David Woodrow of Woodrow’s in Renfrewshire says the key to a successful store is listening to the community around you, and making sure that you react to their comments accordingly. It’s this viewpoint that saw him listed as a finalist in the Availability category at the 2009 IAA Awards.
“I have often said that whatever my customers ask for I should be able to supply,” he says.
“As an independent retailer I am quite comfortable to give new products a try, but also to dump them if they don’t sell. Of the top 100 newspapers and magazines titles I stock over 90 and the few I don’t have in-store I have stocked in the past.
“I also sell the top-selling confectionery and soft drinks brands such as Cadbury, Coca Cola and Schweppes. For a number of years the shop has sold Fairtrade products, ranging from chocolates to tea. My view is that if a shop is part of the community we rely on them to keep going and they rely on us, so it is important to stock the products they want.”
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