Veteran retailer John Murray has returned from retirement to join his daughter, Nicole, as they embark on a new project together.
With over 30 years’ experience in the convenience sector, running his own chain of stores throughout the Highlands, before setting up Highland Food & Drink Club in 2020, John Murray had stepped back from retail in recent years.
However, once you’ve been bitten by the retail bug, it’s tough to leave and his retirement was short lived. John returned to the scene last summer, becoming a director at NRM Retail, to support his daughter, Nicole, who set up the business in 2020. The company currently operates two Spar stores in Dornoch and Golspie and has just opened a third site less than a mile away from the latter, situated halfway between Caithness and Inverness on the A9.
With this being John’s 16th store, you might think he’s a little jaded, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. “It’s the first shop since leaving Dover that you’ll be able to get food at without leaving the main road,” he enthuses. “It’s a brilliant location; there’s a car park and the sea behind it so you’ll get campervans in the summer.”
This is in fact John’s second crack of the whip, having previously leased the property for around nine years. “I had this site 24 years ago on my own and this time round I’m with my daughter,” he says.
The plan was to open it on a shoestring and get a feel for the place, before making any major investment. “We’ve basically opened it on the cheap for now to see what’s working and what’s not before we do a refit,” he explains.
So far, John has invested £10,000. “All the equipment is already there, we just needed new lights and an EPoS system,” he says. “There’s no point in bells and whistles. Normally, I’d do the shop up first, but because this one is different in its offering I was more tentative about how it would work.”
A focus on food to go
The reason he’s apprehensive is because the store marks a new direction for the business. “We’re not going to make it a stereotypical Spar, but we are supplied through CJ Lang wholesale,” he says. “Like many retailers we are going more into food to go. We’re all needing the higher-margin products. Energy costs are ridiculous. Wages are ridiculous. It’s different times,” says John.
He claims that in order for local stores to make ends meet, they need to be selling products at a higher margin – “30% is the new 20%” – but he’s not there just yet. “We’re running at 26%,” he says. “I would like the new store to be working at 35%. We’re not bothered about high sales there, we’re more interested in margin.”
Taking the Ronseal approach, John has opted to call the store Food2Go. And true to its name, sales are skewed towards on the go. “Fifty per cent of our sales have been food to go and that’s not including sandwiches,” he says.
He is keen to prepare sandwiches and wraps on site, but food labelling legislation means there are strict rules in place when preparing food in-store. “It’s not as easy as I thought it would be because of Natasha’s Law,” he says. Sourcing a supplier has also been tricky.
“We have found a [labelling] solution, but we’d have to use their bread, which is frozen,” he says. This isn’t ideal as he wants to work with fresh bread, but in the meantime, he has sourced sandwiches from local supplier Tastebuds in Alness.
The shop has also introduced a freshly made daily soup with flavours including Lentil, Tattie & Leek, and Sweet Potato & Coconut. Plus, there are hot rolls, pastries, potato dogs, pizza, chicken and burgers sourced from Williamsons Foodservice, Fife Creamery and Country Choice.
Going forward, the plan is to expand into store-made meals. “We want to do a David’s Kitchen-style food-to-go offer, making our own ready meals,” says John. “We’re looking at making a development kitchen in Spar Dornoch to supply the new store and [Benview] Spar in Golspie.”
The store opened on 6 January. “It was the worst possible time to open a store, but getting the lease sorted out took longer than hoped,” he says. “We’ve just dipped a toe in the water, but the first few weeks have been positive.”
Due to the time of year and the type of shop it is, John has gone for a soft launch, gradually amping up the opening hours. “We opened from 6am till 2pm to start with and stayed closed on Sunday. Now we’re on to stage two – opening from 6am till 6pm and closed on Sunday. This month, we’ll start opening until 8 or 9pm and we’ll open on Sundays.”
The store has received a warm reception so far. “Caithness people are loving it, it’s a regular stop off because it’s halfway to Inverness,” says John. “It’s not easy to access food on the move without deviating from the main road. I’ve had people shaking my hand at 7am saying ‘Thank you for opening the shop’. They really missed it. The workmen leave early, they haven’t had breakfast and they fancy coffee and food.”
John’s first target is to get turnover to £15,000 at 35% margin by October. “We’re on track to hit that goal at the moment.” Further down the line, there is the opportunity to grow sales further, with Spar believing the site has the potential to achieve a turnover of £25,000.
It’s early days yet, but John is eager to see where the journey takes him. “I love seeing growth,” says. “That’s what’s always excited me about the retail journey. I’ve never driven business for money, it’s always been for growth and success.”
