SLR September 2020 edition.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 209

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ANAND CHEEMA

First time retailer’s new store profiled

KIERAN MARSH

JTI man talks nicotine pouches

+

STOPTOBER SALES

DAN’S THE MAN

Dan Brown becomes youngest ever SGF President

Another opportunity for retailers

ZERO WASTE

Dundee store in focus

RETAIL TECH

Uptake accelerates in convenience SOFTWARE REVIEW: UNDER THE BONNET OF JISP

September 2020

Contents

Contents ISSUE 209

NEWS p6 p7 p8 p10 p18 p20 p22

Charity The One-O-One convenience chain lends its support to industry charity GroceryAid. Illicit Trade 600,000 illicit cigarettes are seized by HMRC from a van stopped on the M74.

Post Office Postmasters to get a voice in the Post Office boardroom as boss Nick Read tries to mend fences.

News Extra Crime Shopworkers’ trade union leader launches a parliamentary petition to protect members.

Product News Christmas is fast approaching, and Ferrero and Mondelez both unwrap their festive ranges.

Off-Trade News WKD takes a fresh approach to cocktails and Pernod Ricard prepares for an unusual Christmas.

Newstrade DC Thomson pulls the plug on five magazines as coronvirus renders them “commercially unsustainable”.

8

27

32

36

41

66

INSIDE BUSINESS p24 Research Digest A new survey finds that 48% of Brits are actively looking for locally sourced items in stores. p26 2 Minutes Of Your Time Kieran Marsh JTI’s CTP Portfolio Brand Manager discusses the new nicotine pouch category. p27 Case Study Irn-Bru Energy Spar Renfrew retailer Saleem Sadiq is in no doubt that Irn-Bru Energy has been a hit with his customers. p28 Software Review Jisp SLR takes a closer look at a new app offering home delivery, scan & go, and click & collect. p32 Case Study Ethical Retailing The second in a series of articles looks at a new zero waste store in Dundee. p36 Retailer interview Anand Cheema The son of the SGF CEO Pete Cheema has opened his first store, on a site once owned by his father. p40 Hotlines The latest new products that suppliers want to see on your shelves. p54 Under The Counter They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Try telling that to Brewdog.

FEATURES p42 Stoptober As Scotland finally loses its unenviable crown as the smoking capital of the UK, is a smoke-free Scotland now a realistic possibility? p46 Fascias Does coronavirus upheaval mean its time to take a fresh look at available business models like fascias, symbol groups and franchises? p60 Retail Tech One of the side-effects of Covid-19 has been a massive acceleration of the uptake of technology by convenience retailers. p66 Breakfast New data suggest an increase in breakfast occasions as lockdown continues to ease, which is great news for local retailers.

ON THE COVER p14 Dan Brown At 28, the Musselburgh retailer is the SGF’s youngest-ever President. SLR catches up with him.

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

5

News CHARITY Convenience chain makes significant donation

2017 revaluation appeal disposal deadline put back The Scottish Government is to extend the statutory deadline for disposing outstanding 2017 revaluation appeals by 12 months to 31 December 2021.

The coronavirus outbreak and consequent submission of many additional appeals earlier this year under Material Change of Circumstances, which have to be concluded by next March, are thought to be behind the decision.

Spar Scotland backs Food and Drink Fortnight Spar Scotland has lent its support to this month’s Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight, which runs from 5 until 20 September 2020. All Spar stores in Scotland are taking part in the event, which promotes Scottish food and drink suppliers and their products. The event is bolstered with in-store point of sale to

One-O-One gets behind GroceryAid One-O-One has made a significant donation to GroceryAid, as part of its ongoing efforts to provide comprehensive support to its workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.

The donation is the latest in a serious of steps by the chain of convenience stores to create meaningful and lasting connections with their team members and customers, with enhanced pay packages and a host of community based charitable initiatives having also been launched since March.

One-O-One has a portfolio of 45 shops in Scotland, and its Group Retail Director Paul Stirling commented: “We feel Grocery Aid is a great charity that will offer invaluable support to our colleagues and enable them to have access to a vital range of financial and wellbeing services.

“We urge our colleagues to get in touch via their 24/7 Helpline whenever they need it and to ensure they make the most of this truly invaluable service. We look forward to supporting Grocery Aid in the future through financial contribution and resource from our teams.”

Steve Barnes, GroceryAid CEO, added: “It’s great to receive this support from One-O-One. Backing like this means we can enhance our assistance for colleagues in need. A great example of this is our GroceryAid Covid-19

Fund that helps grocery colleagues affected by this dreadful disease where we are still to see the full impact.

“We are also grateful to the company for allowing their Retail Area Business Manager, Jim Harper to be Joint Chair of our Scottish Branch.”

The GroceryAid Covid-19 Fund is designed to help colleagues who need support now and throughout the full impact of the pandemic and includes mental health support, crisis grants, and bereavement financial assistance.

The GroceryAid Helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year on 08088 021 122.

highlight the provenance of Scottish food and drink products available for customers to buy.

EDGEPoS self-checkouts integrated with Texaco payment systems

TRADE GROUPS SGF boss wins further recognition

Awards hat trick for Cheema

Henderson Technology has announced the successful launch of the first EDGEPoS selfcheckout integrated with HTEC Gempay payment terminals to enable their use within Texacobranded forecourts across the UK. The first site to adopt the system is a Texaco / EuroSpar store in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

Tesco closes the sustainability loop Tesco has launched an online trial in partnership with zero waste shopping platform Loop.

Shoppers can order a variety of products like juices, sauces, shampoo, soaps, moisturiser, and washing-up liquid in brandspecific, durable reusable packaging. Suppliers including Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola European Partners, Danone, Unilever, Mars Wrigley and Pepsico are all

Scottish Grocers Federation has announced that Chief Executive Pete Cheema has scooped three major industry awards.

Cheema has been recognised as Europe CEO of the Year 2020 by M&A Today magazine and as CEO of the Year (UK) by Corporate America Today.

There was a further award as CEO of the Year from Global 100 magazine.

SGF itself has also been recognised by Global 100 as Best Food Trade Association 2020 (Scotland).

Pete Cheema said: “I am delighted at this continuing recognition for both myself and SGF. At the core of all of this is our commitment to providing value to all our members and continually improving everything we do.

“Overall, these awards represent outstanding recognition of the importance of our industry. These awards are also a testament of the superb work my staff regularly produce. It is a privilege to be surrounded by talented people.”

TECHNOLOGY

TRDP partners with Basket The Retail Data Partnership has announced an integration with Basket, a Home Delivery and Click & Collect platform and app.

The integration with ShopMate EPoS means full reporting and stock management is automated. Set up is also straightforward, with stores choosing their products which are all uploaded automatically with descriptions, weights and images. Customers can then access the store through a web browser or the app on any device and pay online.

Andrew Prince, Director at Basket, said: “Basket enables independent convenience retailers to compete online in an untapped market for the sector. They can reach customers who may previously have been relying on patchy supermarket deliveries.”

Brian Eagle-Brown, General Manager for The Retail Data Partnership, added: “We’re delighted to announce our full integration with Basket. We’ve worked hard to make sure that it’s as easy as possible for independent stores to get online and to help them reach new customers.”

providing products.

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6

SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

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News ILLICIT TOBACCO Cops stop cigarettes getting sent to Coventry

Van stop yields 600k dodgy cigs A van driver has been arrested after an estimated 600,000 illicit cigarettes were seized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The vehicle was stopped by Police Scotland officers while driving southbound on M74 in the Lanarkshire area at about 11am on Friday 14 August 2020.

Officers discovered the haul in the back of the van and alerted HMRC. The estimated duty lost on the cigarettes is £185,000.

A 32-year-old Coventry man has been charged with Excise Duty fraud.

Joe Hendry, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “We are committed to disrupting the distribution of illicit tobacco across the UK and levelling the playing field for local businesses who cannot compete with criminal competitors.”

Gary Tickner, Road Policing Inspector, Police Scotland,

Lotto ‘Must Be Won’ rule change Camelot has changed the prize structure for ‘Must Be Won’ draws in a bid to drive increased footfall around them. From Saturday 7 November, players who match two main numbers where no one matches all six will scoop a share of the jackpot – winning £5 in addition to a free Lucky Dip while each of the other prize tiers will still receive a share of the jackpot.

#RustlersRetailHero campaign raises £8,00 for GroceryAid Rustlers has donated over £8,000 to GroceryAid after it received 267 stories of unsung heroes across the convenience

commented: “This seizure is an excellent example of our partnership with HMRC in tackling organised crime groups.

“We continue to work closely with partner agencies to detect

and disrupt criminal activity in our communities.”

Anyone with information about people or businesses involved in tax fraud can contact the HMRC Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887 or at gov.uk.

channel. The micro-snacking brand had originally pledged £10 for every Twitter post using the #RustlersRetailHero hashtag, but brand owner Kepak tripled this to raise £8,010 for the industry charity.

SYMBOL GROUPS Industry veteran moving on

TECHNOLOGY

Bestway’s Cresswell steps down

Scandi Go: shopping app Jisp gets Norwegian boost

New Renfrewshire business fund open for applications A £1.3m support fund to help Renfrewshire businesses tackle the immediate impact of coronavirus is now open for

Bestway Retail’s Chief Retail Officer Andy Cresswell will leave the company next January, two years after joining from MRH. A Bestway spokesperson said that Cresswell had “moved the retail estate forward and led franchise stores within the Bestway Wholesale business through a period of significant growth”.

The company is now looking for a Head of Stores to take charge of the companyoperated estate and help

www.slrmag.co.uk

shape Bestway’s overall retail offer.

Paying thanks to Cresswell, Bestway Wholesale boss Dawood Pervez said: “The Bestway Group board is immensely grateful to Andy for the stability and vision he has brought over the last two years. Much has changed at Bestway Retail under his tenure-ship and Andy has been a valued member of our leadership team and pivotal in driving our retail strategy over this period.”

Jisp, the tech company behind the NFRN’s all-in-one shopping app, has been chosen a preferred alternative to Norway’s largest mobile payment provider.

Vipps, which is the equivalent of PayPal in Norway, has announced plans to axe its VippsGO solution, a marketplace mobile app hosting more than 18,000 independent stores and used by more than two million consumers. Instead, retailers and restaurants are being encouraged to switch to Vipps’ chosen alternative companies, with the transition to be completed by 1 December 2020.

Jisp is the only UK business to be chosen as an alternative payment and shopping app, sharing the honour with four Norwegian firms.

Jisp offers a unified platform that features Home Delivery, Click & Collect and Scan & Go solutions while also securely taking payments.

To learn more about Jisp’s work in Norway, please visit jisp.com/vippsuk.

applications. It offers interest free Business Restart Loans, 50% match-funded Business Resilience Grants and matchfunded Business Adaptation Grants. Details of each fund, eligibility information and the online application is available at renfrewshire.gov.uk/coronavirusbusinesses.

Nisa to host virtual Expo Nisa has taken its annual trade show online because of coronavirus. Originally scheduled for March, the event will now be held virtually on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October. It will include all the usual features Nisa partners would find at Stoneleigh, with some additional online interactivity. To register to attend, visit nisaexpo.co.uk.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

7

News POST OFFICE Boss Nick Read determined to ‘reset relationship’

One O One is appy with home delivery platform

Postmasters get PO boardroom seat

Appy Shop has been selected by One O One Convenience Stores as its exclusive online shopping platform and partner. Appy Shop will provide One O One with an integrated e-commerce solution enabling it to offer customers an online shopping platform for delivery and click & collect services. The partnership came as One O One announced it had teamed up with Glasgow City Council to help vulnerable citizens get their groceries in a safe and convenient way.

Co-ops grow fastest The new Grocery Data Index

A serving Postmaster is to get a seat on the Post Office Board, as the company tries to put the Horizon IT scandal behind it.

The new Non-Executive Director will stand up for the interests of more than 8,000 of their fellow Postmasters.

Nick Read, Chief Executive at the Post Office, said the move sent “the clearest signal yet” of the PO’s determination to reset its relationship with Postmasters.

That particular relationship was soured when faulty Post Office software caused shortfalls in some branch accounts, leading to accusations of theft. A number of Postmasters were bankrupted as a result, while others ended up in prison. The Post Office agreed to pay out £58m to settle the dispute last December.

Furthermore, a separate consultation will launch in the autumn asking how Postmasters and other branch operators want to be involved in the development and execution of business decisions. This will include options to establish regional or thematic forums that could advise and influence business decisions.

Read added: “We also want Nick Read Postmasters to advise and influence business decisions, ensuring we shape the future of the Post Office together. Our consultation will ensure every Postmaster has the chance for their views to be heard, and help us get this right.”

The two new measures are in addition to the existing relationship the Post Office has with The National Federation of SubPostmasters.

from Lumina Intelligence which analyses the landscape of the grocery retail market and operator rankings for both outlet numbers and turnover estimates has found that Co-operative societies saw the biggest growth in 2019, up 2.6% by store count.

Unaffiliated independents fell 0.6% while symbol group

SYMBOL GROUPS CJ has 30 grand to give to charities

Spar Scotland unveils Community Cashback campaign

numbers also fell, though by just 0.1%.

Tesco jobs boom Tesco has announced it plans to create 16,000 new permanent jobs to support a massive expansion in its home delivery business. These will include 10,000 pickers, 3,000 delivery drivers and a number of additional roles in stores and distribution centres. The majority of the posts are expected to be filled by staff who joined the company temporarily at the start of the coronavirus outbreak and now wish to stay on. The new jobs are in addition to 4,000 permanent staff already recruited during the pandemic.

Sugro welcomes Khosla Buying group Sugro has Khosla Wines to its growing list of members. The Hayes-based wholesaler is an on-trade and off-trade Cash and Carry with a 400 strong customer base. The joining of the beers, wines and spirits specialist adds £15m to

Spar Scotland has launched its first Community Cashback campaign, with over £30,000 to give away to community groups and charities around the country.

As of now, customers, store staff and CJ Lang employees can nominate a local charity or community group to win a cash sum of money.

The campaign is running in all 109 CJ Lang company-owned Spar stores, with the winning groups being announced in November.

Colin McLean, CEO of Spar Scotland said: “We are pleased to announce our first Community Cashback campaign where we are giving away over £30,000 to local community groups and charities around Scotland.

“During the pandemic local community groups and charities have suffered as they rely so much on donations from the general public. We hope a number of organisations will benefit from a share of the Community Cashback campaign.”

There are 21 cash prizes up for grabs, ranging from £800 to £2,000.

The campaign is supported with in-store POS, social media, online website content and Spar Live radio.

TRADE GROUPS

NFRN Connect gets £1m back for members NFRN Connect, the Federation of Independent Retailers’ call centre operation, has just reached a major milestone – recouping £1m worth of members’ money.

