27 JUNE 2025 ASIAN TRADER 21
PROFILES IN SUCCESS
ASIAN TRADER AWARDS WINNERS
turns marketing into genuine community
support – understanding not just what
people want, but when they need it most.
Beyond the till
Step into One Stop Partick, and you quickly
realise this isn’t your typical convenience
store. Nathalie has created something closer
to a community hub, where social
media content creation sits
alongside stock rotation on
the daily task list. Her
younger staff members
love being involved in the
store’s Facebook and
TikTok presence. “They
love it because they’re of
that generation anyway.
And they like being
involved and they like other
people recognising them when
they’re not at the shop, almost
that claim to fame type thing.”
This social media savvy has had an
unexpected side effect. Walking down the
busy Dumbarton Road, now an extension of
Glasgow’s trendy and modern West End,
Nathalie finds herself recognised more often
than not. “Nine times out of 10 people know
my name. I won’t know their name, but they
know my name because they’ve seen me on
Facebook or TikTok or Instagram, which is
quite humbling, because you kind of feel like
a bit of a celebrity!”
But celebrity status isn’t the goal – com
munity connection is. From organising litter
picks with local children to running period
poverty campaigns, Nathalie ensures there’s
always something happening that brings
people together. “We try and do some sort of
engagement with our community, whether
that be giving away something or whether it
be just doing something in store.”
One Stop transformation
Nathalie’s retail journey wasn’t always
smooth sailing. Her experience with her
previous symbol group was so negative it
nearly broke her resolve. “I was told that I was
a silly little girl, I should just sell my store, and
I don’t know what I’m doing. That wasn’t
helpful. That wasn’t warranted. It wasn’t
asked for.”
The contrast with her current partnership
with One Stop couldn’t be starker. “You
actually feel like you’re part of a bigger group
– obviously we’re part of Tesco. There’s a
much more structured business model, and
it’s a very easy business model to follow.” The
support system has been transformative,
providing everything from training modules
for staff to incredible promotional offers that
drive footfall.
“At Christmas, we were doing three boxes
of chocolate for five pounds. I’ve never seen
that anywhere else,” she enthuses. This
backing has translated
into significant sales
growth, proving that
when retailers have the
right support, their natural
entrepreneurial instincts
can flourish.
The learning curve
For someone without a retail background,
the learning curve was steep. “Just knowing
how to basically run a business was the
hardest part,” Nathalie admits. “Before you
become a retailer, you don’t realise all the
kind of the back office functions that are
required to be done, even things like how to
do VAT, how to do payroll, how to do tax
returns.”
But perhaps the biggest revelation was
understanding the modern retail landscape.
“Gone are the days where you could just open
a shop and stand behind the counter. It
doesn’t work that way now. You have to
promote yourself on social media. You have to
be in front of the camera.”
This realisation led to one of her key
differentiators in a crowded market. “In our
locality, we have about four or five conveni
ence stores in the very close vicinity. And if we
didn’t do what we do, we wouldn’t stand out
from those.”
Supporting next gen
Having faced dismissive attitudes early in her
career, Nathalie is passionate about support
ing other women entering retail. “There are
still a lot of barriers and with what the women
are faced in the industry, it can be very
daunting for women to go into a room,
especially at some of the conferences, and
then be the only woman that’s there.”
Her approach is refreshingly direct. “If I
am at an event and I see a woman just
standing there by herself, I will go over to her
and say, Hi, how you doing? I’m Natalie. How
are you? And start a conversation.”
She says it’s so important just to even start
that conversation, as it lets other women
know that they are not alone. “I think that’s
needed more than anything, just to let them
know that they’re not the only one out there,
and there are other women out there that are
there to support.”
She’s realistic about the challenges
women face. “Most women out there are
either mothers or wives or both, and
business women, and we’re all doing three
or four jobs simultaneously. It’s not easy, but
it’s very doable.”
Moment of validation
When asked about the moment she felt
vindicated after all the early criticism,
Nathalie doesn’t hesitate. “When I won the
award, if I’m honest. That was validation.”
While she acknowledges that daily work
matters most, she’s refreshingly honest
about the importance of recognition. “It is also
nice to have that recognition that somebody
else thinks you’ve done a good job.”
As summer approaches, Nathalie is already
planning new initiatives to keep children
engaged during the school holidays and
support families who might be struggling. Her
advice to other retailers is elegantly simple:
“Look after the community, because your
community looks after you. Because without
our community, we wouldn’t have a business.”
For someone who started with no retail
experience and faced dismissive attitudes
from industry insiders, Nathalie’s transfor
mation of One Stop Partick into a community
cornerstone is remarkable. But perhaps
what’s most impressive is how she’s main
tained her authenticity throughout the
journey. The same determination that saw her
navigate through NICU [neonatal intensive
care unit] with oxygen tanks while serving
customers now drives her to constantly
innovate and engage with her community.
In an industry facing unprecedented
challenges, she represents something vital: the
power of genuine community connection
combined with astute business sense. Her
story isn’t just about overcoming barriers – it’s
about transforming them into stepping stones
for others to follow. And if her track record is
anything to go by, the best is yet to come.