Down in picturesque Poole, Ehamparam Karunanithy has redefined what the convenience off-licencing experience can be, with up-to-the-minute innovations and stunning WBS ranges
Ehamparam Karunanithy has developed a stunning off license category at his Premier Talbot Store in Poole, situated between a housing estate and 17,000 university students “across the road”.
The result is a store that caters effortlessly for its clientele. A magnificent beer cave with smart electronic doors opening onto “cool” blue sky lighting panels offers an extensive range of Ready To Serve canned drinks and bottled ales, lagers and beers.
The beer cave has become something of a social media sensation among local shoppers, regularly appearing on TikTok and Instagram, and has contributed immensely to the store winning the Off Licence of the Year Award at the 2023 Asian Trader Awards.
Ehamparam, who also runs two other stores in the area, says that that his augmented alcohol offer is adding ever more multipacks and SKUs of bottled ales. Shoppers just love the Beer Cave, and it’s been a big hit with customers highlighting the store’s value message, as “promotional packs have such strong standout in there.”
“I can't imagine that the sales would be going like this right now, its two years now almost,” he adds. “We're getting that kind of uplift in sales since the reopening.”
An ethnic Tamil, Ehamparam arrived in the UK from Sri Lanka three decades back. His journey into the retail industry began in the 1990s when he worked at a petrol station. Inspired by his cousin who owned a shop, Ehamparam hoped to start his own business.
“Originally I planned anywhere in the country, anywhere I can afford to buy a shop at that time. And then I just found one shop in Poole, Bournemouth area, and moved here,” he says.
The location's potential began to flourish as the university expanded, providing a steady customer base of students
It is situated within the residential heartland of Bournemouth’s Talbot Village and adjacent to Bournemouth University’s Talbot Campus, lending it a unique shopper demographic. As the university expanded, he recognised the store’s potential, and a nudge from his symbol group Booker, who wanted to convert the store as a concept store, prompted him to go for a major refurbishment of the site.
“I got the new lease as well at end of the pandemic, around 2020. Then I realised this is the opportunity to do something different, to change everything” he says.
In September 2022, as the store celebrated its 21st anniversary, they re-opened the store after a £170,000 refit, transforming it into one of the most innovative Premier stores in the estate and a test-bed for new technology, including sustainability developments.
Ehamparam converted the storeroom into a beer cave, expanding the alcohol section to cater to the university's student population. The store now offers a wide variety of canned drinks and bulk packs. Replacing the open fridge with a closed-door system, he installed a single large motor fridge extending over 10 metres. This upgrade not only increased storage capacity but also reduced energy costs.
“With electricity price going up and things like that, this single motor is a good idea. The door is closed all the time, only one fridge for everything,” he points out.
The store underwent a complete makeover with improved lighting, higher shelves, and a visually appealing storefront.
Promoting sustainability
Two significant innovations during the refit include a fresh bakery section and refill zone which enables shoppers to conveniently dispense desired quantities of a range of dried goods into paper bags – saving on food and packaging.
“A local supplier brings every morning fresh bakery products like doughnuts, pasties and a few [other] things. That one is a cool cabinet, not the hot cabinet, and because we are next to the university, we sell them very quickly,” Ehamparam says.
In the refill section, customers can just take whatever they need and can bring their own bag or use the paper bags provided by the store.
“You can buy what you need. They can buy for the day or for a longer time. You don't need to just buy them and keep it and later throw them away. They can buy them, maybe just for a morning breakfast. It is really going well with the customers,” he says.
As they have a very large youth demographic, the store trialled a number of new technology concepts during its refurbishment. The store’s self-scan checkout has been the first of its kind in a Premier, but it was later removed due to challenges with theft.
“It was doing great. It attracted the customers. The advantage is you don't need another staff. But some customers don't scan it. They're just trying to scan it, didn't scan and they put in the bag, and just get away with it,” he explains – adding that he would not advise others to introduce the technology.
“I'm just not doing that. I checked a few times, and there are a lot of things going out without being scanned. In the supermarkets, there's a person watching about this, but here it is a very difficult situation,” he says.
