Shining a light on the rising stars of independent retail
CELEBRATING THE YOUNG STARS OF INDEPENDENT CONVENIENCE RETAIL IN 2024
How these stand-out retailers have innovated and diversified their offer, and broadened their customer base to set their stores up for success
SUCCESS FOR RETAILERS UNDER 30
This year’s 30 Under Thirty Awards celebrate 30 fantastic young retailers and their achievements in 2024
RN has reached the fourth year of its 30 Under Thirty Awards and the achievements of young retailers continues to astound and impress. In an industry that is beset with challenges, from the cost-of-living crisis to the ever-growing competition from multiples, these retailers have found innovative ways to thrive and grow their businesses, from reputational, financial and community-minded perspectives and more.
The winners from this year come from across the UK and are made up of a variety of different kinds of retailer. Some have been in the industry for some time and a fair few are returning finalists from previous years, standing on the shoulders of previous achievements to take their stores to loftier heights.
EDITORIAL
30 Under Thirty editor
Charles Whitting
RN editor Jack Courtez
Deputy insight & advertorial editor
Jasper Hart
Features writer Priya Khaira
Head of design Anne-Claire Pickard
Production editor Ryan Cooper
Sub editors Jim Findlay, Robin Jarossi
Senior designer Jody Cooke
Junior designer Lauren Jackson
Production coordinator Chris Gardner
Editor in chief Louise Banham
Others are relatively new to the industry, having only taken on a store in the past year or so. And some are not outright owners or managers of stores, but are critical parts of thriving teams within them, with perhaps future ambitions to take the next step into running their own businesses in the future.
The themes that shine out from these 30 entries centre around the core principles of running a successful store in the 21st century. There are retailers who have pushed the boundaries when it comes to stocking the most on-trend products, trendsetters who constantly bring points of difference to their offers.
There are those who have made huge impacts within important categories, like
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alcohol, vapes, food to go and fresh & chilled. The innovation and growth within home delivery has also been a major theme of this year’s winners, as has a determination to support and engage with their customers and communities.
Social media and technology are often cited as the domains of the young, and these retailers are mastering them to stretch their stores’ reach and to streamline every aspect of their businesses.
And perhaps most impressively of all, they’re not finished yet. All have ambitious plans for next year and beyond. It would be a safe bet to see some of these finalists returning next year after an equally impressive 2025.
Congratulations to the 30 Under Thirty winners.
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THE 30 UNDER THIRTY WINNERS
Store: H & Jodie’s Nisa Local, Walsall, West Midlands Symbol: Nisa Amrit Singh Pahal
Store: Costcutter Fresh, Falkirk, Central Lowlands
Symbol: Costcutter Anand Cheema
Store: Nisa Local Banbury, Oxfordshire Symbol: Nisa Arjan Sanghera
Symbol: Premier Arjun Patel
Store: Premier Cavendish Square, Swindon, Wiltshire
Store: Roslin Premier Convenience Store, Midlothian Symbol: Premier Asim Iqbal
Store: Stannington Road Post Office, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Symbol: Post Office Dalal
Store: Bickley Food & Wine, Bromley, south-east London Symbol: Post Office Dhruvin Shah
Dilmeet
Singh Gaba
Store: Londis Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire Symbol: Londis
Store: Belle Vue Convenience Go Local, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire Symbol: Go Local Ellis Bashir
Store: Pennar Stores & Post Office, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire Symbol: Premier Ethan Stewart
Store: Bradley’s Supermarket, Rothley, Leicestershire Symbol: Nisa
Store: Trelander Stores, Truro, Cornwall Symbol: Spar Jadine Tangye
Store: Nisa Local Colley Gate, Halesowen, West Midlands Symbol: Nisa Lewis
Luke Singh Mander
Store: The Three Singh’s, Selby, West Yorkshire Symbol: Go Local
Manpreet
Singh Sungu
Store: Shenstone Post Office & Stores, Lichfield, Staffordshire Symbol: Costcutter
Store: Windermere Convenience Store, Cumbria Symbol: Premier Marcus Parkinson
Store: Stannington Road Post Office, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Symbol: Post Office
