Market Liquors Centurion succeeds through unique design

STOREWATCH
Market Liquors Centurion
succeeds through unique design
Market Liquors is well positioned opposite convenient parking space in Centurion Mall, Centurion, Gauteng.
The partnership between the Fruit & Veg City Group
and Diamond’s Discount Liquor bears fruit
By Si m o n e Ar m e r
The Fruit & Veg City Group
envisions building accessible,
low-price liquor stores that
attract female shoppers through
its recently acquired stake in
Diamond’s Discount Liquor. By
2018, the group wants to have
built at least 100 new stores
nationwide. It intends to grow
through innovative design and
its winning strategy of providing
customers with convenience,
excellent customer service and a
value-for money product range.
Liquor convenience in Centurion
Positioned next to the Fruit & Veg City in
Centurion Mall and opposite convenient
Store: Market Liquors
Location: Centurion Mall,
Centurion
Trading area: 200m 2
Till points: 3
Number of staff members: 4
Basket size: R80 weekdays,
R150 –R200 weekends
Turnover per month: R498 000
parking space, Market Liquors Centurion
opened its doors for business on
11 November 2012. The 200m 2 corporate
retail liquor store is designed to seamlessly
link with Food Lover’s Market – giving it the
same look and feel of an established family
grocer. The Centurion store is the second
Market Liquors to open resulting from the
joint venture between the Fruit & Veg City
Group and Diamond’s Discount Liquor.
A mutually beneficial
partnership
In July 2012, the Fruit & Veg City Group
acquired a 50% stake in Diamond’s
Discount Liquor. Three months later, the
first Market Liquors store was launched
in Langenhoven Park, Bloemfontein. This
new venture was in line with Diamond’s
vision to become a national chain and its
desire to affiliate itself with a national
supermarket brand. The aim is to provide
female-friendly liquor stores in a safe
environment with convenient parking.
The Centurion store was launched only
one month after the Bloemfontein store. It
is a testament to the commitment made
by Fruit & Veg City CEO, Brian Coppin, to
grow Market Liquors aggressively through
corporate and franchise models.
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“It made sense for Diamond’s Discount
Liquor to partner with Food Lover’s
Market. It will offer more convenience
for consumers and afford them the
opportunity to also shop for liquor
when they purchase their groceries. We
understand that customers want an easier
and friendlier offering,” says Paul O’Linn,
MD of Market Liquors.
Warm and attractive interiors
“The design of the Market Liquors store
closely resembles that of the Food Lover’s
Market store as we wanted there to be a
synergy between the two,” says O’Linn.
When customers enter the store, they find
a neat and impeccably clean interior that is
well lit and well organised.
An eclectic mix of wooden floors and
shop fittings with modern attention to
detail give the store a com fortable and
warm feel. Lighting is a prominent feature.
Unique champagne cork lights illuminate
the wine section. Energy-saving lamps
illuminate light boxes that are fitted into
the shelving to attract customers’ eyes
while lighting up the products.
Designed by Market Liquors executive,
Janet O’Linn, the store has a definite
feminine touch. “Each aspect of the design
enhances the overall look of the store,
which specifically targets female customers.
It invites them into a warm and friendly
space that is unlike that of the typical,
standalone bottle store,” says O’Linn.
Champagne cork lights illuminate the wine section. Light is a prominent feature
in the store’s design, which aims to attract female customers.
Store manager, Francina Matlala, says that
a friendly, smiling disposition is what keeps
customers coming back to Market Liquors.
“It is the decorations – the cork lights,
the hanging banners, the branding on the
fridges and the light boxes fitted into the
displays – that give the store a different
look and feel and set it apart from other
liquor retailers,” says Francina Matlala,
store manager at Market Liquors Centurion.
“It’s the great look and feel that attracts
customers to the store,” she says. Matlala,
having previously worked for one of Market
Liquors’ top competitors, says that there is
no comparison to this store’s unique and
innovative design.
Easy moving
The store is also easy to assemble and
transport, saving franchisees the cost of
hiring a shop fitter, as staff members can
do the work themselves. The wooden
fittings are modular and consist of just nine
shelving and three counter components.
Only six screws are needed for the entire
shop, so the shelving can very easily be
deconstructed, wrapped, packed and
shipped in a 20ft container to any location
overseas. Practical, as Market Liquors plans
to expand into Africa in the near future.
“We wanted to design something that
was upmarket and yet cost efficient, while
it could hold the heavy weight of liquor
products,” says O’Linn.
