SLR May 2018

GAVIN BLAIR

Yazoo boss milks the sugar tax

UNDERAGE SALES

MAY 2018 | ISSUE 181

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MAKING THE MOST OF MUP

Will Minimum Unit Pricing be a windfall for local retailers?

Scottish off-trade leads the way in prevention

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GROCERY MEGAMERGER

Shock as Sainbury’s acquires Asda

WOODLANDS LOCAL

A shift of focus in our Falkirk store

FASCIAS

Is it time to sign-up for a symbol?

SLR Rewards shortlist in full – p26

May 2018

Contents

Contents ISSUE 181

NEWS p4

Site, Stock, Sell Camelot unveils new sales-boosting in-store standards programme as part of £20m investment. p5 Industry Consolidation Sainbury’s buys Asda in latest megadeal to rock grocery world. p6 Illegal Tobacco JTI sting operation paints grim picture of extent of illicit trade in one English city. p8 News Extra EUTPD2 Anniversary A year of plain packaging and no small packs has hit retailers hard, new survey finds. p16 Product News Mars Wrigley Confectionery warms up for World Cup with £10k cash prize promotion. p18 Off-Trade Tennent’s pours out new can design, while Famous Grouse launches new ‘everyday premium’ range. p20 Newstrade PayPoint One terminal integrates PaperRound news management software.

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INSIDE BUSINESS p22 Research Digest Scotland’s off-trade leads way in combating underage alcohol sales. p25 2 Minutes Of Your Time Gavin Blair The man behind the Yazoo brand says the sugar tax presents a great opportunity to grow the Flavoured Milk category. p26 SLR Rewards This year’s shortlist in full. p30 Woodlands Local With a new team stucture in place, it’s time to shift the focus in Falkirk to a full re-lay of the store. p34 Hotlines KP Snacks rolls out its latest NPD – a new range of melt-in-the-mouth Hula Hoops. p62 Under The Counter The Auld Yin is surprised by a gift from Tennent’s. Sadly for him, it’s not lager.

FEATURES p36 Fascia Guide Going it alone as an indepenent is becoming increasingly difficult in a rapidly-consolidating industry. p54 World Cup Despite no Scottish presence, Russia 2018 is sure to create a host of great sales for on-the-ball retailers. p56 Food-To-Go The standout category of the last 12 months is evolving quickly, and retailers need to stay on top of the latest trends to maximise revenues. p60 Cider Fruit ciders look set to account for almost half of all sales, with low and no alcohol variants gaining ground.

ON THE COVER p12 Minimum Unit Pricing Yet more unnecessary and ineffective nanny state red tape, or the biggest opportunity to land in local retailers’ laps for years?

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MAY 2018 | SLR

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News LOTTERY New scheme could add over £4,000 to your annual sales

Denny-Finch leaves IGD IGD Chief Executive Joanne Denney-Finch will part company from the grocery industry research and training charity in September. Denney-Finch said she was leaving to explore a number of different opportunities in both her professional and personal lives. The IGD Trustees are currently seeking her replacement.

Pladis looks to build ‘FMCG powerhouse’ with new hire Pladis has appointed Dmitry Ivanov to the newly-created global position of Chief Commercial Officer. Joining the firm’s Executive Committee, he will unite the Global Marketing, Digital and Research and Development teams to align them with a consumer-centric, commercial focus. Cem Karakas, CEO of pladis, said the appointment was “a natural next step in our journey to build a

Site, Stock, Sell: Camelot unveils new in-store standards programme As part of its £20m retail investment over the next three years, Camelot has launched its new Site, Stock, Sell in-store standards programme – which the lottery promoter says could boost a retailer’s sales by up £4,200 per year.

The new 10-point programme assists retailers in improving their instore standards and increasing sales throughout the year by asking simple questions in the areas of: l Site – for example, is the National Lottery Playstation in the best possible location? l Stock – is the scratchcard dispenser full? l Sell – is your store displaying current agreed posters?

commercial powerhouse”.

Müller food service business under threat Müller Milk and Ingredients is considering the future of a

The initiative will be rolled out to retailers in the coming weeks via face-to-face visits from Camelot’s 120-strong Retail Sales Team – which has recently doubled in size.

This means that retailers should now expect to receive an average of four visits from Camelot per year.

Site, Stock, Sell will also be accompanied by a bespoke rewards scheme, which could see retailers earn up to £140 in cash rewards every year. Retailers will earn £10 for a Site, Stock, Sell score of 8/10, £15 for 9/10 and £25 for 10/10. In addition,

there will be Quarterly Bonus Events where retailers can earn an extra £10 for uploading photos of their store, and any retailers scoring eight points or more will automatically be entered into a quarterly prize draw for the chance to win huge cash prizes.

To get started, retailers should register on the dedicated website: www.nationallotteryallstars.co.uk.

food service delivery operation supplying fresh milk and other

FOOD TO GO Retailers urged to invest in their stores

products to 3,000 business

The future is food-to-go and meal deals are a must, retailers told at SGF summit

customers in England. The company has confirmed a 45-day review and consultation, putting 250 jobs under threat. The at-risk business was acquired two years ago when Müller bought Dairy Crest’s dairies assets.

Bestway’s ‘encouraging’ performance The decision to increase margins to record levels helped Bestway Wholesale achieve an “encouraging” performance for the year ended June 30, 2017.

Revenue for the wholesaler, which recently bought the retail assets of bankrupted Conviviality, amounted to £2.13bn. This was a decrease of 2.0% compared to the corresponding period the year before, and was in line with the performance of the broader

SGF Chief Executive Pete Cheema urged retailers to “follow the money” recently, as he launched the Federation’s mini-summit on foodto-go, forecourts and technology, held at the McDonald Inchyra Hotel in Falkirk.

Cheema was referring to the £250,000 that was available in matched funding from the Scottish Government to develop in-store food-to-go solutions.

Fife Creamery’s Steve Appolinari, also advised retailers to make the most of the food-to-go opportunity.

He said stores had to adapt, invest and innovate if they wanted to survive, while David Dewhurst from Rollover said meal deals were the key to success.

Epos evangelist Harry Goraya The meal deal mantra was repeated by SGF President Dennis Williams as he told of the “massive challenge” his Premier Broadway store faced when an Aldi opened nearby last November. “We had to get coffee and food to go,” he said.

“That is a must for every convenience store nowadays.”

Ramsay MacDonald from the Petrol Retailers Association then conducted a whistle-stop tour of the sector before other speakers discussed fuel theft and applying for a filling station alcohol licence.

The summit’s technology strand saw presentations on GDPR, the benefits of using mystery shoppers and a lively talk from Kent-based retailer and Epos evangelist Harry Goraya. He urged retailers not to fall into the “I know my business better than a machine” trap.

The SGF’s John Lee ended the day with a call for applications for the Federation’s new Community Heroes Awards, which are intended to encourage industry engagement with local communities.

wholesale sector.

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News CONSOLIDATION Latest takeover creates UK’s biggest grocery business

Megamerger sees Asda bought by Sainsbury’s Sainsbury’s has agreed to buy Asda from Walmart in a deal that will see the combined business become the UK’s biggest supermarket chain.

Current number one Tesco holds a 27.8% share of the grocery market.

A merged Sainsbury’s and Asda would command 31.1%.

Sainsbury’s shares rocketed by 20% when the deal was confirmed (April 30).

Walmart will receive just shy of £3bn and a 42% stake in the merged company. The deal values Asda at £7.3bn, dwarfing Tesco’s £4bn takeover of Booker.

Sainsbury’s said it expected to slash prices by around 10% on “many of the products customers

buy regularly” after the merger and that the Asda brand would be maintained.

Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe will take charge of the joint

business. He is “100% confident” that stores won’t need to close following the merger.

However, one industry expert predicted that at least 73 stores may have to be shuttered. David Haywood, of Maximise UK, told the

BBC the figure could jump to 245 if competition watchdog the CMA takes the view that discounters Aldi and Lidl aren’t direct competitors.

Two parliamentary committees have written to the CMA regarding the lack of competition, as well as the impact of the deal on the grocery supply chain.

Store closures aside, there are also fears of job losses when the new business streamlines its back-end. The two firms currently employ over 330,000 staff between them.

The GMB union represents Asda workers. General Secretary Tim Roache said job losses or cuts to pay, terms and conditions would be “wholly unacceptable”.

LEGISLATION More needs to done to protect shop workers, says trade association

APPOINTMENTS

SRC backs enhanced protection for retail staff

New Chairman for CJ Lang

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) Ewan MacDonald-Russell, SRC has thrown its weight behind Daniel Head of Policy, commented: “Violent Johnson MSP’s proposed Protection or abusive behaviour towards shop of Workers Bill and called for more to staff in Scotland is wholly and utterly be done to protect vulnerable retail unacceptable. Retail workers should workers. be able to work free from fear of In a response to the violence, intimidation Consultation on the or abuse.” proposed legislation, MacDonald-Russell the SRC offered said that the legislative particular support for proposal represented the creation of a new an opportunity to revisit statutory aggravation the law and ensure for abusing any it was fit for purpose worker carrying out and that the sentences actions required by Ewan MacDonald-Russell handed down are the Government (by stiff enough to offer a enforcing age-restricted sales such sufficient deterrent. as alcoholic products, for example).

He added: “It’s just as crucial the The SRC favoured this option opportunity is taken to ensure all over the creation of a specific new the steps possible at the moment offence, arguing that the degree are being taken by the police and of overlap with existing legislation criminal justice system to ensure might cause “confusion amongst retail workers, who play a vital role prosecutors, police, retail colleagues in Scotland’s economy, are able to and the general public”. perform their jobs free from abuse.”

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New Convenience boss is start of TLM’s Evolution Fuel and convenience-specific support services provider TLM Technologies (TLM) has named Jonathan Rons as its Head of Convenience. Rons has worked in the convenience sector for more than 25 years.

The appointment signals TLM’s commitment to further expand into the convenience sector with its Evolution suite of Epos, back office, and head office applications.

Barcode Festival breaking all GroceryAid records Ticket sales for its forthcoming Barcode Festival have surpassed any previous GroceryAid event.

Acts appearing at Hawker House, London on June 28 include Kaiser Chiefs, Sigma, Greg James and Levi Roots with his Reggae Reggae band. Tickets, priced at £250 (including all food and drink), are still available.

Today’s takes staff training online with Bolt Learning The Today’s Group has partnered with Bolt Learning to offer an online training solution to its independent wholesale members. The new initiative will provide the Group’s 143 members with access to online training modules covering a range of topics including GDPR; health and safety; and management skills. The initial

CJ Lang has named Jim Hepburn as the new Chairman of the company.

Current Chair Joan ScottAdie now takes up the position of Life President and will continue to actively contribute to the business.

Hepburn, who has worked with both CJ Lang’s Main and Executive Boards since last October, has significant experience in the food and drink industries, previously holding senior positions at Dawnfresh Seafoods, Premier Foods, Baxters and Scottish & Newcastle.

training modules roll out this month.

PayPoint gives the solution to U Account holders Bank alternative U Account has partnered with PayPoint to offer its 50,000 current account holders a cash payments solution. Customers can now load their U Account with a value from £10 to £250 at any of PayPoint’s 29,000 retailers across the UK. This gives U’s customers access to a network larger than all banks, Post Offices and supermarkets combined.

MAY 2018 | SLR

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News TOBACCO JTI sting reveals extent of illicit trade in one English city

Nisa charity raises more with new funding model Nisa’s charity Making a Difference Locally has changed the way it is funded to raise additional funds for small charities and good causes. To simplify the funding process, wholesale sales of all branded products featured in Nisa’s threeweekly consumer leaflet will now carry a 0.25% donation to the charity; all of Nisa’s Heritage own label products will carry a donation of 0.6% all year round.

BRC calls for tariff-free trade post-Brexit The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned of potential price rises if Britain leaves the EU without a trade agreement in place. A no-deal Brexit could see the price of beef up 37%, with cheese possibly rising by 43%.

Calling for political certainty between the UK and EU as soon as possible, the BRC said across

One-third of Stoke stores selling suspect smokes An undercover operation conducted for Japan Tobacco International (JTI) in Staffordshire has revealed the widespread availability of illegal tobacco, with 17 out of the 48 stores visited in Stoke found to be selling illicit products.

Whether these numbers offer a true reflection of the extent of the illicit trade in Scotland is unclear but, taken at face value, they make for grim reading.

Additional consumer research also conducted for JTI revealed that more than half (55%) of smokers in Staffordshire say they have bought fake cigarettes.

The investigation also found that nearly six in ten (57%) smokers in Staffordshire had been offered illegal tobacco in the past year, and over half (53%) would not report it if they were offered illegal tobacco, even though it could fund organised crime.

In addition, 43% have bought cigarettes with foreign language health warnings on the pack and 24% have bought tobacco from family or friends who had been abroad.

The operation revealed that the typical price for a pack of illegal cigarettes was £3.50 (versus about £8.00 for

Retailers caught selling illegal tobacco products risk legal proceedings and removal of their gantry

genuine products) while a 50g pack of illegal roll your own tobacco (RYO) was either £4 or £4.50 (versus £21).

The UK government estimates that illegal tobacco makes up around 15% of the cigarette market and 28% of RYO tobacco in the UK, resulting in around £2.5bn of lost tax revenue in 2016/17. Since 2000/1, the total revenue loss is £43.5bn.

the board tariff-free trade must remain a priority for both sides in

APPOINTMENTS Industry veteran takes helm at Nisa

FORECOURTS

the ongoing negotiations.

Ex-Tesco boss Towle named as new Nisa chief

Jet adds two new Scottish sites

Scotmid champions local causes with £50k funding Scotmid Co-operative’s Community Connect initiative will see six local charities share £50,000 generated from the sale of single-use carrier bags.

Glasgow charity Street Connect and Inverness-based Highland Cycle Ability Centre took the top awards of £15,000 each following regional ballots of Scotmid members.

Retailers can win this spring with P&G Shelfhelp.co.uk, P&G’s category advice hub, is giving retailers a chance to win one of 20 springthemed POS displays for their laundry and homecare displays.

Retailers who sign up for the new members area on Shelfhelp and follow @PGShelfHelp on Twitter are eligible to win. To enter, retailers need to reply to any #SpringFresh tweet stating their top retail tips for “winning in spring” across the laundry and

Ken Towle has been appointed as Nisa’s new CEO and takes up the position with immediate effect.

He replaces interim CEO Arnu Misra, who steered the symbol group through its takeover by the Co-op.

Misra will remain in the business for a transitional period.

Towle spent 30 years with Tesco, rising from Retail Management Trainee to become Managing Director for Central Europe, Ireland and Turkey, with stints as CEO for the mult’s China operation and Internet Retailing Director along the way.

He left the company in 2015, spending two years as Senior Advisor with the Boston Consulting Group, before taking up his most recent post as President Fashion & Teens at MH Alshaya, a Kuwaitbased multinational retail franchise operator.

His appointment follows approval of the deal by the CMA and a final nod from the Court.

Jo Whitfield, the Co-op’s Chief Executive Officer for Retail, said: “I’m delighted that Ken will lead the business for us and would like to thank Arnu for the work he has done.”

Whitfield added that the takeover – which will see the Co-op’s own-label products in Nisa stores – would give Nisa Partners “a wholesale operation of scale, allowing them the flexibility to trade their businesses in the way they choose, whilst benefiting from competitive prices and promotions on an industry leading own brand.”

Jet has strengthened its Scottish network with the addition of Lochbroom Filling Station in Ullapool and Contin Filling Station in Contin, Strathpeffer.

Highland Fuels, a longstanding Jet-branded Authorised Distributor in Scotland, has won the contract to directly supply Phillips 66 fuels to both sites, using the Jet brand under licence from Phillips 66.

The sites, which are owned by independent dealer, Alistair Fraser, have just been fully re-imaged in the latest Jet brand and have their own convenience stores.

Under the new supply agreement, fuel volumes at Lochbroom’s are anticipated to rise from 2.35 to 2.5 mlpa, with Contin’s expected to rise from 1.15mlpa to 1.3mlpa.

homecare categories.

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News Extra

Tobacco Legislation

NewsExtra THE FACTS ABOUT FASCIAS – P36 TOBACCO EUTPD2 legislation has been ‘hugely damaging’ to local retailers

Convenience Matters with the SGF This month sees the longawaited implementation of the Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol regulations.

This is probably the biggest government intervention in alcohol policy the UK has seen, with the Scottish government actively intervening to set the market price for products in the Beers, Wines and Spirits category.

Despite the policy dating back to 2012, actual implementation has been on a very short timescale. SGF has put considerable time and effort – with support from the Scottish government – into producing a retailers’ guide and a price calculator on our website. The calculator is device-friendly when downloaded and also available on our app.

We have worked closely with our symbol group colleagues to distribute the guide and we are also supplying it to local authority Licensing Standards Officers. LSOs will use the guide on their store visits.

