How one small shop is taking on the superstores

A Scottish shopkeeper is showing how commitment can enable small enterprises to take on the retail giants, reports Nancy Nicolson of The Scotsman

The display of cabbages still wet with the morning dew, freshly dug garden potatoes and premium quality steak from the field across the dyke look harmless on the shelves of the Dounby Stores in Scotland's Orkney Island - yet they're vital weapons in owner David Harrold's battle against the superstore Goliaths.

Small independent shops in tiny village communities may be dead or on their knees in many places, but the Dounby Stores is an outstanding example of how one man's commitment and willingness to cater for the local community can turn round a declining turnover and boost employment from five to 22 staff in four years.

The precedence of local over imported produce has been central to David Harrold's philosophy. He understands the islanders' belief in home-grown food and puts it on his shelves - whether it is world-class marinated herring, nationally renowned beef, cheese and salmon, or a one-off box of carrots from a village garden.

'I identified a willingness to support local food, and there was a gap in the market for a shop where people could buy it,' he says. 'As an independent retailer I have the freedom to buy where and what I choose which is something the supermarkets can't do. You don't need to meet them head-on to be successful - just provide a service they can't.'

Indeed, a recent price survey in Orkney by the Islands Council has identified that independent shops offer a more competitive pricing policy than the supermarkets, and the Dounby Stores was nominated by tourists and locals for the best retailer award in last week's Orkney Food Festival.

Harrold shows a highly professional approach to the business of shop-keeping. He redesigned and enlarged the store which was nose diving in 1996, invested heavily in stock and now opens seven days a week from 8am - 9pm.

'We bought the store when it had been on the market for 18 months. It was a typical story with trade declining for the previous five years,' he says. 'A small village shop just wasn't a good opportunity but I believed there was potential - so long as we made it attractive to the customer.

'There was a big shed alongside the shop full of junk, and after a complete refurbishment last year it has been transformed into the main store with 2000 square feet , making it the biggest independent shop outwith the main towns.'

Staff training is a priority. 'Service has to be first and foremost because we may be the only daily contact some of our customers have, so we have to take time with people and aim for a style of relaxed efficiency,' Harrold adds.

He concedes that his customers will continue to make regular trips to the island's supermarkets, but believes that if he expands his range to meet most demands, the frequency of those trips will be reduced.

Customers from further afield are now making special journeys to his remote shop in order to buy speciality foods, and in particular the island's 'Gold' brand of premium beef, ironically more easily found in South East England.

'We discovered that none of the butchers in Orkney were selling Orkney Island Gold while local farmers were putting tremendous effort into producing a high value product without being able to taste it themselves.' Harrold says. 'We secured exclusive rights to sell it and are even able to specify individual local farms where the animals were bred right here in the parish. Every week we put the certificates up on the wall naming the producers and it creates enormous interest especially among the farmers wives who come in.'

It works in the commuting community of Dounby - but is it a recipe for success elsewhere in the country? David Harrold worked first as a salesman then as a shop trouble shooter for a confectionery company, advising small retailers how to transform their beleaguered businesses, and has many years of experience in developing unlikely opportunities.

'It's all down to attitude,' he says. 'You have to take a hard look at your trading environment, presentation, competition, traffic flow - and realise the customer base is more sophisticated than it used to be.

'They won't tolerate dark, dingy shops, they want a fairly priced product and above all they demand convenient opening hours. The onus is on the independent retailer to consider refits and redesigns - and recognise that they have many more strengths than they were led to believe. A lot of it is common sense, not rocket science.'