AF Blakemore & Son Ltd

Vacancy Alert 🗣  We are currently recruiting for Head of Brand to join our Marketing Team If you or someone you know would love to be part of our team follow the link for more information and to apply 👉 https://lnkd.in/eYCzKgcg

What a start to our summer campaign #MakeMeAChampion! ** SPARoke Saturdays:** We kicked things off with in-store karaoke, celebrating our local champions! Belt out Queen's "We Are The Champions" for a chance to win your shopping FREE! Turns out our customers and colleagues are SERIOUSLY talented! We've even gotten national press coverage AND secured local interviews for our independent retailers! Huge shoutout to them! Ian Lewis Julian Taylor-Green ** Food Truck Tour:** Our award-winning pizza truck hit the road, starting at the Royal Norfolk Show! The verdict on our stone-baked pizza's from the crowd? "Champion!" It's heading to Shrewsbury this weekend. Keep an eye out on social media for your chance to "Spot the Food Truck" and win! #SpotTheSPARFoodTruck https://lnkd.in/eaNB7cuf ** Influencer Takeover:** Our influencer campaign launched with a bang! TheFatFoodie whipped up the most incredible sticky honey & cider hotdogs using our SPAR own-label range. Check out his post and we've got more to come over the following weeks. #SPAROwnLabel https://lnkd.in/eaNB7cuf Join the #MakeMeAChampion movement! Blakemore Trade Partners #MakeMeAChampion #SPARUK #SPARInternational #independentretailers #Convenience #Summerofsport

And the final envelopes please... This week we've been celebrating the outstanding winners of our SRS 2024 awards. Recognising the incredible world of independent retailing, supplier partnerships and individual excellence. Now, it's time for our final 2 retailer awards, the Big Investment and the prestigious Baldwin Cup for Retailer of the Year. The Big Investment: Dyfed and Alison Thomas SPAR Llandyssul This has been a family store since 1986 joining SPAR in 1990, the team have been inspired to drive their store forward, working closely with AF Blakemore and their fellow SPAR retailers. The £100,000 prize will be invested in a full store refresh introducing Food To Go, a wider selection of fresh, energy efficient chillers, digital screens as well as an external seating area. The Baldwin Cup: Lewis of Llandrinio Picking up the prestigious Baldwin Cup in recognition of her commitment to developing her business, was Jenny Donaghy of SPAR Llandrinio. Jenny and her team are passionate and innovative retailers exemplifying the brand values of SPAR. Continually investing and innovating in their store to reflect emerging trends and deliver consistent high standards. They are passionate about SPAR and work in close collaboration with the A.F. Blakemore team. The team are active members of their local community supporting a breadth of initiatives as well as a multiple award winner and a valued member of the Meridian & Welsh Guild. The Baldwin Cup is awarded to one retailer every year and celebrates the very best stores across SPAR UK’s Meridian & Welsh Guild region.  Jenny D. Blakemore Trade Partners SPAR UK SPAR International #SRS #Awards #GrandFinale #RetailRoyalty #independentretail

The buzz from our phenomenal SRS event is still with us! This week, we've been unveiling the winning suppliers one by one. Today marks the finale of the supplier categories with Best Impulse Supplier and Best Marketing Partner Award sponsored by Circana! Best Impulse Supplier: Winner Congo Brands Arguably one of the most desirable brands of a generation became a SPAR exclusive back in January 2023. Millions of likes and follows on social media platforms meant that the immediate impact the PRIME brand had on the Soft Drinks category was nothing short of astonishing. This supplier continues to innovate, invest and stive for best-in-class execution in the way they bring new packs to market in stores. Christian Derrick Jake Baxter Best Marketing Partner Award Sponsored by Circana: Winner PepsiCo have worked collaboratively with our commercial and marketing teams to deliver innovative initiatives across all marketing channels activating digital, instore and on pack. Built out of consumer insight to creating engaging activity for consumers that grow basket spend and footfall. Their approach to simple, yet highly effective business is an example to all, and their support continues year after year.  Alex Nicolas Grant Walker Andrew Loughrey Matt Greenslade But wait, there's more! Get ready to be dazzled by our retailer award winners tomorrow! #SRS #Awards #IndependentRetail #SupplierChampions Blakemore Trade Partners SPAR UK SPAR International

