For triple ‘a’ in Nuneaton – competing with the multiples is a way of life. The team believes that its customers come for the range and the knowledge they get from staff in terms of understanding the products sold. “The multiples are not able to give this level of advice or suggestions or have that personal touch. In some instances, they may be cheaper, but it is rarely about the ‘price on the bottle’.”
The store has a multi-platform marketing strategy, which has helped to drive and increase sales significantly since the store’s launch. These include prominent drink offers on gondolas, multi-media screens with deals outside, regular wine tastings every four to five weeks, where they typically see around a 25% uplift in sales of the wine being sampled, and innovative social media campaigns.
The team aims to keep customers engaged and returning to the store with great offers. It never ran meal deals until 18 months ago when they launched their Co-Op Meal Deal (proving highly popular across sandwich and drinks). They also launched discounts to anyone using their app to order online.
Triple ‘a’ was one of the first stores to adopt a hybrid approach by bringing a Bargain Booze into the Costcutter store.
“We looked at this opportunity really closely. And a powerful influencing factor was the extensive breadth of knowledge and expertise that has gone into Bargain Booze in terms of ranging, understanding emerging trends alongside the price points and buying power that it offers.
“This specialist knowledge, when married with an incredible choice of beers, wines and spirits, and insight into the latest drinks trends, brands, and associated offers really convinced us that this was the way forward.”
To take full advantage of the opportunity, they created a pivotal area within the store that accounts for approx. 20% of the store in terms of space, located within a double-sided aisle and as a result, have dramatically increased the range, particularly the breadth and range of wines and spirits. Every eight weeks, they adapt merchandising and ranging to align sales to market trends and bring forward new products.
Key community initiatives carried out by the business include: running free weekly Coffee & Chat mornings for local seniors; ongoing sponsorship of four junior football teams including Weddington Barbarians under 11s and Atherstone Hurricanes under 8s; a £30k donation was also made in the past year to Nuneaton Football Club which was facing closure.
They are the main provider of product donations to the local food bank with more than £3k of food per month from the store. They invest significantly in helping to make the Christmas season special for all members of the local community. Initiatives include having a Santa ‘meet and greet’ event, with free refreshments and amusements (attended last year by 2,600 people). There is a Santa sleigh outside the store, free gifts for the children and festive music. They also distribute around 1,500 advent calendars to all children living within a one-mile radius of the store.
Not only do they care passionately about their community but protecting the environment and reducing emissions is also priority for the store.
They’ve invested in a state-of-the-art heat recovery system which transfers heat from fridges to store, and installed solar panels on the roof as well as their own anaerobic digestor.
The management gives the credit for the store’s success to the staff, calling the team “their pride and joy”. The team are dedicated and hard-working and are bought-in to the store’s vision. They have been a key part of the journey of creating the store two years ago, its successful opening and ongoing success.
The owners believe that the great customer service the team delivers also helps them to stand out from the crowd. “Before the store opened, we took lots of learnings from research to improve customer service. Our excellent customer service includes ordering through our ‘to go’ app, which enables customers to place their order, track their order, drive to our car park and we automatically know which numbered bay they are parked in and can take their order straight to them.
“To help maintain and reward great customer service, we also run our own internal mystery shopper programme, with a visit monthly. Any staff mentioned receives recognition in the form of meal or holiday vouchers. We invest a significant amount in training as we know how important it is that every team member supports and buys into the right store standards and takes ownership and responsibility for their actions.”
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