Chettle Village Store - One Year On

The Beginning of Our Journey

Well, what is there to say about our first year in the new Chettle Village Store? Where to begin! Celebrating an anniversary is traditionally an opportunity to reflect on the story so far - to take stock of everything that has happened - so perhaps it's best to start at the beginning. Getting to where we are today has been a journey that has its roots in 2020 and the effect that the pandemic had on the fortunes of small independent business, and on how we all went about our day-to-day lives. Whilst many villages around the country have lost their village shops over the years as the supermarkets took over, Chettle Estate had long recognised that the shop was a community hub and much-needed asset for the locals, and subsidised it despite running at a loss. This long-sighted view meant that when the pandemic struck, the shop was well positioned to make the most of the massive boost in trade it received as a consequence of so many of us working from home and avoiding busy and crowded supermarkets and town centres.

"Our intent has always been to create a store that makes money to reinvest back into the community - improving the lives of everyone connected to Chettle Village Store."

Pandemic Challenges and a Vision for something different

When I started working for Chettle in early 2021, we still had a screen in front of the till, mask wearing was still mandatory, and the effects of lockdowns and the spectre of the virus were still being acutely felt. Nevertheless, it was already clear this state of affairs wasn't going to last and that sooner or later, the shop would likely revert back to being what it was before and once again run at a loss requiring subsidising from the Estate. To make the most of the boost in trade and build a lasting relationship with the new customers the store had seen, it was clear that it was time for a fresh perspective, and for action! And so long-term vision for building a local and truly independent village store began to take shape. Over the next 18 months we would work on plans to develop a community-owned food hub, with our own veg growing, egg production, dairy, butchery, bakery, mill and café. Originally this would have been a multi-million pound project to completely overhaul the idea of what a village store could be, and to massively increase the self-reliance of the community by producing as much of the food that the community needed as locally, healthily, and as sustainably as possible. Whilst these lofty and ambitious ideas would have been amazing to see come to fruition, pragmatism in the face of the economic climate that followed the pandemic won out, and it was decided that it was best to scale back the plans, rather than over-commit on such a high-risk venture.

"What started as a glimmer of hope during the challenging days of the pandemic has blossomed into something truly extraordinary – a testament to the power of community, resilience, and shared vision."

Growing Stronger

All the while that these plans were being developed, the humble village store that we already had was going from strength to strength, bucking the trend of so many other village shops by continuing to see growth in sales despite the return to relative normality as the pandemic faded from being at the forefront of daily life. Although the wider food hub plans were a stretch too far, it was becoming increasingly clear that the existing shop was no longer fit for purpose, and moreover, after being in constant use for almost 70 years, the structure (which was only intended as a temporary structure when it was first built) was really showing it's age, and had reached the point where it would have needed taking down and completely rebuilding. The decision was therefore made that the shop had to move, and so the cart shed on the old dairy farm was chosen as the new home for Chettle Village Store.

A Community Effort

The building of the new store was, like so much of what makes Chettle so special, a true community project. Most of the work done on building the new store was carried out by residents of the village, and the shop now employs more than twice as many staff as it did before the move, almost half of which live in the village as well. At 10am on December the 1st 2023, years of planning, hard work, passion and dedication culminated in the opening of the new Chettle Village Store, and the beginning of what we hope will be (at least) another 70 years of history in the life of this community.

The Gamble Pays Off

Despite the project being significantly scaled back from the original vision of the food hub, this was still a big gamble, and a big investment for the Estate to make. As such, a lot was riding on the shop being able to generate the level of trade needed to justify the expense. All the planning and preparation, hard work and commitment, projections and forecasting, could ultimately have been for naught if the customers didn't come. However, from the very first time we opened the doors, it was clear that the gamble was going to pay off. On our very first day of trade, the shop turned over more than the all-time record day from the old store, and by the end of December, the shop had done over £20,000 more than it had in the same month the previous year, being the second busiest month we'd ever had, behind only the August of the same year.

A Year of Success

Since opening the doors 12 months ago, the feedback we've had from the 63,000 customers we have served has been overwhelmingly positive, and whilst the first year has not been without its challenges and setbacks, it's safe to say that the hard work has absolutely paid off, and the future of Chettle Village Store has never looked more positive. In these first 12 months we've turned over £350,000 more than we did in the final year in the old store, which is the same as what the shop did in total in 2021 when I first started working for Chettle. What this has meant for us is that, in our first full year, the store has been profitable right from the off, allowing us to reinvest back into the business by further expanding our product range, installing solar panels, and buying larger and more energy-efficient fridges and freezers. If these trends continue, the store will be generating a healthy profit in the coming years, allowing us to reinvest further into the business by improving our sustainability, continuing to reduce our environmental impact, contributing more to community projects and local charities, and paying better wages to our staff. It has always been our intent that the store makes money that can be reinvested back into the community to improve the lives of everyone who is connected to Chettle Village Store; villagers, customers, community members, and staff alike.

