Motherwell is perhaps best described as a post-industrial town, much like many others if its kind across Britain. Having been established as far back as the 17th century, it peaked during the industrial age, becoming renowned for its steelworks. But when the Ravenscraig plant closed in 1992 the town was plunged into economic decline on a truly traumatic scale with unemployment rocketing overnight. It has taken many a long year for the town to recover but thankfully the arrival of call centres and business parks in and around the town have helped get it back on its feet.
The population of 59,000 relies on a number of local retailing stores as well as supermarkets that include a large Asda store, while Sainsburys is in the midst of attempting to build a 60,000 sq ft store in the town. The mult has been sweet-talking the local community on its plans as it tries to get its planning application through North Lanarkshire Council, however rumours from the town suggest the plug may have been pulled on the move. What is for sure is that Sainsbury’s refused a town centre site in favour of a site near Strathclyde Park – something local retailer Steven Robb says is “crazy”.
Like many towns of its size however, the reliance on neighbourhood stores is critical, and it is no surprise that there is a plethora of convenience stores dotted around the town. Spar has a strong presence with five stores, one of which is the SLR Award-winning Leven Street store operated by Omar Nasir. Omar says the town is changing, with more affluent people moving in to the traditionally working class heartland, which for retailers, means having to adjust their offering to meet this fresh demand.
Symbol of the times
It’s not just Spar that has a strong presence in the town though, with Londis, Premier, Scotmid, Shopsmart and Lifestyle Express all represented, along with a good number of unaffiliated independent stores.
One Premier retailer in the town is Shafqat Hussain, who runs S&S Foodstores near the centre of the town. After a major refit late last year he is enjoying the rewards of that investment. But he says there is an added positivity in the town that has been lacking of late. “Having refitted the shop, my sales have been going up every week – even if it’s just a few pounds, it’s all going in the right direction,” he says.
And it’s not just his business. He says the businesses around about him are also faring well. “There’s a good mix of shops here. We’re near the town centre, and although that’s quiet, we have takeaway shops, hairdressers and offices. It’s a good mix.”
Shafqat has owned the shop for over 30 years, but it has been around for far longer than that. “Not long ago, an old man came in and told me he used to shop in here when he was a school kid.” Shafqat laughs at the tale, but it makes an important point – local shops have been a part of the community in Motherwell for generations, and no matter what challenges the town has faced, its c-stores have remained part of the its heart.
Premier, The Loaning
Steven Robb
Robb’s Store, as it is known locally, has been run for the last seven years by Steven Robb, and he says that over the last six months or so, the shop has been “quite slow”, though year-on-year figures are within expectations. “There’s a lot of unemployment in the area,” he says. “That means people are shopping day to day, buying just what they need, things like bread and milk.”
So, business is brisk, with a steady stream of customers, but the problem is that basket spend is down, which means Steven is having to work harder and look at new ways of increasing sales. But, when your customers are working to very tight budgets but one saving grace has been fresh food – an area Steven says has expanded in the last year. He recently changed fascias from Londis to Premier but he puts the rise in fresh sales down to changing shopping habits. He says: “Our fresh food sales are doing well; a lot of that is to do with people not going to the supermarket as much.”
There’s that word – supermarket. Two Asdas and a Morrisons in the town is the main reason Steven has never applied for an alcohol licence, but he also says he’d rather not attract customers that would be undesirable.
The future, Steven says, is all down to employment. “The store’s success is down to people keeping their jobs, or getting one. Things like a good summer will help, but ultimately, if another factory or business closes down, it will be very harmful.”
Spar Leven St
Omar Nasir
Spar Leven St is an SLR Award-winning store managed by Omar Nasir. Having ticked along well enough for years the shop was given a huge boost earlier in the year when it was finally granted an alcohol licence. “It took us a long time to get there with it, but we’ve seen an uplift of £4,000-£5,000 per week since we started selling alcohol”, says Omar.
That’s not a result you hear of too often in local retail. The reason, says Omar, is because his shop is the only one on that side of a busy dual carriageway, so previously anyone looking for beer or wine would have had to get in a car or prepare for a long walk.
The neighbourhood itself is much like the rest of the town, working class with a mixture of council and private residents, although Omar points out there a growing number of affluent households. “It’s a reasonable area. There are the usual council estates, but there are a lot of expensive houses nearby which gives me a mixed demographic.”
As a result, Omar ensures his offering has something for everyone – which he says is keeping the shop steady in a time of economic difficulty for many of his customers.
“We might be doing well, but the same can’t be said for Motherwell town centre,” says Omar. “It’s changed beyond recognition in recent years and many shops are beginning to close down and be replaced with pound shops and other bargain shops.”
Omar remains hopeful that the town centre will be redeveloped, and inject much needed confidence into the town, but for the time being, he’s being kept busy as he gets used to being an off-trade retailer.
