Local Retail Champions complete first stage of store makeover
WINNERS of Allwyn’s Local Retail Champions 2024 competition Natalie and Martin Lightfoot have completed the first stage of their Social Value store makeover at their shop Londis Solo Convenience.
The Baillieston-based retailers were awarded £5,000 cash and a Social Value store makeover worth up to £20,000 when they were named National Winners at Allwyn’s first ever Local Retail Champions at the awards in December.
They had been nominated for the award by their local customer base for their outstanding community-focused work, such as organising charity fundraising events and local litter-picking activities, as well as providing a home delivery service for those in need.
Natalie and Martin have begun the Social Makeover work – which will take a number of months to complete – and have already introduced six new colleague headset across the store to help improve security.
The headsets have already helped to enhance communication between store staff, increasing safety for both customers and staff and enabling them to respond quickly to assistance requests.
The next stage will see the introduction of new CCTV equipment to the store, replacing the current 15-year-old system, before the retailers move on to the final stage of the process with the installation of new AI technology to help support the running of the store.
Speaking on the store makeover, Natalie said: “We’re really grateful to Allwyn for what the Local Retail Champions store makeover money is helping us do with security in the store.
“These headsets have been a godsend. The store has thick walls making it difficult to hear each other in different areas of the shop, so the headsets allow us all to communicate and respond to things quickly as a team.
“We’re also in the process of getting new CCTV installed which will provide clearer pictures as the current system is quite pixelated and very dated.
“We wouldn’t have been able to get any of this new equipment without the Local Retail Champions makeover money, not for a long while anyway.”
Alison Acquaye-Acford, director of commercial partnerships and retail sales at Allwyn, said: “We know Natalie is passionate about store security for retailers and has spoken publicly about the subject in the past, so we’re really happy we’ve been able to support her own store’s security needs with the store makeover.
“And she and her husband are absolutely deserving of the prize – they are a shining example of retailers who go above and beyond for their local community, which is precisely why they were crowned one of our two National Winners at Allwyn’s 2024 Local Retail Champions awards. We’re looking forward to hearing about how the project progresses further.”
