Gavin Emerson Managing Director of Emersons Supermarket in Armagh city centre – a supermarket which has been serving the local community for 132 years – since 1889, and across four generations.

“We’re all in it together,” said Gavin. “Our business has survived through two world wars and so many other things since then. We have a lot of history stretching back to 1889 and Covid was just another part of our history.

“All these things are sent to challenge us but we adapt and survive. We’re not through the pandemic yet, but I do think we’re on the other side. Now we just have to learn to live with it.”

“The dynamic has changed – we just need to get on with it now, but a lot of businesses have been severely affected” Gavin told NR.

“The ‘pingdemic’, the supply chain issues and driver shortage have all combined in recent weeks to cause problems. It all kicked off, then some things are related to issues around the protocol – along with the spell of good weather and the holiday season. Put this all together and it was a really bad combination – especially the supply chain issues.

Supply chain issues

“Everything was affected – thankfully we have a large warehouse above the store so we managed to work our way through it – but the supply chain through Nisa was affected. There were cancellations and delays.

“The strength that we have as Food Force Ireland members is that we could rely on our local suppliers – we just couldn’t say enough about the importance of direct dealings with our local Manufacturers and suppliers.

“Local suppliers have recently really shown their worth and their weight.”

‘Pingdemic’

“Fortunately the ‘pingdemic’ didn’t really hit our staff too badly” said Gavin. “It’s been a rollercoaster through the whole pandemic though – every week there was a different challenge. The pingdemic seemed to really hit the supply chain though – it had a domino effect and was a vicious circle, holding up production lines and the supply chain. The protocol was just another piece in the jigsaw.

“We’re not alone in this – but what affects us as an independent must also be affecting the multiples even harder.

Full effects

“The full effects of Brexit haven’t been felt yet – especially as the goal posts keep changing. The grace period is just delaying the inevitable – but who knows, maybe the powers that be can pull a rabbit out of the hat.

“Nisa have told us that they won’t be able to supply pumpkins for Halloween. We will have locally grown Pumpkins from local suppliers – it’s not all bad but if nothing is done customer choice will be dramatically reduced.

“Christmas could be the same – we know already that some products won’t be supplied, so we will need to source alternatives.”

Supply routes

When travel restrictions were lifted, Gavin could see some evidence of shoppers coming up again from the south. The lifting of restrictions also affected off-sales, which have gradually returned to normal.

“When the pandemic first hit, demand for toilet rolls and off sales went through the roof. This year, when things started to open again in May, off sales returned to normal and our restaurant got busy again.”

Uluru

Emerson’s has a full restaurant called Uluru (the Aborigine word for what was once known as Ayer’s Rock) which opened in 2014. It has won a string of awards including Restaurant Association of Ireland ‘best restaurant’ and ‘best wine experience’ for county Armagh. It has also been mentioned in The Michelin Guide 2014/15 and is the only restaurant to be listed in The Good Food Guide 2015 for County Armagh.

Emerson’s also has a post office, butcher, deli, full instore kitchen producing fresh meal solutions off licence and warehouse – so as an independent it’s a large scale operation.

Creative in the kitchen

When the first lockdown happened, the chefs had to be re-deployed – and thankfully, as there was already a fully operational kitchen upstairs, Gavin was able to turn attention to this lucrative growth area for independents – producing their own meals for sale downstairs.

“This has been a really important growth area for us – from our own brand pies, hot and cold deli and so on. When we took the chefs from the restaurant and redeployed them to the supermarket they were able to get creative, to come up with new recipes – it was a win/win. It gave staff options and they could be flexible – it worked well.”

High Street Scheme

The pandemic and Brexit have thrown multiple curve balls, but the High Street Scheme is a glimmer of hope – with people free to choose where to spend their £100 voucher.

“Everyone will choose to do something different” said Gavin “but it is a welcome injection i to the local economy.”

New customers

Gavin noticed many new customers coming through the doors – and coming back again having realised just what their local independent had to offer.

“Enhancing the customer experience for shoppers is so important. Encouraging people to enjoy shopping in the city’s historic City centre matters. Through the pandemic we saw a lot of customers who would have traditionally gone to the multiples to do their weekly shop, choose to come to us. This gave us the opportunity to prove again the strength of our own in-store experience, through the Butchery and the deli, our own home cooked range. I believe we have proven ourselves and will retain those new customers.”

appyshop

Emerson’s launched a home delivery service, using the appyshop app.

