Premier Teynham Road

COVER STORY: MANDEEP SINGH, SHEFFIELD

Premier reveals its new vision

THE UK'S BIGGEST SYMBOL GROUP HAS UNVEILED A FRESH NEW FORMAT WORKING WITH MANDEEP SINGH AT HIS TEYNHAM ROAD STORE IN SHEFFIELD.

Premier, the UK’s number one symbol group, has unveiled its latest thinking in a store in Sheffield as it aims to take the brand to the next level. As part of a trial with Sheffield retailer Mandeep Singh, his store on Teynham Road has been completely redesigned to reflect the latest and emerging trends to maximise sales and profits for retailers.

The store has been extended to 1,750sq ft with all fixtures repositioned into zones to reflect the latest shopping patterns. The store front has been opened up to allow greater visibility into the store and posters have been placed to highlight the value available through Premier’s promotions. The store has also trialled new and improved POS and this will be rolling out across the whole estate in the coming months.

Working in partnership with Mandeep and his team, the new improvements include:

Refresh @ Premier – at the front of the store, this new area includes F’real, Tango Ice Blast, Fanta Frozen, Jolly Rancher, Hershey Milk Shakes, along with coffee and hot chocolate. This has seen a great reaction from shoppers and has really increased footfall. The products deliver a minimum of 70% POR which has increased the store’s daily cash profit significantly.

Food to go area – this is completely new and offers a wide range of hot and cold sandwiches, as well as paninis, sausage rolls, pies and pasties. It has been a real success. Also available is the Premier Meal Deal that includes a sandwich, crisps and a drink for only £3, with the store selling over 50 deals a day.

Chilled & Fresh – the store has more than doubled the fresh and chilled space to over 10 metres, which has seen the introduction of over 200 new lines from BRP, local suppliers and more products from the local Booker branch range. The offer includes over 30 lines of fruit and vegetables such as parsnips, corn and asparagus. Sales for fruit & vegetables alone are over £500 a week and this continues to grow significantly. Another highlight is the great value everyday essential products such as 2 x 2L milk at only £2 and an 800g loaf at just 95p, which continues to drive footfall.

FastStats

Weekly sales now £56k

Margin up 6%

Footfall up more than 20% and still growing growing

Over 6,000 shoppers served a week

Average basket spend almost £10

Frozen Zone – positioned at the back of the store, this new zone really appeals to shoppers with a skylight and a vastly improved range. Frozen space has been doubled to 10 metres and sales continue to grow. Mandeep is now selling over £1,200 of frozen food a week, with the Premier exclusive frozen Meal Deal performing particularly well. “We are really, really pleased with the numbers that we are seeing – sales and profits are both exceeding our expectations and we’ll have pay back in a year, which is great.”

Vaping @ Premier Zone– this innovation has seen the introduction of three full bays of vaping solutions, which includes equipment as well as liquids. This means the store offers a full service solution to cater for all shoppers needs’ so they do not need to seek a specialist alternative. Sales are now over £2,000 per week and growing.

Beer Cave – this allows the store to maximise sales from chilled beer, wine and spirits and gives the store a competitive advantage locally. This too has a skylight to draw shoppers into the room. The store is now selling over 40 beer kegs a day from zero before the re-fit. Sales have increased 50% and profit has also increased by 50%.

Delivery – Singhs Drop is a great new home delivery addition to the business with sales now over £15,000 a week. Deliveries to shoppers’ doors are within 30 minutes. Home delivery is one of the busiest and fastest-growing areas of the whole business. Over 27,000 people follow the store on Facebook; social media has proved to be a massive driver in delivering this growth.

Mandeep commented: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the store – it’s fantastic. We have created something that I’m really proud of and our shoppers’ reaction has been amazing.

“We are really, really pleased with the numbers that we are seeing – sales and profits are both exceeding our expectations and we’ll have pay back in a year, which is great.” Mandeep Singh

“We have kept a big focus on supporting local suppliers and have introduced bread, cakes and pies all from a local bakery and also a wide range of locally sourced fresh meats through our local butcher. There are also lots of pictures of Sheffield throughout the store and also of my family, which I think is really important as we are here to serve our local Sheffield community.”

Mandeep said he was “really, really pleased” with the numbers the redesign has generated: “Sales and profits are both exceeding our expectations and we’ll have pay back in a year, which is great.”

Martyn Parkinson, Sales Director, Booker – Retail, said the store “looks amazing”. He added: “Not only that, it is delivering more profit for Mandeep. These improvements are future proofing the business, so the store can continue to grow and build on these new elements while capturing all the latest consumer trends. Sales are now at a stunning £56,000 a week. Margin has increased by 6% and footfall has increased by over 20% and still growing strongly. The store is now serving over 6,000 shoppers week in, week out and I’m proud that basket spend is averaging nearly £10.

“We have learnt a lot from this project, and I’m really pleased to be able to take the successes and roll them out to both our existing retailers and any new members. This is a really exciting time for Premier as we build upon more people shopping locally and ensuring our retailers have everything they need to maximise their store. Any retailer who would like to know more can simply contact their local Booker branch who will be happy to help.”