The One Stop franchise store in Woodhouse Street, Leeds, began life as a Methodist church before being taken over by the Bhadal family. Rebuilt with the local community in mind, the store employs the company’s ‘conservation’ white fascia instead of the usual red. The Bhadals have been retailing in the area for more than 20 years, and each of the three brothers involved - Peter (pictured), Jeeta and Raj - had their own roles in the development. Open since late April, the store is already exceeding targets

One Stop Woodhouse Street

Superior cabinets

One Stop Woodhouse Street

Peter spent six months researching chillers because he wanted the best cabinets possible for a premium look.

In the end, Delta was able to source units which run fully from floor to ceiling. With six shelves in each unit, more stock can be housed on the shop floor, reducing the need for chilled storage space.

One Stop Woodhouse Street

The team are focused on delivering excellent service. “That’s the beauty of the simplified method of One Stop,” explains Peter. “The foundation helps you to run the business, so you can concentrate on customer service, and how the store looks.”

One Stop Woodhouse Street

The organ from the former Methodist church is kept in a room adjacent to the store as a link to the past. “Some of our customers were christened and married in this building,” says Peter.

Fresh & chilled

One Stop Woodhouse Street

The cabinets are double-glazed with LED illumination, to be energy-efficient as possible while still showing off the product at its best.

Alcohol sales are strong, with a good range housed inside the impressive chillers.

One Stop Woodhouse Street

The store has a much higher fresh and chilled food mix than usual for a One Stop, and Peter is convinced that this is the way to trade. “Customers demand fresh food; they want to take it home and eat it straight away. Anyone who is not converted to fresh is losing customers,” he maintains.

Local deals

One Stop Woodhouse Street

Promotions are a key part of the One Stop model and the Woodhouse store shows them off to the best effect. “Promotions are a very important part of what stands out and what brings customers in,” says Peter. “They encourage shoppers to pick up other items, such as a third bottle or other item. And they are much simpler to implement in a One Stop compared with a symbol group.”

One Stop Woodhouse Street

There is a diverse local community, so there is lots of scope for local lines for more ethnic tastes.

One Stop Woodhouse Street

Space is made in the store plan for this large pet treats and food fixture from local supplier Ho-Jay.

The store has also set up an account for the local primary school so they can shop at the store for its breakfast club.

Bigger baskets

One Stop Woodhouse Street

After much searching, Peter sourced some extra-large “bottomless baskets”. “It encourages customers to buy more items to fill it up – it works 100%,” he laughs.

One Stop Woodhouse Street

One Stop has created dedicated craft beer units with ‘3 for £5’ deals across the estate, and Peter reports strong sales here, too.

The store stocks a wide range of household items, including disposable plates and glasses, for students who live nearby.

“The store virtually runs itself – once we’ve set the ranges up we can leave it in the hands of managers and store staff,” adds Peter. “This frees us up to look at other business ventures as well.”