Simon Mowbray meets Alan McGuinness, MD of Northern Ireland drinks specialist-turned-general grocer Wineflair
It would also help the company, which MD Alan McGuinness and business partner Chris McKay bought as a going concern five years ago, achieve its goal of growing turnover to £50m within two years, almost certainly lifting its ranking in The Grocer’s chart of Top 50 independent retailers.
According to The Grocer’s last list (published February 14 2004), the Wineflair chain - which is currently made up of 26 off-licences, 10 food and booze outlets and five grocery-only stores dotted around residential areas on the eastern side of the Province - was 28th in the pecking order and it will be hoping to improve on that when the next one is published in a fortnight’s time (February 12).
McGuinness, an amiable yet no-nonsense businessman, is self-effacing when it comes to talking about the business and claims that the company’s growth has not been that quick under his and McKay’s stewardship.
But his modesty masks what they have achieved. The duo’s paths first crossed while working in Northern Ireland’s drinks industry. McKay used to run the Stewarts supermarket chain’s off-licences and was with the retailer during its transition into the Tesco fold. Meanwhile, McGuinness spent 22 years as a wholesale agent, also specialising on the drinks side.
Yet, despite the two men’s main previous expertise being in the drinks trade, they have successfully added a £10m to £20m grocery business to the Wineflair chain. Put simply, the company they are running today is a very different proposition to the one they took over at the end of the 1990s.
Part of the challenge has been finding the right image for the company’s grocery business. Although the chain’s off-licences trade solely under the Wineflair banner and are currently enjoying a fascia revamp, it has tucked its food and booze stores and grocery-only outlets into bed with Mace, Vivo or Spar symbols, tapping into their buying power and food retailing credibility. These too are benefiting from attention and stores like the sparkling Mace outlet on the Woodburn housing estate in Carrickfergus, north of Belfast, are testimony to the sort of plans the company has.
However, while the company, which now employs more than 400 people across its burgeoning empire, may be committed to its blueprint of running sub-3,000 square feet community stores (stores bigger than that are governed by opening-time restrictions such as Sunday trading limits), it also harbours bigger plans of another sort.
One of these involves throwing the whole empire under a single, new and independent fascia. Two potential names have already been trademarked for this purpose, although McGuinness says that neither is likely to see the light of day. “We have in some ways passed the critical mass that would allow us to easily handle our own distribution. But if and when we are ready to look after all our own grocery purchasing then we will come up with a novel name for the whole chain to trade under.” The company already negotiates directly with some suppliers, including GlaxoSmithKline for soft drinks.
In the meantime, Messrs McGuinness and McKay plan to continue adding to Wineflair’s current strengths through store acquisitions and the continuing outlet revamp programme.
Indeed, McGuinness sees his company’s continuing offer extremely clearly, adding: “We may be a couple of pence dearer on a tin of cat food than Tesco, but when your cat is hungry we are open, we are there and we have the right branded item in stock.”
To have bought one store and be bidding on two further outlets may not sound like much compared with the Tescos of this world. But a three-store addition to Wineflair’s empire would actually increase the chain’s number of stores by more than 7%.
It would also help the company, which MD Alan McGuinness and business partner Chris McKay bought as a going concern five years ago, achieve its goal of growing turnover to £50m within two years, almost certainly lifting its ranking in The Grocer’s chart of Top 50 independent retailers.
According to The Grocer’s last list (published February 14 2004), the Wineflair chain - which is currently made up of 26 off-licences, 10 food and booze outlets and five grocery-only stores dotted around residential areas on the eastern side of the Province - was 28th in the pecking order and it will be hoping to improve on that when the next one is published in a fortnight’s time (February 12).
McGuinness, an amiable yet no-nonsense businessman, is self-effacing when it comes to talking about the business and claims that the company’s growth has not been that quick under his and McKay’s stewardship.
But his modesty masks what they have achieved. The duo’s paths first crossed while working in Northern Ireland’s drinks industry. McKay used to run the Stewarts supermarket chain’s off-licences and was with the retailer during its transition into the Tesco fold. Meanwhile, McGuinness spent 22 years as a wholesale agent, also specialising on the drinks side.
Yet, despite the two men’s main previous expertise being in the drinks trade, they have successfully added a £10m to £20m grocery business to the Wineflair chain. Put simply, the company they are running today is a very different proposition to the one they took over at the end of the 1990s.
Part of the challenge has been finding the right image for the company’s grocery business. Although the chain’s off-licences trade solely under the Wineflair banner and are currently enjoying a fascia revamp, it has tucked its food and booze stores and grocery-only outlets into bed with Mace, Vivo or Spar symbols, tapping into their buying power and food retailing credibility. These too are benefiting from attention and stores like the sparkling Mace outlet on the Woodburn housing estate in Carrickfergus, north of Belfast, are testimony to the sort of plans the company has.
However, while the company, which now employs more than 400 people across its burgeoning empire, may be committed to its blueprint of running sub-3,000 square feet community stores (stores bigger than that are governed by opening-time restrictions such as Sunday trading limits), it also harbours bigger plans of another sort.
One of these involves throwing the whole empire under a single, new and independent fascia. Two potential names have already been trademarked for this purpose, although McGuinness says that neither is likely to see the light of day. “We have in some ways passed the critical mass that would allow us to easily handle our own distribution. But if and when we are ready to look after all our own grocery purchasing then we will come up with a novel name for the whole chain to trade under.” The company already negotiates directly with some suppliers, including GlaxoSmithKline for soft drinks.
In the meantime, Messrs McGuinness and McKay plan to continue adding to Wineflair’s current strengths through store acquisitions and the continuing outlet revamp programme.
Indeed, McGuinness sees his company’s continuing offer extremely clearly, adding: “We may be a couple of pence dearer on a tin of cat food than Tesco, but when your cat is hungry we are open, we are there and we have the right branded item in stock.”
To have bought one store and be bidding on two further outlets may not sound like much compared with the Tescos of this world. But a three-store addition to Wineflair’s empire would actually increase the chain’s number of stores by more than 7%.
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