Store: Costcutter Epsom, Surrey Symbol: Costcutter
Puni
Store: HP Convenience Stores, Premier, Grassmoor, Derbyshire Symbol: Premier Harman
Chandarana
Store: Morrisons Daily, Lockhurst Lane, Leicestershire Symbol: Morrisons Mehul
Store: Saba, London Symbol: Unaffiliated
Store: Premier Supersave Mini Market, Burnley, Lancashire Symbol: Premier Qais Sarfraz
Store: Broadway Convenience Store, Edinburgh Symbol: Premier Sophie
Store: Shop Around The Clock, Tenterden, Kent Symbol: Nisa Suki
Krishna
Store: Go Local Extra Oldham Road, Rochdale, Greater Manchester Symbol: Go Local Ram
Store: The Three Singh’s, Selby, West Yorkshire Symbol: Go Local Reuben Singh Mander
Store: Girish’s Premier Barmulloch, Glasgow Symbol: Premier Snehal Magadum
Store: Notay’s Premier, Batley, West Yorkshire Symbol: Premier Usman Souhail
Store: Kislingbury Mini Market & Post Office, Northamptonshire Symbol: Unaffiliated Vidur
Store: Go Local Extra Belfield Hall Farm, Rochdale, Greater Manchester Symbol: Go Local Yash
RN 30 Under Thirty Recognition Programme
BAT UK are very proud to be again, the headline sponsors of this year’s 30 Under Thirty initiative.
We are very grateful for RN 30 Under Thirty Recognition Programme, as it provides the well-deserved credit to the younger generation retailers who are shaping our industry. It also gives us the insights and learnings from how exactly the younger generation are innovating within their businesses through thought leadership and their determination to succeed in an extremely competitive industry.
Our company values reflect the right attributes to achieve success within an evolving landscape, keeping our consumers at the centre of everything we do. Which we believe these values also reflect the 30 under thirty winners’ audience.
A massive congratulations goes out to all the winners of 2024. We are looking forward to celebrating with you all and learning from your unique achievements which have made you stand out above the rest.
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A returning winner and headline speaker at the last 30 Under Thirty event, Amrit has had a transformative impact on independent retail in the past year.
His work in the community has included the hosting of funfairs, litter picks, Halloween trails and sporting events. The store operates a community hub next door, which offers citizens advice and raises money for charity. He has also continued to push his online delivery service, which now makes up almost 10% of his overall sales.
He has joined up
with Too Good to Go, which reuses surplus food and helps it get to people in need, while he has invested in a machine that compresses recyclable materials into bales to improve sustainability. When it comes to products, Amrit stocks a fast-moving and on-trend range, with a strong focus on US confectionery, soft drinks and snacks. He has also launched his own freeze-dried sweet brand called Freezy. On top of this, he has created his own wholesale company, H & Jodie’s Wholesale, to sell it to other retailers.
Anand took on a store that was losing money and has turned it into an award-winning store by bringing in innovative lines, improving and maintaining store standards and having a dedication to identifying and meeting customer needs. He has made the store a destination through his alcohol, chilled and food-to-go sections in particular. By finding local whisky clubs and researching his area, he is selling high-end bottles, with some selling for as much as £3,800, while also selling kegs with PerfectDraft.
His food-to-go offer was built around machines, but over the past year, he has taken things further by partnering with Country Choice. He has also purchased the pub next door to the shop and turned it into a warehouse, which has enabled him to offer far greater availability and range to his customers. By studying his EPoS data thoroughly and regularly, he has been able to use it to its fullest potential, reacting to customer demand faster than the competition. In the next 12 months, he hopes to open a second store.
Store: H & Jodie’s Nisa Local, Walsall, West Midlands Symbol: Nisa
Amrit Singh Pahal
Store: Costcutter Fresh, Falkirk, Central Lowlands Symbol: Costcutter
Anand Cheema
Arjan Sanghera
Having worked at the company, which also owns a Spar in Oxford, since 2013, Arjan took on full responsibility for the business in 2019 and since then, sales have increased by 56% in the Nisa Local and by 30% in the Spar. This has been achieved by introducing trending products like US confectionery and a greater use of EPoS data.