Essentially MUP is a new and mandatory condition of license and LSOs have responsibility for enforcement. There will be checks on retailers but no nationwide ‘blitz’ is planned for May 1 and LSOs will take a common-sense approach.

They key outcome for us is that retailers are prepared and can be fully compliant. The key question, however, is: how will consumers react? Most immediately, how will some customers react when they suddenly see a sharp increase in price? It is vital that retailers begin to have conversations in-store with their customers to highlight what is happening and why it is happening.

In August SGF is holding an industry round table meeting for retailers and key manufacturers to assess the initial impact of MUP. Let us know if you want to be there.

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SLR | MAY 2018

Retailers hit by ‘failing’ plain pack policy and small pack ban A new survey by the Tobacco Retailers Alliance to mark the first anniversary of the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products in the UK and the ban on small tobacco packs has found that retailers have been hit hard.

Sunday May 20, 2018 marks the first anniversary of the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products in the UK and the ban on small tobacco packs (packs with less than 20 cigarettes or hand rolling with less than 30 grams). The Tobacco Retailers Alliance (TRA), the group that represents tens of thousands of independent tobacco retailers across the UK, has conducted a survey of retailers across the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, to find out their views and understand the scale of the impact of such changes on their trading.

The key findings based on more than 250 responses show that: Q 58% strongly agree or agree that they are aware of fake (counterfeit) plain packaged tobacco products being sold in their local area.

80% of responding retailers said that the ban on small packs of tobacco has reduced their footfall.

Q 50% of responding retailers said that their footfall has fallen between 20% and 30% due to the ban on small packs of tobacco with the average being 27%.

Q 72% strongly agree or agree that there is more illegal or very cheap tobacco sold in their local area than before plain packaging was introduced.

Q 91% strongly agree or agree that the Government should undertake a full review of tobacco policies and assess the impact on small tobacco retailers; only 2% disagree.

Q 73% of respondents said that the illegal tobacco trade is preventing them from improving their shop or hiring more staff.

Q 67% strongly disagree or disagree that there should be a licensing system for tobacco retailers.

The survey shows the scale of the cumulative effect of the tobacco control legislation on small and independent retailers up and down the country, it also comes as law enforcement agencies across the UK have made repeated discoveries of fake plain package tobacco products. Respondents also said that fake cigarettes are sold in, for example, ice cream vans, and some had reported as much as a 50% decline in footfall.

The National Spokesperson for the TRA, Suleman Khonat, commented on the wider implications of the survey results said: “It is clear that the impact of plain packaging and the ban on small packs have had a hugely damaging impact on independent retailers across the country. Plain packaging has simply made it easier for criminals to introduce fake packs, taking away legitimate

trade whilst the small pack ban has further damaged trade by hitting footfall and incidental spend. This double whammy of woe cooked up by the health lobbyists is hitting independent retailers whilst the government simply chose to ignore all the warnings that such measures would have this impact.

“The government in Westminster, as well as those in the devolved nations, should realise that the consequences of ineffective legislation are far reaching and often damage livelihoods of the very hardworking legitimate small retailers. It’s clear that what retailers are telling us, and what is apparent from the survey, is a different picture to what the public health officials and ministers are wanting us to believe. It’s time Government listened to the retail sector rather than the shrill voices of the professional health lobby groups who call for ever more draconian measures.

“The Government needs to reconsider these measures not least given that they were warned of the potential negative consequences. It’s clear that both plain packaging and the small pack ban are failing, and we should use our departure from EU and the opportunities presented by Brexit to reverse these measures.” www.slrmag.co.uk

ILLICIT SOFT DRINKS SALES. HELP US STAMP IT OUT. ILLICIT IS ILLEGAL Duty evasion and illicit trade pose a serious risk to the soft drinks industry. From 6th April, some beverages will be liable for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. If you suspect an individual or business is importing soft drinks without paying the full levy report this to HMRC immediately. Do not try to find out more about the tax evasion or let anyone know you’re making a report.

HMRC FRAUD HOTLINE: 0800 788 887

FEDERATION OF WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS

Comment

MUP IS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR US ALL Like most Scottish Government legislation that impacts directly on the local retailing sector, Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) met with a rather frosty reception when it was first announced. Yet more nanny state-ism and pointless legislation that won’t actually achieve much other than providing the Government with some nice headlines for a few days about how they’re tackling societal issues head on. Except, of course, that they aren’t really. I don’t for the life of me see how MUP is going to make any difference to problem drinking. Working at our own Woodlands Local, I know who the problem drinkers are and I can tell you from first-hand experience that making Frosty Jack laughably expensive will not convert those shoppers to teetotalism, or even reduce their weekly alcohol unit intake.

“What should I buy now?” is a question I’ve heard on several occasions already and when it sinks in that there will be no such thing as super-cheap booze, they’ve quickly calculated how to get their fix. The net result is that they’ll spend more in the store and will have less money for things like food and toiletries.

Like I’ve said a thousand times before, it’s not possible to fix societal problems by simply making things expensive. People take drugs and drink too much because they are fundamentally unhappy or dissatisfied with their lives.

But to fix societal problems takes literally generations and requires a huge shift in a whole range of policies. The Government doesn’t have generations, so it takes the easy route every time.

But on the flip side, MUP presents a once in a decade opportunity for retailers. Price parity with the supermarkets and discounters means they have lost their ace in the pack when it came to driving footfall. No cheap cases of beer or bottles of spirits means the supermarkets will have to find something else to drag shoppers to their store. And they won’t find that easy. They’ve already tried with the likes of confectionery and crisps, but they don’t work. The only thing that does it cheap booze. And now they don’t have that card to play.

So I would encourage all local retailers to go to town on talking to their shoppers – via social media, face to face or in-store – that we’re now the same price as the mults. Plus we chill our beers, wines, ciders and RTDs and we give you smile and a bit of banter while you’re in the store, and we’re just around the corner.

It’s a great opportunity but there’s work to be done to make sure we truly leverage it to the hilt.

EDITORIAL Publishing Director & Editor Antony Begley 0141 222 5380 | abegley@55north.com Web Editor Findlay Stein 0141 222 5389 | fstein@55north.com Editorial Contributor Karen Peattie

ADVERTISING Advertising Manager Susan Dignon 0141 222 5384 | sdignon@55north.com

DESIGN Design & Digital Manager Richard Chaudhry 0141 222 5388 | rchaudhry@55north.com

EVENTS Events & Operations Manager Cara Begley 0141 222 5381 | cbegley@55north.com

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Scottish Local Retailer is distributed free to qualifying readers. For a registration card, call 0141 222 5381. Other readers may obtain copies by annual subscription at £50 (UK), £62 (Europe airmail), £99 (Worldwide airmail).

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All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the magazine has endevoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change.

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© 55 North Ltd. 2018 ISSN 1740-2409.

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Cover Story

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Minimum Unit Pricing

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Minimum Unit Pricing

Cover Story

MUP: THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY IN YEARS?

Once derided as yet more unnecessary and ineffective nanny state red tape, Minimum Unit Pricing is increasingly looking like the biggest opportunity to land in local retailers’ laps for years.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

W

hen news first broke that Scotland was to go it alone and introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol, the general reaction from the local retailing industry was, frankly, far from positive. It was viewed by many as yet more unnecessary legislation that would cause more headaches for retailers while failing miserably to achieve the public health improvement goals set out for it.

We’ve been here so many times before, of course, so that reaction was only to be expected. The Scottish Government has a fair bit of previous when it comes to introducing new legislation that appears to have been hastily conceived, drafted and then passed into law before it was actually fit for purpose.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to being seen as proactive and innovative in relation to public health is in many ways commendable, but there is a strong suspicion in many quarters that speed is often prioritised above quality when it comes to drafting new legislation. The Government appears more interested in being first than getting it right.

This has been particularly true of recent tobacco and alcohol legislation.

So when Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) first reared its head it appeared that the clock was already ticking, as the Scottish Government set its heart on becoming the first nation on earth to introduce MUP. In the meantime, the industry was slowly coming around to the realisation that MUP, rather than being www.slrmag.co.uk

a blight, might actually represent a massive opportunity for local retailers. For the first time, convenience stores and supermarkets would find themselves on a legally-binding level playing field in terms of alcohol pricing.

Doubts remain as to just how effective MUP will be in tackling problem drinking. Work an evening shift in any convenience store in Scotland, for instance, and it will be very clear that MUP is more likely to make problems drinkers change what they drink than it is to stop them drinking altogether – and it may even force some down an even less palatable avenue into drugs and crime. But putting that wider societal issue to one side, the bulk of local retailers now appear to view MUP as a gilded opportunity to steal back some ground from the supermarkets and discounters.

“Now that nobody can do cheap alcohol, the focus has got to move away from price because retailers will have to find different ways of differentiating themselves from each other.”

GARY HAIGH, KEYSTORE MORE PETERHEAD

“As far as I can see, MUP is a brilliant opportunity for local retailers in Scotland because it means we can now compete fairly with Tesco and Aldi on alcohol,” says Scott Graham of McLeish’s in Inverurie. “Why would customers jump in their car to drive to a supermarket for a case of beer or a bottle of vodka when they can get it round the corner from their house at my store for the same price? And why would they want to buy a case of beer they don’t really need anyway when they can get four cans out of the chiller from me at the same pro-rata price? It’s a real opportunity but it’s up to us to make the best of it by making sure our customers know that the pricing is now more or less the same regardless of where they go.”

The issue of communicating the importance of the changes to customers is one that Dennis Williams, SGF President and owner of Broadway Convenience Store in Edinburgh picks up on: “I think customers will realise soon enough that the days of dirt-cheap cases of beer and bottles of vodka for a tenner are over at the mults and discounters, but we can accelerate that learning by communicating with them ourselves.

“By explaining to customers what MUP means, either face-to-face or by social media or whatever, we can help show them that there’s no need for them to go to a supermarket or a discounter if it’s alcohol they’re looking for.”

That’s the strategy we adopted in our Woodlands Local store in Falkirk. We explained the impacts of MUP on the store’s MAY 2018 | SLR

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Cover Story

Minimum Unit Pricing

Facebook page, and why people should shop locally rather than in a major multiple because the pricing is now the same. The response from customers was entirely positive.

“Our experience of MUP so far is that customers understand it’s happening, understand why and aren’t blaming retailers for it, so that’s all been pretty smooth,” says Scott Graham. “They understand it’s healthdriven and they largely buy into it, so it’s helped make the transition a relatively smooth one. It also helps that MUP hasn’t actually affected too many products in my store.”

Scott’s experience is typical, with many retailers reporting that they only had to change the price of half a dozen products in-store, typically Strongbow Cider, Lambrini, some PMP value spirits and, of course, Frosty Jack.

This more than tripled in price overnight, along with other super-strength white ciders.

For many retailers, MUP could present a world of opportunities, as highlighted by C&C off-trade Sales Director Norman Loughery: “C&C commissioned detailed consumer research ahead of MUP’s implementation.

This highlighted a range of opportunities for independent retailers to consider.

“Under MUP there is no pricing benefit to purchasing alcohol in supermarkets, we therefore expect, over time, a shift in consumer habits that will see drinkers purchasing smaller size packs, as well as purchasing more frequently. With this in mind, independent retailers are likely to see an increase in consideration of alcohol from shoppers, providing them with an opportunity to drive purchase, particularly as our research shows that consumers view a ‘convenient location’ and ‘good range of products’ as the most important considerations for shopping after price.

“Our research also highlighted that the majority of shoppers are likely to spend the same amount on alcohol, with key price points that retailers should look to hit being £5, £10 & £15. Packs crossing these thresholds are likely to suffer disproportionate volume losses. No price incentive on large packs, will see their removal, with small and mid-packs becoming key to category sales. Without the ability to use price to differentiate from market leaders, weaker brands are likely to lose out; we recommend rationalising slow sellers and weaker performers in order to dedicate sufficient space to selling Scotland’s favourite brands – like Tennents Lager & Magners Cider.

“With no ability to discount below the Minimum Unit Price, an increased focus on what the consumer values, will be crucial for retailers. Over half of beer and cider is consumed (in part) on day of purchase. By maximising chilled space on best-selling 14

SLR | MAY 2018

packs, retailers will sell the products Scots are looking for, chilled and ready for (near) immediate consumption. This will improve perceived value, and entice consumers to come back time and time again.”

KeyStore More Peterhead retailer Garry Haigh also believes that MUP will result in a shift away from price as the big selling point for alcohol, with the emphasis now likely to shift onto a better range of interesting, high quality products which will present a fresh opportunity for local retailers.

He told SLR: “For years the vast majority of alcohol sales were all about price. Cases of beer for a tenner at Tesco, bottles of spirits for £9, that sort of stuff. But now that nobody can do cheap alcohol, the focus has got to move away from price because retailers will have to find different ways of differentiating themselves from each other. That gives independent retailers a real advantage because they can move quicker and try things quicker in response to evolving shopper trends. Things like craft beers and gins, locally-sourced drinks, premium products and so on. That’s got to be a good thing for us.”

The acid test, believes Dennis Williams, will be Christmas this year. He says: “By Christmastime customers will understand

TALKING TO SHOPPERS

“MUP is a brilliant opportunity for local retailers in Scotland because it means we can now compete fairly with Tesco and Aldi on alcohol.”

SCOTT GRAHAM, MCLEISH’S INVERURIE

MUP well and I’m hoping we’ll see a bit of a resurgence in the local retailing trade because the supermarkets and discounters won’t be able to use alcohol as a loss-leader to drive footfall the way they’ve done for many years.

If we can convert even a percentage of those shoppers to customers of ours at Christmas, it could be a very festive period indeed.”

The lesson here is clear, then. Communicate frequently and well with your customers to let them know that there is no benefit to buying beers, wines, ciders or spirits at the supermarket – and begin the process of building a tailored range that will give your customers reason to choose your store first.

Opportunities like this don’t come along very often. It’s vital we grab this one by the throat.

Meanwhile in Carlisle...

At Woodlands Local we decided to start talking to our customers about MUP and why there was no longer any need to buy alcohol at the supermarkets. As you can see, the response from our customers was entirely sympathetic and undesratnding.

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News

Products

New look for Heritage biscuits Nisa’s own-label biscuit range

ProductNews

has been given an overhaul in response to member feedback and new government health recommendations.

Packaging on the entire Heritage range has been redesigned to make the biscuits easier to shop. A new pricing structure has been introduced after previous prices were deemed to be out of line with the marketplace. Some recipes have also been tweaked to reduce salt and sugar content.

Galloway gives away 100 prizes over 100 days Lactalis McLelland has launched a new Galloway Cheese on-pack promotion giving consumers in Scotland the chance to win a prize a day for 100 days.

The daily prize draw runs until July 18 and is supported by a bespoke digital and out-of-home

SCORE BIG WITH THE WORLD CUP – P54 SOFT DRINKS CCEP prepares for feast of football with video game tie-in

Coke kicks-off World Cup campaign with EA Sports Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) is warming up for the World Cup with a new on-pack promotion in partnership with video game company EA Sports.

The activity sees unique codes printed on promotional packs of Coca-Cola Classic and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar until June 17. These unlock exclusive in-game content within EA Sports’ FIFA 18 football game for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.

Consumers are also in with the chance of winning a rare player and Coca-Cola jersey for their virtual team.

With research showing that more

than half of the population are planning to watch this year’s World Cup, the promotion is intended to help retailers build their soft drink sales by tapping into the popularity of football and the FIFA gaming franchise.

Promotional packs are available on Coca-Cola Classic and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 330ml cans and 500ml PET bottles, which are also available in PMPs. The promotion is supported by a £2.5m marketing campaign that includes POS, digital, social and outof-home advertising.

campaign. Prizes on offer include toastie makers and a 4K TV. BOTTLED WATER

Glacéau’s new brand partner signing is a Dunn deal

Cadbury’s ultimate 5-a-side tournament Cadbury has launched a new impulse-exclusive promotion with the Premier League.

Running until June 30, the competition gives consumers the chance to play five-a-sides with players including Thierry Henry.

Cash prizes are also up for grabs. For stores that stock the participating products and display POS material, Mondelez will match the value of each cash

CONFECTIONERY

prize to retailers where winning

Cadbury and Merlin reunite

packs are purchased.

belVita gunning for new consumers with promo Healthy biscuit brand belVita’s latest on-pack promotion gives consumers the chance to win one of over 1,000 NutriBullet juice and smoothie makers.

To be entered into a weekly draw for the prizes, shoppers need to purchase a belVita promotional pack and enter its barcode on a dedicated website.

British supermodel Jourdan Dunn has been named as Glacéau smartwater’s new UK ambassador. Dunn features in the brand’s new multi-platform campaign, which showcases how Glacéau is an integral part of her busy lifestyle, from fashion, food and fitness to travel and beauty.

Cadbury’s on-pack promotion that gives consumers free entry to Merlin Entertainments attractions like Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor has continued for a third year.

