How these small grocery stores in London stay competitive amid inflation, high food costs

Some independently owned grocery stores in London are noticing an uptick in businessas high food prices force consumers away from big-box retailers.

Small businesses are finding different ways to keep costs low for their growing customer bases, but a challenge for some is having to pay higher taxes on items they import from foreign countries.

"We have our own imports from Nepal, India, and Pakistan, but right now due to issues in the Red Sea [resulting from ongoing attacks between Israel and Houthi militants] all the containers have to divert and are coming from South Africa," saidSaroj Kumar Chhetri,owner of the Nepali Bazaar on Highbury Avenue.

"Before [containers] would come from a 7,000 miles distance, and now it's like 12,000 milesso obviously the price has risen."

Previously, Chhetri wouldpay around $4,000 for a container from Nepal. He now pays double that amount, he said.

"I try to maintain the same prices for whatever I import so our margin is very thin becausewe want our customers to be satisfied," he said. "But for things I buy locally, I have no wiggle room because if they increase their costs, we have to flow with the market."

Direct and strategic buying

Mohamad Abdul Hamidhas found creative ways to give hisstore, Pistachios Quality Meats and Grocers, a unique edge over its competitors, he said.

His store on Wonderland Road Northincludes alarge produce section with productsfromthe Middle East andSouth Asia, and a meats sectionthat relies onlocally grown livestock.

"Webring exotic fruits and vegetables from around the world that may not be available in big-box grocery stores, so we're offeringthings that people may not be able to find easily and they're are shocked when they see our prices,"Abdul Hamid said.

Pistachios receives bulk shipments every week, whichallows them to mark down prices. The storepays for those items in the currencies of the countries it buys from, which is "significantly cheaperthan buying through the Canadian dollar," Abdul Hamid said.

"When we buy from the origin, we get it at a much cheaper priceso whenwe sell it here, it's extremely affordable. At some grocery stores you get one lemon for a dollar, hereyou can buy 10 lemons for a dollar, so we're saving people a lot of money," he said, adding that he's planning to expand his business soon.

Some stores have to be strategic with what and how much they buy, a lot more than they've had to in the past, said Laura Hewitt of the family-owned Taste of Britain, which has multiple locations across the region.

"We have to look at shipping costs of whatwe're getting, where we're getting it from, what's selling in our inventory versus what's not, so a lot of those things are being more scrutinized than before, because we don't want a lot left over and mark it down," said Hewitt.

Both Chhetri and Hewitt anticipateprices to stay inflationary for the rest of 2024, but they hope costs can come down soon so their customers can get some financial relief, they said.