Oliver’s Wholefoods Store in Kew has been bought by the owners of Food For Thought. The much-loved and distinctive looking store has been a local landmark for nearly 30 years, while founder and owner, Sara Novakovic, has been an influential figure on the natural products retail scene and prominent ambassador for organic.
Food For Thought co-owner Alan Martin told Natural Products News: “Sara approached us at the end of the summer last year, saying she wanted to sell the business and would we be interested. She was really keen to sell to someone who shared the same kind of ethos and philosophy. I’ve known Sara since the late 1980s – so we go back a long way. It all made so much sense. We were really thrilled about taking over Oliver’s and Sara was very happy about us as buyers.”
“I’ve known Sara since the late 1980s – so we go back a long way. We were really thrilled about taking over Oliver’s, and Sara was very happy about us as buyers”
Later this year Oliver’s will get a comprehensive refurbishment and rebadging, making it the third Food For Thought store (the business currently has stores in Kingston and Guildford). But Martin and co-owner Rob Steidle want to ensure that changes are made sensitively. “Oliver’s has a lovely set of customers. They’ve been very loyal and we don’t want to do anything that would upset them.” So, initial changes are likely to be things that customers won’t see. “We’re already upgrading the EPOS and back office set up, and we’ll be implementing things like contactless payment.”
The feedback so far has been very positive. “I’ve been in the store for the last few days and I’ve really been enjoying meeting customers. One lady came rushing in and said ‘I’ve just heard that the store’s being sold – tell me it’s not true’. Then she was introduced to me and said, ‘It’s you, you’re from Food For Thought, all’s good!’ – and that was fantastic to hear. We actually share quite a lot of customers already, which is making the changes that much easier to manage,” says Martin.
Martin is keen that knowledge and experiences should ‘flow bothways’. He explains: “We want to learn from the things that Sara’s been doing so well, and that we haven’t been doing at Food For Thought. For example, she’s invested heavily in fresh produce – organic fruit and veg, fish, meat. And she’s got a vast amount of experience in things like sourcing grass-fed meat. So we’d like work with her in a consultancy capacity.”
The Oliver’s name will also live on in the form of Oliver’s Food Kitchen, a new range of branded vegan, organic ready-meals that will be made in a commercial kitchen that is being built on the Oliver’s premises. “We’re tapping into the incredible appetite there is for healthy, vegan convenience meals. We’ve hired a chef and we’re ready to go. The range will go into all three of our stores, but we think there could be an even bigger opportunity.”
Martin also sees the Oliver’s acquisition as another vehicle for his BonPom superfoods brand. “Oliver’s isn’t doing much at all in the way of superfoods. So we’ve already introduced the full BonPom range which is being really well received by customers.”
We want to learn from the things that Sara’s been doing so well, and that we haven’t been doing at Food For Thought
By coincidence, the Oliver’s acquisition deal went through almost ten years to the day that Martin and Steidle took possession of the Food For Thought in Kingston. “Rob and I were recalling the excitement we both felt in 2008. Ten years in, we know so much more. So going into this we’ve been able to hit the ground running. But I’m just as excited as I was ten years ago, which is great because I’m at the age when you wonder if you’ll ever feel like that again!”
Commenting on the sale of Oliver’s, Novakovic said: “Alan and I have been good friends for well over 20 years. For 10 of those we have been professional rivals as the close locations meant we’ve shared customers. We have also shared ideas, ethics as well as wine on a regular basis. Food For Thought are strongly independent, with decades of experience and well ahead of the curve on all things vegan. I wish Alan and Rob all the very best.”
Oliver’s has won a string of awards over the years. The store was described by the Financial Times as “ A leading light in the organic movement” and has twice been awarded Best Organic store by the Soil Association, scooped two Natural Product’s Best Large Store awards and has been named Richmond Independent Business of the Year – yes, twice!
Photos: Oliver’s Wholefoods Store in Kew, south west London
