| Speed and Simplicity: The Stapleton
solution - extracted from Australian Meat Industry Bulliten
Ron Stapleton’s family have been successful
butchers since 1896. But Ron, like his father and grandfather before
him know the only way to stay in business is to change with the
times.
Ron has redeveloped, what was a small-goods production facility
with a small butcher’s shop at the front into Stapleton’s
Quality Meats, his vision of a modern butcher shop.
The decision to redevelop was based on the evolving
demographics of the locality, their changing lifestyles, and the
need to develop a profitable and sustainable business based on butchering
and retail the business Ron understands.
With in a kilometre of Gymea station in Sydney’s
sprawling Sutherland Shire there are literally thousands of apartments
now owned and occupied by young couples and families leading busy
lifestyles. "Restaurants, coffee shops and home delivery are
the go", Ron said. "The shop has been developed to tap
into this lifestyle and provide easy and convenient meat based meals".
Visually Ron’s shop is spectacular. It has
been designed to attract customers from the street, display a massive
range of products and encourage them to spend.
Fast Fresh Ready Cooked
A key feature of the shop is an extensive range of pre-cooked meals.
Promoted as Fast Fresh Ready Cooked, this range only need re-heating
and can be ready to eat in less than 20 minutes. This range has
its own two and a half metre, four tier display cabinet.
Fast Fresh Ready Cooked, is a meal range. Customers
can choose from stir fry, casseroles stews and roasts. With each
cooking style there is a choice of meats (beef or lamb) and the
slow cook and stir fry options come with a choice of flavourings
including traditional and a number of Asian curries. There is a
choice of pre-cooked vegetables, and a choice of carbohydrates such
as pasta, potato or rice. All the above can be mixed and matched
to create a huge variety of meals. Most meal packs are designed
to feed two people.
"All our vegetables are par boiled and then
chilled. The pasta is pre cooked. The meats are pre cooked and vacuum
packed with their flavouring and pasteurised. Customers mix and
match the meats, vegetables and carbohydrates and take home a complete
meal that just needs heating", Ron said.
Roast, which take takes the longest to prepare,
can be reheated and ready to serve in 20 minutes.
Stapleton’s Quality Meats is still primarily
a butcher shop. Despite only being open a couple of months Ron has
found the ready-to-cook range is attracting new customers who are
also buying traditional meats. Traditional meat sales account for
about 80% of turnover and are growing. "The ready cooked products
are encouraging customers to buy at least one meat meal per week.
Ron carries an extensive stock of smallgoods and processed meats,
which are processed in the original processing facility behind the
shop. Part of the Fast Fresh Ready Cooked Range is prepared on the
premises while the cooking of the vegetable and pasta is out sourced.
Ron Stapleton is proudly a Q butcher. The Q logo
is incorporated into the Stapleton’s logo which is used throughout
the shop and on uniforms. Quinns products are displayed in purpose
built shelving and on the main counter.
Gift Vouchers
Looking after his traditional customers was a top priority as the
shop was closed for two weeks for the refit. Ron gave his customers
plenty of notice and $5 gift vouchers with $25 purchases which were
redeemable at his other shops. On re-opening customers went into
the draw and eight barbeques, a number of Quinns carry bags and
lots of home deliveries were given away during the week.
Interesting refinements which engage customers
include historic pictures depicting the meat business and a Plasma
Screen Television which is linked to a PC with DVD, a Camera and
the Internet, which acts as a source of up-to-date cooking demonstrations
and a wide variety of customer aimed information.
Working Smart
The Fast Fresh Ready Cooked program has shifted the workload. There
is more serving and customer service and less boning and slicing
for the value of sales. There are three full time service staff
who operate the sales counter and do the non-specialised meat preparation.
Three butchers do the specialised meat preparation. "The idea
is to ensure butchers only do buctering and to get the service staff
to do everything else.
"This is much more cost effective and when
the service staff is fully trained the butchers will work five days
instead of five and a half for the same money", Ron said. Service
staff training includes all facets of pre-cooked meal preparation,
making value added meat products, the principles of MSA and food
shop management.
Ron believes most butchers work too many hours
which is unsustainable for health and family perspective. He said
butchers have to work smarter and figure out ways of selling more
value in less time with less in-house boning. Ron said there is
a perception that pre prepared meals are expensive but on closer
analysis pre cooked pre cooked meats at between $18-19 per kilo
is good value given fresh meat carries some trim and shrinks about
20 per cent with cooking.
Hi Tech
The long high tech display cabinet not only enhance presentation
and ensures food safety but also reduce labour. A combination of
high stock turnover and strict temperature control means displayed
product does not need to be put away at night. When closing, a security
door is drawn across the front of the shop, products are covered
and the backs of all cabinets are closed. High turnover ensures
there are no stale product.
The shop is open from early morning to 6.30pm weekdays
and closes at 4.00pm Saturday and 2.00pm Sunday. The closing time
for weeks days may be reviewed depending on customers behaviour.
Ron Stapleton has recieved assistance from
David Carew in developing his Fast Fresh Ready Cooked range and
from MLA and NMAA |
