The awards celebrated the exceptional achievements of the electric vehicle industry across the island of Ireland and showcased the hard work, leadership and innovation that is making a significant contribution to helping accelerate and support EV adoption across the island of Ireland.

Commenting on the win, Brian Donaldson, Chief Executive, The Maxol Group said: “Maxol’s vision is to lead retail and mobility innovation while keeping our customers at the heart of everything we do.

“We brought EV charging best practice to life at Maxol Kinnegar and developed a first-class range of amenities for EV customers to enjoy while charging their vehicle. This award is a testament to our significant investment in this project as well as the dedication of our team to deliver best-in-class solutions.”

EVOLVING ENERGY MARKET

Maxol introduced EV charging to its network in 2011, in partnership with the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) to support the transition to electric vehicles and keep up with the rapidly evolving energy market. Since then, Maxol’s continuous investment in their EV infrastructure has delivered several of the most advanced charging stations across the island of Ireland and included the development of their EV brand Maxol Recharge, using a stand-out teal colourway to leverage the brand’s equity.

In December 2022, Maxol EUROSPAR Kinnegar re-opened following a £2million investment programme that included the launch of the first dedicated Ultra Rapid EV hub on the island of Ireland.

Maxol’s EV investment programme continues at pace and by the end of this year the business will have more than 3MWs of charger capacity installed in their network. Maxol’s aim is to increase this capacity to over 15MWs by the end of 2026, with the goal of having 100MW of available charging capacity on their forecourts in the future.

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The investment is part of a wider five-year £84m capital investment programme across The Maxol Group to create a network of convenience-led forecourt services that offer customers quality, value and choice on everything from fresh coffee and groceries to food-to-go on their doorstep.

A new Ultra Rapid EV Charging Hub – the second to be developed by Maxol and the second of its kind in Northern Ireland – has opened and features four high-powered 200kw ultra-rapid chargers that charge a single vehicle* in as little as 15 minutes. The chargers are powered using renewable electricity, as part of Maxol’s sustainability strategy.

Maxol Braid River offers the latest SPAR concept with a new store of 246 sq. metres. Customers can now shop for everyday grocery essentials including a greater choice of fresh, locally sourced fruit and vegetables, a wide range of dairy and chilled produce and a huge selection of frozen foods. Other new additions include a locally produced range of pre-packed butchery items and a wide selection of ready-made meals perfect for tonight’s tea.

From breakfast through to lunchtime, a brand-new Delish deli offers customers a delicious range of hot food to go – freshly prepared on-site to take-away. Also new, is an in-store bakery offering a range of pastries and sweet treats alongside the popular Barista Bar Coffee which has doubled to two units making it easier for customers to grab and go. For something colder there are two new refreshing Frozen Coca Cola and Frozen Fanta slushie machines.

Two self-checkouts have also been installed to give customers even more choice, efficiency and convenience. Non-food items available include a comprehensive range of Maxol own-brand engine oil, adblue and car care products.

ON THE FORECOURT

Car parking facilities have more than doubled to 32 spaces to provide greater customer convenience, particularly during busy trading periods. Premium Fuels have been introduced to enable customers to make greener motoring choices and Pay at Pump technology is now available at two islands, giving our fuel customers a quicker and more convenient way to pay.

Maxol’s innovative and sustainable forecourt design has been fully implemented at Maxol Braid River. Cutting-edge technology has been used to reduce the site’s carbon footprint which include photovoltaic (solar) panels to reduce electrical import requirements; solar efficient glazing; the use of LED lights; low energy CO2 refrigeration systems with doors fitted throughout the store; exhaust air-heat pump technology to reduce heating loads; and an energy management system to monitor and control the overall energy usage on the site.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Brian Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer of The Maxol Group said: “We are delighted with our latest investment at Maxol Braid River, it is now a modern, welcoming store that marks a further milestone on our journey towards becoming known for our convenience-led retail offer.

“Customers can now pop into this store to enjoy freshly prepared food to go from the Delish deli or they can do a basket shop in our newly expanded SPAR store packed with an extensive range of groceries for every meal occasion from breakfast through to dinner as well as plenty of snacks and treats.

“The in-store offer reflects the ‘Bags More’ advertising campaign we launched some weeks ago to highlight the range of goods now available at Maxol stores and Braid River is now a leading example of that in Ballymena with our partner SPAR.

“This is our second EV Charging Hub designed to offer the latest technology and fastest speed of charging available for our customers along with the continued rollout of our sustainable forecourt design. This investment reenforces our continued commitment to being a more sustainable forecourt convenience retailer offering the highest quality of facilities and products. The site is operated independently by our licensee Aramark and I wish Nicola and her excellent team every success at Maxol Braid River.”

