Fingers in many pies

Fingers in many pies
H & J Carnduff Butchers, Newtownards. Pic: Jonathan Carnduff (left), John Carnduff and Hamilton Carnduff.

John Carnduff tells Neighbourhood Retailer how the key to succeeding in butchery is to cement your business with constant innovation.

H&J Carnduff butchers, making up one of the four corners of Newtonwards’ Conway Square, has been an integral part of the independent trade in the town for over 20 years.

The business, started by two brothers (Hamilton and Jonathan) two decades ago, with stores in Saintfield and Newtownpark, is now run entirely from the Newtownards head office that houses H&J Carnduff’s flagship retail shop, deli, production kitchen, and storage facilities. The brand also has concessions in eight Spar stores spanning in excess of a thirty mile radius from Ballyhalbert to Carryduff.

The main H&J Carnduff premises was acquired from established butchers Mawhinneys in 1997 and over the last 20 years has built up a reputation for excellence within the busy market town.

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Second generation John Carnduff heads up the helm of the business alongside his father and uncle. He tells Neighbourhood Retailer that when taking over from a well-known brand it’s important to start slow and make gradual changes.

“When we came into the business at the start people just recognised us as Mawhinneys. It has taken 20 years, but now nobody asks for Mawhinneys anymore.

“Newtownards has two very established businesses that are known nationwide – Wardens and Knotts. I’d like to think that now when people talk about Newtownards they talk about Wardens, Knotts, and H&J Carnduff.”

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Supplying eight Spar shops across the region has certainly helped to get their name out there, John muses.

“Partnering with Spar has been great for us in terms of brand association,” says John. “With a company like the Henderson Group, who are so well thought of, when they put their name behind you it installs confidence.”

H&J Carnduff finds that while many of their customer base will still visit their traditional high street butcher on a Saturday, it is the mid-week top-up shops that they miss out on. By having a concession in nearby Spar stores, they are able to provide a service to convenience customers that otherwise would have been lost to the multiples.

“Last December we opened a concession in the Hardford Link Eurospar in Newtownards which is only half a mile away from the shop. I find that the customers who are shopping with us on a Saturday, who would usually go to Tesco during the week, are now purchasing off us in the Hardford Link.

“Convenience shoppers won’t really go to the town centre during the week as they can’t get parked. They don’t have the time, especially when they’re only looking for one thing. We pick up business from these types of customers in the Spars.”

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There is an element of diversity required to survive in the modern butchery trade – to have fingers in many pies, so to speak. Having brought out a ready-to-eat range a number of years ago, the next step for H&J Carnduff was to open a deli, but space restraints in their Newtownards shop put these plans on hold. That was until an old taxi office opened up within the same building. In the space of eight months contracts were exchanged, a full refurbishment completed, and the deli – named The Butcher’s Deli – has now enjoyed six weeks of successful trading.

“Opening the deli was a way in which we could diversify our business without too much disruption,” says John. We already had our product range, our kitchen, and our brand – all we had to do was find our feet in running a deli because that was new to us.”

Unsurprisingly, the venture has taken off, and a queue can be see snaking its way out the door most weekdays as the small shop strains to hold the lunch time rush.

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Pic: Rachel Carnduff and Gemma Eaton.

Opening the deli a mere minute’s walk from the original butcher’s shop has had the effect of further cementing H&J Carnduff’ as a go-to store, John believes.

“Sometimes in business, if shop owners can take on another store on the same high street it helps your own business. If we had opened up a second butchers in a nearby town it wouldn’t have encouraged customers to visit our original shop, but because we were able offer something different it is helping bring more trade to Newtownards, and therefore our business.”

Good ideas are something that H&J Carnduff seems to have in abundance and John tells Neighbourhood Retailer that at least once a year he and his father Hamilton tour the UK and Ireland to see what other butchers are doing. Last year they visited England and Wales and John has just returned from a trip to Dublin.  But it is right here in Northern Ireland that H&J Carnduff believes the highest standards of butchery can be found.

“We are part of an organisation called the Elite Butcher’s Association Northern Ireland and if I wanted to pick up the best ideas I would go round our own 14 shops,” says John.

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Pic: Brian Rafferty.

With only 14 members the Elite Butcher’s Association Northern Ireland is an invite-only group that sees a selection of the top butchers in Northern Ireland come together once a month to discuss best practises, new innovations, and how to compete against the multiples.

The association also runs an apprentice scheme designed to nurture new talent into the butchery industry in the region. With some of their longest standing members of staff due to retire in the coming years, John stresses the importance of skilling the younger workforce.

“We have exceptionally good and experienced staff but we’re not delusional. They’re very good, but at some point they’re going to retire and they could all retire at once.

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Pic: Charlie Davidson.

“I’m very straight when someone comes into the business at 16 I say to them you’re here for 12 weeks, if you like it and you’re doing well you’re here forever, but if you don’t like it that’s fine go and do something else. This isn’t the kind of trade you can do half heartedly – it’s a 50 hour week, winters are cold, it’s hard labour, and there’s graft in it. There isn’t an easy job in the business but it’s very, very rewarding.”

Having won several awards for customer service, staff training is an area that this Newtownards’ butcher puts a lot of emphasis on.

“One thing we really pride ourselves in is customer service. Our product is the best product we can get. We provide quality produce at a reasonable price but the high standards of service from our staff keeps the customer coming back.”

Interacting with customers on social media is another aspect of a contemporary butchers shop, John remarks.

“We closed our website down because no one wanted to go onto our website to find out information about the business. People want to go on Facebook to see your information as it’s updated live.

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“We recently got a dry ager machine and we posted on social media when we ordered the machine, when it arrived, and when it was fitted. The steaks had to stay in there for 28 days but when we took them out on a Saturday morning we put it on Facebook around 9am. All 60 steaks were gone by lunchtime!

“The trade is always changing but in the last decade it has changed immensely. There are always more changes to come and Brexit is a concern for any small local business. It will have repercussions no matter what way it goes. They might not be massive repercussions – but there will be some. I’m confident we are now in a position that we can deal with whatever is coming but if your business isn’t strong enough it mightn’t survive.”