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Sales are on the increase at 1 Stop Chaddesden thanks to 3 key activities.
Jey Sivapalan has been running 1 Stop in Chaddesden, Derby, with his wife, Visalini, for the last 14 years. He has a longstanding and loyal team consisting of two full time and four part time colleagues.
Keep it fresh and exciting
The first activity: Keeping the store refreshed. Parfetts helped with a refit in 2021 and has continued to evolved since then, including the additions of seasonal items like Halloween novelties, Diwali sweets as well as short term promotions. Jey says he gets lots of support from Parfetts and is regularly visited by his RDA. The store run Go Local promotions and these are also displayed on his twin MediaMaster screens which helps boost sales. The store accepts two regular deliveries from Parfetts each week but he also visits the other Cash and Carries nearby – saying that timing on stock is more crucial than price. .
Understand your customers
The second activity: Meeting customer needs. Jey himself spends much of his time on the shopfloor as he believes it helps him stay in touch with his customers and his team. The store has worked hard to boost their average basket spend – which is boosted through multi packs, add on sales and promotions.
Effective merchandising is key here – pet treats stacked with the pet food, phone chargers and essential electrical items on a stand and snacks and vapes around the till area. Jey says he uses a lot of intuition when planning the store but uses his ShopMate EPoS reports to confirm his hunches and when making buying decisions. Additionally, the store operate home deliveries to serve customers who prefer not to leave home.
Jey is enthusiastic to share the expert knowledge he has gained running his store – he is proud of the initiatives that he puts in place to ensure he best serves his customers. In his grocery section, he focuses on ambient products, selling multipacks which is popular with his locals who enjoy lower prices than those available at the nearby Co-op. Jey says the Co-op do well on fresh meat and vegetables – and while he does stock some of these lines, it’s not the reason his customers visit his store. In addition, he stocks a wide range of petfood, including a whole grain line that specifically caters to his customer’s needs, ensuring they return regularly. The carefully curated hardware section means the store is indispensable for locals who would otherwise have to travel much further for emergency supplies.
The demographic of the area helps Jey determine the type of products and promotions that will appeal to his customer base. The store is situated in a wide tree lined avenue with casual parking for several cars outside, making access easy. Housing nearby is mostly 1950s-1970s built council houses – many in smart condition suggesting it’s a desirable place to raise a family, with good connections, yet away from the main road that runs from Nottingham to Derby. There are two local primary schools and the store benefits from the extra footfall on schooldays. At the other end of the parade of shops is a second convenience store – 1 Stop is the bigger of the two and Jey says he doesn’t see the other store as a threat. They coexist happily, each with a slightly different offer.
Continuous learning
The final activity: Expert product knowledge. Jey makes the most of the brand reps who visit his store – he says they have much to teach him about how their specific products works – so he can pass that knowledge onto the team which in turn helps boost his sales. Jey’s store performs particularly well on alternative smoking, He has a stand with smoking supplies like papers and tips near his front counter which he says performs well and helps shoppers know that he also stocks tobacco products. High sales in this area are a considerable achievement when just three doors away there is a dedicated vape store – they compete by selling mostly branded disposable vapes, making sure they have up to date stock and respond quickly to new trends. Jey is quick to take up special offers where he sees them which help improve his margins – and he says the brand reps can often point him in the right direction. In fact, my visit is because Jey responded to a ShopMate deal with PMI and won £500 for his store through selling a new line of Marlboro Gold Roll Your Own Tobacco.
He also finds further promotions through keeping close links with Better Retailing and Talking Retail magazines which also help him keep up with market trends, keeping the range interesting and fresh.
To stay in touch with the community, Jey and his team support local initiatives – like providing essential items like toilet rolls at low prices during the pandemic, collecting change and dry food items for Derby City Mission and sponsoring the kit for their local football team. Jey’s connection with their suppliers is what sets this store apart – his knowledge on how to keep margins high through getting the best deals without raising prices means his customers trust and rely upon the store. The team know they need to stay on top of the upcoming trends and make an effort to secure new, relevant and exciting lines.
The store is clean and tidy with a welcoming atmosphere proving that Jey and Visalini are fully in tune with their customers needs.
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