Annual report & review 2006 - Shopic.com

Different & better – retailers & local suppliers
Londis – best value locally
Terry Caton is a Londis retailer who in March 2006
took over a local post office and convenience store in
Chesterfield when the existing owners wanted out. ‘I’m a
local lad who’s aware of the importance of a business like
this to the community,’ he says.
The strength of local feeling over the post office was
reflected in the flurry of campaigns and petitions against
its closure. And this time the neighbourhood got its
way and under Terry’s stewardship within ten months
the store’s turnover was up by 90 per cent. ‘It’s about
listening and responding to the needs of customers,’
Terry explains.
Terry owns two other Londis stores in Chesterfield – a
small news extra business with a thriving home delivery
service and an 1,800 sq ft convenience store in the heart
of the town’s Grangewood community. There’s strong
competition from all the major multiples, but Terry
believes he’s come up with a simple, winning formula.
‘We’ve run the Grangewood store for ten years now and in
that time more than doubled our business,’ he says. ‘The
focus has always been on a strong range and targeted
offers, excellent standards and customer service, plus
intelligent value-adds like our
PayZone service, that means
people can top up their gas,
electricity and mobiles.’
Terry is totally committed to his community. For
example, he helped organise other Londis retailers in the
area in sponsoring his local radio station Peak FM with its
cheeky nude calendar to raise money for cancer charities.
He also drummed up funds for a production at the local
theatre in aid of two hospices.
Terry believes that small businesses can survive and
prosper if they recognise the need to earn the loyalty of
the neighbourhoods in which they operate. Providing
newspapers for the local drop-in centre and food baskets
for the homeless are some of the ways Caton’s stores
give something back to the community.
‘I genuinely believe we have something unique to offer
this town,’ says Terry. ‘We employ local people who
customers know and are comfortable around. Some
elderly people are uncomfortable in large supermarkets.
We give everyone a smile and a meet and a greet and
that’s what people are looking for round here. You just
don’t get that from the multiples.’
Local food for local stores
– Kit’s Kitchen
Headed by Tim Caldicott, Kit’s Kitchen has
been supplying farm shops primarily with
produce grown on the family farm in Egdon,
Worcestershire since 2000. More recently, Tim
and his team have expanded their business and
developed a production kitchen and now supply
Budgens stores in the Heart of England catchment area.
Kit’s Kitchen fare includes award‐winning chutneys, pickles,
BBQ sauces, salad dressings and pickled shallots (watch out for
their kick), all of which are made using unique, tried and tested
family recipes. The oldest of these is the Apple and Onion
Chutney which was brought over by Tim’s great grandparents
from India.
In 2006 the range was selected for the launch of the Warner
Budgens store in Broadway and the business continues to
supply local stores in the area.
Local food for local stores
– Mash Direct
Having grown vegetables and potatoes on
their farm in Comber, Co. Down for almost
20 years, Martin and Tracy Hamilton (right)
decided to supply ultra‐fresh, chilled,
convenient vegetable products to meet consumer demand.
The vegetables come into their state-of-the-art factory, fresh
off the farm in the morning, where they are washed, peeled,
steam-cooked, mashed gently, chilled rapidly and packaged
– all in the space of a few hours. All Mash Direct products are
free from additives and preservatives.
‘There’s no secret to avoiding preservatives,’ says Martin.
‘The key is the freshness. Our products have a good shelf
life because potatoes that are in the field in the morning
can be cooked, mashed and delivered by the afternoon.’ The
Hamiltons also make sure that all their additional ingredients,
such as butter and cream, are sourced from local farmers.
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Musgrave Group Plc Annual Report & Review 2006