Refurbishment reaps sales rewards at Leicestershire village store

Nisa retailers Paul and Jack Matthews refurbished their family store in Rothley just 18 months after doing the same at Bradley’s in Quorn, also in Leicestershire.

The Rothley store has been operating for 40 years and has seen growth in basket size, with an average of nearly £11 alongside the overall sales increase just a month after the re-launch.

Jack Matthews said: “We spent a long time planning the refurb at Quorn and were absolutely delighted with the result and so were our customers.

“We saw so much success from the changes and realised we needed to put the same energy into the Rothley shop and copy it across and that’s what we have tried to do.”

The refit of the Nisa Local involved a full closure of the store for two weeks during which all existing fittings and fixtures were ripped out and the entire store was re-laid, windows opened up, the counter relocated, shelving replaced and rotated to change the flow of the shop and new chillers, freezers, lighting and flooring installed.

Retaining the greengrocer tradition of Bradley’s, which remains at the heart of the business, the fruit and vegetable selection is at the entrance of the store before customers walk on to the 16 metres of chilled produce.

The frozen range incorporates five metres of upright freezers with two Cook chest freezers.

At the rear of the store, the ceiling has been raised to create a ‘shop within a shop’, where all beers, ales and wines are placed alongside snacking.

Jack Matthews said: “We wanted to make a feature of the BWS and so we chose racking for the ambient wines with lighting behind that creates a great effect and installed LED lighting overhead.

“We’re really pleased with the look and feel, and shoppers come in and head directly to this area.”

Food-to-go has also been improved and now includes branded coffee and ice-cream, but the key driver is the bespoke Bradley’s Kitchen range, which includes salads and chilled sandwiches, cakes, and bakes as well as ‘heat to eat’ food.

The selection is made in Quorn each day and transported over to Rothley.

Jack Matthews said: “Bradley’s Kitchen was introduced at Quorn when we refitted, and it has grown and grown.

“Before the refit, we used to have an old-style deli sandwich offer at both stores which did about £500 per week, but Bradley’s Kitchen sales are phenomenal – we sell five times that amount in one week at Rothley and more at Quorn.

“It has really taken off and we’re very pleased with it.”