Morelli’s was ahead of its time when it realised that creating a special relationship with its customers is crucial

ON A wet and windy summer’s day in Northern Ireland there is no better place to be than Portstewart promenade enjoying the delights of a family firm that is celebrating 100 years in business.

A visit to Morelli’s ice-cream parlour during a trip to Portstewart is a tradition that is handed down from one generation to the next in the North.

The Italian family business was founded in 1911 on the back of a “secret ice-cream recipe” that their great-grandfather had brought with him from the village of Casalattico in Italy.

What began as one man selling ice-cream from a handcart in the seaside towns of Portstewart, Portrush and Castlerock is now, thanks to the hard work of generations of Morellis, one of the North’s most popular family firms.

Today the award-winning company boasts a 200-seat cafe/restaurant, gift shop and apartment complex on the original site of the first “ice palace” on Portstewart promenade.

It has also branched out to franchised ice-cream parlours and produces ice-cream for Tesco.

But what has made Morelli’s such a successful family firm and ensured the secret ice-cream recipe lives on in 2011?

Morelli’s has a fantastic product at the centre of its business, but it was also ahead of its time in realising that if it created a special relationship with its customers this would work to its advantage.

It is not hard to buy ice-cream in Portstewart – there are dozens of quality options – but Morelli’s has created an experience around it which has resulted in fierce loyalty among its many fans.

It is this loyalty which, on the most basic level, probably helps Morelli’s to sell more ice-cream cones than its competitors – regardless of the weather.

Morelli’s may have been an early convert to the concept of customer loyalty. But it is fair to say that every retailer in the North is now more than aware that customer loyalty translates into sales and in these cash-conscious days there is nothing more important to a business that wants to stay afloat.

Last month the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association ran a campaign to encourage shoppers to “make a special effort” to shop local.

It wanted to inspire people to think before they shopped and perhaps do their shopping with a local independent retailer instead of driving to the nearest large multiple.

Glyn Roberts, chief executive of the association, says one of the objectives was to get people to think differently about their local shops and to help foster a new sense of loyalty, particularly in light of the role such businesses play in local communities.

“Our message is not anti-multiple but rather to encourage people to do more shopping in local independent stores,” he says.

“Every pound spent in a local store gets reinvested back into the community, supporting local town centres, farmers and suppliers.”

He says independent retailers are committed to supporting farmers and other small businesses in their area “by paying fair prices and selling their produce and products”.

“It is very important that shoppers realise that when they spend their money with an independent retailer any profits stay in Northern Ireland – they don’t go to some head office in some part of southern England.”

Roberts says that where consumers choose to spend their money is a key issue in relation to any local economic recovery.

The retail association’s statistics suggest that its 1,300 independent retail members employ more than 30,000 staff and have an annual turnover of more than £3 billion (€3.4 billion).

“If shoppers don’t support the local retail sector then it will disappear and vital services such as chemists, post offices, butchers and other small businesses will be lost,” Roberts says.

He adds that early feedback from retailers on the promotion has been positive with some reporting an increase in sales.

Perhaps the next stage for the association is to consider a campaign to get everyone in the North to shop local for every single product and service for one week to see what the net effect might be.

Imagine what the economic boost could be to towns and villages if every pound handed over by every local shopper was spent entirely in their local communities even just for seven days.