In Blantyre, Glasgow, where competition from big-box supermarkets and nearby stores is relentless, one convenience store and its retailer are not just surviving, but instead are rewriting the convenience playbook.
Retailer Shahid (Mo) Razzaq, a pioneering voice in local retail, and friend of this magazine, has turned his Premier Mo's Blantyre store into a hub of innovation and profitability. But he never planned to be a retailer at all.
Speaking to Asian Trader, Razzaq recalled how retailing was not originally on his career wish list.
"Retail was accidental. My plan was to join the Navy but fate had other plans. My family was into retail so initially I started helping my parents and then my brother in setting up his business. Time went by and my initial plans went out of the window,” he said.
Four decades and two stores later, Razzaq can give a masterclass in convenience retailing. Apart from sales and revenue, Mo's Blantyre is known for innovations. Whether a dessert bar, delivery, DRS machines or 24-hour vending, this store had it before rest of the sector caught up.
Over the years, Mo's Blantyre has transformed and evolved, from Family Shopper to Jack’s flagship and now a Premier.
“I got this site about 15 years ago as an empty unit. After acquiring it, I knocked down everything and rebuilt. Booker offered their new concept of Family Shopper so I went for it.
“Around that time, the Post Office branch was closing and no one came forward to take over. Post Office income is not great but I decided to go for it as I wanted to keep the service operational locally.
“A couple of years later came a Subway franchise. We had to do a lot of work in the background to make it fit: a good decision in the long run,” said Mo.
In 2018, the store became first Booker-supplied Jack’s. In 2021, when Booker scrapped the fascia, Razzaq changed to Premier since he was familiar with the model.
Shahid Razzaq
A dessert bar, added seven years ago, is perhaps the most revealing aspect of the store.
"At the time, there were no dessert bars in shops," he says. "It was very difficult to work out how to make waffles, crêpes, what equipment was needed. I had to travel and ask people, and speak to an ice cream company.
“It took us a while to understand how to make milkshakes. Booker showed a lot of interest and their people learnt from us how to do manage ice cream machines,” he revealed.
“We weren't very competitive and it wasn't a trade secret per se because at the end of the day, a retailer in Wolverhampton is not going to be my competition. We were very adult about it.”
A decade ago, long before Covid lockdown, when e-commerce in convenience was embryonic, Razzaq envisioned a delivery platform. Despite lack of support he pushed forward, commissioning a developer to build his website and ordering system. That laid the groundwork for what is now a big revenue stream in his store.
“I knew that delivery was going to be the future. Now when I see deliveries everywhere, I smile quietly, remembering how tough things were and how hard it was to get the idea off the ground,” he said.
After a series of modifications, the store’s 1,800-sq-ft area is now deceptively simple, with four spacious aisles chosen over six – a decision met with caution by industry advisors but vindicated by sales growth and easier navigation for prams and wheelchairs.
“We were told reducing the aisles was not a good idea but it increased our sales because we kept only the best,” he said.
It serves not only convenience missions but also attracts weekly shops. Razzaq describes it as “a Tesco Express-style model,” where shoppers feel comfortable doing a full basket shop.
“We cut back stock that wasn't selling. We kept to own label and a branded one and that was it.
“Our store is now the main shop for many – customers who do their weekly shop here. And that’s our USP: despite having an Asda outlet nearby, local shoppers choose my store.
“We have the range that people want. We keep prices down to cater to local residents. We do regular bespoke promotions,” Razzaq said.
“I do not worry about the competition. I believe if you do your job right, you don't need to worry about what others are doing.”
He has embedded the shop into the social fabric by sponsoring local boxing clubs, junior and adult sports teams, dance groups, and being a point of contact for families in distress.
Shahid Razzaq
Even when the shutters are down, Premier Mo’s is open for business.
Two vending machines now sit outside the store stocked with basics, ready-to-go food, drinks and even discreet products like contraceptives or pregnancy tests, chosen after careful demographic analysis.
“Everybody told us it was a bad idea but it is working out really well. There is steady night trade and when I check my CCTV, I see a wide variety of demographics using the machines,” he said.
Now at 57, Razzaq has one eye on retirement and is already considering passing the torch to his son.
“In two years I will be 59, with 39 years in this business, and I would need to take things a bit easier because I'm still a seven-days-a-week retailer – it’s just the way I am.”
In an era when convenience retail is squeezed by legislation, supermarket expansion and rising operating costs, Razzaq presents a way to succeed through disciplined evolution.
The Navy's loss, it turns out, has been Blantyre's very considerable gain.