Scottish Spar chain Botterills was in good shape to expand and add batches of new stores when opportunities arise said managing director Jim Botterill.
The 37-store Botterills chain increased sales by 12% to £55.5m and like-for-like sales by 4.5% for the year to May 31. Profit has yet to be calculated, but is forecast to be "very positive", said Botterill.
A 38th store will open in Dumfries in September. The former Costcutter store will be its furthest afield, 60 miles from its head office in Blantyre. To date all Botterills stores have been in a 50-mile radius.
The chain has "never played the numbers game", said Botterill, who is president of the Scottish Grocers' Federation.
However, it now has a strong management structure in place which could handle up to 10 new stores at a time, he said. "We would be interested in taking pockets of stores from any of the majors".
Botterill said he had focused more on strategic development since his daughter Lizette Craig became retail director.
Development will include taking on petrol forecourts as the sector consolidates in the next 18 months.
Botterill said: "We are looking again at stores under 1,500 sq ft. We have to look at small stores, but I believe there will be a market in the next five years for bigger stores, too. Anything from 3,000 to 5,000 sq ft to maybe 7,000 sq ft to 8,000 sq ft could become available."
Larger stores could have concessions like specialist food to go or pizza franchises.
He said: "There is a lot of growth in the video and DVD chains at the moment.
"A larger store would not be all convenience. Half the space could be used for another type of business."
Botterill also predicted that Tesco would open Express convenience stores in Scotland in the next couple of years.
He said: "It may be a year or two until we see a large increase in Tesco stores, but it will happen."
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The 37-store Botterills chain increased sales by 12% to £55.5m and like-for-like sales by 4.5% for the year to May 31. Profit has yet to be calculated, but is forecast to be "very positive", said Botterill.
A 38th store will open in Dumfries in September. The former Costcutter store will be its furthest afield, 60 miles from its head office in Blantyre. To date all Botterills stores have been in a 50-mile radius.
The chain has "never played the numbers game", said Botterill, who is president of the Scottish Grocers' Federation.
However, it now has a strong management structure in place which could handle up to 10 new stores at a time, he said. "We would be interested in taking pockets of stores from any of the majors".
Botterill said he had focused more on strategic development since his daughter Lizette Craig became retail director.
Development will include taking on petrol forecourts as the sector consolidates in the next 18 months.
Botterill said: "We are looking again at stores under 1,500 sq ft. We have to look at small stores, but I believe there will be a market in the next five years for bigger stores, too. Anything from 3,000 to 5,000 sq ft to maybe 7,000 sq ft to 8,000 sq ft could become available."
Larger stores could have concessions like specialist food to go or pizza franchises.
He said: "There is a lot of growth in the video and DVD chains at the moment.
"A larger store would not be all convenience. Half the space could be used for another type of business."
Botterill also predicted that Tesco would open Express convenience stores in Scotland in the next couple of years.
He said: "It may be a year or two until we see a large increase in Tesco stores, but it will happen."
{{NEWS }}
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