Ideas and initiatives are shared at James Hall & Co’s annual Retailer Event

By James Hall & Co. Ltd

31 Oct 2022

retailer-event-deputy-managing-director-dominic-hall-spar-james-hall-co-ltd.jpg

Ideas and initiatives were shared as SPAR independents from across the North of England gathered for James Hall & Co. Ltd’s annual Retailer Event. 

Held at the Crow Wood Hotel and Spa in Burnley, the theme of 2022’s event was ‘A Fresh Start’ and the day was split into two halves with the morning session featuring business updates from company directors.

Updates included exciting new fresh food and Food To Go initiatives, promotional programme developments, store design updates, and the latest IT progress and improvements.

Retailers present also had the opportunity to meet suppliers, take advantage of special ‘on the day’ deals, and network with fellow independents.

The afternoon session featured SPAR store visits to see best practice in James Hall & Co. Ltd’s company-owned G&E Murgatroyd estate at Accrington, Bacup, and Padiham Road in Burnley.

Oliver Blake, operations manager at SPAR Long Riston, and a member of the SPAR Northern Guild Committee, was pulled out of the hat as the winner of the event competition for £1,000 of free stock.

Oliver said: “I look forward to the James Hall Retailer Event and it was a good occasion to meet the team and network with SPAR colleagues. The business updates were extremely valuable and enable us to plan for the coming year and beyond, and to win the competition was the cherry on the cake.

“We’ve been with SPAR for three years and decided to switch as we needed a strong brand with great fresh and Food To Go availability to support our plans to move forward with the family business.

“We want to be regarded as the place locally for people to come and buy their goods and we’ve expanded the SPAR twice in those three years, with the initial investment doubling the size of the store. The second added a new office and storeroom, which meant we could further enlarge the floor space to increase our fresh range.

“This has really driven our sales which are three-and-a-half times what they were before our expansions, and James Hall really work with us to support our development plans.”

Leigh Parkinson, who owns the SPAR at Greaves Road in Lancaster, is the most recent addition to the Northern Guild Committee. She wanted to join the Guild to learn from other retailers and improve her business.

Leigh said: “I really enjoyed the Retailer Event. It’s important to get everyone together as a team so that we are all on the same page for upcoming promotions and campaigns.

“My family have been with James Hall for over 20 years. It’s a great relationship and I always value their advice. The team of people that support me is amazing and everyone gives 100%.

“I think the team at James Hall did a great job of highlighting to everyone how we can succeed despite the current economic climate. The new Food To Go initiatives and Cheeky Coffee brand evolution are all exciting concepts to set us apart from our competitors.

“The Guild opportunity has come about as I wanted to meet other retailers and gain more insight into what initiatives have been successful for them. I also wanted to have some small input feeding back how various seasonal promotions have worked in my store.”

Peter Dodding, sales director at James Hall & Co. Ltd and chairman of the Northern Guild Committee, said: “Our annual Retailer Event is one of the most important in our company’s calendar, and it was superb to get everyone in one room to deliver our range of business updates to support the ambitions of our independent SPAR retailers.

“What’s more, with the store visits in the afternoon to our G&E Murgatroyd company-owned estate, our independent retailers were able to see some of the updates in action first hand, and the feedback we have received regarding the day has been brilliant.”

James Hall & Co. Ltd is SPAR UK’s primary wholesaler and distributor for the North of England. The company serves a network of 600 independent SPAR retailers and company owned SPAR stores six days a week from its base in Preston, Lancashire.

You can find out more about James Hall & Co. Ltd at www.jameshall.co.uk.

Latest news

1

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway Alan McBride Muse Will Town Defence Infrastructure Organisation Jennifer Chard Defence Business Services Cllr Lynn Williams Blackpool Council Garry Bowker Vinci

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway

20 May 2025

2

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities Skiddle cheque presentation to Alder Hey Hospital

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities

20 May 2025

3

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion The site

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion

19 May 2025

4

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing Oliver Webber, Tracy Clavell-Bate and Tim Webber from Barnfield Group with Cllr Phil Riley, second from right, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing

19 May 2025

5

Two Cuckoo Gins named winners in The Gin Guide Awards 2025 Mark Long

Two Cuckoo Gins named winners in The Gin Guide Awards 2025

19 May 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV122 May/June Launch Event
121 Lancashire Business View Magazine Launch
Networking
21 May 2025

LBV122 May/June Launch Event

Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster, LA1 2TY

08:30 - 10:30

Sub36 Networking
Networking
11 Jun 2025

Sub36 Networking

British Jewellery School, Scorton, PR3 1BA

15:00 - 17:00

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference
Net Zero Carbon Social 1200pxtrident 2
Networking
18 Jun 2025

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference

Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort, Burnley, BB12 0RT

08:30 - 13:00

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers
WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion copy.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
02 Apr 2025 - 08 Oct 2025

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:00 - 15:30

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May
Freelancer Meet-Up May.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May

society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar
LBV Hub Seminars
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar

Cottons Hotel & Spa , Knutsford, WA16 0SU

16:00 - 18:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Mytton Fold, Langho, BB6 8AB

11:30 - 14:15

Liverpool Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-881365363-4862066883-1-original.20241023-085714.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Awards
23 May 2025 - 23 May 2025

Liverpool Business Expo 2025

Aintree Racecourse , Liverpool , L9 5AS

09:00 - 15:00

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29
Artboard 15.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
29 May 2025 - 29 May 2025

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin