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Even at 16 he was organising social events at clubs around Belfast, turning in a profit that impressed his economics teacher. Aged 17 he set up a designer clothes store, before going on to Ulster University to complete an honours degree in retail management.
“From an early age, entrepreneurship has fascinated me,” says Cordner, 49. “The ability to see an opportunity and to bring ideas to life is what I’ve always been passionate and enthusiastic about.” His role models include Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson and the late Fred DeLuca, co-founder of the Subway sandwich store franchise.
Helping others
In recent years Cordner has become more interested in using his business acumen to help others. This was a big driver in him leaving a well-paid job seven years ago at Northern Ireland’s Spar wholesaler Henderson Group, where he was regional manager for fresh foods, to launch his first store, Cordners Supermarket, in a suburb of Belfast.
His late mother had worked at a convenience store and he saw first-hand the positive impact an engaged retailer could have on a neighbourhood by working with the local church, schools, youth groups and charities. This stuck with him while he racked up experience in the world of retail – including 13 and a half years at Hendersons and before that six years as a retail manager at Sainsbury’s.
High-risk choice
“I had not fulfilled my ambitions of being a socially responsible and community retailer in my own right, and so I approached Hendersons about opening my own store,” says Cordner. “My colleagues at the time thought I was mad to leave a secure job for what looked like a high-risk choice. But I always knew at the end of the day that I would have a few shops.”
Since acquiring the 3,000sq ft store in the Belfast suburb of Dundonald, he has increased its turnover by 50%. At the same time, he has become a stalwart of the community: supporting food banks, sponsoring local sports teams, and backing local charities and people in need with fundraisers. These include annual autumn and Christmas market fairs and fun days.
Making a difference
And it is this community activity that has earned him a place in this year’s line-up of Unsung Heroes, the annual initiative run by Independent Retail News and supported by Nisa.
“Material wealth used to be what success looked like to me,” says Cordner. “But now I drive a second-hand car and living a flash lifestyle does not make me happy. What gets me up in the morning is knowing I can really make a difference to people who are vulnerable or in need.” He says he keeps his ear to the ground for causes to support, such as raising money for a specialist wheelchair for a local father to take his son out running with him, and also fundraising for a life-saving defibrillator to be located outside his store.
“When I took over the shop, one of the first things I did was to quickly get to know what the community wanted and who the influencers were in the area who I could collaborate with,” says Cordner, who lives five minutes from the shop with his partner Jenny, who is also involved in the business. “I work with three or four key people – a councillor, my accountant, a valuable friend, and a restauranteur who does outside catering functions – to come up with ideas to help fundraise for locals and charities who need a bit of help like this,” says Cordner.
“We generally hear word of mouth when help is needed and we meet to hatch our plan. We look at where we can actually make a difference, rather than fundraising for a big faceless charity.” One idea to come out of this group was a Christmas fair in Cordner’s car park – with more than 20 market stalls, a Santa’s grotto, live entertainment, carol singers and a bouncy castle – which went down so well with locals that it has become a regular fixture, now taking place at Halloween as well.
The first of these Christmas markets in 2016, for which Cordner teamed up with Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council and the Comber Road Traders group, was his biggest success, raising £10,000 to help fund a trip to the USA for a local child who needed overseas cancer treatment.
“It was crazy,” laughs Cordner. “We had 2,000 people in the car park and we had a sponsored head-shave which I took part in with other colleagues and friends. This was the biggest single thing we did, with real tangible results coming from acting as a hub for the community to come together and fundraise.”
NHS discount
But raising money is not the only way Cordner supports his community. Before the pandemic, he was giving a 10% discount to staff at the Ulster Hospital, which is close to his store. He also offers free deliveries when customers spend £10 or more, and staff make a point of packing customers’ bags and offering to carry groceries to their car, as well as giving away a piece of fruit to children shopping with an adult.
“We’ve done these things for years,” says Cordner, who also runs a loyalty card scheme to reward regular customers and as an incentive to shop local. Near the start of the crisis, he was one of the first retailers to introduce protective screens and hand sanitiser at the front door and next to the cash machine, with three members of staff on rota to make sure they were used correctly. It was an initiative that won him coverage on national TV. And he gave his staff a pay rise, recognising the stress the pandemic placed them under in their public-facing role.
Work experience
Cordner says it is important to him that he looks after both his customers and his 12 staff. He has given work experience to a local teenager with Down’s Syndrome who has gone on to become head boy of his school. “You have to remember that I know my staff and what makes them tick, as well as their family. It is a tight-knit community where people look after one another,” he says.
He is now looking to acquire two more local stores and is offering consultancy to other retailers and young entrepreneurs. “I only wish I had started the journey years ago,” he says.
By Juliet Morrison
