Recent cost pressures have forced premium Spar convenience chain Eat 17 to reevaluate its business model. Last year, it had to shutter its wholesale business and close its Hammersmith store.

These challenges meant the firm has stripped back its food offer. It now concentrates more on its conve­nience model.

The company still sets itself apart with freshly made food and products supplied by local producers. However, its revamped site in Walthamstow, London, highlights its new direction, with simple adap­tations other independent retailers can make themselves.

The site more recently under­went a major refurbishment. They stripped away the restaurant in favour of a more casual sit-down lunch setting and fresh food-to-go counter, serving hot food, pastries and hot drinks. Customers can or­der food and leave the store quickly now, while the food-to-go range has been designed to complement the available convenience range.

How Eat 17 Walthamstow balances locally sourced with convenience

The new focus on making locally produced and sourced products more convenient has worked in Eat 17’s favour, with the company recently reporting a reduction in annual losses.

“Now we’ve got the best of both worlds and it’s worked re­ally well for us,” explain founders James Brundle and Chris O’Connor. “We’ve kept parts of the food busi­ness, but we’ve really invested in the daytime service.

“We’ve relocated our alcohol to make it prominent and we’ve extended the available range for products at different price points.

“There are products from 30 local suppliers and it’s helping us compete with the nearby Tesco. Over the next few months, we’re looking at what we can add to the front of the store to attract poten­tial customers as soon as they walk by. It’s all about examining how we can make a simpler fresh-food offer work successfully with traditional convenience store elements.”

Brundle and O’Connor explain how you can implement similar changes in your shop.

Making food to go simple

Although the firm has consoli­dated its restaurant business into a simpler sit-down lunch offering, it’s most-popular food-to-go range is pizza sold by the slice. With a range of vegetarian and meat options for around £4 a slice, the range is popular every day. It attracts demand from work­ers and families living nearby.

Weekends are the busi­est, the site sells 400 slices on Saturdays and Sundays.

Brundle said: “It’s the convenience that works well for customers. We make the pizza on-site hours before they go on sale during lunch. The smell often entices customers into the shop. It’s right by our coffee bar as well, so customers can pick up a drink with their pizza.

“We have one dedicated chef making the pizza. It’s nothing complicated. It’s simple food to go that we can produce fresh on site in high volume.”

Cross-promotion Eat 17 Walthamstow

To help encourage customers to increase their overall basket spend and manage wastage, Eat 17 merchandises beer with the pizzas made on site.

Brundle said: “Demand for our fresh pizza is high, so many customers are already aware of it. However, some might not be able to eat our pizzas on site. We also offer chilled pre-packaged versions which customers can take home for around £6 per pizza. It’s merchandised with beer and snacks for an evening meal to tempt customers to buy more.

“It’s become more popular than pizza from some of the more well-known brands. We don’t get much wastage, and this certainly helps us keep those levels low.

“In terms of merchandis­ing, the range is placed right by the front window so those passing by can see them. It’s also situated opposite our chilled grocery range. It means those customers doing a larger shop will know it’s there.”

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Working with local suppliers

Eat 17 works with dozens of local suppliers on alcohol, ice cream, bread, dairy  and many other products. Brundle and O’Connor aren’t shy in highlighting the backstory of these products.

“We don’t do anything complicated and simply signpost next to the product itself. Alternatively, we train staff in highlighting the history to customers,” Brundle tells Better Retailing.

“One of our most-popular products is Yok Chan’s Chilli Oil. We’ve been stock­ing the range for years and it’s made by a husband-and-wife couple, with influ­ences from Asia.

“Although our range of local suppliers is extensive, managing deliveries and stock is as simple as being as communicative as you can with them. If we need more stock, we can get in touch right away.”

Communicating value at Eat 17 Walthamstow

Although the store boasts an extensive range of premium-priced products, O’Connor recognises the importance of offering customers choice.

He explains: “Customers are happy to spend more in some categories, but like everyone else, they aren’t immune to cost challenges. In some categories, we have a more expensive option, but there’s also a value option available for them. It’s about making that choice available.”

This choice extends to product categories such as cheese and dairy, alcohol, impulse and ambient lines, such as sauces.

O’Connor adds: “We also have a self-serve refill station for laundry products. Customers just bring their own container in and fill it themselves. Previously, we offered self-serve refill for grains, but this wasn’t as popular. Customers didn’t see as much value and we’ve restricted the station to what we know works.”

Read more of our store profiles where we visit independent convenience retailers to showcase their fresh ideas and unique insights