Ali and I have both faced steep learning curves in the last 12 months, and whilst the challenges that our respective businesses face mean that we haven't always seen eye to eye, the peek behind the curtain my role gives me into what it takes to do what she does puts me in absolute awe of the hard work, perseverance and dedication it takes to grow food.

Behind the Numbers

But, if you're like me, you're perhaps not convinced by words alone, and are also interested in the stories that the numbers tell. I've always been a believer in being open with our staff, our customers, and our followers on our newsletters and social media, about the realities of running an independent retail business. It's weirdly rewarding for me to share with people some of the numbers that help inform how we run the shop, especially seeing the look on peoples faces when I tell them how many pies we sell in a day! A few stats that help tell the story of our first year:

• Turned over almost £350,000 more than the final year at the old shop, an increase of 70%

• Clocked up over 63,000 transactions, an increase of about 40%.

• Signed up over 300 new Chettle UP! members

• Sold over 3 tons of Chettle Grown produce (3,060 kilos)

• Chickens have laid over 6,000 eggs since starting in August, selling every single (sellable) egg

• Sold almost 38,500 pies, pasties and sausage rolls (cooked and frozen), averaging about 105 per day, with the top selling being sausage rolls (8,150) and steak pasties (3,048)

• Best selling fruit: Bananas, (over 1,500 kilos)

• Best selling hot drink: Latte (5,310)

• Best selling soft drink: Coca Cola (1,462), "depressingly but unsurprisingly"

• Best selling veg: potatoes, over 1,200 kilos

• Best selling wine: The Guv'nor (214) (You know who you are!)

• Best selling cider: Cranborne Chase Whitewigs (322) (woohoo local product!)

• Best selling bread: Orchard Bay White Sourdough (1,600)

• Best selling cheese: Barbers mature Cheddar (637)

• And the best selling thing of all?... "Standard"... which is a till function for allocating hot drinks (11,827).

Chettle Produce

Whilst we had to scale back the plans for the food hub, we have been able to implement some of the plans laid out in that original vision, starting with Chettle grown veg and salad, courtesy of Ali Rixon, better known as 'The Veg Lady'. Ali and I have both faced steep learning curves in the last 12 months, and whilst the challenges that our respective businesses face mean that we haven't always seen eye to eye, the peek behind the curtain my role gives me into what it takes to do what she does puts me in absolute awe of the hard work, perseverance and dedication it takes to grow food. Farming is a labour of love, and I have nothing but the deepest respect for how she runs her operation and for the sacrifices she makes to provide the community with healthy, nutritious and ethical produced food.

In the last year we have sold over 3,000kg (about 3 tons) of veg and salad grown right here in Chettle, about 25% of all of the fruit and veg we have sold. With the lessons we have both learned from the last year though, I'm very confident that we can knock that figure out of the park in the coming years, and up our share of veg and salad sales grown in Chettle, to over 50%.

In August, our chicken production courtesy of Leaf and Feather went live. It's been a steep learning curve for Lizzie and her hens and we have had to make lot of adjustments to their set up along the way. What started as a simple mobile chicken house has had to be changed several times over the last few months. I think the funniest and cutest additions have been the individually made curtains for their nest boxes and an innovative way to stop them pecking the eggs whilst trying to prevent them disappearing into their collection point. Lizzie is an animal welfare expert in her day job and chickens are her passion and so for those who are interested the Leaf and Feather website is brimming with information on how she and her chickens produce (we'd argue) the most ethical and sustainable eggs in the country!

A beginning, a middle, and an open ending...

As we reflect on this incredible first year, we're filled with gratitude. Gratitude for our community, our local producers and farmers, our hardworking team, and every single customer who has walked through our doors. What started as a bold vision has become a living, breathing testament to what can be achieved when the local community supports a local business. We didn't just open a new store – we created a hub, a gathering place, and a beacon of local resilience. Here's to the next 70 years - to sustainable growth, to supporting our local producers, to reducing our environmental impact, to creating a resilient and sustainable hub that can weather whatever challenges the future may bring.

To everyone who has helped and supported us in these last 12 months, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

With gratitude,

David & Alice