the better retailing blog
Mary Queen of (independent) Shops
by Robert Ratcliff on 14 June, 2010
It might be worth tuning into BBC2 at 9pm tonight, as Mary Portas will be visiting an independent retailer in Dorset in her TV series, Mary Queen of Shops.
Juliet and Chris Porter, of Clealls of Corfe Castle, bought the convenience store a year ago and when Mary arrives they are losing £6,000 a month. Why? Because they simply don’t understand what their customers want. They are selling five different varieties of canned peas when all her customers want is fresh vegetables.
The community see the couple as outsiders having moved from London to take over the store. The lack of integration into their local community, and their unwillingness to understand their customers’ needs means they are running their store into the ground.
This programme is almost certainly essential viewing for independent retailers to make sure you understand what not to do, and how to turn your business around if it is slipping.
If you’ve got any questions about how you can use Mary’s tips to help your store, then betterRetailing’s experts will be on hand to answer any of your questions – just leave a comment below.
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Comments (3)
It would just been lovely if she had hi-lighted it’s not always easy to run a village shop, plus you need to be part of the community, opening hours are not enough.
Commitment & long hours are needed, the owners were made to look silly rather than inexperienced.
I do however hope that now, they are seeiing the reward for all the changes it can’t be easy for them and I think they will adapt and lets hope make profit.
Christine, I think you’re right, when you say the programme almost makes the shop owners seem silly, But this type of TV will always put entertainment first and good practice for the retailer second.
However I think Mary was right about it being essential for rural shopkeepers to play an active part in the community. This was very well illustrated when the store owner Chris Porter went back to his old haunt – the fruit and veg market in South London – and for the first time became really animated reminiscing about the area he grew up in.
I also hope they can build on the in-roads Mary helped them make into the local community. The TV presence at the relaunch of the shop certainly swelled the numbers but will their new found passion for local food produce be sustainable and profitable?
I would think managing a range of specialist, perishable goods is quite a challenge.
It would be a huge challenge to manage a specialist range but the important point as Mary is making with the programmes it is the ‘USP’ that allows any business to survuve & thrive.