Hennigan’s Londis Clarinbridge joined the Londis brand in 2018 and is thriving after a considerable revamp was completed in the same year. Londis Local spoke to Ronan Hennigan about the changes that took place in his store over the last year and his plans for the future of the business.
In 2006 Henningan’s Clarinbridge opened its doors with Ronan Hennigan at the helm, and the store has been serving the community of Clarinbridge ever since. Ronan is a hands-on retailer who runs and manages the 3,500 sq ft store with the help of the store manager, Karen Gallagher, and the team of 18 employees.
The store is located in a The Bridge Retail Park which includes a coffee shop, Meadows and Byrne, a pharmacy and a hair salon.
“The retail park is an ideal location for our store as it gives customers everything they need in the one spot. There is also a strong sense of local community as all the businesses in the park support each other.”
Brand new beginnings
We were delighted to welcome Hennigan’s Clarinbridge to the Londis family in 2018. With a new brand, Ronan decided it was also time for a new look and feel for the store. The revamp was no small feat but the results have made the investment more than worthwhile. Recognising the need for a strong fresh food offering, Ronan added and full in store bakery, a new Londis DELI and self-serve chicken unit, Insomnia coffee and Smooch ice cream.
“Fresh food and coffee is hugely important to our business and accounts for 28% of our sales. We really need to drive this in store and so, as part of the revamp; we doubled the space in store allocated to fresh food.”
Ronan worked closely with the wider BWG Foods team to complete the project and with their support the store remained open throughout the revamp with minimal disruptions to trading.
“The project team were committed to the process and the builders even worked through the night to put down the new black floors and ceilings so the store could stay open throughout the revamp. We didn’t lose a day’s trading. I would like to thank Conor Hayes and Sean Lavin for their support, the revamp would not have been possible without it. Our Londis Regional Development Manager, Ger Greaney, was heavily involved in the revamp and provided brilliant support throughout the process.”
Celebrating the new store
To unveil his newly designed store to his customers, Ronan celebrated by holding an official store opening event on 13th September 2018. The local community of Clarinbridge gathered in the store to congratulate Ronan and the team and to enjoy family fun day. Galway Bay fm kept the crowd entertained with a live outside broadcast from the shop. There was plenty of activity to keep the younger customers amused with face painting and the Londis mini bus!
“We were delighted with the turnout for the store relaunch event, it was great to see so many customers supporting the store and it was a nice way to thank them for their custom throughout the revamp.”
It was a proud moment for Ronan as he cut the ribbon to mark the official re-opening of his shop alongside his family, store manager, Karen Gallagher and Londis Regional Development Manager Ger Greaney.
Future Focus
Ronan and the team at Londis Clarinbridge are always looking for new ways to grow and evolve the business. They recently introduced the Londis Smart Rewards Programme to the store and it has been a great sales tool for them.
“The Londis Smart Rewards Programme is working really well for us in store. Our shop would see a lot of repeat business and the programme allows us to capitalise on this while rewarding our loyal customers. Customers have responded really well to the programme and particularly like ‘Buy 5 Coffees get the 6th Free’ promotion.”
Another aspect of the business Ronan is focusing on is the training and development of his staff.
“Recruitment and retention of staff is one of our biggest challenges at the moment. Having the right team is so important to our business and we are investing in their training and development to achieve this.
“BWG have a fantastic range of services and supports available which we are using. All of our employees have begun their on line training on ‘Londis Learning’ completing modules such as Customer Service, Food Safety, Deli, Bakery and Fruit & Veg and I understand that they are continuing to add new modules on a tiered basis.
“The BWG Training Academy is also available and provides a broad range of very practical courses leading to industry and higher education qualifications in retail. All of this benefits our shop and our staff by having skilled and motivated employees who stay.”
Passion for retail
With over 32 years of retailing under his belt, it is obvious that Ronan has a passion for the business.
“My favourite part of being a retailer is the people I meet. I love the buzz of meeting new and old customers in the store every day. Another great thing about this business is that no two days are ever the same – it definitely keeps you on your toes!
