A special category born out of the pandemic, Shop Safety Best Practice Award at the 31st Asian Trader Awards has got deserving winner in Pete Patel, whose efforts represented the epitome of the hard work and persistence that independent retailers have shown in upholding the rules of hygiene and social distancing.
And, it has indeed been a rare honour as this was the second consecutive win for Pete at Asian Trader Awards, after bagging the Bakery Retailer of the Year award in 2019.
While the new category has seen strong contenders, reflecting the serious commitment of independent retailers in fighting the pandemic, Pete’s safety practices have been simply outstanding, whether it’s the ‘bouncer’ on the door counting customers in and out and sanitising all baskets or the regular use of a safe-for-food fogging machine.
Costcutter Heanor
“As soon as the Covid situation started to happen, we put Perspex screens up straightaway for our staff at the tills and we've got hand sanitiser units all around the store for the customers,” Pete explains.
They put a one way system in, allowing only 15 shoppers in store at a time, and also a queue management system as well, which has attracted praise from his new and old customers alike. “We actually had a member of staff standing on the door all day, not only to limit the number of people coming in, but to sanitise the baskets and trolleys and stuff,” he says.
With hygiene a main priority, they have also invested heavily in a fogging machine to regularly disinfect the store. “We got a fogging machine which is a machine that kills 99% of bacteria and viruses and once a week we would walk around the shop to spray the whole shop with this fogging machine,” he adds.
They had lots of display stands all over the floors which were all removed to give people more space to walk around, making aisles wider for social distancing. They also switched deliveries as late as possible so the shops were being filled over night time rather than the day, thus avoiding staff and customers mixing all the time. Deliveries went directly to a warehouse, which again meant wider aisles for people to social distance.
Costcutter Heanor
“We increased obviously our cleaning, which we're still doing now, so all the touch points would be washed every two to three hours: the fridge door handles, baskets, key pads (of card machines), and anywhere people were touching quite a lot. We were making sure they were all wiped all the time, trying to stop this question of contamination,” he says.
He also ensured that customers could get everything they need for a full shop. At the height of the pandemic, they even hired vans to collect stock from suppliers who were no longer able to deliver. Key items were restricted to three per customer – “no prices were ever inflated,” he adds - including masks. When hand sanitizer was hard to find, he worked with their supplier to offer customers a refill station where they could bring empty bottles and refill them in-store.
“We offered free home deliveries to vulnerable and elderly customers. NHS workers offered 10 per cent discount in-store,” he adds.
Safety, still in place
Pate has five convenience stores, all under Costcutter fascia, and a Bargain Booze outlet. He has ensured that staff at his stores were taken care of, when it comes to their safety.
“Our staff have gone above and beyond, coming in every day even at the height of the pandemic. We ensure all staff are provided with all PPE equipment including masks, visors and gloves. Any staff that had to travel on public transport we were paying for them to travel by Uber so that they didn't have to use public transport during the pandemic,” he explains.
Pete also ensured that they have been rewarded throughout the pandemic for their hard work with regular bonuses.
He has taken these measures at all of his stores, and many of these are still in place even after the pandemic restrictions are ended. “The cleaning schedule is continuing. The screens are still in place, hand sanitisers are still in place. We're still supplying all the PPE for the staff. We're asking the staff to still wear masks. We've still got posters up asking the customers if they can to wear a mask but we're not enforcing it,” he explains.
Costcutter Southborough store
The mask rules were often a source of contention in many a store, especially when the government made them mandatory, sometimes leading to abuse, and even violence, against shop staff. Pete, however, says their customers have been very respectful of the staff and other shoppers.
“The way we approached the customers, obviously customers that were not wearing masks, we just asked them politely and said’ look if you can, wear a mask, or if you've forgotten a mask, we have a mask’, and we offered them a disposable mask for free,” he explains, adding that they never actually had an issue where people, saving the one or two, are not happy or wouldn't wear it.
“Most of the time what we found it wasn't people didn't want to wear it. People were not used to bring it on with them at the beginning. So we used to just have a box of masks available to customers and then we offered a mask and if they said ‘oh no I can't wear it’ then obviously we let them carry on,” he adds.
