Buyers' Club Bio: Archie Swift

Get to know our readership: Archie Swift, buyer at Archie Browns, Cornwall, explains how the store came about and shares his best advice for effective ordering.

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Buyer name: Archie Swift

Store name/location: Archie Browns, Cornwall (Penzance & Truro)

Number of stores: 2

Number of years retailing: 24

Why did you get into the natural health industry? My mother Helen was passionate about local, vegetarian wholefoods, which I came to share a huge appreciation for. She started Archie Browns in 1991 from a small vegetarian café and developed it to what it is now. I feel very lucky to be a part of the local community it has firmly nestled into.

Most effective POS? Customers love to hear genuine recommendations from interaction on the shop floor and as such we try to only stock products we are all really passionate about, then it is second nature to big up the brands.

Most effective promotion? Yogi Teas organic tea towels are always a winner here! We don’t run many promos in store as we find them difficult to manage with our limited team, but any branded gifts that can be used to boost sales work a treat.

What’s your favourite product and why? Anything local – we absolutely love our local suppliers and all the values they share with us in the community. From ferments to flapjacks, these are the products we feel closest to and their unique offerings we are proud to offer.

How do you find new products? We get a lot of new products through customer requests. We work with various wholesalers so we always try to order in something even if we don’t currently stock it – if we know customers are after it we will then tend to put it on our shelves.

Which issues are front of mind when sourcing products? We try to keep our focus on ethics; our customers trust us to stock products that are healthy for themselves and the planet. It’s hard to get it right all of the time as brands are everchanging, but tools like Ethical Consumer are really handy to stay on top of it.

Top tips for ordering? Combining staff knowledge, sales analysis and stock control is really important. Each point is great individually, but backing up with the others means you can be sure you are ordering effectively.

What are your customers looking for in 2024? We have seen a huge uptake in functional mushroom supplements this year. The whole wellness market seems to be investing heavily into these amazing adaptogens that have been around for millennia.

By Archie Swift, buyer, Archie Browns