Colm and Oonagh McGinley, who run McGinley's Spar in Derry are celebrating serving the local community for over 20 years this week.
The pair began as licensees for Burmah Fuel, purchasing their premises in 1996 and have continued to serve their community with the fellow family business, Henderson Group since 2002.
They began their journey with Hendersons as a ViVO store, before later becoming a SPAR in 2007. The store has been continually growing, with over £1 million being invested throughout the years.
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The biggest development occurred in 2016 when the store was expanded from 1300 sq. ft to the 3500 sq. ft unit that it operates from today. The expansion has allowed the store to provide more quality products and the highest customer service to its local community.
Speaking to MyDerry, Oonagh McGinley said: "Both our customers and our staff are important linchpins in the success of our business, we are so very grateful for our team who deliver excellent customer service and high retail standards daily and our customers who support us, we value the part we play in the local community.
"We also appreciate the support provided to us by our wholesaler Henderson’s, we have enjoyed our journey with them over the last 20 years and believe they are committed to ensuring the success of our business they offer a fantastic delivery service and have a great support network for us to tap into and constantly have initiatives and plans to drive our business forward."
The impressive store offers an extensive range to local shoppers, delivering the highest standards of retail including a substantial fresh offering from a host of local suppliers, two Barista Bar coffee machines and a hub for the family’s own oil business.
She continued: "The changes that have happened in retail over the last 20 years have been incredible, we have moved from a small 400 sqft unit selling just fuel to our current 3500 sqft shop selling fuel, groceries, offering services, food to go and housing a seating area - the difference is massive.
"It’s not only the changes in-store that are notable, on our site we also have a chip shop, Italian restaurant, barbers and the oil business, so the site has been transformed as a destination point.
"The customer desire for convenience has been a big contributing factor and we’re sure there will be even more changes in the future which we will embrace.
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