The chocolate bags promo is backed by a £1m marketing spend, including out-of-home and digital activity that will reach 80% of all UK adults.

The promotion continues until July 2018.

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16

SLR | MAY 2018

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Products

News

Soak up profits with Bestway’s new water Bestway Wholesale has launched a new bottled water.

Sourced from the Pembrokeshire hills, Mount Aqua is available in

CONFECTIONERY World Cup fever reaches the confectionery aisle

Mars Wrigley gets ready for Russia 2018 with £10k cash prize promotion Mars Wrigley Confectionery has launched the Sweetstake, a new onpack promotion offering consumers the chance to win millions of prizes including free products and cash.

A new take on the well-known sweepstake format, the promotion runs across 10 brands in singles, multipack and pouches. There will be 100 million promotional packs in the market in the lead-up to and during this summer’s World Cup, which will be held in Russia.

Every promotional pack purchased gives consumers entry to the Sweetstake and there will be over 700 different gameplay scenarios available across the promotion.

Shoppers will need to enter the unique code found inside the pack onto a microsite to see if they have won a prize if their gameplay scenario occurs.

Each pack carries a 1 in 7.7 chance of winning prizes including cash sums of £5, £20, £500 and £10,000. Free products – redeemable by coupons – are also up for grabs. Every entrant is also added to a £10,000 super draw to be held at the end of the promotional period (July 16).

non-price-marked bottles with an RSP of 50p/59p for 500ml screw/ sports cap formats and £1.99 for a 5-litre take home pack.

By pricing at RSP, retailers can make over £8 profit (80% POR) on a case of 24 standard 500ml bottles.

Urban Eat unveils food-togo ‘One Stop Shop’ Sandwich brand Urban Eat is positioning itself as a ‘One Stop Shop’ for food-to-go products with the launch of a new directto-store delivery service.

The service offers retailers a range of branded SKUs from the likes of Wall’s and Pork Farms that complement Urban Eat’s portfolio of sandwiches, wraps and snacks. Brand owner Adelie Foods also offers retailers POS materials, planograms and

Mars Wrigley is driving awareness of the promotion with a £1.2m marketing spend, including a TV ad, digital activity and live out-of-home media.

The promotion runs across Mars, Maltesers, Extra, Galaxy, M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Revels, Skittles and Starburst SKUs. Katie Walland, Mars Brand Director – Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK, said: “Rooted in cutting edge shopper and consumer insight, we’re confident The Sweetstake can, with a £1.2m media spend, drive growth across the category, boost sales for retailers, and provide consumers with a way to enjoy football even more with Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK’s blockbuster brands!”

regular promotions.

Win a holiday with Lucozade Sport Lucozade Sport’s new on-pack competition offers consumers the chance to win 20,000 prizes including Fitbits and holidays for two. The activity will be supported by a £5m ‘Made to Move’ campaign that looks to inspire consumers to be more active over the summer and is fronted by brand ambassadors Anthony Joshua and Harry Kane.

BREAKFAST

The competition runs until

Quaker hopes to repeat 2017’s overnight success

October.

Following last summer’s overnight oats on-pack promotion from Quaker, the brand has kicked-off a new ‘mix and match’ campaign.

It offers shoppers the chance to choose the colour and design of their very own, free mason jar when purchasing packs of 1kg Traditional or Jumbo Quaker Rolled Oats.

The brand gave away 40,000 mason jars in last year’s activity, which Eric Williams, Quaker Oats Marketing Manager, hailed as a huge success.

The current promotion runs until the end of May.

updated its packaging with a

Florette freshens up Salad brand Florette has new look. The new design has been created with a fresher and more natural look and feel using a contemporary colour palette, with a focus on the brand’s ‘Always Made with Sunshine’ position, after consumer analysis showed that shoppers made the connection between the ‘Sunshine’ message and a tastier, fresher product.

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MAY 2018 | SLR

17

News

Off-Trade

Merrydown Dry: back by popular demand SHS Drinks is bringing back

Off-TradeNews

Merrydown Dry (ABV 6.8%, RSP £2.69) exclusively for the Impulse channel. This follows the cider’s withdrawal in 2017. Packaged in a 750ml glass sharing bottle and with a fresh label design to complement that introduced across the whole brand last year, new Merrydown Dry will be available from mid-May in trade units of 6- and 12-bottle shrinkwrapped trays.

The relaunch will be supported by on-shelf POS, trade mailers, and a social media campaign including giveaways and teaser posts.

THE CHANGING FACE OF FOOD-TO-GO – P56 COCKTAILS Pack refresh and range additions from Funkin

Funkin shakes up cocktails Funkin is expanding its range of cocktails to six flavours while also giving its shakers a facelift.

Piña Colada is set to launch this month, while Espresso Martini and Bramble will both follow later in the year. They will join existing variants Mojito, Passion Fruit Martini and Strawberry Daiquiri.

The new-look shakers are silver with bright, bold colours differentiating each flavour.

Prominent on-pack instructions clearly communicate how the product should be used. The shape of the pack is unchanged; the three-piece shaker has a measuring cap and measure line for pouring the correct amount of

spirit and a strainer. Consumers simply need to add spirit and ice then shake.

The updated shakers are supported by sampling activity coupled with a social media

campaign to drive trial and awareness.

Available in 4x400ml cases with an RSP of £4, each shaker has an 11-month ambient shelf life and makes four serves.

BEER

Estrella Damm launches latest film, Our Life Spanish beer brand Estrella Damm has released its latest film, ‘La Vida Nuestra’ (Our Life).

In the 16-minute film, Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage (pictured) helps Álvaro Cervantes navigate a difficult decision.

‘Our Life’ is the third such film produced

by Estrella Damm over the past three years.

It follows ‘Vale’ starring Dakota Johnson and ‘The Little Things’ with Jean Reno.

“The launch of the Estrella Damm brand film has become an annual event in the UK,” said James Healey, UK Country Manager for Estrella Damm. “We are confident that the campaign will help the brand to continue growing in the UK.”

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18

SLR | MAY 2018

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Off-Trade

News

New flavour and multipacks from WKD WKD is adding a Mango Crush flavour to its range, available in 275ml glass bottles at 4.0% ABV. Support includes a range

WHISKY A fresh take on blended Scotch

Famous Grouse launches ‘everyday premium’ blends

of trade deals to incentivise

The Famous Grouse has announced the launch of the Cask Series, a new range of “everyday premium” whiskies.

Offering a new take on The Famous Grouse, the Cask Series aims to offer lovers of blended whisky an affordable way to enjoy new whisky styles which incorporate flavours imparted from specially selected oak casks.

Developed by The Famous Grouse’s Master Blender, Kirsteen Campbell, the Cask Series celebrates wood quality and the impact this has on whisky. The

Old Mout debuts noalcohol cider

first in the series to be released is the Bourbon Cask, which will be followed by a number of whiskies aged in different cask types.

The Famous Grouse Bourbon Cask will be available from wholesalers in the summer, with an RSP of £19.

Kirsteen Campbell said: “The Cask Series is designed to showcase how different types of oak cask can influence flavour, delivering a range of wonderful flavours to appeal to a wide range of consumers.”

Tennent’s has unveiled a brand new can design that mimics a poured-out glass of lager.

The new-look cans also tell the story of the lager’s provenance, recounting founder Hugh Tennent’s journey to Bavaria where he learned the art of pilsner-style brewing over 130 years ago.

The new can will hit the shelves from this month in 330ml, 440ml, 500ml and 568ml sizes.

Tennent’s will also roll out a host of new SKUs over the summer months, including a 5-ltr mini-keg and 6 x 330ml fridge pack.

A promotion running on 15 x 440ml packs will give consumers the chance to win a personalised Tennent’s pint glass engraved with their name.

Commenting on the new cans, Rhona Fyfe, Brand Manager at Tennent’s Lager, said: “The design celebrates the liquid on the inside, which remains the same refreshing lager that was first brewed in 1885.”

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sampling activity and a considerable social media campaign. The new variant also will feature in two WKD multipack formats: a dual-flavour pricemarked 4-pack and a multiflavour variety 10-pack.

Old Mout has released its first alcohol-free cider, in response to the growing demand from consumers for more no- and lowalcohol beverages. Launching in a Berries & Cherries variant, Old Mout Alcohol Free is made in the exactly the same way as other Old Mout ciders. It is available now in 500ml bottles with a promotional RSP of £1.30.

New look for Maltsmiths

BEER New look for Wellpark’s finest

Tennent’s rolls out new can design

distribution, telesales drives,

WINE

Heineken has unveiled a

Less is more with new Accolade 50cl range

new design for its premium Maltsmiths Pilsner-style lager.

The new look is available now across 6x330ml cans, 12x330ml cans and 660ml bottles.

Heineken describes Maltsmiths as “the perfect gateway into craft beer” that will drive strong sales for retailers as people trade up.

Nisa unveils Heritage spirits collection Nisa has launched a range of

Accolade Wines has launched a range of 50cl bottles in the wake of research that revealed a growing consumer desire to cut back on midweek drinking.

Accolade said there were several benefits to the smaller format: Q Just enough for two (no wastage) Q Easy to carry home Q Lower price point Q Suited to the occasion

spirits under its Heritage ownlabel branding. The Signature Blend range includes six different spirits: vodka, whisky, gin, brandy and both white and dark rums. The range was previously labelled as Kommissar vodka, Banoch Brae whisky, London Silk gin, Anbardi white and dark rum and Cezanne brandy.

Wines in the 50cl range include Kumala Reserve Chenin Blanc and Shiraz, Hardys 556, William Hardy, Langhorne Creek Shiraz and Mud House Sauvignon Blanc.

MAY 2018 | SLR

19

News

Newstrade

Look magazine to close Tim Inc has confirmed that it is to close its Look magazine after

News& Magazines

almost 10 years. The May 29 issue will be the final published, despite the fact that its latest ABC figures topped 57,000 copies.

Justine Southall, Time Inc. UK’s MD Fashion & Beauty, said: “When Look launched in 2007, it was a publishing phenomenon and sold more than 300,000 copies a week at its peak.

But Look’s audience behaves very differently today. They’re

THE FUTURE LOOKS FRUITY FOR CIDER – P60 STOCK CONTROL PayPoint’s flagship terminal integrates with PaperRound

PayPoint launches news management offer through PayPoint One

consuming media via screens and accessing numerous digital sources for fashion and celebrity content. Facing these circumstances and a continuing pressure on sales, we have taken the difficult decision to close the brand.

“We will now be focusing even greater efforts and activity on our iconic Marie Claire brand, as we celebrate its very special 30th birthday and new WomanKind initiative championing women and their power to change the world together.”

CHARITY

The Sun backs Beds for Kids The Sun is backing Buttle UK’s Chances for Children initiative, the Beds for Kids campaign, by donating a bed to the charity for every one purchased at bed retailer Dreams Beds. The charity estimates that over 400,000 children in the UK do not have access to a fit and proper bed.

To boost awareness of the campaign, The Sun has produced an illustrated children’s storybook called ‘That’s no place to sleep’, revolving around Sleepy Simon’s quest to find a bed.

All proceeds go to charity. The Sun has also created a video version of the book, narrated by famous faces, including Davina McCall and Alex Jones.

Audiences can also donate directly to the charity through The Beds for Kids BT MyDonate pages. Sun Savers can donate using their online Savers wallets.

PayPoint has integrated with news management system PaperRound to allow PayPoint One retailers to manage their newspaper and magazine stock from Menzies.

PayPoint has integrated with PaperRound, the news management system, allowing PayPoint One retailers to manage their newspaper and magazine stock from Menzies.

Retailers will have access to a free version of the tool, Counter News, which provides daily updates of publication barcodes and prices together with a firm or sale-or-return flag. Return quantities are automatically calculated for easy management of newspaper and magazine credit and wastage tracking. The service can also hold up to 30 customer accounts (‘Shop Saves’) where customers can pay for their goods on account.

The announcement marks the start of several supplier partnerships due to be available to PayPoint

One users in the coming months, with Nisa and Booker links already in live tests.

Discussing the launch, Lewis Alcraft, Commercial Director, commented: “We are excited to be launching the PaperRound integration for PayPoint One. “News management is critical to running a successful convenience store and we’re delighted to be partnering with PaperRound to enhance our Epos capability. The development with PaperRound will be immediately available to the thousands of retailers who have adopted PayPoint One in their stores.”

PayPoint One is now in over 8,000 stores in the UK.

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20

SLR | MAY 2018

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Newstrade

News

NEWS WHOLESALERS

NFRN visits CMA to demand investigation of news supply chain Senior officials from the NFRN, led by National President Linda Sood, have called on the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate newspaper and magazine distribution in the UK. Together with Deputy Vice President Stuart Reddish, the chairman of the NFRN’s news operations committee John Parkinson and members of the Federation’s National Executive Committee, Sood delivered what the NFRN termed “an explosive” 32-page document to the CMA’s offices in London’s Southampton Row. The document sets out the NFRN’s case for a market investigation into the news supply chain. It explains how developments within the marketplace since the last OFT

investigation in 2012 have caused substantial damage to independent retailers and their customers. The NFRN has documented how the death of hundreds of local newspapers, the dearth of new launches and the closure of news retailers has impacted significantly on consumer choice and the quality of products now available.

The plight of news retailers, who face high – and ever spiralling – carriage charges, reduced margins, deteriorating service from news wholesalers and restrictions on the range and quality of titles supplied, is also recorded at some length.

The NFRN warns that because news wholesalers enjoy absolute territorial protection (ATP), they have little incentive to

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provide an adequate service to retailers who have no opportunity to switch suppliers. The doument highlights that newspapers and magazines are the only product sold by its members which are both protected by ATP and have a fixed universal cover price.

The NFRN called for ATP to be removed, to reintroduce competition and allow retailers to choose who they do business with.

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21

Inside Business

Research Digest

SHOPPERS PUT OFF ETHICAL BUYING DUE TO COST Almost half of shoppers in Scotland (48%) are put off buying ethical products because they’re too expensive, new research has revealed. The survey, commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation, also found that 13% of consumers don’t buy ethical products because they “don’t trust claims” made about ethicallysourced products.

SCOTTISH FOOD SALES DOWN 3.8% IN APRIL In April, Scottish sales decreased by 3.8% on a like-for-like basis compared to April 2017, when they had increased by 3.0%, according to the latest SRC-KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor. This is below the threemonth average of -1.1%, which was expected considering the Easter distortions.

In April, total sales in Scotland decreased by 3.4% compared with April 2017, when they had increased by 2.5%. This is the lowest since January 2017 and below the three-month and 12-month averages of -0.5% and 0.0% respectively. Adjusted for deflation measured at 1.0% by the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index (SPI), April sales decreased by 2.4%.

Total Food sales in April decreased 0.8% versus April 2017, when they had increased by 6.8%. This result is negatively distorted by the absence of Easter and therefore below the 3-month and 12-month averages of 3.5%. and 4.2% respectively. The 3-month and 12-month averages are above the UK’s levels of 3.0% and 3.5% respectively.

FOOTFALL DOWN IN APRIL The latest BRC-Springboard Footfall Monitor for April 2018 revealed that, year-onyear, footfall in April decreased by 3.3%, a significant decline compared to the positive rate of 1.6% seen in April 2017. There was no growth in footfall for any UK region, marking the second month of consecutive decline. The national town centre vacancy rate was 9.2% in April 2018, up from 8.9% in January 2018.

Helen Dickinson, BRC Chief Executive, said: “A wet start to April had a dampening effect on visits across the UK’s shopping locations adding to the long term downward trend in footfall resulting from changing consumer behaviour. That shift in the way we shop, coupled with a highly challenging business environment, is having a significant impact on the nation’s high streets.”

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SLR | MAY 2018

OFF-TRADE LEADS THE WAY IN COMBATING UNDERAGE ALCOHOL SALES

A new survey has found that a third of teenagers were able buy alcohol unchallenged in the Scottish on-trade as part of a test purchasing programme.

A

recent mystery shopper programme in the Scottish on-trade has made some dispiriting findings, with one in three teenage mystery shoppers able to buy alcohol unchallenged in the country’s pubs, clubs and late-night venues.

The new data from retail age check company Serve Legal was based on 697 alcohol test purchases in 2017 with 32% of sales unchallenged. The 2017 pass rate showed no improvement on the previous year.

High street retailers including convenience stores, supermarkets and discounters were far more diligent, achieving an 86% pass rate while Scotland’s overall alcohol test pass rate was 84% in 2017 compared to 87% in 2016.

Scotland has historically been the strongestperforming part of the UK for total alcohol tests, scoring the UK’s highest pass rates in eight of the last 10 years.