Theft, as with the convenience stores across the country, has been a challenge for Ehamparam. He has to put more cameras as people were stealing even from the beer cave.
In another first for Premier, they also introduced electronic shelf-edge labels, a development which works great for the team.
“We did only a quarter of the shop because it's quite a lot of money to invest. So maybe in the future it could get cheaper. But It's very it's a good thing because I don't need to do anything. When Booker prices change overnight, next day morning the pricing changes automatically,” he says, noting that the time (and money) they save by not having to manually update pricing information is “huge”.
Ehamparam emphasises the importance of choosing the right shopfitter and considering the store's location when planning a refit. He believes that after ten years, a store needs refreshing to maintain customer interest.
“They don't want to be in the same shop all the time. After 10 years, maybe I need another refit for the Talbot store,” he says.
His experience shows that investing in a comprehensive refit, including expanding product varieties and improving store layout, can significantly boost sales, as evidenced by a 35-40 per cent increase at the Talbot store.
“If they do more varieties and arrange the shop for more space, sales definitely will go up. I don't know how much percentage, but it will go up,” he assures.
Following the success of the Talbot Store, Ehamparam recently undertook a refit of another store in Poole, Maple Stores, which now features both a beer cave and a soft drinks cave. With three stores already under his management, he is considering further expansion based on these positive sales trends.
Community relationships
Ehamparam places a high value on fostering strong relationships with the local community. He believes that personal interactions are essential, contrasting his store's approach with the impersonal nature of large supermarkets.
“Customers feel we have a very good staff, as they talk to them every day. It’s not like other big supermarkets where they're like just machines – just serve the customer, go away and next customer. Here, it’s like a community,” he smiles.
Ehamparam trains his staff to engage with customers, asking about their needs and preferences, ensuring a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.
“It’s a kind of shop where the customer has to come back,” he notes. “If they want to come back, we have to talk to them; we have to ask them what they need, what they want to get, new products or anything like that. So we just keep train the staff as well.”
To address the cost-of-living crisis, Ehamparam keeps prices competitive by adhering to Booker-recommended prices, many of them price-marked packs, and offering regular promotions.
“Besides, I am always monitoring the prices,” he reveals. “If anybody said it’s kind of high, then I look into the prices. I always tell the staff to just look around and if people said anything please come back to me and tell them, ‘Okay, I talked to the boss’!”
His wife, Tharsini, plays a crucial role in the business, managing orders and ensuring that the store is well-stocked. Her involvement allows Ehamparam to focus on other aspects of the business, highlighting the importance of family support in their entrepreneurial journey.
He advises new retailers to maintain clear pricing on shelves and offer regular promotions. He underscores the importance of location and long-term investment, noting that the returns on investment can be realised within a few years.
“Mainly they have to keep the price on the shelf. It’s important as the customer needs to know the price. And also give offers to the customers. If it's a good location, if they keep the shop for long time, I like that. If they invest in the shop and spend more money, they can recoup this money in maybe three years’ time. But they must worry about it. And also it's hard work,” he concludes.
Dino Labbate has been announced as the new Chief Commercial Officer at A.G. BARR plc, the branded multi-beverage business with a portfolio of market-leading UK brands, including IRN-BRU, Rubicon, FUNKIN and Boost.
Dino takes up the role from today, 20 January 2025, having spent seven years at Britvic plc, most recently as GB Commercial Director for Hospitality. With previous experience at Kraft Heinz, Burton’s Biscuits and Northern Foods, Dino brings a wealth of FMCG insight and experience across all channels of the food and drink industry.
“This is a new role for the business and reflects our growth ambitions,” said Euan Sutherland, CEO of the AG Barr Group. “Dino’s FMCG experience, enthusiasm and commitment has made an instant impact on the business. He understands soft drinks and has considerable knowledge across grocery, wholesale, out of home and on-premise, which will play a pivotal role in developing all brands in the business.”
Dino said: “AG Barr has a rich history of success, which alongside the company’s bold growth ambitions, make this a brilliant opportunity for me to help steer our teams on the next chapter of AG Barr’s story. There’s so much potential in our portfolio which is already packed with incredible brands. I’m looking forward to supporting the business as we set ourselves up to win with current and future consumers.”
