Yorkshire Post (3 May 2005)

A taste of Britain goes abroad

Thomas Green’s ready to roll out grocery stores (Greg Wright – Deputy Business Editor)

A Yorkshire company is bringing British groceries to the heart of Europe. Thomas Green’s, based in Ripon, plans to roll out 40 franchise grocery stores over the next three years, which will serve expats and Anglophiles with traditional British goods such as muffins, jam, tea and mustard.

The company has launched two stores in the Netherlands, and Philip Evans, the managing Director, believes France and Spain will be other growth areas.

The expansion is a joint effort with Scunthorpe-based Nisa-Today’s, the UK largest distribution, buying and services organisation for independent retailers and wholesalers. Nisa’s international arm, which is based in Grimsby, will ensure the stores’ shelves are packed with goods normally found in your corner shop.

Mr Evans, the former head of the European retail team at Andersen Corporate Finance, said he was encouraged by the performance of its initial stores in Amsterdam and the Hague.

He added: “The store in the Hague was up and running in less than three weeks and was profitable from its first week of opening. Our initial experience has shown that both stores have generated considerable custom from Dutch shoppers, in addition to the British expatriates, which increases the market for franchisees”.

“The local delivery services are also proving popular, with approximately 10 per cent of sales currently generated online via each of the stores’ websites.”

Mr Evans is the former chief executive of York-based Expat Shopping, which started life selling groceries to British people abroad via the internet, and branched out into shop franchises in the Netherlands and Germany.

Expat Shopping collapsed last year despite winning a number of awards, after Mr Evans had left the company.

Mr Evans said: “The reason it did not survive was because it had a cost base for something that was much, much bigger. It was disappointing, but these things happen. It did prove a point. There is a market out there but it has to be correctly structured.”
The link-up with Nisa was a key element of ensuring the cost base for the new business venture would not become too large, Mr Evans argued.

Altogether, there are around 15m expats around the world and the growing international interest in British food means there will be exciting opportunities for franchisees, he said.

“In the Netherlands, 50 percent of our customers are Dutch,” he said. “We are looking to launch in Spain next month. By the end of the year, we hope to have a dozen stores, which are highly likely to be in the Netherlands, France and Spain.”
Thomas Green’s offers franchisees a range of own-label and branded British grocery lines, combined with a distribution network and management support.

Mr Evans said that he expected turnover in the first year to be in “hundreds of thousands”, while it would cost the typical franchisee between 40,000 and 50,000 euros (£27,000 to £34,000) to set up a store.

“We act as the UK management team for these people,” he added. “We can point them in the right direction and negotiate on their behalf.”

The top sellers in the Dutch stores will be very familiar to any Brits wanting a taste of home. They include salt & vinegar crisps, crumpets, muffins, bacon and tea bags.