The Fox’s Pantry, Gold Coast, Australia
The Fox’s Pantry, located in the beach-side suburb of Tugun in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, is a family-owned business about an hour south of Brisbane. Formerly a standard BP petrol station, The Fox’s Pantry has transformed into a unique convenience store experience.
Emphasizing the mission of ‘Making Convenience Healthy,’ the store is dedicated to providing a customer-centric retail experience, characterized by openness, honesty, communication, and inclusivity.
Company and Brand Overview
The Fox’s Pantry is a unique convenience store experience that trades 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In line with our passion for representing absolute excellence, we have an exterior lightbox that reads ‘This place never sleeps’. The Fox’s Pantry has become a celebrated icon in our region.
Previously a standard BP petrol station and convenience offer, customers who walk in today won’t find a hint of the store’s previous life. The classic roadside convenience offer is long gone, with 99% of products, across every single convenience category, replaced with products that represent The Fox’s Pantry mission.
We believe in health, and about servicing the community with an experience and offer that reflects their passion for health. We use the statement ‘Making Convenience Healthy‘ as a means to summarise and communicate the mission we share with our customers.
To us, and to our almost 10,000 transacting weekly customers, health goes beyond what we see at face value. We source and offer extensive amounts of local and hard-to-find packaged goods, organic fruit and vegetables, regenerative and biodynamic agricultural produce, and freshly made ready-to-eat products that have a focus on ingredient quality, nutrition, community health and environmental sustainability.
- We are perpetually learning, and while our mission-led approach adds a significant layer of complexity, our customers have shown us that they are on the mission with us. This support has ensured that we perform at a rate that far exceeds industry standard from a revenue per square meter perspective and an operating margin perspective.
We were the first of our kind to reengineer the typical offer from the ground up, while it was a risk that we were compelled to take, our performance today is something we couldn’t be more proud of.
Store Photos
Store and Offer Overview
Grocery: 52% of average monthly revenue
- Fresh Produce, Eggs, Dairy and Non-Diary Goods, Poultry and Meats
- Frozen Products (Organic and Non-Diary Ice Cream, Organic and Non-Diary Ice Blocks, Cook-at-home Organic Pizza, etc)
- Gut Health, General Health Products and Tinctures
- Organic Spreads, Honey and Preserves
- Packaged Goods (Raw Pastas, Sauces, Seasonings, Canned Fish, Cheeses, Platter Goods)
- Non-Alcoholic Wine, Non-Alcoholic Beer, Non-Alcoholic Spirits, Organic Mixers
- Health Focused Cleaning Products, Body Health, Baby Goods and Vanity Items
Fresh Made Food: 24% of average monthly revenue
- Sandwiches, Wraps and Filled Croissants
- House Made Meals (Curries, Slow Cooked Meat Based Meals, Pastas, Salads)
- Chia Puddings, Slices, Cookies and Protein Balls
Drinks: 12% of average monthly revenue
- Bulk Aquifer Water
- Soft Drinks, Kombucha Variations, Coconut Waters, Mineral Water, Probiotic Drinks, Dairy and Non Diary Drinks, Juices, Shot Bottles, Bottled Water.
Coffee & Smoothies: 8% of average monthly revenue
- Organic and Functional Organic Smoothies
- Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
Gifting: 4% of average monthly revenue
- Plants, Fresh Flowers, Candles, Ceramics, Books, Box Sets and Tea Kits
Layout and Retail Environment
The Fox’s Pantry occupies a total square meterage of 255.25m2
We have two entry points, one tied to an in-and-out convenience experience and one tied leaning more towards a slower paced, grocery style customer experience.
- Both entry points are vibrant, with imagery and messaging, and a strong focus on entry point merchandising. Fresh flowers, locally sourced and hard-to-find packaged goods, the beautiful smell of fresh food and plenty of smiles greet our customers.
- We have two fully functioning POS counters, equipped with coffee machines, food cabinetry, fresh juicing and smoothies.
- Both counters also operate as POS for grocery goods, nutritional items, a wide range of gut health products, an extensive drinks offer, meats, cheeses, pantry goods, freshly made meals and fuel.
Our product offer is aesthetically beautiful, with a particular focus put on sourcing products and producers that actively source alternate and healthier ingredients. We support local makers that share our passion for quality and ethics.
Our fit out is homely, with extensive use of VJ panelling, exposed concrete walling and utilities that are visible and celebrated. Lighting design, terracotta tiling and a considered approach to signage help bring the product offer to life throughout.
Customer Experience
The Fox’s Pantry is a customer centric retail experience. We have made it our mission to bring the customer along with us, to be open, honest, communicative and inclusive.
- We conduct staff training workshops and foster a culture of continuous learning to ensure product knowledge and customer experience is a top priority.
- Our team of approx 30 staff represent a healthy way of life, are vibrant and welcoming, and treat our customers with the respect they deserve.
We have focused very heavily on communication and processes, and celebrate a culture of discovery and exploration that helps deliver the kind of customer experience we appreciate ourselves.
We are not a ‘health food store’ nor do we have a resident naturopath or anything of the like, but we support our customers by offering products that lean towards specialised ways of thinking, or, represent a product solution that they struggle to find elsewhere.
- We produce a large number of house made meals and fresh grab-and-go convenience foods, all of which are made in our inhouse commercial kitchen.
- Our kitchen staff produce fresh food each day, with preparation and cooking rosters starting at 4:30am to ensure product quality is aligned with demand.
We pride ourselves on presenting a beautiful visual experience, that is deepened by our offer and our team.
Operational Excellence
When they’re not on the shop floor, our analytical leadership team can be found in our upstairs office.
The team focuses on sales, marketing, operating margin and inventory analysis, along with staff performance, customer service and culture.
Our product offer is key to our value proposition. To ensure we stay at the forefront of supplier consideration, we have two seasonal product intake windows, Summer and Winter. During these windows we consider new makers and products.
- Our offer has a small and intentional percentage of loss leaders, with lower margin, to ensure our offer remains unique.
Brand marketing is a core focus of The Fox’s Pantry.
- Our positioning in market is critical to our success and our style of communication ensures our customers are aware, engaged and encouraged to play a lead role in the activation of The Fox’s Pantry brand.
- Our core marketing pillars extend across Purpose, People, Product and Place, with these ‘4 P’s’ underpinning our messaging in market.
Our production of fresh food is tightly managed to ensure Health and Safety standards are upheld, and we’re happy to say that we’ve got a clean inspection record.
Overall Performance
Please note; All figures are exclusive of Fuel.
The Fox’s Pantry has seen strong and consistent financial performance across all core retail categories, with top line YOY revenue sitting at 32% up on average.
We have held our operating margin despite experiencing varying degrees of increased wholesale pricing pressure. This is largely due to a significant increase in customer attraction, an increase in vertical production (Fresh Food, Coffee, Smoothies, Juices) and a dominant percentage of full priced product sales.
Core sales vitals are trending positively:
- Basket Size: $21 (10% YOY Growth)
- Shop Only Transactions Per Day (20% YOY Growth)
‘The Best Foodvenience Store in the World’ 2024