Hat trick for Milestone NisaExtra Rathfriland

Hat trick for Milestone NisaExtra Rathfriland
Milestone Rathfriland, supermarket. Pic: Noel Hadden; manager with Tom McAvoy.

Neighbourhood Retailer meets Milestone NisaExtra Rathfriland store owner Tom McAvoy and manager Noel Hadden to find out what makes this County Down store a winning site.

For the second year in a row, and the third year in total, it was Milestone NisaExtra Rathriland’s name called out to resounding applause and cheers at the annual Neighbourhood Retailer Awards.

Having already picked up gongs for Neighbourhood Store of the Year Category 4, Fresh Food Store of the Year, and Store Manager of the Year, owner Tom McAvoy was ecstatic -to bring home the overall title of Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year once again.

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Tom McAvoy (left) and Noel Hadden (far right) with staff members.

Speaking to Neighbourhood Retailer at the Rathfriland store he said: “It really boosts morale among the staff – that’s probably the biggest benefit from entering any awards. We also get a lot of social media advertising and awareness on the back of it, which is always good for business.”

Having taken a table of staff from different departments along to the gala awards evening on October 19, Tom joked that it was good to show them the scale of their achievements and that the management team hadn’t just picked up the trophy from a gift shop.

“It helps to build a company culture – if they can feel a part of it, and see why we put all the work in – then they will bring that motivation back with them,” says store manager Noel Hadden.

“Building the shop is one thing, but building the team is a bigger job,” Tom agrees.

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Having developed a reputation as a pleasant place to work over the past three decades, finding employees has never been an issue for this County Down store. However, getting the right people is a different story.

“At the minute we are finding it relatively easy to recruit,” says Noel. “We get people calling the store all the time asking about jobs.

“Getting the right people for the deli can be a challenge. We have to show them the ropes and how we do it our way. There is a lot of experience and history in our deli and we want to keep on building on that and train staff the way we feel it needs to be done.”

Milestone NisaExtra Rathfriland’s deli is an impressive sight to behold, its massive expansive spreading over a third of the 15,000 sq ft shop floor.  Hot and cold displays join fridges of freshly prepared sandwiches, wraps, and salads, not forgetting Milestone’s own label take home meal solutions.

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Milestone Rathfriland, supermarket.

With a full production kitchen behind the deli area, everything is prepared fresh onsite – from the traditional Irish stew to the jars of jam delicately arranged on the bakery counter.

Having just celebrated their 30th year in business, Neighbourhood Retailer is keen to find out when Tom first saw the deli as one of the more important areas of the shop.

“Well I’ve had a deli since 1990,” he says.  “From there it’s just kept evolving. It’s not finished yet by any means, but where it goes from here is the big question. It’s definitely going somewhere.  Trends change all the time and nothing in retail stays the same.  So we cannot remain complacent.

Tom predicts the next big trend for fresh food could be high quality frozen meals.

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“Everybody is doing fresh really well at the moment but if we can take a frozen meal and make it restaurant standard – that’s going to be a market changer.”

“It would appeal to the time conscious customers who want higher standards than what’s currently available on the market,” Noel adds.

However, both Noel and Tom remark it is the more traditional recipes that perform really well as part of Milestone’s fresh take-home meal solutions.

“There is a market for more elaborate meals,” Tom says “But this is a traditional place. Our long-established range has to be consistent all the time so people know the quality they are getting. That’s your core. Then, the other more exotic offering is where you want to go, but it’s making sure you take your customer along with you.”

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Judges at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards remarked that the management team behind Milestone had demonstrated a great understanding of what their customers wanted and had managed to provide this in a friendly and efficient manner.

“We are always talking to our customers. Neither of us would be sat in the office very much, we would always be on the shop floor,” says Tom.

“We engage with a lot of community events too,” adds Noel. “Every year we have a 10k run that starts from the shop and we’re involved in supporting schools and most of the sporting clubs in the local area. Being a part of the community not only means we can give back to the local area but it also has its benefits too. It has the loyalty factor and can help draw customers into the store.”

While supporting a lot of events can be expensive, Tom remarks it’s necessary to give back to their loyal customer base.

