Nicholl Oil opened their new forecourt on the site in May 2020 with the shop built and left vacant until Lynch’s Foodstores took over the store in August 2021, when they commenced work developing their latest EUROSPAR store.

Requiring a full fit-out from scratch, it was all systems go, with an intense works schedule carried out in just under three months.

“It was roughly a year and a half in the planning,” said Alastair. “Work started in mid-August 2021 to fit out the store and 11 weeks later we opened our store to the public on time.

“On completion of the store, we opened on Thursday 21^st October with the old Centra store closing on 20^th October. In early 2022 the old store was demolished with four new units replacing the old building and additional car parking added.”

The store now stands at 5900 sq ft with a Nicholl Auto 365 24hr forecourt on site. Fifty-six local staff work in the Greysteel store, headed up by store manager, Gregory Nicholl, with Gregory and 15 staff members coming across from the old Nicholl’s Centra store at the time Lynch’s opened, with most of these staff members still working in the store.

MODERN SERVICES

Bringing a host of up-to-date services to the area, the Greysteel facility has a forecourt providing diesel, unleaded, Ad Blue, HVO Renewable diesel and kero, airline and water facilities, vacuum system and air freshness unit, coal, logs and sticks, 80 free car parking spaces, customer toilets, electric car charging point, external ATM, Post Office and mail drop-off facilities, PayPoint and Lottery.

Their in-store offerings include butchery, Lynch’s own brand ready meals, hot and cold deli food to go, double coffee machine, produce, chilled foods, bread and cakes, grocery, frozen, Scoop ice cream, Tango Ice Blast, news and magazines, tobacco and vaping and free home deliveries.

The eighth store acquired by Lynch’s Foodstores group, Alastair said the village in Greysteel was “overdue” the new store opening.

“The old store on the site was well past its time and lacked investment. The locals come from all around to shop our store,” said Alastair.

“With 80 free car parking spaces customers find our store easy to access and shop freely. Setting and maintaining the highest of standards is critical to the success of our business.”

AWARD WINS

Fending off the competition at the Crowne Plaza Belfast on Friday 20^th October, Alastair and Gregory were on-hand to collect the Newcomer of the Year award at the 2023 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, and afterwards spoke of their delight at the win.

“It’s a genuine pleasure for myself as the Area Manager to see our staff recognised and rewarded for their continuously high levels of service to their customers and their community and these awards are recognition for all of them,” said Alastair.

“You cannot operate without good people, and we are very lucky in that respect. Our staff are well known in the community and that is a big draw for our customers, when they see familiar faces then they come into the shop.

“As the Area Manager of this store, the team at Greysteel deserved the recognition for their hard work and dedication, which has been a key factor in winning the Newcomer of the Year award. Following on from our success at the UK Retail Industry Awards and UK Forecourt Trader awards, this latest success has just capped off what has been a truly rewarding year for everyone associated with our Greysteel store.

“We were delighted to win Newcomer of the Year. It was great for the team to get the recognition they deserve, given the quality of all this year’s finalists and they got lots of praise on social media from our customers for winning such a high-profile award.”

In August this year, they moved across to Henderson’s ASR Rexel ordering system for grocery, tobacco and frozen, a move Alastair said has seen them reap the benefits.

“It implemented a true sales-based planogram and completely automated ordering system. Whilst it is like the previous system, this new system is more precise and has taken not only these categories, but the rest of the store to the next level on many fronts.

“With the new system, we are first to market with new lines and this keeps our range current and fresh. We quickly saw the benefits as we truly hit 24/7 availability and resulting growth of extra sales especially around delivery days where the faster lines, at times, were out of stock on the morning of a delivery.

“This has also made working stock more efficient and also reduced overall stock holding, freeing up some capital back into the business.

“We have plans in early 2024 to introduce self-scanning check-outs and electronic shelf edge labels which we introduced to our recently renovated Trench Road store last month. Even though we are only a month into working with this new technology, we can see the massive benefits to our business, with a full roll-out next year across most of our stores planned.

“We receive six fresh orders a week and in May of this year we moved to same-day delivery for fresh. We can now place an order by 10am and this delivery is dropped into our store later that same day, meaning ordering is more accurate and minimising any gaps in our fresh range.”

‘The team at Greysteel deserved the recognition for their hard work and dedication’

Technology is an important tool across all aspects of business, with social media an increasingly vital part of the job for independent retailers, allowing for immediate contact with their customers, building and establishing relationships.

“Social media is an important tool and the impact is huge,” said Alastair.

“We actively post daily and our store team all contribute to the content we post. Obviously, it’s great to be able to promote our deli, new products and promotions, but we find it’s a great way to build a sense of community with our customers.

“A great example of this was our coffee morning in September for Cancer Fund for Children NI. Our staff really got behind this event and by engaging with our customers on social media in the lead up to this event we created a buzz in the store that morning, which helped us smash our 2022 figure and we raised over £11,763 for such a great cause.”

CHALLENGES

With 452 staff employed across their head office and nine stores, Lynch’s know better than most the financial challenges the industry is facing, as Alastair explained they have made concerted efforts where they can to address these challenges.

