26 STORE PROFILE
The Nearby strapline is “Never too far from home” and this is a message Jason Leonard and his team want to showcase to the people of Drumkeeran
Retail is detail J
ason Leonard has a real eye for detail. Ever since he was 16, delivering groceries in the West of Ireland, he’s paid keen attention to the way shops operate. “I’ve always had a knack for it,” says Leonard. “Delivering groceries was my first taste of retail. It was then that I became attuned to retail. I started paying attention to the prices, how the aisles were laid out, how shelf space was allocated. I wouldn’t have been shy in sharing my thoughts with the retailers either. When I'd be doing the delivery, I'd be watching the shopkeeper’s work. I'd give my input, and a lot of the time they'd listen to me!” While Leonard wasn’t set on working in retail at the time, he soon found himself being drawn in: “One day a man from Mangan’s told me I could make a job out of merchandising stores, but my family worked in transport and I thought I’d end up in that line of work. But here I am all these years later, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Owner of Nearby Drumkeeran, Jason Leonard, tells Julia O’Reilly about the new symbol brand from S&W Wholesale
opportunity arose and he grabbed it. “I always knew what made a good shop,” he says. “To me, its doors should be open from 7am to 9pm, seven days a week. It needs a coffee machine, a deli, and an ice-cream machine in the summer to bring in an extra couple of hundred quid a day. These things get the people in.”
Intriguing proposition
Taking chances Today, Leonard puts that detailed eye to use in his own store, Nearby Drumkeeran, which is part of the new symbol brand from S&W Wholesale. Leonard has been the owner of the Co. Leitrim store since 2018, when an ShelfLife August 2021 | www.shelflife.ie
Sure of what he wanted to achieve, Leonard set out to make the dream a reality. “There was a lot I wanted to change, but I saw its potential,” he says. “The building wasn't too expensive as no one was buying at the time. A few people called me mad, they said I’d never get my money back, but I'm a brave man and I knew what I wanted.” The Drumkeeran shop was initially part of another convenience brand, and while things were running well, Leonard started looking to find a brand that was a better fit. “I spend a lot of time in Northern Ireland. Over the years, I noticed that you’d get apples in the north selling for 29p, and here they’re selling for 69p. I decided I needed a wholesaler who could give me those offers. I needed pricing that would allow me to make my margin, while providing value for the customer. S&W Wholesale, Newry, were able to do just that.”
Ever since the second week with S&W Wholesale, retailer Jason Leonard reports turnover has been up approximately 20% each day
After meeting with Arron Potts, head of retail development Ireland at S&W Wholesale, Leonard’s mind was made up: “Arron Potts and I got on from day one. He’s a straight talker and so am I. He came in to see the shop, and he liked what he saw. He told me that they were developing a new brand called Nearby and that he thought I'd like it. Arron
