Centre of the community

Retailer Barry O'Sullivan put a great deal of thought into the design of his Centra store in order to ensure it fits in with its surrroundings, using natural stone, natural slate and arched-timber windows in its construction

O'Sullivan's Centra in Innishannon, Co. Cork has been open for just six months, but has already made a positive impression on the local retail trade. Barry O'Sullivan has been trading in Innishannon since 2002 but bought the site only last year. A major revamp followed and so far, reaction has been very positive

People

14 October 2013

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PROFILE

O’Sullivan’s Centra,

Innishannon, Co. Cork

Owner: Barry O’Sullivan

Size: 4,000 sq ft

Staff: 25 – 12 full-time and 13 part-time

Career change

Barry O’Sullivan is an engineer by trade but has been in the retail industry for over 10 years. The Innishannon native took his first steps into retail in 2002 when he leased a site on the main road in the village from Denis and Mary Ryan. That site held a 1,000 sq ft Spar shop and a forecourt. It was subsequently sold to a property developer in 2005, however, O’Sullivan continued to run the business. Last year, the opportunity to purchase the site from the developer came about and O’Sullivan jumped at the chance. "I saw this as the buying opportunity of a generation, to buy this site when I bought it. I never paused for a second." The deal went ahead and O’Sullivan planned on expanding the retail space and upgrading the site.

Within a couple of weeks of buying the 1.3 acre site, O’Sullivan had offers from various symbol groups to partner with him on the project but the Musgrave Group impressed him the most. "They hugely impressed me with their professionalism, they brought an architect, they brought a store design guy, a retail strategist; I was blown away with their interest in the site. They told me it was a fantastic site and that they were interested in getting on board. I had my mind made up at that stage that Musgrave’s were the people to go with." O’Sullivan believed the Musgrave Group knew how to make a 4,000 sq ft store work under the Centra banner. "Any store that is 4,000 sq ft retail, that is working, is a Centra. I don’t think there’s anything different between Spar and Centra at 1,000 sq ft but if you go to 4,000 sq ft and you want people to push around a trolley then Centra works."

Ian Allen, Centra sales director and Kieran Allen, Centra regional manager are given a tour by Barry O’Sullivan, store owner, along with his staff

Village pride

When O’Sullivan bought the site, he had a good idea of what he wanted to create. He built a two-storey section with natural stone and the retail box of the store was built beside it. It was important that the outside appearance of the store fitted in with the aesthetics of the village. "This is the first building you see when you enter Innishannon. As it is the first building on your way in, I was very conscious of the fact that I have a church next to me so would not get away with a commercially-shaped box which is something that other retailers put up. That would not be in keeping with this village." The former engineer built the two-storey section of the building with natural stone, natural slate and arched-timber windows so that it fits in with its surroundings. The retail space, or ‘box’ as it’s called, was then put on beside the two-storey section. It was very important to O’Sullivan to design the building correctly. "I’m from Innishannon and I had no intention of making a steel box and trading a Centra out of it. I wanted a building to be proud of."

The main road from Cork to Bandon passes through Innishannon with approx. 20,000 cars per day passing O’Sullivan’s store. The customer base of the store is grounded in the local community but there is a large amount of passing trade also, although the majority is repeat business. "I would get a lot of passing trade. I have customers that don’t live in Innishannon but they come in every day because they are passing that road. We recognise the faces every day but they may not all be from the village. The core of the shop’s business is from the community."

Complete revamp

The sense of community which influenced O’Sullivan to build a shop in keeping with the surroundings of the village, also led him to use all local craftsmen and labour for the construction work. The building work took six months and the new-look store was opened last April. "We built it by direct labour; we didn’t employ any main contractor. I looked after it myself; I stepped out of the shop and put on the boots and jacket for six months. I had a team of people from Innishannon and I wanted to employ from Innishannon because of the way the economy is. I used local people to dig it out, local guys to pour the floor, a local person put up the steel building, a local person did the block work, a local person did the roof, a local person did the stone, a local person wired it and a local person plumbed it. It’s all local people, customers who are in the shop every day, people who have been in my shop for the last 10 years."

