For Charlotte and Tom Dant, the ambition at Gill Marsh Forecourts in Alford, Lincolnshire, is not simply to run a convenience store. It is to create a place that customers actively want to return to.
The couple's 1,200 sq ft Morrisons Daily store has been built around a clear customer-first philosophy, with the shopping experience considered from the customer's perspective before decisions are made about layout, ranging, food-to-go or merchandising.
That approach is particularly striking given the store's relatively short trading history. Gill Marsh Forecourts has been trading for just four months, yet the Dants have already established a clear identity for the business, combining the strength of the Morrisons Daily fascia with a highly personal approach to retail.
For the couple, the details matter.
Cleanliness, availability, clear pricing, strong merchandising and fresh food that looks genuinely appetising are all treated as essential parts of the customer experience. The store is designed to feel easy to shop, with the team playing an important role in creating a welcoming environment.
The thinking extends beyond simply making the store look good. Every element is considered in terms of whether it works for the shopper. Fixtures that interrupt the flow can be changed; ranges that do not meet customer needs can be reviewed; and opportunities to improve the experience are explored with commercial viability in mind.
It is a customer-first philosophy, but one that is firmly grounded in the realities of running a business.
The Morrisons Daily partnership gives the Dants a recognised national brand and an established retail framework, while allowing the store to retain a strong sense of personality. Rather than treating the symbol format as a blueprint to follow rigidly, the approach is to use it as a foundation and adapt the store around the needs of its customers.
That is reflected across the proposition, from the product mix and food-to-go offer to merchandising and the wider customer journey. The intention is to make the everyday convenience shop feel enjoyable, convenient and consistently high quality.
And the emphasis on consistency is important. For a new store, building trust quickly is critical, and the Dants' approach is centred on giving customers a reason to return – whether that is finding the products they need, seeing well-presented fresh food, encountering clear pricing or simply receiving a warm welcome.
There is also a sense that the store is being used as an expression of the couple's own retail philosophy. The nomination material is centred largely on Charlotte's approach and does not detail Tom's individual responsibilities, but it presents the business as a shared venture rather than simply a job.
Together, Charlotte and Tom are building Gill Marsh Forecourts around a simple idea that a convenience store should be designed from the customer's point of view, not the retailer's convenience.
It may be early days for the business, but the direction is already clear which is a modern Morrisons Daily store with a distinctly personal touch, where the small details are intended to make a big difference.