Family Shopper Lochside in Ayr triumphed in our Responsible Retailer of the Year category at last year’s SLR Rewards, with Sukhi and Jarnail Sanga taking home £500 in Amazon vouchers in addition to the award itself. We caught up with them to discuss their approach to community retailing.
Local retailers have always been relied upon by the community and this responsible approach to retailing is especially significant for stores located in challenging communities.
The first Family Shopper store in Scotland, Sukhi and Jarnail Sangha’s shop is located in one of Ayrshire’s most deprived areas with high unemployment levels, major drug and alcohol problems and a range of social issues. With that in mind, Sukhi and Jarnail and their team go to great lengths to work with the local community to educate them on a range of vital areas.
From employing local people with difficult backgrounds to organising training sessions in the local community hall, the team won this year’s award for going above and beyond the call of duty seven days a week. Communication is at the centre of the team’s approach: explaining to customers why they can’t buy certain products or helping them make better choices has been more successful than simply refusing to sell. “This has great long term effects. The restrictions on alcohol results in less family and social problems in the area and, as a result, customers start to realise why the policy is there in the first place. There is the odd customer who doesn’t like our policies but that’s just life,” Sukhi explains.
This year, the shop is going through major alterations. There is a coffee machine moving into the store, which is sure to increase food to go sales as well. A post office will also be moved into the store and this will improve convenience for customers by offering them everything in one place. The shop floor is also being rearranged for disability access, in terms of lower shelving. The shop will be closed for a few weeks for these to take place. However, business is thriving.
Sukhi expected January to be a quiet month in terms of sales but they have had to order in more bread and milk to keep up with demand. “It hasn’t been amazingly busy but I’d say it has been good for January. I don’t know if it is because people are budget conscious at this time of year so are avoiding filling up a trolley at the supermarkets. It is hard to say,” says Sukhi.
Family Shopper’s prize was £500 in Amazon vouchers. Sukhi says she hasn’t spent the vouchers yet but after the shop’s alterations, she is considering buying a printer, photocopier, laptop or iPad for people who don’t have access to one at home. “iPads and laptops may be part of our daily lives but some people don’t have access to these facilities,” Sukhi says. However, she adds that this could be problematic because it would be difficult to determine how much time a customer is allowed to spend on the iPad or laptop.
Sukhi says customers were “overjoyed” that the store won the Responsible Retailer award. She added: “They thought the award was a great achievement as they have noticed many changes throughout the store.”
