Top 50 Indie Seevaratnam Muresh has relaunched Whynot Service Station, his first Jet-branded and furthest north forecourt, after a £250,000 refurbishment.
Muresh, who spent £1.9m on the purchase of the site, has renamed the business Reddicap Service Station. One of his first jobs as he welcomed customers was to reduce the price of fuel from 131p to 129p for unleaded, and from 142p to 139p for diesel.
The forecourt is just off the M42, seven miles from the Kinsbury fuel terminal, and it takes its name from the Reddicap Heath Road it is found on.
The 1,000sq ft store, which takes Parfetts’ Shop & Go fascia, is focused on impulse and food to go categories. With a large Co-op and One Stop close by he does not expect the site to be a basket shop destination.
Instead, he has developed food for now with the introduction of the West Cornwall Pasty Co, and Rollover hotdogs. He has also introduced a Smokin’ Bean coffee machine, and there is a Coca-Cola Frozen unit on its way, to appeal to students at a secondary school on his doorstep.
The £200,000 investment in the complete refit of the shop included a bank of chillers: eight doors-worth for soft drinks, six for sandwiches and dairy, and 12 for beer and wine. There is also a three-door freezer, and to suit the middle-class demographics of the site Muresh has installed two FieldFare-branded freezers.
On the forecourt, Muresh is investing £32,000 on eight Wayne Helix 4000 fuel dispensers – on four islands – and another £16,000 on their installation. The supplier is TSG Solutions which has also installed the shop’s epos system.
As it is a large plot with plenty parking Muresh is considering installing an external laundry machine, as an added service to operate alongside an InPost parcel locker.
He believes with the value positioning of fuel, a focused impulse range, and longer opening hours – from 6am to 10pm and Monday to Saturday, and 7am to 10pm on Sunday – he will treble fuel volume from one million litres per annum; and also to double the store’s £10,000 weekly turnover.
He also benefits from the rental from a five year lease on the site with a hand carwash business, an MOT repair business, and a care home rehabilitating drug users in the six bedroom apartment above the shop.
At the grand opening on Friday (August 21), Jet handed out customer goody bags and Muresh gave away to customers free hot coffee, cake and fruit.
Muresh is hoping to switch his 10 Harvest Energy sites to Jet, as he tries to release himself from a contract with the beleaguered Prax Group business.