Ed Heaver, Director of Serve Legal, said: “Despite the intentions of the well-established Challenge 21 and 25 schemes and stringent government policy on alcohol in Scotland, our

latest data highlights complacency amongst hospitality operators around alcohol age checks. Those that believe that responsible retailing doesn’t matter to the bottom line are misinformed. Failure to invest in staff training and performance around age identification checks could result in a major fine for the business and for staff, temporary or even permanent closure and a custodial sentence if convicted. We urge every business that sells alcohol to take age-check testing seriously if they value their corporate social responsibility, the reputation of their brand and the longevity of their business.”

Unchallenged tobacco sales were also rife in 2017, suggesting a softening of attitudes towards the risks associated with young people smoking. Scottish retailers failed one in three mystery shopper tests (33%) which, again, was one of the UK’s highest failure rates. Commitment to tobacco sale testing also decreased significantly in 2017 with test numbers falling by 61% (469) compared to 2016 (1,213). Retailers failed nearly three in 10 (30 per cent) e-cigarette sale tests in 2017.

OVER A THIRD OF SCOTTISH SHOPPERS ‘WOULD NOT USE CONTACTLESS OVER CASH’ Recent figures from UK Finance have revealed that contactless card fraud hit £14m in losses in 2017, potentially one of the reasons why over a third (34%) of Scottish consumers said they would not use contactless over cash, in an online study commissioned by credit information expert Equifax.

The research, conducted with Gorkana, found that a debit or credit card with a pin number is still the preferred method of payment for 33% of Scots, compared to 42% of the UK overall.

Contactless came second (32%), followed by cash (25%), whilst only 3% use their phone or wearable technology.

When asked when they would use contactless over cash, 34% of Scottish consumers said they would never choose to use contactless rather than cash. For 26% the speed of contactless is the benefit; 25% said it’s more convenient than making a trip to the cashpoint and 15% think it’s more secure than cash. www.slrmag.co.uk

Research Digest

Inside Business

CONSUMERS INCREASINGLY HAPPY TO BUY CPG PRODUCTS ONLINE Consumer packaged goods (CPG), once sold exclusively in stores, are increasingly being sold online according to the latest data, a worrying trend for convenience retailers.

Consumer packaged goods, once purchased almost exclusively in stores, are quickly moving into the digital realm as more and more consumers are researching and purchasing CPG products online. This is according to an international survey from Periscope By McKinsey, which included 500 UK respondents.

In all markets surveyed, the findings revealed that at least 70% of the respondents are undertaking some form of online CPG shopping activity, with French (40%) and UK (39%) consumers exhibiting the greatest balance of multichannel shopping preferences followed by German (33%) and U.S. (32%) shoppers.

Periscope By McKinsey’s survey evaluated consumers’ current

CPG purchasing behaviours as well as their future CPG shopping intentions. It uncovered insights on which channels consumers use to make different categories of CPG purchases and the motivations behind their channel shopping preferences, the demographic impact on shopping channel choices, delivery preferences of consumers making CPG purchases online, and the effect of personalised recommendations on digital shopping.

Highlights from the survey findings, which reflect the responses of consumers from the U.S., UK, France and Germany, include: Q Online shoppers prefer non-

perishable categories in CPG Non-edible and durable food items are performing considerably better than perishable products like dairy and bread, revealing shopper hesitation about purchasing these types of products online.

Q Age plays a role in CPG shopping channel preferences Millennial shoppers (aged 18-29) were the largest group in each country surveyed, except the UK, to only or mostly undertake their shopping for CPG products online.

Q Discounts and bulk purchasing options drive online purchasing When asked to evaluate how their online shopping habits differ from shopping in-store, consumers in

all markets said they are more likely to buy more in bulk online and are willing to spend more if they can identify discounts and offers.

Q Recommendations are welcomed in some markets more than others At least 38% or more of consumers in every market surveyed say they are open to recommendations on a similar product but from a different brand. Recommendations on products by the same brand was the second most welcomed prompt for shoppers in France (30%) and the U.S. (28%), while “frequently purchased together” style recommendations were particularly popular with 25% of UK shoppers.

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www.slrmag.co.uk

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MAY 2018 | SLR

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W NE

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Gavin Blair, MD, FrieslandCampina UK | 2 Minutes

Inside Business

Gavin Blair With milk and flavoured milks excluded from the recent sugar tax, there’s an opportunity for retailers to capitalise by making more of the category while also highlighting the health benefits.

SLR talks to Gavin Blair, the man behind the Yazoo brand.

SO, GAVIN, YOU BELIEVE THE FACT THAT MILK AND MILK-BASED DRINKS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE SUGAR TAX PRESENTS RETAILERS WITH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY?

vanilla and chocolate – in a range of formats and brands.

Our price-marked packs are very popular with consumers, as they encourage confidence within shoppers and make them feel as though they are getting value for their money.

Absolutely, it does. Flavoured milk has been performing exceptionally well and the opportunity presented by the sugar tax exemption means there’s a fresh chance for retailers to make more of their flavoured milk offering.

WHERE SHOULD RETAILERS SITE FLAVOURED MILKS? IN THE MAIN SOFT DRINKS FIXTURE OR BESIDE OTHER MILKS? OR SOMEWHERE ELSE?

HOW BIG IS THE CATEGORY? Within soft drinks, flavoured milk is a well-established category worth £290m a year [IRI, Feb 2018]. It’s also growing with sales up 4.4% year-on-year according to the same market data.

PRESUMABLY THE SUGAR TAX EXEMPTION WILL HELP ACCELERATE THAT GROWTH. WHERE DOES YAZOO SIT WITHIN THE CATEGORY? Yazoo is the number one flavoured milk drink brand in convenience and has been for the past decade. The sugar levy means Yazoo and other flavoured milks have a significant opportunity for growth by utilising their increased value and their visible health benefits to change with the market.

WHAT HAS FRIESLANDCAMPINA UK BEEN DOING TO HELP RETAILERS EXPLOIT THIS OPPORTUNITY? We have been working directly with depots to ensure that they have the most up-to-date stock for their retailers. This year we’ve worked more collaboratively with customers and have delivered new initiatives such as stand out displays in depot to raise awareness and excitement. We have also been identifying more digital opportunities for customers as well as shoppers.

HOW SHOULD RETAILERS GO ABOUT BUILDING A SOLID RANGE OF FLAVOURED MILKS? To build a strong offering, retailers should ensure that they are stocking Yazoo’s core flavours – banana, strawberry, www.slrmag.co.uk

Often retailers make the mistake of stocking product with the milk at the back of the store, but flavoured milk is a popular on-the-go product, so should be sited within the soft drinks offering to tap into different shopper occasions.

To give you an example, after a simple shelf reorder and the use of branded POS, sales within the dairy category at David Charman’s Spar store in West Malling increased by over 48% in a month and sales of Yazoo more than doubled. Costcutter Kirton saw sales of Yazoo increase by 20% after siting the drink in its soft drinks chiller.

WHAT CAN RETAILERS DO TO EXPLAIN THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF MILK PRODUCTS OVER CARBONATES? Both retailers and their staff should be educated on the healthy benefits of Yazoo and other flavoured milks. They have high levels of calcium, protein and Vitamin B2. We also have no added sugar or sweetener variants.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR RETAILERS WHEN MERCHANDISING FLAVOURED MILK? Site soft drinks by the food-to-go fixture and offer a breadth of flavours and formats. Offer the most popular brands in the best-selling flavours and stock them together at eye level. Use branded merchandise (such as chiller trays) to help communicate the product benefit to shoppers and the call to action for shoppers to “Grab a Yazoo”, highlighting the impulsive nature of the category.

We would also recommend stocking PMPs – Yazoo’s two biggest-selling pack sizes (400ml and 1-ltr) are available as PMPs, and we’re also seeing Yazoo included in meal deals more often too.

FACTFILE Gavin Blair is Managing Director of FrieslandCampina, the company responsible for the Yazoo range of flavoured milks.

Blair has over 20 years’ experience across retail and the consumer goods industry. Starting on an Asda Graduate Scheme, he worked in a variety of commercial leadership roles for Mars, Nestlé, Heineken UK and, most recently, Diageo where he progressed from being Trading Director for Convenience to Global Customer Director before being named Western Europe Customer Development Director.

MAY 2018 | SLR

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SLR REWARDS 2018: THE OFFICIAL SHORTLIST All the runners and riders for the most Rewarding event in the UK convenience industry were revealed recently with some of Scotland’s finest entrepreneurs set to gather in Glasgow in late June to celebrate the best the industry has to offer.

With the SLR Rewards 2018 just around the corner, the official shortlist for this year’s event was published online recently and features a raft of the finest local retailers in Scotland across 18 individual categories.

As always, every winner on the evening will pick up a fantastic, often money-can’t-buy Reward, making the event the most rewarding awards programme in the UK convenience retailing industry.

This year we are moving to the plush Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow with the venue offering us more space for some exciting new activities on the evening that will make the event yet another unmissable feature of the annual calendar.

Make sure you don’t miss out. Book tickets now by emailing events@55north.com or going to www.slrawards.com.

THE 2018 SLR REWARDS SHORTLIST BEER & CIDER RETAILER OF THE YEAR

ECIGS RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Q Lifestyle Extra, Motherwell

Q Penny Petroleum Jet, Kirkmuirhill (Spar)

Q Premier Barry’s Convenience Store, Cathcart

Q Spar, Erskine

Q Scotfresh, Denny

Q Spar St George’s Cross, Maryhill

Q Spar, Renfrew

BISCUITS RETAILER OF THE YEAR

FOOD TO GO RETAILER OF THE YEAR Q David’s Kitchen, Glenrothes (Nisa)

Q Best-One @ Brownlies, Biggar

Q Family Shopper, Blantyre

Q Premier Saltcoats Convenience Store

Q Premier Broadway Convenience Store, Edinburgh

Q Redding Supermarket, Falkirk

Q Spar, Renfrew

CONFECTIONERY RETAILER OF THE YEAR

FRESH & CHILLED RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Q Giacopazzi’s, Milnathort (Nisa) Q Lifestyle Express, Rutherglen Q Pinkie Farm Convenience Store, Musselburgh (Nisa)

Q KeyStore More Clydebank Co-op, Kilbowie Q McColls, Cambuslang Q Penny Petroleum Jet, Kirkmuirhill (Spar)

Q Spar, Thornliebank

LOTTERY RETAILER OF THE YEAR

CRISPS & SNACKS RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Q Pinkie Farm Convenience Store, Musselburgh (Nisa)

Q Pinkie Farm Convenience Store, Musselburgh (Nisa)

Q Scotfresh, Dickson Way, Irvine

Q Premier Broadway Convenience Store, Edinburgh Q Spar, Coylton

Q Premier Linktown Local, Kirkcaldy

NEWSTRADE RETAILER OF THE YEAR Q Crown Stores, Inverness Q Killie Convenience, Kilmarnock Q Premier Turriff

SOFT DRINKS RETAILER OF THE YEAR

NEW STORE OF THE YEAR

Q Davids Kitchen, Falkirk (Nisa)

Q Costcutter, Dundee Road, Forfar

Q Day Today Supermarket, Bourtreehill

Q Day Today Supermarket, Bourtreehill

Q Jet Ardeer Services, Stevenston (Nisa)

Q Spar, Leven

Q Spar Certas, Forfar

SPIRITS RETAILER OF THE YEAR

BEST REFIT OF THE YEAR Q Lifestyle Express/GKR, Falkirk

Q Best-One @ Brownlies, Biggar

Q Spar Glassford Street, Glasgow

Q Doonfoot Day Today

Q Spar Hillfoot Garage, Bearsden

Q Penny Petroleum Jet, Kirkmuirhill (Spar) Q Premier Barry’s Convenience Store, Cathcart

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT RETAILER OF THE YEAR Q McColls, Cambuslang Q Premier Linktown Local, Kirkcaldy Q Premier Smeaton Stores, Kirkcaldy Q St Michael’s Services, Dumfries (Londis)

FORECOURT RETAILER OF THE YEAR Q Jet Ardeer Services, Stevenston (Nisa) Q KeyStore More Peterhead Motors Q Spar, Carmondean Q Spar Hillfoot Garage, Bearsden

RESPONSIBLE RETAILER OF THE YEAR Q Family Shopper, Blantyre Q Premier Linktown Local, Kirkcaldy Q Spar Orleans Place, Dundee

TEAM OF THE YEAR Q BDC Fuels, Maybole (Spar) Q Day Today, Barassie Q Day Today Supermarket, Bourtreehill Q Family Shopper, Blantyre

THINKSMART INNOVATION AWARD Q Family Shopper, Blantyre Q Giacopazzi’s, Milnathort (Nisa) Q KeyStore More Peterhead Motors

As always, the judging panel for the paper judging for this year’s SLR Rewards comprised a panel with vast experience of all aspects of the Scottish and UK convenience retailing industries. The panel was split into two groups with one group chaired by SLR Publisher Antony Begley and the other chaired by SLR Editorial Contributor Karen Peattie.

DEE SEDANI

JOSH CLIFTON

RETAILER, ONE STOP

CLIENT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, HIM

A highly decorated and multi-award winning retailer, Dee has been in the trade for over 20 years. He runs two exceptional stores in Derbyshire which are One Stop Franchises, having previously been a Londis Retailer for 13 years. He has also sat on a number of boards and forums including the NRC board.

Josh leads the Beers, Wines & Spirits, Tobacco, Grocery and Food To Go categories at research specialists HIM. He works with major FMCG suppliers to drive growth within the convenience and wholesale channels.

Dee sums up his approach as follows: “Retail is detail, not just on the shop floor but in the back of house and across the full operation.

Detail is what you need to focus on to keep to a successful business.

And retail is not just a job, it needs to be a passion!”

Josh is a frequent speaker at industry events and conference panels, utilising the knowledge he has gained in his years at HIM and in his previous role as a buyer at WH Smith Travel.

CHRIS NOICE

JOHN LEE

HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS & RESEARCH, ACS

HEAD OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, SGF

Chris joined the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) in October 2009. As Head of Communications and Research, Chris is responsible for all ACS external and internal communications, media relations and a growing research portfolio which includes the industry-leading Local Shop Report.

Chris is an official spokesperson for ACS, appearing frequently on national and regional radio and television including BBC News, Sky News, BBC Breakfast and the Daily Politics show.

John is a member of the senior management team at the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) and has over 10 years of experience leading on work with the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and other key policy and decision makers.

He also leads on SGF’s external communications and media relations work.

KAREN PEATTIE

ANTONY BEGLEY

FREELANCE JOURNALIST (CO-CHAIR)

PUBLISHER, SLR (CO-CHAIR)

Karen is well known in the Scottish local retailing trade as a freelance journalist, editor and PR consultant with 38 years’ experience spanning weekly and national newspapers, trade publications, consumer magazines and online media.

Antony owns 55 North, the company behind Scottish Local Retailer magazine, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. SLR is unique on earth in owning its own convenience store – Woodlands Local in Falkirk – giving Antony and his team unrivalled insight into the workings of the independent retail and wholesale industries in Scotland. 55 North also publishes magazines under contract in the UK on-trade, retail and wholesale industries.

Specialising predominately in the retail, wholesale, and food and drink sectors, she is a recognised industry expert and commentator and is currently editor of High Flyer, the passenger magazine for Glasgow Airport. She recently edited the SGF Centenary Book and contributes to a wide range of publications.

Antony is a former two-times winner of the PPA Scotland Editor of the Year title.

Inside Business

Woodlands Local | Monthly Update

WOODLANDSlocal

NISA ON BOARD AS WE REWORK THE ENTIRE STORE

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SLR | MAY 2018

We will now be sourcing our fresh, chilled and frozen from Nisa and will be re-working the entire store as we increase our focus on food to go at Woodlands, with a fully restructured team into the bargain!

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

T

he tough decisions have been made and we’ve laid out the latest roadmap for the future of Woodlands Local that we’re confident will see us emerge from a recent period of upheaval in better shape than ever.

As outlined in the last issue of SLR, we have now formally committed to using Nisa as our supplier for fresh, chilled and frozen and will be accessing their range via Filshill.

Nisa visited us last month to talk through the procedures for ordering, while also offering some help on planograms and choosing the right range for our store. They also gave us some merchandising ideas to help make sure the refreshed categories get off to the best possible start.

We will have a 12-week grace period where we will not be subject to the usual 100-case minimum quantity weekly order fines. This gives us ample time to satisfy ourselves that the solution will work for us in-store.

With three orders a week and a minimum single order size of 30 cases it will be a significant commitment for us. However, with bread and milk included, we reckon we should be able to get over the line each week.

Building the first order has been a real challenge in terms of both choosing the right products that will work in the store and in terms of working out exactly how many lines we can fit into the chillers available.

To help get more stock out, we’ve added a few new shelves to the

chillers. We now have approximately four metres of chilled space (six or seven shelves), as well as three metres of frozen space, plus another metre for ambient fruit and veg. It’s not a huge amount of space but it’s not a huge store, so we’ve had to maximise what we get into the chillers by bringing the shelves closer together.

