Even by the hectic standards of independent retailers, Atul Amin has had a busy month.
It started in early November when his Nisa store in West Bromwich was the national winner in the Top Shop awards, run by The Grocer’s sister publication Convenience Store.
“It was great. I was not expecting it because the standard of the other entries was so high,” he says.
Even though a hotel room had been arranged for him at the awards, he and his wife decided to drive home afterwards “to share the joy with our family straight away”. They were so excited they rang up their friends and were still partying at 4am the following morning. And the celebrations didn’t stop there because Amin has since taken the staff out too, to mark their achievement.
He followed this up by buying another store, to add to the four
he already owns, and is waiting for an accountant’s report before he decides whether to commit to a deal for a sixth store.
And there is the potential to expand his winning store. It is currently 3,000 sq ft, but there is space in the building to boost it to around 10,000 sq ft and this is another plan he is considering.
Not surprisingly after all this activity he is now looking forward to a holiday, but unlike many other independent retailers he says he is able to take plenty of time off.
The key, he says, is to get a good management structure in place.
He is obviously confident he has achieved this because in January he is off to a house he owns in India for a two-month break, and says that he tries to take a similar break in most years.
It started in early November when his Nisa store in West Bromwich was the national winner in the Top Shop awards, run by The Grocer’s sister publication Convenience Store.
“It was great. I was not expecting it because the standard of the other entries was so high,” he says.
Even though a hotel room had been arranged for him at the awards, he and his wife decided to drive home afterwards “to share the joy with our family straight away”. They were so excited they rang up their friends and were still partying at 4am the following morning. And the celebrations didn’t stop there because Amin has since taken the staff out too, to mark their achievement.
He followed this up by buying another store, to add to the four
he already owns, and is waiting for an accountant’s report before he decides whether to commit to a deal for a sixth store.
And there is the potential to expand his winning store. It is currently 3,000 sq ft, but there is space in the building to boost it to around 10,000 sq ft and this is another plan he is considering.
Not surprisingly after all this activity he is now looking forward to a holiday, but unlike many other independent retailers he says he is able to take plenty of time off.
The key, he says, is to get a good management structure in place.
He is obviously confident he has achieved this because in January he is off to a house he owns in India for a two-month break, and says that he tries to take a similar break in most years.
No comments yet