20 ASIAN TRADER 27 JUNE 2025
icture this: It’s 3am in Glasgow. While
most of the city sleeps, Nathalie Kaur is
fielding emergency calls for Police
Scotland, her voice a lifeline for those in crisis.
Come Easter Sunday, she’s behind the
counter of her One Stop Partick store, dressed
as the Easter Bunny, handing out chocolate
eggs to delighted children. It’s an extraordi
nary double life that would exhaust most
people, but for Nathalie, it’s simply another
day in her routine.
This remarkable juggling act has earned
her recognition as the Local Hero Award
winner at the 2024 Asian Trader Awards – an
accolade that celebrates retailers who go
above and beyond for their communities. But
the award barely scratches the surface of a
story that includes premature twins on
oxygen tanks, £1,000 cash giveaways, and a
determination that refused to bend even
when industry veterans dismissed her as a
“silly little girl.”
Against all odds
Nathalie’s entry into retail wasn’t born from
family tradition or business school theory.
“I’m a first generation retailer, and I don’t
come from a background of retail, but I saw
the opportunity to basically be my own boss
and work for myself,” she explains. What she
couldn’t have anticipated was just how much
that decision would test every ounce of her
resolve.
The challenges came thick and fast. While
establishing her business, Nathalie gave
birth to extremely premature twins at 26
weeks. For four months, she navigated
between the neonatal intensive care
unit, her shop floor, and her police night
shifts. When the twins finally came
home, they remained on permanent
oxygen. Most people would have thrown
in the towel. Nathalie strapped both
babies to her body – one on the front, one
on the back – along with two oxygen
tanks, and continued serving customers.
“Everyone told me I couldn’t do it, but
I did and I still am!” she says with
characteristic defiance. Eighteen
months later, she had her third child,
meaning three children under two years
old, a business, and a full-time night shift
job. It’s a feat that sounds impossible
until you meet Nathalie and realise that
for her, the impossible is simply another
challenge to overcome.
What drives a person to persist through
such overwhelming circumstances? For
Nathalie, the answer is refreshingly straight
forward: “The love for retail, basically,” she
laughs. “I genuinely love meeting people,
talking to people. Yes, of course, there are
trials and tribulations with working and the
store. And obviously I do have a very, very
young family, but I do always try and be
positive about every situation, whether it be
good or bad, and just keep going.”
It’s this combination of genuine passion
and determined optimism that has sustained
her through the darkest moments. “I do
genuinely love the community that we’re in,
and I love the people that are around us. And,
not every day is the same. There’s always
something different going on in store. And
that’s what I love about it.”
The £1,000 gamble
Last year, Nathalie made a decision that had
her customers rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
She announced a £1,000 cash giveaway –
probably the largest sum ever offered by an
independent convenience store. “A lot of
people didn’t believe it, to be honest, and a lot
of people thought it was too good to be true,”
she recalls.
But behind the bold gesture lay shrewd
thinking. “There are loads of stores out there
that do competitions – a pack of coke or a pack
of wine, booze, something like that. But
there’s not a lot of people that will do things
like a £1000 competition.” The gamble paid
off spectacularly, not just in customer
engagement but in industry recognition. “On
the back of that, we won the award with
yourselves. And we also won another award as
well.”
The initiative wasn’t just about standing
out from the competition; it was rooted in
genuine understanding of her community’s
struggles during the cost-of-living crisis. “We
do run periodic competitions for our
customers. There’s always some sort of
engagement every month,” she reveals.
“When we have new products coming out, we
always like to try and run free giveaways with
that, to include our community in everything
we do.”
Her ability to think seasonally and
empathetically was evident again this
January, when she gave away a mystery
holiday for two. The timing was deliberate:
“Everybody has less money in January
because it’s spent all on Christmas. Usually
January is the longest month of the year until
you get paid, because you get paid early in
December.”
It’s this kind of mindful planning that
PROFILES IN SUCCESS
ASIAN TRADER AWARDS WINNERS
Determination, resilience, talent and huge
social conscience propelled Nathalie Kaur
in her career and won here the 2024 Asian
Trader Local Hero Award
Nothing can stop her