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C-STORE COLLECTIVE LAUNCH
NEWS SPECIAL: RETAIL CONSULTANCY SERVICES
INTRODUCING… THE C-STORE COLLECTIVE
THREE WELL-KNOWN AND EXPERIENCED RETAIL EXPERTS WITH SUCCESSFUL CONSULTANCY BUSINESSES HAVE DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES TO CREATE A NEW SUPER-CONSULTANCY.
For anyone that’s been involved in convenience retailing for a while, the chances are they will have come across Jon Rons, John Heagney or Mike Igoe – or more likely, they’ve come across all three.
Between them, the three have worked in senior roles across every aspect of the convenience sector and the supply chain with a huge range of household names on their collective CV like Nisa, PayPoint, HIM, Conoco, Musgrave and Jacksons. They have a combined 114 years’ experience and, between them, they had been running three very successful consultancy businesses for many years.
“We’ve each had consultancy businesses for a long time but because we’ve known each other for decades and because we happen to live quite close to one another, we’ve stayed in touch regularly,” says Jon Rons.
“We speak most weeks, just offering each other advice, helping each other out and basically just providing a bit of support for one another. It dawned on us one day that if we pooled our experience and resources, we could create something that’s bigger than the sum of its parts.”
Thus was born the concept of what was to become the C-Store Collective, which was officially launched yesterday.
Rons will be known to many for an extensive career that spans more than 30 years so far with senior roles or consultancy positions at Conoco, Musgrave, HIM, MyLocal, Zapper and TLM.
“I formed my consultancy, Wheatsheaf Advisory, in 2014 and since then have provided services to a wide range of clients, although once or twice I’ve been lured in to take full time positions with some of my clients. But I’ve always retained the consultancy business and in recent years it has continued to grow.
Joining forces with John Heagney and Mike Igoe just felt like a very natural thing to do and I believe that together we have something very valuable to offer to retailers, suppliers, wholesalers and brands, both established and challenger.”
While 114 years of experience brings most of the tools that the new C-Store Collective will need, the three Founding Partners were also aware that there were some gaps in their skill sets. “We’ve been around long enough to know what we’re good and also to know where we need some additional support,” explains Rons. “That’s why we’ve created an Associate model where we bring in external experts to allow us to provide a truly comprehensive service for our clients. A good example is in licensing, which is obviously a very specialist and technical field.
We’ve only last week brought in Chris Mitchener of Licensing Solutions as our Licensing Associate to advise on all licensing-related issues. Chris is on the ACS Independents Board and similarly has huge experience in his field.”
The C-Store Collective aims to provide a full complement of services from business coaching and consulting to site acquisitions and development advice, from acting as brand ambassadors to organising bespoke study tours.
“With 114 years’ experience, we believe we can bring value to pretty much any business in the convenience retailing space and can provide high quality consultancy that will help our clients tackle any problems they face or fully leverage any opportunities they have,” says Rons.
By pooling their talents, the new business can already claim a very impressive client list including DeeBee Wholesale, Jake & Nayns, Nisa, PayPoint, Philips 66, Sewell On The Go, Co-op Midcounties and Stevenson Forecourts.
“It’s an exciting time for us,” concludes Rons. “We only officially launched yesterday but we’ve been preparing for months. It’s fantastic to finally see it go live and I’d be delighted to hear from anyone that wants to know more about the C-Store Collective and how we could add value to their business or brand.
THE STORE COLLECTIVE
JON RONS
TLM Group, Head of Convenience
Zapper, Business Development Director
HIM, Client Director
Musgrave, Business Development Manager
Conoco, Category Manager
Rons has over 25 years’ experience of convenience format retailing, wholesaling and shopper understanding. Having opened and redeveloped hundreds of stores in the UK and Europe, and been involved at all levels of a business, Jonathan has acquired vast experience in store development, store operations, buying and other support functions.
JOHN HEAGNEY
Non-exec Director and Consultancy roles 2013 - current
Nisa: Group Symbol Director 2000-2013
Nisa: Non-exec Director 1984-2000
Heagneys Supermarkets: Convenience stores 1970-1999
With 50 years of experience in retail, Heagney has extensive experience working with owner-managed businesses through to large corporates and also offers insight into markets and is always keen to explore working with forward-thinking boards.
MIKE IGOE
Heron Foods, Commercial Director
PayPoint, Retail Director
William Jackson Food Group, positions to Retail Director
Igoe’s experience is primarily within the UK convenience industry, working with leading retailers and suppliers who have changed the landscape of grocery retailing in the last 25 years. His particular strengths are in business reengineering and strategic direction, team management, manufacturer engagement, contract negotiation and the ability to work with suppliers and manufacturers to drive the right outcome.
