Exclusive by Alan Quick
Robin Arkle, managing director of Jurassic Coast Coffee, part of Premier Coffee Ltd, also answers questions with regard to competition with the independent café market.
Mr Arkle said: “I became a Costa franchise partner 12 years ago, setting up Premier Coffee Ltd with my business partner Andy Hirst, growing the business through organic customer demand helped by a passionate team offering our customers fantastic service and, of course, great coffee.
“Since opening our first coffee shop in Fleet in 2004 the business has grown and we now operate nearly 50 stores in the South and South West of England.
“In July 2015, we acquired Jurassic Coast Coffee, a successful East Devon Costa franchise business which traded six stores across the South West, employing and providing training opportunities for more than 50 local young people.”
He added that people are at the heart of his and Andy’s business.
He explained: “Since starting out, we now employ more than 600 people across the two businesses and operate two training centres, one in Southampton for our Premier Coffee employees and more recently, one in Tiverton which opened in December 2015 for our Jurassic Coast Coffee employees.
“Both of these training centres help young people not in education, employment and training (NEETS) onto the career ladder and arm them with important skills and training.”
As a franchise partner of Costa, he said people ask “Why Costa?” and said: “Put simply, Costa is a respected British business – its success is based on quality, convenience and giving customers what they want. It is a business and partnership we are proud of.”
RAINFOREST CERTIFIED
Mr Arkle continued: “And of course we serve great coffee too, all of which is 100 per cent Rainforest Alliance certified. In fact, Costa is the only coffee chain in the UK that only uses sustainably grown beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.
“Getting back to Crediton, we are proposing a new store in the High Street, in the former ‘High Street Saver’ shop unit. As well as bringing an empty, run-down building back into positive use, a new Costa would deliver £200,000 in fresh investment, creating eight new, year-round jobs targeted at younger people and we would use local supply chains for fit-outs and maintenance.
“And thanks to our proposal, the landlord has also agreed to invest a further £75,000 to bring the building up to standard.
“Our new store would be open seven days-a-week including Sundays, unlike other cafés in the town, serving not just Costa’s full range of delicious coffees, but also a wider menu of hot and cold drinks, as well as food for a variety of occasions.
“We also plan for the store to include a number of community features as well as being one of only a few coffee shops in Crediton to offer disabled access toilets. That’s because being a valued part of the communities we operate in and being able to give something back is key to our company ethos.
“This includes sponsoring local community groups and supporting local charities, something we are looking to do in Crediton as soon as our new store is given the go ahead.
COMPETITION
I am of course conscious there has been some debate around the application, especially with regard to competition with the independent café market.
“It is therefore important to point out that it is not our intention to dominate the local market – rather we would target a different section of the market and a new Costa would offer more customer choice, giving people another option for a coffee or a place to meet.
“For example, we see our store having a completely different offer and customer base to Crediton Coffee Company, which is already well-established in the town and offers an excellent range of specialist coffees, beans and equipment for coffee connoisseurs.
“We believe our two businesses can happily sit side-by-side in the town, alongside Crediton’s other much-loved independent cafés.
“This has been our experience in other towns across the South and South West of England where the arrival of a Costa has added to the town rather than taking anything away.”
Mr Arkle concluded: “We will continue to bring forward our plans in the right way with the council (Mid Devon District Council), liaising with community groups in the process to ensure we meet their needs in the right way. If approved, we believe we can become a valued part of the local community and make a positive contribution to the area.”