Retail News|October 2014|www.retailnews.ie|27
26|Retail News|October 2014|www.retailnews.ie
Shop Profile
Shop Profile
MACE Moves Ahead in Malahide Store owner Rhonda Brophy is pictured outside her newly revamped MACE store in Malahide, Co. Dublin.
A revamp at Rhonda Brophy’s MACE store in Malahide village, Co. Dublin, has seen a renewed focus on meeting the needs of its customers head-on. THE recent revamp at Rhonda Brophy’s MACE store in Malahide, Co. Dublin, has not only transformed the look of the shop, but has also seen significant changes in how it functions. Rhonda has been involved with retail all her life, starting
off at the tender age of 12, when she began working part time for her mum, Ruth O’Flynn. 1991 saw Ruth O’Flynn beginning what would become a very profitable, long-term partnership with MACE when she branded her 7/11 shop in Coolock as a MACE store. The family has been working with MACE ever since. With a successful working relationship for over 20 years, her mother’s decision to work with BWG Foods and MACE has stood the test of time and Rhonda continues to enjoy the fruits of the relationship. Although the Coolock store, where the relationship with MACE first began, was sold in 2009, the family still has shops in Malahide, Kilbarrack and Finglas. Part of the group since 2002, the Malahide store, run by Rhonda, recently underwent a significant revamp. Maximising Use of Space With just over 1,000 square feet of retail space, the Malahide
store doesn’t have an enormous footprint, and as such it has always had a very strong focus on food-to-go. That focus has become even sharper after the latest development. Rhonda tells Retail News: “The shop has been here for a long time and I know my customers very well. I had a very clear vision for what I wanted from this revamp. The shop had not had any major work done to it since 2002, so it was starting to look a little dated. I very much wanted to bring the look of the shop up to date, but I also had some very specific changes in mind for this project.” The latest revamp is designed to make maximum use of the limited space. For example, the shop no longer offers customers any frozen food. The small frozen food offering that had been present in the old shop has been stripped out and the additional space has been made available to fresh food and an impressive coffee offering. “We have a lot of competition in the area and this shop is not really suitable for customers looking to do a large shop,” Rhonda explains. “We’ve always been known in the village for fresh food-to-go and this latest development highlights that. The Bewley’s coffee machine that we chose is much higher quality that an average machine, offering great quality Fairtrade coffee and tea at a value for money proposition.” New MACE Image The work was finished quickly, with the project lasting just three weeks during July of this year. Rhonda kept the shop trading for the duration, avoiding sending customers elsewhere but also keeping regulars engaged in the development. “I was extremely impressed by the speed and quality of the work,” she reveals. “Although it did not take long, I did not want to close the doors to my customers. It created a great atmosphere in the shop, where customers were able to see how the development was going. There was a sense of excitement about the whole thing. Many of the staff here, and many of our customers, have been here since
before my Mum took over the shop. This is their shop as much as mine and I think it’s very important that staff and customers have that sense of having a stake in the shop.” Once the project was completed, the shop adopted the new MACE image, as well as highlighting a trimmed down grocery line. The project delivered an increase in fresh food-to-go and graband-go pre-prepared food, as well as a superior coffee offering and an increase in snack food. The only outstanding element of the plan still to be installed is a wine section. Rhonda will look to acquire a wine licence for the shop, as she believes that it will suit the new format. “I am very happy with the new look of the shop, and just as importantly, so are my customers,” Rhonda notes. “It really looks the part, but it also functions the way I wanted it to. I know my customers well and so do my staff. What we have created here is a shop
Fact File Owner: Rhonda Brophy Location:
Main Street, Malahide, Co. Dublin
Size:
1,100 square feet
No of staff:
12 full time & part time
Opening Hours: 07:00-22:00, Mon-Fri; 08:00-22:00, Saturday; 09:00-22:00, Sunday
that presents the right products in the right way. Between MACE and myself, we have a great deal of knowledge and understanding of the business and of my customers. The newly launched MACE shopper feedback programme, ‘Did we make you smile today?’ is another way for our shoppers to tell us how we are doing. Together, we have developed a shop that offers my customers what they want, how they want it.” Successful Partnership With a strong track record of partnership, Rhonda has always been very happy with the MACE group. She is very active in forums and finds that the group is very open to dialogue with retailers. The MACE U-Learn online training resources, as well as the online marketing resources, give Rhonda access to efficient and cost-effective ways of keeping her staff highly trained and producing promotional material. Indeed, Rhonda is cognisant of the fact that despite the fact that the MACE group has grown significantly since the 1990s, it still places the retailer at the heart of its business. Rhonda has created a shop that is perfectly suited in form and function for her customers. She is continuing the legacy of her mother, Ruth, by knowing and meeting the needs of the local community, while also maintaining what has been a very successful working relationship with MACE, one which has been working hard for well over two decades.