“Inevitably, we face increasing energy costs, like so many other retailers and we are making continued efforts to manage costs where possible. Everybody knows the challenges with energy costs spiralling and it has been hard to handle over the last year or so.

“We have done everything we can in store in terms of making efficiencies, efficient air conditioning, LED lighting and we have energy efficient refrigeration.

“We have a supermarket price file and Tesco Price Match on over 1000 lines. We provide a competitive price model for our customers with regular manager specials which are run across all Lynch stores.

“We are a community supermarket facility with a very good pricing structure, but there is no doubt there has been food inflation across the board. Our customers are very savvy and it’s in nobody’s interests to look at this as an opportunity to increase prices, our customers will not forget that in the long run.

“There is no doubt that we have a lot of customers who shop regularly and shop more often. We have a great supply from Henderson’s and we have six days a week delivery of fresh food with same day delivery by ordering before 10am and receiving this delivery later that day. This means that our availability and product freshness is first class.

“However, despite this, one of the main challenges we face in our business is bringing in new people to the industry. Our biggest issue is getting manpower, be it deli staff, sales assistants or floor managers, this remains a big challenge for everyone in our sector.”

Amidst these challenges, Lynch’s continues to enjoy success and growth and recently opened their renovated Trench Road store, which was upgraded from a SPAR to EUROSPAR. With some small cosmetic work still to be carried out and the snagging list to complete, Alastair said they are delighted to be at the “finishing touches stage”.

“This was a major undertaking and investment in the site which seen our store size increase by 60% to create a new bright, fresh, spacious modern store.

“Its host of offerings include a deli and hot food counters, butchery, an ice cream counter, a Barista Bar coffee stand and a range of Lynch’s pre-packed meats and fresh food for consumer convenience. Self-service checkouts offer shoppers further convenience when they’re pressed for time.”

New to the store are the Glory Cash Management System, both back of house and customer facing, as well as Electronic Edge of Shelf Labelling and ASR software operated by Relex Solutions.

“It has been a tough and testing schedule of works on this store and the site remained open for trading during the work with some challenging days during the course of the 10 weeks of work,” added Alastair.

TO VIEW THE FULL FEATURE ON LYNCH’S GREYSTEEL IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

The post Lynch’s Greysteel marks second birthday with NR Newcomer Award win first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

There were major milestones for County Down retailer Tom McAvoy as he was named the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, while Milestone Rathfriland claimed the overall Northern Ireland Retailer of the Year title.

Another exciting winner, Lynch’s Greysteel took home the Newcomer of the Year award, and Area Manager Alastair Connor tells NR how this win caps off a truly rewarding year for the store.

Elsewhere in this issue, we delve into the latest news within the tobacco and vaping industry, looking at the current trends and new products for retailers and examine what retailers can expect from seasonal shoppers as they prepare to stock up on their favourite festive foods.

READ THESE EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES AND MUCH MORE IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE BY CLICKING HERE

The post The latest issue of Neighbourhood Retailer is now live! first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Lynch’s Foodstores added the Clonoe site to their portfolio in May 2019, an old store which required extensive renovation work. Standing at 2686 sq ft, new flooring and ceilings, shelving, refrigeration and hot and cold counters were all brought into the store.

Tills, coffee machines, offices and the staff canteen were all brought up to date, with new, top-of-the-range equipment bringing the store a clean, modern feel. Complete works were carried out on the outside, with new signage, new pumps, canopy and car parking all added, with work carried out by Portglenone Refrigeration, OB Construction, Shopfit, Little Electrics, Ardspan and Tokheim.

“Nothing of the old store was kept, except the walls,” explains Danielle. “In March 2022 we extended into a store area with a brand new off licence with a walk-in chiller.”

SIGNIFICANT ADDITION

Providing a wealth of up-to-date offerings, Lynch’s Clonoe now boasts two Barista Bar coffee machines, hot food, deli and prepack sandwiches, as well as their own-brand meat and ready meals. With a Post Office, off sales, fuel, tango ice blast, Quinn’s ice cream and customer toilets, consumers are extensively catered for both in-store and on the forecourt.

The Clonoe store was a significant addition to the Lynch’s Foodstores company, growing their site portfolio.

“Adding Clonoe was the start of the company growth in Co Tyrone,” said Danielle.

“At that time Clonoe was the sixth store and they have since added another store less than two miles from Clonoe to their chain of stores.”

Lynch’s Foodstores was established by Denis Lynch in 1980, starting out with a 700 sq ft shop in Feeny. A few years later, the business moved into larger premises in the neighbouring village of Claudy and has always been a family business.

‘The Clonoe store was a significant addition to the Lynch’s Foodstores company, growing their site portfolio’

It now consists of nine stores, employing some 427 staff, 40 of which are based in the Clonoe site. Brenda O’Neill is the store manager, who Danielle explains is a “great person” to have leading the team.

“She has worked in retail for years and joined the company at the start of 2020 as floor supervisor, progressing to store manager at the end of 2022 and she was very deserving of the promotion.

“Brenda is a hard worker and a team player. She continues to keep learning and is a great person to have working in the company. She is always kept busy, between jobs as a new granny and looking after her horses. Even on her day off she is always in the shop.”

