Regenerating New Life into the Community

The regeneration of a West London neighbourhood has provided a new project to an experienced retailer who hopes to deliver a real community store to the people living locally.

Ravi Kaushal opened the doors to the Nisa Local store in Copley Close, Ealing two weeks ago after moving all the fixtures and fittings from his Chiswick store some five miles down the road and installing them in the new premises.

Ravi explained he was approached by the local council who were looking for a retailer interested in leasing the premises to provide a good quality store for the people living in the area during the re-development period.

Ravi said: “I was just thinking about retiring and was selling my store in Chiswick when the agent heard about this store.

“The council need someone to run it for the next three years or so while the regeneration project is underway and so I have taken it on and hope to be able to provide the local community with a store that meets their needs.”

With it being a quite short-term plan, Ravi, a Nisa partner for five years, understandably does not want to make significant investments in the store, however he does want to create a store that serves the needs of the local community and which they can be proud of.

He is already looking at how to contribute to the local schools in the neighbourhood through his Making a Difference Locally fund and hopes to become a real part of the community.

Ravi said: “I would like to provide a service for the local people and make it a real community shop. It is not all about making money. If the community supports the store and it is a success, I will feel like I have really achieved something for the community.”