Focus on store location: vape

Paul Cheema owns and runs the Tile Hill Service Station in Coventry. He discusses what he’s learned about great vape retailing in the context of a petrol forecourt

Meeting the needs of different vape customers

There now seems to be two kinds of customers for the vaping category. There are the traditional vapers who want e-liquids and have been vaping for a while. But there is also an increasing number of people who are looking for a simpler and more sophisticated option and I think that’s where vape pens are really important.

Working first-hand with suppliers

We have sold vape products for a long time and work with reps and companies directly to make sure our category management is where it should be. For a lot of retailers, I think working with a company directly on display and ranging can be a great way to entrench those relationships.

Build relationships with locals and regular customers

We consider ourselves a convenience store that happens to sell fuel and we have worked really hard on developing a relationship with the local community which keeps our sales strong. For vape, a lot of customers will come in and only want JUULpods, Vype or Liberty Flights, so it’s important that we have to make sure those products in stock.

Paul Cheema is the co-founder of independent retailer platform C-Talk.