I watched Mary Queen Of Shops last night featuring retail guru Mary Portas turning around an old, tired greengrocers into a chic place to shop.
In Hoylake, the Wirral on Merseyside, the old store of Fosters became the 3 Sisters Greengrocers.
* Local
* Fresh
* Less – smaller quantities, lower prices
It was great to see a local shop turned around with the rebranding, a refit, a new attitude in the three sisters (two of whom own it, the other works in the shop which used to be in her husband's family for something like 115 years).
Free local delivery of a fresh vegetable box each week also proved popular because of the extra convenience.
It's tough to beat the supermarkets but this makeover has created a strong identity and I wish the shop great success.
BBC – with the video – you've got 28 days to watch
Local reaction from Hoylake Junction
What do you think?
You can either leave a comment below on this blog or, even better if you own a small business, it would be great if you could join my new small business membership site for free and leave a comment in the forum - you also get lots of goodies to help you to increase profit.
Reviving A Greengrocers & Fighting Off The Supermarkets
This battle of local shops versus giant supermarkets is being fought across the UK.
I love local shops but they need to raise the game, just as happened with the 3 Sisters in Hoylake so that shoppers have a reason to visit.
It was fascinating when Mary Portas took the three sisters to the local supermarkets to hear what customers were saying about why they didn't visit and buy from Fosters, you could see the truth hurt but it was a revelation.
A great reminder that you can get out and ask. Some people won't tell but some will... perhaps brutally. OK the TV cameras made it an event and gave the people of Hoylake a chance to get on TV which may have helped sales of vegetable boxes in the beginning but the steady rise in numbers showed that the idea had merit.
From a coaching angle, it was also interesting to see how Mary Portas had to shake up the sisters and make them front up to issues. This is a business which needed a direct intervention by a powerful personality.
Gentle business training wouldn't have worked - change needed to be forced through.
Do You Know The 3 Sisters Greengrocers in Hoylake?
If you do, then I'd be interested to hear how the store is doing now, about nine months after the TV programme was filmed.
More recent feedback on the Mary Queen Of Shops TV programme on the 3 Sisters Greengrocers can be found at this page on the Hoylake Junction website.
http://www.hoylakejunction.com/3-sisters-your-thoughts-please
It seems that at the moment, things are going well.
Posted by: Paul Simister | 22 June 2010 at 07:07 PM
AMAZING KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK LADIES!! XX
Posted by: Lara | 26 June 2010 at 05:38 PM