An Essex man who joined his parents when they acquired a neighbourhood grocery business 34 years ago is still going strong and, in all that time, has been an avid reader of The Grocer. Garvin Clemson's parents purchased a 360 sq ft VG store in Woodgrange Drive, Southend in 1967. Eleven years later Garvin took sole control of the business and extended the sales area to 600 sq ft. Six years ago the store was enlarged to its present size of 900 sq ft. Garvin traded under the VG fascia for only two years before switching to Londis in 1969. He says: "It was very hit and miss in those days. Londis is now a professionally run symbol group, but there are one or two areas where improvements can still be made." He trades in a heavily populated area less than two miles from the town centre, but competition is stiff. Within a hundred yards of his store there is both a CTN-cum-convenience store and a Threshers off licence. Two hundred yards away is a Costcutter. However, his major competition comes from a Lidl discounter immediately opposite the Londis store. Garvin says: "It opened five years ago and I immediately lost 10% of my turnover. The losses continued, so I moved further down the convenience route, while retaining a grocery base. "The move worked well. Turnover stabilised and, recently, I have been clawing back some of the lost business, although the weekly take is still down on pre-Lidl days." Within a radius of half a mile of Garvin's store there are approximately 4,000 residents, but much of their purchasing power is concentrated on the outskirts of Southend at Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco. The Londis store benefits from passing trade but, although situated in a seaside town, gains no incremental sales from summer visitors who spend their money closer to the sea front. Garvin offers shoppers the usual c-store mix, although his off licence area is very small. There is fruit & veg, a delicatessen counter, in-store bakery, a 310-film video library, hosiery, greetings cards, a dry cleaning agency, camera films, batteries, haberdashery, TRM photocopying, but no newspapers or national lottery. The most recent addition is a TRM cash machine. {{GROCER CLUB }}

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