Andrew Croft readily admits the purchase of Grange Deli in Cooloongup near Rockingham was not intended as a long-term business opportunity.
Andrew Croft readily admits the purchase of Grange Deli in Cooloongup near Rockingham was not intended as a long-term business opportunity.
The run-down delicatessen had seen better days and was swiftly heading the way of many corner stores in the suburbs – extinction.
Mr Croft and his wife, Jayne, bought the business as part of a business migration scheme. They did the deal on the internet and only saw the premises when they flew in to settle the transaction.
The investment was to get them into Australia and was expected to last a couple of years while they got on with their real intention of starting up a franchise business called the Mini Pancake Company.
Having been involved in similar convenience stores in the UK for the past two decades, the Crofts believed there was little future in the delicatessen business.
Initial impressions certainly supported that view, with sales in the doldrums as the few customers who used the store entered a gloomy environment, quite literally, as most of the light bulbs were not even working.
Nevertheless, they closed the shop briefly and gave it a spruce up, little more than a lick of paint and new fridges, and reopened with the hope that it may trade enough to keep the cash register ticking over and allow them to employ someone else. Maybe there would also be some free time to invest in their grander business plans.
But Mr Croft said he soon realised there was the potential for a thriving business if they continued to invest in the things consumers wanted.
Eftpos was an early addition.
“Very few people have cash these days, so you have to offer them another way to pay,” Mr Croft told WA Business News.
Then there was a fax order service and, soon after, a scanning stock control system.
There’s even a website.
“To get an internet presence we launched www.grangedeli.com. It’s only basic but we get hits and enquiries from it,” Mr Croft said.
Making coffee and allowing people to have a table and chairs outside proved a winner, as did making the effort to provide a wide range of lollies – something which now brings customers from further afield than the local neighbourhood.
Importantly, Mr Croft said offering good service with a smile was a winner with customers.
“People will come and pay twice as much for a Coca Cola from us because they don’t want to queue at the local supermarket,” he said.
But Mr Croft said once the basics were in place, the biggest driver was promotion.
“Marketing wise we have business cards on the counter and fridge magnets,” he said.
“We got shire approval for four directional road signs. We placed a ‘welcome to the new Grange Deli’ in the local paper, which had an incredible response.”
A monthly offer sheet is sent to 2,000 houses in the surrounding area. The Crofts’ turnover has more than tripled in less than a year of operations. They now employ three other people, which provides them with a lot more time to develop new ideas for their business as well as work on the Mini Pancakes concept, which has opened in Midland and will soon commence in Fremantle.
Mr Croft said the business was still growing and he now believed there was a future for delicatessens in Perth if they are run well and kept up to date.
“We’ll definitely keep this business,” he said. “It is reassuring that there is still a place for the small family deli in a market crowded by the big operators.”
Mr Croft said his main issue with big operators was not the competition but the suppliers.
He said despite the Grange’s reputation for a big lolly selection, supply was hit and miss, and there seemed little concern from the wholesaler.
“Big companies only seem to respect big companies,” Mr Croft said.
The problem had grown to a point where he was actively researching the possibility of importing his own lollies and supplying other smaller retailers in the same position.