Shops find strength in numbers
Independents band together as RediGo
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Janet H. Cho
Plain Dealer Reporter
Seven independently owned Lake County convenience stores
have renamed themselves "Redi- Go Food Marts LLC"
to take advantage of bulk discounts on everything from ice
cream to gasoline to insurance.
"When you're buying for one store, and
you're negotiating with a vendor, it's a little
different than when you're negotiating for seven
stores," said Angela Broski, who owns the Concord
Township RediGo with her husband, Steve.
A vendor who sells you a gallon of milk at $2.50 might
knock a quarter off the price if you're buying for
seven stores, she said. "That allows us to stay very
competitive in the marketplace."
That was especially useful in negotiating better wholesale
prices for gasoline, which all seven stores now buy from a
single vendor. That vendor is now upgrading all the
stores' gas pumps, card readers and signs.
They are also saving money by pooling workers'
compensation, insurance and other costs that often plague
small businesses.
"Dollar-wise, it made a lot of sense," said Lynn
Mitchell, who has owned the store on Bacon Road in
Painesville for 27 years. He sells fresh meat, deli,
produce, sandwiches, party trays, fried chicken and ribs to
commuters, neighbors and employees from nearby companies.
The seven stores' nine owners decided to band
together shortly after they were released from their
franchise agreements with Convenient Food Mart last summer.
After making sure nobody was using the "RediGo"
name, they divided up the purchasing, advertising and
marketing responsibilities. This weekend, they will start
sending out post cards with weekly promotions.
"Each of us is independently owned and operated, and
we each cater to our own market, so I might carry something
that [the West Walnut Street store] might not carry,"
Broski said.
For example, her 4,000-square-foot store on Ravenna Road
offers the usual convenience store items, as well as
homemade pizza, wine and catering services.
"A lot of independents out there are small and not
doing very well," said Woody Jedlicka, who owns the
stores in Fairport Harbor and Geneva with his wife, Mary.
Their stores cater to locals in the winter and to tourists
and boaters in the summer.
"I don't know that we have any
competitors," he said. "Our locations are
excellent locations and we have a niche market in all of our
areas. There's always going to be a need for
convenience stores, because people are always in a
hurry."
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