In the past year, he has introduced a dedicated homeware and hardware section, which has resulted in an 11% increase in weekly turnover from
£45,000 to £50,000. He has also extended food-to-go with pastries, pizzas, baguettes, slushie machines and coffee, delivering a £1,200 rise in sales.
Both stores have signed up to Parcelly, which has increased footfall and impulse purchases. Arjan has in-house training programmes to help staff develop and get promoted within the business, and has weekly meetings to take feedback on board.
Arjan has already secured two new sites, which he aims to fit out over the next year.
Arjun has increased gross margin by two percentage points by getting ahead of trends, sourcing new products, such as Buldak Noodles, Toxic Waste Slush and freeze-dried sweets, and marketing them on social media. He also knows when to delist before the hype dies down.
He removed alcohol behind the till and installed a dedicated vape liquid range two months before a vape megastore opened nearby, building a new and loyal customer base. A dedicated bay for croissants led to a 200% increase in sales.
By acquiring the takeaway business next door, he has dramatically increased customer loyalty and relationships, growing evening footfall by 20% and boosting sales of grocery items while people wait.
He introduced headsets for all staff across the two businesses to allow for efficient communication.
He plans to build a combined delivery service or acquire similar businesses where a takeaway and convenience store can complement each other’s sales.
Store: Nisa Local Banbury, Oxfordshire Symbol: Nisa
Store: Premier Cavendish Square, Swindon, Wiltshire Symbol: Premier Arjun Patel
A massive well done to all of you for your fantastic achievements. We’re looking forward to working with you in the future and seeing where your brilliant retail careers take you.
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Asim Iqbal
Over the past year, Asim has focused on bringing points of difference to his store and broadcasting it to the world with an improved social media presence focused on Facebook. The first regional stockist for PerfectDraft, he also implements the PerfectDraft token scheme to generate further return visits.
While he’s not on TikTok, he listens to customers who are, and uses their insights to get new and trending products for his store.
All of this, complemented by his increased engagement with his community,
has resulted in weekly sales growth.
His Facebook page is full of competitions and promotions, as well as information about the latest deals from Snappy Shopper.
His delivery service continues to grow, with staff uniforms advertising his business further, and he plans to brand his delivery van as well.
He has improved the ordering system, checking stock against EPoS before each order to ensure everything is accurate and he doesn’t have too much stock.
He has plans to open a second store.
Store: Stannington Road Post Office, Sheffield Symbol: Post Office Dalal Al-Bazz
The sister of fellow winner Miriam, Dalal has been instrumental in introducing improvements in the shop that have reduced theft, boosted engagement with the local community and grown sales. When she noticed that the household goods section was suffering from shoplifting, Dalal brought these products back behind the counter and instead installed a dedicated children’s section in their place. Now children and their parents gravitate to the area, which sells badminton rackets, water pistols, footballs, bubble ma-
chines and kites. The move has resulted in a 15% increase in sales from that area of the store over the course of the summer, as well as a decrease in theft.
Dalal has also worked to increase the amount of local produce in the store. Whether it’s a local business that’s not well-known, a stand of photographs from a local photographer or a selection of brownies from a local baker, Dalal is supporting local businesses and artists, and introducing them to her customer base, creating a true community hub.
Store: Roslin Premier Convenience Store, Midlothian Symbol: Premier
Store: Bickley Food & Wine, Bromley, south-east London Symbol:
Dhruvin started working for the business at the start of 2022 and has picked things up very quickly. Good at selling to customers and helping on the shopfloor, he has also initiated a number of ideas in the shop to improve sales and footfall, and modernise the store overall.
He set up the shop’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Through his efforts, the shop has joined Shop Locally with Booker and the Retail Club. He has adjusted options so people can now order online from the shop and get groceries deliv-
ered. He was instrumental in introducing Jisp as well. He has been given full authorisation by the shop’s owner and is now the manager.