Having only opened in November last year, the store has already built up a client base
that comes back for the convenience, low-prices and excellent customer service.
Focus on service
Market Liquors customers are greeted by
welcoming and helpful staff members
when they enter the store. “A friendly,
smiling disposition is the key to success,”
says Matlala. “It’s what keeps customers
coming back.”
The excellent customer service is due, in
part, to the small management team that
is hands-on in its approach and heavily
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Energy-saving lamps illuminate eye-catching
light boxes and light up the products.
involved in the operation of the store. “We
pride ourselves on our service and the staff
members are well-trained in this regard,”
says O’Linn.
Market Liquors employs a total of 25-30
permanent staff members, four of which
work at the Centurion store. The staff
members are all local to their respective
A screen in the wine section alerts customers to promotions and new products.
stores. They are trained in-store, with
additional instruction made available at
their regional distribution centre (DC) in
Bruma, Johannesburg and head office in
Cape Town.
“We have to attend to customers
efficiently as we are only four people
with three tills,” says Matlala. During peak
hours, from 2pm to 6pm on weekdays
and 11am to 6pm on Saturdays, the store
attracts anywhere between 80-200 people
per day.
“Our most popular item is beer,
especially the quarts,” says Matlala. “Carling
Black Label, Hansa, Castle – it just depends
on the customer,” she continues. The store
keeps its shelves well stocked with these
customer favourites.

The decorative touches make Market Liquors stand out from
its competitors and other liquor retailers.
The most popular item at Market Liquors is beer quarts, with Carling Black Label,
Hansa and Castle being the most popular brands.
Market Liquors customers usually spill
over from Food Lover’s Market and Fruit
& Veg City stores and the LSM bracket
thus differs from store to store. “Our main
customers are local workers and residents,
but we also get the occasional passer-by,”
says Matlala.
Attracting new customers
Promotions are an important way to
attract new customers and are often run
in conjunction with the store’s suppliers.
A large screen in the wine section of the
store alerts shoppers to promotions and
new products by running adverts and
information tidbits on a loop.
Diamond’s has a strong advertising
presence in the Western Cape through
newspapers, knock-and-drops, SMS and
email. “We are looking to build a presence
for Market Liquors in Gauteng, but its early
days as we are still relatively new to the
greater Johannesburg market. So far we
have been lucky enough to attract existing
customers from Fruit & Veg City and Food
Lover’s Market stores,” says O’Linn.
The problem of shrinkage
“Shrinkage is our biggest challenge. Despite
our efforts to monitor stock loss, our
numbers are still quite high,” says Matlala.
Market Liquors’ policy is to do rigorous
daily stock counts. Matlala implemented
a few strategies of her own. “I check
employee’s bags at the end of each shift
and often station someone at the door to
check till slips during busier periods,” she
says. Management agrees that shrinkage is
their biggest problem. “Tight profit margins
are the nature of the liquor business,
therefore any shrinkage has an impact on
us. We do our best to combat this with
monthly meetings and internal audits
regarding the issue,” comments O’Linn.
Wastage comes in the form of breakages,
says Matlala. “It’s an unfortunate result of
the nature of the products. Most liquor is
difficult to handle and customers do drop
their purchases from time to time,” she
says. When this happens, the product is
replaced at the store’s expense.
Licence frustatrations
The biggest challenge Market Liquors has
faced is getting its liquor licences. “The
process is long and strenuous. It is not as
quick and easy as one might think and that
has been a big barrier for us,” says O’Linn.
As a new store, Market Liquors has had to
register for a licence in terms of the new
Liquor Act, which can take several months.
Future prospects
Next month, the third Market Liquors
store will open its doors in Bruma Lake,
Johannesburg, catering for wholesale
customers. At least 100 more will be on
the way countrywide in the next three to
five years. The Fruit & Veg City store in
Centurion Mall is also expected to undergo
a revamp within the next 12-24 months.
Both Fruit & Veg City and Diamond’s
Discount Liquor believe in giving back to
the community and this sentiment has
been carried over to Market Liquors. “The
industry as a whole is very invested in
social upliftment. Our suppliers do some
amazing work and we fully support them”,
says O’Linn. The brand is still young, but it
looks forward to getting involved in several
community projects in the future.
A notch above the rest
Market Liquors prides itself on convenience,
customer service and low prices. The team
believes that, as a new store, this is the key
to staying above its competitors. “At the
end of the day, we are all selling a bottle
of Bells. Prices in the liquor industry are
very competitive, so our store design and
customer service ultimately set us apart,”
concludes O’Linn.
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