26 STORE PROFILE
Tommy Macken from Nearby Cabra was the first retailer to align with S&W when it launched the Today’s brand in the Republic of Ireland. He has recently rebranded to the wholesaler’s latest brand Nearby and tells Fionnuala Carolan why he would highly recommend the brand to other retailers
Uniquely local
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abra is a very settled part of Dublin with an aging population and a lot of established businesses. Tommy Macken and his wife Debbie have been running an independent shop here for many years and only signed up to S&W’s brand about six years ago. “We’re here 13 years and were trading as an independent and buying from S&W Wholesale and the BDM approached us a few years ago and said they were launching a symbol brand in ROI and asked if we would be interested in becoming the first shop,” he recalls. “Michael Skelton, the MD of S&W came down and went through the pros and cons of everything and there was a lot more pros than cons. They sold it to us and now I’m well converted and if someone was thinking of joining the group, then they could bring them here or call me and I would be happy to talk
The Cuppa coffee and beverage concept is a great addition to the store, and during the pandemic the store offered unlimited free teas and coffees to frontline workers
ShelfLife May 2022 | www.shelflife.ie
to them about the positive experience and the reasons why I am still committed to them today.” To date S&W Wholesale now boasts over 80 Nearby stores across the island of Ireland. Macken credits the entire Nearby Ireland sales team with the brand’s rapid development and says they have picked great shops to add to the fold. “It’s fairly easy putting a sign over a door but hard maintaining and getting the right people on board,” he says.
Leaving his independence behind Macken had been an independent retailer for over 10 years so joining a group was something he had reservations about. According to Macken, the Nearby brand is a great choice for retailers like himself who are used to going it alone as they benefit massively from the marketing support and the promotions but yet retain their independence due to the lack of restrictions and fees. He explains more about how being with Nearby has benefitted his business. “What they do is put up the external and internal signage and
“If you look after the customer, they will be loyal to you and I learned that from my father,” says retailer Tommy Macken
give you the support of the marketing team and sales team and they have a development team that come around the shops and give you advice on the pricing and margins etc,” he says. “If they tell you you’re going to get two deliveries a week, you get two deliveries a week. If they say it will be on Monday, then it will be on Monday. They are so reliable. The backup is brilliant.” One of the main differences between being a Nearby as opposed to other symbols groups is the lack of a franchise fee and this is a huge consideration for a small business. “They don’t tie you down to contracts,” explains Macken. “What they do is give you the support, give you the back-up and have a marketing team available to do your Facebook and Instagram professionally which is a huge benefit. They also give us a couple of thousand themed leaflets every three weeks for the promotional period.” Macken says although there isn’t an exact percentage you need to buy from S&W, he buys nearly everything from them simply because the price is right. “They look for a bit of loyalty but that’s easy because the price is
The Nearby brand is celebrating its first anniversary, with Tommy’s Nearby Cabra store being centre stage for the launch of the celebrations
