Merry times on Merrion Row
Leading the way in fresh foods innovation, Spar Merrion Row, Dublin 2, has scooped this year’s Gold Award for stores sized between 2,000 and 4,000 sq ft
Print16 January 2012
First opened on 5 December 2005, Spar Merrion Row has consistently been an innovative pioneer within the convenience arena. Retailer Thomas Ennis explains: “Merrion Row was the first of its kind to have a sit-down area within a deli and convenience store, as well as a smoothie bar. We were the first and we broke a lot of barriers in relation to the convenience business, especially in 2005, six years ago. I like to think that we pushed the boundaries in relation to how to do food.”
Continually trying new ideas
However it was not all smooth-sailing for the dynamic business in the beginning. “The first six months were really, really tough,” concedes Ennis. “I’d come from an environment of being in Superquinn where you had your head office and if you’d a problem you’d someone to ring, whereas when you become self-employed and an independent retailer, you have to [deal with it] yourself if there’s a problem. So it was very testing, and it was tough. We failed on a lot of things that we tried, and we tried everything, but to get to where we are now and to have that range of food and to succeed, we [had to] get it wrong on a lot of things”.
A fear of failure certainly hasn’t dampened Ennis’ enthusiasm however. He still very much believes in trying out new ideas and products despite the inherent risk involved, as it’s vital to remain at the forefront of providing what the customer wants, rather than becoming staid. “We’d try anything in any of the shops. If the fresh food people see something and they think it might work, we’ll try it. We always try it, and if it works great, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t, but we always try to be innovative. Some of the success stories of Merrion Row all started out with an idea that somebody put forward. We make all our own salads and all our own ready meals; we have chefs working with us, so we’ve evolved as a store from December 2005 to December 2011.”
The wow factor
Another potent example of the store’s forward-thinking nature is that it employed touch screen deli ordering back in 2005. This creative ethos has lead to the store becoming an inspirational destination, which still manages to make “people who walk in the door for the first time, go wow”. Every couple of months, the store receives visits from retailers from the UK and mainland Europe, “and they’re blown away by what they see in here,” says Ennis. “What they see in Donnybrook Fair, Fallon & Byrne, these types of stores; they’re fantastic for a small country like Ireland. I think visitors are wowed by how we marry all the different aspects together, including coffee, smoothies, a deli and Kitsu noodles. In fairness, you’ve got to hand it to Spar, they were innovative in marrying those concepts up together.”
ShelfLife publisher John McDonald presents the runner-up certificate for the Gold Award (Stores 2,000 to 4,000 sq ft) to Suzanne Weldon, BWG, on behalf of Spar, Clane Road, Celbridge
Ennis also attributes the store’s success to the loyalty and dedication of its hard-working team, many of whom have been based at the Merrion Row shop since it started. “In this business, people can get caught up in fixtures and fittings, and it’s actually a people business, it’s about people,” says the retailer. He is proud of the excellent relationship his staff have with customers, who demand good service within the upmarket Dublin 2 area. Staff training is also essential at Thomas Ennis’ group of five c-stores based in Dublin and Celbridge, where “all of the management team started off as sales assistants and got promoted from within.”
Achieving an important goal
ShelfLife publisher John McDonald presents the runner-up certificate for the Gold Award (Stores 2,000 to 4,000 sq ft) to Roy Connor of Spar, Dominick Street, Mullingar
The team were delighted to win the ShelfLife C-Store award, not least because their boss had “told them that I wanted to win. From the beginning of the year, we set out our goals and objectives and one of the objectives this year was to win a ShelfLife Gold Award. So I set that down and then we looked at how we would do it.” Staff’s commitment paid off when they scooped the title in question. Ennis comments: “It’s a real buzz to win something as prestigious as that and the judging is very strict and we did put a lot of work into it”.
The store is certainly no stranger to receiving awards however as it has won numerous accolades throughout the past six years including being named in the top 20 stores at the Retail Excellence Store of the Year 2010, and gaining Spar Five Star Awards. Ennis said of the ShelfLife C-Store Awards: “It’s not something that you go into lightly. So if you want to enter the ShelfLife awards to try and win an award just make sure you’re top of your game or else you’re wasting your time. We made sure we were ready because it is a very detailed competition”.
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