The promotions he has brought about have resulted in growing loyalty among customers and a 20-25% sales increase. On top of this, Dhruvin is a personable member of the team, sensitive to his customers’ needs. He ran a survey in the shop, getting 150 signatures about whether it should become a post office –which it did as part of a full refit on the back of his research.
Store: Londis Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire Symbol: Londis
A returning winner, Dilmeet has continued to improve his store. In the past year, he has overseen 20% year-onyear sales growth as a result of his effective marketing strategies and the introduction of new product lines that cater to evolving customer preferences.
He introduced a loyalty programme that saw a 15% increase in repeat customers. Additionally, a streamlined delivery service led to a 30% increase in online sales.
Recognising the trend for healthier living, Dilmeet widened his range of organic
and locally sourced items, attracting a new segment of health-conscious consumers and increasing the average basket size by 10%.
He organised events such as local farmers’ markets and charity drives, which have increased foot traffic by 25% during event days. He reduced single-use plastics by 40% in store, and new lighting has cut energy consumption by 15%. His focus on cost control, coupled with revenue growth initiatives, has resulted in a 15% increase in net profitability. He is targeting a 25% increase next year.
Post Office Dhruvin Shah
Dilmeet
Store: Belle Vue Convenience
Go Local, Middlesbrough, N Yorkshire Symbol: Go Local Ellis Bashir
Ellis started working in the family business when he was 17 and has worked his way from stacking shelves to managing five sites and overseeing 25-30 staff members.
One of his major achievements over the past few years has been the introduction of a delivery service with Snappy Shopper. Deliveries are centralised out of one store, and he has increased sales every year since its introduction so that it brings in an extra £10,000 per month and turns shoppers who might not be visiting the stores on foot
into regular customers. He works well with supplier representatives and store partners to bring in new products, PoS and other promotions that attract customers and build basket spend.
He has used social media to further highlight deals, as well as using competitions to drive online engagement and shares, all of which has had a positive impact on sales and footfall.
His aims for the next year involve maintaining current standards, while continuing to drive more online sales and engagement.
Store: Pennar Stores & Post Office, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire
Symbol: Premier Ethan Stewart
Since starting in 2021, Ethan is now assistant manager and has worked hard to make the shop a more welcoming place for the community and a safer place for staff. He goes out of his way to deliver for the elderly and brings a personal touch to customer interactions. He sponsors lots of local sports clubs, and regularly donates products as prizes to help with raffles and bingo. When approached by the local village hall for help, he supplied produce to help them feed anyone in need.
He also carries out
quarterly risk assessments to ensure customers are safe, training staff to deal with falls and other incidents and to keep surfaces clean.
The store’s Covid-19 screens are still up to protect staff and he has installed panic buttons at multiple points behind the counters.
He has regular staff catch-ups to check on well-being, resulting high staff retention. Ethan has also changed all the lights in the shop to LED to reduce energy usage and makes sure everything that can be recycled in the shop gets recycled.
Harman bought the store a year ago, straight out of university. After running it for a few months, he closed for three weeks to do a complete refit. He reopened on 16 March with a beer cave, which the area was lacking, full of alcohol and soft drinks. He installed two metres of US confectionery to attract sales from children and introduced a food-to-go section with milkshake and coffee machines, alongside a Tango Ice Blast and Jolly Ranchers. Over the summer, he sold cold pasties and brownies from a fridge by the till,
and as the weather gets colder he’s looking to introduce a hot-food offer as well.
Since reopening, he has doubled weekly sales across the board, getting up to £30,000 a week during the summer. He has also started offering a delivery service, which already brings in £2,000 a week, with aims to get this to £10,000 by next summer.
Looking ahead, he plans to get another shop, one he can also transform, rather than keep as it is. He’s also planning to train his staff further so they can become managers.
Jack Matthews was voted the UK’s Overall Best Shop at the IAA in 2023 for his innovative approach to store layout and merchandising, and he has continued to set the standard. His alcohol area underwent major changes as it moved out onto the shop floor in a specially zoned area.
