CUSTOMER PROFILE

Park life

A new Budgens store on London’s affluent Battersea Park Road is laying down strong roots.

From its iconic power station to its lush Victorian park and zoo, sweeping riverside views and eclectic mix of catering and hospitality venues, the South London district of Battersea certainly has a lot to recommend it.

And now, thanks to the opening of a unique new convenience proposition on the busy Battersea Park Road, the borough’s affluent shoppers have even more to smile about.

Owned by seasoned Budgens retailer Anthony Benedict, the new-build 1,700sq ft Budgens store opened its doors on 24 June 2022, following a lengthy construction process which also involved the creation of 11 purpose-built flats in the building above.

“I came across the site during the second national lockdown in late 2020. Back then it was a building site and the area was eerily quiet due to lockdown conditions,” Anthony explains.

“However, despite the circumstances, I could clearly see the opportunity that the finished product would eventually represent.

“My Budgens RDM Abdul Mustapha was in total agreement. As soon as I showed him the site, he soon echoed my thoughts – its potential was clear for him to see too.” “Battersea Park is a very affluent area, surrounded by multi-million-pound houses, high-end apartments and lots of shops and offices. It’s also very close to the famous Battersea Park, which attracts large crowds of people all year round and especially in the summer months.

“We knew that when restrictions eased and life returned to ‘normal’ this site was likely to benefit from high footfall and a more affluent type of shopper.”

The future retail unit’s physical blueprint was also advantageous. “The retail unit was located on the corner of the new development which meant that it

“Chilled sales, in my opinion, are a very good indicator of business performance. If your chilled sales are growing your business is in good shape and has potential to grow even further.”

Anthony Benedict, Budgens Battersea Park Road

would benefi t from heightened visibility.

“Its L-shaped design also appealed to me. I knew it would allow for a light-and-airy-feeling store with lots of space at the entrance, which is crucial for enticing shoppers in and creating an impact.

“Once open, the entrance to the store would also be directly in front of a busy pedestrian crossing, which again, I knew would help to drive footfall,” Anthony adds.

“There’s a large residential estate immediately behind the store and, being on the main Battersea Park Road, less than half a mile away from the tube station, meant it was sure to benefi t from a high mix of local and passing trade.

“The only small concern that I had initially was that historically, many of the other stores I have opened have been within neighbourhood settings, so this very urban city centre location was quite different for me.

“You could say it was a bit of a risk but thanks to Budgens’ support it was a risk that I felt comfortable taking.

“Abdul and I, along with the wider Budgens team, did a huge amount of work planning the new store to get the offer exactly right.”

“There’s no reason why the feel of a neighbourhood store can’t be created in a citycentre location, and I think we are well on our way towards proving that.”

For Anthony and the Budgens team, “getting it right” meant investing the store with a significant focus on fresh and chilled and fitting it out with more than 23 metres of refrigeration in the process.

“There’s not a vast amount of local fresh and chilled competition within a short walk and owing to the high density of flats nearby, we knew that chilled was likely to take off,” Anthony says.

Take off it certainly has, with chilled sales currently leading the way as the store’s best-selling category.

“Many of the flats above the store and nearby are high-end one and twobedroom properties, meaning that the owners don’t tend to have vast amounts of fridge space. That really benefits us as it means that those shoppers tend to buy fresh and chilled products every day,” Anthony explains. “Lots of our shoppers pop in after the morning school run or at the end of the school and working day to buy what they need for lunch or dinner that day. They want quick, convenient, quality meal solutions so the Jack’s range of ready meals is doing particularly well.

“Chilled sales, in my opinion, are a very good indicator of business performance. If your chilled sales are growing, your business is in good shape and has potential to grow even further.”

“We have a one-metre bay for fresh meats, one metre for ready meals, two metres for chilled deli items and sushi, 3.75 metres for dairy and a further five metres of soft drinks.

“We also have a 1.25 metre open chiller on one of the gondola ends at the front of the store which is packed with chilled sandwiches and other ‘to go’ items such as pasta pots and salads.

Anthony Benedict, Budgens

Battersea Park Road

STORE FACTS

Store name: Budgens Battersea Park Retailer: Anthony Benedict Store size: 1,700sq ft Best-performingcategories: Chilled, food-to-go, vape Services: Lottery, free cash machine, parcel collection Openinghours: 7am-11pm Staff: 10

“The sandwiches, in particular, are flying out. In the city, shoppers just want quick and easy lunch solutions, and sandwiches offer exactly that. We also sell loads of them as part of our lunchtime Meal Deal.

“£4 for a main, snack and a drink offers fantastic value, but it’s about more than just price, it’s a very quick and easy mechanic for shoppers to understand and that also counts for so much when they are in a rush.”

The store also boasts a hot food-to-go offer from Rollover and Bake & Bite.

“Because of its urban location I wanted food-to-go to be a major focus – so we have also crafted a dedicated food and drinks-to-go zone at the entrance, including a number of on-trend selfserve machines such as Tango Ice Blast, Fwip, Costa, and F’real. These are proving really popular with locals and passers-by alike,” Anthony adds. “This is a very affluent area, some of the flats and houses around here are worth millions so we knew that we had an opportunity to really go after the premium end of the market. With Budgens’ help, our wine range includes some fantastic premium French, Italian and Chilean lines for £30-£40 and they are selling well,” Anthony says.

Complementing the store’s high-end wine offering is a range of fine Cuban cigars, which Anthony also says are also in “steady growth.”

“I knew that given our more affluent shopper demographic we had an opportunity to introduce a some of these more unique ultra-premium offerings.

“It’s early days but the cigars are proving popular. I’m confident that we’ll hit sales of up to £1,000 a week in the not-too-distant future.

Further meeting the needs of its more affluent shopper demographic, the store also boasts a high-end wine range, including a number of bottles priced at £40 and up. All in all, Anthony says that local shoppers appear “delighted” with the finished result. area. All the other stores nearby are either very small CTN types or large supermarkets – so we are offering them a very unique retail proposition,” he says.

And it’s not just the store’s offer that shoppers are falling for, but its approach to customer service too.

“It’s early days but we are already building really strong relationships with local shoppers,” Anthony says.

“My background in neighbourhood stores means that my staff and I have always maintained a very positive approach to customer service and forged strong links with our local shoppers.

There’s no reason why the feel of a neighbourhood store can’t be created in a city-centre location, and I think we are well on our way towards proving that.”