It had been empty for three years and the equipment, fixtures and plaster were seriously flood-damaged. Perfect for a first retail venture, though Steven and Bridget Ford. And against all odds, they are well on the way to proving they were right


Village Stores in Sedgeberrow, Worcestershire, was in a sorry state when Steven and Bridget Ford bought it in November 2008. Closed since 2005, it had been hit in by a flood of biblical proportions in July 2008 and the whole place had been submerged in four feet of stinking water wrecking fridges, fixtures, even the plaster on the walls.

It was no great surprise when the owner decided to get rid of the place a year later rather than fix it up. But while the flood was the last straw for him, the Fords saw an opportunity for a fresh start and as soon as they bought the property, got straight to work, re-opening the store this January.

If I had met them in the weeks before, I might have cried: "Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it!" They both had good, stable jobs Steven is an engineer and Bridget a hospital pharmacy technician before they decided their future lay in resurrecting this ruined, neglected shop.

But I wasn't there, and even if I were, they probably wouldn't have listened. They took out a short-term mortgage at a challenging 14.9% rate to make the initial purchase. Their plan was to get the place open as soon as possible and, once the living quarters were habitable, sell their house, pay off their short-term mortgage and live the traditional village shopkeeper life.

But they learned the hard way that in business, it is best to expect the unexpected. Their trouble began with the housing crash. Unable to sell their home, they bravely decided to let it out. Steven had to keep his job to help finance the extra mortgage, leaving Bridget to run the store alone. They did the work themselves. The daughter of a master plasterer, Bridget has done a grand job of the walls. The shop is fitted with Ikea-type flat shelving units, which work surprisingly well and give the place an appropriately rustic feel.

The décor may be good, but the layout is less clear-cut. For some reason there are two dining tables in the shop: one Victorian and one modern.

The Victorian one is laden with wicker baskets filled with local fruit and veg. I like it and think it works. The modern table doesn't have much on it, but has four chairs surrounding it. When I asked what it was doing there Bridget said it was there, "in case someone wants to sit down and have a cup of tea".

"Do you do tea then?" I asked. "Well no, well sort of, well we were, but it didn't work out," came the reply.

Mmm. Perhaps they should have got rid of the table when they got rid of the tea. But this oversight doesn't detract from the fantastic quality of some of the goods on offer. The couple source fruit and veg from nearby farms and the chiller is stocked with local home-made sausages, fresh meat and tempting dairy produce.

In some ways the quirkiness of the store just adds to its appeal. And despite the apparent breakdown in relations between the previous owner and his clientele, the Fords have won the locals over with their cheery and friendly attitude.

Are they doing enough business to survive? Well, yes. I was impressed by what they had achieved, especially considering this is their first retail venture. The Fords have taken a busted, flooded shop that had been shut for four years and built the turnover up to £10,000 a month.

Were it not for the crippling mortgage, that sort of revenue would net them a reasonable profit.

That's not to say they haven't made mistakes along the way. An attempt to save money by buying second-hand mechanical equipment led to a few catastrophic freezer breakdowns, as a result of which they ended up digging deep and shelling out for new ones.

The redundant tea table needs to go, as do the elderly bananas lurking among the otherwise fresh produce.

They have a good-quality old-fashioned sign outside, yet have made no attempt at window display. During my visit a huge volume of cars went by, so bags of spuds, special offers, an A-board and fresh sandwiches would encourage people to stop and have a look.

The drinks section is tiny too. Small shops can make a killing with a decent booze range and the Fords need to start exploiting this.

The other area where they let themselves down is their opening hours. Closing at 6pm on Monday to Friday means they miss the crucial midweek evening trade, although the 1pm Saturday and midday Sunday closing times make sense.

The good news for the Fords is that if they address these few basic failings and get rid of some of their more wacky ideas, (such as DVD rentals, which in an age of Lovefilm and easyCinema, are largely redundant), they have the potential to build a really successful business.