14|Retail News|December 2011|www.retailnews.ie
Shop Profile
Pictured outside the Trim store are (l-r): Trish Smith, store manager, Barry Gillen, store owner, and Tommy Devlin, Regional Development Manager.
Barry Gillen’s Londis forecourt store in Trim, Co. Meath, has undergone numerous developments since the entrepreneurial retailer took over the shop, but this year’s extensive revamp saw the popular store more than double in size.
Londis Grows in Trim
BARRY Gillen is the epitome of the modern, entrepreneurial retailer, which is somewhat surprising, considering he began his professional career in a much different capacity. Barry originally began working as a teacher, but like many entrepreneurs, he always had the urge to work for himself. “I took a career break as a teacher and leased a shop,” Barry tells Retail News how his change of career came about. “I was able to experience working as a shop owner, but I still had the safety net of returning to teaching if things did not work out or I found I did not like it.” Barry did like running his own shop and what’s more, he was extremely good at it. When the opportunity arose to acquire the forecourt site on the Dublin Road in Trim, Barry jumped at the chance. A resident of nearby
Navan, Barry regularly played golf in Trim and he knew the town and the forecourt well. With the experience he had gained in retail and his local knowledge, he believed he could realise the potential the site held. From the moment Barry acquired the shop, he chose to work with Londis and began a very successful working relationship that continues to this day. “At the time I took over this site, it had the forecourt, a car show-room and a very small shop,” he recalls. “In order to take advantage of the demand that existed around the shop, it needed to become larger and offer more stock and services. I chose to work with the Londis Group because when I was a looking for a partner for this project, Londis offered me a package that was designed to grow my business and provided all the advice and support I needed.”