Antrobus Village Shop

The Antobus Community Shop Association
The Antrobus Village Shop is a very small shop and the space is shared with the post office.  We have no desire for larger premises.  What we have adequately provides a service to our village of approximately 800 inhabitants.   Anything larger would only bring problems.
 
The shop has become the focal point of the village.  It is the place people come to for information, for tickets for events within the village and many people just drop in to buy something and for a friendly chat.
 
Due to the size of the shop, it can quite easily be manned by one volunteer.  The volunteer as well as serving customers, is kept busy by pricing goods as they are delivered and by putting newly arrived goods either on the shelves or in the small stock room.
 
We allow children to work in the shop accompanied by a volunteer.  This has been done for work experience schemes and the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme but we have allowed other children to work when their parents have requested.  We, and the parents, have said how beneficial it has been to the children.  It teaches them many things but the two main points are that it gives them confidence and they learn how to relate to adults.
 
No food is prepared on the premises and we do not stock meats other than pre-packed cooked meats.  This decision was made because of the regulations involved.
 
We do not sell cigarettes – this was a unanimous decision taken by the committee because we were all against smoking.
 
We sell newspapers.  We do not deliver but have many standing orders.
 
When the post office is closed we are able to weigh parcels and envelopes and sell stamps to suit.  This means that a postal service is available throughout the shop opening hours.
 
None of our committee has any previous retail experience other than as enthusiastic shoppers themselves.  That in itself is very useful because you have no preconceived ideas and you do things in the shop the way you would like to see things done. 
 
Giving back to the community
At the end of our first year''s trading we decided that our volunteers should be rewarded (other than a good night out that is).  Without volunteers you have no business so you have to look after them and always encourage others to come forward.  We decided to introduce a rewards scheme and it operates very simply.
 
Everyone logs down their hours and every 6 months we look at how much money we can spare and divide that by the total number of hours.  That gives us an hourly rate (up to now this has worked out at £1 per hour!) and we multiply that rate by the number of hours each volunteer has worked which gives a total amount.  Each volunteer can then decide on a type of high street voucher (M&S, NEXT, B&Q etc) they would like to receive to that amount.
 
It is in the constitution of the Association that we return surplus cash to the community.  The committee comes from different backgrounds which has led to many innovative ways of returning that cash.
 

• We have taken a party of 25 teenagers 10 pin bowling.
• The Friendship Club (senior citizens) were taken to a pub for lunch and we have paid their annual insurance.
• We have donated two new computers to the village school.
• We have paid for the repair of a burst pipe and the resultant high water meter bill for the local church.
• We have paid for the installation of an amplified sound system at the village Methodist chapel this was needed so that the entire congregation can hear.
• We have purchased a collating machine for the Village News magazine that makes producing the monthly 430 copies much easier.
• We have purchased cinema vouchers for youngsters between the ages of 12 and 18.  They can come into the shop and claim a voucher at any time.
• We have purchased some planters and plants that are placed around the flagpole in the village centre opposite the shop.  The plants are regularly changed.
• We have shop work wear in the form of polo shorts, sweat shirts and aprons that bear the shop logo.
• We hold a cheese and wine party for everyone which is free.  This year it is being held immediately following the shop AGM.
• We have purchased an additional seat for the village playground.
• We have purchased new Christmas tree lights for the village Christmas tree.
• We sponsored the food and drinks for the switching on of the village Christmas lights.
• We sponsored the annual village litter pick.
• We purchased the original water colour painting of the shop that appeared in the Cheshire Life magazine and it hangs in the shop.  We also had the picture reproduced as a post card and larger sized general message card.
• We purchased and sold 100 ''bags for life''.  These are made of jute and we saw this as being an environmental contribution.  Customers can bring their ''bags for life'' to the shop rather than us pack their goods in plastic bags.  The bags were over-printed with our shop name and logo and were sold at £2 instead of the £3 they cost us.
• We have taken a party of 60 to a Christmas pantomime.
• This year we are sponsoring the village ''cabbage canter'' road races.
• As well as these donations we have also given numerous raffle prizes to local organisations to help them with their own fund raising events.

It can clearly be seen that we have been generous in our first two years of trading but we now have to start making provisions for our own future.  There will be equipment that needs to be replaced and we need new flooring and of course we have the reward scheme to finance.  However, we will wherever possible do our best for the Antrobus community that we serve.
 
My Story: How we took over our village shop
Read Mike Barker''s story at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A5323358
April 2006
                                                                                                                          


Our story step by step

• First public meeting called by Antrobus Parish Council to discuss the future of the closed village shop and the post office; this was being manned by an interim postmaster.
• Researched community shops with the help of the Cheshire Community Council and ViRSA (Village Rural Shops Alliance) who visited us and were most helpful.        
• Second public meeting held and steering committee formed.
• Steering committee meetings commence.  The early actions necessary are as follows:
• Have a clear vision of what you are setting out to do because you will have to explain it to many people.  If you have surplus cash after covering all business costs, how will it be spent?