“We’re the biggest shop in the area so there is an added responsibility.”

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During the Christmas period, the Milestone team arrange a Christmas giveaway during which they ask customers to enter into the draw by filling out a card with their details including their address.

“Last year we ascertained that more than over half of our customer base is coming from over five miles away and some were travelling as far as 20 miles to visit us,” says Noel.

There’s no doubt Milestone NisaExtra Rathfriland is a destination store, particularly on a Sunday when customers arrive from the surrounding areas to stock up on site’s unique meals for the week. With plans for a 100 seat restaurant underway, Tom believes this will provide an added dimension to his already expansive offering.

Located onsite, the new state-of-the-art restaurant will open in 2019 subject to planning permission, and will give visitors a meeting point or a relaxing place to grab a refreshment after making the journey to the store.

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The restaurant opening will follow a minor internal renovation in 2018 that saw the butchers’ counter move to a more prominent location, giving it added exposure to the flow of traffic around the shop.

“The idea was to give more space to our products,” says Noel. “It is easier to walk around the shop floor now and there is almost a market feel to it. Our unique selling point is our own products so we wanted to open up those spaces and drive more business towards them.”

With four in-house butchers, all pre-packaged meat and meat sold in the deli comes from the butcher’s counter.

“That’s why we changed the layout,” Tom explains. “We have a small display of unwrapped meat that customers can purchase from the counter and we have a much larger pre-packaged fridge. It’s getting the customer to realise that it’s all coming from the same place. It’s all our own meat – we didn’t buy it from another source.”

It’s important to make this clear, Tom believes, as some customers are still wary of shopping at the counter due to uncertainty around price.

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Tom McAvoy (second right) and Noel Hadden (far right) with staff members.

“It’s all the same price, but sometimes they like to see the sausages or the mince packaged up with the price on the label. It makes them feel more confident that they’re receiving good value for money.”

Also this year, Milestone Rathfriland has adapted their own-label healthy range.  We plan to enhance this in the new year with new interesting items being added to our current display.

Healthy eating remains a big trend in this Rathfriland store and the varied selection of options on offer means customers can enjoy an inviting range of low calorie alternatives for all mealtimes.

“We’ve renamed our healthy range to ‘Milestone Light’,” says Noel. “We wanted to make it stand out but also put our own stamp on it as well.

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“We’ve tried to build all of our own-brand under the Milestone own label. We’ve worked hard to establish our brand name and it’s working for us.”

Alongside the other renovations, the store has also introduced a pizza display counter that enables customers to view the selection of pizzas on offer.

And this year especially, the team have been working diligently to reduce plastic and cardboard waste across every department.

A large percentage of the store’s plastics are now compostable, and all the plastic on the prepared fruit and vegetables is bioplastic meaning it is made from plants. While it may look like plastic, it’s certainly not the genuine article but bio-degradable.

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“We put a lot of work into reducing our waste,” says Tom. “I think all retailers need to do their bit. We have a biomass burner out the back and we burn a lot of our waste for heat.”

Noel also believes manufacturers have some catching up to do.

“We’ve looked at ways to reduce our waste in other areas of the business too,” he says. “Some of the solutions we’ve tried don’t work as well as they should. Manufacturers need to come up to speed with where we need to be with other packaging. . At the moment some of the durability, pricing and how food maintains its freshness in the packaging is not quite there.”

Noel has been Tom’s right hand man since January 2017 and at the 2018 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards received Store Manager of the Year amidst stiff comeption.

“I engage with all the departments and support not only the team leaders and the department heads, but the staff as well. I think my management style is very team orientated, but the quality of the store stands on its own two feet,” he says.

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The quality and their policing of the quality is what sets the Rathfriland store apart from others in the business, the pair believe.

“We’re constantly observing and assessing in case something is not right,” says Tom. “Turnover in fresh food is very good, so it makes it easier to keep the quality because it’s constantly moving.

“A lot of other shops are starting to do what we have been doing for the last 10 years but it takes time and experience to build it to a high standard.   We are always coming up with new innovative ideas and ways to improve – that’s what you need to do to stay ahead,” concludes Tom.