Day 3 of the SRS winners showcase! Today we're shining a spotlight on the Raj Aggarwal Community Engagment Award sponsored by Grupo Bimbo and Best Grocery Supplier. Raj Aggarwal Community Engagement Award: Winner SPAR Western Downs The judging panel were blown away by the sheer amount of work that the Western Downs team do for their community, cake sales, egg hunts, prize giveaways, raffle and festivals. Local foodbanks and churches are supported with donations and Julian even ran the 2024 London Marathon. This year alone they have raised over £4000 for Marie Curie. Julian Taylor-Green Sunita Aggarwal Helen Hulme Best Grocery Supplier: Winner pladis Global Pladis are our trusted Category Partner on biscuits and have collaborated with extensive category data this year to support our range review on the biscuits category. They embrace a true category approach and provide robust, unbiased data, which ensures we make informed decisions about the category and have the right range in place for our consumers. Pladis demonstrate a true collaborative approach to working with us, which is reflected in their sales performance! Adam Turner Adam Wain Blakemore Trade Partners SPAR UK SPAR International #SRS #Awards #IndependentRetail #RetailStars #WinningPerformance

Remember how we toasted the success of independent retailers, celebrated vital supplier partnerships, and recognized incredible achievements through the SRS Awards. ✨ This week, we're unveiling the winners one by one! Today, we'll be honouring exceptional performance in two key categories: Best Store Team sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Best Fresh/Frozen Supplier. Best Store Team - Hash & Chan Shingadia from SPAR Upper Bucklebury. In the hardest of times you need to surround yourself with the best people. From the Post Office scandal , through to Covid, this team has continued to support each other and their local community through volunteering, charity donations or cooking for their customers. And this year they celebrate 25 years of trading. Heidi Vossen-Barnes Best Fresh/Frozen Supplier – The Compleat Food Group work closely with AF Blakemore, growing sales year on year through collaborative thinking supported with a thorough execution plan. Supply is so important and they always achieve +98% service level. Our 17 year relationship grows stronger every year built on trust, mutual respect, and a strong desire for all parties to be successful. Stay tuned throughout the week to discover more winners! Blakemore Trade Partners SPAR UK SPAR International #SRS #Awards #IndependentRetail #RetailStars #WinningPerformance

Remember the incredible energy at the SRS event last week? We're still buzzing! This week, we're diving deeper and sharing the stories behind our phenomenal winners. Today, we're recognizing the winners for.... Drumroll please... Best Licensed Supplier and Best Business Initiative! Best Licenced Supplier: Vape Supplier have shown enormous commitment to the AF Blakemore business, fundamental in helping navigate the fast-moving vaping category, delivered professionally and to tight timescales with an excellent collaborative, forward thinking approach. Always prepared to invest in category growth and innovative display solutions, as well as proactively enabling the Blakemore business to meet increasing regulatory requirements.  Laith Sheena Gary Routledge Colin McAlpine Best Business Initiative – Tristan King, King Family Stores When faced with increasing cost pressures the team at King Family stores decided to take a step back start with the customer and analyse their stores to understand where they could grow sales or reduce costs. Competitor visits gave a focus to deliver the best possible customer experience. And it paid off  - their store sales grow by 14%, a +15 percentage point shift on cigarette and tobacco sales and a fall in waste. Stay tuned throughout the week as we celebrate all the amazing SRS award recipients! #SRS #IndependentRetailing #Awards #SuccessStories #SPAR Blakemore Trade Partners

We are delighted to share our new summer SPAR Make Me a Champion campaign with you! This year we wanted to bring some of that champion spirit to our wonderful store teams and local communities. Launching in stores this Saturday - SPARaoke! Sing like a SPAR and win like a champion. A new concept to drive engagement and word of mouth amongst our local communities. Simply hear the song, grab a mic and win your basket. Huge thanks to our team of champions for making this happen! Blakemore Trade Partners Kerry Parkin Baljit Gill Sarah Ellis Tracey Simpson Bethan Cook James Hartwell and starring Deb Richards hashtag #SPAR hashtag #MakeMeAChampion hashtag #SPARInternational hashtag #Convenience hashtag #SPARaoke

Yesterday saw us celebrate the best in independent retailing at SRS24. With over 1300 retailers, suppliers, and AFB colleagues joining us for our annual trade show, conference and gala dinner. Through joint cooperation we all benefit is the core ethos of SPAR and yesterday we talked, we listened, we shared, we learned, we laughed, we danced and we celebrated everything that comes with being part of the AF Blakemore and SPAR family. Independent retailing at its best! Special thank you to Mandeep Khela and Satminder Deo for their outstanding presentations, to our keynote speaker Geoff Ramm for his celebrity service, our partners Principal. Global Events for yet another seamless and breathtaking event and especially to all our Blakemore Trade Partners retailers and suppliers for joining us. #SRS24 #SPAR #SPARInternational #Convenienceretailing

🗣 Join Our Team as a Sales Executive - Meat! Are you passionate about the meat industry and eager to drive sales growth? We are hiring a dynamic Sales Executive to join our team, based at Hilton Cross; Cannock or Talbot Green; Cardiff. If you have a knack for building strong relationships and closing deals, this opportunity is perfect for you! 🌟 Click the link to find out more and to apply ➡ https://lnkd.in/erWpD5Cz