7 minute read
Retail Interview: Mooch
Mooching about
Jon May tells Greetings Today how the award-winning Mooch stores began, and what their future holds…
Can you tell us a little about how you got into greeting card/gift retail? Mooch was born following a trip to Cornwall and, [co-owner Luke Jacks] and I having a case of the holiday blues. We knew that locally there was nothing that matched the unique home and gift stores often found in the many quaint Cornish towns. Our initial thought was to bring a taste of Cornwall to the Midlands by opening our own home and gift store featuring goods from Cornwall and from other artisan makers.
So, in April 2015 we began our search for premises and found a shop to rent in Stourport on Severn. We had £5k to invest to renovate, fit out and fill, which we knew would be tight but we knew if we didn’t just take a risk and go for it we would regret it.
In May 2015, Luke left his employment with Next retail where he was a store manager, while I continued initially to work
as a buyer at Asda, and work started on renovating the store ready for a June opening.
All the work was done by us; the shop was painted, carpeted and shop fittings fixed for less than £2,500. We were lucky to have found on eBay a gift shop selling all its fixtures and fittings, which helped us out no end; the couple even gave us a till and our very first card spinner – we never thought about selling cards initially!
We opened in June 2015, and a week before opening we realised we had nowhere near enough stock to fill the shop so ended up maxing out our credit cards purchasing stock from a local cash and carry simply to fill the shop out. The shop was well received, we actually smashed all sales forecasts we set and soon developed a loyal group of moochers!
In June 2016 following a shop opportunity in the neighbouring town of Bewdley, we opened our second store. Then in December 2017 an opportunity arose to buy a shop two doors away from our Stourport store - our lease was coming to an end and we were so short of space we just knew we had to buy it.
An offer was made and we eventually sourced funding and the keys were ours! After three months of renovations - again carried out by us, including 5 tonnes of rubbish cleared off site - we opened the doors to our new store over three floors in April 2018. So now seven years on we are many local people’s destination for gifts, cards and home accessories.
Why ‘Mooch’? We chose mooch as our trading name as we both loved days out having a ‘mooch’ around.
Both of our stores are located on the local high streets of the towns where we operate.
While our Stourport store trades over three floors our Bewdley store is a postage stamp sized store but it packs a punch when it comes to sales.
From one spinner in 2015, now 30% of our stores’ retail space in both locations is dedicated to cards. How do you source card/wrap/ stationery products? Initially we found suppliers at trade shows and trade publications, however as we have become more known in the industry many contact us directly or via social media. What is your selection criteria? We always look at design, quality and price; for our cards British is key! How is trading for you at the moment? Trade is good at present with our stores trading slightly up YOY so we must not complain; card sales in particular are up around 20%. What’s your demographic? Our stores appeal to a cross-section of shoppers from yummy mummies, retired individuals to millennials. I think this is down to the range of products we sell plus the love of our brands brings the kids in buying gifts for mum from her favorite store. Shop dog Winston
How do you get word out there to potential customers? We use all channels of social media, we tend to
always look for channels with low or no cost.
The use of press releases to local media has always helped us spread the word about us, and we are often the port of call from our local radio station for comment on retail issues.
What makes your shops stand out? We pride ourselves with the appearance of our stores inside and out; in particular we ensure our window displays are always different and where possible magical – we try to bring a taste of London to Worcestershire, particularly at Christmas. On top of this our stock is unique and different, making us a destination for certain lines. Tell us about your online offering. Our website launched when our first store opened; it’s designed and managed by us. During the first lockdown we added lots of new products including cards, we also added a feature to add a handwritten message and send direct to the recipient. We now sell more than 1,300 cards online. Because we control every aspect of the site we can change and adapt very quickly.
Our website probably equates to 25% of our stores’ total sales, with November being our busiest month.
Have you seen the average cost of your products go up - and if so how have you dealt with it? We have seen price increases across all categories, while initially we absorbed these we now have had to review this and start increasing across all products especially with the rise in our utility bills, which even with the government support recently announced will see our bills treble.
Do customers ask for eco-friendly product? We haven’t seen the demand for eco that some retailers have, but we are aware customers are becoming more savvy and we will always address this. For us, sustainable paper, British design and made in the UK are far more important to our customers than for example ‘naked’ cards.
I’m sure in years to come the industry will come up with a better solution but for us having cards in cello certainly hasn’t affected our sales. I do think sometimes suppliers tick the box in regard to less packaging or plastic their end but simply then shift the problem on protecting goods/ purchases to the retailer who then has additional costs for bags and/or packaging. What brands (cards/wrap/stationery) have been particularly popular with your customers? Rosie Made a Thing – our customers simply love Rosie and often laughter from the card area is due to these cards.
Wendy Jones-Blackett – quicksilver foils are perfect for any occasion.
PaperSalad – Jumbo Jamboree are a great addition to the large card market. Is there anything you haven’t been able to source that you would like to find? Gift wrap printed in the UK would be a great addition but unfortunately the market seems to be dominated with imports from China. What challenges have you faced over the past few months? The cost-of-living crisis will have an impact on everyone, but we remain positive that we can survive the storm ahead. Card sales remain strong; we have tweaked our gift offering to include more gifts under £30 and we have increased ranges within our home departments to offer more candles and cosy throws for those reducing their energy usage at home.
Card sales for us have increased by 20% so I do feel this growth will continue as consumers look at other ways to mark an occasion, not necessarily with a gift but with a nice, unique, quality greetings card. Anything else you’d like to add? I do feel that the media focus on the doom and gloom on the high street, and what is happening in major cities isn’t always the case in the towns where we trade. We have seen increased footfall and more people shopping locally as they are now working from home or stay-cationing so it’s not all doom and gloom and there are success stories.
If you could choose the cards people sent you - which would you choose to receive for Christmas or birthday or other special occasion?
Christmas – The Art File – beautifully designed cards. Birthday – Rosie Made a Thing for humour or Papersalad for its bright quirky designs
Other occasions – Wendy Jones-Blackett – as there is a card in the Quicksilver range for every occasion.