Recent big successes have included recovering £1,122.05 in restitution for late supplies for one NFRN member and persuading a news wholesaler to waive a £22,000 deposit for an independent retailer looking to open a second store.

The million mark was hit seven years after the service came in-house.

NFRN Connect helps members to resolve complaints and industry issues, and is open seven days a week, 364 days a year.

National President Stuart Reddish said: “This milestone shows that the NFRN Connect team is always there for members in their time of need.

“Even more importantly, NFRN Connect really does get results, so members should always make sure it is their first port of call if they are unable to resolve an issue themselves.”

Sugro’s existing turnover.

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8

SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

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News Extra

Crime

NewsExtra INCREASE SMOKE-FREE SALES THIS STOPTOBER – P42 CRIME Union leader turns up heat in fight against in-store assaults

Convenience Matters with the SGF Scotland lost over £2 billion in retail sales during the initial five months of the Covid-19 pandemic, with town and city centre locations suffering particularly badly.

For the sector as a whole, the challenges for the remainder of 2020 will be considerable and a full recovery is far from certain.

However, what is certain is that convenience continues to perform extremely strongly.

Data from Kantar shows that sales across the convenience channel were up by almost 60% in the period to midJuly. This is reflected in very strong sales across different categories.

The new normal of working from home has seen an additional spend by customers of £24m on tea and coffee; the spend on biscuits has risen by £19m. Throughout all of this, convenience stores have manged to implement social distancing and protective measures in a remarkably effective way. The transition to mandatory face covering has been relatively smooth – again this is entirely due to the hard work and commitment of staff.

Convenience stores have demonstrated very clearly to customers that they have the range of products that customers want and crucially that convenience stores are safe places to shop. Small and local has surely been the ‘success story’ of the pandemic.

It will take some time for the implications of all of this to fully sink in, but the fact is that the convenience sector has shown that it can respond very quickly and extremely effectively to a hugely challenging, rapidly changing and completely unprecedented public health crisis.

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SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

Usdaw General Secretary petitions Parliament to protect shopworkers With the number of incidents of assaults, threats and abuse against shopworkers doubling during the pandemic, the leader of the Usdaw trade union takes the fight against retail violence to the House of Commons.

Usdaw General Secretary Paddy Lillis has launched a House of Commons petition calling on the Government to legislate to protect shopworkers.

The move comes in response to continued growing assaults, threats and abuse against shopworkers and the doubling of such incidents during the coronavirus emergency.

The petition ‘Protect Retail Workers from Abuse, Threats and Violence,’ asks parliament to “enact legislation to protect retail workers,” and continues: “This legislation must create a specific offence of abusing, threatening or assaulting a retail worker. The offence must carry a penalty that acts as a deterrent and makes clear that abuse of retail workers is unacceptable.”

When SLR went to press the petition had garnered over 57,000 signatures. The Government responds to all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures but has yet to do so. If the number hits the 100,000 mark the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.

Usdaw conducts regular surveys of shopworkers and found that, on average, UK shopworkers were verbally abused, threatened or assaulted every fortnight in 2019. However that average has doubled to every week during the Coronavirus emergency.

Lillis said it was a “national disgrace” that people working to keep food on the shelves for their local communities are being abused and assaulted, and had a clear message for the public: “Abuse is not part of the job.”

He said: “The safety of our members is absolutely paramount, but they tell us that some of the shopping public are resisting safety measures in stores and can become abusive when asked to queue, maintain social distancing or reminded to wear a face mask. Our message to the public is there is no excuse for abusing shopworkers, please treat

our members with the respect they deserve.

Urging the Government not to dismiss his petition, Lillis reiterated his call for new legislation: “Retail staff have a crucial role in our communities and that role must be valued and respected, they deserve the protection of the law.”

Retail employers and trade associations, including the British Retail Consortium (BRC) were quick to back the petition.

Helen Dickinson, BRC Chief Executive, said: “We need Parliament to pass legislation to provide better protection to retail workers.

“Retail violence harms victims, their colleagues, their families and their communities. I hope everyone will rally round our retail heroes and sign this important petition to help put an end to this scourge.”

The BRC also launched a Shopworker Protection Pledge, which 11 cross-party MPs immediately put their name to. The BRC called for more to sign up.

Signatories agree that as elected MPs, they have a duty to protect retail workers, ensuring that those who assault shop staff face the full force of the law.

The Association of Convenience Stores and C0-op Food also lent their support. ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “It is unacceptable that our colleagues are facing violence and abuse whilst trying to do their job, these incidents are devastating for the colleagues affected.”

Jo Whitfield, Chief Executive, Co-op Food, added: “It’s time to draw a line in the sand – and by taking legislative action, Government can show that they have listened and acted upon the concerns that I know are shared right the way across the retail sector.”

The petition can be signed at petition.parliament. uk/petitions/328621. www.slrmag.co.uk

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Comment

IN THIS CRUCIAL TIME, DAN’S THE MAN So, Dan Brown has been appointed as the new President of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation and in the process becomes the youngest person to hold the position. Ironically, he takes the ‘youngest ever President’ title from previous holder David Sands, a man that Dan has worked either for or with for much of his adult life.

Appointing the youngest ever President slap bang in the middle of the worst pandemic anyone has ever seen may seem like a bold decision, but anyone that knows Dan will know that the SGF couldn’t have found a better man for the task. At this critical stage in the evolution of the local retailing sector – with so much changing so quickly – I would certainly argue that a younger retailer with a younger perspective is exactly what our industry needs at the minute.

He may be relatively young in years but he more than makes up for that in experience (he’s been working in retail since he was 11), passion, commitment and energy. I know from personal experience that Dan is no stranger to a 20hour shift, a kip in the back office and a hands-on approach to dealing with shoplifters being abusive to his team.

But what’s most impressive about Dan’s approach to retail – to me at least – is more about how he studies the industry. He takes a very academic approach to retail, no doubt inspired in part by having completed a degree in Retail Marketing. Under the long-term tutelage of his study tour-loving father, industry veteran Stephen Brown, Dan has long understood the value of making time to see what other retailers are up to, whether that’s along the road or on the other side of the planet, armed with a notepad and a camera.

A true student of retail, Dan has so much to offer the SGF and its members and he has a remarkably replete skillset, despite his youth. He also happens to be a great guy who is universally respected and liked by retailers in Scotland and across the UK. He has a tough couple of years ahead of him, but for me, the SGF has found the perfect man for the job.

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

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

EVENTS Events & Operations Manager Kirsty McDowall 0141 222 5383 | kmcdowall@55north.com

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

55 North Ltd, Waterloo Chambers, 19 Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 6AY Tel: 0141 22 22 100 Fax: 0141 22 22 177 Website: www.55north.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/slrmag DISCLAIMER The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of 55 North Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher.

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Scottish Local Retailer is produced monthly by 55 North Ltd.

ANTONY BEGLEY, PUBLISHING DIRECTOR

© 55 North Ltd. 2019 ISSN 1740-2409.

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Cover Story

New SGF President

DAN’S THE MAN

Musselburgh retailer Dan Brown was officially inaugurated as the youngest ever SGF President at the end of August, aged just 28. SLR caught up with him to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the sector over the next couple of years.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

T

he 26th of August marked a very special milestone for both the 102-year-old Scottish Grocers’ Federation and for the considerably younger 28-year-old Nisa retailer Dan Brown. Dan was formally inaugurated as President of the Federation during that day’s SGF National Executive meeting and officially became the youngest ever President.

“It is an absolute honour and privilege to take up this role as President of the SGF,” says Dan. “I remember going to SGF conferences as a young boy and being fascinated by the industry. Having met and learned from so many brilliant retailers over the years and been inspired by so many excellent Presidents and seen how they have helped grow and shape this industry, it seems slightly surreal to have just been named President myself.”

The fact that he has been named President

DAN BROWN: MINI CV Q

Q Q Q Q Q Q

Started work in retail aged 11, working alongside his father Stephen Brown within the David Sands business. Over subsequent years he gained invaluable experience worked in David Sands stores, in the warehouse and in the kitchens.

Worked at Giacopazzi Milnathort while completing his Retail Marketing degree at Stirling University.

Helped with the establishment and set up of the Pinkie Farm store in Musselburgh, part-owned by David Sands.

Spent a period at Scotmid.

Re-joined the Giacopazzi business to set up and manage the new Kinross store.

Joined Pinkie Farm in January 2018 as Managing Director and shareholder.

Named youngest ever SGF President on 26th August 2020.

at such a relatively young age won’t surprise many who know him. Despite being in his 20s, Dan has been a prominent part of the local retailing scene in Scotland for a long time, thanks initially to his father Stephen Brown. As one of David Sands’ right hand men before David sold his chain of 28 stores to the Co-operative group in 2012, Stephen had a wide-ranging role within the business and helped introduce his young son to the heady world of convenience retail from a very early age.

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SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

“I think I was about 11 when I started helping my dad and spending time in the business,” says Dan. “I gradually got more involved an ended up working right across the business, spending time in the stores and the warehouse and, latterly, in the kitchens when the business created its own to service the stores.”

CAREERING AHEAD Rather than plunge headlong into a career in retail, Dan decided to gain formal academic qualifications and duly secured a degree in Retail Marketing from Stirling University. He did keep his hand in, however, by working in Giacopazzi’s in Milnathort throughout his university career.

Next up was a role helping set up the new build Pinkie Farm Convenience Store in Musselburgh, David Sands’ latest post-sale venture, before taking up a role with Scotmid alongside his father who had agreed to stay with the business after the sale.

Dan left Scotmid to take up first store manager role, setting up and running a new Giacopazzi store in Kinross for Joanna and Franck Casonato, before being tempted to join the Pinkie Farm business as Managing Director and shareholder in January 2018.

Having complete control over the store has enabled Dan to shape it into the modern, high margin food-to-go led business that it is today, one of the finest examples of a convenience store that you’ll find in the UK. “I’ve been given a lot of scope to develop the store the way I wanted to and that has let me implement so many ideas and concepts that I’ve seen in other stores and, indeed, in other countries,” says Dan. “My dad was always a great believer in seeing how retail is done in other stores, whether that’s five minutes along the road or 5,000 miles away on the other side of the world. Go there with a notebook and a camera and, if you’re lucky, get a chat with the retailers themselves. But this is a great industry because almost all retailers are happy to share their ideas and www.slrmag.co.uk

New SGF President

Cover Story

their thought processes and we are always learning from one another – and it’s that sense of partnership and co-operation that I want to help flourish under my Presidency.”

FACING UP TO UNCERTAINTY It’s certainly an unusual time for Dan to be assuming his Presidency, slap bang in the middle of the worst pandemic any of us has ever seen. “There’s no doubt it’s a challenging period for our sector,” he says. “The biggest challenge of all is the uncertainty and I think we’ll be facing that uncertainty for a long time to come. But there have been a lot of positives that have come out of this pandemic for local retailers and it’s those that I will be focusing on the next two years as President.”

The first major ‘positive’ that Dan cites is the current huge momentum that the convenience sector is enjoying. “While coronavirus has been a horrendous period for many people, convenience stores have been enjoying strong sales and have seen their bonds with local communities strengthened across Scotland. Yes, some city centre and high street stores have had really tough times but as a general rule the sector has had a good few months in terms of financial performance.

What will be key over the next year or two is keeping that momentum going and building a long-lasting legacy for our sector.

“So many shoppers across Scotland have come to realise how important the local retailing sector is over the last few months and, indeed, many have discovered just how good their local store is, especially if they hadn’t used it much before. So we’ve now got a whole new audience of shoppers and we need to work hard to retain them for the long term.”

SECTOR’S SPEEDY RESPONSE The second ‘positive’ that is inspiring Dan is witnessing just how quickly the sector has been able to respond to enormous challenges that appeared more or less overnight. “It’s been so encouraging to see so many retailers adapt during lockdown, both in terms of how quickly they have evolved and how well they’ve done it,” he says. “We’ve shown shoppers – and ourselves – how much we can change and evolve in a very short space of time and that’s been fantastic to witness. There have been so many trends and new technologies that we’ve been looking at for years but done nothing about, but when it came down to it we managed to implement them effectively in no time at all.”

So, does he believe that some positives will ultimately come out of the coronavirus pandemic for the sector? www.slrmag.co.uk

“I think it potentially gave our sector the wake-up call it needed to accelerate change and fast-forward us into the modern world,” he says. “It forced us to take a fresh look at what today’s shoppers actually want, both in terms of the products and services they’re looking for and the shopping experience they would like when they visit our stores. Again, that’s one of the themes I’d like to pursue during my Presidency: how we maintain this rate of progress and keep our sector evolving and adapting quickly to meet the demands of shoppers.”

Dan is clear, however, that at the heart of his vision for the future of convenience retailing is co-operation and partnership. He explains: “Whatever success I’ve had in my career so far is all down to working with other retailers and learning from them and sharing ideas.

We all need to support each other, we need to be there for each other and that means retailers, wholesalers, suppliers and every other stakeholder. We have so much to offer each other and if we work together we can harness that momentum we’ve built and create long term growth and progress that will benefit us all – as well as the customers and communities we serve across Scotland.”

NO ILLUSIONS He is under no illusion, however, that the challenges will keep coming thick and fast over the next couple of years. “The most difficult challenge is the uncertainty,” he comments. “Nobody knows what’s coming SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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New SGF President

Cover Story

next so it’s very hard to plan for that. We’ve obviously got things like DRS and Daniel Johnson’s Shopworkers Protection Bill on the horizon as well as a few other big issues, but at the moment we don’t know what’s happening next week, never mind next year. But that’s all part of being in the retail industry and what we’ve learned over the last three or four months will help stand us in good stead for what lies ahead.”

There’s little doubt that Dan was the outstanding candidate to succeed United Wholesale Scotland Executive Chairman Asim Sarwar as President and he undoubtedly enjoys both the respect and friendship of those in the local retailing sector. For a man just 28 years old, he has enormous experience,

“Whatever success I’ve had in my career so far is all down to working with other retailers and learning from them and sharing ideas. We all need to support each other, we need to be there for each other.”

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SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

passion, energy, commitment and contacts – and he’ll need all those attributes over the next couple of years. Recognised as one of the most progressive and forward-thinking retailers in the game, he is regarded by many as the ideal candidate to bring a fresh vision and urgency to a Federation which has been revitalised in recent years under the stewardship of CEO Pete Cheema and Head of Public Affairs John Lee.

ASIM BOWS OUT Pete Cheema comments: “Firstly, I would like to say a massive thank you to our outgoing President Asim Sarwar. Asim helped to guide the Federation through its historic centenary year and has proved to be a very strong Chair of the National Executive, consistently using his knowledge , experience and high profile within the industry for the benefit of the Federation.

