UWG invests in bright future for depot

General manager Bobby Badar says the investment has been a big hit with customers, making their visits easier and more enjoyable.
General manager Bobby Badar says the investment has been a big hit with customers, making their visits easier and more enjoyable.

UNITED Wholesale Grocers has invested in new lighting for its Polmadie depot as it aims to make it the premier destination for cash & carry customers in Glasgow.
The £50,000 investment in new, state-of-the-art LED lighting is expected to cut the site’s energy consumption down by at least 60%, saving the firm money while also improving the experience for shoppers.
General manager Bobby Badan said the new lighting’s impact – and the feedback from customers – had been phenomenal.
“We’re very happy with the result. It has brightened the whole place up, the products look better, our offers stand out more and it also shows off how clean everything is,” he said.
“Our customers are very happy and so are our staff. It makes a better environment both to shop and to work.”
The 40,000 sq ft depot, which opened in 2004, is designed to offer as much as possible under one roof, stocking everything from alcohol and tobacco to soft drinks, confectionery, grocery, chilled meat and non-food.
Badar said the depot’s two main assets are its location and its prices.
“We are the most convenient cash & carry in Glasgow,” he said. “Because of the link with the M74 and the fact that we’re at the heart of the south side of the city, we are very accessible to just about every location in Glasgow. But we also get customers coming from all over Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.
“We are also the cheapest cash & carry in the whole of Glasgow, on shelf and on promotion. We are the cheapest for non-promotion items guaranteed and have been for years. We have one customer who saved £4,000 a year by switching to us.
“Price is as important to us as it is to our customers, so we check ours on a quarterly basis and we find that on non-promotional items we can be 20 to 30 pence cheaper than our competitors. We also have loads of in-store specials that we run to reward our loyal customers.”
He added: “We welcome any new customers to the facility. My advice to people is to watch out for Polmadie because it’s definitely going to be taking a market share from the competition.”

Photos from different aisles in UWG’s Polmadie depot show an area prior to being fitted with LEDs
Photos from different aisles in UWG’s Polmadie depot show an area prior to being fitted with LEDs
After: illustrating the difference the new lighting makes
After: illustrating the difference the new lighting makes