Top entrepreneur predicts boom in convenience food market

A leading food entrepreneur has predicted a further expansion of Britain’s growing convenience food retail market.

Speaking at a Business Breakfast event run by specialist food solicitors, Roythornes, on Tuesday morning, Mike Greene, CEO of My Local, said capacity in the UK market was well below the density of countries like the USA and Japan.

As a result, he said, he expected to see further growth and investment over the coming years with an emphasis on fresh produce being key to success along with four other key factors.

Mike Greene’s five top tips for success were:

Fresh – the most important factor. Consumers want the choice of fresh food from their convenience store.
Full – stock control is vital. Mr Greene said if his shops ran out of bread, he would rather buy and resell a rivals own brand products rather than leave customers unsatisfied as they would never return
Fair price – in a competitive market, price is always important
Fast service – fast service is at the heart of convenience. Don’t keep customers waiting
Friendly service – also at the heart of convenience. Once customers leave disappointed they won’t return. Customer service standards are vital.

Mike, who brings a wealth of food industry leadership and strategic thinking experience, gave a talk entitled: “Convenience retailing in a competitive market” at the event at the Kingsgate Conference Centre in Peterborough, setting out a wide range of thoughts.

More than 120 delegates from across the food industry attended and, after the talk, were given the chance to quiz Mike on all aspects of convenience retail.

He said: “It was a pleasure to be invited to speak at the Roythornes Food Business Breakfast.

“It’s always great to meet with like-minded people from the industry and share experiences and insight into the convenience retail market.

Partner, Peter Cusick from Roythornes added: “Our Food Business Breakfasts are a fantastic networking opportunity as well as an excellent forum for sharing industry insight and discussion.

“My Local is a great example of an ambitious company working hard on category balancing, service and pricing to bring success in what is a competitive market.

“Mike’s vast retail experience and well-known no-nonsense approach made for a fascinating event and we hope everyone enjoyed it and found it useful.”

Former chairman of the Association of Convenience Stores, Mr Greene bought Morrison’s M Local shops in September 2015, re-launching them under the My Local brand.

He has a wealth of experience from more than 30 years in the food industry.