Ampol Baillie Street Horsham
A success story!
Positioned on one of the busiest truck routes between Melbourne and Adelaide sits the Bonney Energy site: Ampol Baillie Street Horsham. Even though it has existed for nearly 60 years, not much has changed for many of those years until Bonney Energy took it on in 2018 as a Multi Site Operator.
The site holds a corner street position, easy access in and out, its generous shop size with 2 customer entrances and a large forecourt foot print offering plenty of off-street parking. It operates 24/7 so that, in the evenings, and all through the night, trucks can park nearby for drivers to drop in and top up on their nightly needs.
Site Supervisor, Stacy Carter, pictured alongside Bonney Energy Retail Manager Grant Stevenson, has been an integral part of the store’s operation, having begun working there in 2007. She has seen plenty of change and knows many of the regular customers on a first name basis (and is pretty handy on the tools for any quick repairs)!
After Bonney Energy took on the site, Victoria went into Covid lockdown in early 2020. The group had already created plans to upgrade the store offer and progressed to complete them early into the Covid lockdown. These included new back office fit out; additional upright drink fridges to better align with their new and improved food offer, Baine Marie and a perfect fryer and replacement of all existing gondola shelving to narrower design allowing for more room in and around the store. Bonney also branded all 10 of their retail sites with their Zoom Food brand inside and out.
This site is part of the New Sunrise Passport to Profit program and New Sunrise Local Tobacconist Program and recently began using the Common Good Coffee beans. It is also looking to implement the Jill and Jack’s pie and sausage roll program. All in all, it has been a stellar rise since the stores upgrade with its food offer and New Sunrise programs implemented. The growth has been exceptional and soon after the state came out of lockdown in late 2022, shop sales went through the roof and they continue to grow at an extraordinary rate.
In a time when the tobacco category is going backwards, Baillie Street Horsham has managed to almost double their previous years numbers, mainly due to their adoption of the Local Tobacconist program in early 2023, driving more new shop customers into their business.
“Without being a designated truck stop we are now pretty much a destination point for truckies, especially at night, with plenty of off-street parking available. We are seeing new faces shop at our site each week. It’s fantastic”. said Stacey.
“Bonney is budgeting for continued growth as the many shop improvements made in recent time continue to drive customer numbers through the site. The shop has yet to settle down and we look towards improving on our offer. We can see that food still has a long way to go as our beverage category is number 1 and so much larger than our food program. Many of our smaller categories, such as Confectionery and Snack Foods are also showing growth above 100% to previous year. I think we’re going to need a bigger shop!” said Grant.
Both Stacy and Grant have positive comments to make of the New Sunrise program, especially tailored category initiatives. They are very appreciative of the support they receive from the group. Bonney has always been a strong supporter of New Sunrise. Our program along with Bonney’s site upgrades continue to provide great results with store and shelving upgrades; floor plan implementation and improved category merchandising. 7 Bonney retail sites participate in the New Sunrise Passport to Profit Program, which has afforded many of the managers and staff the opportunity to attend our the yearly Iceworks conferences.
Bonney will continue to focus on their retail offer making improvements and spending on new equipment where they see opportunity for growth. Baillie Street Horsham is a fantastic example of what was a diamond in the rough. It now shines stronger than in all of its past 60-year history.
We hold a valuable partnership with Bonney Energy since New Sunrise began some 17 years ago. Bonney operate 10 retail sites (7 in Northern Tasmania and 3 in Victoria) along with 7 commission agent sites. It is a fantastic Australian Story of the companies’ early beginnings in 1977 within the Tasmania’s Logging/Woodchip Industry by founder Byron Bonney. Well worth a visit to their website to understand the extensive history the Bonney family have in the industry.
We thank Bonney and their team for their continued support and their willingness to try many of the New Sunrise initiatives which have proven successful in many of their sites. To Grant, Stacy and the team, congratulations and well done.
