Larch Farm doubles up with Gulf
New partnerships working wonders for Juniper family
Nicola and Jonathan Juniper took over Larch Farm Garage, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire, almost five years ago having been associated with the village for 20 years through Jonathan’s car repair business. The couple were looking for a new challenge.
The petrol retailing debutants entered a world of intense competitive activity and escalating prices. They faced a steep learning curve requiring many new disciplines.
It took them the best part of four years to establish a clear vision, now being implemented with immediate rewards.
“If there was any advice that we would share with others new to petrol retailing,” explains Nicola, “It may be daunting at first but be patient, trust your business to strong brands with proven expertise and introduce basic shop keeping disciplines into the daily regime.”
“Until recently we were supplied by Murco, our shop was half its current size and our stock management and controls were minimal.”
“With the support of Gulf, we have rebranded the forecourt, redeveloped our shop and introduced a Torex back-office system. The whole feel of the business has changed, we are in control and our volumes and profits are at record highs.”
“We have doubled the size of our shop and, to compliment the new forecourt image, added a Mace-branded shop. Gulf, along with Palmer and Harvey, have proved to be good partners, weekly shop turnover has risen from £3k to £9k with fuel volumes up 50% to 20,000 litres.”
“We have had to work hard to change our ways and introduce daily reporting and stock controls and it has taken us several months to be at one with the back-office system. Before, we did almost everything manually, now we have an instant understanding of performance, from the day’s sales of Mars bars, the profits generated by Gulf lubricants to the positive impact that the introduction of lottery tickets has made to our overall takings.”
The Torex system has also enabled Larch Farm Garage to compete directly with local supermarkets by introducing in-store promotions. The site is currently offering three pence per litre fuel discount vouchers with shop sales above £20.
“We take pride in our village and our garage and always keep the site clean, tidy, fully stocked and well displayed. A large number of walkers from Sherwood Forest pass by, they are good customers and we have introduced a picnic bench with flower tubs for their benefit. We will also be adding hot food to our shop range shortly.”
“We enjoy the challenges of petrol retailing and have good reason to be positive about the future. We shall keep listening and learning and, although it hasn’t always been a picnic to get this far, we certainly know how to provide a good one for our customers!”
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