A new value driven forecourt concept will go a long way towards helping Booker achieve its new goal of making Premier a £1bn business, head of Premier Martin Swadling has told Convenience Store.

Set for roll-out across all 100 of Premier’s current forecourt sites, the concept, which has been trialed at Tariq Iqbal’s Ward End forecourt store in Birmingham, offers shoppers a strong convenience offer, with value at its heart, thanks to a wide selection of meal deals, promotions and price marked packs (PMPs).

The exterior fascia has been remodelled, with clean lines replacing the traditional purple ‘lozenge’, while inside, the internal colour scheme has also been refreshed, with soft cream hues replacing the bright yellow.

Colour-coded signage draws attention to the different meal deals available throughout the day, while hanging category signage has been replaced with smart conversational wording on walls such as ‘Get Refreshed’.

Sales at the former BP store have grown by 60% in the eight weeks post-refit, Tariq said.

“In these challenging time forecourt stores need to work harder than ever before to counteract declining fuel margins, meaning that shop sales are becoming increasingly important,” Swadling added. “We recognised the need for a true value proposition in the fuel sector which we believe has been lacking up until now.”

“PMPs play an important role within the new concept, and traditionally, forecourt retailers have been very wary of them for fear that they wouldn’t make large enough margins, however, with Premier that’s not a problem as our Euroshopper and Happy Shopper brands offer retailers 30% POR.”

“We now have a model that we know works, and can be successfully implemented into any site,” he added.

Many of the changes can also be translated into regular Premier stores which will be embarking on a refreshment programme in early 2013. In addition to a modern new uniform, all Premier retailers will also have access to new POS, a wider range of Meal Deals, and a new online Premier Forum.

“All in all we believe that these developments will see Premier well on its way to becoming a £1bn business,” Swadling added.

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