Blakemore Retail Conference Looks to Future

July 29, 2022

More than 250 store managers attended Blakemore Retail’s Managers’ Conference last month to learn about exciting new initiatives setting the business up for future success.  

The conference and gala dinner took place at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham on 27th and 28th June.

Blakemore Retail Managing Director Matt Teague opened the event with a big acknowledgement of colleagues’ efforts during the pandemic. “It was incredible work that you and all your store teams did,” he said. “Without a doubt, you kept the wheels of the business turning and the nation fed and watered. I could be no prouder and I can never thank you enough. You did an absolutely amazing job.”

Matt announced a significant investment plan for Blakemore Retail worth £11.35 million over the next 12 months.

Central to this will be the creation of new retail space, involving the relocation and redevelopment of existing stores as well as the acquisition of new stores. Blakemore Retail is looking to open 14 new stores in the next 24 months and in 2021/22 opened three new stores: Broughton Astley, Tollgate and Spalding.

The business will continue to deploy A.F. Blakemore’s store cluster strategy to maximise space and ranging opportunities and to roll out more New Era stores, which employ the best in innovative thinking.

Another focus for the future will be the development of Blakemore Retail’s fresh and food service offering. The business will continue to develop fresh meat sales through A.F. Blakemore’s own-brand County Bridge range and invest in more food service counters. Last year Blakemore Retail grew its food-to-go business by 32%.

A.F. Blakemore Group CEO Jerry Marwood spoke about Blakemore Retail’s strong position as the largest independent convenience retailer in the UK as well as the benefits of belonging to SPAR – the most recognised convenience brand in the UK and the biggest retail network in the world. He emphasised A.F. Blakemore’s commitment to building a sustainable business for the future, with 94% of profits after tax being reinvested into the business and another 2% going to the Blakemore Foundation charitable trust.

The conference also celebrated Blakemore Retail’s commitment to making a difference in local communities and supporting good causes. Blakemore Retail colleagues raised an incredible £331,774 for the NSPCC in 2021/22 and are well on their way to achieving their target of £5 million by the time Blakemore Retail reaches 18 years of partnership with the charity. This year’s top fundraising store was Winthorpe Avenue, which raised £7,442 for the NPSCC.

Looking to the future, Matt said: “Our business is resilient. After all it’s nearly 105 years old. It’s gone through many periods of boom and bust, but it comes back stronger every time. But not only do we have a resilient business, we have a lot of resilient people in our company that make that happen.

“What’s really important for us is that we remain dynamic – that we get on with things quickly. We have a whole pipeline of ideas that we want to get into stores, and we’re going to start that very soon.

“I want this business to be exciting. I also want a business where you have the opportunity to grow. But above all else, it’s really important that when we come to work we have fun. Teams that have fun grow business.”  

Delegates also heard from the following speakers at the conference:

Responsible Business Director Caoire Blakemore: Responsible Business Update

Caoire introduced A.F. Blakemore’s Responsible Business Programme and its three areas of focus: the workplace, community and environment. Some of the key initiatives that the company will be concentrating on include its Branching Out education programme, Race at Work strategy, Women in Blakemore events, family-friendly policies and initiatives around disability, mentoring, wellbeing, career progression and the environment. Caoire encouraged colleagues to get involved in company events celebrating equality, inclusion and diversity and to continue making a difference in local communities by getting involved in fundraising, volunteering and charitable giving via the Blakemore Foundation.

Store Operations Director Chris Bacon and Fresh Foods Implementation Manager Mandy Gasson: Our Future is You and Your Team

Chris and Mandy gave a talk about the importance of looking after Blakemore Retail’s most valuable asset – its people. They called on store managers to do their best to give colleagues all the tools and knowledge they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability and highlighted quick wins that can be implemented to improve the workplace, such as ensuring well-equipped staff rooms, saying thank you for a job well done and having fun at work. Chris explained how the business has been working to improve things for colleagues by increasing rates of pay and rolling out new benefits and policies. Action plans are also being developed in response to the latest staff survey.