“Each week, if there was a spike in Covid cases, we would see a spike in demand for home delivery. With the pingdemic and people having to isolate for ten days, the home delivery service has been on a rollercoaster since March last year. At that time we had around ten staff doing home deliveries, now it’s one or two – but we will continue to provide the service, to fill that gap in demand for home delivery.”

Gavin also partnered with a local taxi service – and that continues to work well.

“Taxi drivers were badly hit by the pandemic too – so the local drivers were grateful for the chance to do home deliveries. It was a win/win – working well for us, giving the taxi drivers some business, and people getting their groceries to their door” said Gavin. “That’s another one of the strengths  independents have – we can pivot, and react quickly. We’re more flexible.”

What’s next for Emerson’s?

“We will be building the team in the kitchen. What we’ve seen through Covid is that people’s appetite for our quality home cooked range is vast – and they are always looking for something new. There will be new product development and new ranges – and everyday will bring a new challenge – but we’ll just get on with it – it’s what we do.”

The post Covid challenges: ‘Learning to live with it’ – NR talks to FFI deputy chair Gavin Emerson first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said “In the next two to three weeks we are facing a collapse of the supply chain meaning even bigger gaps on supermarket shelves.

“We already have hauliers unable to move goods on a daily basis and we’re now facing a perfect storm.”

The UK government has admitted it is “concerned” by pictures of empty shelves, with Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng speaking out – but – ministers have also urged customers not to panic buy despite the limited amount of stock in some supermarket stores and branches in recent days in GB.

Richard Burnett said: “This is a crisis on a scale we have never seen before in this industry and the Government is burying its head in the sand. It is not recognising the seriousness.”

However, Tony Danker, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, told the Manchester Evening News “The irony of all of this is that the Government said they were reopening the economy but the pingdemic is effectively closing it down.

“There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of businesses have been in touch with us to describe scenarios where the scale of people self-isolating, testing negative by the way but self-isolating, is so big that they are basically bringing core operations to a close.”

The post This ‘ping thing’ – could result in panic buying first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Issuing a call out to anyone who is unvaccinated, the Health Minister Robin Swann, said: “Our vaccination centres have done a fantastic job in rolling-out the vaccination programme and will continue to administer second doses throughout August. However people will not be able to get a first dose jab at a vaccination centre after Saturday 31 July.

“If you haven’t already received your vaccine then I would urge you to come forward ahead of Saturday. Getting your jab will never be easier or more accessible than it is right now. You do not need an appointment. You can simply turn up and receive the vaccine. This applies to all adults and anyone who will turn 18 before 31 October.”

The Department of Health announced earlier this month that the regional vaccination centres will stand down later in the summer. This will enable redeployed staff to return back to the health service and will mean the SSE Arena and the leisure centres that have facilitated the vaccination programme will be able to resume their normal services.

The Health Minister added: “Our health service is now experiencing the outworking of the latest surge in COVID-19 cases with a marked increase in hospital admissions and an increase in demand for critical care. Placing this level of demand on our health service is not sustainable. It’s vital that people protect themselves by getting vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Community pharmacies

While the vaccination programme in regional centres begins to scale back, community pharmacies will expand its programme with the addition of the Moderna vaccine. The new service will initially see 16 pharmacies offer Moderna with more pharmacies being added to the service on a rolling basis over the coming weeks. Details of the community pharmacies offering the Moderna vaccine are available on the Health and Care NI website.

Mobile vaccination teams will continue to visit towns and venues across Northern Ireland in addition to the increased offering by community pharmacies.

How to get your jab

Latest walk-in mobile vaccination clinics – no appointment necessary – for first dose jabs.

Belfast HSC Trust

• Bradbury Wellbeing and Treatment Centre
  Wednesday 28 July, 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm
• Ravenhill Day Centre
  Thursday 29 and Friday 30 July , 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm
• Indoor tennis centre and Ozone complex, Ormeau embankment
  Saturday 31 July, 10 am to 5 pm
  Sunday 1 August, 10 am to 5 pm
  Wednesday 4 August, 2 pm to 8 pm
• Olympia Leisure Centre, Boucher Road
  Sunday 1 August, 10 am to 4 pm

Western HSC Trust

• Shantallow Community Residents Association, L/Derry
  29 July, 4pm to 8pm
• The Sports Complex, Dromore
  30 July, 4pm to 8pm

South Eastern HSC Trust

• Portaferry Leisure Centre, 3 Cloughey Road
  28 July, 11am to 7pm
• Donaghadee Community Centre
  29 July, 11am to 7pm
• Londonderry Park, Newtownards
  31 July, 11am to 7pm
• Ards Shopping Centre, Newtownards
  1 August, 11am to 7pm
• Kircubbin Community Centre
• 30 July, 12pm – 7pm

