A strong focus on quality, local sourcing and innovation are just some of the key factors that have given Booths an edge over its multiple rivals in the north west area.
The independently owned chain may only have 26 stores, but that does not hold it back in the competitive world of food retail.
“Booths is a successful company,” says Chris Treble, the chain’s fruit and vegetable buyer, “and within that, fruit and vegetables is a critical and very fast growing area. We’ve seen like-for-like growth of 14 per cent in value terms in the year to date. There are not many areas that are growing at that level, particularly considering that we were starting at a point of over-trading to begin with.”
He says Booths is going to hit around £28 million in turnover on fruit and veg alone by the end of this financial year (this month).
Booths has become a destination food store for a lot of its customers, and its fresh produce offer plays a key role in that, says Treble. “In some stores, when it comes to the percentage of the store’s takings, fresh produce represents 17 per cent. People tell us that our fresh produce is one of the main reasons they come to Booths.”
Of course, this kind of success is not handed out on a plate, and Treble and his team put a lot of hard work into ensuring the retailer stays ahead of the competition.
He says there are a number of key areas Booths focus on. “There’s not just one thing that makes us good, I have around six key areas in which I want to excel, that will differentiate us from the rest of the market and it’s a combination of all those that makes us successful.”
He says the key to building a successful business in fresh produce is customer confidence and repeat purchase. “With something as variable as fruit and veg, if you don’t get it right then you don’t get people coming back. The first thing we focus on is quality and taste excellence.”
He points to some of the work Booths has done on tomatoes, leaving them on the vine for as long as possible. “That does lead to a lot more wastage and splits, but it’s worth it because the taste is wonderful.”
Another focus for Treble and his team is on provenance. “Where food comes from is important, and I don’t just mean local products or simply from England.” He says people look for produce from areas with a good reputation, whether that is locally produced vegetables, or imported fruit.
While provenance can apply to any area, Booths maintains a very strong emphasis on local food. “A lot of our customers tell us they like us because we support the local farmers,” says Treble. “And when it comes to fruit and veg there are plenty of examples where we source produce locally. It’s tapping into the emotional side of shopping and that’s a factor where we try to be a little bit different to other retailers.”
Products that are exclusive to Booths are another area Treble points to, allowing the retailer to stand out from the crowd. “That’s key, having products that only we sell and that you can’t easily find elsewhere - it basically gives customers a reason to come to us.” These include recent innovative developments such as naturally earthed carrots and freshly dug potatoes (see box).
Another area the retailer prides itself on is service. Staff are well trained, friendly and polite, and the produce area is no exception, says Treble. “Good service is enshrined in our original mission statement, and it’s all to do with the experience of shopping. To go shopping at Booths should be a pleasurable experience and the size of our business gives us a much more human scale.”
He says the key to ensuring good and competent service is in the experience and knowledge of store staff. “Our produce people are very experienced, some have come from the greengrocer trade, while others are given the training and knowledge they need.
“When someone comes in and wants something, they can ask for it, and the staff will be able to help them.” Simple stuff, perhaps, but how often does that happen in some of the bigger outlets?
The final key factor in the Booths success story is down to the perennial favourites, price and promotion. “We’re still on the high street and that means you have to realistically competitive, and that means providing value for money.”
He says his team also works hard to create a lot of interest with their promotional activity. “When things are in season we can bring them to the fore, and trial new products. Our customers are northerners, they like a good deal!”
It is a combination of all those factors that make Booths a retail winner, says Treble, combined with the hard work and support of its suppliers, such as Sharrocks, he adds.
“Sharrocks is an important part of our business. All fruit and vegetables, except prepared, are delivered to store by Sharrocks, they effectively operate a mini-RDC for us. They do a very good job.”
Despite his confidence and obvious success, Treble says he was still surprised to win the Re:fresh award: “We were absolutely delighted and very excited to win. I’d been in the job for three years and felt it was recognition for all the hard work of my colleagues and suppliers.
“It’s a fast moving hard life in produce, and the guys at store level all put in a lot of work, so it was great to get that recognition. We certainly weren’t expecting it.”
To celebrate the award, Treble took all his produce colleagues out to visit a supplier and then onto a celebratory lunch. He says winning the award has been a fantastic morale booster for the entire team and the retailer is now gearing up to defend its title at this year’s Re:fresh awards.
All in all, Booths is a prime example of how you do not have to be the biggest player to simply be the best.
DIGGING IN FOR TREBLE POINTS
A key reason why Booths successfully differentiates itself is its innovative thinking and creative marketing, particularly when it comes to produce.
A major example of that was the “dug this morning” potatoes. “I’d worked in Jersey and I know what a fresh potato can taste like,” says Treble. “We looked into it and thought we could lift the potatoes at 1am and get them through Sharrocks and on sale in store by 8.30am.”
This the retailer did, and for the three-week period the concept ran, customers could not get enough of the fresh spuds. “It was absolutely fantastic, a classic case of a win-win-win, the customer wins because they couldn’t get enough, the retailer wins because we sold twice as many as we expected and the farmer and supplier wins because they sold more potatoes and made more money.
“Everyone agreed it was a great idea and its something we’re going to do again next year, although I think the farmer needed a three- week break afterwards to recover!”
Other examples of innovative thinking include naturally earthed carrots, which the retailer claims look and taste like carrots used to. Developed in conjunction with Huntapac Produce, the carrots are unwashed, hand-selected and packed in a earthy coloured packaging, with a netted window to allow the vegetables to breathe.
Treble says: “There has already been good feedback from our customers. In particular people have commented on their excellent flavour.”
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