Maxol Braid River also offers customers an ATM, customer toilets and air, water and vacuum services and operates 24/7, 7 days a week.

* The speed of charge depends on the vehicle and battery.

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From small, humble beginnings, siblings and business partners Stephen and Sandra now lead an award-winning business, with notable success at the recent Maxol Excellence Awards, at which they won the ‘Excellence in Standards’ Award. Previous award wins include the prestigious Retailer of the Year Award at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards and last year they took home the Northern Ireland up to 4mlpa Award from the Forecourt Trader Awards in London.

Stephen and Sandra first moved into the retail sector in 1997 taking over the reigns from their father Philip when they acquired a site with a Shell shop, including a forecourt and associated shop, about 900 sq ft in size in Lisnaskea. After successfully running it for a few years, they decided to carry out a total site redevelopment in 1999-2000, subsequently opening as one of the first independent SuperValu stores in Northern Ireland at the time.

Stephen told NR they traded “very successfully” for a number of years before another opportunity presented itself.

“In 2015 an opportunity came up where we acquired further ground on site that give us the chance to expand the business and put in a new forecourt,” said Stephen. “In 2015 we joined the Henderson Group, becoming a Eurospar.”

Following a total rebuild with a new forecourt introduced, Swifts Eurospar Lisnaskea now stands at 11,300 sq ft and boasts some of the top retail services and offerings, including a butchery concession, bakery, ice cream parlour and Subway.

“We have everything you expect to find in a large independent supermarket,” said Stephen.

“We have our own take home meal offering, Good Mood Food and we can proudly say our fresh food offering is outstanding, we have a very high fresh food participation across the store and this key department is growing all the time.”

With an expansive footprint and sizeable ground space, Swifts have been able to bring on board a host of products supplied by local producers and growers.

“From bakery to butchery, fruit and veg, there is something from pretty much everyone in the local area, right down to the egg suppliers,” said Stephen. “Our store is a community hub and supporting  local is what it’s all about.

“One of our USPs is our hot food, our store is very well known throughout the country for our expansive daily hot food offering. We have a fantastic facility and a great external seating areas, great car parking, free wifi and customer toilets including baby changing room. We have a great facility for anyone on the road who needs to stop off, refresh and refuel.

“Barista Bar coffee from Hendersons is also a great crowd pleaser, I think it is one of the best coffees on the go anywhere on the island. We also have Freal milkshakes, Fwip & Swishee, all fantastic customer self-service concepts.

“Our Subway performs fantastically well and really compliments our own food offering, as it’s a different concept for the customer and provides something for everyone.

“Our off licence is a very important department for us, were very proud of our offering and we carry a huge range premium of whiskeys and spirits and craft beers. Over the years we have built a strong reputation for sourcing premium products, and we now have a significant number of regulars who receive advanced notice on new and exclusive product launches that might be of interest to them,” Stephen added.

‘We can proudly say our fresh food offering is outstanding, we have a very high fresh food participation across the store and this key department is growing all the time’

Stephen and Sandra rebranded the forecourt with Maxol coming on board in 2022. Maxol was always a feature in the town, and Stephen said it was a natural fit for a Maxol forecourt to be brought back to the area.

“It’s definitely a good company with a quality fuel brand and their message has worked well for us. We have noticed an increase in our fuel sales, and they have a very strong fuel card business, for company drivers, school buses and corporate clients and that has been beneficial to us.

“We had a fantastic night at the Maxol Excellence Awards, it was our first awards with them and we were delighted with our win, hopefully it is the start of many more to come with them,” he added.

The Maxol Excellence Awards returned for the first time since 2019, promoting excellence in station and store standards, customer experience and community engagement throughout its network of service stations across the island of Ireland.

They are designed to recognise the exceptional efforts made by Maxol Independent Licensees, Independent Dealers and their staff and are assessed through regular store audits, mystery shopper visits and reviews of each store’s local community engagement – rewarding retailers who are “at the heart of it” in their local communities and have run special initiatives for Maxol’s Charity partner, Aware NI.

Swifts Lisnaskea was recognised for its best-in-class offer that provides the local community and a large passing trade with a huge offering of hot food to go, an extensive deli, Barista Bar coffee and a Subway. Completing the award-winning offer are outstanding customer facilities including a large car park, a parent and baby changing room and customer toilets.

CEO of The Maxol Group, Brian Donaldson was full of praise for Stephen and Sandra and the whole team at Swifts.

