New owners for the Chalet Spar

New owners Carol and Paul Ludlow took over the store in December and the Portadown couple have already made some initial improvements but hope to carry out further improvements in early 2019.

Since opening in 2012, the convenience store has been popular with residents living in the Armagh Road area of the town.

The store recently introduced a Barista Bar Coffee Counter which serves a variety of hot drinks and treats, and the off-licence will also look and feel different, offering an even wider range of products than it currently stocks.

Parking restrictions have now been lifted and there is a large carpark adjacent to the store.

Store owner Paul Ludlow said, “I’ve been involved in retail projects since the age of 17 and know that maintaining a strong customer offering is the key to success. I’m very excited to bring these improvements to our shoppers in the local area. Introducing the new services and facilities will bring even more convenience for our local shoppers throughout the year.

“It is very important to us that local residents feel the store belongs to them so we hope to recruit some more local staff who should make shopping with us a welcoming experience for the community, and we are working to build a strong following on our social media accounts. This allows us to hear directly from our customers about what they are enjoying and what they would like to see more of, which ultimately, helps us deliver a better service.

“We already support a few local schools in the area and are looking forwarding to building on this community relations work over the course of 2019.”

Sarah Halliday, Channel Sales Manager within the Henderson Group, congratulated Paul and the team on the new ownership, “We wish to extend our congratulations to the Ludlows and their team and wish them every success with their new Spar store. We’re seeing more and more customers across Northern Ireland choosing to support retailers in their local area and when the offering is as good as The Chalet, it’s easy to understand why this is.

“This is the 293rd SPAR now operational in Northern Ireland and we have plans to continue to grow this number over the next few years.”