A company of the size and pedigree of EG On The Move (EGOTM) can obviously pick and choose its franchise and fascia partners.
And Ilyas Munshi, corporate development and communications director at EGOTM, says that as they operate a diverse nationwide estate across the UK, they work with a range of retail partners to ensure each location reflects the needs and preferences of the community it serves.
“Our strategic partnerships with brands such as Spar, Co-op and Iceland form an important part of our broader convenience retail strategy, bringing together some of the UK’s most recognised and trusted consumer brands across our four core retail channels: fuel, merchandise and convenience, foodservice and EV charging. This integrated approach enables us to offer customers a more compelling and convenient mobility experience, providing greater choice, value and accessibility every time they visit our locations.”
Munshi says today’s consumers expect a destination that meets a wide range of needs, whether that is to fuel-up or charge their vehicles, do some grocery shopping covering fresh, ambient and frozen or access breakfast, lunch or evening foodservice, barista-served premium coffee, parcel collection or convenience purchases such as car chargers, household items, health products and car or jet washes.
“As a result, each of our retail channels plays a vital role in driving footfall, increasing customer dwell time and encouraging repeat visits,” he explains.
“By partnering with leading retail brands such as Spar, Co-op and Iceland, we continue to enhance our customer offer, at the same time creating modern roadside destinations that deliver product or service relevance, convenience and value for today’s increasingly discerning consumers.”
Munshi describes Spar as a “highly valued and long-standing partner”. “The brand continues to resonate strongly with consumers, particularly in the neighbourhood and roadside convenience sectors, where shoppers are looking for trusted products, strong availability and value-led promotions.
“We have enjoyed a successful relationship with Spar over many years and continue to work closely with all four Spar distributors in the UK because of the strength of its supply chain, promotional programme and understanding of convenience retail. Spar is a well-recognised brand with broad customer appeal, and its ability to combine national promotional activity with local flexibility is particularly important in today’s market.”
From a customer perspective, Munshi says the regular promotional offers and own-label range provide excellent value, while from a retailer perspective the proposition supports strong footfall and basket spend. “We believe Spar continues to hold a positive position with shoppers as a trusted convenience retailer offering quality products at competitive prices.”
Trusted brands
In addition, Munshi says Co-op is a particularly strong addition to EGOTM’s customer offer. “As a member-owned organisation, with profits helping to benefit its members and communities, the brand enjoys strong affinity and loyalty among consumers, particularly in certain regions of the UK where it has a long-established presence and heritage.
“In these geographies, the quality and reputation of the Co-op own-brand range resonates strongly with our customers, giving us the opportunity to offer trusted products that complement our wider convenience proposition. The Co-op own-label range has earned a strong reputation for quality, innovation and value, making it a natural fit within our broader convenience retail proposition.”
He says the Co-op range performs well across several categories and allows EGOTM to offer customers products they know and trust. “Shoppers increasingly recognise the quality of Co-op own-label products, and we have seen strong demand across everyday grocery lines, fresh products and meal solutions, all of which are consistently delivering strong sales.”
EGOTM also has a partnership with frozen food specialist Iceland, offering its products across a growing number of locations, with ranges typically integrated into its existing frozen food category space – creating a ‘store within a store’ concept.
“The Iceland partnership was driven by a shared ambition to provide customers with greater choice and access to a trusted frozen food brand within convenient roadside and neighbourhood locations. Iceland’s strong consumer recognition, market-leading frozen range and value credentials made it an attractive proposition for both our business and our customers.”
Munshi says customer response has been positive, with frozen category sales performance continuing to demonstrate strong demand for the offer. “The partnership enables shoppers to access a popular range of frozen products while making their regular fuel or rapid EV charging, convenience retail and/or foodservice visit.
“To raise awareness, we have supported the rollout through in-store merchandising, point-of-sale activity, digital channels and wider marketing communications across the EG On The Move network.”
Strong partnerships
For Penny on the Move working with wholesalers is all about the strength of the partnerships and the company has two very strong partnerships with Costcutter and with Spar.
Penny on the Move has been using Costcutter to supply its English estate for more than two years but there is no mention of the Costcutter brand across the stores.
Vicky Smithson, CEO Penny Petroleum/Penny on the Move, says the decision to go with Costcutter was for a variety of reasons including access to Co-op branded products, a strong connection with the team and having two dedicated account managers. “We also liked the idea of Costcutter being part of Bestway and that could potentially be a supply option if we wished,” she says.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, Penny on the Move works with CJ Lang and operates Spar-branded stores, a decision that was made for historical reasons.
Penny’s head of procurement Richard Thrower praises Costcutter for its range and its support – and the access it gives them to the Co-op range.
He says they get a lot of support remerchandising and relaying stores. “We look at the layout and the merchandising of each store a couple of times a year. We’ve grown so quickly, we’re trying to standardise the range across the estate. We’re talking tweaks to different sections based on demand and linear footage. We work very closely with Costcutter on that.”
The Co-op range is doing very well in Penny’s semi-transient and local stores; the ones surrounded by chimney pots, with chilled lines being especially popular.
When Penny bought sites in Scotland it went straight into a relationship with Spar wholesaler CJ Lang and has never looked back.
“Spar is very strong in Scotland,” says Thrower. “We’ve got a fantastic relationship with CJ Lang. The support we get from them is absolutely second to none. We get loads of support on remerchandising, especially stores that we’ve redeveloped. Their range is great and we love the Scottish TV promotional ends that they do.”
Morrisons makes the grade
Six of Sterling Petroleum’s stores are branded Morrisons. Nakendram (Theepan) Piratheepan, founder of the 31-site operator, says they chose to switch to Morrisons back in 2021 for various reasons including its well-recognised name and its attractive range across many categories including hot food and chilled food.
“Morrisons’s range and availability is good,” says Piratheepan. “Their own brand has better margins than some others, the support is good, they have good pos material and there is the More card which is popular.”
Whether a Sterling site has a Morrisons store depends on the location. “We always ask what consumers want and Morrisons goes down well in more price-sensitive areas,” he explains.
Earlier this year, Sterling opened the doors to its fourth Morrisons Daily store – at South View Service Station in Gorseinon, which represented a £480,000 investment.
Another Morrisons Daily opened at Staddons Service Station in Budleigh Salterton in May, with a £300,000 investment in new pumps and forecourt work as well as a complete shop refit to Morrisons Daily standards.
Its sixth Morrisons opening was at Clynnog Fawr Service Station in Caernarfon. Piratheepan says: “This site sat closed for a long time. We took on the lease, invested and brought it back to life for the community it serves: We spent £250k on new pumps and tanks, and another £150k on Morrisons shopfitting.”
