When I took on the challenge of running a Budgens store in May 2012 I did so in the knowledge that I am a good retailer. The skill set of retail processes that I had developed at my Londis store (1,500 sq ft) gave me a great foundation to build on in my new store (5,000 sq ft).

When I gave up the Budgens franchise nearly a year ago I was a much improved retailer. The biggest difference between my Londis experience and the one that I had in the larger store was just what you can do with more than triple the space.

At the Budgens store I had more big promotions, more local suppliers and more events. When I returned full time to my Londis store I knew that I had to find ways of bringing many of the great things I had been doing to the smaller format.

I needed to find space, as much as I could make.

Using data to my advantage

The only option to me was to make the products that I stock much more efficient.That meant delisting the poorest performing lines – and a lot of them.

With 5 years of sales data for every product, I was able to identify 680 lines that were not earning me sufficient profit for the space that they were occupying. As a result, we moved away from our previous strict adherence to the Londis planograms and developed a plan that reflected our customers purchasing history.

This provided us with the space to get creative and put the store on a strong course of retail steroids. We are now able to present bigger and better displays to our customers as they journey around the store.

The result of this year of change are clear, my sales have increased from £15,000 per week to £25,000. My next target is £30,000 and I am confident that this is within my grasp.

See more from Bintesh’s store in the RN retailer profile