One year on: William Henry, Simply Fresh, Shropshire

Keeping a good balance between top-end cheeses and daily essentials is key for this retailer to keep a healthy turnover at his Simply Fresh store in Shropshire.

How has business been over the past year?

Very good. Sales have been creeping up and we are getting a steady amount of footfall through the store almost every day of the week. Our fresh goods are flying off the shelves like never before and nearly account for 40% of total income. Our customers love our selection of in-season produce, we source it from the Birmingham Wholesale market and a local supplier.

Are you still specialising in luxury goods to suit the local market?

Yes, but I’ve had to scale down the selection. With the more expensive and rare products I discovered that I couldn’t keep my turnover up at a healthy level. So I decided to tweak my business strategy to sell more everyday goods.

So does that mean your famous cheese and deli counter has gone?

Not at all. I’ve even increased the number of speciality cheeses that we are selling. As well as Picos Blue from Spain, which is a firm favourite of mine, I also now have the pleasure of selling Stinking Bishop, which is a very rare cheese only produced in one dairy near Worcester.

Do you have any new cheeses or plans on the horizon?

My main focus is turned towards a summer tasting event that I’m organising soon to showcase my shop and produce.

You can see when Retail Express visited William’s store last year by clicking here.