RIA 2020 winner: Most Improved Store

Patel and his team spent eight months getting to grips with the needs of local customers, researching new ideas from different retail magazines and speaking with the local community. He also sought inspiration from other Budgens and Nisa stores. Overall, the refit generated a 15% to 20% increase in turnover, with a similar increase in footfall. The store has maintained its 23% margin despite an increase in promotions as part of the revamped offer.

The shop originally had a second entrance from the car park, which was blocked off during the refit to help guide customer traffic into the front entrance, which had the potential to help neighbouring businesses increase footfall. The team also decided to reduce the store size to just under 5,000sq ft, creating a separate 3,000sq ft unit that could be rented out to generate additional income.

Following customer feedback, Patel worked on improving the chilled and food-to-go categories. He installed new chillers that helped increase fresh produce sales by 15% and a range of Cook freezers, which generated an extra 69% in frozen sales.

The store’s existing food-to-go offering was outdated, so Patel brought in Costa Coffee, F’real milkshakes and Rollover hot dogs. The store now also offers freshly made sandwiches and baguettes. Following these changes, the bakery section increased sales by 35% and the introduction of the Costa Coffee concession has increased the number of cups sold per day to 35.

The judging panel praised the “excellent entry”, commenting on the brave move to refit the store and maintain good sales growth. One judge said: “A lot of thought has clearly gone into refitting a neglected store into one that will serve the needs of a diversified community.”