Stoneleigh success story
The Nisa Retail 2019 trade show has been hailed a huge hit with a series of success stories across the business from the two-day event.
The Evolution format store once again was the jewel in the crown at Stoneleigh, impressing retailers and suppliers alike. A total of 40 stores have requested re-merchandising in order to get the optimum Co-op range as exhibited at the show. Furthermore, 20 stores made enquiries to be re-fitted to the latest Evolution format and will be working with the format and development team to bring these plans to fruition.
The Stoneleigh store itself was sold ahead of the show, after a Nisa partner enquired about its availability.
Sales director Steve Leach said: “Two years ago we had a prospect attend Stoneleigh, see the store and buy it there and then. Last year a Nisa partner was so impressed that they did the deal to buy the store on the first morning of the show. And this year we sold the store, including all fixtures and fittings, before the doors even opened.
“The success of the Evolution format is testament to our format and development team who have been creating these stores over the past 12 months and helping Nisa partners to generate additional sales that are now averaging 12 per cent.”
The number of prospects in attendance at this year’s event was also the highest yet and with 58 stores signing up to Nisa, this is an increase of 45 per cent compared to 2018.
Further successes were enjoyed within the epos team where 15 Nisa retailers signed up for the bespoke Evolution IT solution and another 36 expressed an interest in the system and will be talking in more detail with the Nisa IT team.
Jon Stowe, operations director at Nisa said: “We were exceptionally busy at Stoneleigh this year with a lot of interest from retailers enquiring about Evolution 2.0. We were delighted so many retailers either signed up or expressed an interest in doing so and we will be building on this over the coming months.”
The donation from the show to foodbanks was up on last year with more than 6.5 tonnes of produce shared between several charities that operate across the Midlands.
And the digital engagement at the show also increased year on year with engagement on the Nisa Retail Twitter account up by a huge 186 per cent for the week.
Steve Leach said: “Our annual exhibition and gala dinner really does get better and better each year but this year in particular it was a resounding success.
“The feedback has been excellent, our colleagues at the Co-op were very impressed and the reaction from our partners and suppliers has been very positive.
“An immense amount of work goes into the delivery of Nisa Expo and once again I was absolutely delighted with the event. Now planning starts to work out how we can improve it again for next year!”