His food to go makes up 10% of his sales and features sandwiches made in his other shop in Quorn and shipped over six days a week. He has developed his food-to-go offer further and reduced his overall food wastage to 3% through regular
stocktakes, gap checking and more intelligent ordering.
He also has a strong refills offer along with loose fruit and veg, which have both reduced plastic usage and also significantly increased customer loyalty.
Education is also important for him and his team. He went on a wine course to improve his overall knowledge of the category and he wants to build on staff training to create a wider project that educates and upskills them, making convenience more of a career industry over a job.
Store: HP Convenience Stores, Premier, Grassmoor, Derbyshire Symbol: Premier Harman Puni
Store: Bradley’s Supermarket, Rothley, Leicestershire Symbol: Nisa
Jack Matthews
Jadine Tangye
Jadine has worked for Pydar Stores since she was 15 and last year was promoted to senior duty manager, running the sister store at Trelander and leading a team of eight. She has driven weekly sales from £20,000 to £23,000 a week, excluding Lotto and PayPoint.
Numerate and accurate, she has passed compliance tests and monitored the training of her colleagues. On her day off after the school run she calls in on the way back to ensure that the staff are gainfully employed throughout the store.
Jadine has targeted each department, tracking sales and being disciplined in how she makes her buying decisions, which has helped to maximise profitability. In July, she rearranged the chiller department and increased sales by 30%. Bubble tea and frozen sweets have also been trialled directly because of her influence, and she has expanded the iced coffee range. In the next 12 months, Jadine is hoping to be promoted to manager at The Old Dairy, a store twice the size with a large foodto-go department.
Lewis
Woodward
Lewis has spent the past year looking for even more ways to improve his store, visiting others and talking to retailers.
His investigation into ESLs in the Isle of Wight led to their introduction at his store in January, improving the look of the shop and increasing margins by 3% overall. Lewis has also introduced a new foodto-go offer with Delice de France, alongside new stands for bread and doughnuts. This has increased weekly takings for that area from £49 to £480. He is in charge of managing staff, running
digital rotas and holding one-to-one meetings with the team. He introduced new uniforms, name badges and a Google review plate that increased reviews from 72 to 224 in three weeks.
Lewis also designs the PoS and all social media content, increasing Facebook by 9% year on year and seeing TikTok followers grow from 112 to more than 1,100. He is currently working on improving stock control in the shop and growing the delivery offer, which he hopes to bring to £5,000 a week by August 2025.
Store: Trelander Stores, Truro, Cornwall Symbol: Spar
Store: Nisa Local Colley Gate, Halesowen, West Midlands Symbol: Nisa
Together with his brother Reuben, Luke has had another impressive year to make it on the list again this year. Over the past 12 months, he has engaged even more with the industry and with his customers, asking questions to improve the business.
With the leverage that comes from Parfetts and a thorough understanding of social media, Luke has been able to get ahead of competitors when it comes to finding out about new products, getting hold of stock and then engaging with the store’s community
to drive sales. Luke works hard to ensure that standards and deadlines for orders are continually met. An area he wants to improve in store is the alcohol section, following conversations with another 30 Under Thirty winner earlier this year. He is also looking to change the buying strategy so the store buys smarter and can offer everyday low pricing below PMP prices.
He plans to further increase the store’s chilled offer, having teamed up with Blakemore, to boost basket spend.
Another winner from last year, Manpreet has continued his sterling work in the community.
He offers a free delivery service for the elderly, free bags of food worth £20 for families in need, discounts for children’s clubs like the Brownies and support to numerous local charities and fundraising efforts.
He set up a charity store in the village’s Christmas market. In a small village built on local connections, Manpreet has gone out of his way to position his store at its heart, winning over customers and focusing on
great customer service throughout his team. He remains up to date with new products, from next-gen nicotine to greetings cards, the latter of which has had 23% sales growth. The introduction of a deli counter and a fresh bakery has also added further accolades for this village shop.
A keen learner, Manpreet is focused on developing his skills with the aim of opening a second store in the future and building a team to support him. He also has more charity work planned for the village.
