Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
The symbol group is sharing its partners’ success stories and plans for further store openings on its corporate website, including Birmingham store owner Shahih Ahmed, who switched his Crankhall Lane forecourt store to Costcutter in March. He has seen daily footfall triple to 1,000 and weekly sales grow from £5,000 to £30,000 and now plans to convert his other two stores to Costcutter later this year.
Ahmed said: “The range and offer are perfect for our store. The change has been phenomenal. It was definitely worth the investment.”
For Danny Pont, store owner of Costcutter Saxmunden in Suffolk, lockdown came just before his forecourt store was due to be refurbished, but the Costcutter team still helped him to achieve a 25% sales increase.
Pont said: “We weren’t able to get the Costcutter shop planners and merchandising guys here before the lockdown started, but Costcutter helped us to focus on expanding the range of products, especially fresh foods and I can safely say that’s what has driven our revenue increase.”
Costcutter Southfields store owner Fatih Kilic, whose new store opened last month, has already seen a 45% increase in weekly sales.
Kilic said: “Shoppers have responded really well to the increased product lines. They’re very happy to see the increase in choice, especially the Co-op Own Brand products and it’s helping us attract more shoppers.”
Jamie Davison, business development director for Costcutter, added: “Convenience stores are playing a vital role in their local communities through the Covid-19 crisis and we’ve been doing everything we can to support our retailers. We’re now focused on helping them to turn new lifeline shoppers into lifelong shoppers for their stores and are delighted to welcome new retailers to join us in that success.”