“We are in unprecedented times. No one could have predicted that Dan, who is the youngest ever SGF President in its 102-year history, would take the reins of the Presidency as we struggle with the impact of a global pandemic. There are massive challenges ahead but there are also real opportunities, the likes of which we haven’t seen before. Dan has the energy, the drive, and the enthusiasm to help us shape the industry – and SGF – over the next two years to ensure we maximise these opportunities. I am looking forward to working with him.”

As for Dan, he admits that the prospect of working with alongside the SGF National Executive is an “exciting and challenging” prospect, but one that he relishes – and one that he has been gearing up for since he first learned he was to be named the next President.

“I’ve been preparing for this moment for a while,” he says. “I was aware that it will be quite demanding of my time so we’ve worked hard in the store to strengthen the team, automate as many processes as possible and delegate as much responsibility as possible so that the store can continue to grow and develop. I’m very confident the team will be up to the task.”

Ironically, the man who previously laid claim to being the youngest ever SGF President before today was Dan’s colleague, friend and mentor David Sands, an entrepreneur as competitive as they come. How did he take the news when he learned Dan was to be named President? “I think he was surprised at first, but he has been nothing but supportive and has offered me lots of advice,” concludes Dan. “I don’t think he’s been too upset at no longer being the youngest President ever!” www.slrmag.co.uk

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News

Products

It’s four in a row for Cadbury Match & Win Cadbury ‘Match & Win’

ProductNews

promotion is back for the fourth consecutive year. Running until November, the competition offers shoppers the chance to win football-related prizes, including 10 pairs of VIP tickets and 500 pairs of match tickets. The promo features on 170 million Cadbury packs and is supported by a £3m marketing spend including PoS material, out-ofhome advertising and digital and social media support.

Tropicana overhauls on-the-go range Tropicana’s on-the-go range has relaunched with all new packaging across its 250ml PMP and 300ml formats. In addition to receiving a visual refresh, the bottles now comprise of 50% recycled plastic. The new bottles form part of PepsiCo’s plan to make all its packaging 100% recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025.

Mars Food takes Stand Against Hunger

TIME FOR A FRESH FASCIA? – P46 CONFECTIONERY Ferrero splurges £3m on Christmas presence

Ferrero innovates for festive season Ferrero has revealed an array of new products across its seasonal portfolio of novelties, figures and boxed chocolates for Christmas 2020, as part of a total £3m investment in confectionery and spreads.

Kinder Surprise’s 75g Santa figure (RSP £3.03) was the number one novelty at Christmas in impulse last year, and 2020 sees the addition of new toys in the form of eight festive friends who can all link up to make one big team. A 36g version (RSP £1.89) includes models of Santa, a penguin, a snowman and a bear.

The Kinder Surprise 100g Egg (RSP £6.35) contains toys from the new ‘Reindeers in Lunapark’ range that can spin, twist and move.

The larger Kinder Surprise 220g Egg (RSP £12) has been updated with two new toy ranges: Magical Enchantress and Jungle Trucks.

The Kinder Chocolate fluffy toy novelties range sees the addition of Squirrel and Sloth toys (both RSP £7.51). The new figures sit alongside the returning Reindeer and Polar Bear. There are also new Kinder Chocolate 55g and 110g hollow Santa figures (RSPs £1.50 and £2.50 respectively), made of milk chocolate with a milky white lining.

While Kinder has the lion’s share of the NPD, Ferrero has introduced a new façade design to its advent calendar range. The 271g Collection Advent Calendar (RSP £14) is set apart from other calendars on account of its “unique opening” and holds an assortment of Ferrero Rocher, Raffaello and Rondnoir products.

In spreads, Christmas 2020 will also see new Christmas jumper pack designs across 200g, 400g, 750g & 1kg jars of Nutella.

Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director at Ferrero, commented: “Innovation is always important in generating excitement in the category, so we believe that the combination of our best-selling all-yearround products with new seasonal launches will help to excite shoppers over the festive period.”

Mars Food UK has launched a partnership with the Trussell Trust that begins with an on-pack

SNACKS

promotion to encourage the

Butterkist unveils ‘Ultimate Movie Night’ with Now TV

nation to ‘Stand Against Hunger’.

The campaign will see Mars Food donate £100,000 to the charity to support the distribution of three-day emergency food parcels. The on-pack promo is supported by print advertising, online content, in-store promotions, social media and influencer activity.

Coke is open like never before Coca-Cola GB has unveiled a brand-new campaign, ‘Open Like Never Before’, which features a poem written specifically for Coke by award-winning spoken word artist George The Poet. The campaign aims to mark a time of social and cultural change post pandemic, and encourages everyone to appreciate what was perhaps previously taken for

KP Snacks has announced a Butterkist ‘Ultimate Movie Night’ promotion, giving consumers the chance to win one of 10 prize bundles, which include a TV, an at-home entertainment system, and a 12-month Now TV Sky Cinema Pass.

The on-pack promotion will run across the full Butterkist range including Sharing, £1 PMP and Multipack. The partnership expands on an ongoing Butterkist microwave popcorn promotion, offering consumers a half price Now TV Sky Cinema Pass. Both promotions will be available until the end of November.

Matt Collins, Trading Director, KP Snacks said the partnership had already been “hugely successful”.

He added: “To continue this momentum, we are pleased to announce a second wave of activity and offer consumers the chance to win even greater prizes.”

SPORTS & ENERGY DRINKS

Monster gears up for racing simulator promo Coca-Cola European Partners has unveiled a brand-new promotion to support its Monster Energy range, giving gaming enthusiasts the chance to win a Monsterbranded racing simulator.

Running until the end of September, the promotion will see one lucky winner get their hands on a complete racing simulator package worth £2,500. The prize includes a PS4, a Playseat gaming chair, a curved TV screen, a steering wheel, pedals and a game.

Supporting POS material – including posters, wobblers and barkers – is available from the CCEP Customer Hub Tools & Resources pages at www. cokecustomerhub.co.uk or by telephoning 0808 1000 000.

Simon Harrison, Vice President of Commercial Development at CCEP GB, said: “Monster’s simulator promotion comes at a time when people have more time for gaming in the home. The supporting POS will deliver in-store theatre and resonate with shoppers and core Monster Energy fans – a must for retailers to activate.”

granted.

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Products

News

Mondelez digs up some old Halloween favourites Mondelez kicked-off the 2020 Halloween season with a raft of thrillingly themed confectionery including the ever popular

CONFECTIONERY Cadbury hopes NPD will get tills jingling

Mondelez gets set for Christmas Mondelez has unveiled its Christmas range, comprising of a sackful of new treats and returning favourites for the 2020 season from Cadbury and Maynards Bassetts.

First out of the confectionery giant’s NPD sack is the Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar (258g, RSP £5.99, 5 units per case), filled with Cadbury Dairy Milk wrapped around chunks of walnut and caramel.

Also new for 2020 is Cadbury Dairy Milk Jingly Bells (82g, RSP £1.49, 16 units per case), available in Hazelnut Creme and Chocolate Noisette flavours.

They are joined by Freddo Giant Gold Treasures Tins (RSP £5.99, 8 units per case), which contain Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate buttons and a surprise toy.

Cadbury Roses has been a festive staple since 1938, and this year is encouraging shoppers to trade up when gifting with the special edition Cadbury Roses By Emma Bridgewater Tin (800g, RSP £9.99, 1 unit per case).

Targeting Secret Santa shoppers, the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chunk Gift Box (250g, RSP £4.99,

6 units per case) is filled with chocolate parcels.

Mondelez described it as “the ultimate gift for loved ones this Christmas”. A 96g variant is also available (RSP £2.99, 9 units per case).

Finally, the Oreo Selection Box (430g, RSP £5.95, 8 units per case) is filled with an assortment of Cadbury Dairy Milk and Oreo flavour goodies including Oreo Mint, Classic Oreo and 2 x Original Dairy Milk bars.

The rest of the range comprises a comprehensive list of returning confectionery including advent calendars from Cadbury, Heroes, Green & Blacks and Toblerone; novelties like Dairy Milk Hollow Santa and Cadbury Mixed Tree Decorations; treats including Dairy Milk Snowmen and Winter Gingerbread; a raft of selection boxes from Cadbury, Freddo, Dairy Milk, Bournville, Darkmilk and Green & Blacks; and sharing gifts including the Dairy Milk Giant Vintage Chocolate Bar alongside pouches and tubs from Dairy Milk, Heroes and Roses.

For further enquiries, retailers can telephone Mondelez on 0870 600 0699, email retailer. services@mdlz.com or visit deliciousdisplay.co.uk.

Cadbury Goo Heads. Also rising from the grave are Maynards Bassetts Dead Chewy and Cadbury Oreoooo. There are two new treatsize bags – Cadbury Family Treatsize (222g, RSP £2.79, promo £1.40) and Freddo and Friends Treatsize (191g, RSP £2.79, promo £1.40).

Magnum lifts lid on recycling first Magnum has relaunched its ice cream tubs range in the UK using packaging made with recycled plastic. The move follows a successful pilot. The tubs will also be rolled out across Europe in 2020 and globally in 2021. Magnum said it was the first ice cream brand to use recycled polypropylene plastic in its packaging. The recycled credentials are communicated on-pack with a new icon.

New York Bakery Co. launches Friends promo Bagel brand New York Bakery Co. has unveiled a new on-pack promotion in partnership with the TV series Friends. Consumers can “win the iconic NYC home grand prize” in a competition that runs across all packs until early November. The activity is part of a wider partnership deal that also sees the brand back on TV with a spot advertising campaign on Comedy Central, Comedy Central Extra and Channel 5.

Lockdown sees AVA Berries almost double sales BREAKFAST BARS

Scottish berry brand AVA

Shoppers can wake up and win with belvita

Berries is toasting its strongest

Breakfast biscuit brand belVita has launched ‘Wake up and Win’, a new consumer competition that offers shoppers the chance to win up to £10,000 in cash.

There are 28 prizes in total up for grabs, including three prizes of £10,000, five prizes of £5,000, 10 prizes of £100 and 10 prizes of £50.

The competition runs until 5 November across more than 50 products from the belVita range and is supported by in-store POS, social and digital media marketing and an extensive outdoor campaign.

There is more information and a free downloadable poster at www.deliciousdisplay.co.uk.

the launch of a new influencer

seasonal sales to date following and experiential marketing campaign shortly after lockdown was introduced. So far this year, almost 4.7 million punnets of AVA strawberries have been sold across the UK, an increase of over two million compared to this time last season.

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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News

Off-Trade

Sharp’s unveils alcoholfree Doom Bar Zero Sharp’s Brewery has launched

Off-TradeNews

Doom Bar Zero, a 0.0% ABV amber ale to complement its flagship beer Doom Bar. It is available now in 500ml bottles from Booker. The launch means Sharp’s parent company Molson Coors now offers alcohol-free options in lager (Cobra Zero and Bavaria 0.0%), Cider (Rekorderlig Alcohol Free) and ale.

Echo Falls launches Rosé Seltzers Echo Falls has unveiled its first ever Rosé Seltzers. A mix of Rosé wine, sparkling water and no artificial fruit flavours, the 250ml (4.5%) cans contain only 69 kcal and are available in three on-trend fruit fusion flavours: Blueberry & Hibiscus; Strawberry & Pink Pepper; and Raspberry, Lychee & Rose. Echo Falls Rosé Seltzers is available now in cases

CHECK OUT THE LATEST RETAIL TECH – P60 RTDs New name and range herald WKD’s return to canned cocktail market

WKD takes fresh approach to cocktail cans Ready-to-drink brand WKD has relaunched its range of cocktails in cans under the name of WKD MIXD. Three all-new flavours of 5% ABV pre-prepared cocktail are available now in fully redesigned 250ml slimline cans.

These are: Raspberry, Rhubarb & Vodka; Apple, Elderflower & Gin; and Peach, Passionfruit & Rum. Cans are available in both standard and £1.69 price-marked formats, and in 12 x 250ml shrink-wrapped trade cases.

The relaunch is supported by significant marketing investment in 2020: using the creative theme ‘All MIXD up and ready to go’, a social media campaign will reach over five million consumers; a social influencer push will utilise a ‘Masters of MIXD-ology’ concept, taking a sideways glance at fancy cocktails; WKD will also be rewarding its fans with a range of MIXD-branded giveaways online.

To create trial and generate rate-of-sale, 30,000 cases of WKD bottle 10-packs contain

50p off single-can purchase vouchers and new WKD MIXD will be cross-promoted on WKD bottle 4-packs. Furthermore, promotional activity with the cashback app CheckoutSmart will offer thousands of free cans to consumers through participating retailers.

The overall WKD brand in Scotland grew +114% in the most recent quarter.

For more information visit shsdrinks.co.uk. For sales enquiries call SHS Drinks on 01452 378555 or email info@shs-sales.co.uk.

of 12 x 250ml cans (RSP £2).

Old Curiosity releases first alcohol-free gin

GIN

Berkshire Botanical gets fruity

Scottish craft distillery Old Curiosity has launched its first non-alcoholic spirit, distilled with six natural gin botanicals. The product is completely natural, containing no preservatives or flavourings at all and has a zero percent alcohol content. The Secret Garden Non-Alcoholic Spirit (RSP £19.95, 50cl, 0% ABV) is available now. To find out more about the Old Curiosity distillery and The Secret Garden Gins visit theoldcuriosity.co.uk.

Pernod Ricard announces four senior marketing appointments Pernod Ricard UK has made four key appointments to its Marketing Leadership Team.

WINE

Estelle Martin has been

Jam Shed spreads out into Malbec

promoted to the newly created position of Head of Experiential & Consumer Activation. Marnie Corrigan and Laura Stephen have been named as Brand Directors, while Matthew Buttery joins the drinks giant from digital agency Pierian as Director of

Jam Shed has launched a new Malbec variant to widen its portfolio and capture a new audience.

Available now, Jam Shed Malbec (75cl, RSP £7) taps into the growing consumer demand for Argentinian Malbec, the third most popular red varietal in the UK. The Malbec category is worth over £277m and is growing at a rate of 19.3% – faster than any other variety within the top 20.

Artisan spirits brand Berkshire Botanical has launched its second British flavoured Gin – Rhubarb & Raspberry.

New Berkshire Botanical Rhubarb & Raspberry Gin has a 40.3% ABV and an RSP of £20 for a 50cl bottle.

It offers “hints of fresh pine and fruity raspberry on the nose, with tart rhubarb and peppery citrus spice on the palate – all with an elegant fruity citrus finish” and provides a “perfect accompaniment” to quality tonic or bubbles.

For stock enquiries, please contact Halewood Wines & Spirits.

Digital & eCommerce.

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Off-Trade

News

Can you crack Malibu’s Coconut Challenge?

