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Prepared by: Liz Bell

Community Affairs Officer

A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd

Date: January 2015

A. F. Blakemore

Graduate Programme 2015

Candidate Pack

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Content:

1. Letter from the Managing Director

2. The Company

3. Purpose and Values

4. The Graduate Programmes

5. The Candidates

6. The Rewards

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1. Letter from the Managing Director

Dear Graduate

Thank you for taking an interest in our amazing business.

Within this pack you will find a lot of relevant information that should help you understand our business

in more detail. In addition to sharing this information with you I also wanted to take the opportunity to

tell you about my personal belief in this organisation.

We have been around for nearly 100 years and our objective is that we have a sustainable future as a

family owned business.

The Purpose and the Values that will secure this long-term success are outlined in what we refer to as The

Blakemore Way:

Our Purpose:

To grow a family business in ways that are profitable and sustainable for the benefit of our staff,

customers and community.

Our Values:

• Maximise staff potential and their contribution to the company’s success.

• Give great service to all our customers and add value to our trade partners.

• Make a significant, positive contribution to the community.

• Attain excellence in everything we do.

• Behave with honesty and integrity in all our relationships.

We introduced The Blakemore Way to ensure that the identity and unique culture of the company is

maintained and to empower all of our team to play a role in the future success of our business - these are

not just words on a mission statement but values that you will witness in our everyday work.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us and I look forward to meeting you in due course.

Peter Blakemore

A.F. Blakemore Group Managing Director

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2. The Company

A.F. Blakemore has become one of the biggest and most successful family-owned enterprises in the UK, in

part because of what it stands for and the way it does business. The Blakemore Way, which is the

company’s official values statement, outlines the company’s longstanding commitment to developing a

loyal and dedicated workforce that is focused on excellent customer service and behaving with integrity.

The company has always emphasised the importance of building partnerships with suppliers and trade

partners and never underestimates the role that it plays within the communities it serves.

Peter Blakemore, the current managing director, joined the business in 1965 and in 1975 took it into the

SPAR UK organisation. Since then, through organic and acquisitive growth, A.F. Blakemore has become

the biggest division of SPAR UK, owning 295 SPAR stores and serving 655 others in England and Wales; it

is also the largest member of Landmark Wholesale and a significant supplier of the independent grocery

sector across the UK.

A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd is split into twelve divisions:

Comprises 295 company-owned SPAR convenience stores and a workforce of over

5,000 people. It is the largest division within the company and leads the way in

convenience retailing across England and Wales.

Supports A.F. Blakemore’s independent retail stores. Blakemore Trade Partners also

has a number of national accounts including Bourne Leisure, Pace forecourt

convenience stores, ISS foodservice providers, and leading privately-owned

convenience retail groups.

The company’s overall distribution network spans across Wales to the east coast of

England, reaching as far north as North Yorkshire and as far south as Kent and

Sussex. The division operates from the ambient, chilled and frozen depots in the

Walsall area, Talbot Green in South Wales and from Hastings, Sussex.

Specialises in providing advice, store layout, design, project management and

investment analysis for store developments to suit every budget, from the most

basic works to a comprehensive, floor to ceiling refurbishment.

A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd began

life in 1917 as a single counter

service food store in

Wolverhampton and has grown

into a grocery wholesaling,

distributing and retailing

company that now employs more

than 7,700 people with a

turnover of £1.3 billion.

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Comprises 14 cash & carry depots located in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Birmingham,

Grimsby, Bangor, Barnsley, Gateshead, Middlesbrough, Newport, Killingworth,

Hexham, Penrith, Cardiff and Swansea. It is the largest member of the Landmark

Group.

Blakemore Wholesale Distribution is one of the UK’s leading delivered wholesalers.

The business has a diverse range of customers across the UK, servicing multiple and

independent retailers, forecourts, vending operators, fellow wholesalers plus

education, leisure and hospitality sites.

Distributes more than 4,000 ambient, chilled and frozen orders to catering outlets

nationwide every week from two sites in Darlaston and Wakefield.

Provides a one-stop-shop for traders, wholesalers, caterers, manufacturers and

butchers across the UK and Europe. The depot is based in Featherstone, South

Staffordshire.

Is a unique distribution network that connects regional producers with their

customers. The service provides high quality, local food and drink to trade buyers

by consolidating orders and deliveries.

Blakemore Technical Services is made up of the Finance, IT, HR and administrative

teams serving the expanding Blakemore group of companies. The division employs

more than 220 members of staff across its offices in Willenhall, West Midlands and

Talbot Green, South Wales.

Blakemore Creative Print is A.F. Blakemore's own professional print department.

Based in Talbot Green, South Wales, the department provides services for all A.F.

Blakemore departments and stores and is also open for external trading.

Our Property division deals with site acquisitions and development and has a

continuous expansion programme to acquire additional outlets within our trading

area.

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3. Purpose and Values

The purpose and values of A.F. Blakemore were redefined by the Main Board in 2008 within The

Blakemore Way, to ensure that its identity as a family business with a strong ethical heritage is

maintained for future generations.

The purpose of the company is:

“To grow a family business in ways that are profitable and sustainable for the benefit of our staff,

customers and the community.”

