Rippleglen is flourishing despite rejecting a bigger convenience offer says Rod Addy
News and magazine sales are the core strength of the Rippleglen estate, which operates under the trading name Arden News and stands at number 23 in The Grocer Top 50. At the last count in the 39 weeks to April 26, news sales were up 18.75% against overall sales which rose by 3.7%. By contrast, Rippleglen’s tobacco sales are falling. “For the first time, our gross profit for confectionery and snacks has outstripped our gross profit for tobacco,” says Colley, who sees this as teaching that flexibility is the key to growth.
R ippleglen’s MD Mike Colley faces a life-changing moment on August 16. At about 3.30pm he will find out how his team, Wolverhampton Wanderers, have fared against Blackburn Rovers in the first game of the Premiership - and the first since they were promoted. He is a bit apprehensive.
But when it comes to the business of CTNs, though, he is much more upbeat. The former Star News operations manager was brought in by outgoing MD and current chairman Harry Medcalf last year. He has some well-defined ideas about how to run the business. “You don’t need 25,000 sq ft stores to survive in the high street - you can keep going as long as you maintain your product mix.”
Colley is adamant a full convenience offering is not necessary: “We don’t want to go down the c-store route. We want to stick with our core competencies.”
The pick’n’mix offering is a traditional favourite. In fact, says Colley, “confectionery, together with drinks and crisps, accounts for almost 40% of our gross profit”.
The company has moulded itself around its customers’ needs. Other offerings include sandwiches, breakfast snacks such as the new McV a:m range and essentials such as tea, coffee and sugar. He adds: “We’re trying new things all the time. We’re developing the idea of selling bus passes at the moment. Cut flowers didn’t work, but you move on,” says Colley.
It was a similar recognition of the changing dynamics of the market that informed the company’s early years.
“The business grew out of small units selling cut price cigarettes and confectionery,” says Colley. “In 1992, only four sites sold newspapers.”
But as the market moved, Medcalf recognised the need to move away from relying on tobacco sales. By 1989, the
company that had begun trading in 1979 with a handful of kiosks had 26 c-stores.
The decisive shift to a fully fledged CTN chain happened between 1990 and 1997 mainly through acquisitions. A key growth point was the acquisition of 19 sites in Leeds in 1995 from retail newsagent Buckles. This was followed by the purchase of six stores from CTN chain Leda in 2002.
As to Colley’s appointment last year, it did not exactly come out of the blue. Medcalf and Colley go way back. As the owner of a Star News store, he managed paper deliveries to Medcalf’s home.
“Harry was a territory manager for Mars and his rep used to beg me to put Mars products in the store I ran at that time. We kept tabs on each other’s progress and had been on nodding terms for many years.”
A year since taking over the helm, Colley is now celebrating the opening of Rippleglen’s 74th store, in Solihull.
The business stretches from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Luton, and covers the width of England coast to coast.The stores’ floorspace is up to a maximum of 1,000 sq ft and the business includes five greetings card shops.
Colley is happy to stop there for the moment, since further expansion would force the company to revise its distribution. At the moment, 90% of what it sells is delivered in-house from its central office near Solihull. He also plans to maintain the company’s roots in confectionery and news, while at the same time being adaptable. But don’t think that points to conservatism.
Much of Rippleglen’s success so far has been based on a ruthless willingness to ditch outlets if they consistently underperform.
“One thing I noticed about this company was its ability to move very quickly to make decisions,” observes Colley. “It has always been willing to identify shops which weren’t making money and sell them off before they became loss-makers.”
Colley makes no bones about the fact that he plans to maintain this strategy. But the real keys to success, he says, will be a keen acquisition strategy - and flexibility.
“Our buyers are always on the look out for new deals,” says Colley. No need to add that he hopes Wolves adopt a similar tack in the Premiership.
Roots in confectionery and news
News and magazine sales are the core strength of the Rippleglen estate, which operates under the trading name Arden News and stands at number 23 in The Grocer Top 50. At the last count in the 39 weeks to April 26, news sales were up 18.75% against overall sales which rose by 3.7%. By contrast, Rippleglen’s tobacco sales are falling. “For the first time, our gross profit for confectionery and snacks has outstripped our gross profit for tobacco,” says Colley, who sees this as teaching that flexibility is the key to growth.
R ippleglen’s MD Mike Colley faces a life-changing moment on August 16. At about 3.30pm he will find out how his team, Wolverhampton Wanderers, have fared against Blackburn Rovers in the first game of the Premiership - and the first since they were promoted. He is a bit apprehensive.
But when it comes to the business of CTNs, though, he is much more upbeat. The former Star News operations manager was brought in by outgoing MD and current chairman Harry Medcalf last year. He has some well-defined ideas about how to run the business. “You don’t need 25,000 sq ft stores to survive in the high street - you can keep going as long as you maintain your product mix.”
Colley is adamant a full convenience offering is not necessary: “We don’t want to go down the c-store route. We want to stick with our core competencies.”
The pick’n’mix offering is a traditional favourite. In fact, says Colley, “confectionery, together with drinks and crisps, accounts for almost 40% of our gross profit”.
The company has moulded itself around its customers’ needs. Other offerings include sandwiches, breakfast snacks such as the new McV a:m range and essentials such as tea, coffee and sugar. He adds: “We’re trying new things all the time. We’re developing the idea of selling bus passes at the moment. Cut flowers didn’t work, but you move on,” says Colley.
It was a similar recognition of the changing dynamics of the market that informed the company’s early years.
“The business grew out of small units selling cut price cigarettes and confectionery,” says Colley. “In 1992, only four sites sold newspapers.”
But as the market moved, Medcalf recognised the need to move away from relying on tobacco sales. By 1989, the
company that had begun trading in 1979 with a handful of kiosks had 26 c-stores.
The decisive shift to a fully fledged CTN chain happened between 1990 and 1997 mainly through acquisitions. A key growth point was the acquisition of 19 sites in Leeds in 1995 from retail newsagent Buckles. This was followed by the purchase of six stores from CTN chain Leda in 2002.
As to Colley’s appointment last year, it did not exactly come out of the blue. Medcalf and Colley go way back. As the owner of a Star News store, he managed paper deliveries to Medcalf’s home.
“Harry was a territory manager for Mars and his rep used to beg me to put Mars products in the store I ran at that time. We kept tabs on each other’s progress and had been on nodding terms for many years.”
A year since taking over the helm, Colley is now celebrating the opening of Rippleglen’s 74th store, in Solihull.
The business stretches from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Luton, and covers the width of England coast to coast.The stores’ floorspace is up to a maximum of 1,000 sq ft and the business includes five greetings card shops.
Colley is happy to stop there for the moment, since further expansion would force the company to revise its distribution. At the moment, 90% of what it sells is delivered in-house from its central office near Solihull. He also plans to maintain the company’s roots in confectionery and news, while at the same time being adaptable. But don’t think that points to conservatism.
Much of Rippleglen’s success so far has been based on a ruthless willingness to ditch outlets if they consistently underperform.
“One thing I noticed about this company was its ability to move very quickly to make decisions,” observes Colley. “It has always been willing to identify shops which weren’t making money and sell them off before they became loss-makers.”
Colley makes no bones about the fact that he plans to maintain this strategy. But the real keys to success, he says, will be a keen acquisition strategy - and flexibility.
“Our buyers are always on the look out for new deals,” says Colley. No need to add that he hopes Wolves adopt a similar tack in the Premiership.
Roots in confectionery and news
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