Well, as the title of this post suggests, we (Ince Web Services Limited) have sold Oriental Food Shop.
The new owners are Tai Fat C&C Limited, and the management team are Eric Lo and his wife Kan. Eric is the brother of Allen Lo, who runs the Tai Fat supermarket in Leicester.
Here are answers to some of the questions this post may elicit.
Why did you sell the shop?
Because we have spent nine year building it to what it is now, and feel that it is time for us to move on to something new. It’s hard work, and whilst we love it, the shop has used up a lot of the time we would like to have spent with our family doing ordinary, family activities.
Is there a transition period?
Yes, we will be spending several weeks doing knowledge transfer, providing support and manpower until the new owners are confident and ready to go it alone.
What about the staff?
All staff are transferred under TUPE regulations and have continuity of employment rights. We’re going to miss working with them, obviously, but intend to stay in touch.
What about the customers?
There are some lovely customers who have supported us over the years and who it has been a pleasure to serve. We will miss them, but hope that they will find the same level of service from the new owners. We haven’t made a big announcement to customers, because the transition is intended to be gradual and seamless.
What about the website?
We retain ownership of the domains and website associated with orientalfoodshop.com but have no plans to continue selling on-line ourselves – we would really need the stock and warehouse we enjoyed before in order to make it profitable. If somebody makes an offer for the domains, we will consider it on its merits.
What will you do next?
Short term, take a holiday – we haven’t had one of those for many years. Longer term, a new business venture – we aren’t ready to say what that would be yet.