It was with a certain pride that Robert Sider, Chief Executive of the Clydebank Co-operative, announced he was opening a new store in a joint venture with JW Filshill. The announcement at the SWA Conference in June gave little away but it got the industry talking. Now, four months on, the shop – in Knightswood, Glasgow – is up and trading.
“We’re offering shoppers the type of tailored convenience service the area’s been crying out for,” explains Robert. “Clydebank Co-Op has seven stores in the area but they can’t stock certain lines or have their own style of merchandising due to the nature of the contract with the Co-operative Retail Trading Group. Working with JW Filshill we have a range much more suited to local needs.” The venture gives Robert freedom the likes of which he’s never operated in. “It gives us a chance to experiment – we’ve got a tremendous range and we’re really driving Scottish products.” Discussions on the deal began three years ago between Robert and then Filshill MD Ronnie Hannah.
Talks continued when Ronnie’s son Simon took over the reins. “It wasn’t the right time,” Robert says. “But two years ago we thought we could make a success of the store on Baldwin Avenue, but not as a Co-op.” The site is part of Clydebank Co-op’s extensive property portfolio but was running as a Spar store, operated by Saleem and Iqbal Sadiq. The store was served a two-year notice, which gave Robert plenty of time to plan the joint venture, while giving the Sadiqs time to make the required changes to their business. “In the meantime I took on the SGF presidency, which gave me more exposure and I’ve learned a lot from that.” The nature of the joint venture is similar to the way Filshill works with any other KeyStore. It is staffed by employees of Clydebank Co-op and buying is done through Filshill, with the joint branding outside the only obvious difference.
Things are off to a strong start, though there were a few nerves on opening day, as Robert admits: “The shop was closed for 13 days but it’s been a good start. It’s tough to pick lost customers back up right away but every day we’ve seen the sales increase. We’re on the right road.” The shop is bright and feels larger than its 1,200 sq ft. With huge windows, the space invites customers to take their time navigating wide aisles. A large chilled section takes near the door and a central confectionery and crisps aisle is enticing, as is the off-trade section. Shelves are low enough to see across the entire shop, but more space obviously means less shelf space. “We deliberately under-merchandised,” offers Robert. “We plan to keep the core range minimal and add lines as demand grows.” It’s a bold strategy; there are, for example, only 65 lines on the tobacco gantry though that will grow. The shop layout and the ranging were the result of a collaborative approache with Robert taking the lines that provided 80% of sales in his Great Western Road store and Fillshill then filling in any gaps.
The freedom Robert mentions time and again is clearly something he’s enjoying. Under normal Co-op conditions the fact the Londis shop 200 yards away was undercutting milk prices by selling Graham’s as opposed to Wiseman milk would have had Robert stymied.
Now, within a few days he was stocking Graham’s and Wiseman products. Fife Creamery is also providing a number of lines, many of them Scottish. One thing the shop has retained from the Co-op is high levels of staffing. “We run an independent store with strong Co-op discipline,” says Robert. Store manager Lorraine came from Clydebank Co-op’s Great Western Road shop, while her supervisor Laura is also an existing employee. The rest have been recruited locally.” The store’s first leaflet drop took place before the shop opened to raise interest and Robert has plans to deeply integrate the business into the local community. “We’re going to introduce a collection service. Customers can register their details with us and then phone up an order which will be ready for them to collect the same day.”
By offering services other stores on Baldwin Avenue don’t, Robert is convinced he can build customer loyalty. “We intend to offer a distress delivery service so anyone living nearby can request delivery of up to three products – like nappies, for example.” Further to that the basement may be opened for use by the local community and beat police officers. Simon Hannah, MD of JW Filshill comments: “We have similar values in that we are long-established, responsible and innovative retailers – so we applaud Robert Sider and his colleagues for adopting such a forward-thinking approach and share their belief that our jointly branded store will breathe new life into the Scottish convenience sector – it’s already creating a very positive buzz.”
