Scotmid marked the start of 2019 by opening the doors to a new state-of-the-art purpose-built convenience store in Drumnadrochit.
The community retailer unveiled the new purpose-built 4,500 sq ft store in Drumnadrochit on Friday 25 January, as part of a five-unit complex, situated beside Loch Ness.
Local resident and North regional committee member Angus Maclean cut the ribbon to mark the official opening with hundreds of customers queuing up to get an early glimpse of the new ultra-modern store and to receive goody bags containing groceries.
A quartet of pipers piped in the new customers through the doors with Inverness Caledonian Thistle mascot, Lionel Nessie in attendance to high-five children and pose for photos.
Scotmid have utilised the latest energy efficient technologies to reduce its environmental impact with refrigeration pinpointed as a key priority in the remodelled store design.
Refrigeration will also be controlled by a central plant and run on a natural refrigerant (CO2) rather than polluting HFCs.
Customers are at the heart of the new purpose-built Drumnadrochit store, which boasts a brand new tailored architectural structure and spacious lay-out, offering an enhanced shopping experience – something Scotmid believe will be well received by the local community.
Maurissa Fergusson, Scotmid’s Head of Property and Development, said: “We are thrilled to be able to open the doors to our new Drumnadrochit store, which represents the future of Scotmid.
“Our core purpose is to serve our local communities and to improve people’s everyday lives and the introduction of this new store certainly achieves those objectives.
“Our aim is for this store to be right at the heart of Drumnadrochit – serving a key role in the lives of local people.
“The launch of this store represents another milestone for us in providing convenience stores to match the demands of an ever-changing marketplace and the expectations of our valued members and customer base.
“The store design introduced here will completely modernise our customers’ shopping experience and we believe these changes represent the beginning of the future for Scotmid.”
Kevin Plant, Scotmid’s Head of Food, said: “We’re incredibly excited about opening this new store at Drumnadrochit – it looks fantastic and we’re certain local people will enjoy what’s on offer.
“We’ve expanded our Food to Go range available in-store and we believe our members and customers will be really impressed with the new look and improved offering available.”
The workforce for the new store, which previously operated from a far smaller site in nearby Balmacaan Road, has doubled from 13 (full-time and part-time) to 27 and the range of all produce is far more extensive – providing a valued service to the local community.