This hard work and commitment was justly rewarded when they took home their very first award – the Neighbourhood Store of the Year (Cat 2) at last year’s Neighbourhood Retailer Awards. Pauline said they were thrilled with their win.

“We were absolutely delighted to win the award. Our customers were also delighted for us,” she said.

“When I was entering, I asked our customers what they like about our store, why they keep coming back to us and they said they love how clean the store is and that they can get everything they need in one shop.

“They were also praising our staff, saying how good they are and praising them for giving 100% to their job.”

HIGH STANDARDS

Group manager, Andrew Porter said Pauline and her team were “most deserving” of the award.

“The whole team was delighted for them. Pauline is unbelievable, she has really driven the store forward,” said Andrew.

“She has really high standards in terms of merchandising and she has a really brilliant team who respect her and what she wants to do with the store. Pauline really is the reason why the store won the award.”

‘I asked our customers what they like about our store, why they keep coming back to us and they said they love how clean the store is and that they can get everything they need in one shop’

Pauline has worked for the business for 27 years and was a supervisor at the Finaghy store when Andrew and Niall Creighton identified her potential and believed she was “a perfect fit” for the Blacks Road store. She became involved in the store in late 2016, becoming manager in April the following year.

“I have an amazing team and we have shown great growth,” added Pauline.

“Their retail standards would be just as amazing as mine. We want to be thought of as a neighbourhood store, as a community store. We are trying to do our best for our customers and we have really good relationships with them. We have found that more and more people are coming back to us and are now our regulars, which we love.”

Having bought the store which became Creightons of Blacks Road in February 2015, the company undertook major renovations of the 3000 sq ft store and the forecourt in the summer of 2016.

“We took away a car wash to create car park spaces and we got new pumps and changed fuel provider to Topaz, which is now Circle K,” said Andrew. “So, there was a lot of work carried out inside and outside. It was very exciting and really transformed the business.”

THE CREIGHTON STORY

During those renovations, a new deli counter and ice cream counter were installed, while the refrigeration systems were also replaced and new flooring and tills installed.

Once the work was completed, it brought the Blacks Road store up to the same standard of both the Finaghy and Balmoral stores.

“The Balmoral store opened brand new in May 2016 and the Finaghy store had a major renovation in 2017,” said Andrew. “So, all three stores have been brought to a really high standard.

“There are a lot of similarities between the three stores in terms of décor and design, which is traditional but with a modern twist,” he added.

‘We want to be thought of as a neighbourhood store, as a community store. We are trying to do our best for our customers and we have really good relationships with them’

One of Belfast’s most iconic retailers, the Creighton story began in 1936 when WG Creighton opened a car repair shop on the Finaghy site. The company is run today by son, Niall Creighton and his sister, Mrs Gail Boyd.

Across their three South Belfast stores, they employ 150 staff, with 35 at their Blacks Road site.

“We have quite a few part-time staff and a lot of students there,” said Pauline, and added she was full of praise for how well the staff worked throughout the pandemic.

“We were making changes to our shift patterns, bringing in more staff at night to get the store cleaned really well and all stocked up again, as people were coming into the store so early each day,” she said.

“During covid people were definitely shopping local more, using us to get all their essentials in. We could get the items in that they wanted and needed. We were offering good deals in store, having competitive promotions and having the range and variety for them too.”

“There was a lot of really hard work put in by the staff to make that all happen,” added Andrew.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

While there have been a number of areas of growth for the business, one particular standout area for them is their fresh food selection.

“Fresh food has probably been one of the strongest growth areas for us in our stores, all three have shown really strong percentage participation in fresh, it’s really strong and continues to grow,” said Andrew.

“We are trying to offer more lines and ranges from our production kitchen, and they have been received well. We prepare a lot of our own ready meals, pre-packed sandwiches, fruit pots – all of these are freshly made,” added Pauline.

Having won her first award, Pauline is not resting on her laurels and will continue to drive the Blacks Road store forward, continuing on her mission to be the best community store for everyone

As with the majority of businesses and retailers, social media plays a significant part in enabling them to communicate with their customers, as well as encouraging new shoppers to visit their stores. Pauline said their social media channels are particularly successful with seasonal promotions.

“We use social media very strongly around our seasonal events, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter.

“We had a very popular competition for Valentine’s Day where you could win a meal at Shu Restaurant and we will be doing a similar competition for Mother’s Day.

“Social media is very very important for us around those seasonal events and we find it works very well.”

Having won her first award, Pauline is not resting on her laurels and will continue to drive the Blacks Road store forward, continuing on her mission to be the best community store for everyone – and she is already looking forward to this year’s Neighbourhood Retailer Awards.

“I am busy filling in the entry form and know it will be another brilliant night for everyone!”

TO VIEW THE FULL STORE PROFILE ON CREIGHTONS OF BLACKS ROAD IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER MARCH ISSUE, CLICK HERE

The post Creightons of Blacks Road – driven to succeed first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The CREIGHTON GROUP which includes EUROSPAR Balmoral, EUROSPAR Finaghy, SPAR Black’s Road and CREIGHTONS Garage & Autostore raised the significant sum over the course of a nine year charity partnership which saw EUROSPAR and VIVOXTRA stores across Northern Ireland come together to raise over £1 million to support children and young people impacted by cancer.

Team effort

Since 2011 CREIGHTON GROUP management and staff members have completed treks, marathons, ziplines and abseils, created recipe books, held in-store events and fun days, and hosted the hugely popular annual EUROSPAR Community Coffee Mornings. Determined not to let Covid-19 become a barrier to fundraising the stores continued to hold instore collections throughout lockdown which have raised over £5,000.

Gail Boyd, Director of CREIGHTON GROUP, has been the driving force behind her groups fundraising over the years, having been motivated by her own experience of childhood cancer when sadly in 2012 her five-year-old grandson died tragically of Neuroblastoma. Speaking of the Groups fundraising achievement to date Gail said,

“We are very proud of our partnership with Cancer Fund for Children. Knowing that our support has helped make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of children and families living with cancer across Northern Ireland really spurred us on to go the extra mile. We are a community business and our company has served our community in so many ways since 1936! I would personally like to thank all our friends and our amazing staff and customers for coming together to help support vulnerable children and families.”

Top fundraisers

Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at Henderson Group which owns the EUROSPAR brand in Northern Ireland added; “The CREIGHTON GROUP has always been one of the top fundraisers involved in the partnership with Cancer Fund for Children, and we are constantly in awe of their innovative events and fundraising activities. While running fantastic businesses, Gail and the team put all their energy into their charitable efforts and we’re incredibly proud to have them as an integral part of our partnership.”

‘Incredible sum’

Cancer Fund for Children’s CEO Phil Alexander added “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the CREIGHTON GROUP, their staff and customers for their passion and commitment to Cancer Fund for Children.  Not only has the group raised an incredible sum over the last nine years, but they have also helped raise vital awareness of the impact of childhood cancer and the support we offer families. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our fundraising and having the backing of organisations like the CREIGHTON GROUP is sincerely appreciated at this difficult time.  Cancer won’t stop during the coronavirus pandemic and with partners like the CREIGHTON GROUP by our side, neither will we.”

Cancer Fund for children provides practical and emotional support, as well as therapeutic short breaks to children diagnosed with cancer or living with a parent with cancer. Find out more about the charity and their services at cancerfundforchildren.com.

The post The CREIGHTON GROUP Hit £300K for Cancer Fund for Children first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.