Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 right up to the end of this year, retailers have stepped up with help for the elderly and vulnerable, deliveries for those unable or unwilling to leave their homes and support for local food banks – on top of their usual charity fundraising and support for local sports teams and community groups.
According to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) Local Shop Report 2021, having a convenience store nearby is now seen by the public as being the number one service that has the most positive impact on an area, cited by 54% of consumers. That’s more than pharmacies (49%) and a post office (41%).
Eight out of 10 retailers undertook some form of community engagement during the most recent 12-month period, according to the ACS, with 68% collecting money for a national or local charity and 32% donating to a food bank.
Inspiring others
It was to recognise just some of the retailers undertaking such vital work that Independent Retail News first launched its Unsung Heroes initiative nine years ago. As its name suggests, the programme highlights retailers who are doing great things within their communities but perhaps have not gained the recognition they deserve.
It also aims to share their stories and ideas with other retailers so they may be inspired to follow in their footsteps. This year, the initiative was sponsored once again by Nisa Retail, which also runs its own community funding scheme, Making a Difference Locally (MADL).
“Unsung Heroes 2021 culminated at the end of last month (November) with a celebration lunch for our winners at the boutique Charlotte Street Hotel in London’s West End.
The first of our winners this year were Frank and Adrienn Ago, who run the Snooty Fox in Shalford, Surrey, and support their community with a range of ideas designed to bring locals together and help breathe life back into the village.
The young couple, who moved from Hungary to the UK in 2005, already owned a sandwich bar and knew from the success they had there that the village would benefit from having a hub where everyone could get to know one another. Apart from the café, the village had only a small pharmacy, two toy shops and a petrol station, with little chance for interaction within the community.
Village fair
The Nisa-supplied grocery store quickly became a family-centric hub for locals, with the pair transforming an adjoining area of overgrown land into a community garden, complete with fruit trees and benches for people to sit on and relax. “We created a real heart for the community that wasn’t there before.
“Now if you walk around the village, you will see 20 prams, with new, younger families moving in, adding life and vibrancy,” says Frank Ago. The couple donates some £5,000 a year to good causes, including £2,000 earned from the MADL fund. The money helped them install two defibrillators, sponsor the Shalford cricket team and decorate the village for Halloween.
But their biggest project this year has been resurrecting the Great Fair of Shalford, which was originally founded in the Middle Ages with a charter from King John. This year’s event at the start of September featured a funfair, dozens of food stalls, live music, theatre, a gin tent and a dog show, among other attractions. The event was deemed a great success after attracting thousands of visitors to the village.
Extended family
Our second winner was Julie Kaur, owner of Jule’s Convenience, a Premier store in Hadley, near Telford, Shropshire, who treats her customers “like an extended family”. Past fundraising achievements have included sponsored skydives and community raffles, as well as sitting on various boards, including the council interface committee, the Guru Nanak temple committee, and acting as a trustee for Age UK Shropshire’s Telford & Wrekin branch.
She also sits on the BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] independent advisory board for West Mercia Police and is district president for the NFRN. Good causes supported this year also included the Severn Hospice and the NFRN’s Ratcliffe Fund for retailers in the news trade who have fallen on hard times.
Her next target is to be awarded 50 competitive running medals by the time of her 50th birthday next June – each of which gives customers another reason to put coins in the shop’s collection tins. So far, she has completed 13 runs but leaves no doubt she will achieve her ambition on time.
Although relatively ‘unsung’ when she was first nominated for Unsung Heroes, Kaur has since picked up a string of awards, including the inaugural Raj Aggarwal award from the ACS and the Local Legends award from Boost Drinks in recognition of her “valiant” fundraising efforts and tireless work to support her local community during the pandemic.
That work included reaching out to the elderly and vulnerable by paying them visits and offering a delivery service to local residents who were unable to shop for essentials.
