Think what you like of the off-the-wall approach to retailing that Shamly, Viks, Guna and Rits Sud take to convenience retailing, but there’s no question that they’re pushing the boundaries of what local retailing is and does with their rapidly growing chain of Racetrack stores.
From that mould-obliterating initial store in Ibrox to the latest new openings, every store has been meticulously (and expensively) crafted to deliver stores the likes of which we’ve never seen in Scotland before. Visiting a Racetrack store is more of a sensorial experience than a shopping trip.
Inspired by trips to the US, the Middle East and beyond, the Racetrack concept is unique in Scotland – and that Wishaw store that graces this month’s cover is the most ambitious yet. That’s partly down to the fact that it’s the biggest so far and, at 4,500 sq ft, it has allowed the family to bring all four of their brands into the same space for the very first time.
Three of those four brands focus squarely on high margin categories: Hoagies (food to go), Tubbees (desserts) and SpeedQueen (launderette) while Racetrack is the more traditional convenience brand.
In numbers, the store is astonishing: 70+ flavours of slush, 53 digital screens, 4 jumbo digital screens, 3,600 vaping SKUs, 150 nicotine pouch SKUs and 26 staff working 15 different shifts.
Most striking of all is the fact that the store delivers a blended margin of 45%.
It’s impossible to find the words to describe the store accurately although the feature and photos in this issue will give you a fair idea and, hopefully, inspire you to drop by for a nosey first hand.
For me, the family have fully grasped the ‘destination retail’ model and run with it at 100 miles an hour. With so many stores looking increasingly similar and stocking broadly the same range, it’s long been clear that you have to give shoppers compelling reasons to pass another store and visit yours. Racetrack demonstrates what happens when you live and breathe that philosophy.
So much so that when I was sitting on a train one day just as the store was opening, I happened to hear one end of a mobile phone conversation and it became clear during the course of the call that the person on the other end of the line was planning a day trip that weekend from Falkirk to visit “that new Tubbees shop in Wishaw” that was “apparently amazing”. The power of Instagram.
When is the last time you heard of a family taking a day trip specifically to visit a convenience store that’s just opened?
Antony Begley, Publishing Director, SLR
New directions
Think what you like of the off-the-wall approach to retailing that Shamly, Viks, Guna and Rits Sud take to convenience retailing, but there’s no question that they’re pushing the boundaries of what local retailing is and does with their rapidly growing chain of Racetrack stores.
From that mould-obliterating initial store in Ibrox to the latest new openings, every store has been meticulously (and expensively) crafted to deliver stores the likes of which we’ve never seen in Scotland before. Visiting a Racetrack store is more of a sensorial experience than a shopping trip.
Inspired by trips to the US, the Middle East and beyond, the Racetrack concept is unique in Scotland – and that Wishaw store that graces this month’s cover is the most ambitious yet. That’s partly down to the fact that it’s the biggest so far and, at 4,500 sq ft, it has allowed the family to bring all four of their brands into the same space for the very first time.
Three of those four brands focus squarely on high margin categories: Hoagies (food to go), Tubbees (desserts) and SpeedQueen (launderette) while Racetrack is the more traditional convenience brand.
In numbers, the store is astonishing: 70+ flavours of slush, 53 digital screens, 4 jumbo digital screens, 3,600 vaping SKUs, 150 nicotine pouch SKUs and 26 staff working 15 different shifts.
Most striking of all is the fact that the store delivers a blended margin of 45%.
It’s impossible to find the words to describe the store accurately although the feature and photos in this issue will give you a fair idea and, hopefully, inspire you to drop by for a nosey first hand.
For me, the family have fully grasped the ‘destination retail’ model and run with it at 100 miles an hour. With so many stores looking increasingly similar and stocking broadly the same range, it’s long been clear that you have to give shoppers compelling reasons to pass another store and visit yours. Racetrack demonstrates what happens when you live and breathe that philosophy.
So much so that when I was sitting on a train one day just as the store was opening, I happened to hear one end of a mobile phone conversation and it became clear during the course of the call that the person on the other end of the line was planning a day trip that weekend from Falkirk to visit “that new Tubbees shop in Wishaw” that was “apparently amazing”. The power of Instagram.
When is the last time you heard of a family taking a day trip specifically to visit a convenience store that’s just opened?
Antony Begley, Publishing Director, SLR
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