How easy was your changeover to GoLocal?

“The transition from Lifestyle Express to GoLocal was very smooth, very easy, and professionally handled. The technical support from TRDP during the changeover to Parfetts was incredible. I always got a reply straight away, and the customer service team sorted everything out very quickly.”

“I always recommend good suppliers and services to other retailers. You share good experiences with other business owners and that’s how it is with TRDP. They are at the top of that list.”

Has the move been successful for your store?

“The stores are proving to be really successful and I’m really happy to report year-on-year growth with each shop. I don’t look outside of what I do, I look for strong promotions, high internal standards, and spend a lot of money on staff training. It’s important that you have a good team around you, as the most important aspect of my business is the staff. If you invest in them, they look to give the loyalty back the longer that they serve with you.”

Did the TRDP Data newsletter help?

‘The data provided by TRDP via personalised emails is absolutely fantastic. It’s given us the information needed to make decisions and gauge what our store is doing.”

“We’ve just started getting newsletters recently and they hold a goldmine of information that helps me to see what the store has been doing. I’ve been very confident in my decisions with knowledge from the newsletters.”

What lessons have you learned since opening your first shop?

“Since setting up, the biggest lesson is that every day is different. You are constantly learning on the job, as anything that happens in the business world becomes experience. You never look back. If you make mistakes, then you put them right the next time round.”

“I’m responsible for everything that happens in my stores, and I do everything properly and by the book, as that makes it fair on everyone. Including the customer. It helps us to retail the best that we can.”

Is the local community important to you?

“The local community remains massively important to me. I try to do everything I can for the community and I definitely think that helps to build a friendly municipal. I don’t do it to gain anything in return, but I enjoy the feel-good factor.”

What are your plans for the future?

“At the moment, I’m aiming to stabilise everything that I run. I buy everything through Parfetts because of the price and the loyalty from them is first class. I don’t spend anything outside of what I give to them. It’s easy to manage stock files and prevent penny pinching elsewhere. It all helps me to keep an eye on proceedings until the next opportunity comes along.”