This was something we learned during a site visit to Wilson Rea’s KeyStore More in Lanark. Wilson’s pet hate is chilled space that goes

unused, so he packs the shelves tightly and crams as much as he can into the chillers. He offered some very helpful advice when we visited, including the key lines to focus on, some nice merchandising ideas and some useful hints on getting creative with Nisa’s ordering policy – some single cakes count as chilled and as full cases. Go figure.

Anyway, we’re just about there on pushing the button and should be ready to report back in the next issue.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Monthly Update | Woodlands Local

New this MONTH...

Inside Business

READY FOR THE SUMMER! [BBQ PIC] As part of our summer preparations we have added a small BBQ fixture at Woodlands to help us hopefully cash in on a bit of barbie and alfresco dining action.

With a new range of fresh and frozen coming from Nisa and a lot of local butcher meats, as well as the standard range of impulse lines, we’re hoping to drive up basket spends when the sun comes out.

VALUE VAPING With stodgy sales of e-liquids in the store we have tried various things over the last 12 months.

We introduced a range of Edge liquids from Booker which, at £2.50 a pop, did reasonably well but we’re now going to add a new range of 88 Vape liquids that we’re getting through Filshill.

They come in a variety of weird and wonderful flavours but retail at just £1.

We reckon they’re worth a go and while they’re not going to generate ridiculous cash profits, at over 40% POR there’s still a decent margin to be had. Watch this space.

RE-LAY UPDATE

TEAM TRIAL

We have also completed our plans for a full re-lay of the shop floor with major changes set to happen.

The drawings for the new floorplan are complete with several fixtures being moved and swapped to create better adjacencies.

This will create new opportunities and some space for entirely new categories.

The biggest and most noticeable change will be moving back to a single long fixture facing the tillpoint. This will have confectionery along one side. The other side, facing the chillers will hold crisps and snacks, as well as some ambient fruit and veg.

This will replace our ‘island’ layout which we have at the moment, where we have three separate islands. We first did this to create new sight lines so that customers could see the fresh and chilled section more easily.

We have now accepted that the island layout makes confectionery and crisp shopping more difficult while having little impact on fresh and chilled sales. You live, you learn.

Also taking up a lot of our management time in recent weeks has been a restructure of the team in the store. As previously highlighted, we’ve decided to run without a manager and instead have shift supervisors. We have also given every member the team specific responsibilities.

These include: Q hot food and food to go management Q news management Q Lottery and scratchcard management Q Shopfloor compliance management Q insight and marketing management Q licensing compliance management

www.slrmag.co.uk

In addition to these specific tasks, we have also allocated several key tasks to our team of shift supervisors. These include: Q banking Q reporting Q ordering Q hygiene Q stock control – particularly on cigarettes and alcohol Q dealing with reps Q promotional ordering and management We know it’s a system run by many retailers so we’re hardly reinventing the wheel, but we feel that the potential benefits of bringing in a new manager are outweighed by the potential downsides of upsetting a team balance and harmony that is arguably better than it has ever been.

This new structure is then supplemented by the process-driven set of procedures that we have put in place for pretty much every action that takes place in the store, as explained in last month’s issue.

MAY 2018 | SLR

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Inside Business

Woodlands Local | Off-trade Overhaul With Diageo

WOODLANDSlocal

SPIRIT, BEER AND CIDER SALES ON THE RISE AFTER REFRESH

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SLR | MAY 2018

Sales of beers and spirits in Woodlands Local have risen over the last month, following a refresh of the two fixtures carried out with the help of Diageo, probably driven by both the refresh and some decent weather.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

STATS: HOW WAS APRIL? TOTAL SPIRITS SALES Q up 6.2% TOTAL BEER/ CIDER SALES Q up 8.7%

I

t’s been just over a month since we reworked the beers, ciders and RTDs fixture and the spirits fixture in Woodlands Local with the support of our partners Diageo and it has been massively heartening to see sales rises in both groups of categories.

At a top line level we saw very solid increases in sales over the previous month with spirits up 6.2% and beers, ciders and RTDs up 8.7%. Clearly, good weather in April will have contributed to the growth but there’s no doubt that having better-stocked fixtures with better ranges enabled us to capitalise on that good weather more effectively.

We’re particularly pleased with the rise in spirits sales, as spirits has long been a problem category for us. We’ve tried several different tactics including reducing prices and adding premium ranges but with very little effect.

However, having taken Diageo’s advice to add five premium and craft gins as well as a couple of premium Ciroc vodkas, as well as half bottles of Captain Morgan’s Spice, we seem to finally be making some headway.

Digging deeper into the data, around three-quarters of the increase in spirits sales came from more standard and value products like Glen’s Vodka and some blended whiskies, but we also started to see some traction with the new gins and vodkas. They’re not yet selling in volume, but we have sold half a dozen bottles of Ciroc and 17 bottles of premium and craft gin. To be fair, we didn’t expect to see overnight sales spikes because we reckon it will take a little time for our

customers to realise that we stock these lines – and that’s reflected in the fact that of the 17 bottles of premium vodka and gin sold, 12 of those sales occurred in the second half of the month. The star performer was Gordon’s Pink Gin, which also attracted most feedback from shoppers.

We clearly hope that this is the start of a regular trend. and we see more and more premium shoppers each month.

We also sold some bottles of newly-added Drambuie and Southern Comfort, so we’ll see how they fare in future.

In the beer fridge, we saw a chunky sales hike although this category was one that probably benefited most from patches of decent weather. Having said that, we were up on virtually all SKUs in the beer and cider category barring one or two. The lines on promotion did well, as usual, but most of the new lines added by Diageo got off to a very solid start.

Hop House took a little time to get going – not a single sale in the first week it was stocked! – but it came back from the dead in style, shifting seven 4-packs the following week, then nine the week after and 12 each week for the final two weeks of the Epos period covered.

Joker IPA, which we used to stock and was re-introduced

by Diageo, was a runaway success. It sold from day one and we’ve now sold over 60 bottles in a month. Caesar Augustus was also a success with a total of 46 bottles and 17 4-packs.

The only one yet to catch fire is BrewDog’s Elvis Juice.

We’ve sold just five units in a month. Possibly too exotic for our audience in Falkirk?

Q Next month we’ll be looking at how to capitalise on MUP to steal back some spirits and beer shoppers from the multiples.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Mars Wrigley Food To Go Units | Woodlands Local

Inside Business

DRIVING UP BASKET SPEND AND IMPULSE SALES WITH F2G GUM UNIT In the latest element of our gum and candy project with Mars Wrigley Confectionery, we installed a couple of new impulse units next to the food-to-go counter in the store to encourage shoppers to grab a pack of gum as they wait for their food. Simple, but very effective, it turns out.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

S

ometimes the simplest ideas are the best in local retailing and so it turned out to be last month when, as the latest part of our year-long project with gum and candy giants Mars Wrigley Confectionery, we added a couple of small impulse units next to our hot food counter at Woodlands Local.

We had toyed with the idea of adding a gum unit to the hot food on many occasions but couldn’t quite work out how to do it. Both the hot hold and the sandwich/salad chiller next to it have sloping tops and the walls on either side of the units are too high to be easily accessible to shoppers. But during a visit in March, Mars Wrigley’s Sharon Wotherspoon suggested putting a basic impulse unit on the slatwall to the left of the hot food counter.

To be honest, we didn’t have high hopes for the unit as it only had room for two outers of gum. We chose the two best-selling lines – Extra Spearmint and Extra Peppermint – and put the unit out more in hope than expectation.

So when we checked the Epos data at the end of April, we could hardly believe that we had seen very significant rises in sales of both of these lines as well as the overall gum category.

Sales of Extra Spearmint were up 12.1% on the previous month and a whopping 15.2% on the same month last year, while sales of Extra Peppermint were up even higher: 13.7% on the previous month and 16.1% on March 2017. Those are very chunky figures considering these two lines were already among the highest-selling products by volume of any description in the store.

Before we get too carried away, however, the month did include some nice weather which will have affected sales, but even taking that into consideration, the rises are pretty astonishing for simply adding a little unit next to the hot food counter.

Sharon Wotherspoon was just as pleased as us: “I expected sales to increase a little but double-digit growth is fantastic news. We know from research that many customers like to buy gum when they’re

www.slrmag.co.uk

buying food-to-go, so it’s a natural cross-category sale but it’s very encouraging to see how such a simple change can have such a dramatic impact on sales.”

Q Look out next month for the next phase of the project where we will be focusing on in-store execution of Mars Wrigley’s Sweetstake on-pack promotion offering consumers the chance to win millions of prizes including free products and cash. The competition is running across Skittles, Starburst, Extra and chocolate brands.

STATS

GUM SALES IN APRIL 2018 Q Up 8.7% on March 2018 Q Up 16.4% on April 2017 IMPULSE UNIT LINES

EXTRA SPEARMINT Q Up 12.1% on March 2018 Q Up 15.2% on April 2017

EXTRA PEPPERMINT Q Up 13.7% on March 2018 Q Up 16.1% on April 2017

MAY 2018 | SLR

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Hotlines

Product News & Media Watch

Choos Swizzels Swizzels has expanded its £1 PMP range with new Choos, available now in Drumstick and Refreshers variants. Drumstick Choos contains five double flavour combinations including Peaches & Cream and Strawberry & Banana, while Refreshers Choos features five fizzy flavours with a sherbet centre, including Pineapple and Apple.

Dairylea Snackers Mondelez Mondelez has brought together its Dairylea and Oreo brands for the launch of this range of two new children’s snacking kits, which contain Dairylea cheese, crackers and miniature biscuits. Two variants are offered, one featuring Mini Oreos and another with Mini Chocolate Cookies. Both are available now.

The launch is supported as part of a £1.3m total brand marketing investment which includes digital and instore activity.

Barratt Sour Bon Bons and Fruity Coconut Mushrooms Tangerine Confectionery Tangerine as extended its recently returned Barratt range with the launch of Sour Bon Bons and Fruity Coconut Mushrooms. The former is available in 180g sharing bags (RSP £1), offering a mix of sour flavours. Coconut Mushrooms – a variety of soft, fruity sweets covered in coconut – is available in a 190g mixed sharing bag (RSP £1).

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SLR | MAY 2018

New Hula Hoops come in two Flavarings KP Snacks has launched Hula Hoops Flavarings, a new crisp range targeted at the family sharing oc-casion.

Hula Hoops Flavarings incorporate the brand’s familiar hoop shape and are crispy and light with a melt-in-the-mouth texture. Available in two flavours, Tangy Cheese and Salt & Vinegar, the new product is launching in a 90g sharing format with an RSP of £1.50 and a 55g £1 PMP. Available from May 28, Flavarings will be supported by a £1m media campaign in 2018 including in-store activity, outdoor media and digital. KP plans to invest a total of £3m in the Hula Hoops brand this year, which is currently worth over £105m.

“Hula Hoops Flavarings builds on the incredible performance of Hula Hoops, currently the fastest growing snacks brand in the UK, and capitalises on the growth of the sharing occasion,” said Matt Collins, Sales Director for Convenience, Wholesale, Discounters & Foodservice at KP Snacks.

“Family sharing makes up the majority of the sharing occasion and provides a huge opportunity within the crisps, snacks and nuts market. A family favourite, Hula Hoops products are purchased in nine million households.

“Flavarings is a great addition to this iconic brand and perfectly positioned to re-ignite this sharing occasion for both retailers and shoppers.”

Dobsons Mega Lolly Hancocks Dobsons has launched a new Elderflower Mega Lolly, available exclusively from Hancocks. With an RSP of 15p each, each jar of 90 lollipops can earn retailers up to 33.4% POR. A further three Mega Lolly flavours are planned from Hancocks in 2018, themed around the seasons of the year. There are over 50 flavours in the Dobsons Mega Lolly range.

Mentos Stay Free Perfetti Van Melle Mentos has launched its first NPD of the year, new sugar-free Mentos Stay Free. The hard-candied mints are available in two variants – Peppermint and Menthol Eucalyptus – and come in flip-top packs.

Naturally sweetened with stevia, each mint contains only five calories. The launch is supported by the brand’s £3m marketing spend for 2018, which follows on from last year’s ‘Say Hello’ activity. POS materials are available on request.

Felix FunSauces Nestlé Purina Pet food brand Felix has launched FunSauces – a range of liquid toppings that add “an extra special something” to dry cat food. It can also be served as a stand-alone treat. FunSauces is available now in three variants, Tempting Grilled Turkey, Delicious Roasted Beef, and Tasty Steamed Seafood, in packs of five at an RSP of £1.49. Each pack contains vitamins, taurine and no artificial colourants.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Product News & Media Watch Starbucks Chilled Classics Signature Chocolate Arla Foods

Wagon Wheels Teacakes Burton’s Biscuit Co.

This new chilled drink offers a blend of Fairtrade cocoa and milk.

It is also the first flavour in the Starbucks Chilled Classic range not to contain espresso coffee, making it something of an upmarket chocolate milk. It will be available from mid-May, with an RSP of £1.60 per 220ml pack.

The launch will be supported by out-of-home advertising, digital activity, and a product sampling campaign.

Aqua Libra Britvic

The latest NPD from Burton’s incorporates Wagon Wheels’ distinctive taste and texture, but in a mallow teacake with a jam-filled centre. Smaller than a traditional Wagon Wheel, the Teacakes are intended for new eating occasions such as an afternoon snack or a little pick-me-up. Wagon Wheels Teacakes (120g, RSP 70p) comprises eight teacakes per pack and is available now, in outers of 14.



Ribena focuses on taste Ribena’s latest campaign is based on the message that the drink is “more blackcurrantier than a blackcurrant”. The campaign includes out-of-home, in-store, digital and consumer sampling activity. To drive trial, the brand is giving away 2.6 million 500ml bottles of Ribena Blackcurrant to consumers from now until September.

Energy beats everything, even giants Dexters Hanging Bags Kervan Gida

This range of sparkling water infused with fruit flavours is now available in convenience after a successful launch in Boots last October. The range is available in a 330ml can format in three variants: Raspberry & Apple; Tangerine; and Grapefruit & Pineapple. All contain fewer than three calories per can, no added sugar, sweeteners or artificial flavourings, and fall below the sugar tax threshold.

MEDIAwatch

Hotlines

Dexters new hanging bags range of 24 different Halal-approved sweets includes Jelly Beans, Cool Bottles and Sour Worms. The 50g bags (Mallows 36g) are price-marked at 39p each or 3 for £1. To order, retailers should call 01243 530550 or email uk.sales@kervangida. com. Orders will be delivered direct to store, subject to a minimum £50 purchase.

Retailers who take the full range will receive a display stand free of charge.

The second instalment of Lucozade Energy’s ‘Energy Beats Everything’ campaign features a new tongue-in-cheek TV ad that tells the story of David and Goliath, with the wee man winning after drinking you-know-what. The ad is supported by an outdoor campaign, created

by Peruvian artist Boris Vallejo, in tandem with digital, social, in-store and sampling activity.

Florette’s tractor returns Salad brand Florette is back with a refreshed version of its ‘Always Made With Sunshine’ ad, which sees the return of Florette’s animated tractor. It airs until the end of August and is part of a £3m media campaign which also includes video-on-demand, display advertising and in-store support as well as PR and social media activity.

Bacofoil back on TV with new look Monster Mango Loco Coca-Cola European Partners The latest addition to the Monster Energy range certainly delivers onshelf standout. The brightly-coloured packaging takes its inspiration from Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations.

Described by CCEP as “a heavenly blend of exotic juices certain to attract the most stubborn spirit,” Mango Loco is available now in 500ml cans pricemarked at £1.35.

Flipz pladis One of America’s favourite treats, the chocolate-covered pretzel snack Flipz, is now available in the UK in 100g pouches. Two variants – Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate – are available, both with an RSP of £1.50. Pladis is confident that Flipz will achieve retail sales of £9m in its first year.

The snack currently holds an RSV of $61m in the US after three years of double-digit growth.

Bacofoil has returned to screens with a new campaign to support its Non-Stick Kitchen Foil, which has also received a packaging makeover. The ad launches on May 7 and runs for five weeks. It showcases Bacofoil’s non-stick BacoLift surface by demonstrating that even the most notorious food culprits, like fish fingers, can’t stick to it.

Fruitilicious twist to Haribo The latest instalment of Haribo’s “Kids’ Voices” campaign showcases Fruitilicious, the brand’s new 30% less sugar offering.

Passengers in a lift share some sweets causing, as one might expect in a Haribo ad, everyone to start speaking with kids’ voices.

However, the only child in the group then unexpectedly develops an adult’s voice.

for all the latest product news, head to www.slrmag.co.uk/category/product-news/ www.slrmag.co.uk

MAY 2018 | SLR

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Feature

Fascia & Franchise Guide

WHEN, NOT IF...

