Martyn Parkinson, sales director at Booker Group, said the symbol group had recruited 150 stores in Scotland in just two and a half years. He cited the roll out of Premier’s new store of the future concept, piloted by retailers such as Mandeep Singh, as the reason for the growth.

To celebrate reaching the milestone, throughout this week, Premier has increased promotions for stores in Scotland, running Mega Deals every day, alongside giveaways and free prize draws. It is giving Premier shoppers the chance to win £1,000 in holiday vouchers when shopping at Premier stores, and Scottish independent retailers who join Premier over the next six months will also have the opportunity to win a drinks-to-go Refresh station worth up to £10,000.

Rounding the activities off, Parkinson said, in line with its work on sustainability, the group would be planting 500 trees in Scotland, and donating 500 family meals through Fareshare.

“Recruitment has accelerated in the past two-to-three years. Every year has got better and better. This year is already proving better than last year on the quality of stores that we’re now recruiting. Retailers are reading and seeing what’s going on up and down the country, and there’s a real confidence that if they follow that blueprint, there’s the return on investment, and the business grows.”

Ali’s Convenience Store in Tranent, East Lothian, was named as the 500th store after carrying out a refit 10 weeks ago. Run by Anila and Zulfiqar Ali, the 1,400sq ft shop has had a huge overhaul, significantly increasing space for chilled food, with new, more efficient refrigeration that has reduced the store’s energy bill by £100 a month. The store also has a beer cave

“The Premier model is all about attracting new footfall, with chilled, fresh, frozen and fruit & veg a key focus. We’ve taken an awful lot of the learnings from other Premier stores and put it into this store. And it’s really working,” added Parkinson.

Anila Ali said the store had benefited from a 52% increase in sales since refitting. “It’s beyond what we ever thought we could achieve in this store,” she added.