Pete believes that shoppers now expect better hygiene standards at stores. “I think it's important that they feel confident when they come into the store: they can see the standards are high, they can see the baskets are being wiped every time, and it's not overcrowded,” he says.
In fact, at some of the smaller stores, he has still kept the one way system in place.
Sustainable steps
Pete is also a pioneer in sustainability and zero waste who makes sure to move away from pre-packed fruit and vegetables and introduce packaging refill stations for store cupboard essentials whenever he does a refit to his stores.
At his Brockley, Lewisham store, they now use recycled paper bags for loose produce, that are much in demand as many of the customers live in shared housing or flats and don’t prefer big bags of produce. They have also introduced specialist bags for organic cooking ingredients, nuts and pulses and all are sold in biodegradable packaging.
The Southborough, Tunbridge Wells store, opened in September last year, has a refill station, which is now dutifully supported by the shoppers. “During the pandemic, it wasn't too fast because obviously people weren't happy with open, they weren’t open, there’s a seal, but people were handling stuff. They were a bit concerned. But since the turn of the year, it's picking up nicely,” he notes.
His latest store at Meopham, Gravesham , which is scheduled for a full refit and expansion in December before re-launching in January next year, will also have the refill station.
Refill station at Costcutter Southborough store
Pete takes a meticulous, data-driven approach to store refurbishments, and thoroughly researches the area and demographic. When he did the refit of his Brockley store in 2018, he carried out a couple of surveys, one inside the store and one of customers that were not visiting the store, in addition to the data on their customer persona from Costcutter’s Shopper First programme.
The independent survey revealed that they weren’t offering enough promotions, pricing was too high and there was a demand for a more extensive vegan offering. They did the refit based on the feedback, creating designated vegan spaces throughout the store, in chilled, ambient and frozen categories. Vegan sales would double after the refit, with the store becoming the destination for vegan foods in the area.
At Southborough, he worked with Costcutter’s store development team to convert the site into a modern convenience store offering shoppers a wide range of fresh food and the option of doing a ‘full shop’ closer to home. The 1600 sq ft store achieved 200 per cent of its sales target in the first week itself.
Costcutter Southborough
And he hopes to do an encore at Meopham. “Its complete refurbishment, we're doubling the size of the shop (currently 900 sq ft) and then it's going to be a total rewire. Everything is going to be brand new.”
Ready meals will be a focus of the store, as the Shopper First programme has pinpointed Younger Tonighters - looking for fresh easy meals to go - representing a fair share of all shopper personas.
Pete notes that, generally, more people are eating at home now, and their visits to restaurants have slowed down. Alcohol sales are also on the rise as people are staying away from crowded pubs. Across his stores, he is taking steps to tap into these opportunities.
“We're just making sure that we cover more of those requirements. We notice more people are going into premium wines than the basic ones. We've just increased our premium range. Where we can, we try to get the COOK frozen meals in,” he says. “Because what we're noticing [is that] the customers are quite happy to come in for a COOK meal and a bottle of wine.”
Finding chinks in multiple's armor
Alongside looking at what the requirements are in the area, Pete also makes sure that he looks at what the competition is doing. And if it's a multiple competition - Tesco is just four doors away from the Meopham store – he will be looking more at what they're not doing good at.
“We will concentrate on that because we know we can compete on what they're not good at,” he says. “We're not going to affect their business. We're not going to close a Tesco down. But I feel there's enough market share for all of us to have enough trade.”
Costcutter Brockley
This is a tried and tested formula for him, something he did splendidly at this Brockley store, which has two Sainsbury’s, a Co-op and independently owned convenience stores all within walking distance. Each of the small sections they introduced as a point of difference, be it the vegan range or the craft beers, they had to later increase as departments. The store’s vegan range has become so extensive and successful, it prompted the local Sainsbury’s store to reduce their vegan offering and direct shoppers to them instead.
He is planning to do more food to go at Meopham, with a deli counter and all. “It's not just standard food to go. We're going to push cheeses and stuff like that. Again, it's something that the Tesco doesn't do. It's different to what they're doing,” he notes.