Average annual investment per store type:

Independents

£7,632 Symbol Groups

£10,716

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F

or many independent local retailers in Scotland Many have already followed that particular path. Symbol these days, the choice is less whether to join a groups grew their share of the convenience-store market fascia group or franchise and more about which from 22% in 2002 to almost 40% in 2012. According to one to join. Toughing it out as an unaffiliated IGD data, this could rise to 50% by 2020. independent is increasingly looking like an Whether you are considering joining one of these unsustainable option as market consolidation continues groups for the first time, or are considering moving from to rattle along at pace, giving more and more retailers one to another, this guide will provide you with the key access to much larger buying power and all the benefits data you need to make a fully informed decision as to that come with being part of a larger organisation. which fascia is right for you.

One of the few proven ways of combating that threat is The great news is that the range of choices available has by becoming part of something bigger yourself and the never been greater. Each partner has its own particular easiest way of doing that is by considering a symbol, fascia strengths, but they all offer buying power, a household or franchise option. It’s an attractive proposition, allowing name above the door and a comprehensive support retailers to retain the bulk of their independence yet giving network covering everything a retailer needs to remain them the many benefits of being part of a nationwide competitive in today’s retail environment. collective of like-minded retailers with access to big buying Choosing a symbol group can seem an intimidating power and the many invaluable support mechanisms that task. It is a big commitment, especially if you are already membership of a symbol group tied into a contract or faced with brings. joining fees – whether this is in TOP REASONS FOR The continually rising the form of an admin charge, JOINING A SYMBOL minimum wage, huge increases buying shares or paying for GROUP: in rates and ballooning signage or delivery. But there is no Q Are there any initial costs? compliance costs across the board doubt it can pay huge dividends.

Q Wide range of products mean that for many the time may How to decide which symbol Q Promotional activity now be right to consider a fresh group is right for you will Q Regular communication start by teaming-up with one of ultimately depend on your Q Marketing in trade press the many options available. In shoppers and what they want you Q Recognised brand above the door this feature, we will consider to offer them.

Q IT and HR support those options and offer you all the It might come down to the Q Dedicated trade website information you need to make kind of store standards you are Q Buying Power an informed choice about which prepared to meet and the ways partner to choose. of working. If, for example, you www.slrmag.co.uk

Fascia & Franchise Guide

Feature

The harsh reality of modern convenience retailing in a continually consolidating industry is that going it alone as an unaffiliated independent looks increasingly like an impossible task. Rocketing costs and an unprecedented level of competition mean that the case for joining a fascia group or franchise has never been stronger – but the good news is that the choice has never been wider.

are simply looking for a way of running promotions effectively then you might want to consider joining a cash & carry-based symbol group where you would normally go into depot and pick up the goods yourself.

The pros for retailers considering joining or switching symbol groups are numerous, not least because of the support a fascia can offer a retailer in every aspect of running your convenience store, from exclusive discounts and buying power to staff training, running a social media page and availability of new technologies.

Being part of a symbol group gives you the backing and the knowledge, from promotions to posters and displays, along with the merchandising system and product knowledge to help make your business a success.

Groups will send several reps and provide supplier contacts. They can offer an in-depth analysis of what you should stock, where you should stock it and how much you should be making.

The support and advice that is given regarding store development should soothe shop owners who are nervous of change, and groups may introduce their own recommended shopfitter to assist with project planning and store layout. Many also have their own consultants who can do detailed reports on potential or increased turnover.

These can be simple or very detailed, taking into account the demographic area around the shop and local competition.

Sometimes there will be a fee, but it may be worth the cost as often it gives additional industry-specific information that will support any application. This information, when backed by the weight of a symbol www.slrmag.co.uk

brand, can add an influential supporting voice to any finance application.

Retailers should ask themselves whether remaining unaffiliated is detrimental to their potential as a business.

Whatever level you decide to go in at, it is best to do your research before determining which symbol group is right for you.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A SYMBOL GROUP: Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

Are there any initial costs?

What ongoing fees are there?

Are there delivery charges?

Is there a minimum spend?

Is there a minimum percentage of buying through them?

Is there a minimum length contract?

Will I have to purchase any new equipment, such as Epos?

Do they allocate stock, and are certain lines sent out automatically each month?

How frequent are the deliveries?

How quick are the lead times for deliveries?

What are their wholesale prices like compared to your existing suppliers?

How extensive is the product range?

Do they provide development support and in what form?

Do they provide a chilled & frozen range?

Do they offer advertising support – either nationally or locally?

What kind of consumer offers do they run?

How will they help me to stand out against the competition in the area?

Is there an own-label offer?

Do they have a loyalty scheme?

Will they invest in my store and in what way?

MAY 2018 | SLR

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Fascia & Franchise Guide | Advertorial

SIGN FOR THE PREMIER TEAM With the UK’s leading food and drink wholesaler behind them, Premier retailers enjoy unrivalled buying power and a wide range benefits that help them deliver great profits.

P

remier is the UK’s number one symbol group with over 3,300 stores nationwide. The group is committed to delivering more profits for retailers and a better shopping experience for consumers.

Premier has delivered double digit growth for fourteen consecutive years.

Premier continues to advertise on TV. Premier is advertised every day which will be seen over 100 million times. The TV advert features Premier’s famous Mega Deal promotions along with retailers to emphasise the local aspect of Premier Store.

As well as this, retailers also benefit from a full promotional programme covering all categories of fresh, frozen, grocery and impulse to ensure great value for shoppers to drive footfall into stores. This market

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leading promotional package, along with own-label and price-mark-packs, really drives the value message to help Premier retailers grow their business.

Premier works hard to ensure that retailers have the best choice of products to suit their individual store. This includes both Euro Shopper, Booker’s entry level exclusive own-brand and Happy Shopper, the mid-tier option. This is complimented by working closely with branded suppliers to ensure the best choice of price marked packs so shoppers can clearly see the great value available.

Backed by Booker, the UK’s leading food & drink wholesaler, Premier retailers can take advantage of delivery at cash & carry prices, as well as having the ease and convenience of shopping at any Booker

branch. ‘Spend & Save,’ where retailers can save up to 4% on their non-tobacco purchases, is also popular with Premier members as this delivers real savings and adds to their bottom line. Premier does not operate any membership or joining fees and installs the fascia and imagery free of charge. A wide range of additional services such as recycling, energy savings, free Epos and drop shipment are also available that have been specifically created to add value and keep operating costs low for Premier members.

The group continues to go from strength to strength and its relentless focus in increasing choice, lowering prices and improving service has helped Premier members deliver fantastic convenience stores.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Shopper’s Favourite Symbol Retailer of the Year 2017

MORE FOOTFALL MORE CASH PROFIT It’s absolutely free to join us!

• Free EPOS • Free delivery at cash and

carry prices

• Earn up to 4% Spend & Save

discount *

• Enhanced fresh range

available • Free fascia and window imagery “Premier makes me more money by providing a fantastic choice of products, at great value prices so I can offer a great service to my shoppers that drives footfall.”

Tony Mallaban, Premier Avon Gold Supermarket, Bristol.

MEGA DEALS

FOOD TO GO

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Free membership • Free POS and personalised

leaflets

EURO SHOPPER

DISCOVER THE CHOICE

FA R M F R E S H

Become a part of the Number 1 Symbol Group

Call us today! 01933 371246

*Terms and conditions apply.

Feature

Fascia & Franchise Guide | Advertorial

LOOK TO THE FUTURE WITH LONDIS Innovation sits at the heart of the Londis offer, which includes award-winning fresh and ownbrand ranges, free promotional leaflets and cutting-edge online ordering. Its best in class forecourt package is supported by a dedicated forecourt team.

L

ondis is one of the UK’s leading symbol groups with over 1,900 members across the UK and is part of the Booker Group, the UK’s leading food and drink wholesaler.

This unrivalled buying power means that our retailers benefit from the best package in the sector.

Forecourts represent almost half of the Londis estate and are growing twice as fast as our convenience retailers. We have a specifically designed Forecourt package which combines the strength of our chilled offer with a bespoke Forecourt promotion package and our dedicated Forecourt Development Team have a wealth of experience in Forecourt retailing focused on making sure our package is fit for the future and well set to help our retailers maximise any opportunity.

At Londis we are always looking to the future

THE BENEFITS OF THE LONDIS OFFER INCLUDE: and making sure our retailers are keeping up to date with market trends, areas like Craft Beer, Free From, Protein and Premium Spirits are seeing significant growth retailers need to tap into these as well as other footfall driving categories such as Food To Go and Chilled. We are helping our retailers by listing key lines in these new areas and providing market insight, advice as well as point to sale to ensure that we not only help our retailers understand the size of the opportunity but also enable them to bring the ranges to their customers, attention.

Our recent Wine Festival and Beer & Cider Festival have been a great success, driving new customers and increased footfall into our customers stores. We know the value of events such as these and are always looking at innovative ways to deliver increased sales opportunities for our retailer.

Q Q Q Q Q

Q Q Q Q

Q

Q Q

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SLR | MAY 2018

Free Membership Competitive cost of goods.

Loyalty discounts of up to 4% Award winning Fresh range with over 1,250 lines.

Award winning own brand ranges Euro Shopper, Happy Shopper, Farm Fresh and Discover the Choice.

A best in class online web ordering system (Londis Webshop).

Market leading promotions every 4 weeks Free Promotion Leaflets and FREE store point of sale support.

Support from our dedicated Store Development and Retail Development teams.

Tri Temperature fleet delivering all your ambient, fresh and frozen needs on one delivery.

A best in class forecourt package with a dedicated forecourt team.

Free Membership of the ACS.

www.slrmag.co.uk

“During our store refit, Londis held our hand every step of the way, it’s been worth it, we’re trading up 20%”

Raj Singh Bansi Londis Banbury

Join Londis today and watch your profits grow FREE

FREE

Membership

Leaflet Scheme

FREE

EPOS System

Discount Scheme

A LOWER cost Londis that’s SIMPLER to do business with

joinlondis.co.uk

Feature

Fascia & Franchise Guide | Advertorial

DRIVING PROFITABLE GROWTH TOGETHER “We’ll support you ever more” is Keystore’s message to retailers, with cutting-edge technology solutions, a huge range of branded products, great promotions and a support network that lets you focus on running your business.

A

S one of the most prolific and recognisable convenience store brands in Scotland, KeyStore prides itself on building strong and long relationships with its customers Brand owner JW Filshill, the Glasgowbased retail-led family wholesaler, now offers three KeyStore options: KeyStore, KeyStore More and KeyStore Express.

Retail sales director Craig Brown explains: “It’s very important to us that we help you become as profitable as you can be.

“We work with our customers to help them run profitable, successful and sustainable stores and as a family business ourselves we understand the challenges convenience retailers face every day.

“The convenience marketplace is changing so we have adapted our offer to suit the needs of our customers and they way they want to run and position their businesses.”

All KeyStore retailers receive what Brown believes to be the best sales support in the sector in Scotland, encompassing cuttingedge technology solutions, the biggest range

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SLR | MAY 2018

of branded products, the best promotions and access to all product categories through it supplier partnerships.

“We work in partnership with our retail customers to make running their businesses as easy and as cost-effectively as possible,” Brown continues. “For example, we have what I believe is the most up-to-date online ordering system in the marketplace, supported by our new app which frees up even more time.”

Add to the overall KeyStore package unprecedented support from all head office departments and retailers can concentrate on doing what they do best – engaging with shoppers and providing the best possible customer service in their local community.

“The KeyStore marketing strapline is ‘We’ll Support You Ever More’,” Brown points out. “And that’s exactly what we are doing through a range of merchandising and technology innovations, all designed to maximise your efficiency and productivity.

“In addition to helping you with marketing through our superb promotions and POS package, we can also help you set up social media channels to keep you

in touch with your community and your customers.”

Retailers who decide to join the KeyStore family can look forward to increased sales and profits. But they also benefit from that close working relationship with the KeyStore team, as Glasgow-based retailer Freddie Lalli explains.

“The great thing is that KeyStore listen,” he says. “We got involved in the type of POS we wanted, and we worked closely with them to create a great look for all my shops.

“We regularly beat some of the big supermarket chains in terms of product pricing but one of the most important things for me is that my customers are really loyal tomy shops and the KeyStore brand.”

In Lanark, Wilson Rea recently switched to KeyStore More after more than a decade with another brand.

“Not only has my turnover gone up by over 7%, but my profits have also gone up significantly,” he says. “I see customers coming in more regularly but also putting more in their baskets. It has amazed me how well the brand has outperformed even what I hoped it would do.”

www.slrmag.co.uk

Driving Profitable Growth Looking to join a leading symbol group?

We have 3 different fascias to suit all types of stores

Community support/funding to help you further engage with your customers

Modern, well-branded fascia

We will provide a subsidy for a range of branded clothing for your staff

Product range planning and advice

Marketing, promotions, merchandising support and planogram advice

POS material, consumer leaflets, digital & social media consumer marketing

Access to a wider range of brands and specially negotiated terms for third party suppliers through our Shopflow partnership scheme

Membership of the Scottish Grocers Federation (SGF) and the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) for accurate legislative advice

TALK TO US

Our business development managers have a wealth of experience and will work with you to grow your business. Give one of them a call!

Roy Williams

Robert Paton

BDM East & North m: 07809903501 e: roy.williams@filshill.co.uk

www.keystore.co.uk

keystores

BDM West, South & Central m: 07803518591 e: robert.paton@filshill.co.uk

keystores

Supported locally by the largest Scottish based sales team in the symbol sector!

One of the biggest decisions a retailer will make is choosing which supplier and brand they will use. As an independent retailer you want to keep your own identity. Being held by rigid guidelines can lead to quick loss of that identity, becoming just another store perceived by your customers as no longer locally independent.

At SPAR, we recognise the importance of being independent and we work closely with retailers from the first visit.

We discuss with the retailer the vision they have for their store and, with the support of the SPAR Development Manager and Sales Team, we aim to bring the vision to life. Nothing is left to chance: the external look of the store, the flooring, ceiling, service area, store layout and product locations……. the list is endless!

The photos show two stores, Glasgow City Centre and a Neighbourhood forecourt in Glasgow. Both sell similar products, but the difference is the vision of the retailers. SPAR Scotland is proud to say both stores launched with each retailer’s different vision delivered, resulting in each keeping their independent identity’.

SPAR Hillfoot Garage, Bearsden

www.spar.co.uk

SPAR Glassford Street, Glasgow

www.facebook.com/ SPARintheUK

@SPARScotland

Channel: SPAR UK

Up to £20,000* to make your store a great SPAR store Free membership fees in your first year Free full project management of store development Free inclusion in the new store induction scheme & participation within the fresh food sales project Free market leading training Bespoke advertising support package to launch your new SPAR store Heavyweight national advertising campaigns plus leaflets and distribution in your local area Multi award-winning own brand range - 1000 products New enhanced package including lower cost prices and additional margin opportunities through over-riders on all purchases (exc. Tobacco products) * Subject to terms and conditions. Maximum amount available for store development £20,000. £2,500 membership fee saving based on higher tier.

Award Winning Products

Food to Go

Fresh for Less

Great Value Promotions

Speak to us today www.spar.co.uk/joinspar email: recruitment@sparscotland.co.uk or call Marketing on 01382 512000

DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL?

Join Day-Today to become the very best in retail!

Here at the Day-Today group, we recognise that your image is your strongest asset in independent retailing. First impressions count, therefore it’s vital to get it right first time and make a lasting connection with your local customer base.

The Day-Today group offers retailers the perfect package of a fresh, modern and professional image in your neighbourhood or high street, and combined with the right core range, fantastic value and friendly service, you will have everything in place to succeed.

We have developed a store redevelopment programme that is second to none in the industry, focussed on providing independent retailers with the support they need to stay ahead of the competition.

We have a comprehensive and well designed fascia range, backed by a nationally recognised consumer campaign and underpinned by high-quality fully integrated point of sale material.

Our next generation stores represent an exciting more profitable future for independent retailing. They project a truly professional image, both externally and internally to your customers and everything from corporate colour schemes to store equipment, modelling and ranging planned to the last detail.

The Day-Today family of stores represent local shopping at its very best.

VOTED BEST SYMBOL GROUP BY SWA 2 YEARS IN A ROW 2016/17

“We’re up against some of the top stores in the country and it’s quite good to get that recognition in such a short space of time.”

“I think the success is down to a number of things.”

“For a retailer like us, we have to make sure the community can get everything they need at a local supermarket without having to go to one of the giant stores.”

Imran Ali, Award-Winning Day-today Bourtreehill The Biggest & Best Symbol Group in Scotland

In-House Chill & Freeze

500 Stores and Counting

Market Leading Technology

Best In-Store Promotions

Dedicated Support Team, Project Managers,

Free Leaflets

Business Development Managers

Free POS

and an In-House Merchandising Team.