Malibu is urging Gen Z-ers to throw some shapes in its latest campaign. The rum brand has FESTIVE WINES & SPIRITS Drinks giant predicts a “significant but challenging” opportunity for retailers

It’s Christmas, but not as we know it, says Pernod Ricard

remixed ‘The Coconut Nut’ song and wants youngsters to film themselves dancing along and post the results on social media. The grooviest movers will appear in a crowdsourced music video. The activity coincides with off-trade activity calling out the Malibu Piña Colada as this summer’s must-have cocktail.

Bronze for Tobermory Tobermory Hebridean Gin has marked its first birthday by picking up a bronze award at the International Spirits Challenge 2020 awards. Launched in September 2019, the gin was also named ‘Best’ in the Classic Gin category at the 2020 World Gin Awards. It is distilled on the Isle of Mull with a palate of handselected botanicals including juniper, tea, heather, elderflower, sweet orange peel.

Powers Gold Label returns Pernod Ricard has relaunched Powers Irish Whiskey’s Gold Label. Exclusive to the UK,

Christmas 2020 is set to be a very unusual one for local retailers across the UK. With the on-trade operating at much reduced capacity and consumers now firmly entrenched in their new lockdown drinking-at-home habits, this year’s festive season represent a significant but challenging opportunity for retailers.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated consumer trends that were already starting to emerge and Pernod Ricard UK (PRUK) has predicted these trends will continue driving wine and spirits growth this Christmas, and has highlighted three key levers to unlock sales and profit growth over the festive season.

Q Get in early: PRUK expects shoppers to start buying wines and spirits for Christmas much earlier than they usually do, to minimise time spent in stores at the sharp end of December.

Q Festival-at-home cocktail occasions: One trend noted by PRUK during lockdown is increased experimentation with serves, particularly cocktails with fewer ingredients that are easier to make. Again, the drinks giant expects this trend to continue through to Christmas.

Q Back the winning categories: Independent research by PRUK identified gifting (48%) and

hosting (56%) as the main reasons for spirit purchases at Christmas. The company identified Gin, Vodka, Irish Whiskey and Wine as four key categories that have seen exponential growth during lockdown.

Powers Gold Label Distiller’s Cut is bottled at ABV 43.2% ABV and is available from Booker depots with an RSP of £30. The launch is supported by a digital media campaign alongside in-store,

Gin has been remarkably resilient during the pandemic; PRUK’s gin portfolio has been in strong growth, with Beefeater up 99.5% in value and 96.5% in the off-trade from mid-April to mid-June and Plymouth up 33.6% over the same period.

Vodka is now the second biggest value contributor in Total Spirits after flavoured Gin, worth £45.9m in value sales. Absolut is the fastest growing brand in its competitive set and is experiencing strong value growth momentum (up 18.3%).

Irish Whiskey is the second-fastest growing category behind Gin, with Jameson leading its remarkable growth. Jameson is the number one Irish Whiskey brand and is seeing a significant performance in the off-trade (up 22.1% value).

Wine has seen 27% value growth and 22% volume growth during lockdown. PRUK is ramping up investment in the category and claims the number one red wine and number white wine in the UK with Campo Viejo and Brancott Estate respectively.

PR and influencer activity to drive awareness and recruit new consumers.

Mud House develops a taste for adventure Accolade Wines has launched ‘Taste the Adventure’, a new marketing campaign that seeks to increase awareness and sales in the UK for its Mud House brand. The campaign rolls out across print, digital, social media and POS, showcasing two of the New Zealand wine’s makers at work and capturing their adventurous outdoors lifestyle.

The brand has also undergone a packaging overhaul to reflect its new positioning and improve stand out on shelf.

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

21

News

Newstrade

Sun reveals the Moon The Scottish Sun has launched a new newspaper just for children

News& Magazines

entitled The Moon. Scotland’s leading national newsbrand is using the new title to “tell the nation’s youngsters what’s going on in Scotland, as well as entertaining them with crafts, recipes, features and a whole lot more”.

A first for the country, the children’s newspaper aims to give kids a new view of their world and launched at the end of August.

It will run every Tuesday within the main Scottish Sun as well as

TAKE A BIGGER BITE OUT OF BREAKFAST SALES – P66 MAGAZINES Job losses as coronavirus makes titles ‘unsustainable’

DC Thomson closes five women and children’s mags Publisher DC Thomson has closed five women’s and children’s magazines that have since become “commercially unsustainable” during the coronavirus pandemic.

The

five titles to close are Scottish Wedding, No. 1, Sweet, This Is and Slime Factory.

The company said the closures would result in less than 20 job losses across its magazine

business, subject to consultation discussions.

Around 40 magazines have closed in the UK since midMarch when the pandemic began in earnest.

on the website, thescottishsun. co.uk Every week The Moon will feature fun and educational content aimed at primary school children, alongside giveaways and competitions.

A spokesperson for the The Scottish Sun said: “The Nation’s children deserve their own paper so we’ve packed The Moon with lots of engaging, exciting and entertaining content especially for them.”

NEWSPAPERS

Archant bought out, shareholders wiped out Archant, the UK’s fourth largest local newspaper publisher has been by private equity firm Rcapital Partners in a deal which leaves shareholders with nothing.

Rcapital Partners will take a 90% stake in the company, which publishes a host of local weekly news titles and monthly magazines as well as The New European.

Archant is proposing a Company Voluntary Arrangement which will see creditors receive only a fraction of what they are owed, with the only alternative a full liquidation which would see creditors get more of their money back and potentially see the new owners left with more room to invest.

Two of Archant’s holding companies will be placed into administration while Archant Community Media, which employs its staff, will continue to trade.

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why not buy ? shoppers do.

N E W M Y B L U. H A N DY A N D E A S Y VA P I N G.

This product contains nicotine. 18+ only. Not a smoking cessation product. Š Fontem 2020.

2020

Inside Business

Research Digest

EOHO DRIVES LATE SURGE A YouGov nationwide poll of more than 2,000 GB adults has revealed that more than half of British people believe that the re-opening of pubs, bars and non-essential businesses came too soon.

The final week of the UK Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme helped boost retail footfall by 6%, according to analysis by retail analysts Springboard. Bank Holiday Monday marked the final day of the scheme, apparently spurring consumers across the country to make the most of the discounted prices available. Springboard said the August Bank Holiday weekend was a “remarkable success” as retail destinations saw only 11% less footfall compared to last year.

While the scheme was principally created to support pure hospitality businesses, convenience retailers were also eligible if they had a food-to-go offer.

Shopping centres saw footfall increase by 9.1%, high streets reported a jump of 4.8% and retail parks grew by 5%. While footfall has remained 26.1% down in comparison to last year, this increase has been a welcome improvement on the previous week’s figure of 30.7% down.

HALF OF SHOPPERS ‘ACTIVELY LOOKING’ FOR LOCAL PRODUCE A new survey has found that 48% of Brits are actively looking for locally sourced items when they visit a store.

A

new survey among 2,000 UK consumers has found that almost a third say the Covid-19 pandemic has made them realise how important locally sourced products are to the UK economy, with 48% actively looking for them in stores.

A third of those polled in the survey commissioned by Weetabix say they have been more supportive of local British businesses both during and since lockdown, than ever before. More than a third do so to be more ethical in their shopping habits, whilst over two-thirds hope to

support local farmers and almost half do so for healthier and fresher produce.

The survey came as Weetabix unveiled a crop circle in the British countryside during this year’s harvest to raise awareness of the value of locally produced food to the UK economy.

Weetabix sources all the wheat it uses from within 50 miles of its home in Burton Latimer in Northamptonshire.

A further 51% believe that by ‘buying local’ they are helping the economy and 45% hope to reduce their ‘food miles’ – the distance food has travelled before it arrives at our homes.

In fact, more than a third say they check the food miles of items when shopping by looking up the country of origin, believing the benefits of buying goods with fewer food miles to include a lower carbon footprint (64%), helping preserve UK farms (54%) and less pollution (57%).

Healthier diets remain popular under Covid

N

ew research by IGD has revealed there is still a significant appetite for change among UK consumers to shift towards healthy and sustainable diets, as they continue to grapple with the impact of Covid-19. The research draws on data from more than 1,000 UK consumers collected in July 2020

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SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

to explore the impact of Covid-19 on attitudes to healthy and sustainable diets. It builds on IGD’s Appetite for Change report, released in March 2020 and based on data gathered in November 2019.

Highlights include: Q Over half of consumers (57%) are already changing their diets or are considering making changes to be healthier and more sustainable, down from 66% in 2019 Q There has been a shift in how healthy consumers perceive their diets to be, with people feeling their diets are less healthy during lockdown than in 2019 Q Health is now an even bigger motivator for consumers to improve their diet in the wake of Covid-19, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of people citing health as their primary driver, up from 58% in 2019 Q Perceived higher cost remains the main barrier to healthy and sustainable diets, with 38% of consumers thinking it is more expensive. www.slrmag.co.uk

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Inside Business

2 Minutes | KIeran Marsh

Kieran Marsh As Nordic Spirit celebrates its first birthday and title of number one product in the new nicotine pouch category, we catch up with JTI’s Kieran Marsh to find out how the category is developing.

HOW IS THE 100% TOBACCO-FREE NICOTINE POUCH CATEGORY PERFORMING?

WHAT SHOULD RETAILERS DO TO MAXIMISE SALES OF THESE PRODUCTS?

The category has continued to grow since it hit shelves last year. The response to Nordic Spirit in particular has been phenomenal as shoppers look for alternative nicotine products in addition to or instead of their usual tobacco or vaping choice. So much so, the category is now worth £380,410 a month, which equates to approximately £4.6m a year.

With the tobacco-free nicotine pouch market still relatively new, the key thing is to make sure that retailers have upto-date knowledge and are keeping up with trends in the category. We know that customers will look to their retailers to advise them on new products and will of course have questions. If a retailer can confidently answer and explain what the product is, and why it could be a good option for the customer, shoppers will begin to trust the retailer and continue to return and purchase such products. As always, retailers can use JTI’s online educational tool, JTI Advance, for more information on prices, merchandising and how to communicate the category, or contact their local sales rep for further advice.

FACTFILE Kieran Marsh has been at JTI UK for over a decade, working in a number of roles within marketing and sales, before assuming his current role as CTP Portfolio Brand Manager, where he oversees some of JTI’s most successful brands, like Nordic Spirit.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT NORDIC SPIRIT? Our 100% tobacco-free nicotine pouch range, Nordic Spirit, has gone from strength to strength since hitting shelves just over a year ago. As a result, it’s been the fastest growing tobacco-free nicotine pouch brand in Scotland over the last 10 months, so it’s safe to say that makes a successful first birthday! We are now also Scotland’s leading tobacco-free nicotine pouch brand, with a huge 89.4% market share, and are proud to have achieved this in such a short amount of time.

As many retailers will already know, we recently changed our design and introduced price-marked packs and a brand-new flavour into our range. Joining Mint and Bergamot Wildberry, Elderflower is also now available in a mellow 6mg and regular 9mg to offer even more choice to customers. Alongside this, by introducing price-marked packs into the market, we have been able to make purchasing decisions easier for adult smokers and vapers, and in turn help retailers’ profit from this growing category.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT TOBACCO-FREE NICOTINE POUCHES THAT APPEALS TO SHOPPERS? Simply put, adult customers love how convenient and discreet tobacco-free nicotine pouches can be, as it’s really easy to use when smoking or vaping might not be possible. Nordic Spirit has a gum base, which allows the pouch to fit comfortably under the top or bottom lip and can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere for up to an hour.

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HAVE YOU SEEN ANY IMPACT ON SALES FOLLOWING THE CHARACTERISING FLAVOUR BAN? While it’s currently too early to comment on the exact impact of the characterising flavour ban and the direct changes it has made to different categories, we know that Nordic Spirit has been performing extremely well in recent months.

With the mint flavour our best-seller in Scotland at the moment, we expect this to grow in popularity as existing adult smokers look at what other products are available to them – and would therefore recommend retailers stock up on such flavours.

HOW BIG CAN THE CATEGORY GET IN THE UK? The future is really promising for this category as more and more shoppers find out about Nordic Spirit and why it could be a good option for them and their lifestyle. We already know that the category is continuing to grow in the UK, and with the demand being so high, we will always look to innovate and listen to exactly what consumers and retailers want – whether that be new flavours, strengths and even merchandising initiatives as retailers’ ranges grow. www.slrmag.co.uk

Retailer Case Study – Irn-Bru Energy

Inside Business

SALEEM GIVES HIS SALES A BOOST WITH IRN-BRU ENERGY Renfrew Spar retailer Saleem Sadiq has no doubt that Irn-Bru Energy has been a hit in his store, driving footfall, sales and profits.

L

aunched in June 2019, Irn-Bru Energy has performed exceptionally well, selling over five million cans – with over 80% of those who tried it saying they would purchase again, according to AG Barr figures.

Spar Renfrew retailer Saleem Sadiq is certainly a fan. He said: “Every so often a product comes along that is an instant hit with customers. One such product is IrnBru Energy. Launched last year, we at Spar were very lucky to have it in every Spar store on day one. Allegedly made from girders, this one has developed wings of its own. It definitely has been a phenomenal success and, for me, it’s a must-stock item on a permanent fixture on our shelves.”

This year, Irn-Bru Energy is supported by a £1m brand investment which included heavyweight outdoor and digital advertising in March to drive trial and www.slrmag.co.uk

awareness amongst Scottish energy drink shoppers.

“Energy is a really important category for retailers to get right, with nearly one in three soft drinks sold in convenience stores being an energy drink [IRI, Apr 2020],” said Adrian Troy, Marketing Director at Barr Soft Drinks.

“Consumers are increasingly opting for flavoured variants when choosing an energy drink and Irn-Bru Energy, from the UK’s No.1 flavour carbonate brand, offers an exciting additional choice, combining the iconic flavour of Irn-Bru’s top secret essence with the taurine, caffeine, B vitamins and taste of an energy drink.”

Available in sugar and no sugar options, retailers should merchandise both variants of Irn-Bru Energy in the chiller next to other slim can energy products to offer shoppers choice and drive incremental sales.

Inside Business

Software Review | Jisp

UNDER THE BONNET: JISP

The new Jisp app offers home delivery, click & collect and scan-and-go functionality all in a single app.

SLR takes a closer look.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

C

oronavirus has turned the world of retail on its head but there have been several important upsides for local retailers in particular. The most obvious is the huge growth in sales that the sector has seen over the last six months, but a potentially even more important benefit has been the effect the pandemic has had on accelerating the uptake of new tech-based solutions that could prove to have a huge long-term benefit for the sector.

One of the solutions making huge strides is the Jisp app, launched into convenience in partnership with the NFRN. The app is touted as an ‘all-in-one’ solution as it offers home delivery, click & collect and scan-and-go functionality all in a single app. The key question is, does it work?

