After 26 years with Spar, the owner of Despatch SuperSpar, Paul Barnes, was recently named the Spar Regional Retail Winner, in a competition which includes all Spar stores in the Eastern Cape.
Speaking to UD Express, Barnes said, “It is a huge honour for me to get this recognition. I never thought that I was in the running for it. For the team at Despatch, we are honoured. We have won Store of the Year before, but this recognition is awesome. For a retail store from a small town like Despatch to be recognised provincially, it is even more special. Seeing all the people that have won the award before me made me appreciate it more as well.”
He shared that the criteria for winning the award are broad; what you do for the brand, your involvement with the head office and what you put back into the business are some of these criteria.
When asked what he believes is the reason for his nomination and his triumph in the Regional Retail category, he said that his dedication to Spar and its brand is at the forefront.
He added that this is his 26th year with Spar, coming from being a Receiving Manager at another store, going through the ranks, buying his store in 2010 with his brothers and buying his brothers out about five years ago.
Summarising, he said, “My dedication and what I give back to Spar is the reason I believe I won this achievement.”
After 26 years in the business, Barnes can still say that he loves his job.
“I love coming to work every day. Not a day goes by when I sigh because I need to go to work. For me, it’s so exciting and it is not an effort coming to work. The highlight of my job personally is seeing Despatch Spar grow from what it was when we bought it to where it is now. That growth is phenomenal. Every time I think about it, I feel warm and fuzzy inside,” he said.
One of the key reasons for his success as a business owner, Barnes said, is that he is nothing without his staff.
Barnes, who is known for his hands-on approach with working with his staff, said, “I can’t claim this prize solely. My staff have been a tremendous help to me to get where I am. As owners, I believe we need to look after our staff, yes, discipline them when necessary, but supporting and looking after them is one of the reasons for this award,” he said.
Barnes added that he believes customer service is the most important thing to him, stating that he always tries to make sure that his customers have the best customer experience when they shop at his business.
“In making sure that customers have the best time at the supermarket and not to dread going to the shops, I aim to make this shop the number one destination for shoppers in Despatch. If my customers have a great shopping experience, it makes my day even better.”
One of the biggest catalysts in his time as a business owner was the Coronavirus. “I fell critically ill, surviving on a ventilator for seven weeks and hospitalised for three months. Thankfully, I had my wife who ran the business in my absence, without any retail experience.
“Not only that, but having a trusted accountant who stole from us was very difficult to bounce back from, having had millions stolen from us. I believe it was sheer hard work and dedication to the brand that we made it through that tough time,” Barnes said.
“Few businesses made it out of Covid, but through the grace of God for keeping me alive to see it succeed, the staff adopting the ethos of excellent customer service I want in my store, the customers choosing to shop with us and my wife stepping in when I needed her, we were able to make it to the other side and at the end of it all, win this award,” Barnes concluded.
