Galloping out in front
Since opening on 16 April this year, Londis store, The Racecourse Foodhall, is storming ahead in its goal to become “a cornerstone of the local community”
Print13 July 2010
Profile
The Racecourse Foodhall, Londis
Castleknock
Co Dublin
Retailer: Jonathan Gillan
Size: 3,500 sq ft
Staff: 18, 14 full-time, 4 part-time
A career in retail was “inevitable” for Jonathan Gillan, store manager of the new Londis Foodhall in Castleknock, Co Dublin – a fortunate occurrence considering his self-proclaimed love for the job. Gillan grew up within the industry, gaining a valuable head start by helping out his parents at their Londis Plus store in Summerhill, Co Meath from a young age. During this early beginning, he learnt about the commitment retailing requires, as by his own admission, “there was never a day off, I’d always be in after school.” He then worked at Summerhill full-time for five years, before the opportunity to manage his own store in Castleknock arose and he courageously “took it with both hands.”
Gillan believes his experience at his parents’ nearly 5,000 sq ft store in Summerhill has proved invaluable. “Summerhill is a great business and it’s a great place to learn. My parents really have shared an awful lot of their own experience and they’ve been second to none. Especially with starting up here they’ve been an invaluable help.”
On top of benefiting from the advice of two most well qualified mentors; the proposed location of the Castleknock store also gave Gillan confidence he was embarking on the right move.
Racing to success
The Racecourse Foodhall is an apt name, not only because of the store’s proximity to former horse racing venue, the Phoenix Park Racecourse, and current day Phoenix Park Raceourse apartments development; but also because it allows customers to race ahead of traffic heading into Castleknock village. Gillan explains: There’s over 700 apartments in the development itself and only 20 or 30 of those would be idle. If you go about a mile radius outside of that, there’s thousands of homes we can cater for, and luckily we’re on the right side of the traffic in Castleknock. We’ve excellent access both off the N3 and from the old Castleknock Road. We’ve plenty of parking here as well so instead of heading off into Castleknock in the traffic, which is busy because there’s several schools there, people can park their car here no hassle and come in and get the quality and value they’re looking for.” The store’s location has also been greatly appreciated by apartment residents for whom there had previously been “no real local shop at all.”
Gillan believes the convenience provided by the store’s prime location, creates a much more relaxed atmosphere which is “reflected in the shop itself when you walk in.” He and his team decided to aim for a setting “a step above the usual kind of convenience shop” which is why they opted for the Londis Foodhall concept. Walnut fixtures and fittings, flattering lighting and a “proper slab ceiling” instead of a suspended ceiling have all been introduced to ensure the store creates an upmarket and fresh first impression. While these features have naturally necessitated a higher capital outlay, Gillan is positive they’ve formed a worthwhile investment. “It’s an expensive roof but we wanted to do it right and I think it really does work out well,” he notes. “The Londis team who designed the store, led by Robert McAllister, have done a fantastic job. It’s very airy and open, there’s a lot of light, and it’s easy to navigate your way around. In the planning stages Robert has a great eye for visualising what something will look like, and the experience and guidance he offers is excellent.”
Meeting customers’ needs
Developing an upmarket foodhall concept was also important in order to satisfy the store’s varied customer base. “A lot of people based here in the development itself would be young couples, and then we have the older generation in Castleknock as well. It’s therefore a matter of pitching our offerings between the two groups and getting the value right for people who are trying to pay huge mortgages, or the people who possibly don’t have a mortgage a mile down the road and so might have slightly more expensive tastes and want their speciality breads and wines.”
To this end, the store offers a “great selection of products such as wines, apple tarts and hams” and Gillan adds that the “quality of the produce offered by Groomes fruit and veg is first class.” The Castleknock store has also been able to capitalise on relationships with local suppliers cultivated over the years in Summerhill, to offer tasty homebaked goods from local suppliers such as Catherine’s Tarts.
Speaking of tasty, homemade produce, Gillan adds that this is a category in which the store’s deli has proved a formidable competitor. “Brian Lawlor, our deli manager, has many years of experience managing cafes and restaurants, and cheffing experience as well, so our daily dinners from €3.99 have been proving a hit. Especially for people coming home from work; instead of them having to buy the ingredients and go upstairs and cook for themselves, they can opt for our daily home cooked dinner in the shop. We change it everyday, and keep it very fresh, very inviting. People love the convenience of it number one and the food out of there is absolutely fabulous.”
Delivering long-term value
Another feature of the store which has been attracting customers’ attentions for all the right reasons, claims Gillan, is the value that’s available. He explains that because his parents also own the Londis Plus in Summerhill, the store uses the Londis Plus price file, in which he believes the “value has been absolutely fantastic.” He adds moreover that this value “is not only available on a short-term basis. We have opening offers in the store that we’re still able to run with two and a half months later, so the buyers are really doing a fantastic job.” The store has also hosted more unique promotions to boost its customer engagement. For example the store ran a promotion to have one customer’s ESB bill paid for a year. “It really caught people’s attention because it was something different, it wasn’t just the usual thing,” says Gillan. “Actually it was won by a local lady and she was delighted with it.”
Being able to offer all of the above factors has reinforced Gillan’s decision that he made the right choice in opting to work with Londis once again. “Any dealings that we’ve had with Londis over the years, they’ve been second to none. The service they’ve given, and the guidance and the support; everything from Stephen O’Riordan, to area manager Terry O’Brien, has been flawless.”
Right recruitment
Terry O’Brien also played a key role in helping Gillan select his team, and the retailer says he’s extremely pleased with the results. “Our team are fantastic; there’s a great level of experience there, down from assistant store manager Richard Murphy, who has 35 years of retailing experience. Then in the deli there’s Brian Lawlor; his crew are fantastic as well. That’s crucial because a store depends on the friendliness of its staff and the welcome people receive determines whether or not they come back.”
Although many people are currently interested in a career in retail, Gillan says he was expecting thousands and thousands of applicants, yet area manager Terry O’Brien helped make the selection process much less arduous by finecombing through the initial emails and “sorting the wheat from the chaff.” That said, Gillan nevertheless notes: “You would have everyone from engineers to till staff looking for jobs; but we’re delighted with the staff we have now; they’re very experienced and they’re very good at what they do.”
Looking towards the future, Gillan is hoping to emulate his parents’ success. Their 25 year old Summerhill shop is “a real cornerstone of the community, and I would see this shop becoming a real cornerstone of the community as well. It’ll be a matter of keeping in touch with the community around us; seeing their needs and wants, and matching them to keep customers happy. A lot of our customers are young couples and their needs will change when babies arrive so I envision the shop developing alongside that.” In the short term, the store has actually excelled its targets since opening and Gillan’s focus on ensuring customer satisfaction suggests he will succeed in marking the store out as a central hub within the local community as well.
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