Further growth is on the way for the acquisitive chain as the fascia stamps its identity on the south west, says Anne Bruce
Smile has spread across Bath and the south west of England since the Symonds family acquired Bristol Evening Post’s 48-strong Newshops chain in 1998. Expansion continued with the purchase of the 15-strong JCR News chain in October 2002. Now, Smile Stores, ranked 22 in The Grocer’s Top 50 independent chains, is a committed c-store operator although it has kept a strong focus on news and magazines.
Chief executive Jeremy Symonds and his father Alan opened their first CTN in the mid-1980s as a natural extension to their existing T& A Symonds wholesale business.
Symonds only began to develop a neighbourhood convenience retailing concept after buying Newshops.
He needed an umbrella brand for a diverse portfolio because its other stores traded under whatever name they had when they were acquired. The Smile Local brand was eventually chosen as a uniform corporate identity in keeping with a vision of bright, welcoming community stores. The company rebranded its first store as Smile Local in 2000.
Over the past few years, as the chain has been rebranding its stores, outlets have moved from CTN size to a more profitable convenience size by acquisition and disposal of premises. Symonds initially oversaw that programme in conjunction with Jerry Marwood, current chief executive of Spar, who did a stint with the company as managing director.
The average store size is now 2,000 sq ft, with most stores in secondary high street locations. But even though a good store may serve more than a thousand convenience
shoppers in a day, Symonds says passing traffic cannot be relied on to drive sales at the chain, where turnover rose 7.9% to £41.5m for the last financial year. All stores deliver newspapers, good for building loyalty, and promotions are also important footfall drivers. And Symonds says it is important to encourage people to shop on a regular basis by having a strong licensed section as part of a rounded offer. Beers, wines and spirits and confectionery sold well last Christmas, up 3%.
As part of the drive to attract more regulars, the chain is also experimenting with food to go. Twelve new-look stores have hot food and 20 have bake-off - and such offers are doing very well, says Symonds. Location of the counter is vital - sales are 50% up in one store where the Cuisine de France counter is by the checkout. That idea is now likely to be rolled out to other stores.
As stores are upgraded to Smile Local, they are refurbished and the range is extended to include a wider range of chilled and fresh produce. Rebranded stores have a core range and additional lines, tailored to the local area’s demographics, says Symonds. Ranges can be adjusted as EPoS data is examined.
By Christmas, 34 of the company’s 80 stores had been rebadged and the format evolves continually. Symonds says: “The thing is to keep stores bright and up to date with a range for everybody.”
Symonds has made a new year’s resolution - to make 10 acquisitions in the south west of England this year.
Two new stores are scheduled to be in operation by next month which gives Symonds a good chance of being among the minority who actually keep their new year resolutions.
Smile has spread across Bath and the south west of England since the Symonds family acquired Bristol Evening Post’s 48-strong Newshops chain in 1998. Expansion continued with the purchase of the 15-strong JCR News chain in October 2002. Now, Smile Stores, ranked 22 in The Grocer’s Top 50 independent chains, is a committed c-store operator although it has kept a strong focus on news and magazines.
Chief executive Jeremy Symonds and his father Alan opened their first CTN in the mid-1980s as a natural extension to their existing T& A Symonds wholesale business.
Symonds only began to develop a neighbourhood convenience retailing concept after buying Newshops.
He needed an umbrella brand for a diverse portfolio because its other stores traded under whatever name they had when they were acquired. The Smile Local brand was eventually chosen as a uniform corporate identity in keeping with a vision of bright, welcoming community stores. The company rebranded its first store as Smile Local in 2000.
Over the past few years, as the chain has been rebranding its stores, outlets have moved from CTN size to a more profitable convenience size by acquisition and disposal of premises. Symonds initially oversaw that programme in conjunction with Jerry Marwood, current chief executive of Spar, who did a stint with the company as managing director.
The average store size is now 2,000 sq ft, with most stores in secondary high street locations. But even though a good store may serve more than a thousand convenience
shoppers in a day, Symonds says passing traffic cannot be relied on to drive sales at the chain, where turnover rose 7.9% to £41.5m for the last financial year. All stores deliver newspapers, good for building loyalty, and promotions are also important footfall drivers. And Symonds says it is important to encourage people to shop on a regular basis by having a strong licensed section as part of a rounded offer. Beers, wines and spirits and confectionery sold well last Christmas, up 3%.
As part of the drive to attract more regulars, the chain is also experimenting with food to go. Twelve new-look stores have hot food and 20 have bake-off - and such offers are doing very well, says Symonds. Location of the counter is vital - sales are 50% up in one store where the Cuisine de France counter is by the checkout. That idea is now likely to be rolled out to other stores.
As stores are upgraded to Smile Local, they are refurbished and the range is extended to include a wider range of chilled and fresh produce. Rebranded stores have a core range and additional lines, tailored to the local area’s demographics, says Symonds. Ranges can be adjusted as EPoS data is examined.
By Christmas, 34 of the company’s 80 stores had been rebadged and the format evolves continually. Symonds says: “The thing is to keep stores bright and up to date with a range for everybody.”
Symonds has made a new year’s resolution - to make 10 acquisitions in the south west of England this year.
Two new stores are scheduled to be in operation by next month which gives Symonds a good chance of being among the minority who actually keep their new year resolutions.
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