Considering it took seventh place in The Grocer Top 50 and will shortly acquire its 100th store, Waynes Foods is curiously under recognised within the industry. Indeed, after the latest Top 50 was published (The Grocer, February 15) one symbol group got in touch seeking details about the company. It obviously thought it had detected a sizeable potential recruit, not realising it was the company owned stores arm of Welsh Spar wholesaler Capper & Co.
Sales director Alun Williams is not concerned about the low profile, and admits that, even within Capper & Co, Waynes Foods tends to be referred to as "the company owned stores".
Acquired in the 1960s it is only in the last decade that Capper has begun to focus attention on building up Waynes Foods' portfolio.
So successful has it been though, says Williams, that together with independent Spar stores there is a degree of saturation within Waynes' Welsh heartlands. Nevertheless, he believes there is plenty of growth potential further east.
Like its fellow Spar principals, Capper & Co restricts its activities to an agreed territory, which in its case stretches in a broad band from the South Wales coast across to the Kent coast, with the River Thames acting as the northern boundary.
The company employs two staff who are searching for new sites, and one of the areas which offers the biggest opportunities, according to Williams, is London. He says the company is keen to develop within the M25 circle, but would need a cluster of stores to make it viable for delivery purposes. Overall, Williams is looking to add 10 to 15 new stores this year to its current tally of 98, and the two to make it a century are already in the pipeline. Finding the right sites is not easy though because of the tight criteria.
Williams says: "We're looking for stores of about 2,000 sq ft to accommodate our full offer, although we will go below that for city centre sites. We also want high footfall such as at stations or universities."
Buying sites is not a one way business as some sites are sold on to Capper's independent retail customers. Williams says: "If a site comes up that is not right for us but would make a good independent store, we can babysit it until the right operator comes along."
The "babysitting" can be a lengthy process, lasting up to two years, because, as Williams puts it: "It's easy to find someone to run a store, but it's difficult to find the right person".
Staff are a vital component in the company owned stores strategy, too. It has recently been focusing more on retaining and developing its best managers; the number of regional managers has been doubled from five to 10, with four of the new positions filled by promotions from within; and better managers are being offered the opportunity to take on more sites.
Investment in the stores is also ongoing with a programme to bring them all up to the full Spar Millennium format. Williams insists that his stores stand comparison with any in the sector, including the multiples, and with stores like the recently refurbished one at Beddau it is difficult to argue. Just a few miles from Capper's HQ, the store averages £35,000 turnover a week, before utilities, from just under 3,000 sq ft.
With group average weekly turnover of £22,000 per store, plus another £4,000 from utilities and the lottery, and sales growing at 5% year on year, it looks certain that the name Waynes Foods is set for a much higher profile in the future.
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Sales director Alun Williams is not concerned about the low profile, and admits that, even within Capper & Co, Waynes Foods tends to be referred to as "the company owned stores".
Acquired in the 1960s it is only in the last decade that Capper has begun to focus attention on building up Waynes Foods' portfolio.
So successful has it been though, says Williams, that together with independent Spar stores there is a degree of saturation within Waynes' Welsh heartlands. Nevertheless, he believes there is plenty of growth potential further east.
Like its fellow Spar principals, Capper & Co restricts its activities to an agreed territory, which in its case stretches in a broad band from the South Wales coast across to the Kent coast, with the River Thames acting as the northern boundary.
The company employs two staff who are searching for new sites, and one of the areas which offers the biggest opportunities, according to Williams, is London. He says the company is keen to develop within the M25 circle, but would need a cluster of stores to make it viable for delivery purposes. Overall, Williams is looking to add 10 to 15 new stores this year to its current tally of 98, and the two to make it a century are already in the pipeline. Finding the right sites is not easy though because of the tight criteria.
Williams says: "We're looking for stores of about 2,000 sq ft to accommodate our full offer, although we will go below that for city centre sites. We also want high footfall such as at stations or universities."
Buying sites is not a one way business as some sites are sold on to Capper's independent retail customers. Williams says: "If a site comes up that is not right for us but would make a good independent store, we can babysit it until the right operator comes along."
The "babysitting" can be a lengthy process, lasting up to two years, because, as Williams puts it: "It's easy to find someone to run a store, but it's difficult to find the right person".
Staff are a vital component in the company owned stores strategy, too. It has recently been focusing more on retaining and developing its best managers; the number of regional managers has been doubled from five to 10, with four of the new positions filled by promotions from within; and better managers are being offered the opportunity to take on more sites.
Investment in the stores is also ongoing with a programme to bring them all up to the full Spar Millennium format. Williams insists that his stores stand comparison with any in the sector, including the multiples, and with stores like the recently refurbished one at Beddau it is difficult to argue. Just a few miles from Capper's HQ, the store averages £35,000 turnover a week, before utilities, from just under 3,000 sq ft.
With group average weekly turnover of £22,000 per store, plus another £4,000 from utilities and the lottery, and sales growing at 5% year on year, it looks certain that the name Waynes Foods is set for a much higher profile in the future.
{{NEWS }}
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