Store: The Three Singh’s, Selby, West Yorkshire Symbol: Go Local
Luke Singh Mander
Store: Shenstone Post Office & Stores, Lichfield, Staffordshire Symbol: Costcutter Manpreet Singh Sungu
Store: Windermere
Convenience Store,
Cumbria Symbol: Premier Marcus Parkinson
At just 22 and with no prior management experience, Marcus found Windermere Convenience Store in need of some love and, following a four-month refurbishment, he reopened it in July as a concept Premier store.
He has focused heavily on making connections with the local people of Windermere and Bowness, creating a community store where people can come in and talk to him as part of their shop.
He creates digital surveys and runs a dedicated social media account to stay connected with his
customer base, but also to ensure he finds out what they need from him, so he can get it on the shelves promptly.
The store offers a range of local items, including bakery products from a company called Apple Pie, which has been very popular with customers. Marcus has already increased the store’s weekly turnover by 400% and has built up a strong team of staff members.
His plans for the future include the introduction of a home-delivery service, which should further his store’s reach and increase his sales.
Mehul started in 2022 and over the past 12 months he has increased sales at his site by 26%. As well as improving the store’s bakery offer with new additions, he has focused on fixing the way that staff are managed, instigating new measures to improve motivation and making sure people were uptrained and pushed on certain standards. His leadership qualities and understanding of how to motivate people and deal with staff in a friendly and approachable manner have been instrumental in his getting onto this
list. His store has 12 staff members and he has built a good connection with all them, bringing vision, discipline and organisation to the company.
He has been instrumental in the store going from an amber site to a green site in terms of Morrisons audits. He also has been highly mentioned by area managers, generating strong scores on very strict compliance levels.
Short-term, he wants to introduce a stronger food-to-go offer, with longer term ambitions to go into his own franchise.
Store: Morrisons Daily Lockhurst Lane, Leicester Symbol: Morrisons Daily Mehul Chandarana
Store: Stannington Road
Post Office, Sheffield
Symbol: Post Office
Miriam is a returning winner who has taken her community engagement to new levels over the past year.
In addition, she has made changes in the store that have impacted customer footfall and basket spend in a positive way. Previously, she had invested in a photo booth machine, but in the past 12 months she has moved it from the corner of the store, where it was often ignored, to the front of the store, where it has generated renewed interest, with people coming to the store specifically to use it.
Miriam has improved the overall layout of the store, cutting back on sections that aren’t delivering the necessary profits to make way for categories that are needed more by her community.
She compacted the magazine section to make more room for non-perishable goods like flour, sugar, condiments, cereal, olive oil and pasta. This has made her store more of a one-stop shop for people and generates considerable incremental sales from people who realise they need some of these items on their regular shops.
Store: Saba, Kensington, London
Symbol: Unaffiliated Nathan Cho
Nathan is a trendsetter within the industry. He runs the first Korean convenience store in the UK to have an automated self-serve ramen bar at the front.
The bar is a footfalldriver in its own right, allowing customers to build their own specific meal themselves.
However, Nathan has made sure to train his team to be on hand to help customers in need and he regularly consults with his clientele to make sure his offer is best suited to them.
Nathan has a strong food-to-go offer that includes hot and ambient
lines, but also a range of authentic chilled Korean products for people to take home, such as kimbap.
Alongside traditional convenience items, he stocks a wide range of world food ingredients, predominantly from Korea, but also Japan and China. This extends from specialised lines like cuttlefish chips to nationally trending items like Mogu Mogu and Hello Panda cookies.
He has driven further interest in these products by his impressive use of social media, in particular his posts on TikTok.
Miriam Al-Bazz
Store: Premier Supersave Mini Market, Burnley, Lancashire Symbol: Premier Qais Sarfraz
Qais has been managing the store for two and a half years, but his family has run it for 21 years.
Over that time, he has built relationships with the local community and in the past year, he has focused on adding new and trending products to his offer.
Principally, this has come in the form of next-gen nicotine products. As well as bringing in new vape brands, he was also the first store in the area to introduce heated tobacco.
He has managed to steady the ship, main-
taining standards and keeping sales consistent. He runs a team of four staff members.
