The Future of Convenience

SPAR Ireland opened a pop-up store in the city center of Dublin and found it to be a great success! Thomas Ennis joins Dan Munford to share a virtual tour of this new ‘retro’ SPAR store concept, explaining the rationale behind the concept, the flexibility it offers, and customer reaction.

Check out the full video to see photos of the store at www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/58-spar-ireland-pop-up-store-opens-in-dublin.

With special guest:

Thomas Ennis, CEO, Thomas Ennis Group

Hosted by:

Dan Munford

High's Senior Vice President Brad Chivington joins Carolyn Schnare to share the interesting history of the business which includes a dramatic decrease in stores before building back with a renewed format. High’s is a U.S. chain of 60 convenience stores serving the Mid-Atlantic region. Hear how High's focuses on food and beverage, customer experience, and employee engagement to thrive in its highly competitive market.

Watch the entire episode #60 at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/highs-usa.

With special guest:

Brad Chivington, Senior Vice President, High’s of Baltimore

Hosted by:

Carolyn Schnare

Reitan Convenience CEO Jesper Østergaard explores several unique 7-Eleven formats in Denmark including a 7-Eleven pop-up store at the Danish Democratic Festival and Reitan’s dramatic addition of stores in the Copenhagen airport with a combination of 7-Eleven and 7-Eleven GO. When complete, between the two formats there will be more than 100 7-Eleven stores in the airport, more than any other airport in the world!

Watch the complete video at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/59-7eleven-denmark.

With special guest:

Jesper Østergaard, CEO, Reitan Convenience

Hosted by:

Dan Munford

In this bonus episode, we highlight Karl Hodgson, the Managing Director at Adande Refrigeration. Pioneering the concept of "hold-the-cold" and compact refrigeration technology, Adande Refrigeration spearheads a transformative approach to how convenience retailers elevate the preparation of high-quality, fresh food offerings. Watch the complete Shop Talk Express episode at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/creating-a-consistent-foodservice-offer-with-adande-refrigeration.

With special guest:

Karl Hodgson, Managing Director, Adande Refrigeration

Hosted by:

Carolyn Schnare

In a deep-dive into the UK electric vehicle charging network, Dan Munford shares his predictions on the progress, challenges and future for the UK charging network. Dan is joined by Ade Thomas, Founder at Green.TV Media and World EV Day, Toddington Harper, CEO at GRIDSERVE and James Purton, Global Key Account Manager at Kempower to discuss the UK charging network investment, infrastructure and grid connections.

Watch the entire video interview at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/55-the-uks-ev-charging-network-with-gridserve-ade-thomas-kempower.

With special guests:

Ade Thomas, Founder, Green.TV Media and World EV Day, Toddington Harper, CEO, GRIDSERVE and James Purton, Global Key Account Manager, Kempower

Hosted by:

Dan Munford

Long-time U.S. operator Dash In is reimagining foodvenience with a new kitchen concept and design. In this episode, President and Chief Operating Officer Blackie Wills shares the importance of foodservice and showcases a modern, functional store design soon to be rolled out across many locations. Blackie joins Carolyn Schnare and co-host, Joe Bona, President of Bona Design Lab, for this in-depth interview with the Washington DC-area retailer.

Watch the entire video episode at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/56-enhancing-customer-experience-with-dash-in.

With special guest:

Blackie Wills, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Wills Group (dba Dash In)

Hosted by:

Carolyn Schnare and Joe Bona, President of Bona Design Lab

The MENA (Middle Eastern Northern Africa) region is fast becoming a global centre for growth and innovation, especially in the areas of digitalisation and retail format innovation. Continued focus on economic diversification across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has resulted in the development of a world-class retail infrastructure. Host Dan Munford and Nikolay Vylegzhanin, Regional Director at Shopworks speak with Amged ElHanbali, Head of Retail at Ola Energy and Craig Philipson, Managing Director of Shopworks. Ola Energy operates across the MENA region and following a quick introduction and update on the business, Amged looks to the future of retail; exploring new format layouts, segmentation and real estate, as well as emphasising the importance of focus shift from product and supply to the customer-centric approach.

Watch the entire video episode at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/54-mena-and-gcc-deep-dive-with-ola-energy-shopworks.

With special guest:

Amged ElHanbali, Head of Retail at Ola Energy

Hosted by:

Dan Munford and Nikolay Vylegzhanin, Regional Director at Shopworks

Ireland is one of the most advanced convenience and roadside retail locations globally and is famous for the high-quality fresh products it delivers every day in its stores. As the energy transition comes to Ireland, how will this develop in some of the roadside sites of the future? In this episode, hosts Dan Munford and food-to-go specialist manufacturer Brian Reid, CEO of Deli Lites chat with Brian Donaldson, CEO of Maxol Group and Thomas Ennis, Owner, Thomas Ennis Group (SPAR).

Watch the full video interview at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/54-thomas-ennis-spar-brian-donaldson-maxol-and-brian-reid-deli-lites.

With special guests:

Brian Donaldson, CEO of Maxol Group and Thomas Ennis, Owner, Thomas Ennis Group (SPAR)

Hosted by:

Dan Munford and Brian Reid, CEO of Deli Lites

U.S. industry experts Derek Gaskins, CMO of Yesway and Lisa Biggs, CEO of Impact 21 discuss the industry response to the challenges of ‘Unified Commerce’. Lisa Biggs shares Impact 21 methodology to bring a Unified Commerce strategy and roadmap forward. Derek Gaskins shares what it took to get the infrastructure in place, advance marketing and merchandising, and launch loyalty and other customer-facing solutions while cultivating the company brand and culture.

Watch the complete video interview at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/53-unified-commerce-yesway-and-impact-21

U.S. industry leaders Joe Sheetz, Chairman of Sheetz and Liz Williams, President of Foxtrot dive into a conversation on the challenging labor issue with guest host Roy Strasburger, Founder of Convenience Leaders Vision Group. This episode touches on hiring strategies, long-term employee retention, and process simplification to support and empower Store Managers.

Watch the complete video interview at https://www.globalconveniencestorefocus.co.uk/video/49-middle-east-updates-with-enoc-oomco.