Contact Fiona Nisbet 07791 615 221

www.uniteduk.com

Feature

Fascia & Franchise Guide | Advertorial

FORGE A FIRM FUTURE WITH NISA’S SUPPORT

W

ith a roster of multi-awardwinning stores such as Ardeer Services, Greens of Markinch, Pinkie Farm Convenience Store and Giacopazzi’s Milnathort, to name a few, Nisa is the proven partner of choice for many market-leading, independently minded retailers in Scotland.

We have worked tirelessly over the last 40 years to ensure we provide all the tools needed to compete against the ever-increasing competition in the convenience retail sector.

Importantly, we don’t have any company owned stores, so don’t compete with our retail members and don’t have restrictive loyalty levels that impact on margin and the ability to trade independently.

Independent retailers have the option to operate under a choice of symbol fascias; Nisa Local, Nisa Extra and dual branded whereby a member can maintain their local identity whilst also benefiting from the strength of the Nisa brand. Alternatively, retailers can opt to trade under their own independent fascia.

Nisa offers flexibility to retailers with their Store of the Future Evolution format which is a move towards a more modular development format, accommodating the individual demographic and shopping missions of every store, Nisa Abbey View in Dunfermline being one of the recent such developments.

A complete retail support package is offered to our members, which comprises a strong retail focussed team, an enhanced category management system, a staff training facility and a comprehensive marketing package incorporating bespoke leaflets, personalised Nisa FM radio, point of sale material and national advertising. Excellent social media support is also

provided with members receiving assistance in running their own sites. And the corporate Nisa Retail Twitter account celebrates member successes as well as offering industry news, trading advice and Nisa business updates.

Nisa’s flexible model provides its retailers with an unbeatable breadth of range comprising over 13,000 SKUs. This is supported by Nisa’s award-winning own label range, Heritage. This provides retailers with more than 800 great quality products

at affordable prices and includes numerous award-winning lines such as the Heritage wine range launched in 2017. This is all delivered by Nisa’s industry leading supply chain which retailers can trust with an impressive 99.9% of deliveries made on the day and 95% successfully made on time.

Nisa understands its members and their marketplace, enabling them to modify their offer to match the ‘local’ demographic and to create bespoke planograms and layouts within their individual sites.

Through Nisa membership retailers can take advantage of the Retail Academy which provides a complete training solution to develop staff and help provide the best possible customer service.

Retailers are offered a full support structure comprising of a strong field team covering Retail Development Managers and Regional Retail Managers, in addition to Fresh Food Development Managers and Store Development Managers who help further develop stores.

And Nisa knows community involvement is key, and as such its retailers can support local good causes through Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally (MADL) charity, which has donated more than £7.5m to UK and Ireland communities since its launch 10 years ago.

In November 2017, Nisa members voted to sell their shares to the Co-op. The deal was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority in April and brings the potential of an exciting year ahead.

The Co-op deal offers the opportunity to add buying power and a broader product range to Nisa’s offer, while respecting its culture of independence, and Nisa is looking forward to building a strong partnership in the years ahead with the Co-op.

CRITERIA Retailers can join the Nisa group through the member website and can rely on superb support from the skilled in-house staff involved in the joining process.

Complete the form on www.join-nisa.co.uk/contact-us or contact our development team on 0800 542 7490.

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SLR | MAY 2018

www.slrmag.co.uk

O T D E T T I M M CO

S R E L I A T E R OUR SINCE 1977

COMMITTED TO GREAT PRICING, AVAILABILITY & DELIVERY “We’re now trading under the Nisa Local banner and the store has been fitted out to the Store of the Future 2 format, which has gone really well. We decided it had to be Nisa.

The chilled and frozen range were what really did it for us - it’s immense. But also, the Heritage range is great.

For the refurbishment we closed for two weeks, but Nisa really did everything for us.

They arranged the shopfitters and popped in every day to make sure things were going well. They said it would take two weeks, and it did.”

Join the family... visit www.join-nisa.co.uk

They said it would take two weeks, and it did.

Barry Chandi, Nisa Local, Buckden, St Neots

Feature

Fascia & Franchise Guide | Advertorial

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ONE STOP’S SCALE AND EXPERTISE One Stop’s mission is simple. To create and support thriving businesses at the heart of their communities.

T

rading as a successful convenience business for over 20 years. We currently operate over 900 stores throughout England, Scotland and Wales. 20% of these are franchises, where we work in partnership with existing convenience retailers to help them reach their full potential.

EXPERTISE YOU CAN COUNT ON Our retail experience is the major aspect that makes us stand out from traditional symbol groups, which are predominantly wholesaledriven. We base our Franchise model on the groups proposition we run successfully in our company estate, giving franchisee’s a proven model to base their business on.

Our years of experience means we’ve refined how we run our stores, and franchisees benefit straight away from our simple and efficient ways of working and our technology that makes this possible. If you speak to our franchisees they will tell you that our systems and processes save them valuable time, so that they’re able to focus on serving their customers, growing their profitable business, developing their teams and most importantly, spending more time with their family.

Our model is built around 4 major principles:

1 BETTER SALES, BIGGER PROFITS Q We deliver a competitive margin of between 18-24% dependent on a store’s mix.

Q Market leading meal deals – 3 for £3 lunchtime deal and 2 for £4 evening deal.

Q Continued price comparison to ensure our prices set stay competitive.

Q Brand new Own Label range featuring over 330 lines – better quality, bigger pack sizes, all at lower prices.

our franchisees are getting the best return from the space they have, by stocking the right range at the right time, to meet their customers ever-changing needs.

4 A PARTNERSHIP BUILT FOR SUCCESS

Q We invest up to £50,000 – dependant on terms & conditions of contract – in a store’s look and feel through a refit package which includes a 2 lane EPOS and back office system, store design, fascia and fixtures and fittings – all project managed.

Q Our Franchisees start off on the right foot with an experienced former store manager in-store, training the franchisee and their team for a whole week.

Q A dedicated Business Development Manager visits every 4 weeks, helping franchisees to grow their sales and margins, not sell boxes.

Q We’re fully committed to working with our franchisees to help their stores succeed.

Which is why our BDMs and Support Team are on hand 7 days a weeks, providing continued support whenever it’s needed.

3 A SIMPLER WAY OF RETAILING

CONTINUED GROWTH

Q Our easy-to-use systems and proven ways of working take the hard work out of the dayto-day running of a store. So our franchisees have more time to focus on their customers and team.

Q Extensive range reset programme in which every category is reviewed once a year, with Chilled and Fresh having two due to its more seasonal nature. This ensures that

As a franchisee you have the entire One Stop business behind you, working hard to improve every aspect of your store, and as we evolve our look & feel, offer, systems and support, you will continue to benefit directly.

As we’re co-invested it’s our priority to ensure your sales and profit continue to grow yearon-year, and we do this through our proven model and unprecedented support.

2 INVESTING IN A FRESH NEW LOOK FOR YOUR STORE

CRITERIA You’ll sign up to a five-year agreement and commit to store standards and core range compliance. In return, you’ll see your business transformed!

So, do you match our criteria?

Q Ideally an established retail operator in England, Wales or the central belt in Scotland Q Existing C-store, CTN+ or Post Office wanting to migrate to convenience Q Or have a property that lends itself to convenience (we will work with cold starts / developments) Q Weekly turnover of at least £10,000 (excluding services) Q Sales area of between 1,000 sq. ft. and 3,000 sq. ft. If less you must have the ability to expand Q Have a current alcohol license or willing to obtain one Q Prepared to operate the minimum trading hours of 7am to 9pm (Mon-Sun)

MEMBERSHIP FEES: MAXIMUM £92 PER WEEK; OPTION TO PAY FOR ALL UPFRONT

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SLR | MAY 2018

www.slrmag.co.uk

READY TO GROW BUT NERVOUS ABOUT TAKING THE NEXT STEP?

Our team will offer all the help you need, every step of the way. Get in touch and make it happen.

01543 363 003

openaonestop.co.uk

Feature

Fascia & Franchise Guide | Advertorial

SIMPLY THE BEST-ONE! Join the growing number of Scotland’s retailers who have discovered the benefits of Bestway Wholesale’s symbol offer.

W

ith significant growth predicted in the sector, Convenience is the place to be. And best-one is the place to be in convenience.

Growing at 19.7%, Bestway Wholesale’s symbol offer now has over 169 stores across Scotland with another seventeen stores having fascias erected over the next two months.

This impressive growth is underpinned by the group’s commitment to work with retailers to develop their businesses through working with them to maximise the local opportunity.

Benefits of joining best-one:

FIELD SUPPORT best-one prides itself on its continued support it delivers to members. Each member has a dedicated representative that draws up a joint business plan with members and regularly reviews this on their monthly call. This business plan is based on actual sales data and benchmarked against the store’s potential as defined by its shopper demographic. New members receive a 6-week period of ‘Hypercare’ where they are visited weekly to ensure that the transition to best-one is as smooth as possible and that standards and sales are optimised.

PROMOTIONAL ARCHITECTURE FACTS BOX Although membership is free with no ongoing costs, best-one retailers need to: Q invest to meet the Best-one in-store brand standards Q have a minimum £18,000 wholesale spend (cash/credit) per month Q participate in the WOW and Must Feature monthly promotions ( 5-6 WOW / 15 Must Feature). Other promotions are available but not mandatory.

Q Accept promotional stock allocations and promotional point of sale material

Members receive five unbeatable WOW Deals and 15 Must Feature promotions every month with case allocations to ensure members have availability throughout the promotional period and individualised store leaflets to drive footfall and loyalty. Shoppers now expect to see promotions that match the multiple retailers and best-one delivers on this with promotions both in impulse and grocery

STORE DEVELOPMENT With a variety of formats available based on shopper profiles and their missions, best-one works with members to deliver the best possible solution for their communities. From simple food to go solutions to full serve-over meal counters and premium coffee stations, best-one can help remodel, refit and revitalise your store. Central Pick operation gives member longer shelf life on over 1,500 chilled and fresh products with up to three deliveries per week.

As a reward for meeting shopper needs, best-one members also have the opportunity to earn up to 5% rebate on their purchases though My Rewards rebate scheme. Importantly, many members have used their future earnings from My Rewards to fund refits or expansion rather than tying up capital and cash flow.

CATEGORY DEVELOPMENT Over the past year. best-one has introduced refined planograms across key convenience categories to help members reduce the number of lines on-shelf and focus on the bestsellers across branded and best-one own label ranges. Members now have access to a wide range of planograms, shopper insight factsheets and must stock lines both online and in print.

Q Have a minimum of two deliveries of chilled/frozen foods per week

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE CUSTOMER CONTACT CENTRE ON 01738 644 444 OR EMAIL ENQUIRIES@BESTONE.CO.UK

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www.slrmag.co.uk

Feature

World Cup 2018

SCORE BIG WITH THE WORLD CUP

Scotland might not be there – again! – but the World Cup is certain to create a host of great sales, footfall and profit-boosting opportunities for retailers who are on the ball next month.

LUCOZADE’S TOP TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF THE WORLD CUP:

WATCH IT FROM THE MALDIVES WITH BARR! Barr Soft Drinks is taking its usual leftfield approach to the World Cup with a new ‘Bru’s On The Plane’ on-pack promotion giving Irn-Bru consumers the chance to watch a World Cup match from the Maldives.

“2018 is a massive year for football and there’s no doubt that fans will be thinking about Moscow this summer,” says Adrian Troy, Marketing Director for Barr Soft Drinks. “But only a fraction will be actually travelling to Russia to watch the matches. In true Irn-Bru style, we’re giving shoppers the chance to win a phenomenal £15,000 holiday to watch a match from the Maldives – just like a footballer might do.”

The on-pack promotion also sees thousands of runner-up prizes of Irn-Bru flip flops up for grabs to keep Scottish consumers engaged throughout the tournament as they look for winning packs.

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SLR | MAY 2018

I

Q Soft drink sales spike by over 5% during major football events, with Lucozade Sport up by as much as 12%, so consider giving extra space in the chiller to the best-selling brands during the tournament.

Q Stock a range of choice that includes something for all consumers.

Q Make the most of the buzz around the summer of sport by promoting Lucozade Sport’s on-pack competition. Ensure shelves are full to drive visibility and use POS to disrupt purchase.

t’s one of the biggest events on the planet and Sport Low Cal variants, to offer consumers plenty while Scotland might not be there there’s no of choice. question that the World Cup presents a huge Last year the brand also launched a new functional array of opportunities. water, Lucozade Sport Fitwater, now the secondLucy Grogut, Lucozade Sport Brand Director biggest functional water brand on the market [IRI, at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, comments: “It’s no Dec 2017]. It’s a great addition to a store’s chiller secret that large sporting tournaments translate into to drive increased sales from sporty and active increased sales across many categories for retailers. consumers.

It’s essential to prepare stores now for the busy Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) is also sporting period, particularly within the categories kicking off new activity for the World Cup with an that benefit the most.” on-pack promotion across its Coca-Cola portfolio, One of the categories most likely to benefit from designed to appeal to the 14 million people expected sales uplifts is Soft Drinks, one of the biggest to tune in for each game. categories by volume in any c-store.

The new promotion sees CCEP hook up with Grogut says: “Soft drinks sales typically rise number one sports game EA Sports FIFA by over +5% [IRI, 2014-2017] during major 18 and will see unique codes printed on sporting events. Within sports drinks promotional packs of Coca-Cola Classic specifically this spike is even more and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar until June pronounced, with sales of category17. Consumers can enter the code leading Lucozade Sport increasing by online to unlock exclusive in-game Increase in soft drinks sales during large an average of +12% during sporting content within FIFA 18 for the Xbox sporting events tournaments.”

One and PlayStation4 consoles and be Lucozade Sport is investing £5m in with the chance of winning a rare player this summer as part of its Made to Move and Coca-Cola jersey for their team. campaign. The activity shows consumers through With research showing that more than half of its partnership with high-profile sports personalities the population are planning to watch this year’s Harry Kane and Anthony Joshua that “nobody ever World Cup, the promotion is designed to help moved forward standing still”. retailers build their soft drink sales by tapping into As well as a high-visibility TV ad, the campaign is the popularity of football and the FIFA gaming backed by an on-pack competition giving consumers franchise. the chance to win a range of over 20,000 prizes and Promotional packs will be available on Coca-Cola encouraging additional purchase.

Classic and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 330ml cans and Grogut highlights how Lucozade Sport is the 500ml PET bottles, which will also be available in best-selling brand in the segment and can generate a PMP format. over £1,000 [IRI, Nov 2017] a year, per store. A good The promotion will be supported by a £2.5m range should therefore comprise multiple SKUs marketing campaign that includes POS, digital, from the Lucozade Sport range, including Lucozade social and out-of-home advertising.

18%

www.slrmag.co.uk

IS YOUR STORE

MATCH-FIT? With the biggest event in the football calendar just around the corner, Lucozade Sport is helping you make more profit from your sports drinks range. We’re investing £5M into our Made to Move campaign with Harry Kane and Anthony Joshua to boost sales in store this summer.

As well as a high-visibility TV ad, the campaign will be backed by an on-pack competition giving your shoppers the chance to win a range of over 20,000 prizes.

Stock up now to make the most of the limited-edition packs!

SCORE MORE SALES THIS SUMMER 1. MAKE MORE ROOM

Lucozade Sport sales spike by as much as +12% during major football tournaments, so give extra space in the chiller to this best-selling brand 3

2. FOCUS ON FLAVOURS

Tempt shoppers in with Lucozade Sport Orange, the UK’s no.1 sports drink4 and Lucozade Sport Raspberry too – the brand’s fastest growing flavour5

3. ENGAGE YOUR SHOPPERS

Make the most of the buzz by promoting Lucozade Sport’s on-pack competition. Ensure your shelves are full to drive visibility and use POS to ensure the packs are unmissable.

"

Lucozade Sport is a best-selling brand and can generate over £1,0006 a year, per store. A good range should also include the second biggest functional water brand7, Lucozade Sport Fitwater to help retailers drive sales in this area.

"

LUCY GROGUT | LUCOZADE RIBENA SUNTORY

"

SOFT DRINK SALES

+5%

DURING MAJOR SPORTING EVENTS1

LUCOZADE SPORT SALES

+12%

DURING MAJOR SPORTING EVENTS2

On-pack promotions with a sport theme undoubtedly drive energy and sports drinks sales. I tend to up my sports drinks stock in the months leading up to a high-profile sporting event in order to best take advantage of the sales boost.

"

MARTY UPPAL | FIXBY STORES, HUDDERSFIELD

¹EXT IRI MarketPlace, GB; average sales uplift across major sporting events from 2014-2017 | ²EXT IRI MarketPlace, GB; average sales uplift across major sporting events from 2014-2017 | ³EXT IRI MarketPlace, GB; average sales uplift across major sporting events from 2014-2017 | ⁴EXT IRI MarketPlace, GB, latest 52 week data ending 28.01.18 | ⁵EXT IRI MarketPlace, GB, latest 52 week data ending 28.01.18 | ⁶EXT IRI Symbols & Independents, GB, latest 52 week data ending 19.11.17 ⁷EXT IRI MarketPlace, GB, latest 52 week data ending 24.12.17. LUCOZADE SPORT and FITWATER are registered trade marks of Lucozade Ribena Suntory Ltd.