Pete also picks a lot of ideas from across the pond. “I do a lot of research online and a lot what's going on in the US and Canada. Especially the food to go areas like the milkshakes and stuff, I just see what's coming there,” he says.
Costcutter Southborough store
While food to go sales generally went down last year as a result of the pandemic restrictions, Pete observes that the sales are now back to pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, overall sales are down on last year when compared to the peaks of last year (their weekly sales at Brockley rose from £40,000 to £120,000 at the height of the pandemic!), but still on average 20 per cent up on the pre-pandemic levels.
They are also resuming their community engagement activities this month, with a barbecue event at the Southborough store. “A local butcher is going to get involved and all the money we raise, will go to the chosen charity (Macmillan Cancer Support).
He believes home delivery, which picked up pace during the pandemic, is going to be an important part of the business going forward. They only have it in one store presently, but his aim is to create their own platform once they expand the service to one or two more stores.
Follow the trends
Pete’s parents bought their first shop in 1980, in Orpington, Kent, when he was just five. They still own their second shop in Brentwood, where he also has the Bargain Booze store. His other store is in Heanor, Derbyshire, bought in 2016 alongside the Brockley site.
He has been brought up around shops all his life, joining the trade filling shelves by colour. He believes one need to focus on trends to stay on top in the ever-evolving convenience retail landscape, and he would also tell his fellow retailers to focus on their shops. “Don't worry about what next door is doing or, or the shop across the road. Focus on your own shop.”
Costcutter Southborough store
He also thinks it's important to delegate. “As a retailer, you can't do everything yourself. If you've got a good team or staff around, you then delegate stuff to them, because they'll probably do it just as good as what you can. And it just frees your time up,” he notes.
Running six stores, he explains how store managers and staff play a crucial role in his business. “I get the start, and make sure they feel part of the store. They're always in the front line. So if you've got an event, I make sure they're always involved in that. And I keep the store managers up to date with any decisions I'm making in the background which affect the store.”
And, at the end of the day, a positive feedback from the customer is what makes him feel good. “Because everyone's really quick to give negative feedback,” he notes. “But when we get positive, which happens quite often, you know, we will get an email sent to the store saying how happy they were with the service, or great the store looks. And that's what makes me happy.”
“When someone takes the time out to just say, ‘I'm happy with what you've done’, it makes you feel good.”
Local shops will face significant new pressures as a result of today’s Budget, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has warned.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget's impact will be felt unevenly across the UK’s 50,000 convenience stores, with some measures such as business rate relief and the increased employment allowance mitigating costs for smaller independent stores, while providing no help for chains and larger independent businesses.
The key measures for local shops announced by the Chancellor, and the costs for local shops associated with them, are:
National Living Wage to increase to £12.21 per hour
National Minimum Wage (18-20 rate) to increase to £10 per hour
Cost to the convenience sector next year: £7.739bn (increase of £513m)
Employers’ National Insurance Contributions to rise to 15 per cent
Threshold for Employers’ National Insurance contributions to fall to £5,000 per year
Employment Allowance to rise to £10,500 a year
Cost to the convenience sector next year: £397m (increase of £85m)
Retail and hospitality rate relief reduced from 75 per cent to 40 per cent
Small business multiplier frozen for 2025/26
Cost to the convenience sector: £267m (increase of £68m)
Total cost of main announcements (year-on-year difference): £666m
ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “The cold hard facts are that the measures announced in the past 24 hours have added two-thirds of a billion pounds to the direct cost base of the UK’s local shops. At a time when trade is tough and operating costs are stubbornly high, this will be challenging for our members to absorb and there will be some casualties on high streets and in villages and estates across the country.
“Not all shops will be impacted the same. The smallest retailers, with low NICs bills and lower rateable values for their shops, will benefit from the welcome increase in the employment allowance and the retention of 40% of the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief. Retailers with a larger store, a number of sites or those operating a chain will receive limited benefit from these mitigations, and this will impact their ability to invest and to continue to offer services in the communities they serve.
