Bambos still hasn't got his Booker Premier fascia up outside his Welling store or had the internal signage fitted because he didn't want workmen around over the holiday period, but he plans to get moving on it during the next few weeks. He's already started running special promotions, though, especially on beer. Over Christmas he was selling boxes of 24 Stella Artois for £9.99 and eight Foster's for £5 which he says proved fairly successful, and wine also sold quite well. The olive bar is perennially popular, as is the fruit and vegetable section, and Bambos reckons he has picked up some new customers recently. But he was unsure about his now hugely popular bread section for a while. "I shut at 8pm on New Year's Eve and still had loads of bread left. I thought I'd never move it on New Year's Day when I opened up at 11am, but by 4.30pm it was all gone. I was amazed." He plans to do more promotions in the next few weeks and although he says he's done nothing to try to increase the number of deliveries Booker makes to his store ­ as January is generally a quieter month ­ he's been popping into the local cash and carry to keep stocks topped up in between deliveries. Bambos admits to feeling a bit jaded at the moment. He owns the fish and chip shop next door and is thinking of putting it on the market. "It's getting a bit much to cope with both. I have to go and work there after I finish in the shop tonight and I'm just too tired!" {{FEATURES }}

Topics