For Arul Palaniappan, independent retail is about having the freedom to do things differently – and then having the ambition to make those ideas work at scale.
Director at SRJ Convenience, Palaniappan has spent the past five years building a rapidly expanding retail estate while using individual stores to test what modern convenience can look like.
In that time, the business has opened 40 stores and petrol stations combined, with Palaniappan describing the ambition as making “a change in the convenience industry” through high standards, great service and value.
One of the clearest expressions of that approach is Premier New Elgin, a 5,000 sq ft forecourt store in Elgin which has become the group's flagship site.
The business bought the store in 2021 and spent more than four years learning the local market before committing to a £720,000 refit in early 2025. Rather than applying a standard formula, Palaniappan used his knowledge of local shoppers and tourists alongside Booker's Thinking Store principles and learnings from the wider estate to shape the redevelopment.
The result is a store designed to be a destination rather than simply a convenient place to pick up essentials. Its features include an 800 sq ft Beer Cave, described as the largest in Scotland, with 22 bays spanning local products, kegs and low- and no-alcohol beers, wines and ciders. An equally substantial 800 sq ft Soft Drinks Cave houses an extensive international range.
Fresh food is another major pillar. A striking Hot Food Kitchen serves freshly cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner options throughout the day, primarily using locally sourced ingredients. The store also has its own production kitchen, producing sandwiches, baguettes, wraps, salads and cheesecakes every day.
That local focus is a recurring theme in Palaniappan's retail philosophy. At New Elgin, the bakery uses locally produced or sourced ingredients, with meat from Murdoch Brothers in Forres, bread from Sinclairs of Rhynie and sandwich fillings prepared in Elgin. The team also responds to customers' requests for new sandwich fillings and cheesecake toppings.
The commercial results suggest the investment has paid off. Sales at New Elgin increased by 30% in the first four weeks after the refit, while average weekly sales excluding fuel and services have risen from just over £80,000 to around £110,000.
But Palaniappan's ambitions extend beyond impressive store design and sales figures. He sees independence as a competitive advantage because it allows the business to react quickly to changing trends and local demand, while sourcing products that shoppers cannot necessarily find in nearby multiple retailers.
Community is part of that proposition. New Elgin sponsors the Vikings Football Team and Elgin City Ladies, providing game-day drinks and snacks alongside sponsorship. It also supports Mum Days, a local group for parents and carers, providing milk, tea, fruit, cakes and biscuits for its sessions.
There is a sense, then, that Palaniappan is trying to balance two seemingly competing ideas: the scale and ambition of a growing convenience business with the responsiveness of an independent retailer.
With 40 stores and petrol stations added in five years, the numbers point to expansion. But at store level, the strategy remains intensely local – understand the shopper, build the offer around them, invest heavily where the opportunity exists, and make the store distinctive enough to give customers a reason to return.
That combination of scale, ambition and independent thinking is what makes Palaniappan's retail story bigger than any single store.