With his new Spar store in Alloa, former SGF President Pete Cheema has demonstrated how hard work and vision can turn around the most ailing of businesses. SLR paid a visit to see how the new venture came about.
By Kevin Scott
Driving through Alloa towards Pete Cheema’s latest c-store venture, you pass a Morrisons, then an Asda, followed by a Tesco and Lidl, all within a mile of each other. It doesn’t exactly set a scene of tranquil local retailing, yet the ace up Pete’s sleeve is that his Spar store is located far enough away from these stores that they aren’t competition for him at all – in fact, you can’t pick up so much as a pint of milk within a mile of his store. “There is a population of 2,200 around the store and no competition within 1.2 miles,” explains Pete. “We’ve got a number of industrial facilities nearby too.
There was nothing on this side of town to adequately service these needs. It was so untapped.” Sales are still on the rise, though Pete admits it’s going to be 18 months of hard slog – but there’s not a good retailer in Scotland that isn’t afraid of a little hard work. The store was with its previous owner for 17 years before Pete was made aware that the local man running was looking for a buyer of the freehold. A deal was duly conducted, a major refit undertaken and Pete began trading in June last year. When he took over the store it wasn’t just the physical appearance of the store that needed overhauled.
There was no off-trade licence, no ATM, no PayPoint, no Lottery – many of the aspects a successful, modern convenience store requires. The entire shop was ripped out, with only the floor being kept as it was in good condition. “There wasn’t even a disabled ramp,” says Pete. “We installed one right away. Then there was new chillers, IT, CCTV, services, LED lighting; everything was new.” Pete adds that the Geographical Information Survey carried out by Spar was invaluable. “It’s brilliant in terms of finding out the demographic of the area and what they spend.” Pete says there was never a question of going with any wholesaler other than Spar. “A long time ago I was the first Premier retailer in Scotland,” he explains. “Later I moved to Nisa, then to Costcutter, then to Spar. I’ve been unaffiliated, I’ve seen other concepts and I just believe Spar has an unmatched professionalism, plus the support from head office in Dundee offers additional security. It was a no brainer.” The aisles may have passing shoppers giving way to each other, but this is a small sacrifice to make for the range on offer.
A wall of closed-door chillers houses the most impressive chilled range I’ve ever seen in a shop this size. There is a further chiller on the back wall for soft drinks, and ample freezer space. It’s as you would expect from a c-store, but shrunk down a little. The off-trade section is particularly small, but again, by focussing on best-sellers there won’t be many customers who won’t find something suitable. Behind the scenes is another matter – having realised that different parts of the block that houses the store were owned by different parties, Pete negotiated with all until he acquired the whole site. That means there is cavernous space at the back for storage (and future expansion). “That’s something to look at in the future. For now, it’s about building up revenue and getting the store working as hard as I think it can,” he says. Reading between the lines, it’s the challenge of turning around a store and seeing its true potential being realised that seems to drive Pete. “It’s not a numbers game for us; it never has been,” he says. “I’ve never had any aspirations to have 10 stores. I’m always on the look out but it’s more about what a store can offer.”
The Cheema estate has fluctuated over the years – currently Pete operates two stores, the new store in Alloa, and Drip Road in Stirling. A further five are leased to other operators. After 26 years in business it’s great to see a retailer have the enthusiasm of someone just starting out. I’ve known Pete a number of years and have never seen him as excited as he is when giving a tour of the new store. It’s easy to see why. At just 690 sq ft it should just be a CTN, but it would be easy to fill a basket with £20 of good items, and give the layout and tight range, its size is very deceptive. “I think it can become one of the most profitable convenience store per square foot in the country,” says Pete. “I’ve long followed the statistic that 80% of sales come from the top 20% of lines, so we’ve put that philosophy to work and stock just best-sellers. We may need to tweak it along the way, but we’ve broke even since day one.”
It’s certainly been a challenge for Pete, but kudos to him for having the vision to see the potential in what had been a poorly performing CTN in quiet part of town. “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved here, but it’s not quite finished yet.” It seems preposterous to suggest that with the available floor space the store won’t be extended if the numbers are looking good. That will take time and dedication, but for now, the turnaround of the shop shows that with a little foresight and a lot of work, there remains enormous potential in serving a local community.