“Setting and maintaining the highest of standards is critical to the success of any business. It’s therefore a genuine pleasure for myself and the team at Maxol to recognise and reward the hard work of our retailers and their staff, who continuously provide outstanding levels of service to their customers and their communities,” said Brian Donaldson.

“It is great recognition for Darren Given (Store Manager) and our team,” said Stephen. “We have three stores with over 140 people local people employed and these awards are recognition for all of them.

“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 when they come into the shop.”

However, despite this, Stephen said one of the main challenges they faced in the business was bringing in new people to the industry. “Our biggest issue is getting manpower, be it chefs, sales assistants or duty managers, this remains a big challenge for everyone in our sector.”

Having established the Lisnaskea store, Swifts branched out acquiring a neighbourhood Spar store in Roslea in 2007. At just under 4000 sq ft, Stephen describes it as a “very good community supermarket”, managed by Helena.

“It has hot food and deli counters, an off licence and a Post Office, it really has everything there for a very rural community. We pride ourselves on giving an extensive range for a small village.”

Continuing their expansion, Swifts acquired another store in Lisnaskea in August 2021, presently a Spar store with a Circle K forecourt, approximately 2800 sq ft in size.

Given their successful ventures and developments over the years, Stephen has his eye on the future with a business plan earmarked for this second Lisnaskea store.

“There is a huge opportunity there for future development. It is a very successful store as it stands, but it needs modernisation. We are looking at opportunities and concepts and potentially an expansion in the next 12 months.”

Naturally, with store modernisation comes an increasing use of technology and IT systems, which are major game-changers in the convenience sector.

“Technology is moving one way only and it’s all about efficiencies in terms of what is happening on the shop floor,” said Stephen.

“We have self-checkouts and Hendersons have introduced ASR (automatic stock replenishment), which will also be introduced into our other two stores before the end of the year.

“We are also bringing in digital bar codes. This will free up manpower and allow us to focus on areas of the store.”

‘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’

Inevitably, Swifts has been left facing increasing energy costs, like so many other retailers and businesses, seeing their bills double, but are making continued efforts to manage costs where possible.

“Everybody knows the challenge with energy costs spiralling and it has been hard to handle over the last year,” said Stephen.

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

“When this started it spiralled out of control and it’s something we have had to carry and factor in, but there is no doubt it’s a huge burden on any business.

“We have a supermarket price file and Tesco price match and that means we are also competitive. We provide a competitive price model. 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.

“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 Hendersons and we have six days a week delivery of fresh food. This means that our availability and product freshness is first class across the week.

“The customer can come back whenever they need something and it helps minimise their our own food waste. The consumer can also take the opportunity to buy more often and get what they need as opposed to what they think they need.

“We are here seven days a week, and many of our customers are our friends. Working in the local community is a very social job but not without its challenges, particularly during covid.

“We managed to maintain availability and a safe shopping environment and our customers appreciated that. Our team was brilliant throughout that difficult time.

“Here at Swifts we really enjoy serving our local community on a daily basis – that’s what gives you that buzz.”

TO VIEW THE FULL STORE PROFILE ON SWIFTS LISNASKEA IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER JUNE ISSUE, CLICK HERE

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The investment is part of a wider five-year capital investment programme worth £84m that Maxol recently announced across its network to meet the growing demand for convenience-led forecourt services that include coffee, groceries and food-to-go.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Maxol’s innovative and sustainable forecourt design will be fully implemented at Maxol Braid River. A host of cutting-edge technologies will be used to reduce the site’s existing carbon footprint which include photovoltaic (solar) panels to reduce electrical import requirements; solar efficient glazing; the use of LED lights; low energy CO2 refrigeration systems with doors fitted throughout the store; exhaust air-heat pump technology to reduce heating loads; and an energy management system to monitor and control the overall energy usage on the site.

MAXOL BRAID RIVER BALLYMENA 

A new EV Charging Hub will be developed and operated under Maxol’s Recharge brand. It will have up to four 200kw EV charging units serving one vehicle each, providing charging for four cars at any one time.

Elsewhere on the forecourt, Premium Fuels will be introduced to enable customers to make greener motoring choices; car parking facilities will more than double from the current 11 to 32 and Pay at Pump technology will be available at two fuel pumps to ensure greater convenience for customers during busy trading periods.

Braid River’s current retail space will grow by 140% from 102 sq. meters to 246 sq. meters. With a doubling of frozen food provision and the number of grocery and chilled bays increasing significantly, customers can expect to find a much bigger range of locally produced food including an expanded grocery offer, and an extended fruit and veg, dairy, and frozen food ranges.

