Wilson group opens 12th store with One Stop as it aims 16 by end of year

One Stop franchisees Daniel and Craig Wilson have opened their 12th store in Pickering, Yorkshire.

The Wilson group, which has been with One Stop since the franchise model first started, said the model is perfectly suited to growing their portfolio of stores.

“One Stop has been a massive support and all the systems and process are great. The promotions and pricing are so good that it brings people into store and really drives sales and profitability,” Daniel said.

“If you have good managers in store there is not an enormous amount to do as the stores run themselves! I focus my time on new store opportunities and just check in occasionally with my managers.”

Daniel has just bought a pub, and he is converting it to three units. “One of these will be a One Stop. It’s not a massive difference to have one or 16, which is the number of One Stops I expect to have by the end of this year,” he added.

John Miller, head of franchise at One Stop, said: “It’s been great working with the Wilson group and this 12th store is a real milestone for them and for us as it demonstrates how our model allows franchisees to run multiple sites with complete ease.

“We are seeing an increasing number of our franchisees opening multiple stores. Our network of Business Development Managers and Recruitment Managers are always on hand to offer support and help our franchisees wherever they can. This could be from helping to locate prospective stores, to advising on business growth and opportunities on the ground. We have a huge amount of expertise to advise on business opportunities.”

Daniel has used his own portfolio as a network, meaning that he can call on his individual stores if he needs help, such as to increase staffing from one store to another.

“I opened my first stores in Scarborough where I now have ten One Stops,” he explains. “I’ve now opened a store in Pickering and will do the same here, which is to get to know the area and create a potential network of stores which can all support one another and help to grow the One Stop name.

Daniel also owns a store in both Thornaby and Bridlington where also he has purchased additional sites.

The latest store in Pickering has seen new life injected into it since the takeover. “This was previously a store but was very tired and needed a lot doing to it. Pickering is a good location, on the edge of the West Yorkshire Moors and as the lockdown restrictions start to lift, we should see more tourism come into the area,” Daniel said.

“We also hope that locals will see what we have done with the store and shop with us, attracted by the promotions and offers we will be bringing to the area. In Scarborough we offer a home delivery service through Snappy Shopper where we have purchased electric vehicles to make these deliveries helping with the impact on the environment. This is meeting the needs of the growing trends of online shopping and home delivery, so this could be an option here too.”

One Stop has recently rolled out a brand-new state of the art EPOS system to its portfolio of 900 company and franchise stores which allows franchisees to access the system from their home, or ‘on the go’ using a PC, tablet, or smartphone.

“Whilst this will benefit all franchisees, those with multiple stores like the Wilson group, will be able to operate and analyse each of their businesses from the comfort of their own home,” Miller noted.

“Franchisees can now see data flowing in real time (such as sales, profit and margins) enabling them to make quicker decisions and place orders remotely. This means they have more time on their hands to spend with family, friends and for our franchisees allow them to continue growing their own bespoke businesses at exactly the speed they want.”