Sister act
Sisters Carmel and Margaret Lunney have teamed up to create an attractive one-stop site at their Gala store and service station at Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Roscommon
Print8 August 2012
PROFILE
Lunney’s Gala
Boyle Road,
Cortober,
Carrick-on-Shannon,
Co. Roscommon
Retailers: Carmel and Margaret Lunney
Size: 2,000 sq ft
Staff: 12 full-time, six part-time
By complementing each other’s skill sets perfectly, sisters Carmel and Margaret Lunney form a dynamic retailing duo at Lunney’s Gala and service station in Carrick-on-Shannon in Co. Roscommon.
While Carmel has a background in marketing, having previously worked as a brand manager for a pharmaceutical company, Margaret is able to expertly look after the books. Previously working for the Dutch bank, ING, she has a solid background in finance, which has proved an invaluable skill in running the duo’s busy store.
An attractive business proposition
Both sisters had been living in Dublin for several years and working in their respective fields, when their father Kevin approached them with an attractive business proposition back in 2004.
Owning Lunney Garages Ltd in Carrick-on-Shannon, Kevin Lunney is a well-established figure within the motors trade. The eagle-eyed entrepreneur spotted an opportunity to develop the limited petrol offering that existed at the shop’s site back in 2004, which Carmel describes as “just a hut with four pumps at it”. However with no background in grocery retailing himself, Kevin was keen for other family members to redevelop the business and take a hands-on approach in its day-to-day running.
“That’s where we came in and took that side over”, says Margaret, who describes the offer as a great opportunity. “The only kind of retailing background we had previously was working in summer jobs. It was a chance to be our own boss because you’ll never run a bank or a pharmaceutical company so it was a chance to do our own thing and make the shop our own.”
Starting from scratch
With “a brand new build” on their hands, the sisters were certainly able to put their own stamp on the store. “We worked an awful lot with Gala at the time; they were great in developing the layout and planning of the store,” notes Carmel. “They were with us from the very start.” Margaret adds that the sisters also invested time in visiting other stores to develop a clear idea of the layout they wanted. The result is a fresh and airy, vibrant store, which in January of this year benefited from a valuable new addition.
The ‘Coffee Room’ is an ample seating area which extends out from the main store, with a smart café feel. This relaxing space for customers has already garnered a great deal of positive feedback from locals and passers-by alike. An added bonus is that it provides free WiFi internet access, which Carmel notes has made the café a popular destination for business reps on the road.
Location, location, location
A tempting selection of hot foods alongside salads and sandwiches from the deli are available at the store, as well as homemade bakery goods, which all help to attract those travelling west from Dublin to Sligo and Donegal. The Lunneys feel that in this respect their Gala benefits from a strong location. “We’re on the main N4 and there isn’t as much traffic on the road as there has been in previous years but it’s still one of the main arteries,” says Carmel.
“Carrick-on-Shannon is only two hours from Dublin, it’s very accessible and a lot of people stop off on their way to Sligo. It’s just over half-way but it’s handy to get in and out on your way up and down, especially as we’re between two roundabouts so it’s easy to access no matter which direction you’re coming from.” In fact, with ample parking available on-site, she notes that, “local people regularly come from a factory on the other side of town because they know they can come in and park easily and quickly get away”. Not surprisingly, positive word-of-mouth reports have quickly surfaced about the new seating area; the result being that one customer will visit and then, “the whole family will be here for their lunch the next day on the way to Donegal for the weekend”.
Local touch
As well as excellent passing trade, the store also has a high volume of local customers who are increasingly “expecting value,” Carmel notes. “You have to concentrate a lot more on the customers that are coming in expecting to see offers and expecting value as well,” she says. “They really are shopping around; people are going to SuperValu for one item and Lidl for another and they’ll come into us then and get their Gala milk or bread and hopefully pick something else up when they’re here.”
