Lilley’s Centra and Topaz Service Station

Una Lilley has been at the helm of Lilley’s Centra and Topaz Service Station for the past 14 years and in that time has helped develop the business from the original store her father Brendan opened in the 80s.

Based in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, the 4,000 sq ft convenience supermarket has had two major redevelopments and offers a thriving off-licence, deli and hot food bar along with a spacious forecourt.

And in October last year the store won the Forecourt of the Year (Cat 2) accolade at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards 2013.

Una is not a person to rest on her laurels and is always looking at ways of developing the business which has led to excellent sales growth in 2013.

“Sales came in almost 15 per cent ahead of the previous year,” Una told NR.

“We had a few challenges and a few exciting opportunities in 2013 and I like to think that we made the most of those. First and foremost ‘our team’ are all interested and passionate about what we do in Lilley’s Centra and we like to believe that we offer a range and service that is unmatched.

She added: “I have an excellent team and they are very focused on delivering excellence in our range, in our standards and in our promotional offering to our Customers as well as highly regarded customer service.

“Obviously the weather and the major events of the year did us some favours too between in-store visits from Colin Farrell and The Ulster Rugby Team and of course the G8.”

The G8 Summit at the Lough Erne Resort was a fantastic opportunity for Northern Ireland and Fermanagh to show the world what it has to offer but the reality for many retailers in the locality was that business was going to be disrupted due to road closures and re-routed traffic.

“At the time we had a choice stand up and get noticed put ourselves on the map or else close the doors,” explained Una.

“You have to remember that the road we are located on is the main Donegal/Seaside Route and the G8 closed that road and rerouted traffic out the Sligo Road for several weeks so our ‘normal passing trade’ was not going to be available to us.”

She continued: “We simply couldn’t afford to loose business after the significant investment at the site so we had to be creative and keep local people interested in us and attract in whatever business we could that had reason to be involved in the G8. Our Gelato allowed us to do just that.”

Una and the team seized the opportunity to create and develop a gelato for each G8 Country and developed the now famous caricatures of each leader to promote the Gelato.

“We launched these over five weeks in the lead up to the G8 and this really captured the attention of our existing customers and piggy backed on the building excitement in the town that came with the arrival of an international event to our doorstep.”

During the event itself it obviously captured the attention of the International media and took on legs of its own!  It was an incredibly exciting time and we will never again see an event like it on our doorstep.”

Now things have quietened down and the world leaders have returned home, Una is still confident of growth with a positive start to 2014 so far.

The Gelato has been a great footfall driver for Una and last year’s media coverage over the celebrity visits to the store are down to the fact that Una and the team are always looking for creative ways to market the business.

The now famous Colin Farrell visit was down to Una hearing that the Hollywood star was in town filming ‘Miss Julie’ and then researching his favourite sweets; fizzy cola bottles!

She created a cola Gelato with his favourite sweets and advertised it in store and Colin’s driver saw it and brought the star down to the store that very day!

“Word of the visit went viral very quickly and that story circulated in the local, national and International media for weeks!”

Outside on the forecourt, there has been positive news too. In fact, Una reported a 17 per cent increase in sales and she puts this down to the innovative approach from Topaz and the fact that it is a recognised brand.

Offering a point of difference is something Una has more than achieved with the Gelato offering. Una explains that it’s about having a unique and comprehensive range that you won’t find in another convenience store.

“That is at the core of everything we do,” she said.

“It is not good enough to do the expected, you have to deliver the unexpected as well and constantly refresh that. This is what we do across every shelf in our store as well as in our deli, Gelato bar and in our off-licence.

“In the off-sales you will see beers, wines and spirits you would not see in a typical forecourt off-licence. It is not good enough to churn out the same old, same old! If you’re bored with your range you can bet your customers are too!”

Una has added wi-fi to the store which allows people on the move to grab lunch and sit in their cars or relaxation area and download emails, etc. A Facebook page was launched in December and Una has a full marketing plan for 2014 to help grow the store’s social media presence.

“We will not have the exciting events of 2013 this year but the challenge is still there to increase our sales and improve upon what we have achieved. We are always developing what we do.  We have lots of plans to advance further our deli and fresh take home range, our off-licence and our Gelato. It’s a case of onwards and upwards!”