A new Delish Deli with a self-serve chicken bar will be introduced, along with new Frozen Coca Cola and Frozen Fanta slushie machines. The popular BARISTA BAR Coffee for quality coffee on the go will be expanded to two units for improved speed of service and enhanced with a new bakery for pastries and sweet treats.

For customers’ speed and convenience two self-checkouts will also be installed.

Maxol Braid River is closed for the duration of the development and work is expected to be completed in October. Alternative Maxol sites that can be used while the work is ongoing are: Maxol Service Station Doury Road, Ballymena; The Phoenix Maxol Service Station, Antrim Road, Ballymena; Maxol Service Station Graham’s Ahoghill; Maxol Service Station Cullybackey:  Maxol Service Station Raceview Road, Broughshane; Maxol Service Station Campbell’s Largy Road; and Donnelly’s Maxol Service Station.

MAXOL SERVICE STATION MARINO HOLYWOOD

The investment at Maxol Marino Service Station on the main Belfast to Bangor Road at Cultra will enhance and upgrade current customer facilities both on the forecourt and in-store.

Customer flow around the store will be improved by the relocation of the entrance and parking will be increased to accommodate 23 customer vehicles.

‘These investments reaffirm our commitment to being a more sustainable forecourt retailer’ 

The retail space will be refreshed with new flooring, ceiling, lighting and new check-outs. There will also be more refrigeration space added for Grab & Go and dairy produce and additional shelving for an enhanced grocery offer.

Frozen Coca Cola and Fanta slushie machines will be introduced and the forecourt will be refreshed to create a warm welcome for customers with better signage amongst the improvements.

Brian Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer of The Maxol Group said: “These investments reflect our ambition to develop our service stations with a convenience-led offer that provide our customers with the latest food concepts and convenience goods.

“With Maxol Braid River set to have only the second EV Charging Hub in our Maxol estate and with the continued rollout of our sustainable forecourt design, these investments reaffirm our commitment to being a more sustainable forecourt retailer.

“I look forward to the completion of these projects that will ensure we can continue to meet the needs of our customers in modern, vibrant, sustainable and welcoming environments.”

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The awards, which returned for the first time since 2019, promote excellence in station and store standards, customer experience and community engagement throughout Maxol’s network of service stations across the island of Ireland.

They are designed to recognise the exceptional efforts made by Maxol Independent Licensees, Independent Dealers and their staff and are assessed through regular store audits, mystery shopper visits and reviews of each store’s local community engagement – rewarding retailers who are “at the heart of it” in their local communities and have run special initiatives for Maxol’s Charity partner, Aware NI.

NI STORES AWARDED

With eight awards up for grabs, six service stations in Northern Ireland were recognised – Maxol SPAR Eglinton in Derry/Londonderry operated by Alan and Val Rodden, Maxol EUROSPAR Kinnegar and Maxol SPAR Cherryvalley operated by Henderson Retail Limited and Independent Dealer owned and operated locations at Mulkerns Maxol in Newry; Swift’s Maxol Lisnaskea and SPAR Maxol Ballyclare, Co. Antrim.

Maxol SPAR Eglinton in Derry/Londonderry and Mulkerns Maxol in Newry each secured double wins for Store of the Year and Excellence in Community Engagement. This is a fantastic achievement as they scored top marks across all categories, for engaging with their local community and supporting Maxol’s charity partner, Aware NI.

Swift’s Maxol Lisnaskea won the Excellence in Standards Award, for their best-in-class supermarket offering. Maxol EUROSPAR Kinnegar, which underwent a multimillion-pound redevelopment last year, won an award for Excellence in Customer Experience, along with SPAR Maxol Ballyclare, for the consistently excellent feedback about their staff. Maxol SPAR Cherryvalley scooped the Excellence in Standards Award for delivering excellence across their forecourt, services and in-store.

‘HIGHEST OF STANDARDS’

Brian Donaldson, CEO of The Maxol Group, said: “Setting and maintaining the highest of standards is critical to the success of any business. It’s therefore a genuine pleasure for myself and the team at head office to recognise and reward the hard work of our retailers and their staff, who continuously provide outstanding levels of service to their customers and their communities.

“Congratulations to each and every award-winning team who have delivered top-class services and facilities to Maxol customers across our network and who have shown the drive and commitment to continuous improvement.

“The standards are getting higher each year and I am delighted we have been able to recognise the outstanding achievements of our winners through these Excellence Awards once again.”

Retailers are assessed through a combination of external and internal site inspections by Maxol management and Head Office, fundraising activities for Maxol’s nominated charity (AWARE NI), local community engagement and mystery shopper visits to observe and assess the quality of the customer experience in store.

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