The five core values, which are very much in evidence within the business and are integral in achieving its

ambitious growth plans, are:

1. Maximise staff potential

2. Give great customer service

3. Contribute to the community

4. Attain excellence

5. Behave with honesty and integrity

These values have driven A.F. Blakemore’s corporate commitment to positive and friendly relations

between its staff, its customers and the communities it serves. One expression of this commitment, which

is unique in its application, is the Blakemore Foundation, which donates at least 2% of the company’s pre-

tax profits to a range of small, local good causes in the company’s trading area.

The values of the company are also captured within its corporate responsibility programme, as an

increasingly recognised exponent of responsible business practice across the territory it serves. Business

performance is measured through separate objectives for the workplace, marketplace, community and

environment as part of this commitment to growing a sustainable business.

A.F. Blakemore’s sales have almost tripled from £446m in 1998, and the growth momentum has

accelerated in the past two years. The family business is well funded, ambitious and well placed to

continue to grow in the short, medium and long term.

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4. The Graduate Programmes

1. Blakemore Trade Partners – Commercial Programme

This programme will give you an insight into a very commercial role that supports our independent SPAR

retailers to develop profitable retail businesses. This programme will encompass exposure within the

following roles:

• Trading – Where you will work alongside members of the Trading team, to assist in the

negotiations with key suppliers on pricing, and promotional activity.

• Sales – You will work with the sales team to develop independent retail businesses and to grow

wholesale sales for mutual benefit.

• Marketing – You will support the team with local and national initiatives to achieve our goals of

driving footfall and increasing basket spend.

2. Blakemore Wholesale Programme

This programme will give you an insight into the core aspects of a Cash & Carry business. Your role will

involve meaningful duties that will benefit yourself, department and wider business. You will spend time

at both the Head Office function and within a Cash & Carry depot to gain a holistic view of this vibrant

business. Time will be spent in the following areas:

• Operational Management

• Trading and Buying

• Marketing

• Sales Development

3. Blakemore Retail Programme

This exciting programme will focus on new and existing Retail projects driving efficiencies and

performances within our company-owned SPAR store estate.

This programme will allow you to utilise the Blakemore project management framework to support the

implementation and development of retail projects and initiatives. You will provide robust evaluation in

order to maximise retail sales and profitability in accordance with the business strategy and marketplace

best practice.

4. Blakemore HR People Programme

This people programme will incorporate the planning, delivery and evaluation of key projects within the

HR strategy plan. A senior HR manager will mentor you throughout each stage of the two-year

programme, providing direction, support and guidance as appropriate. Project work will relate specifically

to Operational HR, Health & Wellbeing and Learning & Development objectives, such as:

• Operational HR – Shadow/support the HR Ops team with providing HR operational services to the

business. Research, develop and launch a clearly defined, targeted and fully utilised social media

recruitment platform.

• Health and Wellbeing – Research best practice with regard to taking a strategic approach to

development and implementation of employee health and wellbeing programmes.

• Learning and Development – Support the delivery of management development courses across

the group. Investigate and implement new ways to evaluate, promote and communicate the

impact of learning & development programmes.

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5. The Candidates

Qualifications:

Education to degree level or equivalent is preferred but not essential.

Core Competencies:

Achiever: Has real drive to deliver results, is tenacious and self-motivated.

Empathetic: Has real empathy with the issues which face A.F. Blakemore’s entrepreneurial

customers, all of whom depend to a greater or lesser extent on the services which

A.F. Blakemore provides.

Commercial: Demonstrable commercial insight with very strong numeracy.

Communicator: An excellent communicator, with the ability to both listen well, and persuade and

influence others at all levels within the organisation.

Organiser: Methodical and analytical. Able to get people to collaborate and work together.

Pragmatic: This is an organisation with its feet firmly on the ground – looking for a likeminded

individual. A realist who knows what is likely to be successful and when things are

likely to be acceptable / accepted. Patient and resilient.

Leadership: Strong team leadership skills; ability to engage and empower high performing teams.

Politically astute Knows when to challenge and when to acquiesce; has the ability to communicate at

all levels, can relate to people at all levels. Takes an active interest in the business

operations.

Creative: A creative thinker capable of developing innovative solutions for the unique A.F.

Blakemore business. Generates solutions that are distinctive and can derive

commercial advantage. Seeks out best practices and shares these for the common

benefit. Conversely there may be five different ways of doing things, so flexibility is

essential.

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5. The Rewards

The terms and conditions to be offered will reflect the importance of this role and its potential to impact

on the whole of A.F. Blakemore.

Salary: £18,000 pa, increasing £500 every 6 months for 2 years to £20,000 pa

(subject to satisfactory performance).

Private Healthcare: Yes – single AVIVA membership

Pension: Contributory Money Purchase Scheme – 5% Company, minimum of 2%

employee contribution. Pension scheme members also attract PHI cover.

2 year qualifying period applies.

Life Cover: 1 x salary for non company pension scheme members and 6 x salary for

company pension scheme members

Holidays: 26 days, plus 8 public holidays

Voluntary Benefits: Exclusive in-store and online savings

Additional benefits include:

• Company Sick Pay Scheme

• Staff Discount Scheme

• Long Service Awards

• Childcare Vouchers

• Cycle to Work Scheme

Plus - Employee volunteering opportunities through our recognised responsible business programme.