Destination Retail

Destinationretail

TEAM WORK: Valerie and John Jones have revitalised Premier Blackrod.

ALL NEW: The new store is unrecognisable after a full refit.

Store CV:

Name: Premier Blackrod Convenience Store, Bolton Retailer: John Jones Size: 1,000sq ft Opening hours: Mon-Sun 8am-10pm Services: Lotto, Paypoint Staff: 4

A new chilled focus and Big Night In offer has put Premier Blackrod well and truly on the map.

When John Jones went to join his father, also called John, in the family business back in 1997, he had no idea of the transformation that he would one day oversee.

Today, John and his partner Valerie are the proud owners of a 1,000sq ft leading-edge Premier convenience store, expertly crafted to meet the needs of shoppers both near and far.

But it wasn’t always quite so. While the store had always served the local community to the best of its ability, at just 500sq ft, the old store – formerly an end of terrace house – established by John’s parents in 1990, was in real need of “a shake up.”

And it has had quite the transformation!

John explains: “We first joined Premier in 2012 after carrying out an internal refurbishment of the old site and it did really well. Takings went up by 25% overnight and we enjoyed almost a decade of successful trading from then on. However, at just 500sq ft, space was always an issue. There was a sales ceiling that we knew we could never break, unless we physically expanded the space,” he explains.

That breakthrough came in 2020, when John and Valerie purchased the house next door to the store – a move that would allow them to eventually double the size of the shop floor and create two new flats above.

“The work to knock through the two properties started in August 2021 and was complete by November, with the shop-fit taking place immediately after,” John says.

“We were lucky to not only have an excellent team of builders but also fantastic

Knocking through into the house next door saw the shop-floor space double to 1,000sq ft

DECKED OUT: New refrigeration is energy efficient and looks great.

SPACE RACE: The store makes use of space without being cluttered.

CORKING SALES: Wine sales have overtaken beer due to a variety in price offers. support from Premier, so the whole process ran very smoothly.

“We created a partition wall between the old shop and the new space which allowed us to carry on trading throughout the process.

“It was a really exciting time for us but also for our shoppers, many of whom have known the store for 32 years. We had shoppers popping in on a daily basis just to see the latest.”

When the partition wall came down and the fully refitted and re-ranged 1,000sq ft store was revealed to shoppers in early December 2021, the reaction was “overwhelming,” John says.

“Prior to the refit we only really dabbled in chilled. I’d visit the chilled section of my local Booker branch for no more than three or four minutes, just buying a few key lines such as butter and cooked meats.

“Now I’m in there for a good half an hour, four days a week, in addition to my big weekly delivery from Booker.

“We now have five metres of fresh food, including a broad range of fruit, vegetables and herbs plus fresh meats and more than 15 different ready meals.

“Shoppers are thrilled with the new offer. We set out to create a store they could rely on for a full meal solution and we certainly have that now. We’ve complemented the new chilled range with an expanded chilled white and rosé wine offer too, making us a new destination for shoppers after a bottle and an evening meal.

“Wine sales have actually overtaken beer now and we sell right across the pricing scale including strong sales of mid-priced and more high-end brands around the £9 mark. I think shoppers are much more educated about wine these days and I’ve definitely noticed that they spend longer browsing the range and reading the labels closely to get info on grape varieties, food pairings and alcohol content.

“As a result we are now busiest between 5pm and 8pm.

“I used to think that we served the majority of Blackrod but clearly I was wrong, because since the refit we are seeing countless new faces every day. Now, I can say with confidence that the majority of Blackrod shops with us.

And it’s not just locals who are being drawn in. “We are even seeing shoppers travelling to us from the nearby villages of Adlington and also parts of Wigan, which is just incredible,” John adds.

But the store’s new fresh focus is by no means the only new draw.

The creation of an eye-catching new Refresh section, complete with Tango Ice Blast, Fwip,

Hershey’s and Reece’s Freeze, has had a “transformational” impact – turning the store into a true ‘Big Night In’ destination.

“The Refresh section is totally unique in our area and really sets us apart,” John says.

“This is a residential area, with a large youth demographic and the Refresh section holds a really strong appeal to them.

“We now get large numbers of teenagers and young adults coming in on weekend evenings to stock up on drinks and snacks for various ‘Big Night In’ occasions, which we never had before.

Tango Ice Blast and Hershey’s Freeze, in particular, are huge sellers. We’ve also expanded our range of crisps and introduced a new ‘Pick and Mix’ station, which has been astoundingly well-received.”

“It’s self-serve so it does require a bit more management on our part to ensure that everything is kept clean and things don’t get spilled or dropped on the fl oor but it’s defi nitely worth it.

“It’s inspired us to introduce a new selfserve fresh cream cake and dessert off er which we plan to do with the help of a local bakery. We think it could work really well and fi t nicely with our new ‘Big Night In’ focus.

“For a store of 1,000sq ft we’ve packed a huge amount of newness in but it’s been so cleverly done by the team at Premier that the space still feels really open, light and airy.

“The new layout, fi xtures and fi ttings allow the more traditional lines that we’ve always stocked to shine. I can’t tell you how many shoppers have come in post-refi t and said ‘Oh you’ve started selling these’ about

Store sales are up 35%

since the refit

FULL OFFER: The store offers everything that shoppers could need. MINI ADVENTURE: John recent won a Mini with Premier! ON THE GO: A high margin drinks to go offer is popular.

an item that we’ve had in stock for 30 years.

“The new layout simply means that shoppers have the space to stand back and a get a proper look at the range in its entirety. The old shop was just an end of terrace house converted into a shop, the aisles were so narrow that it really was hard for shoppers to appreciate what was there. That’s certainly not the case anymore!”

Store sales are currently up 35% since the refi t and growing week on week, especially during periods of warm sunny weather, when chilled and Refresh sales fl y.

“I’ve been so touched by how much the change has meant to so many of our shoppers,” John adds.

“To them the new store is a real asset in their lives and shoppers are constantly saying things like ‘well done’ and ‘thank you’.

One shopper who is particularly thankful for his new store is loyal local Danny McGlade, who was presented with a brand new Mini at the store’s launch, after he won Premier’s national scratchcard promotion which took place during the UEFA European Football Championship last summer. The win, which was covered in the local press, helped to drive even more excitement and goodwill locally.

“Lots of our older regular shoppers have also told me how proud my dad would have been. He sadly passed away last year and never got to see the build completed, but I know those shoppers are right, he would be thrilled with the change and that makes me very proud indeed.”