Q&A: Does One Stop Franchise in the UK?

Interested in running your own convenience store business? Here, we look at whether there are any One Stop franchise opportunities, and how you can get involved with the brand.

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One Stop has been a subsidiary of Tesco since 2003 and there are now over 900 stores across the UK. The retail business has a workforce of more than 10,000 people, selling a range of food products, household essentials and other useful items. Many locations also offer additional services, equipped with cash machines, lottery cards, mobile electronic top-up and PayPoint.

Does One Stop franchise?

Yes, 180 of One Stop’s 900 locations are franchise units, run by investors. In fact, the business’s model is so successful, it’s won Franchise Group of the Year twice in three years.

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If you’d like to become a One Stop franchisee, you must either own an existing store or be able to locate one. It’s worth noting One Stop doesn’t currently deliver franchise opportunities in the following postcodes: AB, BT, DD, GY, HS, IM, IV, JE, KW, PH, TR, WC, or ZE.

History of One Stop

One Stop is one of the UK’s most recognisable convenience store chains. In 2017, it launched its own range of more than 400 different items, from fresh meat and frozen produce to sweet treats. Thanks to their affordability and large pack sizes, the products have been popular, boosting profit margins across the store network.

The One Stop franchise is passionate about making sure its franchisees stay at the heart of the local community. So, even if you’ve managed your store for many years, it’ll help you support local schools, food banks and charities so you can really make a difference in your area.

All franchisees benefit from the One Stop franchise’s promotional campaigns, which increase footfall, raise profitability and boost customer loyalty. Some of the most successful promotions include the £3 Meal Deal and the 2 for £4 Evening Meal offer. Plus, One Stop gives you everything you need to make sure the promotions do the trick, including a ‘How To’ guide and Point of Sale kit, as well as support with your website and social media channels.

Did you know? One Stop will invest up to £50,000 refitting and renovating your store to help you boost profits as a franchisee.

Investors can also benefit from One Stop’s helpful management tools. The store chain’s technology takes the guesswork out of ordering stock, so you’re not left with items you can’t sell, or forced to pick up more produce in a rush. As a result, you’ll have more time to focus on running your business and taking care of your employees and customers.

What’s more, a two-lane EpoS system will help you view sales and margin reports at the click of a button. You’ll even be able to use real-time store planograms and an auto-replenishment system to save time when ordering. All you have to do is add or remove products or make the system do it for you. Your shelves should never be empty, as there are up to six deliveries of fresh and frozen produce per week.

Starting a One Stop franchise unit

If you’re interested in joining a convenience store franchise with national brand recognition, One Stop could be ideal for you. As a franchisee, you’ll have access to the business’s impressive buying power, training programmes and ongoing support.

Becoming a One Stop franchisee:

You’ll need to be an existing store owner or find a suitable shop if you’d like to join the One Stop franchise. Your location should be at least 1,000 square feet in size, and if it’s not, you must be able to knock through to add more space.

You should also have - or be prepared to secure - an alcohol licence. Lastly, if you’re running your own business already, you should be generating a sales income of over £10,000 per week.

One of the biggest benefits of joining the One Stop franchise is its refit programme. The business will spend up to £50,000 upgrading your existing shop to help you entice new customers and boost profits.

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>> Read more:

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How much you need to invest:

The typical start-up cost is £92 per week for existing retailers. The minimum personal investment is £0, but you’ll need a good credit history to secure the best funding deals.

The One Stop franchise has seen positive growth for the past five years and franchisees have benefitted from a healthy profit margin ranging from 18 to 25 percent. Once your shop is up and running, you can expect your weekly sales to increase by around 14 percent in the first 13 weeks.

Last year, franchisees experienced over six percent like-for-like growth; transactions increased by over 11 percent and basket spend rose by five percent.

Thanks to the additional space created by the refit, we have added a Post Office to the store, which has helped generate extra footfall and we now serve an extra 1,500 customers a week. Our sales have increased by 45 percent and our basket spend has almost doubled, making all the difference to our margins. The support I get for the day-to-day running of the store has been incredibly beneficial to me when managing the store and it has certainly been financially rewarding. — Raj Sangha, franchisee

What you get for your investment:

You’ll be paired with a launch development manager, who will work with you as One Stop refits your business under the convenience store franchise’s branding. You’ll be able to discuss the process to make sure you and your employees are happy with the new layout.

All franchisees also get their own business development manager with a background in retail. They’ll visit your store at least once every month to help you add value, increase sales and improve margins. You can call them any time if you have a query, or phone the franchise helpline if they don’t pick up.

If you think you’ve got what it takes, head to the One Stop franchise website today for more information, where you can fill in a contact form.

Start your journey

To find more businesses looking for investors, take a look at the Top 5 Convenience Store Franchises in the UK.

Alternatively, browse our full list of investment opportunities in the retail sector.