AG Barr will be announcing a trading update in respect of the financial year ended 25 January 2025 on Tuesday, 28 January 2025.
Brits are increasingly leaning towards cooking from scratch and are ditching ultra processed food, thus embracing a much simpler approach to their diet, a recent report has stated.
According to a recent report from John Lewis Partnership released on Friday (17), supermarket Waitrose has reported that it’s back to basics for many in 2025 due to a growing awareness around ultra processed foods, with many turning away from low-fat, highly processed products in favour of less-processed, whole food ingredients.
Whole milk and full-fat Greek yogurt sales are up 11 per cent and 21 per cent compared to skimmed milk and Greek style yoghurt a year ago.
Block butter sales are up by +20 per cent as compared to dairy spreads while brown rice is seeing +7 per cent more sales as compared to white rice.
The report adds that sourdough bread sales are up by +20 per cent as compared to white bread while full fat Greek yoghurt recorded +21 per cent more sales than Greek style yoghurt.
Over the past 30 days, searches on Waitrose website whole food searches soared with ‘full fat milk’ and ‘full fat yoghurt’ skyrocketing 417 per cent and 233 per cent.
The shfit reflects the wider growing awareness of effects of ultra-processed foods, thanks in no small part to Dr Chris van Tulleken’s bestselling book Ultra-Processed People and its continued momentum in 2024 and into 2025.
His eye-opening, rigorously researched account of ultra-processed foods and their effect on our health turned many people towards cooking from scratch, with unprocessed or minimally processed ingredients.
Maddy Wilson, Director of Waitrose Own Brand comments, “There’s been a lot of bad press around so-called ‘healthy’ products which aren’t nutritious and don’t taste great, however the growing awareness of ultra processed food in our diets has seen many customers seeking the basics and embracing a much simpler approach to their diet.”
Waitrose Food & Drink report released last year highlighted that 54 per cent of those surveyed proactively avoid processed foods.
A convenience store in Hinckley, which sold illegal cigarettes to undercover Trading Standards officers on eight occasions and had more than 1,800 packets of illegal tobacco seized during four enforcement visits, has been closed down for three months.
As informed by Leicestershire County Council, Easy Shop in Regent Street has been ordered to remain closed until April 15 by Leicester Magistrates Court, following a joint operation by Leicestershire County Council’s Trading Standards service and Leicestershire Police. The orders were issues last week.
The closure application was made after Trading Standards officers and police seized illegal tobacco from the business on four separate occasions between June 2022 and October 2024, which resulted in a total of 1,860 packets of tobacco being confiscated.
Trading Standards officers conducted a first test purchase at the shop in June 2022, following reports of illegal tobacco being sold from the premises. On that occasion, the officer was sold a packet of counterfeit Richmond cigarettes. Another test purchase in the following month also led to the sale of an illegal packet of cigarettes.
An enforcement visit carried out by Trading Standards officers, police and a tobacco detection dog in July 2022 discovered four packets of tobacco hidden in the shop.
Further repeated test purchases resulted in sales of illegal tobacco, while three further enforcement visits by Trading Standards officers supported by police and a tobacco detection dog yielded seizures of more than 1,800 tobacco products.
The tobacco was hidden in various locations, including a stairwell at the back of the shop, in the roof space of a stock room and in a car belonging to an employee.
The illegal sales continued, despite a change in ownership and several notices from Trading Standards reminding the owners of their legal responsibilities relating to tobacco sales. The final test purchase was carried out on 8 January 2025, when two packets of illegal tobacco were sold.
Magistrates granted the closure order under Section 80 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which prevents anyone from entering the address. Anyone who breaches it is liable to be prosecuted.
Large posters explaining that the business has been closed down due to illegal activity on the premises have been posted on the shop’s windows by Trading Standards officers.
Gary Connors, head of Leicestershire Trading Standards, said, "Our Trading Standards officers are actively tackling the trade in illegal cigarettes, which help to fund criminality.
