The Rock Shops in Shanklin and Sandown aren’t just traditional sweet shops. It’s nearly 70 years since the first store opened and they now offer much more than penny sweets and summer souvenirs, as Tom Stroud discovers
In 1948 Charles Kureen opened a traditional sweetshop in Shanklin’s Old Village. Today his shop is still a family business, now owned by his daughters Michelle and Suzanne. In 2015 sweets are still the big seller, with jars of retro treats, hand made fudges, shortbread and biscuits pulling in punters throughout the year. The Rock Shop has a full scale bakery and also sells specialist goods from local independent producers. There’s still rock on offer too, although the sticks are no longer made within the shop.
“We’re an Isle Of Wight institution as far as the tourism industry is concerned,” says partner Michelle Kureen. “People remember all those years of rock making demonstrations from their childhood and they keep coming back. It’s what holidays are all about.”
The rock making equipment is still there but it hasn’t been used in 15 years. Now customers can watch a demonstration on a TV screen. Together with the Sandown branch the Rock Shop employs eight people across both locations, expanding to a team of 24 in peak season. Their huge windows feature displays designed to reflect films and current trends. In pride of place in Shanklin is Mr Cube, who was once briefly removed and quickly reinstated following letters of complaint from concerned customers. The fluffy window icon is one of many links to the past and the Island’s tourist destination heritage.
“The classic story is of the Golden Rail holidays,” explains Michelle. “People would come down from factories on holiday, buying sticks of rock in bulk to take back to the people they worked with. The early pictures of the shop show masses of rock and also fudges, biscuits, coconut ice and nougat. It was quite simple, but people have become more discerning with more money to spend. People now want to buy a gift, or something more personal. Our rock is still at the core of the business but we’ve moved into sweetie trees and wedding favours. Sweets are now much more than just an apology for a present. There’s artistry in the packaging and the display.”
Laura Steen-Williams joined the team in 2010 and has been working to evolve the Rock Shop into a different sort of business. She’s concentrating on events, particularly weddings, offering luxury chocolates and bespoke confectionery with on-line retailing. Even with modern methods, Laura knows that the business is rooted in sugary escapism.
“We’re selling fun. It’s like coming to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Everyone is excited to come here and we want people to come and have an experience. We all love sweets and everyone respects the shop because it’s been here for so long. Of course it’s nostalgic but we do keep up with the latest sweet trends. We don’t just cater for tourists.”
Peak season for the Rock Shop runs from Easter until late September, often welcoming between 10 and 20 coaches to the store each day. Hot summers aren’t essential – in fact sunny weather is often better for selling beer or ice cream; the two main ingredients for sweet sales are lots of people and a little bit of cloud. At the summer’s peak the shops are open until 10pm each night, sometimes doing as much business between the hours of 5pm and 10pm as they would do in a normal 9 to 5 day.
“The summer is insane,” Laura laughs. “Both shops are packed throughout the summer season and although other seasonal businesses have struggled we’ve been lucky. The nostalgia thing helps, but outside of that summer season our events and weddings have been a huge boost. It’s about the personal touch, bespoke products and we’ll go out of our way to make what people want. We like a challenge.”
Laura creates sweet selections that make ideal birthday presents, with exclusive one-off items available. She’s produced wedding bouquets made entirely from lollipops, along with sweetie houses, entirely edible sweetie trees and wedding cakes assembled from sweets. There are gluten free, and perhaps surprisingly, even sugar-free options to suit every taste. At Christmas the Rock Shop fulfilled on-line orders including sweet hampers, containing liquorice and homemade fudge with personalised labels. Packages were dispatched as far as New Zealand, Australia, Russia as well as to local customers regularly stocking up on shortbread.
“To push a business forward you have to have an online presence,” says Laura. “Social media has been massive for us. This year we’re going to work even harder with the website. It’s almost like a completely separate business. You have to look to the future and be realistic too. The world is changing, so is tourism. The way people shop and spend money has changed in the last decade. We can’t sit on our laurels if we want the business to last another 60 years. It’s a fine line though – we can’t be too modern. We don’t want to look like every other sweetshop franchise. It’s still a very nostalgic, magical shop.”
Laura and Michelle agree that Shanklin’s Old Village is a destination in itself, a retail pocket that behaves differently to a traditional high street. The Sandown store is different because it’s in town, with more local business. It’s more beach orientated too, with an emphasis on souvenirs, rock and novelties. Even though the Sandown Rock Shop is more seasonal in its appeal, it’s also beginning to build a following with locals.
“People have specific ideas and that can be a hurdle,” says Michelle. “We had a problem in the past when people thought we were only rock and they weren’t coming through the door. Now we have regular local customers who aren’t just here for the rock. We open seven days a week on principle and some people are still very surprised by the choice and the amount of stock. These days the internet is definitely the way forward.”
“Being based on the Island does impact on us,” says Laura. “If we were on the mainland our on-line business would increase 10-fold. Our goods are fragile and that limits our product range and means we need a really trustworthy courier. Sometimes we’ve literally carried our goods on to the ferry. Islanders are still surprised that our shops are open all year round. In the winter, 9 times out of 10 we’re the only shop open because there’s nobody around. The coach that does turn up will go away happy and remember that we’re open. We’re loyal to our customers and coach drivers. We always want to push the business further and we wouldn’t rule out opening a third shop, in a town with all your round trade. We’re keeping our eyes open. We do love living and working here. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
One thing that won’t be changing is the name of the company. Although rock-making is now no longer at the centre of the business, the Rock Shop brand is here to stay, as Laura explains.
“We’re using the slogan ‘much more than just rock’ now because our business has grown and expanded. We’ll always be the Rock Shop though. It’s a tradition!”
First published in the March 2015 issue of Island Business magazine.
