Winning formula for university store

A convenience store that opened on the outskirts of a university campus has seen sales grow beyond all expectation thanks to its popularity among local residents as well as students.

The Nisa Local on Kimberlow Rise in York is the third convenience store to open at the University of York and the first to be located in close proximity to both residential housing and student accommodation.

When launched in February 2018, the store, which is just under 3,000 sq.ft, made great efforts to ensure the range was suitable for both students and family households but sales have far exceeded those initially forecast with sales 30 per cent up year on year and showing no signs of slowing down.

Adam Viney, multi-site store manager said: “When we were agreeing on the range for Kimberlow we spent a long time working with Nisa and considering what would work here. We included a lot of lines that were not in our other stores, due to the proximity to the housing estate. 

“So, we have pet food, larger sizes of laundry and cleaning products and so on. We really wanted to get the family shoppers into the store, and it has worked – we are seeing more than double the number that we expected when we first opened.”

An Amazon locker and UPS service offered are also driving the public into the store and recent additions such as the F’Real milkshake machine is a draw for families and young people living locally as well as the students on campus.

Adam said: “We have a fantastic Co-op range which all our shoppers at Kimberlow love and we think we have got the range and the offers just right to keep everybody satisfied.”