A winning attitude

Nigel Scully, head of sales, National Lottery; Brian O’Casey, commercial director, Cuisine de France and Gavin O’Leary, marketing and circulation manager, Irish Daily Star, present the Gold National Award for Stores 2,000 to 4,000 sq ft to Derek Clarke and David O’Brien of Spar, Castleforbes, Dublin’s Financial Services Centre

Spar Castleforbes was the Gold winner of the Stores between 2,000 and 4,000 sq ft. A relatively new store in a newly developed part of Dublin it has managed to find its niche locally. Manager Derek Clarke explains more

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PROFILE
Address: Spar, Castleforbes Square, Dublin 3
Size: 2,800 sq ft
Manager: Derek Clarke
Staff: 14

Spar Castleforbes opened its doors six years ago. At the time the area around the docklands in Dublin was in full growth with hundreds of apartments and a great deal of new infrastructure being developed. A convenience store was a much needed facility for all the builders and new residents of the area. 

Clarke explains that initially the customers were mainly construction workers meaning the deli did very well. They also enjoyed strong trade when events or concerts were on in the Point Depot. Since then development has slowed and the builders are for the most part gone but the residents of the apartments and the trade from some new businesses in the area is maintaining a very healthy flow of traffic through the store.

"We would have a very healthy basket type shop here in the evenings," explains Clarke. "A lot of people who live in apartments don’t drive so 5pm – 7pm is the busiest time of the day but lunch is good as well. We have ten businesses between Macken House and Castleforbes House and we have accounts with them."

"It may seem quiet down here but there is a steady trade and I think people would pass other shops to come here. There’s a good bit of value in the shop and good mix of high end product with everyday low prices so it suits the young apartment dweller. 

"The off-licence plays a big part in the shop. It probably varies each week from 20/25% of the trade. Friday and Saturday night here is great for selling wine. We sell about 300 bottles of wine a week."

Clarke’s background is with Superquinn and he previously managed the Walkinstown and Finglas stores. When the opportunity came up to take on this store for the Newhill group, he was happy to leave Superquinn behind. "I always had the plan to do something myself and when this opportunity came up and there was very little risk involved, it appealed to me. At the time it was the middle of the boom so there was no reason why it wouldn’t work down here. I think Spar is a superb operator and the company has good vision. They were fairly innovative in the boom and they brought in a lot of new concepts."

Tweaking the offering 

However Clarke feels that the Spar concepts born in the boom such as the Treehouse smoothies and the Kitsu noodle bar have become somewhat redundant so Clarke hopes to get replace some of these concepts and bring in more fridge space for dairy sales, grocery and to transform the newspapers and magazines section. "We haven’t done a huge amount to the shop in six years. It’s ready for a bit of change and you have to keep innovating to suit your customer base."

The huge advancements over the past year for BWG’s chilled and central distribution at Kilshane Cross and Kilcarbery has meant that Clarke now has access to extra ranges and products. His dairy has particularly improved because of this. "Dairy is 11/12% of the business some days and that is excluding raw meat which accounts for another 1/2%. We sell a lot of raw meat because we have the Glenmor range of products. We can sell 170/180 units of chicken fillets, mince steak, whole chickens etc a week here." 

Winning awards

Clarke credits colleague Dave O’Brien for keeping the store to the highest possible standards. "He came with me from Superquinn. He manages everything. He’s a young guy, very innovative and he has a background in fresh food and knows his wines." Clarke is also running two other sites for the Newhill group, a Spar in Rathcoole, Dublin and a Spar in Ringsend. He says that maintaining the shops and keeping up standards is very important and he was very anxious to do well in this year’s C-Store Awards. "These things are good for business. If you have the standard in the shop, you’ll get the sales out of it. It’s all about sales for me. If I have the place presented properly and it’s all in the right order and it’s marketed correctly, you’re on a winner. We were delighted to win this award because it is one of the awards to win."

 The judge’s verdict

Head judge and independent retailer expert Joe Comerford shares his opinion of the store

This store operates within the very competitive inner city of Dublin and focuses on the requirements of the local community. It carries a very large range of product with emphasis on fresh foods and off-licence. Its customer service is excellent with very happy staff who love to help and serve customers. 

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