Sulgrave Village Shop
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Local Heroes
Another solution to the problem of making a local shop work in a postmodern age is giving the villagers a vested interest in the outfit: if you''ve got shares in a business, you''re certainly going to make sure you patronise it.
This is just the case with the Village Shop in Sulgrave, Northamptonshire. The local shop and post office were both forced to close in 2002, but two years later a group of local activists had persuaded the council to buy a small property in the village, and had rounded up enough volunteers to make a go of starting afresh. They now work together as a cooperative venture, which is working remarkably well. They have 65 volunteers out of a village of around 160 houses, and the shop is open more often than many London establishments, seven days a week.
Susie Blayney, who was involved from the beginning thinks that this spirit of pulling together has helped its reputation grow, and the business to flourish: ''We have all sorts of people who are in the position we were once in asking for advice about how we did it,'' she explains.
''So many, in fact, that we are working closely with the Village Retail Association to develop guidelines for those who want to attempt a similar venture, so everybody doesn''t have to reinvent the wheel.''
The Village Shop is now so established that their premises are becoming rather small, and they are looking at ways of expanding, but although supermarkets are the traditional enemy, Mrs Blayney po''inted out that the local Co-op is one business to which they are indebted. Because we are a cooperative as well, they have given us an enormous amount of help,'' she says. ''They effectively allow us to use them as a wholesaler, and they give us discounts and credit, and our capital doesn''t get too tied up as they store some products for us as well.''
And plans for the future? Well the cooperative must address their lack of space and concentrate, as all small local ventures do, on stocking all the crucial fresh local produce which customers crave. But at least when it comes to gauging levels of satisfaction with the service, they need not spend time and effort on surveys, and look no further than themselves.
Article by Holly Kirkwood, abstracted from Country Life Magazine, Wednesday, April 26 2006
The Village Shop, Sulgrave is the South’s Best Rural Retailer
The Village Shop, Magpie Road, Sulgrave, Oxfordshire has been named the Southern winner in the Countryside Alliance’s Best Rural Retailer competition. This Parish-council owned co-operative will now go head to head with 12 other UK finalists for the overall National Best Rural Retailer title.
This popular community Village Shop edged out other regional hopefuls Local Tastes in Thame, Oxfordshire, The True Food Co-Op in Berkshire, Robjents in Stockbridge, Hampshire and the Village Shop in Brackley, Northamptonshire, to win the Southern title.
Countryside Alliance Regional Director Sara Rutherford headed up the regional judging panel which also included Anne Heseltine. Sara commented: “The Sulgrave Village store is exactly what this competition is all about. The shop is owned and run by the local community, with over 60 volunteers aged between 16 and 80 taking turns to sell local produce to local people.
“This shop is a wonderful example of private initiative. When the last shop closed down, the village financed the purchase of a small cottage and turned it into a busy enterprise which satisfies all the needs of this small village. Sulgrave Village Shop is exactly what the Best Rural Retailer competition is all about and I am delighted that it is our winner. I am very confident that the enthusiasm and commitment of the villagers will impress the national judging panel.”
Article from The Countryside Alliance Wednesday, 07 December 2005