Heron Foods will be opening a shop in Stone town centre soon and is currently recruiting for a number of positions.
There are around 170 Heron Foods stores in the North and Midlands and the chain prides itself on providing “the very best brands at some of the cheapest prices you will find anywhere”.
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Work has just started on converting the recently-closed Ethel Austin shop in the High Street.
The discount food store is looking for a store manager and assistant store manager, a supervisor and part-time store assistants for its Stone operation. You can apply here if you’re interested. The closing date is 11th August.
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18 comments
donna
i think this is fantastic ive always said we need a shop like this to come into stone 🙂
Mr T Rout
Yes Donna, there is no other independant shop in the High St who they might compete with, as they dont sell ‘fresh foods’. You never know, those independant stores might benefit from the extra footfall in the High Street generated by this new store. At least it is a family run company, although I do rue the demise of the sole trader in the town.
Marymoss
Are we also having another supermarket next to Aldi on the A34 ? How many do we need ?
Jack Taylor
Nope we are having 100 houses! YAY!
Marymoss
would sooner have had a pound store
Disappointed from Stone
This should not be allowed.
They are a downmarket chain selling processed rubbish. All the offers that they have on are for frozen junk food. Check out their website!
And as for bringing jobs to the town they are minimum wage up to a max of £409 per week for a store manager! No wonder the out of work stay on benefits!
I for one won’t be stepping foot in the store. Stone already has 2 town centre supermarkets and the stores over at Walton.
Ian Key
It’s not all frozen food, the prices across the board are very reasonable
Mr T Rout
So £20K a year or sitting on one’s derriere doing nothing. Its a choice!
Disappointed from Stone
I know little about salaries in the retail sector but £20k for a store manager and the responsibilities that go with it seems rather low to me. That is the only job that is not minimum wage, that’s my real gripe with the jobs available.
It may well suit a young enthusiastic person but after a year they will just move on to something else.
Mr T Rout
Yes £20k is a little on the low side for a manager but, because of the public demand for cheaper food, margins in grocery sales are very small. They rely on volume to make a profit. Would you rather have an empty shop, waitting for Fortnum and Mason to see the error of their ways and come to Stone, or one which will provide a stepping stone for those inexperienced in the retail trade to get a leg up. Of course it will appeal to young and enthusiastic people who will gain experience and then more on to bigger and better positions with other retailers, thats how the jobs market works.
Mars, Youngs, McVities, etc. Rubbish brands??
As for the “Farmers Market”. I agree it is a great asset to the town, but only once a month. I also remember talking to a member of staff at Hammersleys in the early days of the “Farmers market” who complained that their sales of fresh bread went down on those Saturdays when they had competition from market stallholders.
Disappointed from Stone
I agree an empty store would be just another eyesore.
I just feel that it is a downmarket store that does nothing to promote a healthy lifestyle. Good meals can be produced quickly and cheaply using fresh ingredients.
If you just want frozen foods that you can pop in the oven or microwave then I’m sure they will have everything you could ever want.
I did not state the brands as being rubbish but lets face it Mars have had to reduce the size of their Mars bars over the years in order to promote a healthier lifestyle. They also no longer use their slogan from the 70’s and 80’s….
And in response to your comment about trade being down when the Market is on other retailers have told me they benefit from it and this was a trader selling fresh food.
Still if it gives 20 people the opportunity to work and maybe move up the ladder then good luck to them.
When does it open? Although I would have to visit in disguise!!
Mr T Rout
Well we agree on two points i.e. that fresh home made food is best and that this new store will provide a basis for new jobs in the town, even if they are low paid. We all have/had to start somwhere. Cooking is a basic and fundamental matter of education from either parents or school. If that is not done, we can’t blame food manufacturers from exploiting that gap in the market.
Mr T Rout
You dont have to shop there, you could always shop at the “farmers markets” where a dirty carrot with leaves still on will cost twice as much as a washed one without leaves in any other shop. I probably wont be shopping there either but there are many, who cant afford to buy elsewhere, who will. What is your solution to the work/benefits conundrum? I remember the furore when Aldi opened. If people dont want it, they won’t use it, it’s simple economics.
Disappointed from Stone
It is not about the cost of what’s on sale it is the types of food on sale.
Aldi is cheap but has a huge choice of fresh produce and is a genuine alternative to Morrisons or the Co-op.
My small amount of research into Heron would indicate that they mainly sell processed foods.
I agree that a lot of the stuff for sale at the Farmers Market is expensive but it brings a huge amount of foot traffic through Stone once a month so must benefit other stores too.
Kevin Sims
on the jobs website it says 32 high st( Ethel Austin’s)
Jamie
Thanks for the info – I’ve just updated the post to include this
Jon Cook
Judging by the size of the Herons we had when we lived in Hull I would say it’s most suited to the Ethel Austin site.
Jamie
Workmen are inside Ethel Austins at the minute, so that one looks like the favourite!