Brothers Tony, Adrian and Nigel Parker have brought their three convenience stores under the SPAR umbrella – and are delighted to join the country’s biggest symbol group.
“Everyone at SPAR has been so friendly from the very moment they first walked through the door,” said Tony. “And since we’ve converted our stores, the feedback from our customers has been out of this world.”
Tony, Nigel and Adrian run three stores in Weston-super-Mare which were trading under the Premier banner before they decided to switch to SPAR. Since moving, the stores – in Ebdon Road, Kelston Road and Milton Road – have all been refurbished and are enjoying a significant uplift in sales.
“The Appleby Westward team have done a brilliant job for us,” said Tony, whose late father John originally worked in the Ebdon Road store. “Our shops were beginning to look a bit tired and needed a level of investment that we simply could not afford at the time. The investment that has been put in has been second to none, and the redevelopment of the three stores has been fantastic and has completely transformed the business.”
In only the first few weeks of trading under the SPAR fascia, sales were up 20% at Ebdon Road and the other two shops were experiencing a similar boost in sales as well.
Appleby Westward doubled the amount of refrigeration in all three stores to enhance the chilled offer, and provided a complete refit throughout including new ceilings, floors and lighting. All three stores - which employ 50 full and part time staff in total - provide a full convenience fresh food and general grocery offer to their local neighbourhoods.
“We are delighted we moved to SPAR and people have been coming up to me in the streets saying how great the shops are,” said Tony. “It was all a bit flat before, but now we are very excited about the year ahead and the future prospects for the business. We couldn't be happier with the move we've made.”
