Shop Step by Step

Antrobus

OUR STORY STEP BY STEP

First public meeting called by Antrobus Parish Council to discuss the future of the closed village shop and the post office; this was being manned by an interim postmaster.

Researched community shops with the help of the Cheshire Community Council and ViRSA (Village Rural Shops Alliance) who visited us and were most helpful.

Second public meeting held and steering committee formed.

Steering committee meetings commence. The early actions necessary are as follows:

Have a clear vision of what you are setting out to do because you will have to explain it to many people. If you have surplus cash after covering all business costs, how will it be spent?
All the surplus cash from the Antrobus shop has gone back into the community. There are many ways you can help various groups and organisations within your village.

Research is essential. You will require this information for any grant applications so do it early. Do not assume that you know what your customers expect of the shop. To maximise the response house to house delivery and collection of questionnaires is advised. After an introduction we asked the following questions but alter to suit your situation:

1. If a shop was to open in the village again, would you be prepared to use it as often as possible to give it a chance of success? PLEASE BE HONEST! Yes/No.

2. Would you be prepared to work in the shop on a voluntary and part time basis?

3. If yes to the above, how many hours a week would you be prepared to work?

4. Initial capital would be required. Would you be prepared to invest money in the project? Yes/No

5. What hours do you think the shop should be open?

6. Do you have any retail, accountancy or other skills you could offer the project?

7. What type of products and services would you like to see the shop provide?

A visit to a community shop is strongly recommended. We visited Litton in Derbyshire but please come and see us.

Premises have to be found. We were lucky we had an empty shop in a prime position that we could rent. Ensure that you have a cast iron deal; we experienced problems as we neared our opening day because we had not attended to lease details. We took too much for granted.

Budgets have to be prepared. Rent (you will probably have to pay your landlord's legal costs), rates (speak to your district council, you maybe exempt), shop equipment, a safe, insurance and of course stock. These are just some of the costs.

How much money can we raise locally? How much grant funding can we apply for? You will have to raise some money locally because this will be required by funding sources. Our initial funds were received from our own Parish Council but our main source was by selling £10 shares in the shop. We sent out a supplementary questionnaire to those who had indicated an interest in investing. We asked the following questions:

a) Would you be prepared to buy a £10 share in the shop? Yes/No. Shares are limited to one share per person. No dividend will be paid.

b) Would you be prepared to make a loan to the shop? If yes how much? Any loan would not be guaranteed and no interest would be paid.

c) Would you be prepared to make a donation to the shop? If yes how much?

This exercise generated just over 100 share holders plus donations and loans so we now had working capital.

Preparations were made for our main funding application to the Countryside Agency. We were promised an answer to our application within a few days but had to wait 3 months and only then did we get a response after making a nuisance of ourselves.

The Countryside Agency no longer exists so you will have to establish your most likely sources for funding.

The post office situation changed. The interim postmaster initially said that he wanted the position permanently but changed his mind. The post office will only allow individuals to become postmasters/mistresses. Partnerships and committees are not allowed. Nobody could be found to take on the position. In the August a lady from a neighbouring village came forward and showed an interest in the position. In due course she was appointed and she has proved to be a fantastic partner for us to work with.
It is important that if you are looking to re-open your village post office that you contact and work in conjunction with your regional Post Office Rural Transfer Advisor. If you are looking to open a new post office you would have to show that there is a local demand.

Once the Countryside Agency Grant was allocated we were still a little short of funding and we were lucky that the Cheshire Community Council was able to secure additional funding for us from Cheshire County Council and Vale Royal Borough Council.

The business is finally set up as the Antrobus Community Shop Association Limited and is registered with the Financial Services Authority under the Industrial & Provident Acts 1965. This gives limited liability to shareholders and committee members. ViRSA will sponsor applications under a simple standard set of company rules.

It is important to have a licence to sell alcohol. Look into the new licensing laws and take the necessary action. We decided not to sell tobacco products.

A committee member took on the responsibility for the volunteers. We had decided our opening hours and these hours had to be matched to the availability of volunteers.
It is important to have a good book-keeper and a friendly local accountant and solicitor. This can save you a lot of money.

Suppliers had to be lined up. Local as far as possible. Fine and different foods from specialist suppliers. Newspapers. Wines and spirits. Greetings cards. Everyday convenience foods etc and all with very little storage space at the shop.

We organised a basic hygiene course to be held in the village. This enabled anyone intending to work in the shop and anyone else who wished to attend to gain valuable knowledge about this important subject. Everyone passed and obtained their certificate.

We had frustrations in the months prior to opening but always think positively; it is surprising how much goodwill there will be in your village for the shop to succeed.

In the weeks prior to opening we approached our local newspapers and county glossy magazine. They all gave us good free coverage

We held a pre-opening wine and nibbles party in the shop on the Sunday afternoon the day before we opened. Everyone was welcome and the shop was packed all afternoon and we took £90 and we hadn't intended selling anything! We knew we were on our way.

Soon after the opening of the shop an Extraordinary General Meeting was called to formally adopt the steering committee as the management committee of the Antrobus Community Shop Association Limited. It was also a good opportunity to give a report on the activities of the business to date and to allow those who had supported the shop to sample the wine we sell!

Community Shop Association