His older brother was part of Partners for Growth and Qais has been quick to use this group to learn more about the industry.
In the next 12 months, he plans to arrange a total refit for the shop, which hasn’t changed in almost 12 years. He’s keen to introduce a beer cave to add a further point of difference to his offer, but also to upgrade his shelves and flooring, and to create space to introduce more new lines.
Store: Go Local Extra Oldham Road, Rochdale, Greater Manchester Symbol: Go Local Ram
Ram joined the business during the pandemic and has gone from stacking shelves to managing the store’s entire day-to-day operation.
He is in charge of all ordering, product range, promotions and EPoS, going above and beyond to give to his community. Since taking over, he has overseen a year-on-year increase in sales and margins by improving cash flow management and making good use of the EPoS data. He has found and introduced high-volume products and used supplier promotions
to remain competitive without sacrificing margins. During the Euros, he partnered with Budweiser to create a sponsored display at the end of one aisle. His inventory management has reduced store wastage by almost 50% year on year.
His plans for 2025 involve reviewing the store’s overall offer to ensure every square foot is being utilised fully and meeting every customer need. By examining sales data, he has already starting freeing up space that he plans to use to improve the food-to-go and vaping categories.
Reuben Singh Mander
Reuben returns, alongside his brother, into the 30 Under Thirty Awards as a retailer who has successfully pushed the social media side of his business in ways that have both driven increases in sales, but also serviced the local community.
Reuben is an accomplished networker, whether with customers, suppliers or other retailers, discussing ways to improve the overall offer.
Quick to adapt, in the past 12 months, Reuben has increased the store’s fresh and chilled area, finding the right supplier that
caters to the needs of his customers.
He introduced a local products bay and re-merchandised the bakery section, working with Cakes & Dreams to understand category trends, delist slow lines and bring in key products that were missing.
As a category, bakery has seen a 32% increase in sales since it was added to the local bay.
Looking ahead, Reuben and his brother have plans to further increase sales across a range of categories and potentially look for another site.
Store: Girish’s Premier Barmulloch, Glasgow Symbol: Premier Snehal Magadum
Snehal went from having no convenience experience to team leader within six months, and manager within a year at a store owned by one of last year’s winners, Girish Jeeva. She has risen through the ranks to become the backbone of the shop, beloved by customers, young and old, all while completing her studies in marketing. Responsible for running every aspect of the store, she communicates with suppliers and has recruited and trained a hard-working team. Her ability to bring out of the best in her team members,
combined with a strong work ethic, customer service and new ideas have taken weekly shop sales from £50,000 to £70,000.
She set up an auto-ordering system so she could place orders while she was away on holiday and also worked closely with MHouse to help integrate ESLs with the back office and till system, and continually feeds back any problems to help find a solution.
In future, there are hopes she will become area manager for the rest of Girish’s stores as the business grows.
Store: The Three Singh’s, Selby, West Yorkshire Symbol: Go Local
Sophie Nightingale
Store: Costcutter
Epsom, Surrey Symbol: Costcutter
A winner from last year for her incredible efforts in taking over the store’s overall vape offer, in the past year, Sophie has been integral in enhancing the security of the shop, protecting the team and stock.
She is very hands-on with the staff WhatsApp group, uploading known offenders from the town’s Shopwatch team. She has also taken on full responsibility for the store’s new Chirp security tagging device and keeps communication chains in place with Quail headsets.
Through her efforts,
shop theft has been reduced by more than 50%, saving at least £10,000 a year, and the store has become a place that shoplifters actively avoid.
Sophie takes pride in her work and is a good leader and manager, practically running the evening team and always willing and able to step in if another manager is away. She is one of the first people the owner contacts on operational matters.
With hopes for expansion of the business, it is expected that Sophie will soon have a store of her own to manage.
Store: Broadway Convenience Store, Edinburgh Symbol: Premier
This year, the shop celebrated its 40th birthday and Sophie was instrumental in running campaigns that reached out and gave back to the local community.
