Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
The £3.7m Eurospar, developed with Spar International and Spar UK, offers a fresh food range tailored to the specific needs of its local community. The 7,500sq ft store currently employs 35 people.
The retailer worked with marketing, tech, and analyst specialists to identify several criteria to determine the store’s primary shopping mission. The most important mission for this store is the fresh produce top-up shop, therefore a greater proportion of space and variety of range to fresh produce and fresh meat will be dedicated in-store.
Eurospar Doagh provides local brands and will also have an “enhanced” offering of Henderson Wholesale’s own brands including The Chef range of pre-prepared meals, Greengrocer’s fruit and vegetables, and the Spar enjoy local range of meats, poultry, baked goods, and everyday fresh essentials.
Mark McCammond, retail director at Henderson Group, said: “This community supermarket has been designed and built with a data-driven approach in order to provide a mission-focused customer proposition tailored for local shoppers. It is the first outlet of its kind to open in Northern Ireland, following our new “Fresh” stores initiative, adapted for that community’s particular demands and needs, encouraging increased visits for a great fresh food shopping trip close to home.”
He added: “This proposition provides an elevated fresh food offering and meal solutions for tonight’s tea, catering to local demands. This is an innovative approach which Henderson Retail has applied to the new store, and has a vibrant fresh look with a choice of products that will create a standout shopping experience.”
The store will also feature the Glory cash management system to provide customers with full service yet touchless cash payment solutions at the tills and the option of self-scan checkouts.
Store manager, Daniel Duncan, said: “We are bringing a supermarket experience to the local community, which includes a 32-space car park, customer toilet facilities, ATM, an on-site WineFlair off-license, and a fuel offering from Texaco. Our in-store post office will be managed by Eddie Lister, while the fresh food offering will be complemented by Henderson’s dailyDeli hot food counter and Barista Bar coffee, offering a great range of premium coffee including flat whites and hot chocolates.
“We are already engaging with the local community and sponsoring the Doagh Primary School football team. We have also donated bedding plants to the school and pupils Hayley Crowe and Carter Johnston won our colouring competition and helped us officially declare the store open. Our community engagement also sees us supporting the Mid Antrim Animal Sanctuary, and we’ve provided sanitising stations to the Doagh Village Community Association. We also look forward to supporting Eurospar’s charity partner, Cancer Fund for Children with initiatives throughout the year.”
