Manjit triples turnover with One Stop switch

Stop is evident, as he explains: “When we conver ted the stores and had the ref its completed, our customers were flabbergasted when they saw what had been done The store looked tidier, it was set out well, the pricing is better, and our footfall is g rowing

“Customers know we’re par t of Tesco and new customers are more inclined to shop with us as they tr ust the brand We couldn’t sell cer tain lines before like chilled or frozen, as they were too expensive, and customers didn’t tr ust cer tain products But we’re selling so many more categories now and lots are coming in for a whole shop.

One Stop franchisee, Manjit Gill, who switched his two retail stores in Newark, Nottinghamshire, to the well-known convenience retailer, says his biggest reg ret is that he should have made the transition a decade ago having now tripled his tur nover

Prior to becoming a One Stop franchisee, Gill worked long hours as his business relied on a wholesale model that was not proving prof itable for him

Whilst retail has been in his family for over 40 years, Gill only star ted his jour ney in the retail trade when he was made redundant from a tyre company, he explains: “As my family were in retail, I thought I might as well have a go But it was hard, and sales were not g rowing and in fact, going down ”

Str uggling to work out how to get his stores to work better for him and when seeing his brother switch his store to a One Stop, Gill said that almost immediately his brother saw a positive change and he realised how much easier life could be in retail

“This encouraged me to change both my stores to One Stop and straightaway sales g rew and kept g rowing and I’d get suppor t continuously, whereas nobody would come out to me before,” said Gill

John Miller, head of franchise at One Stop, comments: “We love hearing comments about how positive and easy people f ind switching to One Stop is. As a business, we focus on consistency and r unning systems and processes that people want to buy into The result is an incredible shopping experience for customers and strong prof it g rowth for our franchisees

“There is a natural reluctance sometimes to change with a ‘better the devil you know’ acceptance, especially at the moment where people are just holding out for ‘things’ to change. Manjit’s stor y shows the transition can be pain free and oppor tunity ridden, with suppor t available at ever y stage, so things don’t go wrong.

“Manjit no longer has to wor r y about the wholesale buying relationship and has time to focus on his stores and his customers as ever ything else is done for him ”

Gill’s customers are clearly impor tant to him and the positive transition to One

We love hearing how positive and easy people find switching to One Stop is As a business, we focus on consistency and running systems and processes that people want to buy into. The result is an incredible shopping experience for customers and strong profit growth for our franchisees.

“They’ve got a good model at One Stop and things are just easy now ”

Danny Insley, Gill’s business development manager, comments: “Manjit has always been welcoming to the suppor t we offer, especially as he came from a wholesale rather than a retail backg round He is really settled with two stores and wants a steady business with consistency so he can take a step back and spend more time with his family

“Since he’s joined, he doesn’t have the g rind of travel and picking up stock and storing it, which is easier for his team to work through Manjit believes and tr usts in the One Stop model and despite having a smaller second store and competitors around him, sales have risen dramatically

“We’ve shown him how to work smar ter and by really investing in training his team, means our systems are simple enough for them to do it for him. Manjit wanted a better lifestyle and increased prof its, and we’ve suppor ted him to do this quickly and easily ”

One Stop, a subsidiar y of Tesco who acquired the stores in 2003, cur rently has over 1,000 company-owned and franchised convenience stores across the UK n