Customers are coming back to their local shops, says an Isle of Wight retail group which is celebrating its 10th anniversary by opening three new stores.

Hunnyhill Group managing director John Perrett said: "It's a case of local people finding their local shop again. We are helping them achieve that by building a group of stores that reflect the modern convenience image and meet changing customer needs."

The company has recently opened Spar stores in Ryde and East Cowes, and aims to mark its anniversary with the opening of its 12th store, in Lower Ventnor.

The Ryde outlet was a former pet shop and redevelopment work has created a 900sq ft neighbourhood c-store. Hunnyhill is aiming for weekly sales of £14-15,000 in the summer.

In East Cowes, the company acquired a forecourt shop which had been closed for a year. "We have used Appleby Westward's 'Growing Taller' initiative to boost shelf space with bigger gondolas, a large dairy deck and chillers for soft drinks and beers, wines and spirits," John said.

Hunnyhill Group's like-for-like sales in its Spar shops are up 6% year on year, he said.