 
All the surplus cash from the Antrobus shop has gone back into the community.  There are many ways you can help various groups and organisations within your village. 
 
Research is essential.  You will require this information for any grant applications so do it early.  Do not assume that you know what your customers expect of the shop. To maximise the response house to house delivery and collection of questionnaires is advised.  After an introduction we asked the following questions but alter to suit your situation:
 
1.  If a shop was to open in the village again, would you be prepared to use it as often as possible to give it a chance of success?  PLEASE BE HONEST!  Yes/No.
 
2. Would you be prepared to work in the shop on a voluntary and part time basis?
 
3. If yes to the above, how many hours a week would you be prepared to work?
 
4. Initial capital would be required.  Would you be prepared to invest money in the project?  Yes/No
 
5. What hours do you think the shop should be open?
 
6. Do you have any retail, accountancy or other skills you could offer the project?
 
7. What type of products and services would you like to see the shop provide?
 
A visit to a community shop is strongly recommended.  We visited Litton in Derbyshire but please come and see us.
 
Premises have to be found.  We were lucky we had an empty shop in a prime position that we could rent.  Ensure that you have a cast iron deal; we experienced problems as we neared our opening day because we had not attended to lease details.  We took too much for granted.
Budgets have to be prepared.  Rent (you will probably have to pay your landlord''s legal costs), rates (speak to your district council, you maybe exempt), shop equipment, a safe, insurance and of course stock.  These are just some of the costs. 
How much money can we raise locally?  How much grant funding can we apply for?  You will have to raise some money locally because this will be required by funding sources.  Our initial funds were received from our own Parish Council but our main source was by selling £10 shares in the shop.  We sent out a supplementary questionnaire to those who had indicated an interest in investing.  We asked the following questions:
 
a) Would you be prepared to buy a £10 share in the shop?  Yes/No.  Shares are limited to one share per person.  No dividend will be paid.
 
b) Would you be prepared to make a loan to the shop?  If so how much?  Any loan would not be guaranteed and no interest would be paid.                       
 
c) Would you be prepared to make a donation to the shop?  If so how much?  
 
This exercise generated just over 100 share holders plus donations and loans so we now had working capital.
Preparations were made for our main funding application to the Countryside Agency.  We were promised an answer to our application within a few days but had to wait 3 months and only then did we get a response after making a nuisance of ourselves. The Countryside Agency no longer exists so you will have to establish your most likely sources for funding.
 
The post office situation changed.  The interim postmaster initially said that he wanted the position permanently but changed his mind.  The post office will only allow individuals to become postmasters/mistresses.  Partnerships and committees are not allowed.  Nobody could be found to take on the position.  In the August a lady from a neighbouring village came forward and showed an interest in the position.  In due course she was appointed and she has proved to be a fantastic partner for us to work with.
 
It is important that if you are looking to re-open your village post office that you contact and work in conjunction with your regional Post Office Rural Transfer Advisor.  If you are looking to open a new post office you would have to show that there is a local demand.
 
Once the Countryside Agency Grant was allocated we were still a little short of funding and we were lucky that the Cheshire Community Council was able to secure additional funding for us from Cheshire County Council and Vale Royal Borough Council.
 
The business is finally set up as the Antrobus Community Shop Association Limited and is registered with the Financial Services Authority under the Industrial & Provident Acts 1965. This gives limited liability to shareholders and committee members.  ViRSA will sponsor applications under a simple standard set of company rules.
 
It is important to have a licence to sell alcohol.  Look into the new licensing laws and take the necessary action.  We decided not to sell tobacco products. 
 
A committee member took on the responsibility for the volunteers.  We had decided our opening hours and these hours had to be matched to the availability of volunteers.
 
It is important to have a good book-keeper and a friendly local accountant and solicitor.  This can save you a lot of money.

• Suppliers had to be lined up.  Local as far as possible.  Fine and different foods from specialist suppliers.  Newspapers.  Wines and spirits.  Greetings cards.  Everyday convenience foods etc and all with very little storage space at the shop.
• We organised a basic hygiene course to be held in the village.  This enabled anyone intending to work in the shop and anyone else who wished to attend to gain valuable knowledge about this important subject.  Everyone passed and obtained their certificate.
• We had frustrations in the months prior to opening but always think positively; it is surprising how much goodwill there will be in your village for the shop to succeed.
• In the weeks prior to opening we approached our local newspapers and county glossy magazine.  They all gave us good free coverage.
• We held a pre-opening wine and nibbles party in the shop on the Sunday afternoon the day before we opened.  Everyone was welcome and the shop was packed all afternoon and we took £90 and we hadn''t intended selling anything!  We knew we were on our way.
• Soon after the opening of the shop an Extraordinary General Meeting was called to formally adopt the steering committee as the management committee of the Antrobus Community Shop Association Limited.  It was also a good opportunity to give a report on the activities of the business to date and to allow those who had supported the shop to sample the wine we sell!