There have been many great tech solutions that have had a serious and sustained crack at the convenience sector but ultimately without much success. The principal reason for this is invariably not a weakness in the solution itself, but in a failure to understand how the convenience sector works and what convenience retailers are looking for from a tech solution. Anything that requires hours of work a day at a computer or tablet is a non-starter for most retailers, as is anything that requires massive retraining for staff.

To find out whether Jisp has overcome this serious challenge, we decided to have a closer look at how it works. Having operated a rewards scheme with some complex tech behind it at the Woodlands Local business we used to own, we have some experience of trying to integrate tech into a convenience retailing environment.

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LET’S GET CLICKING At first sight, the Jisp back office is extremely well designed, bright, simple and easy to navigate. It’s a very intuitive user interface that will be familiar to anyone with a smartphone or tablet. Jisp claim that retailers can literally be up and running within an hour, as there’s no hardware required and no complex integrations. Retailers simply stick in their email address and phone number, choose the package they want, add their bank details (to allow them to receive payments) and then personalise the customer-facing app by adding a store logo or photo. It really is that simple and it takes maybe three or four minutes max. After that, you’re ready to start creating your own product file.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Jisp | Software Review

PRODUCT FILE The quickest and easiest way to get started is by creating a product file for your store from the list of 1,000 or so top-selling convenience lines that are already held within Jisp’s master database. Every product in that file comes complete with barcodes, pack details and product photography. All that retailers need to do is choose the lines they stock and want to include on their personalised app and then add the pricing.

Retailers can also add individual products or even an entire line list by emailing it to the team at Jisp who will then do the hard work for you.

Some retailers prefer to offer a limited range via the app for home delivery or click & collect while others are keen to include as many products as they can. The choice is yours and you can evolve it over time, adding new lines and delisting others.

Inside Business

At this point, Jisp doesn’t have full integrations with the various symbol groups around the UK which means that the regular three or four weekly promotional files cannot be pulled directly into the app, but it’s something they say they are working on.

SETTINGS The next step is to choose your settings which basically means choosing which solutions you wish to run with. The three options are frictionless shopping (scan-and-go), home delivery and click & collect.

Retailers can choose any combination and can switch services on and off as they see fit.

PROMOTIONS With the product file updated and now live on the app, retailers can then start adding promotions. These can be promotions you get via your wholesaler or they can be promotions that you create yourself using a number of pre-formatted templates. The promotions are automatically and instantly added to the ‘promotions’ tab on the customer-facing app. Promotions cost just £1 per week to run.

HOME DELIVERY If you’ve switched home delivery on, the next step is to create your own set of rules for how you want your particular home delivery service to operate. The first step is choosing a delivery radius, then you can choose the hours that you want to do home deliveries, the maximum delivery number per hour and the delivery fee. You can set different delivery fees for different times of the day, should you wish to run premium pricing at peak times, for instance.

www.slrmag.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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Inside Business

Software Review | Jisp

to ensure that shrinkage is minimised or eliminated altogether.

GAMIFICATION The app also provides a unique weekly store-specific quiz which seems like a gimmick but, according to several Jisp retailers I’ve spoken to, has actually been a surprising hit with customers.

Retailers can offer small prizes if they choose – something like a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates – and the service has been far more popular than you might think it would be. It certainly helps keep engagement levels up and keeps shoppers interested and using the app.

ADDING DRIVERS Using Jisp, the retailer is responsible for the delivery of the orders. You can do this in several ways: using your own current staff, recruiting new full-time or part-time drivers, or outsourcing delivery to one of the many providers available.

To add drivers, all you need to do is add their name and contact details into the system then they have to download the Jisp-powered YouDeliver app which then gives them access to live delivery orders.

The driver then uses the app to manage the deliveries and, because the app is fully integrated with the customer-facing Jisp app, it means that customers are also kept up to date on the status of their orders with real-time live updates in their app.

CLICK & COLLECT Click & collect works in pretty much the same way with customers simply making orders on the app then collecting them at the store at the allotted time.

PAYMENTS Unlike some other apps, all home delivery payments are made via the app using a pre-registered credit card so the drivers are not required to transport cash or carry a float, which offers an element of security and safety.

Click & collect orders can be paid for either on the app or by card or cash in the store, although their transaction fee for retailers is considerably smaller if customers pay via the app.

SCAN-AND-GO The frictionless shopping functionality is slightly more complex in that, for it to work optimally, the app really needs to feature every single product you have for sale in your store. Customers scan a QR code when they enter the store, scan their shopping as they go, then scan the QR code on the way back out and their payment is automatically deducted from their credit card.

The QR code can be provided by siting a cheap tablet at the store entrance to maximise convenience and customer experience but with a minimum of outlay.

All age-restricted products are flagged up in the system and staff approval and an ID check are required before the transaction can be completed.

Theft is clearly a concern for many retailers but a staff tablet, for instance, allows staff to monitor basket additions in real-time as customers pass around the store. A little practice is all that’s required

PRICING One of the most attractive elements of the Jisp app is its very competitive pricing model. The Elite package, which includes home delivery and click & collect has a relatively modest activation cost of £75, a weekly service fee of £2.50 and a weekly home delivery fee of £6. Frictionless shopping costs an extra £20 a week, with the weekly quiz available for £1.50. There’s also a fee of £1 per week for each promotion, as noted above.

CONCLUSION The Jisp app is mercifully free of many of the issues that have dogged many other tech solutions pitched at the convenience retail market. It almost literally couldn’t be any easier to use, it requires no hardware, no staff training and a bare minimum of input from retailers to get it up and running.

Retailers retain full control of all aspects of the app and can tailor it as they go with a click of a mouse button or a tap of a screen, as they learn what’s working for shoppers and what’s not.

There are in excess of 24,000 customers who have already downloaded the Jisp app and that number is set to grow considerably as the company rolls the app out in partnership with NFRN – so there’s a readymade audience of shoppers out there looking for a local retailer to use.

Jisp also provides a number of marketing solutions to help retailers let their community know that they’re now using the app.

All in, it’s a slick and professional looking solution that should be more than capable of holding its own as the home delivery mega trend continues to evolve in the future.

To find out more, visit: www.jisp.com 30

SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

www.slrmag.co.uk

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Inside Business

Ethical Retailing | Case Study

ETHICAL RETAILING IN ACTION “I think what people have gone through in the last three or four months could well lead to an increase in ethical consumption.”

In the second in our series of features examining ethical retailing, what it is and what it might mean for convenience retailers, we take a closer look at a new zero waste store in Dundee.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

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www.slrmag.co.uk

Case Study | Ethical Retailing

I

n last month’s cover story, we took a broad-ranging look at the growth of so-called ‘ethical retailing’ and considered what the implications and opportunities might be for local retailers, particularly off the back of the experience of the last few months of lockdown.

It seems logical that the apparent revival of a sense of community spirit over the last three or four months will lead to greater interest among shoppers in things like sustainability, local sourcing, fair trade and the thousand other issues that fall under the wider ‘ethical’ umbrella.

If this trend is indeed ‘a thing’, then local retailers are in prime position to capitalise. Independently owned, community-based and communityfocused, local retailers have the ideal platform to build upon and show their consumers that profit isn’t the only thing that matters to them.

Indeed, the key question is whether more shoppers in future, particularly the next generations of younger shoppers, will be keener to vote with their pockets by being far more careful about which brands and which retailers they spend their money with.

That’s a question that Jillian Elizabeth of The Little Green Larder zero waste shop in Dundee feels is already having an impact on footfall and which convenience retailers would be well advised to stay aware of.

“I think that the trend was already there but what people have gone through in the last three or four months could well lead to an increase in ethical consumption,” she says.

“I think more people than ever are now interested in the impact they are having on the planet and are looking to be a bit more mindful about what they buy and where they buy it from.”

Jillian opened The Little Green Larder last year after many years as a wedding make-up artist. She explains: “I specialised in wedding make-up but over the years I gradually become more aware of how much waste is created in that industry and it got me to thinking about what I could do to try to make a difference. So I ended up on a trip to New York and happened to visit a zero waste shop over there and I was fascinated. It was www.slrmag.co.uk

Inside Business

a non-food store but I immediately realised that this was something I wanted to do.”

After a while mulling the idea over, she finally took the plunge. “It really started because I was always looking for places where I could buy ethically sourced and healthy food for myself and I got a bit frustrated that there didn’t seem to be many outlets like that in Dundee,” she says. “So I thought, why not open a zero waste store myself?”

The store finally opened in July last year after Jillian found a suitable site, as she comments: “The site I ended up moving into had been a mortgage advice centre so it needed fully refitted but, because I wanted a very specific look and feel for the shop, I knew that wherever I moved into would need a lot of work.”

Interestingly, fitting out a zero waste shop apparently comes with a lot of added challenges, over and above the ones that most retailers face during a major fit-out.

“Being a zero waste, ethical store, we try to buy fixtures or fittings that we need second-hand where we can and we try not to use plastic materials, for instance,” she explains. “We do have some plastic gravity dispensers, but I got them second-hand on eBay. Oddly, there’s a huge demand for this kind of stuff on eBay so it tends to be not to very cheap to buy!”

The same story obviously applies when it comes to sourcing the actual stock for the shop. She says: “We buy a lot of our stock from Greencity Wholefoods in Glasgow and they deliver that mostly in bulk, so we then just decant it into our dispensers. We buy a lot of local product like fresh fruit and veg, to reduce food miles and because it’s the best in the world, and we also focus on products that are organic, Fairtrade, ethical traded and so on. Once you get your supply chain sorted out it’s not too difficult at all to keep the store stocked without having to compromise your principles.”

Jillian says it has been a really positive year since opening and while she admits that coronavirus has been tough on the business, the store is finally getting back to normal service and is starting to get busy again.

“Lockdown was tough,” she accepts. “We decided very early on that we had to close the store, but we SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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Ethical Retailing | Case Study

not just those fully committed to eco principles. “From day one I didn’t want to be a little niche, specialist shop. I wanted to offer something for everyone,” she says.

So what does she offer? “It’s mostly food and drink with a little bit of non-food that I feel is relevant,” she says. “We do a full range of loose product including fruit and veg and lots of staples like pasta, rice, grains, nuts, lentils and beans. Customers can just bring their own containers and then buy as much as they need – so there’s no packaging waste. We also do products like Bombay mix, vegan pick & mix, oils, vinegars and so on and we do a range of Fairtrade and organic lines like chocolate.

The non-food lines include a full range of environmentally-friendly, cleaning and washing products plus we have everything from bamboo toothbrushes to t-shirts.”

Despite coronavirus having been a real challenge, Jillian believes that it may end up having a positive effect on both the fortunes of her store and upon wider society and communities across Scotland. She concludes: “The last few months have been difficult for most people, but I hope that we’ve all learned something positive.

It seems to me that we’re seeing a lot more community spirit and a lot more people actively looking to maintained a click & collect service so that kept some money coming in and it kept our regular customers happy.

The fact that we were about the only store in Dundee with rice and pasta at the start of lockdown helped ensure we still got a fair bit of custom in the early days. We also had plenty of hand sanitiser that we get in bulk from a local company, so that was popular too.”

Fortunately, her customers were very understanding of the situation.

“They understood the challenges we were facing and they understood why we had to do what we did,” she says. “But we then re-opened about six weeks or so ago and it’s been a bit quieter than usual but it’s starting to build back up again, so fingers crossed.”

The store has developed a regular customer base over the first year of trading and Jillian is already seeing many of them return, alongside some new faces. “I quickly built a strong 34

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core customer base that would visit regularly but over the year I’ve seen more and more people visit and once they’ve been here once, they usually come back.”

The customer base is very broad, in a demographics sense, and that’s partly down to Jillian’s commitment to offering something for everyone,

support local economies and local, independent businesses. Coronavirus may have helped remind us all of what’s actually important to us: friends, family, community. That could have a beneficial impact for retailers if they are alert to it and willing to embed ethical retailing deeper into their businesses.” www.slrmag.co.uk

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Inside Business

Spar Maggie Woods’ Loan, Falkirk

W

hen your father is one of the best known retailers in Scotland and is now the Chief Executive of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation, there’s always going to be a bit of pressure on you when you open your first store. Anand Cheema is currently discovering this, just a week or so into his opening his first store as SLR goes to press.

“I understood that my dad is well known in the trade and I always knew that when I finally did get my own store it would generate a bit of interest,” says Anand, “but to be honest, I’ve been so focused for the last while that I haven’t had a chance to step back and think about it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and it’s now a reality, so for me it’s all about making this store a success.”

Oddly enough and as fate would have it, Anand is now 23, the same age his father Pete was when he started out in business. Possibly even more curiously, the store that Anand has just taken over in Falkirk was once owned by his father. “It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?” he says, “but it’s pure coincidence. We had put in eight or nine offers on other stores before we were offered this one so it’s not like I had my heart on set on buying my dad’s old store, but the fact that he knows the store and knows the area is a bonus and he has supported me brilliantly all the way through the process.”

They were initially offered the store on a lease basis but, as the store hadn’t been performing well as a McColl’s and required a lot of expensive work, Anand and Pete insisted that they would only do the deal if they could buy the business and the property. And the complications didn’t end there. “The head lease, the sub lease and the building were all owned by different parties,” explains Anand.

“So it took a bit of work to get us all on the same page, but we actually managed to get it all done remarkably quickly. I think we did the whole thing from start to finish in a month.”

With an eye on the future, they also acquired the pub that sits behind the store.

Anand explains why: “It was a pub that closed because of coronavirus and the one major problem we had with the store was a lack of storage space. It’s quite a big store at 2,900sq ft so it needs a lot of stock. The existing storage space is far too small, especially because we have introduced a lot of new elements like F’Real, Tango Ice Blast, food-to-go and so on which tend to require a lot of storage space for the replenishment stock. The plan is to knock through to the pub to give us all the space we need.”

It’s been an incredible month or two then for a young man who has spent much of his 36

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FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS By a curious quirk of fate, Falkirk retailer Anand Cheema has just opened his first very store at the age of 23 in a store once owned by his father, SGF CEO Pete Cheema, who also started his retail career aged 23. SLR talks karma, coronavirus and coincidences with him.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

life dreaming of becoming a retailer himself.

“I was always interested in retail,” he says.

“From a very young age, maybe about 12, I was working alongside my mum and dad in stores.

Mum took care of the shop floor and dad did the back office work, so I got to see both sides of running a store. Having said that, dad was insistent that I went to university as he never wanted me to become a retailer because he wanted me to have my weekends to myself!”

Anand duly completed a degree in Accountancy and Finance, graduating in 2018.