The following additional measures were announced by the Chancellor in the Budget speech today:
Flat rate levy on vaping liquids from October 2026 of £2.20 per 10ml
Fuel duty frozen and the 5p cut extended for another year
A new commitment to tackling shop theft and funding directed to tackling organised gangs
Lowman continued: “The Chancellor’s commitment to tackling shop theft will be warmly welcomed by our members, but they are interested only in action and in crime against their stores and their colleagues being tackled effectively. We stand ready to help implement a new, and better-funded strategy to stop shop theft, abuse and violence against our members.”
Parliament is to launch an inquiry into delays in compensation settlements for sub postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.
The newly-formed Business and Trade Select Committee will call ministers, subpostmasters and their lawyers to give evidence next week with a second session to follow in mid-November. The Committee’s chair, Liam Byrne MP told ITV News that there was “definitely a delay” in people coming forward for payment.
“What we’re hearing from subpostmasters is that if there is an argument about how much should be paid out, the first offer is made quite quickly but if there’s a negotiation, that negotiation is dragging.
“We on the committee are going to batter away at this, week in, week out, until it is job done. All of us on our committee are frankly horrified and outraged by how long this has taken and we’re just not going to give up, ” he said.
Sir Alan Bates, the Post Office campaigner and chair of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, is expected to be invited to give evidence. Earlier this month, Sir Alan states that his own claim had not been addressed and that he had written to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer asking for his intervention.
“Like many of the groups, my claim has not been completed. It’s ridiculous. I am one of just many in this position. This is why I wrote to the Prime Minister at the start of October, asking that he instruct the department to ensure that all claims – and I’m talking about in the GLO group, the original 555 – have been completed by March next year," he said.
This comes weeks after the Post Office's outgoing CEO agreed the government is using the company as a "shield" over compensation schemes. Nick Read, who resigned last month, was giving evidence at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry for the second day, with a focus on delays to victims' financial redress.
He also admitted that the compensation process has been "overly bureaucratic" and expressed "deep regret" that the Post Office had not lived up to delivering "speedy and fair redress".
Convenience store body Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) today (30) has warned the Chancellor about the negative effects of the new National Living Wage (NLW) increase, a day after the Chancellor announced a pay rise for over 3 million workers next year, with NLW rates rising by 6.7 perc cent.
From April 2025, the NLW will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 while 18-20 National Minimum Wage will rise by £1.40 per hour to £10 - the largest increase on record, marking the first step towards a single adult rate.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said, “Our members are grappling with how to afford this inflation-busting increase in wage costs. The market remains tough, with many retailers reporting flat or declining sales while expenses like banking charges, credit card processing fees and energy bills are eating away at their profitability.
"More than ever, we need help from the Chancellor in the Budget. Without sustained and enhanced help on business rates, a reduction in National Insurance Contributions, and effective incentives to drive investment, our sector faces a challenging future. For some communities, this could mean the viability of their local shop is put at risk.”
Evidence provided to the Low Pay Commission by ACS earlier this year already found that to handle the increases in national wage increases, 53 per cent of retailers have reduced the amount they invest in their business, 53 per cent have been forced to increase their prices in store, and 47 per cent have had to take lower profits.
Baroness Philippa Stroud, Chair of the Low Pay Commission (LPC), stated that data already shows signs of employers finding it harder to adapt to minimum wage increases.
A Rossendale shop has had a licence bid rejected after repeatedly selling vapes to children and having illegal products on its premises.
Management at the Ibra Superstore at 34 Burnley Road, Bacup, have shown ‘no regard’ for children’s protection and safety, and have insufficient controls for licensing, Rossendale councillors have ruled.
Ibrahim Mohammad, director of the Ibra Superstore, had recently applied to Rossendale Council for a new premises licence. But the borough’s licensing sub-committee rejected his bid after a meeting which heard allegations from the police and trading standards officers.
The Burnley Road shop has been subject to various licensing changes and concerns in recent years. In the past, it was called Bacup Wines.
Ibrahim Mohammad, the applicant, attended the Rossendale licensing sub-committe meeting with his father,Amin Mohammad. Also there was PC Mick Jones, of Lancashire Constabulary, and Jason Middleton of Lancashire Trading Standards. Councillor Bob Bauld attended as an observer.
