NISA WILLENHALL RD, WOLVERHAMPTON

STORE PROFILE: HARRY DHILLON

RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN

WEST MIDLANDS NISA RETAILER HARRY DHILLON HAS SEEN 40% GROWTH AFTER TRANSFORMING A FORMER MCCOLL’S STORE INTO AN UNRECOGNISABLE MODERN,ATTRACTIVE NISA IN WOLVERHAMPTON.

West Midlands retailer is reaping the rewards of his newlydeveloped store, with customers wowed by the shop that is unrecognisable from the store it was previously.

Harry Dhillon bought the former McColl’s store in Willenhall Road, Wolverhampton last autumn, seeing the potential with its prime location just off a busy road, close to the city centre and good parking outside for passing trade.

Closing the store for a fortnight to carry out a full refit, Harry removed all interior fixtures and fittings to provide a blank canvas enabling him to start the refurbishment from scratch and the result is a new-look store that is delighting shoppers.

Since launching the store in October sales have increased by almost 40% in the six months to April and Harry believes, now he is embedded into the community and shoppers know what they can get from his store, sales will continue to grow.

“It’s a great-looking store and my customers have all been really impressed with the shop as well as what we’re stocking,” says Harry. “They love the promotions and are spending well.”

The refit included the replacement of all existing chilled refrigeration, allowing for a new layout to be introduced. This changed the flow of the store and improved the shopping experience. At just over 2,500sq ft the store now offers nearly 9m of chilled products and a further 10.5m of chilled BWS.

Fresh meat and fruit and vegetables sell well although it took a few weeks to establish the range.

“When we first opened there was a bit of waste with fresh stuff going out of date, but it didn’t take long for customers to realise what was available to them and now we sell everything very well,” says Harry. “The new offer is really working. Every day we are seeing new faces coming in and shopping with us. People who have not been in for a while are coming in and they are really impressed.”

And with housing as well as local businesses neighbouring the store along with passing traffic on the nearby main road, the footfall is strong and growing. Average basket spend is also creeping up since opening day and now sitting at £10 to £12.

“Our shoppers know us now, they know what they can get from us, and so we are going to make the most of it and push on to improve our sales,” concludes Harry.