Coronavirus podcast

Listen to 15 retailers explain how they have adapted to change

Better Retailing, part of Newtrade Media, has teamed up with the Independent Retail Owners Forum to reveal how leading retailers in the UK and Ireland are dealing with the spread of coronavirus.

These retailers have adapted – and in some cases completely changed – their businesses to suit the rise of home delivery and the need for protective equipment and social distancing in store. While convenience trends such as food to go were turned on their head in favour panic buying essentials, forward-thinking store owners responded decisively and responsibly to meet their customers’ needs. Here’s how:

Colin McClean,

chief executive of Dundee-based C J Lang & Son

David Bagnall,

BWG Foods board member and Spar retailer

David Sands,

owner of convenience stores – including David’s Kitchen – in Falkirk, Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy

Guy Warner,

owner of Warner’s Budgens in the Cotswolds

Jonathan James,

owner of 54 stores in the north of England

Louis Byrne,

managing director of three convenience stores in County Kerry

Mital Morar,

owner of six stores in and around Manchester

Patrick Sewell,

who runs the Sewell on the Go chain in Hull

Seamus Griffin,

chief executive of the Griffin Retail Group

Stephen Jempson,

owner of Jempsons in East Sussex

Steve Bassett,

owner of Londis stores in Dorset

Terry Mulkerns,

owner of Mulkerns Eurospar in Newry

Shane Cantillon,

owner of Spar and Maxol stores in and around County Cork

Tom McAvoy,

owner of Nisa Milestone in Rathfriland, County Down

Willie Forde,

owner of Forde’s Eurospar Supermarket in Castlecomer, County Kilkenny