A local Costcutter has been owned by five generations of the same family, who have been picked to star in a new Coca-Cola campaign highlighting the brilliance of convenience stores
Walk along any British high street now and the casualties are stark: shops that were once bustling and thriving now stand empty and boarded up, some for years.
But while Covid and the rise of internet shopping have taken their toll on footfall in our town centres, corner shops are still thriving – all thanks to Gen Z consumers, who spend nearly £1,000 a year in their local convenience store.
Corner shop owner Keith Tomes and his family have served behind the till of their Costcutter on Swanage High Street since 1908. In the 117 years since his great-grandfather opened the shop – then known as H.E.M Tomes Groceries and Provision – it has seen two World Wars, the death of the chequebook, decline of cash and rise of debit card payments, as well as huge changes to the social fabric of its community.
And the Tomes family has been recognised as part of a new campaign by Coca-Cola that highlights the invaluable role played by corner shop in their local communities, as the global brand celebrates the 125th anniversary of its soft drinks being sold in the UK.
Despite challenges facing small companies, Keith says business has boomed since the pandemic forced everyone into lockdown.
When people ventured out for basic necessities, 80 metre long queues formed down the street – with socially distanced shoppers chatting to each other.
“Going shopping was a social event,” he smiles. “We were tremendously busy. The nearest supermarket to us is 20 miles away, so that social interaction was so important.”
Serving in the shop from boyhood – and helping himself to sweets – Keith watched as his grandfather and great aunt grew the business after taking over from their father in 1956.
“Grandad was still working as a stonemason and also had a small coal round when he took over,” Keith recalls. “We used to have the milk round, the bread round. Now we’ve become the one-stop shop for that sort of thing.
“We’ve had to adapt as time’s gone on and trends have changed. We’ve tried to keep ahead of the times, and as we’re still going I guess we’ve been successful!”
One trend Keith and his employees are resisting is self-serve checkouts, which he feels would be doing a disservice to his loyal customers.
“Having someone serve you at the end point is really important,” he says. “Some of the companies might say, ‘well you save a lot of costs,’ but being part of the community and having that human interaction is far more important than saving a few quid.”
Keith has several memorable long-time customers, including a 100-year-old D-Day veteran who used to pop in regularly.
Thelma Barlow, who played Mavis Wilton in Coronation Street, lived in Swanage for some time and would visit Keith’s Costcutter for her essentials.
“She once brought in June Brown, who played Dot Cotton on EastEnders,” Keith smiles. “And Brian Johnson, the cricket commentator, had a holiday home down here, so he was one of our regulators.”
Now aged 63, Keith is looking to secure the future of his store. One thing’s for sure: he wants to keep it in the family and pass it down to the next – fifth – generation.
One of his sons, Chris, is deputy mayor of Swanag.e while his other son, Darren, volunteers with the local RNLI crew. Keith’s sister and his niece Michelle are also involved in the store, “so there should be plenty of them to carry it on,” he says.
“We’re always looking at things we can do to improve, so I’m sure we’ll still be here in 40, 50 years.”
He and his wife, Anne, a nurse, have the shop to thank for their own marriage.
After meeting at school, at 16 Keith plucked up the courage to ask her out, as their bus dropped them off at the stop just outside Costcutter.
“It took a couple of goes before I persuaded her,” he laughs. “Luckily she agreed in the end!”