The shop ran a full week of events, featuring competitions, sampling and giveaways. She involved the local school in creating artwork and organised a street dance performance from a local school.
At Christmas, Sophie works further with the local school, receiving donations for families in need, hosting the school choir for carol
singing outside the shop with mince pies and mulled wine on offer, and fundraising in the community.
She held a fundraising evening in a local bowling club to raise money for the family of a terminally ill customer. The event raised £3,500. She replicated this event for another family whose 15-yearold has been affected by cancer.
Sophie will continue to help the community while raising awareness for the business.
In October, Sophie won the Better Retailing Community Hero Award.
Sophie Williams
Over the past year, previous winner Suki has focused on becoming the best local community store in his area. He donated 95 Easter eggs to the local school and 20 advent calendars to the local food bank, and sponsors Tenterden Football Club. He donates to concerts in his local park, churches, fundraisers and the youth cadets.
Suki has introduced one-on-one meetings with all staff members, which allow him to check in on staff morale and act on any issues they have before they become a problem.
Another innovation has been the introduction of headsets, which has boosted productivity and reduced theft and delays at the till.
Earlier this year, Suki re-tarmacked the forecourt outside his store for £14,000, adding three more parking spaces and making the area more appealing and accessible for wheelchair users.
His next-gen nicotine range has also become known for its variety in the face of the disposable-vape ban.
Next year, he has plans for a full refit of the store to create a better lunch offering.
Souhail
Usman started working at the shop about a year ago and has seized the opportunity with both hands, making the store a better place. Standards have risen since he joined, he is readily available in case of any emergencies and has become part of the family within the shop. He took on the soft drinks section – the shop’s largest section – and without changing the range or refitting it, he increased sales by £1,000 a month. He did this by maintaining standards and remerchandising the area the way he wanted.
As a younger team member, he has also been prominent in improving the store’s social media presence. He features heavily in many videos to the point where he’s now a minor celebrity in the town and frequently gets approached for selfies.
Over the next year, he wants to continue to grow the store, looking for opportunities to develop and maintain growth.
He’s currently undergoing training with Snappy Shopper and wants to bring his ideas to this section of the business as well.
Store: Shop Around The Clock, Tenterden, Kent Symbol: Nisa Suki
Store: Notay’s Premier, Batley, West Yorkshire Symbol: Premier Usman
Vidur Pandya
Store: Kislingbury Mini Market & Post Office, Northamptonshire Symbol: Unaffiliated
Vidur returns as a winner from last year who had taken on a struggling business and more than tripled its weekly takings. And this year he has continued to excel.
Over the past 12 months, sales have risen by another 35.7%. He invested in new refrigeration equipment, which generated a return within nine months through increased sales and reduced bills.
Vidur got ahead of the incoming disposable-vape ban by holding a free sampling event with Vapouriz to introduce vape kits and
e-liquids to his customers. He introduced parcel collection services, doubling customer sessions from 270 to 620 a week.
To improve staff organisation and retention he introduced Connecteam, which allows them to see the next month’s shift work, request time off, clock in and out, view payslips and swap shifts.
He has provided significant training for his staff to ensure full compliance, which has resulted in promotions and upskilling.
Vidur is currently finalising refit plans for the store.
Amrutiya
Store: Go Local Extra Belfield Hall Farm, Rochdale, Greater Manchester Symbol: Go Local Yash
Yash’s main focus in the past 12 months has been with the shop’s alcohol section. When another store opened nearby, Yash took it upon himself to reevaluate the offer and create a greater point of difference. His approach has resulted in an improvement in stock management and availability, as well as better prices. His range reviews, promotional sales and customer recommendations – in store and online – have led to a 10% increase year on year in the beer, wines and spirits area. He doesn’t just rely
on his own expertise and knowledge, he manages and pushes other staff members to receive feedback and make sure the customer is always kept first in everyone’s minds.
Customer engagement, stock availability and ease of shop have all grown since his arrival and these improvements have seen him rise up the ranks.
Over the next year, Yash is looking at ways to improve margins, as well as training staff to a level where he can delegate work to them so he can focus on improving the other sites.
