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STORE PROFILE
Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis, year-to-date sales are up by a huge 55% at Centra Kilcoole. Here, retailer Ian Coughlan tells Gillian Hamill how a stylish new revamp has bolstered his store, which together with volunteers from the local GAA club, played a blinder in organising deliveries to the elderly and vulnerable during lockdown
Community champions M
aintaining double digit growth throughout an extensive renovation is an impressive achievement for any retailer. Not only has Centra Kilcoole managed this, but the timing of the store’s recent revamp has also proved fortuitous, with the majority of the work being completed before the onset of lockdown. Nevertheless, the pandemic obviously caused uncertainty for all retailers when then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made his first Covid-19 announcement back in March, and Centra Kilcoole’s owner Ian Coughlan was no different in this regard. “We had about 90% of our revamp done [when the restrictions were introduced], so it was a bit of a worrying time,” he tells ShelfLife. Fortunately, despite closing the deli for around six weeks to help ensure social distancing in-store, Coughlan is nevertheless able to report that year-to-date sales are up by an impressive 55%. This is due to both the
Alcohol sales have increased in the store in recent months
ShelfLife September 2020 | www.shelflife.ie
Retailer Ian Coughlan is upbeat about the future
Undoubtedly, strong planning and teamwork has helped Centra Kilcoole to navigate all the myriad challenges posed by Covid-19. In a similar fashion, although Coughlan first bought the store some two-and-a-half years ago, instead of simply diving headfirst into a
renovation, he put a lot of thought into exactly what he wanted the outcome to achieve and this approach has definitely paid off. “The benefit of running the store for two years before we did the revamp,” he says, “was that I knew which areas I wanted to concentrate on and which areas I felt we could get most growth out of.” The renovation involved renting two units next door to the original shop and expanding into those, which potentially made it all the more of a daunting decision. Thankfully, Coughlan says he received “excellent” support and advice from Musgrave in turning the initial concept into a reality. “It was probably well over a year in the pipeline before we did the revamp,” he says. “We had to make a decision; it was a big additional cost to take on two additional units; we had to look at the cost of rent and weigh all that up. “worked closely with Musgrave’s project manager Patrick Stanley who has carried out our last three or four store [renovations] with us, so we work very well together,” he adds, alongside praising regional managers Peter Flanagan and Fiona Leavy for their invaluable support and advice.
The Centra provides a quality coffee offering instore with the popular Frank and Honest brand
The Green Kitchen fresh salad concept is proving a hit with health-conscious customers on-the-go
STORE PROFILE
Retailer: Ian Coughlan Address: Centra Kilcoole, Main Street, Cooldross Upper, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, A63 E9N Staff: 30: 18 full-time and 12 part-time Size: 7,200sq ft including office/storage space and 5,400sq ft of retail space
stylish renovation attracting more customers, more frequently and a rise in sales following the closure of restaurants and pubs during lockdown. During the deli’s temporary closure, staff were redeployed onto the shop floor to help manage queues.
Careful consideration