Southern HSC Trust

• Ashgrove Community Centre
  28 July, 12pm to 4.30 pm
• The Quays, Newry
  29 July, 4 pm to 8 pm

Northern HSC Trust

• Tilly Molly’s Centre, Armoy
  Thursday 29 July,10 am to 5 pm
• Coleraine town hall, 35 the Diamond, Coleraine
  Saturday 31 July,10 am to 6 pm
  Sunday 1 August,1 pm to 5 pm
• Junction One retail park, Antrim
  Friday 6 August,  2 pm to 6.30 pm
  Saturday 7 August, 10 am to 6.30 pm
• Ballycastle GAA Club
  Saturday 7 August, 10 am to 5pm
• Meadowlane shopping centre, Magherafelt
  Sunday 8 August 1 pm to 5 pm
  Saturday 14 August, 10 am to 5 pm
• Sheskburn recreation centre, Ballycastle
  Sunday 8 August, 10am to 5pm
• Dunclug, Ballymena North, 120 Cushendall Road, Ballymena
  Wednesday 11 August, 3pm to 8pm
• Hawthorn Adult Centre, Ellis Street, Carrickfergus
  Saturday 14 August,  10am to 5pm
  Sunday 15 August, 1pm to 5pm

Walk-in first dose jabs – no appointment necessary – are now available at all the Trust vaccination centres.

Or you can book an appointment online at a vaccination centre, at a time to suit you.

For online booking page go to: https://covid-19.hscni.net/get-vaccinated/

The vaccination centres are located at:

• SSE Arena, Belfast
• Foyle Arena
• Omagh Leisure Centre
• Lakeland Forum, Fermanagh
• South Lake Leisure Centre, Craigavon
• Seven Towers Leisure Centre, Ballymena
• Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

REMINDER: The regional vaccination centres will close for first doses on Saturday 31 July.

Please note: the vaccination centres and mobile walk-in clinics are only offering Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for first doses.

Participating pharmacies are offering Astra Zeneca first doses for people who are aged 40 or over

Details of participating pharmacies and how to book are online at: covid-19.hscni.net/community-pharmacy-covid-19-vaccination-service(external link opens in a new window / tab)

Walk-in jabs are available at the vaccinations for second doses as well as first doses – providing the required interval has passed since your first jab. The required interval between first and second doses is six weeks for Pfizer and eight weeks for Astra Zeneca.

The post Make sure staff get vaccines – final calls for first doses – full list of walk-in centres first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Its call comes after Retail NI members reported widespread staff shortages putting huge pressure on their stores remaining open following workers getting ‘pinged’ via the app.

Retail NI met with the Economy Minster on the growing Pingdemic crisis. Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said after the meeting “The Pingdemic is now a fully grown economic crisis”

“This situation is daily getting steadily worse, with serious staff shortages right across the supply chain. We are hearing from members who are on the verge of closing their stores and are running short on a number of product ranges. Many of these member stores, provide food and other vital products to vulnerable and older members of our community, particularly in rural areas”

Urgent and immediate response

“In our meeting with Minister Lyons we emphasised an urgent and immediate response from the Executive to this growing crisis, before shops close and product lines are restricted”

“We need the Executive to urgently allow ‘pinged’ double vaccinated workers to take a PCR test, rather than self-isolation for ten days.”

Serious situation

Glyn Roberts added “This situation is serious, and we need the Executive to act before shops, the supply chain and our wider economy face widespread disruption with staff shortages”

“Independent retailers are struggling in particular given they have a smaller staff teams”

“At the very least we need the Executive to bring Northern Ireland into line with the English date of 16^th August, which allows ‘pinged’ double vaccinated workers to take a PCR test, rather than self-isolation for ten days.

“This situation is getting evermore serious by the day, and we need the Executive to act before shops, the supply chain and our wider economy face widespread disruption with staff shortages.

 “We have received numerous calls from members this week indicating that they could well have to close because of staff having to self-isolate.”

Disappointment over public hand sanitisers

“Retail NI is also disappointed that the roll out of public hand sanitiser units in our town centres and high streets has been virtually non-existent outside of Belfast City Centre. This needs to happen if we want to reduce transmission of the virus and provide confidence to shoppers” he said.

The post Retail NI meets with Economy Minister – Retailers impacted by ‘pingdemic’ first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.