"We will continue to work in partnership with Leicestershire Police to use all means at our disposal to disrupt those who seek to put our local community at a public health risk. The business will close for three months, and thereafter will be monitored if the premises reopen for business.
"Selling cheap or illicit cigarettes steals trade from our legitimate retailers who lose trade to rogue shopkeepers. All smoking is dangerous, but smoking illegal tobacco could potentially be even more harmful to health because the trade in counterfeit and illicit tobacco is unregulated, so there is no control over what is mixed with the tobacco.
"We will continue to clamp down on the sale of illicit cigarettes and vapes, as well as underage sales, to protect Leicestershire residents from traders who break the law.
"We really appreciate members of the public reporting suspicions of illicit or cheap vapes and tobacco sales."
A city centre convenience store in Cambridgeshire has been closed down after police found "illicit" items including Viagra tablets, illegal tobacco and more than £14,000 in cash from the premises.
About 683,400 cigarettes, 37.45kg of hand rolling tobacco, and 35 cigars were seized by the police from International Food Centre in Lincoln Road in Peterborough late last year. The closure order was served on the shop and flat above on Dec 31following an application to Huntingdon Magistrates' Court.
Officers carrying out the warrant in November also found £14,886 in cash, large sums of foreign currency and Viagra tablets.
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering and released on bail until February.
The following week, a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply sildenafil and has also been released on bail until February.
It was found during the investigation that the shop's licence was transferred to several different holders in recent years.
In April 2022 the premises' licence and designated premises supervisor were transferred to the current licence holder.
PC James Rice, of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, said it applied for the closure order due to "persistent issues in the store around things such as the sale of age restricted products and other illicit items and non-duty paid products".
"Circumstances such as these are often a front for organised criminality and anti-social behaviour, which has detrimental effects in our communities.
"We hope this latest action shows the community that we are committed to tackling organised crime and will continue to police this robustly through regular compliance checks and enforcement of the order."
Elsewhere in Kent, four men has been arrested in connection with the sale of illegal tobacco and vape products have since been released on bail, pending further inquiries.
In total, officers seized 858 packets of cigarettes, more than six kilograms of rolling tobacco, 201 illegal vaping products and £2,560 in cash from shops in Lower Stone Street, Gabriel’s Hill, and the High Street in Kent.
Officers ask that anyone who becomes aware of stores selling cigarettes illegally to contact them, and they would also like to hear from genuine shop-owners who believe their businesses have suffered because of illegal cigarette sales nearby.
French champagne shipments fell by nearly 10 per cent last year as economic and political uncertainties hit consumers' appetite for the sparkling wine in key markets such as France and the US, the producers association said.
Producers had called in July for a cut in the number of grapes harvested this year after sales fell more than 15 per cent in the first half of 2024. Full year shipments were down 9.2 per cent from 2023 at 271.4 million bottles, the Comite Champagne (Champagne Committee) said.
"Champagne is a real barometer of the state of mind of consumers," Maxime Toubart, president of the Syndicat General des Vignerons and co-president of the committee, said in a statement late on Saturday.
"It is not time to celebrate given inflation, conflicts across the world, economic uncertainties and political wait-and-see in some of the largest Champagne markets, such as France and the United States."
The French market made up 118.2 million bottles, down 7.2 per cent compared to 2023, which the association put down to prevailing economic and political "gloom" in the country.
President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou, his fourth prime minister in a year in December, but his administration remains weak, and still faces an uphill battle to pass the 2025 budget that led to the ouster of his predecessor, Michel Barnier.
Champagne exports also fell, with just 153.2 million bottles shipped, down 10.8 per cent compared to 2023.
"It is in less favourable periods that we must prepare for the future, maintain our environmental (standards) trajectory, conquer new markets and new consumers," said David Chatillon, co-president of the Champagne Committee.
The committee said in July that the 2024 harvest in the Champagne region had suffered from poor weather since the start of the year, including frosts and wet weather which increased mildew fungus attacks in its vineyards.
As opposed to other wine production, most champagne bottles are a mix between several vintages, using stocks from previous years. These stocks are replenished during good years and can compensate for poor harvests.