However the lure of retail never left him and his first job was with Spar Scotland wholesaler and retailer CJ Lang. He joined the firm in August 2018 before moving to Envipco in June 2019, working with the company until just a week before he opened the store.

But what was his strategy for his shiny new Spar store? “We had a full GIS survey done so we had a really good understanding of the demographics of the local area, on top of dad’s experience of the locality and the store itself,” he says. “Over 45% of the catchment area is 45 or older and 35% are under 25, so we’ve tailored our offer accordingly. Food-togo was always going to be at the heart of the store’s offer, and I’m delighted at how we’ve managed to incorporate it into the layout. We have a food-to-go island right in the middle of the store, which really sets the tone. It puts food-to-go at the heart of the businesses, quite literally.

“We were also focused on ensuring it is a high margin store so we have lots of premium offerings, especially within the island. We www.slrmag.co.uk

Spar Maggie Woods’ Loan, Falkirk

Inside Business

have F’Real, Costa, Tropical Ice slush, Tango Ice Blast and Rollover as well as couple of ‘firsts’. We have a bespoke Millions Megamix unit, the first time this machine has ever been implemented in this format, and we also have the first Fwip machine in a Spar store in Scotland. These help drive footfall and sales and also deliver solid margins.”

The pair didn’t skimp on the hot food element of the store either. A £16k Manitowoc fully automatic six-shelf oven sited next to a Merrychef oven, the same one you would find in a Subway. “Everything is pre-programmed to ensure we get consistent results and it makes it easier for staff,” comments Anand.

Speaking of staff, the trickiest element of retail to master, how has he found recruitment?

“We retained most of the McColl’s team but we did recruit a brand new team specifically for the hot food,” he explains. “They’re being trained now as it’s a hugely complicated training course, but we want them to be able to execute everything perfectly because delivering perfectly cooked product will be the key to driving repeat sales.”

The kitchen team will also be producing a range of sandwiches, baguettes and so on, all hand made fresh in-store. Anand gets most of the ingredients for the food-to-go from Lomond Wholesale, but has sourced packaged meat and bakery products from Stuart’s.

“We’ve tried to bring in as many Scottish lines as we can,” he says. “We are the first store to stock canned craft beers from Cold Town Brewery in Edinburgh and we’re bringing in Scottish wines from Cairn O’Mhor, for instance. We also have some whiskies from the local Rosebank Distillery.”

The store also boasts a Scottish Epos supplier with Motherwell-based MHouse Solutions providing its popular MPos system.

One of the many standout elements of the store is a very high end spirits case featuring a range of products, including some eyewateringly expensive drams. Anand explains the logic: “We’re trying to create as many USPS in store as possible to make this a real destination store. So we’ve included a very special high end spirits cabinet with a range of rare and older whiskies. We’ve done some deals directly with distillers like to ensure we have a unique range. We even have a nice wee Glenfiddich 30yo that comes complete with its own branded suitcase. Yours for just £535?” A tempting offer, but not today, thanks.

“There are a couple of whisky clubs in the area and they have to get their whiskies from somewhere,” he continues. “There’s nowhere else in Falkirk offering a rare range and customers certainly won’t find anything unusual in Tesco or Asda. We’re not expecting www.slrmag.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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Spar Maggie Woods’ Loan, Falkirk

to sell a lot of them but they’re great margin and they create a talking point.

The store looks fantastic, it has to be said, with Vertex delivering to their usual high standard. “The refit was a challenge,” admits Anand. “We replaced everything. And I mean everything. Floors, ceilings, the lot. The only bit of the store untouched was the little manager’s office at the back. Everything else got refitted, including the storage spaces and we added in a new food prep area where we can make the sandwiches and baguettes and so on and where we can prep all the hot food too. But it’s worked well and it looks good as 38

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soon as you walk through the door. The foodto-go island dominates straight away, and we chose to have fresh produce right at the front door too, to drive home the message of what the store’s all about.”

Coronavirus didn’t help, of course, with a set of fridges failing to materialise due to supply problems because of the pandemic.

Replacements were found, however, and Anand is ultimately happy with the results.

One bit of innovation worth mentioning is a set of high impact ‘video rails’. “We were looking for some new ideas to incorporate and we found these video rails which add theatre

and help drive sales,” he says. “We got them from SES-imagotag through David Morgan and they’re basically full HD video screens that enhance the shopper experience. They all run in the cloud so we can change the video artwork whenever we like in real time from anywhere. At the moment we have Tennent’s, Cold Town Beer, Magners and Golden Casket featuring on them and they’ve had a lot of attention from customers.”

The store has also gone big on brands, both established giants and smaller, exciting challengers. “We feel there is definitely a place for own-label and we stock a lot of the Spar www.slrmag.co.uk

Spar Maggie Woods’ Loan, Falkirk

Inside Business

“My dad was insistent that I went to university as he never wanted me to become a retailer!” own-label range but we’ve tried to major on brands, established and challenger. We want the customer experience to be special and brands help us achieve that.”

There’s no doubt that Falkirk’s latest store is indeed an experience for customers. The refit has been executed extremely well and the layout of the store is engaging and fresh for the area. With a hospital next door and a huge high school just along the road, there’s plenty of custom for Anand to target and, judging by the influx of school kids at lunchtime when we were there, he won’t want for footfall any time soon. www.slrmag.co.uk

“We’re just going to try to settle everything in for a little while but we have plenty of plans for the future,” he says. “We’ll be ramping up the hot food over time and we’re also looking at home delivery in the near future too. But we want to just ensure the store is functioning well now and we want to build strong relationships with the local community.”

Unsurprisingly, Anand hasn’t been getting much sleep of late. “I’ve been here at opening – 6am – and stayed until closing – 10pm – every day so far and it’s exhausting but I just want to make sure we get everything right,” he concludes.

“I also want to make sure that the high standards we have set are maintained, and want our team and our customers to know that the store will always be pristine for them, every time they are in the store.

“This is going to be a long and challenging journey but I’ve been planning for it all of my adult life and I’m lucky that I’ve got my dad alongside me with his experience. I’m running on adrenalin, but it’s just unbelievable to see my lifelong dream come true before my eyes.

I just hope I can be as successful in my career as my dad has been in his. I want to make him proud.”

SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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Hotlines

Product News & Media Watch

Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Smoky BBQ pladis pladis has launched one of Jacob’s Mini Cheddars’ most popular flavours – Smoky BBQ – in a new 105g sharing pack, price-marked at £1. Smoky BBQ-flavoured products account for almost onethird of the £64.8m brand’s sales in the convenience channel. The new product is available now, in packaging that is recyclable through pladis’ partnership with Terracycle.

Cadbury gives Orange Twirl another whirl

Walkers Taste Icons PMPs PepsiCo Following its launch of Taste Icons earlier this year, Walkers has added four 50g £1 price-marked packs to the range, inspired by the nation’s favourite restaurants. Flavours include Classic Cheeseburger (Gourmet Burger Kitchen), Peri-Peri Chicken (Nando’s), American Hot Pizza (Pizza Express) and Katsu Curry (YO!) A code on of packs will unlock a free meal voucher for the corresponding restaurant.

Bacardi Cocktail Cans Bacardi The popular rum brand has relaunched its RTD range with redesigned cans and in four flavours: Mojito (which was recently voted the UK’s favourite cocktail in lockdown), Raspberry Spritz, Rum & Coke, and Spiced & Cola.

All are ABV 5% and available now in 250ml cans with an RSP of £1.80.

Demand for readyto-drink cocktails is steadily rising; the sector has witnessed 43% growth in the past two years.

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The award-winning limited-edition Cadbury Twirl Orange single bar is to return to UK shelves following its debut last year.

Cadbury Twirl Orange offers consumers a twist on a favourite brand, combining Cadbury’s topselling singles SKU with one of the nation’s favourite chocolate flavours. The product is aimed at younger adult consumers who are seeking new flavours and experiences from their chocolate choices.

It will be available for retailers to buy from midSeptember in cases of 48 x 43g bars with an RSP of 69p.

Cadbury has increased the number of bars available from last year. However, it expects demand to be high and encouraged retailers to get their orders in early.

Cadbury Family Treatsize Mondelez Launched in time for Halloween alongside a similar Freddo and Friends Treatsize offering, this new 222g pack (RSP £2.79, promo £1.40) yields an assortment of Cadbury favourites including Flake, Chomp, Twirl, Fudge, Crunchie, Curly Wurly. To find out more, retailers can telephone Mondelez on 0870 600 0699, email retailer. services@mdlz.com or visit deliciousdisplay.co.uk.

Radhika Pai, Brand Manager for Cadbury Singles at Mondelez International, commented: “Our trade partners and consumers made it clear, they love Cadbury Twirl Orange. It was one of top selling singles NPD of 2019, despite being on sale for only a few weeks.

“It was incremental to the category, attracting younger adult shoppers and driving category growth of +3.4% at launch. After this overwhelmingly positive response, we had to bring back this muchloved product for our retailers and consumers for a set period.”

For further enquiries, retailers can telephone Cadbury’s brand owner Mondelez on 0870 600 0699, email retailer.services@mdlz.com or visit deliciousdisplay.co.uk.

John West Tuna Bowls Thai Union Group This new microwaveable meal solution that is quick and easy to make pairs the brand’s tuna meatballs with a selection of vegetables and either pasta, beans or rice, in a sauce. The range includes Chilli & Garlic, Tomato Sauce with Penne Pasta; Fajita Sauce with Beans, Red Peppers and Rice; and Smokey BBQ Sauce with Sweetcorn and Rice. It RSPs at £2.49 (£1.75 promo price).

Lifebuoy Hand Sanitiser Gel Unilever Hygiene soap brand Lifebuoy has returned to the UK with a range of antibacterial products backed by a £12m campaign to educate consumers on how to reduce infection post-lockdown.

The range includes Hand Sanitiser Gel in 250ml (RSP £3.50) and 50ml (RSP £2) formats.

Other lines include Hand Hygiene Wipes, Hand Sanitiser Spray and Liquid Handwash. For more information, please visit unilever.com.

www.slrmag.co.uk

Product News & Media Watch Zig-Zag Household Lighters Repulic Technologies Utility Lighters, Kitchen Lighters and Candle Lighters are all available now in five different colours with an RSP of £1. Utility and Kitchen Lighters come in shelf-ready packaging of 12 blister packs. There are 18 Candle Lighters per outer. All are refillable and the Kitchen Lighters include a spare gas cartridge.

All conform to ISO 22702:2018.

To stock the range, please contact enquiries@ republictechnologies.co.uk.

Henri Wintermans ‘United Kingdom’ Half Corona Scandinavian Tobacco Group Available to retailers now, new limited-edition packs feature a ‘dressed up’ Mr Wintermans, with a top hat, umbrella and union jack bow tie. The Henri Wintermans Half Corona is the UK’s best-selling medium/large cigar. In the last year, it has increased its volume market share from 71.8% to 76% of all medium/large cigars sold, with an annual sales value of just under £15m.

Cadbury Wispa Gold Duo Mondelez Cadbury has launched Wispa Gold in its twin-bar Duos format, available now in cases of 32 x 72g packs with an 85p RSP. Radhika Pai, Brand Manager at Mondelez International, explained the move: “With both Wispa Gold in growth and Wispa Duos growing ahead of the category at 13%, it’s an obvious choice for us to bring the two together in Cadbury Wispa Gold Duo.” For further enquiries, retailers can telephone Mondelez on 0870 600 0699, email retailer.services@mdlz.com or visit deliciousdisplay.co.uk.

Hotlines

MEDIAwatch



Make The Unboring Choice Rubicon’s ‘Make The Unboring Choice’ campaign has entered its second phase with a national outdoor advertising campaign.

Designed to engage younger shoppers, and part of the brand’s £5m investment this year, the activity is supported by digital and social media that will help the brand reach over 3.9m consumers.

Quorn kicks off summer activity JPS Players Crushball Cigarillo Imperial Tobacco JPS Players Crushball Cigarillo is available now in £4.20 pricemarked packs of 10. It comprises an American Blend tobacco, wrapped in a natural tobacco leaf with a menthol crushball in the filter. This gives consumers with the choice of releasing the menthol flavour or smoking as a standard cigarillo.

As the product is wrapped in a tobacco leaf, packs can legally be branded.

Quorn has embarked on a summer marketing campaign including national TV advertising and the relaunch of Swedish Style Meatballs following huge consumer demand. This will be closely followed by a six-week TV advertising campaign for Quorn Crispy Nuggets. The TV campaign will be supported by a partnership with Netmums.

Join the Goodness with Babybel Babybel has launched a new marketing campaign that seeks to inspire consumers to ‘Join the Goodness’ by encouraging more mindful snacking. The fully integrated campaign includes a new TV ad – shot in the style of a Hollywood blockbuster, that sees Babybel cheese heroes – adorned in red wax costumes, save the day.

No limits to YOP’s new campaign Half White Half Wholemeal Warburtons

Rich Tobacco JUULpods JUUL Labs

Warburtons’ new Half White Half Wholemeal range includes Medium and Thick loaves (both RSP £1.50), as well as Thins (RSP £1.31) and Rolls (RSP £1.19). Each product is made with a blend of half white and half wholemeal flour, and includes added Vitamin D to support a healthy immune system and calcium for strong teeth and bones.

Rich Tobacco JUULpods replicate sthe taste profile of Virginia tobacco, the blend found in 93% of factorymade cigarettes sold in the UK. Packs of four pods are available now in 18mg/ml nicotine strength at an RSP of £10.99. The new flavour is first launched in new JUULpods branding, featuring redesigned packaging and graphics, which will be rolled out across the entire JUULpods range over the coming months.

Drinkable yoghurt brand YOP is launching a new campaign this month to further champion its mission of celebrating teenagers who follow their own path. The campaign features a digital advert starring 19-year-old French Pro football freestyler Yoanna Dallier with backing music provided by new talent Dawnwall. The ad ends with the YOP tagline – No Limits.

Yoyos taste like yummmm Kids fruit snacking brand Bear has launched a burst of outdoor activity to support its best-selling product Bear yoyos. The nationwide campaign is set to reach six million consumers. Focussing on celebrating the taste and experience of trying yoyos for the first time, the posters carry the tagline ‘taste like yummmm’.

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

SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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Feature

Stoptober

SMOKE-FREE SCOTLAND EDGES CLOSER

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Stoptober

Feature

As Scotland finally loses its unenviable crown as the smoking capital of the UK, is a smoke-free Scotland now looking like a realistic possibility?

S

cotland has long held the dubious privilege of being the smoking capital of the UK but in a little publicised development last month, the country finally shed that dubious crown. According to new data published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the proportion of over-18s in Scotland who smoked had fallen to 15.4% last year. The number has fallen consistently since 2011, when it stood at 23.4%, and the news meant that, for the first time, Scotland is longer the UK’s smoking capital.

