Annual report & review 2006 - Shopic.com

Different & better – consumers & communities
In the heart of local communities
Mark Richardson, Budgens, Newent
Mark Richardson believes in local values and is
committed to the view that a great local store must be
an integral part of the community it serves. This is why
he supports, sponsors and works with local schools and
youth groups, running competitions and activities and
organising store visits.
‘Putting the store at the heart of the community also
means supporting
suppliers in the area,’
explains Mark.
Mark regularly has local product
‘We currently sell products from 22 local suppliers, 14 of
which are local farmers.’ He regularly has local product
samplings at the store and invites his suppliers to come
and introduce their wares to the community.
samplings at the store and invites
his suppliers to come and introduce
their wares to the community.
In addition to his role as one of five local retailers on
the committee for the Chamber of Commerce, Mark is
one of two retailers chosen by the council to sit on the
regeneration committee to act as a spokesperson for
other retailers in the village.
Mark undertakes a great deal of sponsorship within
his local community. For example, his store is the only
retail sponsor of the Newent Onion Fair, the village’s
biggest yearly event, attracting 12,000 visitors from
surrounding areas. He also supports Newent Dial-a-
Ride and the Newent
Shuttle – both providing
transport services for the
elderly from within and
just outside the village.
‘We also try to do what
we can for the youth
in the area,’ he says.
‘We’ve supported the
local youth ‘Chillout Zone’, which introduces kids to
activities like computing and sports – and the store
also sponsors the shirts of the Newent Comprehensive
football team.’ ‡
3 meeting local needs
Because our independent retailers tend to live and work
in the communities they serve, they can be especially
responsive to local needs – from establishing opening
hours to suit customers’ lifestyles or sponsoring local
sports teams, to driving major national initiatives like
Kids in Action in Ireland and Action Cancer in Northern
Ireland at a community level.
2 great fresh food
Bringing high-quality fresh foods to local communities
is what our business is all about. To get fresh products
to consumers even faster we’ve invested heavily in
some of the world’s most advanced fresh food storage
and logistics systems.
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Musgrave Group Plc Annual Report & Review 2006