During the construction process, O’Sullivan kept the Spar store open and trading while the work was going on behind it. The forecourt also traded as normal during the work. The building is around 6,500 sq ft with a retail floor of 4,000 sq ft. The building work started in October 2012 and was completed by April 2013. "We kept the Spar store open because it was out the front so we knocked everything else around it and left the shell. We closed the Spar store on 21 April and took it out overnight. This store opened on 24 April so we were only closed for three days." The store opened just eight days after Centra launched its own-brand range of over 900 products. The timing was perfect for O’Sullivan. "We got lucky in that they launched it on 16 April and they had a huge launch. We opened eight days later so we really got behind it. All our ends are done in own-brand and we find it really good. Centra Rice Krispies are outselling Kellogg’s by about 10 to one at this stage."

Meeting customers’ needs

The addition of the own-brand to the Centra portfolio has gone down well with the customers in the area. O’Sullivan says that once they switch, they tend to stay with the own-brand products. "It seems to be working with the customers and they seem to be buying into it. If you can get someone to change over to it, they stay with it. There is a quality dimension; own-brand has increased in quality so there is no difference in it now. That part of the business is very strong and growing." Along with the own-brand range, the store’s fresh offering is performing strongly. The deli offering includes homemade products along with hot and cold food-to-go. The shop has a generous seating area which is bright, fresh and inviting.

The emphasis on fresh is something which the Centra brand has worked hard on over recent years. "The new design Centra store is completely focused on fresh. When you come in the door all you see is coffee, bakery, deli, fruit and veg. You don’t show off tins of beans because everyone knows that you have tins of beans. That area isn’t overly pushed but you are attracted there because of the floor layout. When you go to the deli, you are pulled down along the dairy wall and you’re sucked down into the rest of the shop." O’Sullivan says that he has three types of customers. "I have a customer that comes in, gets petrol and wants to pay and leave. I have a customer that wants to come in and use the deli, maybe sit down for 10 minutes and leave. Then I have the indigenous people around here who want to come in and pick up a basket and buy €20, €30, €40." The design of the shop is geared towards those types of customers with a flow from the fresh down through the back of the store to the grocery section.

O’Sullivan says that the ambient category is the one area that is struggling when it comes to sales. "I guess when we analyse the figures at the end of the week, 90% of our business is made up of impulse grocery, deli, fruit and veg, provisions, frozen, cigarettes, ice-cream and off-license. We have around 2,000 sq ft in the middle of the ambient and that’s only 10% of my business. We have really gone after it, we have everything you want. It’s all done in shelf-talkers and special offers." O’Sullivan is determined to have everything any of his customers would possibly look for, all under the one roof.

Through participating in Centra’s three-week promotional cycles, the store benefits from a strong value perception

Beyond the traditional

The store participates across the range of promotions that Centra runs. The three-week cycle has nearly 100 items on special offer and O’Sullivan says that he carries 99% of them. The store also carries a range of non-food items which have a high margin and are something different to attract the customer. O’Sullivan says that it’s something that other retailers are known for. "Non-food is something that Tesco, Lidl and Aldi are all good at. I have storage boxes down there [on the shop floor] and we got in 370 of them and there are over 300 of them sold now. We’ve sold them in three weeks." Expanding the range is something that O’Sullivan believes will bring in more custom. "We’ve got tents ordered for next year, we’ve got a small bit of garden furniture coming, and we’ve got furry blankets for Christmas. They’re good, they’re a margin spinner and a turnover spinner and they don’t go out of date! They do get tired so you need to change them up. They’re all bought through Centra."

Doing the job right

Barry O’Sullivan is concentrating on establishing his business. There are plans in the pipeline to look at a scratch bakery in the deli, something which is becoming more and more popular for stores across the country. The more immediate concern is bedding down the business as it stands now. For now, O’Sullivan has no plans to expand his store network. One is enough for him! "If you want to run a 4,000 sq ft store, and you want to run it right, your plans are to run your store. We’re open 20 weeks." Looks like he has made an impression in those few weeks.

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