Isle of Wight SPAR stores operator, Hunnyhill Stores Group, has been fundraising again for a local good cause on the island. Last year, the company raised more than £4,500 for the Donkey Sanctuary in Wroxall as a result of its role as major sponsor of a music festival on the Isle of Wight. Now, the company has begun a fundraising programme for the Ventnor Paddling Pool Fund after funding was withdrawn by the Isle of Wight Council, responsibility for which has now been taken over by the town council. The programme started with a Pancake Day event at its Victoria Street, Ventnor store, involving a race and pancake tossing with the chance for customers to win SPAR vouchers. All profits will go towards the paddling pool fund. The Ventnor store is one of 13 operated by the company throughout the island. Hunnyhill opened its first store on the Isle of Wight in 2000 and has been instrumental in providing a major boost to the SPAR brand there ever since. It has other stores in East Cowes, Lake, Newport, Ryde, Sandown, Wootton, and Wroxall and employs more than 120 people throughout the island. In this corner: Two Managers From Appleby Westward Group Limited Present To Students At Plymouth City College Refurbished From Top To Bottom. A New SPAR Store Opens In Yetminster Store Re Opens in Boscastle

Students at City College Plymouth have been full of praise after two managers from Appleby Westward gave them an insight into the role of an in store merchandiser. Vince Brown and Dave Kennington gave a workshop and presentation on merchandising to students. The students are studying for an extended diploma in business and focussing on the psychology of visual merchandising. Vince and Dave outlined various plans of store layouts and explained how and why products are displayed in store. Student feedback was positive afterwards, with every candidate rating the presentation four or five out of a maximum of five points. Sara Harvey, Workspace Co-ordinator at the college, said: "Students were also asked to score how well the workshop was delivered, and each student scored this as a five, which is a fantastic result." Students were also complimentary about the detail and quality of the presentation, as well as the way questions were answered. Sara added: "Employer talks really help to enrich the learning experience of our students and enable them to understand the realities of what is involved in a particular sector. We were grateful for Appleby Westward's interest and look forward to working with the company again in the future." TESTIMONIALS "As total newcomers to the world of retail, my husband and I felt in total chaos. We had immediately chosen to change the store from a Londis to SPAR as we thought that SPAR better resembled the type of business we wanted to be and we have never regretted the decision." "The whole SPAR team were fantastic. They gave us tremendous support and were always available to help answer our many queries. Our regional sales manager was superb and we received great positive feedback fr

A New SPAR Store Opens In Yetminster.Local couple Tony and Karen Read have taken over the village shop in Yetminster, Dorset which has been closed for the last year, re-opening it as a SPAR store and Post Office. The couple, who live in nearby Thornford, have refurbished the premises from top to bottom to provide a modern convenience store with Post Office services to serve the needs of the local community. Tony worked as Head Of Sales for Appleby Westward, for the last three years. He has worked in the food retail business for the last 40 years, having also been involved in store management for Tesco, the Co-op and Somerfield. He said: "We have lived in our Thornford home for the last 24 years and therefore know the area very well. When the opportunity came along to acquire the village shop in Yetminster, we decided to snap it up as it offers such a lot of potential. We aim to make it a classic local village store that is very much at the heart of this lovely rural community." Did you know? Appleby Westward is the SPAR (SPAR website) Retail Distribution Centre (RDC) in the West Country. They have a long-established local distribution service currently meeting the needs of a large number of great stores from Bournemouth, Southampton and Portsmouth in the East, Helston, Falmouth and Truro in the West and Bristol and Bath in the North.

A former newsagents shop in Boscastle, North Cornwall has been re-opened as a SPAR store following a joint investment project involving the owners and Appleby Westward. Iain Lewis and Becky Harrison worked alongside Appleby Westward to convert the newsagency into a modern convenience store which now offers local customers the full SPAR range as well as news and magazines. The store was completely refitted with a new ceiling, floor, counter, new fixtures and freezers and a SPARpos system. In addition, new chillers have been installed offering customers a wide range of fresh foods and soft drinks. The new Boscastle store also has a wide choice of beers, wines and spirits as well as a food-to-go offer, and services include home delivery, National Lottery and a free-to-use ATM. Regional Sales Manager Graham Allen said: "The conversion has proved very popular with customers, with a very positive overall feedback and many expressing surprise at how big the range is within the store. The development will make the business more viable and serve the community all year round." Did you know? Appleby Westward is the SPAR (SPAR website) Retail Distribution Centre (RDC) in the West Country. They have a long-established local distribution service currently meeting the needs of a large number of great stores from Bournemouth, Southampton and Portsmouth in the East, Helston, Falmouth and Truro in the West and Bristol and Bath in the North.

Geoffrey Cox, MP for Torridge and West Devon, cut the ribbon to officially open a newly redeveloped SPAR store and Post Office in Tavistock. The store, in Abbey Place, has been the subject of a redevelopment in order to accommodate an expanded Post Office service within the retail area. The Post Office has introduced a Combi Counter, installed alongside the SPAR tills, enabling staff to serve both retail and Post Office transactions. Extended opening hours from 7.00am-10.00pm, plus the ability to use the service on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday, mean customers will be able to enjoy extended Post Office services. Customers can buy stamps and other everyday postal items if the Post Office is closed. For more info go visit: Appleby Westward Group Limited