Stick or twist: is it time to change your fascia or franchise partner?

As competition to attract the top retailers to symbol groups increases, store owners have some big choices to make to decide what route is best for their store. It can come down to cost, range, support or even feedback and advice to help retailers get the most from their business. Convenience Store highlights some recent moves by retailers and what drove them to stick or twist when it came to their symbol group or franchise operator.

Speaking to Convenience Store when he moved to One Stop in September, Salford retailer Amit Patel explained why he made the switch.

“We were with Go Local originally, and then we fought to be a Go Local Extra because we needed a bit of a boost. We’d started to see sales - not tumble - but they weren’t increasing, we’d kind of peaked. So we shifted to Go Local Extra from Go Local, and we started to feel a bit more support from the RDAs over there.”

Things were fine until we felt he wasn’t getting the right feedback. “I was nominated for two national awards but the only feedback I got from Parfetts, as I didn’t win, was to keep doing what I was doing.

“Now, as nice as that was in regard to doing well, that’s not advice. That’s not support as such. I know we’ve been in the trade for 35 years - so automatically people think we should know what we’re doing - but it doesn’t work that way. Every day’s a school day. You pick up stuff every single day.”

Once he decided to take the plunge by moving to One Stop, he felt it was the right choice, particularly when it came to logistics.

“A bonus that we found, with it being One Stop, is that all the prices were updated automatically. And as the prices went up, our system would automatically prompt us to change them. It’s very self-run and we don’t need to be regularly going over the prices ourselves, making sure the price is up to date, because the system automatically does it.

“They’re already looked at your store’s data before they come in. They know our wastage levels, there’s already support before they even stepped into the project. And if we’re making mistakes, if we’re doing poorly in a certain area or not hitting certain targets, they do let us know. One example is fresh fruit and veg. They saw our wastage and couldn’t fathom why we weren’t reordering. And it was purely because we were throwing so much away.

“But they’d say, don’t be scared of wastage or of ordering too much, because at the end of the day, you’re only going to learn through what you sell. You need to keep putting it in the customers’ faces so they learn. Maybe they don’t want it today, but they’ll want it next week.”

Another retailer who switched earlier this year is Jatinder Sahota, who moved from Londis to Spar, who explained it was ranging than informed his choice.

“We’re a family‑run store and know our customers personally - many have shopped here for decades. Spar gives us the flexibility to stay independent while offering a stronger, more competitive range. The uplift in fresh sales since switching has been immediate.”

“All of the symbol groups we spoke to were very accommodating - Spar even managed to fit in some trips to stores to meet teams and look around, which was invaluable.

“We looked carefully at all the opportunities that were available to us and felt that Spar offered us the best balance in terms of range coupled with a strong brand and many years of experience.

“With any big decision, you go with the best option with the information you have, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

23 years may seem like a long time with a supplier but they’re just blow-ins compared to Mike Howe’s 40 years with one symbol group before switching his Devonshire store to Co-op Wholesale earlier this year. 

“Increasingly, our shoppers want excellent quality products, at a fair price, that are available when they need them, which is why Nisa was such a huge pull.

Staying with your supplier

Sometimes switching isn’t the answer, in August, Tabrez Hussain, owner of LA Foods extended his supply contract with Co-op Wholesale for a further five years. One of the main benefits of the relationship is the own label range. “Our five-year contract extension is testament to our outstanding relationship.

“We notice a real sales benefit stocking Co-op brand lines – the range is always well marketed and appeals to our customers looking for quality food. The pizzas in particular are a real hero product - we simply wouldn’t be without now.”