Guest speaker Caroline Dakin: Your Resilience

Guest speaker Caroline Dakin led an interactive session on resilience – the ability to bounce back from adversity, work through challenges and respond to situations rather than react to them. She highlighted some of the key things that can boost resilience. Physiological factors include sleep, exercise, diet, sunlight and nature, while psychological factors include having a positive outlook, setting goals, challenging yourself, regulating emotion and seeking support. Looking at these factors, Caroline challenged delegates, “What could you work on to build your resilience?”  

Retail Innovation Manager Nicola Hobson and Senior Fresh Food Coach Paula Grimshaw: Our Future is Fresh

Nicola Hobson and Paula Grimshaw spoke about the significance of fresh food in driving store choice; 54% of UK consumers talk about fresh food being a key factor in deciding where to shop. They highlighted just how essential great quality, value, availability and range are to standing out from competitors – especially in the three most important categories: fresh meat, produce and bakery. Nicola and Paula challenged store managers to look at how their fresh offer is presented and think about how they can improve it, just by “doing the basics brilliantly”. Having a fantastic food-to-go offer is also critically important, with hot food in particular being a key driver for store choice.

Regional Manager Gareth James and Retail IT Implementation Project Manager Sam Tomlinson: Our Future is Innovation  

Gareth James and Sam Tomlinson presented on all the innovation going on in stores to make things easier for colleagues and free up time to spend on delighting customers. This included investment in self-scan checkouts and new electronic shelf-edge labels to improve efficiencies as well as ‘warehouse on wheels’ mobile racking to speed up replenishment and headsets to improve communication. Blakemore Retail has also invested in new tablets and e-learning for stores to enable colleagues to do more online. The business has been working with a sustainability consultancy to reduce its energy consumption too.

Regional Manager Ruth Mutton and Group Marketing Director Sarah Ellis: Our Future is Community

Ruth and Sarah’s update introduced SPAR’s national ‘Joy of Living Locally’ campaign and the importance of getting involved in the local community. The campaign describes what is unique about SPAR and is based on three pillars: Value on Your Doorstep, Nurture Our Neighbourhoods and Passionate About Local. Focusing on the importance of nurturing neighbourhoods, Ruth introduced a new online toolkit on SharePoint for Blakemore Retail colleagues to make it easier to get involved in community activity. It includes fundraising ideas, links to volunteering opportunities and the Blakemore Foundation and a place to log volunteering hours and fundraising totals.

Disability Sport Wales CEO Fiona Reid: Disability Sport Wales

Fiona delivered an inspirational presentation on A.F. Blakemore’s charity partnership with Disability Sport Wales, which has been going since 2020. The organisation’s mission is to ensure that disabled people are as likely to have a lifelong enjoyment of physical activity as non-disabled people. Fiona encouraged Blakemore Retail colleagues to take up volunteering opportunities to support the charity’s Insport Series events, which are community-led sessions that aim to inspire disabled children and adults to try out new sports.

NSPCC Account Manager Elizabeth Whelehan: The NSPCC

Elizabeth thanked Blakemore Retail colleagues for their incredible efforts to fundraise £331,774 for the NSPCC last year. The funds enabled the charity to adapt its Speak Out Stay Safe assemblies to a virtual format and reach more than 370,000 children. Blakemore Retail is now supporting the NSPCC’s Home or Out Alone campaign, which helps provide parents and carers with guidance on whether their children are ready to stay home or go out alone.

The following stores were recognised for the amount they fundraised for the NSPCC last year:

• Top fundraising store: Winthorpe Avenue - £7,442
• Second top fundraising store: Brumby Corner - £5,672
• Third fundraising store: Bettws - £5,312
• Most improved store: Olton - £1,262

Guest speaker Linda Moir: Delivering a Memorable Customer Experience

Calling on her experience heading up Virgin Atlantic’s customer service team and event services at the London Olympics, guest speaker Linda talked about the importance of delivering both “brilliant basics” and “magic touches” in customer service. She highlighted the value in inspiring colleagues to find their own creative and innovative solutions to help customers and fix problems; low-cost, high-value ideas come from the people who work with customers every day. Linda challenged managers to think about how they can engage their teams best – by providing job roles with variety and ongoing learning opportunities, recognising people for their individual talents and celebrating them when they do things right. “If people are proud of what they do, they will do extraordinary things,” she said. 

At the end of the first day of the conference, attendees enjoyed a fantastic Jubilee-themed gala dinner. Here are a few photos from the event: 

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