RETAIL EXPERIENCE

Despite a strong and hard-working team, Danielle said that recruiting staff remains a challenge in retail.

“It has gotten harder to recruit staff than it was years ago, it is so easy to leave a job and pick up another one quite quickly, although our staff churn rate is well under our target, so we hope to keep it there.”

Danielle joined Lynch’s in November 2011 when the company took over the shop she was working in in Draperstown.

She began working in part-time retail at 16 years old, working evenings and weekends, before being offered a job as cash office assistant after she graduated from university.

“Shortly after that, Lynch’s took over the Draperstown store and the rest is history,” she said.

‘The Lynchs provide opportunities for their staff to grow and develop with them’

“I have progressed through the company, from cash office assistant, to store manager and now area manager. I have worked with them for over 11 years and I am still learning every day,” she said.

“The Lynchs provide opportunities for their staff to grow and develop with them, a journey that I have experienced and have seen happen to many other staff in my time working for them.”

Danielle said it has been very exciting to be part of the growth and development of the company.

“When I started with Lynch’s, they had just taken on their third store, and now they have nine stores in total, nine store managers and two area managers.”

TEAM EFFORT

She added it is a “team effort” at Lynch’s, where she is able to help other staff and ensure they continue to provide the best customer service, something she finds very rewarding.

“Knowing that I can help my store managers thrive and develop their skills through teaching and coaching them; using my experience to help them accomplish tasks and overcome challenges; finding better and more efficient ways of completing tasks – it really is a team effort.”

And it is this attitude, she says, that makes Clonoe stand out from the competition.

“There is always a great buzz about the store, with our community spirit and customer service stand-out features,” she said.

“Clonoe shouts value at every corner – we run a lot of extra promotional deals in store which are always highlighted with POS and bold stacks and dumpbins.

“Fresh participation in Clonoe is strong, with own-brand meat and ready meals, you can get all you need for dinner and more. We also have a great hot food counter and deli counter, which got into the final of the Food To Go category at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards last year.”

KEY PROFIT CENTRES

She added all the staff across Lynch’s Foodstores are keen to continue to add to their list of award wins and achievements, highlighting Clonoe’s key profit centres and USPs.

“Hot food, deli and coffee for the transit customer, but also fresh produce, bread and dairy, including own-brand ready meals and meat that are available for the local customer.

“Our community focus is so important to us as well, we support local football clubs with water and fruit for matches, local schools with Christmas colouring photos and prizes and also sports day kits, water and fruit for the local schools.”

However, they will not rest on their laurels and driving traffic and marketing the business is still a hugely important element for Danielle and the team.

“We continue to use road over bags for any special promotions we run and Alastair Connor looks after our social media, it is a great tool for shouting about value, new products and staff achievements.

“Social media content is also great for our store managers to get ideas from other stores to help drive sales.”

TO VIEW THE FULL STORE PROFILE ON LYNCH’S FOODSTORES CLONOE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER MAY ISSUE, CLICK HERE

The post It’s all go at Clonoe! first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

AT-A-GLANCE…

Special articles and analysis

* Cost of energy crisis facing retailers – top NI retailers reveal the bills burden they’re having to conquer.

* Baking battles as staffing issues give cause for concern – shortage of qualified bakers leaving bakeries and retailers searching for staff.

* PRA Business Breakout Belfast.

* The latest trends in the tobacco and vaping sector – see our in-depth feature inside.

* Time to get entering the 2023 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, as the entry deadline is fast approaching!

* All the latest news and information affecting the grocery industry.

STORE PROFILES

* Lynch’s Foodstores SPAR Clonoe have enjoyed growth and development in their store and staff, as Area Manager Danielle Johnston tells NR.

* New £0.5m Centra Foxes Glen, Stewartstown Road store opens after acquisition of the former Mace store by Musgrave NI.

* Carnbrooke go for Wagyu Gold as they expand their reach, bringing their top-quality meats to even more customers across the province.

READ THESE EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES AND MUCH MORE IN THE MAY ISSUE BY CLICKING HERE

The post Neighbourhood Retailer May issue is out now! first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Having added the Clonoe site to their profile in May 2019, extensive renovation work has brought the store up to date, with a clean, modern feel.

With a wealth of services and offerings, including hot food and deli counter, as well as their own-brand meat and ready meals, Lynch’s Clonoe has established itself as an essential part of the company and the community.

With some 40 staff, headed by Store Manager, Brenda O’Neill, there is a great buzz about the store, with community spirit and customer service some of their stand-out features.

Established in 1980 by Denis Lynch, Lynch’s Foodstores began with a 700 sq ft shop in Feeny. It now consists of nine stores, employing over 420 staff across its sites. The Clonoe store was the beginning of the company growth in County Tyrone, with Area Manager Danielle Johnston telling Neighbourhood Retailer the company is fantastic for encouraging their staff to grow and develop.

YOU CAN READ MORE ON LYNCH’S CLONOE IN THE APRIL ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER – COMING SOON!

The post Lynch’s Clonoe store enjoying growth and development first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.