SHOP TALK IF I’D KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW... STEVE LANE, owner, Lane’s Deli & Fine Foods, Lutterworth, Leicestershire
Much of my working life has been spent on the road, touring with bands such as Iron Maiden and Shed Seven, as a ‘rock & roll’ coach driver. When you travel all over Europe, you try a lot of different foods, so owning a deli became a dream of mine. In 2017, when my sister lost her battle with cancer, it made me think that life is too short not to follow your dreams. My wife and I moved to a village just outside Lutterworth and started looking at premises. I didn’t do any formal market research but figured that if there was a Waitrose in town, it must be the right demographic. We took over the lease of a former cake shop and fitted one half out as a deli and the other as a café-bistro with eight covers. We were serving charcuterie and cheese platters, and breakfast and lunch options, and were soon up to 20 covers. People liked the cosy, ‘packed in’ ambience. Then the pandemic hit. During the first lockdown we realised that operating as a café with social distancing wasn’t viable. Instead, we decided to focus on retail with a small take-away menu. We moved the deli counter from the back to the front of the shop and installed some shelving for fresh produce. We reopened last July, reducing our opening days from five to three (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). When people ask how things are going, I tell them we are surviving. Turnover hasn’t changed that much – £120,000 this year compared with £130,000 the year before – but profit has. When we had the café, if two people spent £20 on breakfast, about £10 of that was profit. Now, when people spend £20, only £5 is profit. But the numbers are creeping up every week. It probably helps that I don’t like sitting on stock. We only order what we need and what you see on the shelves is what we have in. Every Wednesday I go to the market at 5:30 am to buy all our fresh produce. We also know exactly what we have sold each day because we invested in a decent till system at the outset. Getting people through the door is the biggest challenge. Once they have shopped here they usually come back. I would say that just 5% of our customers are people who used to come into the café. I had hoped more would stay loyal. I honestly don’t know whether this model is sustainable. When I first started the business, I did a retail course and remember being told that if you make 35% gross margin you are doing alright, but if you can make 40%, you can book a skiing holiday. I always keep that in mind and maintain decent margins, but the holiday will have to wait for now Interview: Lynda Searby Photography: Richard Faulks
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March 2021 | Vol.22 Issue 2