Feature

Food To Go

FOOD-TO-GO EVOLVING FAST Food-to-go has been arguably the standout category in local retailing in the last 12 months with many retailers embracing it as a great way of driving up footfall and sales – but the market is evolving quickly, and retailers need to stay on top of the latest trends to maximise revenues.

F

ood-to-go means different things to different people and that includes both shoppers and retailers – but one thing is for sure: providing your customers with a solid range of foods and drinks for instance consumption is a must for the vast majority of local retailers these days.

HOT SALES For many, food-to-go means either hot food or food that can be easily and quickly heated up. Rustlers fits the bill on this front, provides providing choice and variety that growing numbers of food-to-go shoppers are looking for.

According to HIM CTP data from 2017, convenience stores that offer hot food-to-go also generate a higher basket spend, with the average basket spend of a ‘hot’ food-togo shopper over 10% more (£4.06) than the average food-to-go shopper (£3.69).

As the popularity of the humble sandwich continues to decline, almost three quarters (74%) of food-to-go shoppers now buy meat snacks or hot food-to-go regularly for lunch [WDR & HIM, May 2016].

“Lunchtime is the biggest occasion for Rustlers with over 60% of all Rustlers eaten for lunch [according to the same data],” says Angela Daulby, UK Group Sales Director of Rustlers brand owner Kepak Convenience Foods.

“The fact that eight out of 10 food-to-go shoppers have a microwave at work, and more than half of all food-to-go shoppers eat their lunch at their workplace highlights the pivotal role that Rustlers can play in food-to-go.”

Thanks to the introduction of the Rustlers All Day Breakfast Sausage Muffin, Rustlers now features in the key consumption occasions of breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a major presence in the important shopper mission of food-to-go, but also in meal for tonight and top up.

Research also highlights Rustlers’ pulling power in attracting food-to-go shoppers, 56

SLR | MAY 2018

with almost two-thirds of them (65%) saying they’re more inclined to go stores which stock the category-leading brand. [WDR & HIM, May 2016].

Rustlers is also meeting growing shopper demand for more ‘upmarket’ hot food-to-go with its top of the range Gourmet ‘Classic’ and ‘BBQ’ burgers (RSP £3).

“Rustlers Gourmet taps into the major foodservice trend for gourmet burgers which has filtered through to the high-street with the launch of the McDonald’s Signature range,” adds Daulby. “We felt that the time was now right to bring this trend into chilled convenience on the back of Rustlers Gourmet scoring exceptionally well in extensive research.”

Rustlers is also enabling retailers to offer an in-store cooking solution with its microwave or food-to-go unit, both proven to boost sales of micro snacking products without the concerns over waste and the additional labour costs associated with food-to-go counters.

IN-STORE BAKERY Another proven way of driving food-to-go sales is by offering customers a range of freshly-baked products made in-store.

It can be a simple, cost effective way for convenience retailers to attract new food-to-go shoppers – and increase basket spend.

“In convenience, instore bakery shoppers spend more than average shoppers and shop more frequently. The reality is that, on average, an instore bakery can generate an extra £51.04 per shopper

per month [HIM, 2017],” says Paul Whitely, Head of Marketing UK at Aryzta Food Solutions.

Aryzta Food Solutions offers a range of food-to-go solutions to help retailers compete head-on with high street foodservice outlets.

These include the Cuisine de France range of baked products, the Seattle’s Best Coffee range and the Otis range of sweet treat products as well as a new range of hot foodto-go lines introduced last year comprising four Heinz Cook-in-Pack products and three Bake-in-Pack panini lines.

Aryzta also offers a number of equipment for solutions, as Whitely explains: “We have a variety of options for retailers, from purchasing ovens and equipment, right through to schemes whereby retailers who work with us and meet the appropriate level of sales can loan equipment from us through a partnership agreement.

“This means that in some cases the only cost that the retailer may have to consider is purchasing the stock, and investing some staff time to bake off and set up the display.

“With good planning and well-trained staff, retailers can reap all of the benefits that an instore bakery solution provides. One of the real advantages of working with Aryzta is that all stores will be given support by our field sales team from the first day of launch through to ongoing training requirements.”

Aryzta also provides comprehensive guidance www.slrmag.co.uk

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Feature

Food To Go

MERCHANDISING ADVICE FROM ARYZTA FOOD SOLUTIONS For retailers who want to see results from food-to-go, there are a few key factors to bear in mind: With many people now skipping breakfast at home and the continued rise of coffee, there’s a key opportunity for retailers to implement a link purchase such as a coffee with a croissant or pain au chocolat for example.

Research shows that 42% of in-store bakery shoppers buy due to ‘temptation’ so by positioning Aryzta’s range of counter top and floor standing units near to a coffee offering retailers can generate additional impulse sales. Aryzta’s coffee solution for Seattle’s Best Coffee has been designed for the convenience retailer. It integrates two stands to hold both AM products and PM sweet treat products such as cookies, muffins and doughnuts. This enables retailers to increase basket spend and upsell to shoppers whilst they are waiting for their coffee to pour.

From 2pm onwards, we know that the traditional food-to-go and drink-to-go missions begin to slow down, however the treat mission continues to hold up as shoppers look to treat themselves during the afternoon and early evenings.

We also know that 24% of in-store bakery shoppers make impulse purchases, which is higher than the convenience average of 14% for those without an in-store bakery solution. A wellstocked post lunch offering of bagged doughnuts and other sweet treats will drive additional sales of impulse and take-home products.

[Data source: HIM CTP 2017]

and training manuals as well as offering ongoing support to all customers, in order to give them the tools and knowledge required to drive footfall and increase sales.

Whitely says an in-store bakery concession from Cuisine de France can generate as much as £150,000 worth of additional business per year, vs. £49,000 in stores with another bakery concession – a difference of £98,000 [HIM CTP, 2017].

MEAL DEALS Another great way of driving up food-to-go spend is by offering shoppers a range of meal deals.

Amy Burgess, Trade Communications Manager at Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), comments: “Meal deals that see discounts offered when a soft drink, such as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar or Fanta, is purchased alongside a sandwich or a snack, are a great way of meeting the demands of a lunchtime shopper looking for a convenient meal onthe-go, while also giving a high perception of value.

“Retailers can maximise the potential of these offers by stocking all of the products that are eligible for the deal together, complete with POS materials signposting the meal deal. This will increase the convenience for shoppers looking to pick up their meal quickly, whilst also enticing them to take advantage of the offer in store.”

SANDWICHES A staple of the food-to-go market has long been the sandwich and retailers now have another attractive option on this front with 58

SLR | MAY 2018

the news that the UK’s favourite sandwich, URBAN eat, is now available to convenience retailers alongside some of the nation’s favourite brands.

The company’s new direct-to-store delivery service will provide retailers with a consolidated ‘One Stop Shop’ of must-stock, branded food-to-go SKUs. Launched at this year’s National Convenience Show, the brand is aiming to further capitalise on the expanding foodto-go market within convenience, reaching more retailers with its range than ever before.

The new additions and no-fuss delivery system further strengthens URBAN eat as a compelling choice for stores of all sizes and locations.

John Want, Marketing Director at URBAN eat’s brand owner Adelie Foods, said: “We’re thrilled to be launching our new ‘One Stop Shop’. With this offering we are hoping to accelerate the roll-out of URBAN eat within this important sector, and we are confident that retailers will benefit from improved sales and profits by stocking the right branded food-to-go selection.

“URBAN eat is the perfect range for convenience. We’ve extended the life of some of our top sellers to four days, which means that retailers can be reassured they can sellthrough. To strengthen our proposition further, we have also introduced an online sale and return model so waste is clearly tracked and credit claims raised automatically.

“We also understand the need to provide the full food-to-go solution for convenience and forecourt operators so they have a perfect offer in store from a single supplier. Our small

range of complementary food-to-go products is made up of all the big hitters. This includes Wall’s, the number one savoury pastry brand in the channel.”

The URBAN eat portfolio includes sandwiches, wraps and snacks to meet all store and consumer needs. As well as the classic best-sellers, the range includes ontrend flavours such as Chicken Tikka Bhaji, and an extensive selection of halal and glutenfree options.

IMPULSE ADD-ONS Don’t forget too that many food-to-go products are also bought alongside a soft drink, snack and sweet treat so it is vital to ensure a good core range of these types of lines to bolster basket spend even further. And don’t forget that food-to-go covers many missions right throughout the day.

Susan Nash, Trade Communications Manager at Mondel z International, comments: “The food-to-go mission accounts for 32% of total snack sales [Kantar, May 2013].

Lunch and afternoon are the most common times to purchase food-to-go, but the on-thego breakfast mission is growing. Our insights show that 98% of adults snack at home, work or a place of study [Mintel, Jan 2014].

“It’s important to consider times of day when merchandising, to take account of the on-the-go mission. Breakfast and lunch are all about routine and convenience, whereas afternoon is about hunger and wanting a treat.

Retailers should be aware that the instant consumption channel is really important for this mission as the convenience element plays a big role.” www.slrmag.co.uk

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Feature

Cider

FRUIT KEEPS DRIVING CIDER SALES

A new report highlights how fruit ciders are set to account for almost half of all sales – and low and no alcohol variants are gaining ‘credibility and acceptance’.

MERRYDOWN DRY IS BACK SHS Drinks is broadening its heritage cider offering this summer with the reintroduction of Merrydown Dry. With glass-bottled apple ciders currently growing at 14.5% [Nielsen, Mar 2018] in the impulse channel, the company believes the launch will provide a boost for the impulse sector’s £76m glass bottled cider category and deliver a range of Merrydown cider styles to meet a host of consumer needs and occasions.

Merrydown Dry had been withdrawn in 2017.

Packaged in a 750ml glass sharing bottle and with a fresh label design to complement that introduced across the whole brand in 2017, new Merrydown Dry is now available with screwcap closures and trade units of 6 and 12-bottle shrink-wrapped trays with an RSP of £2.69.

RASPBERRY ROLLER UNVEILED Westons Cider has added to its Rosie’s Pig range of refreshing cloudy ciders with the launch of Rosie’s Pig Raspberry Roller Cloudy Cider. The new Raspberry and Cucumber flavoured cider also taps into the huge growth of berry-flavoured ciders, which now account for 87% of all fruit ciders sold [IRI, Feb 2018].

Like the rest of the range, the still, cloudy cider comes in both a 330ml can with an ABV of 4%.

BESTWAY SERVES UP AN ACE Bestway Wholesale has relaunched its strong cider brand, dropping the ‘White’ from the White Ace name and introducing a new refreshing apple-focussed packaging design. Price-marks have also been removed from packs, allowing the product to be fully compliant with Minimum Unit Pricing.

The move was made following consumer research by supplier Aston Manor that explored the needs of over 400 regular high strength cider drinkers, in which 93% of those surveyed considered the term ‘white cider’ negative and unhelpful. Ace Cider is available in the following formats: 500ml cans; 1 litre; 2 litre; and 3 litre PETs and is available exclusively from Bestway and Batleys depots and online at bestway.co.uk.

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SLR | MAY 2018

O

nce the darling of the alcoholic drinks category, cider’s stellar growth stalled some time back but it still presents a huge and very significant opportunity for local retailers, as highlighted in a new Cider Report from Westons Cider.

According to the report, the category is in robust health overall with almost half of households (45.5%) buying cider, and sales up by +3.5% in value to £2.98bn in the last year [IRI]. Some of the most important trends from the report are highlighted below: Fruit here to stay: The latest data from CGA Strategy shows that fruit cider continues to bring more consumers into the cider category, including women, who make up 60% of fruit cider drinkers compared with 47% of all cider drinkers. Fruit cider is also bringing younger consumers into the category, with half of fruit cider drinkers aged 18–34 compared with 36% of all cider drinkers.

“Fruit cider has grown by 338% in the last 12 years to represent 27% of the overall category across the on and off trade in 2017,” said Matthew Langley, Insight and Innovation Manager at Westons Cider, “so we are predicting that it will account for almost half of all cider sales by 2023 if current growth continues at the same rate.”

The health agenda: The report highlights an opportunity for retailers to tap into a growing trend for health and wellness. “Low and no alcohol products are rising in credibility and acceptance,” said Langley, “and are now seen by consumers as a positive discovery choice based on taste, flavour and experience rather than just having to choose something when ‘you’re not drinking’.”

Changing shoppers: With sales of ‘crafted’ ciders up by +22% (led by single glass bottle brands), premiumisation and a more adventurous consumer are the strongest drivers in an off-trade cider category that is now worth £1.12bn and growing by +5.3% (value). “Despite strong gains in all segments of the market apart from value white and pear cider, our report clearly shows that the biggest category growth lies in crafted cider,” explained Langley, “so retailers should really bear this in mind when making their stocking decisions.”

Can do attitude:”Canned fruit cider has seen year on year value growth of +31.8% whereas bottled fruit cider has declined, so retailers should also bear this in mind when deciding which brands and formats to stock.

The demand for cans is also being seen across the wider category, to account for 48% of all cider sales and up by +13.3% year on year, largely at the expense of larger plastic bottle offerings, sales of which are down by -11.3% to account for just 15% of all sales.”

KEY TRENDS

WESTONS CIDER REPORT NOTES THE FOLLOWING KEY TRENDS: Q FRUIT CIDERS TO ACCOUNT FOR ALMOST HALF OF SALES WITHIN FIVE YEARS Q LOW/NO ALCOHOL DRINKS ‘RISING IN CREDIBILITY AND ACCEPTANCE’ Q THE FACE OF THE OFF-TRADE CIDER SHOPPER IS CHANGING Q CANS IN GROWTH

www.slrmag.co.uk

R O F E K C C N TO NIE S - E T V US ON M C

drinkaware.co.uk for the facts

FROSTY JACK’S NEW RANGE FOR MUP

Continue to stock the UK’s 2nd largest take-home cider brand1 • Available in smaller 1L bottle and 500ml can formats • Convenience channel exclusive • Higher POR potential of 60%+ Frosty Jack’s shoppers: • Have the highest brand loyalty of any cider brand* • Make 3x more shopping trips per year versus average cider shopper*

MUP retail price

£3.75

MUP retail price

£1.88

AVAILABLE FROM YOUR EXISTING FROSTY JACK’S SUPPLIER Source: IRI Independents/Symbols Feb 2018 *Kantar Alcovision Aug 2017 1

www.frostyjacks.co.uk

UTC

DONE TO A T

We’re easily flattered here at SLR Towers so it was a day of blushes all round when we received a lovely wee commemorative framed piece of personalised artwork from Tennent’s to celebrate our support for the brand over the years as it relaunched its fancy new packaging design that looks like the can’s contents has already been poured into a glass.

While the print didn’t come with few sample cans, the auld yin was prepared to let that slide although he was seen shortly afterwards rifling through the petty cash tin while muttering something about being “off to pay his respects” to one of our much-loved clients and their fine brews.

PERSONALISATION. YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. There are some that say UTC doesn’t have one, but the auld boy assures us his heart went out to a young man named Cameron who refers to himself as Cam and has had no end of bother at his local Starbucks.

You know how they insist on writing your name on the cup, even if you’re the only one in the shop?

It’s supposed to imply that Starbucks really cares about you and wants to be your BFF. Only, it has the opposite effect if you keep spelling the customer’s name wrong. As young Cam has discovered.

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SLR | MAY 2018

THE IDEAL BIRTHDAY TIPPLE

The auld yin is not above begging when it comes to getting his calloused wee mitts on things he holds dear – like whisky. And while he wouldn’t want to give his age away, it seems he contacted Maxxium’s Paul Seenan regarding a 1926 Macallan that was auctioned recently.

UTC believed it was “the least that Seenan could do” to sling him a wee bottle too, as thanks for his long-standing coverage of the brand and his equally long-standing commitment to buying it.

We are yet to hear Seenan’s response, but as two of the 1926 bottles went for $1.2m, we fear the auld yin might be back on the Grouse before long.

GOOD IDEA TURNED SOUR It may be one of the latest trends in beer, but UTC is having none of it. Low or no alcohol beer just doesn’t wash in the UTC household.

It’s an oxymoron, he is fond of telling anyone within earshot. A self-contradictory concept.

Like Microsoft Works. Or Dunfermline Athletic.

Or airline food.

So when a case of 0.5% ABV beer turned up at SLR Towers from the Ipswich-based Big Drop Brewing Co, the office was treated to another of the auld yin’s charming, if overfrequent rants.

The somewhat unfortunately named Sour beer is, according to the press release, “ideal to accompany something tangy like a good stinky cheese or seafood with a squeeze of lemon”.

In the interests of our more delicate readers, we are unable to print the curmudgeon-inchief’s thoughts on what Sour beer would ideally accompany.

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