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Interview |
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Andy Dike
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My Super Supersized Superstore
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Stalbridge
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The Dike family have run an independent grocery store in the small south coast town of Stalbridge, Dorset since 1851. In fact, before building their current supermarket, the Dikes had served the tight-knit community of Stalbridge from the same store off a busy high street for over 100 years.
That store had been refurbished a number of times over the years, but no change was as spectacular as the one Andy Dike commissioned five years ago. Having dreamed of owning a superstore Andy felt the “time was right” to make his dreams a reality.
“It has always been a dream of mine to own a huge superstore where customers can find everything they need under one roof. And now I have what I believe is a really super supersized store.”
However, it was not a decision taken lightly. Andy had started his retailing career helping out in his father’s old store during holidays and it held a lot of memories for the Dikes.
“It was gut-wrenching change for the family. We had served our customers from the same store for over a hundred years but we wanted to get bigger and couldn’t expand the same site anymore,” he explains.
“Plus Tesco and Asda’s supermarkets were opening closer and closer to us every year so the family agreed that to compete with them we would have to think big.”
The Dikes raised money by selling two acres of land they owned behind their old store to housing developers.
It took years for the Dikes to get through planning permission and red tape but finally Andy opened the doors to his dream store on November 5 2007.
“The date sticks in my mind because it officially ushered in a new era of retailing for the Dikes. We had a lot of mixed emotions at the time.” recalls Andy.
In financial terms, building the superstore seems to have been the right choice. The store’s current weekly turnover ranges from £120,000 to £150,000. It completes 10,500 transactions a week and around half of the customers are trolley shoppers. There are a large number of basket shoppers with only a few top-up sales being made.
To do so much in a town with a population of 3,000 is extraordinary. Andy explains that the community is actually a lot bigger “when you consider the dozens of villages dotted around Stalbridge.” He adds there “aren’t many other stores” servicing these areas. Indeed, the nearest multiple is six miles away and only a small handful of convenience stores are present.
It clearly helps that the store exudes a professional and modern look. The exterior borrows common features from supermarket chains, but still conveys the look of an independent store. For instance, the building is a low-lying two-storey rectangular shape that resembles a Tesco, yet the building’s brickwork is mainly all local Stalbridge stone.
The inside of the store was “carefully thought out” by the family. The entrance has windows above it that let in a good degree of natural light. There are nine checkouts to the left of the entrance. These tills benefit from the natural light also and all nine are manned during peak hours, otherwise they are staffed according to how busy the store is.
“Me and my senior staff have decades of experience between us, so we were comfortable we knew what we were doing. Plus we had sound advice from expert independent shop-fitters,” says Andy.
The result means the store is packed with everything one would expect of a modern superstore. In front of the entrance is a large fresh fruit and vegetable stall. The perimeter of the store leading from the right of the entrance starts with a customer service kiosk.
“The café is one of the features of the store that I am most proud of because it brings all the community together. Any given day you will see folk seated around the café talking and enjoying themselves,” says Andy.
“To run a size of this store properly you need a framework of staff. I have head supervisors for every department. They report back to me but ultimately they are in charge of the ordering, stock control and merchandising of each department,” says Andy.
For independently manufactured and locally sourced foods Andy likes to invite manufacturers and suppliers into his store to do tasting sessions.
“This really attracts a lot of customers. By creating this in-store theatre you entice customers to come back in even after they have done their weekly shop,” he says.
Locally sourced food plays a major factor in the way the store retails. Andy currently has over 100 local and independent suppliers on his books, some which he sources stock from on a regular basis, others he contacts during specific seasons. It’s safe to say that it helps provide a link between his superstore and the small store his father used to run when he was a child.
“Our customers have enjoyed locally sourced and independently supplied foods from the Dike’s for many years and that hasn’t changed now we have expanded. Tesco doesn’t know how to do independent and local food, we do,” insists Andy. “We work hard to get that independent ideal across to the customers – that we are not just another supermarket.”
The Dikes still conduct their family business the way they did when they retailed out of all much smaller premises. “We don’t trample over other people’s business and don’t undercut anyone,” says Andy.
There are things Andy would like to bring into his store but won’t because other local businesses are doing the same things.
“Around the corner there is a nursery that supports itself by doubling up as a florist. I would like to sell flowers in my store but won’t because I know the nursery owners and it wouldn’t be right. I want this area to preserve its identity. My customers understand and appreciate that,” say Andy.
Similarly there is an electrical goods store and bicycle store on the high street behind the Dike’s supermarket, meaning Andy won’t contemplate going into these markets.
“A very old friend of mine owns a petrol forecourt up the road and I would love to add a petrol service to my store. But once again I won’t because to compete against him would be breaching our ethics,” says Andy.
The move from convenience store owner to supermarket is proving “a big success”, says Andy. However, the change does mean he has a few extra headaches to deal with.
“Having so many staff means you’re more prone to getting a bad apple which is not nice to deal with,” says Andy.
Although, there is a plus side to have a larger workforce: “If someone is unexpectedly sick it is far easier to cover that position than when it happened in our previous store.”
Making the step up from c-store to superstore creates more red tape. Issues concerning the proper laws, procedures and regulations in regards to health and safety, staff compliance, environment and wastage concerns can be bothersome for Andy.
“I employ a legal team to help advise me on all these matters. I have to do this because I if get something wrong we are all in trouble,” says Andy.
And he wouldn’t want that for he has very long term plans for Dikes & Son.
“Retailing has been in the Dike blood for over a century. I hope that through the superstore this rich tradition can continue for another hundred years.”
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