Sharon’s c-store diary: credit crunch hype

Sharon Kane: credit crunch hype

Sharon Kane, award-winning c-store manager at Spar Cullybackey, part of the Henderson Retail group in Northern Ireland, reflects on Christmas trading and credit crunch hype.

How many of us were wondering if Christmas was actually going to come to our shops this year?

We turn on the TV and it’s nothing but doom and gloom every day. It is as if the media are scaring people into not spending money.

To be honest, with all the hype about the credit crunch, I was concerned I’d still have shelves full of boxed chocolates and Christmas puddings in January.

However, we decided to be positive and planned ahead for the normal festive rush. I’m glad we did because no matter how powerful the media are, there certainly didn’t seem to be a credit crunch in Cullybackey.

At the beginning of December we had our annual Christmas visit from the directors of Henderson Retail.

This is the final part of the judging for the company-owned store of the year competition, and is a great way to get us motivated and completely set up and ready for the Christmas period.

We are judged through out the year on our whole performance from sales to stock results, mystery shopper scores and quarterly audits. It is a great way to keep us all on our toes and motivated as the prize is always fantastic.

Last year we won, and I managed to go to Arizona. The prize this year is a trip to Rome, definitely something to work towards, and there is no harm in having a wee bit of friendly competition between the stores.

The winner of the competition will be announced at our conference in February, which is always an interesting day of business followed by an evening meal and then a great night socialising with the rest of the managers in the company.

This gives us something to look forward too since, after all the hype of Christmas, January can be a very dull month. It is especially dull when all the decorations come down and the shop seems very bare without the festive buzz.

Spar Cullybackey: successful Christmas

I’m pleased to say we had a very successful trading period over Christmas despite the negative press on the state of the economy.

It is now a new start to a New Year. We don’t know what to expect in 2009 but hopefully, it will be a successful year for us all.

Happy New Year, Sharon Kane