Complete refurb and refit, shifting from two shops into one while adding self-serve cabinets, a fresh bread counter and a central showcase chopping block.

The Plans

You only do a big refit once in many years. Watco took the time to get the plans just right for me. Choosing a company that can handle all aspects of the work just made good sense, and their client list includes the kind of company we want to be. Surprisingly, custom made units and décor trims didn’t work out at much more than the cost for standard units from other suppliers. I could see why people recommend them.

The Work

When you change the look of an established business, you can’t risk losing loyal customers to your competitors while work is going on. Clark and his team worked closely with me to ensure that the changeover happened without hurting our trade. They were flexible with the timings and the Watco installation team worked well with my own group of trade contractors.

The Results

We did a survey before the changes to help with planning and a survey after to check attitudes to the new shop. I am happy to say that our customers like the new shop as much as we do!

It is a big investment, and you have to take a deep breath before you sign the contracts. But it was a sound decision for us. By rethinking our product mix and changing the layout, we are doing more business in the one unit than we were in two. The payback is actually coming faster than we had planned. That’s good news in today’s tough local trading environment.

Jamie Chapman