Good News, Big Thanks & What’s Next at Ermington Store & More
Welcome to our new committee!
First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who came along to our Annual Members Meeting. It’s always good to see our shareholders and supporters, hear your views and talk about where we go next.
We’re also delighted to introduce our new committee, which is actually made up of some familiar faces...
John Kerslake – Chair
Iain Grafton – Secretary
Sue Savery – Treasurer
Roger King – Committee Member
Kathy Toms – Committee Member
We’d also like to say a very big thank you to Nicky Scutt, Rose Smith and Christine Pascoe, who have stepped down from the committee.
All three have given a huge amount of time and energy to Ermington Store and More, and thankfully they aren't disappearing! They will all continue to volunteer in the shop, and Christine will continue to manage our very popular artists’ rent-a-shelf.
We’d also like to thank Sarah Stevenson, our Shop Manager, and Jil Bleiker, our Clerk, for everything they do to keep things running behind the scenes and day to day.
And finally, a reminder that we would love to hear from anyone who might be interested in joining the committee. You don't need to be an expert in community shops! We are particularly keen to bring in new ideas, skills and perspectives from across our community.
If you have experience in business, marketing, food service, finance, fundraising,
or simply enthusiasm and a willingness to get involved – please come and talk to us.
Some fabulous news from Plunkett UK
We recently had a Community Business Health Check from Plunkett UK, and we’re really pleased to say that the report gave us plenty to feel positive about. The visit took place in September, and the report highlighted four particular areas of excellence:
A very welcoming atmosphere, a strong and active committee, the inviting natural light in our shop, and the fact that the hub is well managed, with financial improvements over the past year.
That last point is particularly important to us.
We're not pretending that running a community shop, café and hub is easy. It isn't. But the hard work of the committee, staff and volunteers is beginning to show. Plunkett noted that our loss has reduced from £6,000 in 2024/25 to just £1,350 in 2025/26, reflecting the work we've done to control costs. They also described our 35% gross profit margin as excellent.
The report also recognised the quality of the café, noting that Sarah cooks for the café and that our wonderful volunteers bake cakes at home, with the quality of the products described as excellent.
There are, of course, things we need to work on. Plunkett has given us some really useful suggestions around increasing use of the hub, attracting more customers, developing our local product range and encouraging more people from across the community to get involved. You can read the full report on our website.
But perhaps one of the most encouraging messages in the report is the recognition that our volunteers are critical to the success of the business, which really is the bottom line.
Ermington Store and More exists because people care about it and give their time to make it work.
So, if you're one of our volunteers, committee members, staff, shareholders or customers – thank you. You're part of the reason we're still here, nearly seven years after opening our doors.
£355 for Macmillan – thank you!
Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who came along to our Macmillan Coffee Morning.
Together, you helped us raise an amazing £355 for Macmillan Cancer Support. ☕💚 Thank you to everyone who came along, donated, baked, bought cakes, drank coffee, donated prizes and generally helped make the morning such a lovely occasion.
We have had some feedback that the event wasn't advertised as widely or as early as it could have been, and honestly you're absolutely right about that - our communications could have been better. I'm sorry about that. There is, however, a slightly less glamorous explanation: I'm only one person! 😂
There are a lot of things that need doing behind the scenes at Ermington Store and More, and communications, social media, newsletters, posters and event promotion are just one part of a much bigger workload. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, things don't get promoted as early or as widely as we'd like.
That's not an excuse – it's a reminder that if you have skills, time or enthusiasm that you'd be willing to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.
We'd particularly welcome volunteers who enjoy social media, photography, writing, design, cooking or simply getting the word out about what's happening at the shop.
In the meantime, thank you to everyone who did hear about the coffee morning and came along. £355 is a fantastic result, and it's another great example of what our community can achieve together.
Which brings me neatly back to where I started...
Thank you.
Thank you for shopping with us, drinking our coffee, coming to events, hiring the hub, volunteering, baking cakes, joining the committee, buying shares, giving us feedback and continuing to support Ermington Store and More.
We're still here because of you, and we're looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together next.
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