Granted, the new figures put Scotland just 0.2% ahead of the new UK smoking crown holders Northern Ireland who sit at 15.6% and 0.1% ahead of Wales at 15.5% – but it’s still a significant development.

As the Scottish Government remains committed to a smoke-free Scotland by 2034, that goal looks slightly less unlikely than it has for a long while.

The survey also put the number of vapers at nearly three million, or 5.7% of the population. However, the bad news for the vaping category is that this is down from 6.3% in 2018, although ONS number crunchers said the difference was not “statistically significant”.

What is significant is that the category has effectively stalled. Only 3.7% of the population vaped in 2014, when data collection began. After two years of increases, there has been no real rise since 2016, when the figure stood at 5.6%.

Next month’s annual Stoptober campaign however is another chance for Scotland’s local retailers to help more Scots kick the tobacco habit and shift to something a lot less harmful.

Vaping is widely regarded as one of the most efficient ways of shifting shoppers out of cigarettes and RYO

www.slrmag.co.uk

and, as Public Health England repeatedly reiterates, vaping is 95% safer than smoking tobacco.

The recent Menthol Ban in May should also provide a boost to the nicotine replacement categories although, at this early stage, it doesn’t appear to have had as dramatic an effect as many had predicted, or hoped.

VAPING Thankfully, the range of options available to retailers to help their customers get off the ciggies, however, is getting wider by the day.

The vaping category is now reasonably well established, and most stores will offer at least a basic range, often from the biggest brands like Logic, blu, JUUL and Vype; the inexorable shift towards ‘pod mod’ systems seems clear.

There are still many vapers who prefer their big ‘mods’ and creating their own concoctions at home but new legislation and pure convenience means that more and more shoppers are looking for a simpler ‘click and play’ solution that involves a minimum of fuss and mess.

The options for local retailers are basically twofold: stock a good basic range that will cater for most vapers, or go all in and become ‘famous’ for vaping in the local area by stocking a much wider range of products, including devices, liquids and accessories.

It’s a complicated category however, so going ‘all in’ requires a fair bit of research and a lot of training. Buying a new pack of pods for a JUUL device or a Logic unit is a straightforward transaction, but dealing with complex queries from shoppers around subohm mods, shortfills, drippers, coils and much more requires a greater degree of commitment to making SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

43

Stoptober

Feature

the category work instore.

The key here is training but there’s plenty of support available.

POUCHES One newish category that could prove interesting to retailers now and in the near future is nicotine pouches. These are popular in other parts of the world, particularly Scandinavia, and offer extreme convenience in that they can be used anywhere, anytime – including in places where vaping is off limits like on public transport, at the office or even behind the till.

Smoke- and tobacco-free, nicotine pouches have shown to be extremely popular with the single biggest challenge being how to encourage shoppers to give them a try.

The brand making the biggest headway in nicotine pouches is Nordic Spirit from JTI, the runaway leader.

Launched into the UK just over a year ago, the product has found a solid base of users and is set to grow further with a recent relaunch and rebrand and launch of a new flavour, Elderflower.

The new line joins existing variants Mint and Bergamot Wildberry. All three are available in 6mg and 9mg strengths, with an RSP of £6.50 for 20 pouches.

Key changes to the design include enlarging the brand name, in particular ‘Nordic’, to emphasise the product’s deep connection to its Swedish heritage. Additionally, the varying strengths are now represented with four hexagons in line with other products in the category for consistency and ease for the customer.

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Stephane Berset, JTI’s UK Head of Marketing, comments: “Since its launch in 2019, we have seen Nordic Spirit go from strength to strength as more adult smokers and vapers look for alternative nicotine products.”

Berset says the rapidly evolving category, already worth £380,410 a month, presents a “huge” profit opportunity.

“We would urge retailers nationwide to incorporate Nordic Spirit into their offering as the category continues to flourish,” he adds.

GET SOCIAL

As well as helping your shoppers improve their health, a social media campaign like this could also help simply draw attention to the fact that you stock a vaping and nicotine replacement range so that shoppers who have already quit know that they can get what they need at your store.

It’s a great opportunity for you to engage with community, demonstrate that you care about their health and wellbeing, and also shift them into higher margin products that will still drive footfall levels similar to tobacco products.

To squeeze some benefits out of Stoptober month, retailers need to shout about it to the shoppers and the easiest way of doing that is on social media.

Why not run a campaign during September incentivising your shoppers to try giving up tobacco next month and remind them of the alternative solutions you have available.

JUUL LAUNCHES RICH TOBACCO JUUL Labs has recently added a new tobacco flavour to its JUULpods range to offer adult UK smokers a wider range of alternatives to combustible cigarettes.

Rich Tobacco JUULpods replicate the taste profile of Virginia tobacco, the blend found in 93% of factorymade cigarettes sold in the UK. Packs of four pods are available now in 18mg/ml nicotine strength at an RSP of £10.99.

The new flavour is the first launched in newly updated JUULpods branding, featuring redesigned packaging and graphics, which will roll out across the JUULpods range over the coming months.

Rich Tobacco is the latest addition to JUUL’s UK portfolio of flavours, which includes Glacier Mint, Menthol, Mango Nectar, Golden Tobacco and Alpine Berry.

www.slrmag.co.uk

NEVER MISS

A MOMENT

NO SMOKE, NO VAPOUR

6.50

RRP

£

THE NORDIC WAY TO NICOTINE

*

FOR 20 POUCHES

This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive substance. *RRP effective 8th July 2020.

You are, of course, at all times free to sell JTI’s products at whatever price you choose

Fascia, Symbol and Franchise Focus

Feature

TIME TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER? The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything and while most retailers are doing a lot better than they were prior to the pandemic, the last six months has forced many retailers to take a fresh look at how they run their business – and that includes a fresh look at available business models like fascias, symbol groups and franchises.

S

o, the last six months haven’t been too bad to you, on a commercial front at least. The world is in tatters on many fronts, but the convenience retailing channel is one of those very rare examples of a sector that has thrived under lockdown.

Spare a thought for all those pub, club and restaurant owners out there who have, in many cases, lost everything in the relative blinking of an eye.

But you’ve done alright, thank you very much, and business continues to boom – although perhaps not as loudly as it did 46

SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

a few months ago. But times are still good, sales are still way ahead of where they would normally be and, if you’re lucky, you’ve managed to build up a little war chest, or at least a little something that you could use to invest in your store or simply keep safe for one of the rainy days ahead that are sure to come.

It’s been pouring for years in convenience, so a few sun-kissed months have helped restore our faith in the sector.

Coronavirus no doubt forced you to take a fresh look at many aspects of your business and that probably includes your symbol,

fascia or franchise partner.

Perhaps the one you have isn’t quite suiting your purposes as you hoped it would, perhaps another symbol group seems to be offering a much better package, or perhaps you’re an unaffiliated retailer who likes the sound of accessing all the benefits that being part of something bigger offers.

Well, you’ve come to the right place.

Our regular fascia focus helps you make sense of the various packages on the table and hopefully helps you make a much more informed decision about which group might be best for your particular store’s needs. There are a lot of factors to consider and many of them go way deeper than the straightforward ‘how much is this going to cost me?’ starter for 10.

Yes, how much membership costs and what all the various fees are is critical, but it’s not the only thing you should consider.

Far from it. And what’s more, it’s exceptionally difficult to actually

work out exactly what it will cost you until you start trading with a symbol group, fascia or franchise. The pricing and overrider models are ferociously complex and it can be difficult to work out what you’ve paid and what you’ve received even when sitting down with a full set of invoices in front of you, a slide rule and calculator by your side.

One of the most obvious – and practical – ways of judging a potential partner is simply to speak to other retailers you know who have worked with them. They’ll tell you a lot of the stuff that’s not on the official marketing materials and might be able to highlight some lessthan-obvious weakness (or strengths) in the model under consideration.

Bear in mind however, that you’re getting a filtered version of the reality by talking to other retailers. Their view has been filtered through their own experiences which have been good or bad and which are certain to colour their view.

So once you’ve got yourself a www.slrmag.co.uk

Fascia, Symbol and Franchise Focus

shortlist, you will have to talk to your potential partner direct.

This is not an easy game to play and there’s a lot at stake, so the more research you can do the better.

But there’s little doubt that becoming part of something bigger has the potential to help transform your business. Every group offers very different packages so it’s not like you’re comparing apples with apples. A lot depends on your particular store: its location, the demographics of its shopper base, the competition around you, which products and services you want to focus on and a thousand other factors.

One thing you get with every partner, however, is access to a huge support package, in the widest sense. At its most basic, you get a household name above your door that shoppers know and trust. But you also get a huge promotional package, which might come in handy if the predicted price war between the mults kicks off properly, as well as marketing support, www.slrmag.co.uk

better pricing, better and quicker access to NPD and ranging and merchandising advice.

You get the benefit of any group-wide advertising or promotion, sometimes even television ads (depending upon the group). You get better access to own label products, an integrated Epos system (if you want it), IT support and commercial advice, and you get someone at the end of the phone who understands your business and wants to help.

It’s worth pointing out however that, just like in any relationship, you often get out of it what you put in. A relationship is a twoway thing and trust has to be built up between the partners.

For retailers, that means buying (the bulk of) your stock from your partner just as you’re meant to and ensuring in-store compliance is high.

The groups put a lot of effort into producing the regular promotional campaigns, for instance, and if retailers simply aren’t executing them well instore, the whole thing falls down

and the relationship can quickly become frayed and fraught.

So if you commit to a partnership, then commit fully.

And if you do that, there’s a good chance your symbol, fascia or franchise partner will reciprocate and give you all the support and help you need in return.

Whoever you choose, particularly if you’re joining a group for the first time, you will see immediate benefits.

Fewer trips to the cash and carry for a start, better pricing most of the time and an organised promotional programme to excite shoppers, complete with POS. It can help your store move up a level and grow your footfall, sales and profits.

And if you’re moving groups and you choose wisely, you will also see some significant benefits quickly.

As we begin to emerge from lockdown into whatever ‘new normal’ awaits us, it’s statistically highly likely that being part of something bigger will help you become something bigger yourself.

Feature

CONTENTS 48 50 52 54 56 58

Nisa Premier Londis Family Shopper Costcutter United Wholesale Scotland

SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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Feature

Fascia Focus | Nisa

NISA: YOUR PARTNER OF CHOICE

Nisa works with many of Scotland’s finest stores and with 40 years of experience, fully flexible model and alignment with Co-op is the perfect partner for retailers looking grow their sales and profits.

N

isa is proud to work with many multi awardwinning stores in Scotland including Pinkie Farm, Greens of Markinch and David’s Kitchen to name a few, making us the proven partner of choice for market-leading, independently minded retailers in Scotland.

And with a record number of retailers moving to Nisa Retail last year and those investing in new and upgraded stores enjoying average sales uplifts of 12%, there never has been a better time to join us.

For more than 40 years we have worked with independent retailers, helping them to grow their businesses through a comprehensive support package. And now part of the Co-op group we are even better placed to do that, making greater investment in price and promotions and improving our offer to partners. We also enjoy increased buying power and a broader product range.

Nisa’s flexible model provides its retailers with an unbeatable breadth of range of more than 13,000 SKUs. The inclusion of more than 2,000 Co-op own brand products across all categories offers a recognised, quality brand for shoppers and good margins for retailers.

Nisa’s own award-winning own-label range, Heritage, is also available, providing even more choice with quality products at affordable prices.

A major development to Nisa’s already compelling offer has been the roll out of Co-op own brand which has been a big success and has included Co-op’s extensive festive product range and the innovative plant-based GRO range.

Over 90% of Nisa retailers stock Co-op own brand and our partners in the Republic of Ireland also benefit, as the range is not sterling price marked.

Nisa’s promotional alignment with Co-op has also given retailers access to sector-leading deals, with promotions including lunch meal deals, the popular £5 freezer filler deals, Super Saver Deals and more. At a time when value is

more important than ever to shoppers, strong promotions are key to the Nisa offer.

Nisa provides a complete retail support package comprising a strong retail focused team, a staff training facility and a comprehensive marketing package incorporating social media and PR support, bespoke leaflets, point of sale material, a personalised Nisa FM radio network and national advertising.

Alongside our bespoke EPoS solution, Evolution, our latest technology offering is a new mobile app which launched in June 2020. Free to download from the Apple Store and Google Play, it offers many advantages to retailers.

The app makes it much easier to trade with Nisa and has been well received and widely adopted by Nisa partners. It allows Nisa’s partners to run their stores remotely, placing orders, checking stock and confirming order status all through their mobile devices as well as receiving push notifications which ensure they never miss out on the latest deals because they’re away from the back office computer.

Nisa retailers can source local products and have them invoiced centrally, creating a simpler, time efficient process. All orders are placed directly with individual suppliers, deliveries are made direct to store, but the invoicing and administration is managed centrally.

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 95.2% successfully made on time.

And we know community involvement is key to independent retailers, which is why we enable our partners to support local good causes through Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally charity. To date more than 12,000 donations totalling around £9.5m have been made across the UK and Ireland.

TO FIND OUT MORE, COMPLETE THE FORM ON WWW.JOIN-NISA.CO.UK/ CONTACT-US OR CONTACT OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM ON 0800 542 7490.

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www.slrmag.co.uk

O T S N REASO

A S I N N I O J ÂŁ

98%

Sales +12% with Nisa Evolution store format

Next day delivery service*

98% Availability

2,000+ Co-op own label products

Opening our new store just before the coronavirus hit was a huge challenge but Nisa were there to support us through it. They have been in contact regularly to assist us and have been great at maintaining stock availability. Now we are thinking about the future of the store and again Nisa have been really helpful.

Harry Ahmed, Nisa Local Greenock

For even more reasons, visit join-nisa.co.uk #JoinNisa | 0800 542 7490 *currently in selected locations only

Feature

Fascia Focus | Premier

NUMBER ONE FOR A REASON

Premier is the UK’s biggest symbol group, reaching that’s position by remaining relentlessly committed to delivering more profit for retailers and a better shopping experience for consumers.

P

remier is the UK’s number one symbol group with over 3,450 stores nationwide. The group is committed to delivering more profits for retailers and a better shopping experience for consumers. Premier has seen eighteen years of consecutive growth.

Premier continues to advertise on TV. Premier is advertised every day which will be seen over 100 million times annually.

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 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 ownbrand and Happy Shopper, the mid-tier option. This is complimented by working closely with branded suppliers to ensure the best choice 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 5% 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 energy savings, free Epos and central billing 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.

TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO ENQUIRE ABOUT JOINING, CALL 01933 371246.

