The Tate family has marked a new era for its forecourt business as one of its younger members takes the reins and unveils the first of four sites to take Valero/Morrisons branding.
Executive director Ben Tate, who previously ran the garden centre side of the car dealerships to holiday park group after a career in the Merchant Navy, has taken the Sussex petrol station chain under his wing.
He is supported by newly-appointed Dave Chapman, who has previously managed a busy BP/M&S petrol station in Hove, and worked as retail area manager and compliance manager at five-strong forecourt operator Pricewatch Group.
Having joined as retail and forecourt principle in March, Chapman is taking on day-to-day running of the forecourts: a role previously covered by long-term employee and family friend Rob Gochmanski, who has worked at the business for 25 years.
Gochmanski is helping Ben Tate transition into the forecourt world, who five months into his new responsibilities admits it is much “faster-paced” than garden centres, the business he ran for four years.
But Tate is already making his influence felt on what he admits has become a “tired” business in need of investment. He plans to reposition the sites at Newhaven, Shoreham, Pyecombe and Crawley as value locations for fuel.
In fact, before the two-week refit at Newhaven, when Texaco and Spar brands were in place, diesel was priced at 193.9p; on the day of the site’s relaunch (May 14) it was 187.9p. Meanwhile, unleaded was 162.9p; and changed to 155.9p.
And that has nothing to do with global influences, says Tate. “Over the past 15 or so years the business has been choosing margin over volume,” he says. “It was expensive for fuel and to shop here. But that was the old strategy. I am committed to returning the business to my grandfather’s original ethos of great value every day.”
Newhaven is part of a £2m refit programme which will roll into next year. The two-week reburbishment cost £750,000, which saw only the shell of the 1,200sq ft shop retained and the forecourt smartened up with resprayed pumps, refurbished canopy, and new nozzles.
The aim is to win business from a Sainsbury’s petrol station a quarter of a mile away, with a much bigger emphasis on chilled, meals for tonight, with pizza, chilled soup and BBQ food in the mix, and local lines such as Harvey’s beer making a debut. Long Man beer will follow.
Additions include fresh produce such as limes, Pink Lady apples, and red onions. Any fresh and chilled lines which hit two days before their use by date will be repurposed in Tates’ nearby garden centre cafe.
There is now an ice cube/crushed ice freezer; and ready-meals freezers for Kumar Indian cuisine, and Home Cooks with recipes including Sticky Mango Jerk Chicken, and Classic Whitstable Fish Pie.
In a food to go run near the entrance to the store, there is now hot Grab & Go food, such as a sausage sandwich, or a Tuk In curry in a naan, and a fresh bakery display, alongside its existing Rollover cabinet. There is also an unbranded coffee machine which uses the same barista blend “it has taken years to perfect” at its four – soon to be five – garden centres.
There are two gondola end promotional displays – one for alcohol – and more vapes, spirits and multi-packs of crisps. The store has also switched car care supplier to Newco which Chapman describes as providing a “bright, vibrant” range.
And there is space for 10 cars to park, with another 15 spaces outside the adjoining MOT centre and workshop which leases the space from Tates.
The orientation of the store has changed with aisles no longer running across the store. The shelves are two feet higher to fit more products. Square lighting has changed to LED track lighting, and there is plenty feature lighting, over the ready-meal freezers, above the cashdesk and also behind the spirits section.
There is a self-checkout for fuel and groceries, and electronic shelf edge labelling: both provided by CBE. There is a new CCTV and air conditioning system.
The next step will be to develop the forecourt, which has four standard islands and one for HGVs. Tate plans to introduce an InPost and Royal Mail parcel locker, a laundry machine, two foam jet washes to replace the old single unit, and a dog wash. He plans to concentrate on bringing the shops up to the new standard before shifting his attention to the fuel side of the business.
Next week, work will begin on the Portslade refurbishment. And Tate says that he wants to expand with more sites, perhaps taking two of Tates’ leased petrol stations in-house at some point.
Tate admits his passion remains with boats. But aged 34, and with a young family he hopes will one day join the business, he accepts that his duty lies with a family business that traces its origins to the reign of Elizabeth I, with its 850 employees across its portfolio, which will also soon include a hotel.
“The forecourt business has been passed down and I am proud to carry on.” He adds: “It’s not so much a passion but a purpose, an obligation.”
