-£46,000 a week, that she is thinking of getting another store or at least expanding to put a coffee shop in.
Lara plans to extend Sunday opening hours from 10am to 4pm in the run up to the festive season, and thinks she will probably continue with the hours afterwards. The regular leaflet drop will be boosted from 3,000 to 11,000 over the Christmas period.
She is thinking about giving over more space to chilled and is hoping to get more fresh deliveries from Nisa each week.
Staff will get more training through Nisa's new lifelong learning programme which will get them up to speed on merchandising and health and safety. "Nisa has been really good and has given us a lot of support."
Crime is also well down on last year because of the lower counters and CCTV. "If we hadn't done the refit we would have been an old, dingy store. We're still getting people coming in and looking surprised the store is different, which means there are plenty more people still to bring in."
Although the refit was costly, Lara says the £150,000 originally spent has been recouped. And she has some advice for anyone thinking about overhauling their store. "Take a long time planning it, and don't listen to experts all the time trust your instincts."
But a fishing moratorium threatened by Brussels would hit the Peterhead economy hard, she fears. "It will affect us badly because we supply the trawlers we're keeping our fingers crossed it won't happen."
Struggling to sort out staffing
It's been a tough year for Mike and Jane Clarke, and although they're pleased with their new Spar store, which was built from scratch on a housing estate on the outskirts of Oxford, Mike admits they are, quite simply, knackered. "We're pleased we haven't buckled under the strain!" laughs Mike. "Seriously though, the new store has lived up to and exceeded our expectations. We're very pleased with the way it's gone."
Turnover is now steady at about £35,000, a £15,000 increase on the first week of opening at the beginning of the year.
The lottery, which Mike campaigned for, is now pulling in about £1,500 a week.
He is hoping that by next summer the store could reach nearer £40,000 a week, helped by the changing customer profile which has seen more Bs and Cs shopping at the Spar. That is probably due to word of mouth, as Mike has not done much advertising apart from the standard Spar leaflet drops.
But staffing has been a big issue and they are still battling to get a full, reliable team. "When you start a new business you take on a number of unknown new people and you get both good and bad ones. We are slowly weeding them out."
Crime is an ongoing worry. An attempted break-in caused damage, a bit much coming as it did soon after two hold-ups.
Mike does not feel under pressure from the impact of the multiples pushing into convenience. "If a Tesco Express opened near us we would give them a run for their money. Because we are with Spar, it means we are competitive on certain lines." But he adds: "We're OK as we're bigger, but the days of the smaller shop may be numbered."
Perhaps he will sell to a multiple
Roger Waterfield gives the thumbs up to his Londis refit. "We are glad we had it done, sales would have slipped if we hadn't, and we have learnt a lot. But when anyone tells you exactly what kind of returns you can expect, it is not always true. It depends on what point you start from."
Roger admits turnover has not gone up as much as he would have liked by just £1,000 to £15,000. "We had a captive customer base, so we were not going to attract that many more people. We just wanted them to spend more."
It has not helped that the gloss of his own refit has been taken off by refurbs at both the nearby Somerfield and Co-op. And although he likes the Londis promotions, Roger claims the margins aren't that great.
Roger is now more concerned about a rent review which could mean he has to pay far more than he can afford. "It would be unbelievably bad for our bottom line." He is prepared to fight the case at a tribunal, but fears the outcome could mean paying extortionate costs. He is also disappointed to have been turned down yet again for a combi-post office counter.
Roger and his wife Chris have noted recent events in the c-store sector with interest, as both the Co-operative Group and Alldays had offered to buy his shop in the past. He hopes to sell the business in a couple of years with a view to retiring to Spain. But Roger probably will not end up just sitting by the pool. "I have had a couple of meetings with people there I think it is definitely more of a place for the independent retailer."
{{ANALYSIS }}
He's going to continue buying from Booker, but will also make trips to the cash and carries. "It means I'm not accountable to anyone. I want to stay my own boss."
But Bambos is still looking to buy a new business, and would not be adverse to selling the store if the right offer came up.
Turnover has dipped a bit in the last two months, although he is still doing OK. Bambos has dropped his offer of fresh meat from a local butcher after an unsuccessful trial. "I don't know why it didn't sell. I've replaced it with more prepacked sausages and bacon. They're doing much better."
He is relaxed about the changes in the c-store sector and reckons the fact that Tesco and the Co-operative Group are powering ahead in the convenience sector will encourage shoppers to shop in small stores across the board his included.