Margaret adds that the store also has “regulars that come from Donegal to Dublin and they come in and get their lunch, they wash their car and they do a bit of shopping for the holiday home, so they get everything here and we like to have that destination feel”. A significant part of offering a destination shop involves not just offering the right services, but the right prices and promotions. “The Gala promotions are great, and we work with our cash and carry as well to have our own in-store promotions, as well as deli offerings,” adds Margaret.
Focused on convenience
While the store strives to compete on value, Carmel is keen to stress that it is still very much convenience led. “We’re not competing with Lidl or SuperValu down the road, but we’re concentrating on what we’re good at which is convenience. In terms of our grocery range, we don’t have 10 different coffees for example, but we have the core lines that people need so if they’re coming home in the evening, they know they can get their tea, coffee, cereal, whatever they need.”
One aspect of their grocery range that has proved a hit, is the store’s focus on local and Irish products. “Anytime we put an Irish product out, customers love it, people really want to buy Irish,” says Carmel, who notes that the store has a lot of local suppliers such as D. P. Connolly and Sons and Kathleen Brennan’s products. She adds that the home baking department is mostly “either baked in-store or from local suppliers and I think people like that and they like to support local people.”
Baked to perfection
The goods baked in store have proved very popular moreover, so much so that customers will telephone in to ask the store to keep some loaves aside for them. “It’s really kicked off and it is a lovely quality of bread,” says Carmel. “In fact, there’s one guy who comes in and he nearly knows what time it comes out of the oven!” The store doesn’t have a specific chef or baker for products as brown bread and scones but Carmel says that the training staff receive from Gala make these products relatively easy to make in store.
Indeed, as Gala’s Denise Lord explains there are different levels of training Gala offers to its retailers depending on the type of baked goods their shop wants to provide. More complicated cakes and bakery items can also “prove a huge draw for the store,” she says. Carmel adds that staff have been great at getting onboard with providing new products, and that the store will likely avail of more training to enable them to also make fresh cream cakes. “Again, that will complement the coffee shop and it can be trained in-store, and you don’t need a qualified baker or chef.”
Community-centred
On the topic of the shop’s loyal staff, Carmel adds: “The majority of them have been with us for a number of years which is great because the customers know them. Especially during the week, they have good banter with customers.”
It’s reassuring for Carmel and Margaret to know their business is in such good hands with a dedicated team who all work well together. “Particularly when they’ve been here a long time, they’re well able to train any new staff that we have coming in behind the deli, so you don’t have to worry over it.” Margaret agrees, adding: “It’s great, it’s a comfort for us that we know our staff are well-fit to do any task.”
As well as having friendly, engaging staff, the duo also continually strive to build positive community links. “As we are a local store, you have to maintain the local connection so we sponsor a lot of local events,” notes Carmel. The People of the Year Awards, which the shop sponsored last year, is just one example of the many events the Gala lends its support to.
First on the forecourt
The duo have also introduced some impressive innovation on the forecourt, where there is currently a half price offer on their self-service carwash from Monday to Thursday in a clever bid to drum up more custom on traditionally quieter days.
Another area where the Lunney’s have been pioneering when it comes to developing their forecourt offering, is in their decision to dedicate three parking spaces to ESB charging points for electric or E-cars. As Carmel sagely notes: “I’m sure it’s a long way down the line before that’ll be replacing petrol or diesel but yes, it is a new offering to have on the site; there’s a lot of curiosity around it as well so it’s great for us to have that".
Explaining more about why the Lunneys decided to add this cutting-edge new feature, Carmel highlights the importance of continually innovating in order to drive customer interest. “You have to innovate, you always have to try new concepts because retail is changing so quickly and there’s always something new that you can offer and have to offer because customers expect you to have it. Otherwise you’d be left behind and your customers would be gone so you just have to try and keep ahead of the curve.” Wise words that the Lunney sisters have demonstrated they’re well able to live up to at their Carrick-on-Shannon venture.
Related Articles
M&S co-chief executive officer Katie Bickerstaffe to step down →
Bank of Ireland appoints Alan Durcan as director of Distribution Channels →
Lindsay Brady appointed president of Ornua Foods North America →
Fans 0
Followers