Mr Mohammad wanted a premises license for alcohol sales and opening hours from 8am to 11pm, seven days a week. He already had a personal licence. He said the Bacup shop would install a CCTV system, keep an incident log and a refusals record, check customers’ ages, display information about staff and give them regular training.
Trading standards officer Jason Middleton said Ibra Superstore Ltd was incorporated as a company in April 2023. Since then, trading standards had received 11 complaints about under-age sales and carried out visits.
Breaches included non-compliant vapes being found which broke a 2ml limit on the quantity of nicotine-containing liquid, no age checks and no information on display.
During one visit, Amin Mohammad tried to leave with a bag containing 10 illegal vapes. In test purchases by trading standards, an ‘Elf Bar’ vape was sold to a 14-year-old by Amin Mohammad and an illegal Hayati Pro Max vape to a 13-year-old by Ibrahim Mohammad. The shop claimed a phone call distracted staff during the 13-year-old’s purchase and illegal vapes came from ‘a man in car’.
Councillors heard different speakers, looked at written reports and also some video footage from the applicant. But they rejected the premises licence bid.
Giving their reasons, they stated: “There was a repeated history and pattern of behaviour regarding under-age sales of age-restricted items, such as tobacco products and vapes to children. You must not sell vapes to anyone under the age of 18. This is a criminal offence which the council takes very seriously.
“It is clear you breached the law by failing a test purchase operation in which you sold an illegal vape to an under-age child. The sub-committee feels that you have no regard to the protection and safety of children.
“The sub-committee feels that there is insufficient management control at the premises. There is no credible system to prevent under-age sales of age-restricted products and no measures in place to avoid harm to children and to prevent crime and disorder
“Therefore, given the number of incidents, the circumstances surrounding the incidents and the fact that the matter involves safeguarding issues relating to young, vulnerable minors, we consider that the seriousness of the incidents and the crimes committed against young children undermines the licensing objectives to prevent crime and disorder, and protect children from harm.”
The shop has the right of appeal to a magistrates court within 21 days of the date of the notice.
SPAR North of England retailer Dara Singh Randhawa’s family store has been awarded £100,000 of free stock after hitting all his targets since moving to the symbol.
Dara and his family, who have their SPAR store in Patrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, joined SPAR through its association with James Hall & Co. Ltd in August 2023 having taken the decision to maximise the store’s potential.
It is a decision they have not looked back on, with sales increasing by up to 25% and margins also showing significant uplift in the last 12 months.
Key to the store’s improved performance is the complete overhaul of products available in-store, particularly the fresh food range, to better support people who live in Patrington and the surrounding area.
A new store layout and refrigeration, better Food To Go and meal deal options, a coffee machine, and a Calippo slush machine were also installed during a major refurbishment prior to launch.
Dara said: “Our move to SPAR has been excellent. We have seen fantastic sales uplift and the support from the team at James Hall & Co. Ltd has been brilliant. The £100,000 of free stock is the cherry on the cake.
“We have been very impressed with the Price Locked promotions, in particular. These give customers confidence to do bigger shops with us as they see value on our shelves and the products at the same prices for longer.
“At times over the summer when tourists and visitors to the area add trade, we have seen sales £6,000 a week higher than our average. This is against a backdrop of the popular caravan park in the village being closed almost all year.
“We are really pleased with the position we are in, and we will be looking to achieve more in 2025.”
Peter Dodding, Sales Director at James Hall & Co. Ltd and Chairman of the SPAR Northern Guild, said: “Congratulations to Dara and the Randhawa family on hitting their targets and earning £100,000 of free stock.
“We recognise switching brand is a big decision for a retailer which is why this isn’t a gimmick, and we offer this to all retailers who join the SPAR family with James Hall & Co. Ltd.
“As well as our £100,000 incentive, we also offer retailers the chance to achieve up to an additional £5,000 of free stock if they successfully refer a friend.
“These opportunities provide additional motivation to retailers alongside the comprehensive benefits that joining the SPAR brand brings with it.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.