He says running an independent shop is tough, and not something he particularly wants any of his four children to pursue. "You work really hard, but the rewards and profits are fairly low. The more stuff you put in, the more money it costs. Paying the minimum wage to staff hits me hard, as well as the fact they all have to get four weeks' holiday."
He's subdued, and admits it has been a relatively quiet year. He hasn't had a holiday since February. "I need a break," he smiles. "I want my kids to do other things, though if one of them did want to run a shop, they would make a better job of it than me."
Shadow of fishing moratorium
Lara Anderson's family business, the refitted Neish's Store, is doing so well, with turnover a steady £45-£46,000 a week, that she is thinking of getting another store or at least expanding to put a coffee shop in.
Lara plans to extend Sunday opening hours from 10am to 4pm in the run up to the festive season, and thinks she will probably continue with the hours afterwards. The regular leaflet drop will be boosted from 3,000 to 11,000 over the Christmas period.
She is thinking about giving over more space to chilled and is hoping to get more fresh deliveries from Nisa each week.
Staff will get more training through Nisa's new lifelong learning programme which will get them up to speed on merchandising and health and safety. "Nisa has been really good and has given us a lot of support."
Crime is also well down on last year because of the lower counters and CCTV. "If we hadn't done the refit we would have been an old, dingy store. We're still getting people coming in and looking surprised the store is different, which means there are plenty more people still to bring in."
Although the refit was costly, Lara says the £150,000 originally spent has been recouped. And she has some advice for anyone thinking about overhauling their store. "Take a long time planning it, and don't listen to experts all the time trust your instincts."
But a fishing moratorium threatened by Brussels would hit the Peterhead economy hard, she fears. "It will affect us badly because we supply the trawlers we're keeping our fingers crossed it won't happen."
Struggling to sort out staffing
It's been a tough year for Mike and Jane Clarke, and although they're pleased with their new Spar store, which was built from scratch on a housing estate on the outskirts of Oxford, Mike admits they are, quite simply, knackered. "We're pleased we haven't buckled under the strain!" laughs Mike. "Seriously though, the new store has lived up to and exceeded our expectations. We're very pleased with the way it's gone."
Turnover is now steady at about £35,000, a £15,000 increase on the first week of opening at the beginning of the year.
The lottery, which Mike campaigned for, is now pulling in about £1,500 a week.
He is hoping that by next summer the store could reach nearer £40,000 a week, helped by the changing customer profile which has seen more Bs and Cs shopping at the Spar. That is probably due to word of mouth, as Mike has not done much advertising apart from the standard Spar leaflet drops.
But staffing has been a big issue and they are still battling to get a full, reliable team. "When you start a new business you take on a number of unknown new people and you get both good and bad ones. We are slowly weeding them out."
Crime is an ongoing worry. An attempted break-in caused damage, a bit much coming as it did soon after two hold-ups.
Mike does not feel under pressure from the impact of the multiples pushing into convenience. "If a Tesco Express opened near us we would give them a run for their money. Because we are with Spar, it means we are competitive on certain lines." But he adds: "We're OK as we're bigger, but the days of the smaller shop may be numbered."
Perhaps he will sell to a multiple
Roger Waterfield gives the thumbs up to his Londis refit. "We are glad we had it done, sales would have slipped if we hadn't, and we have learnt a lot. But when anyone tells you exactly what kind of returns you can expect, it is not always true. It depends on what point you start from."
Roger admits turnover has not gone up as much as he would have liked by just £1,000 to £15,000. "We had a captive customer base, so we were not going to attract that many more people. We just wanted them to spend more."
It has not helped that the gloss of his own refit has been taken off by refurbs at both the nearby Somerfield and Co-op. And although he likes the Londis promotions, Roger claims the margins aren't that great.
Roger is now more concerned about a rent review which could mean he has to pay far more than he can afford. "It would be unbelievably bad for our bottom line." He is prepared to fight the case at a tribunal, but fears the outcome could mean paying extortionate costs. He is also disappointed to have been turned down yet again for a combi-post office counter.
Roger and his wife Chris have noted recent events in the c-store sector with interest, as both the Co-operative Group and Alldays had offered to buy his shop in the past. He hopes to sell the business in a couple of years with a view to retiring to Spain. But Roger probably will not end up just sitting by the pool. "I have had a couple of meetings with people there I think it is definitely more of a place for the independent retailer."
{{ANALYSIS }}
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