The Connolly Spar team channelled their inner Jedi over the weekend as they took to the streets on their ‘Spar Wars’ float for the annual Pewsey Festival parade.
This year’s event saw 16 staff members from the company’s four Spar stores in Wiltshire dressed in costumes and armed with props inspired by Star Wars.
“It was absolutely amazing. Everything went really well and the crowds created a great atmosphere. We are part of that community and our customers love to see us on the float now and they get really excited about what you’re doing,” Susan Connolly, director of Connolly Spar told Convenience Store.
Susan expressed that the festival “builds staff morale” and is a day that brings the team together to “let their hair down and have fun”.
“The staff are all buzzing and they’re the ones that have persuaded me to do it again next year,” she said.
For the third year in a row, the staff handed out Spar cowboy hats, “which go down an absolute storm”. Appleby Westward supplied 1500 hats compared to 500 the previous year and they ran out by the time the parade was halfway through.
“It’s crazy because it’s the same product as the giveaway last year and the year before and yet everybody still wants a Spar hat. Even people on Facebook today have been asking if anybody else has got any hats left that they could have.
“You have people come in far and wide for carnival. This year we sold lightsabers in store and snowflakes for girls, in case they didn’t want a lightsaber. Street sellers sell them for around £10 each whereas ours were £2.99. It’s saving for the customer,” Susan explained.
However, she mentioned that the festivities are not just a chance to participate in the event, but also a way to highlight positivity in the community during a time when stores are dealing with a rise of abuse, violence, and shop theft.
Highlighting the ongoing challenges of retail crime, Susan shared a LinkedIn post reflecting on the weekend’s event, writing that it was a chance to post about something positive for a change.
“Everybody’s been hit by it [retail crime]. We’re seeing it more and more as a Spar retailer, definitely in our patch at the moment. It literally seems to be every day there is a break-in somewhere and it’s great that people are highlighting it on LinkedIn. But it was just nice to be able to post a positive story for a change,” she said.
During the parade, the team played five songs, including ‘We Are Family’ by Sister Sledge, demonstrating their unity and togetherness as a company.
“We are family. We really do come together as a company. Whether you’re at the top or the cleaner, it doesn’t matter. We are all just there as one. Just having fun at a local event,” she added.
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