It’s been quite a year for Tom Highland at the Highland Group.
He has won numerous awards for his Childerley Gate site in Cambridgeshire, including Best Midlands Site over 4mlpa which he picked up at last month’s Forecourt Trader Awards 2024. At that event he also received the Special Recognition Award for his pioneering work in the forecourt industry. And he’s just acquired an Esso forecourt in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, which takes his business to four sites with a fifth in the pipeline.
Childerley Gate trades under the Highland Group fascia because the Group has a good reputation locally and Tom thought the Highland name would better suit affluent Cambridgeshire.
The site is very impressive and the store is more of a farm shop/deli style/butchers shop than a typical forecourt convenience store. Local produce and products are key to it standing out from the crowd and Tom takes take great pride in using between 20 and 30 local suppliers. He says he knows the area well and therefore knows what locals want.
However, a 4,000sq ft store takes a lot of products to fill and while customers will appreciate the local supplies, they will still be looking for their Warburtons, their Coca-Cola and their McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives. And this is where Nisa comes in as the Highland Group’s main supplier.
“Our focus has been on driving a local offer for our customers while utilising our supply deal with Nisa to offer an enhanced grocery and chilled range. Nisa’s strong availability has enabled the store to enjoy good availability across a high number of lines as well as offering customers a well-respected Co-op own-brand range.
“We don’t have access to M&S so I think the Co-op brand is the next best thing. Some 42% of our range is fresh food and Co-op’s fresh range is very good. We know we can trust it as being good quality at a fair price.
“We may not display the Nisa sign, but I cannot recommend Nisa highly enough.”
Nisa now supplies over 500 forecourts across the UK, having welcomed 120 new sites to the group in 2024.
Nisa managing director, Peter Batt, says: “As the conventional fuel-and-go model fades, forecourt retail is transforming to meet the needs of a more dynamic shopper. With larger basket sizes, a broader food-to-go selection and an improved array of quality food and beverage options, forecourts are increasingly becoming comprehensive shopping destinations in their own right, enhanced by the addition of EV charging points meaning drivers have more time to spend.
“Even in the face of challenges such as fluctuating fuel prices, rising operational costs, and evolving consumer expectations, forecourt retailers continue to prove their resilience and popularity with shoppers. Their ability to adapt, innovate, and enhance the customer experience has been key to their success.
“Nisa is proud to work with many exceptional forecourt retailers - they are not only adapting to change but are driving the future of convenience retail.”
The Wright choice
Over in Northern Ireland, Andrew Wright has been trading with Spar for 15 years.
As anyone who has visited Northern Ireland will know, Spar is a big name out there but Andrew doesn’t feel his store and forecourt in Portadown gets lost in the Spar ‘crowd’.
“The family business has been trading for 90 years so we have carved out a niche for ourselves,” he says. “We are known locally as Wright’s Spar, and we stock a lot of products you won’t find in a typical Spar store.”
Andrew says he chose Spar, serviced by wholesaler Hendersons, back in 2009 because they were the only group able to provide daily fresh deliveries.
“They delivered six days out of seven so it was really good,” he explains. “Another reason why we chose Spar/Hendersons was because of the team members’ personalities. They were so friendly and welcome but, at the same time, very professional. We got really good vibes from them.”
Andrew has stuck with them and has nothing but praise for Hendersons: “They are the market leaders. Their advertising and marketing is top drawer. Their range is excellent and they are very reliable in terms of delivery and availability – plus we work very much as a partnership. They want to see us do well as that means they will do well.”
Wright’s Portadown’s store has a sales area of 3,300sq but Andrew is planning on nearly doubling that to 6,000sq ft. “Hendersons will help us with that – with the planning, the store design, the product range and with any new hot food or coffee concessions,” he says.
Tailored offer
Jamie Davison, retail director at Bestway Retail, says there are many reasons why forecourts choose to have a Bestway Retail fascia including the ability for retailers to provide their customers with a tailored offer through accessing Bestway’s many different supply chains and brands.
“Bestway can help retailers build store ranges and offer pos and planograms and a very strong impulse promotional plan, a category which is a key sales driver for forecourt stores,” he explains.
Davison says that what sets Bestway apart from other wholesalers and suppliers is its everyday low pricing on a 14,000 SKU range, consumer promotions that rival the multiples and its award-winning own-label ranges and Co-op brand products.
“Bestway encourages entrepreneurs to run their business independently, with the support of a personal business development manager, meaning they have more flexibility compared to other symbol agreements. “
Bestway claims to offer one of the most attractive reward programmes in independent retail. And importantly, the terms and conditions for joining its symbol group are said to be simple, intuitive and require no hoops for retailers to jump through.
Attractive package
Obviously there are more symbol groups out there than just Nisa, Spar and Bestway. Budgens and Londis, under Booker, have the power of Tesco behind them meaning they often are first to market with new products.
A spokesperson for Booker says: “Having access to Tesco’s extensive product range enables us to offer high-quality products at lower prices, strong retail margins and market-leading deals. All of this forms part of an attractive package adding value to all of our customers.
“Being part of the wider group allows us to tap into the benefits of NPD/first-to-market products which resonate with our customers. This could be a unique product, exclusive pack or price.”
There are currently 75 forecourts with a Budgens store on them. For any retailer wanting to join Budgens they need a minimum store size of 1,500sq ft, a 30% fresh food mix, they must adhere to a minimum weekly spend, receive allocations, have 75% purchase loyalty and support the Budgens’ promotional programme. Contract length is three years.
There are more than 1,280 forecourts featuring a Londis store. Anyone wanting to join the symbol group needs to have a minimum store size of 800sq ft, agree to a minimum weekly spend, receive allocations, have 75% purchase loyalty, support the Londis promotional programme and have the Londis epos system (a free option is available). Contract length is three to five years.
Retailers have access to over 800 lines across Euro Shopper and Jack’s, with extra SKUs recently added to the Jack’s ranges and bigger promotions, including new key promotions on chilled and fresh lines.
In addition, both Budgens and Londis retailers have access to Booker cash and carries so they can top up on stock as and when they please, outside of any scheduled deliveries.
As choosing a symbol group that’s right for you depends on so many different factors it’s imperative to do your homework. Go out and talk to other retailers, look at their stores and ask them what it is about their chosen symbol group that keeps them loyal.
