Taking over what he describes as a run-down store in November 2021, Girish Jeeva set out to turn the business around with a plan based on innovation and working with the local community.
Moving to Premier in 2022, the store underwent a massive refit, changing every inch of the site.
Girish explains the refit and new look to the store. “We felt adding something different to what our customer base had seen in previous years would not only be eye catching but increase our footfall. Our Refresh@Premier and vaping display are only a couple of the things that drive our customer base to visit our store. Another is our vast chilled selection which has something for everyone, at 14m with a separate food to go section our customer base is recurring and ever growing.
“The same applies to our frozen section as we revamped it and gave it 12.5m of space stocking a huge variety of products which were never seen in the area.”
Home delivery is something that’s thrived in the store, with Girish attributes to their range of products and the service they provide.
“When we first started on the Snappy Shopper platform, we were only doing £500 in sales weekly but this has increased majorly. This requires us to have two or three drivers on shift each day as well as having backup drivers to cover busy periods such as our 1p deals run in tandem with Snappy Shopper.
“These deals help our community grow and allows us to help our customer base during times when a lot may struggle such as the holidays. We have reached 500+ deliveries weekly and this is increasing week in and week out thanks to the service and experience we provide.”
Due to the store’s increased popularity, Girish had to start a recruitment drive, where he focused mainly talent with fresh ideas and having dedicated staff for different roles within the store is part of its success.
To further engage with their community, they utilise social media. “We are always updating it with the latest hot products and show casing our latest mega deals in addition to our snappy shopper promotions. We always try and tailor our posts to what we feel will keep our engagement high. We also run various giveaways on the page, and have done so since taking the store over.”
Girish looked to ensure his customer base wasn’t alienated and changed his pricing to suit.
“Being based in a residential area, we know our clientele need a helping hand, and with the recent cost of living crisis we decided to do that, cutting down our margins by 5% in a lot of key areas required for day to day living,” explains Girish. “Alongside this we are supporting local charities and companies, raising funds for them with collection tins and giving prize donations to any fund raisers they hold themselves.
“Recently we donated over £1500 of produce to them which they distributed throughout the community to struggling individuals and families. In October, we also partnered with My DD Points to start a loyalty scheme with our customer base, allowing them to collect points and have different discounted products monthly. This works similar to a Tesco club card and shows we care for out consumers. Furthermore we have six or seven charity groups we regularly support and donate to. Our consumers can see the work we do, so when we pay forward some help they’re always loyal and help us flourish in return.”
They also support some local businesses with its range of fresh cakes by Stuart’s Bakery and butcher’s meats from Carlyle Fine Foods as well as Cakes by Rebecca.
The store’s next big step was the installation of a Beer Cave with the help of Vertex in August 2023. This was used to add to its alcohol-free range and provide flexibility to add to current lines.
Girish says Vaping@Premier has thrived in the store as they have taken a positive approach to it, promoting 2 for £10 mix and match deals and constantly staying up to date with the latest trends.
He also decided to introduce electronic labelling to the entire store. “After some research and speaking to companies we felt the Hanshaw labels were our best bet, and this installation took place across our full range on the ninth of October 2023.
“Again, this is another investment which will help with the longevity of our store, and give us that extra edge by reducing staffing hours spent on paper labelling allowing more focus on other departments.”
Described as “jam-packed with innovation”, Girish says one of the most game-changing collaboration is the FM Radio, which plays targeted in-store promotions and commercials alongside music for customers enjoyment. They collaborated with Retail Intelligence, which constantly update the service.
Investment also took place on the responsible retailing side, the team has introduced an age verification device at the till points. The device has face recognition software and it flags if someone looks under 25.
“We were the first store to trial out Retail AI age verification, which prevents customers and staff from entering the beer cave if they appear underage. The AI also works with our self-checkout, directing customers to use the available self-checkout if there are too many customers waiting.”
If there is anomalous behaviour, it will alert the manager and store workers, as well as broadcast a warning message to the shoplifters that they are watching.
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