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www.slrmag.co.uk

Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer 2019 Shoppers’ Favourite Symbol Group 2019 Shoppers’ Favourite Small Format Retailer 2019

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

• NEW 5% Spend & Save discount starting October • Free delivery at cash and carry prices • Free store layout plans & merchandising support • Free fascia and window imagery • Free POS and personalised leaflets “Premier has transformed my business with their latest thinking which has grown footfall, sales and profits” Justin Whittaker, MJs Premier, Royton

MEGA DEALS

FOOD TO GO

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Enhanced fresh range available • Food to Go solutions available

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 Focus | Londis

YOUR ZERO COST PARTNER FOR PROFIT Londis offers retailers a highly flexible, zero cost model that offers a fully delivered service and a support package for all, all backed by the strength of Booker, the UK’s biggest wholesaler.

L

ondis is part of Booker Group, the UK’s leading food and drink wholesaler. With over 1,900 members, Londis work in partnership with its independent retailers to provide local communities with all they need in a convenience store.

Backed by Booker Group, Londis has delivered on a number of benefits and opportunities for our retailers such as; great value prices, exclusive products and improved quality to help retailers drive footfall and make more cash profit.

There is a focus on supporting new footfall driving categories as such as; Chilled, Food-to-go (especially the eat now mission), meal solutions and also the latest trends like health and habit forming foods, free from, premium spirits and American candy.

Londis have also recently launched a Dessert Bar offer creating a destination store experience for shoppers as well as helping retailers to make more cash profit. It is the focus on areas of growth that help Londis stand out from the competition in today’s rapidly expanding convenience market Londis operate a zero cost model and is a flexible symbol partner that has a fully delivered service and support package to suit all. Londis also support with award winning ranges, an industry leading fresh offer with over 2,000 lines and a fantastic promotional package offering minimum POR’s of 20% on core deals.

With smart planning, local area knowledge, range optimisation and the symbol groups Merchandising, Range, Store Development and Supply Chain teams we are committed to helping our customers Make More and Save More to support them in growing their business.

THE BENEFITS OF THE LONDIS OFFER INCLUDE: Q Free Membership Q Competitive cost of goods benefiting from group power Q Fantastic promotional package with strong retailer margins Q Free Promotion Leaflets and FREE store point of sale support Q Spend & Save discounts of up to 5%* Q Award winning fresh range with over 2,000 lines.

Q Award winning own brand ranges; Discover the Choice and Euro Shopper Q A best in class online web ordering system (Londis Webshop) Q Dedicated Merchandising and Store Development Teams Q Tri Temperature fleet delivering all your ambient, fresh and frozen together Q Free Membership of the ACS *TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS OR TO JOIN, CALL 0808 1788644 OR VISIT WWW.JOINLONDIS.CO.UK 52

SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

www.slrmag.co.uk

Join Londis today and watch your profits grow

“

We have been with Londis for over 19 years and their support and expertise has been invaluable to us.

I would recommend them to anyone.

�

Call us on 0808 178 8644 or visit joinlondis.co.uk * Terms and Conditions apply.

- 00% Cost Free model - Earn up to 5% discount* - Award winning Own Brand & Fresh range - Dedicated Forecourt Development Team

Walter Bryson David Bryson & Sons, Prestwick Visit the Londis 360 virtual tour at : http://360.skyeyeplus.co.uk/files/LondisTriangle/

Feature

Fascia Focus | Family Shopper

THE ULTIMATE VALUE OPTION The Family Shopper format is the ultimate solution for lookers seeking to deliver discount-sector value to their shoppers while also gaining the benefits of symbol retailing.

F

amily Shopper is a discount format for independent retailers that merges the strength of symbol retailing with the great value available in the discount channel. It has been specifically developed to help independent retailers capture the growing sales and profits from the discount sector.

The unique discount format provides retailers with everything that shoppers would expect from a convenience store including chilled, alcohol, grocery and tobacco along with services such as Lotto and Paypoint. This is then combined with the best of the discounters covering a fantastic range of £1 non-food items such as stationery, kitchen utensils and party accessories, with a broad seasonal offering and a frozen section.

All Family Shopper stores offer a simplified range that removes duplication. Also merchandising in full trays makes the format easy to operate

while minimising back stock and easing cash flow.

Family Shopper retailers can take advantage of ‘Spend & Save’ where retailers can earn up to 5% discount on their non-tobacco purchases, along with delivery at cash & carry prices, ordering on line and having the ease and convenience of shopping at Booker branches. This helps to maintain the exceptional availability to deliver fantastic customer service.

There are no membership or joining fees and the Family Shopper fascia and imagery are installed free of charge.

Additional services such as energy savings, free Epos and central billing are also available that have been specifically created to add value and keep costs low.

The group continues to attract interest from independent retailers nationwide. With a focus on choice, price and service, the group remains committed to helping Family Shopper retailers grow their sales and profits.

TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO ENQUIRE ABOUT JOINING, CALL 01933 371757 54

SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

www.slrmag.co.uk

Unique discount format Simple to run & operate High cash profit

“I love the simplicity of operating a Family Shopper. It offers my shoppers the best of convenience in a discount format, where they really can get bargains everyday. Having a rationalised range, that still offers choice at low prices, means I run an efficient store and eases my cash flow. Plus the Booker team supports you every step of the way.�

Mr Kumar, Glynneath.

Simply building sales & profits for you Call Family Shopper today:

01933 371757

Feature

Fascia Focus | Costcutter

TIME TO THRIVE WITH COSTCUTTER

Costcutter’s purpose is to help independent retailers thrive and to support the vital role they play in their local communities, says Group Marketing Director Sean Russell.

A

t its core, our purpose is simple: to help independent retailers thrive and to support the vital role they play in their local communities.

Our retailers have attracted many new shoppers with the recent surge in demand and we’re now accelerating plans to support them beyond the Covid-19 crisis by helping them convert shoppers who have used their stores as a lifeline, into lifelong loyal customers.

At the heart of our plans is our unique Shopper First: Drive Five to Thrive business growth programme. Available exclusively to Costcutter Supermarkets Group retailers, it provides in-depth shopper insights and data to help tailor every aspect of the store to reflect changing shopper needs – from range and missions, to store development and design.

The significant investment we have made into our field team enables us to offer the best levels of support across the sector. This has proved pivotal during Covid-19 and continues to be key in helping retailers maximize the benefits of our Shopper First programme, especially as they look to adapt their stores and offer as we emerge from lockdown and prepare for the upcoming recession.

Alongside this we’re continuing to invest and build upon the innovative marketing and business solutions we have in place, to continue to help our independent retailers reach more shoppers.

With hygiene and safety paramount in the minds of shoppers today, we’ll continue to update and share with our independent retailers, comprehensive and appropriate guidance to help them keep their staff and shoppers safe.

We’ll also continue to share best practice on a range of services, such as last mile delivery, to help them further support their local communities.

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Our latest financial results revealed a 10% growth in sales overall, driven by the growth our independent retailers have experienced by putting their shoppers at the heart of their business.

Retailers who have participated in our Shopper First programme have seen a minimum of 20% sales growth, demonstrating our clear commitment to help independent retailers thrive.

Access to the Co-op Own Brand is a major highlight within our range. With over 2,000 products, this has been a proven driver of increased footfall, basket spend, and sales increase across our stores.

We also invest heavily in marketing support, from traditional leaflets to social media and innovative mobile marketing solutions, helping our retailers engage with their shoppers and maximise their sales.

We reward our retailers’ loyalty with excellent rebates of up to 6%, alongside some of the best commercial terms in the sector.

As a result, we have been attracting some of the best store owners in the sector to join and grow their business with Costcutter Supermarkets Group.”

www.slrmag.co.uk

Turn your lifeline shoppers into lifelong shoppers Costcutter Long Buckby

CALL

US!

01904 232

505

Independent retailers have been the lifeline for new shoppers through the Coronavirus uncrisis. iqueCostcutter will help you turn these custlifeline omer shoppers into lifelong shoppers.

insights

Unrivalled BDM support for your business

Come Unique shopper insight and to drive your sales

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meet the team f Sector leading marketing and business support to reach more & shoppers Let us

show Modern, contemporary store brand to attract and retain shoppers you our stores

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Comprehensive COVID-19 safety and community support guidance

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Amazing range, including Co-op Own Brand products

and meet the team and let us show you our stores.

Y Come www.freshstart.costcutter.co.uk

BOURTREEHILL IRVINE

www.uniteduk.com

UnitedWholesaleScotland

www.day-today.co.uk

MyLocalDayToday

www.usave.org.uk

“Day-Today have undertaken a full critique of my store and they have delivered on every point.

The team at Day-Today have made a number of positive changes to the store layout so I’m now making the sales floor work much harder.

My sales have never been higher and my customers love what we’ve done with the store.”

Imran Ali”

CO-OWNER IMRAN ALI

CO-OWNER S AY I A D H A M I D

J O I N D AY- T O D AY T O B E C O M E T H E V E R Y B E S T I N R E TA I L !

THE BIGGEST & BEST SYMBOL GROUP IN SCOTLAND

Community Focused Stores Best In-Store Promotions Award-winning marketing support Social Media training Dedicated Development team

C O N TA C T C R A I G LY N N

07469 149 375

In-House Chill & Freeze Free POS Market Leading Technology Dedicated Support Team, Project Managers, Business Development Managers and an In-House Merchandising Team

“Our stores take great pride in servicing their local communities, providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all your essentials. Join Today!”

Feature

Retail Tech

FAST FORWARD

One of the side-effects of Covid-19 has been a massive acceleration of the uptake of technology by convenience retailers – and that could turn out to be the biggest long-term upside of the pandemic.

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www.slrmag.co.uk

Retail Tech

T

he last six months have been horrendous on a whole array of fronts – but there have been some silver linings for local retailers among the many clouds. One of those silver linings has been a massive spike in the adoption of retail tech in the convenience channel.

Much of this has been driven by home delivery which initially started out as a mercy dash for local retailers desperate to take care of their local communities, particularly the elderly and the vulnerable, but which has bloomed into a fully-fledged megatrend.

Around two-thirds of convenience retailers now offer home delivery of some sort, according to the Association of Convenience Stores, a massive hike on pre-pandemic levels.

That shift has fuelled the proliferation of home delivery solutions now available to retailers, apps like Snappy Shopper and Jisp – but it has also encouraged retailers to take more of an active interest in all sorts of tech that could help them run better, more efficient, less wasteful and, ultimately, more profitable stores.

We look at some of the latest tech news and options…

HOME DELIVERY The tech daddy, home delivery has been largely responsible for the tech wave we’re currently seeing. Dundee-based home delivery app Snappy Shopper has been making the news left, right and centre as its easy-to-use, efficient app has been adopted by hundreds upon hundreds of stores right across the UK. Jisp is another solution that is set to make increasingly big waves. An ‘all-in-one’ app that includes home delivery, click & collect and scan & go functionality, Jisp has formed a clever partnership with the NFRN which means that it has gained instant access to tens of thousands of NFRN member stores and it’s certainly one to keep an eye one.

You can read our full software review of Jisp on page 28.

EPOS The Epos market, while hardly new, has seen a burst of life over the last six months as many retailers have chosen to take a fresh look at the solution they use and consider whether it truly meets their purposes.

Home-grown provider MHouse Solutions, based in Motherwell, has had a stellar year. It’s MPos solution is now in over 700 stores in Scotland, including Anand Cheema’s new Spar store in Falkirk.

MHouse’s flexible approach when it comes to integrating with third-party software providers is relatively rare in the sector – most Epos companies won’t touch a third party www.slrmag.co.uk

Feature

solution and won’t grant access to their own systems for it – so as more retailers try out new tech solutions and apps, a flexible approach to integration could well pay dividends for MHouse.

Another Epos company making big progress in Scotland is Northern Ireland’s Henderson Technology, an offshoot of the Henderson Group, which manages the Spar brand in Northern Ireland. Its EDGEPos platform was built from the ground up off the back of its experience running stores in the province.

The company was recently named as an approved Epos supplier for Unitas Wholesaler’s customers and the company has unveiled a stream of new installations in Scotland, most recently at JET Abbotsinch in Renfrew.

WASTE MANAGEMENT Too Good To Go is an interesting app that’s gaining plenty of traction in Scotland with a number of retailers, including new SGF President Dan Brown of Pinkie Farm Convenience Store in Musselburgh making use of it.

The app that helps retailers sell their surplus food directly to 2.9 million consumers and is already helping 20,000 convenience stores across 14 countries sell their daily surplus food so it doesn’t go to waste.

Retailers simply make up ‘magic bags’ of stock that’s about to be thrown out and users of the app can buy the bags at discount prices. The deal minimises food waste, gives shoppers some great deals and lets retailers secure some revenue on products that would otherwise go in the bin.

It’s a great solution for short-coded categories like fresh, chilled and food-to-go.

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS PayPoint has had a very busy six months as it continues its drive to add more value for retailers under lockdown. The latest deal the company has done sees it partner exclusively with NeoSurf for eVoucher sales.

NeoSurf provide pincodes for use across 20,000 different websites and the new agreement means consumers can access Neosurf vouchers from a larger retail network.

The partnership means that members of the public will be able to purchase Neosurf pre-paid pincodes at over 27,000 PayPoint retailers across the UK, making them more accessible to a greater number of people. Consumers simply exchange cash in-store for a Neosurf eVoucher, which is printed with a unique pincode to purchase online services.

Additionally, cash can also be used to top-up balances on Neosurf e-wallets and prepaid cards.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | SLR

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Advertising Feature

PayPoint

ADDED VALUE SERVICES HELP RETAILERS DRIVE FOOTFALL By bringing in as many added value services as possible, local retailers in Scotland can become destination stores and drive increased footfall.

BY BEN FORD, RETAIL SERVICES DIRECTOR, PAYPOINT

Like many people, I’ve always known exactly where my local convenience store is, but only ever used it for the occasional pint of milk or loaf of bread. However, my appreciation of the work that convenience retailers do and the benefits they provide has grown massively in the past few months.

I joined PayPoint in the newly-created role of Retail Services Director and it’s been a real eye-opener. Week by week, I’m learning all the innovative ways that retailers are running their businesses and providing valuable services to local communities.

PayPoint’s contribution to these successes is really pleasing to me and it will be my role to strengthen that proposition even further, and help retailers maximise footfall into their stores.

One of the ways I will do that is by helping our retailers create ‘destination’ stores, offering so much more than just the products on their shelves.

An example is PayPoint’s Collect+ network.

It’s the UK’s leading parcel service, with over 8,000 outlets and carrier partners including eBay, Amazon, Yodel, FedEx and DHL. It’s growing too, with volumes of parcels going through the network increasing 12.7% in the past year.

What’s more, with a TrustPilot score of 4.6 out of 5, Collect+ is a service people love which attracts new customers. Our research shows 53% of Collect+ users are new to store, and 40% of purchase other items during their visit.

ATMs are another of our services I’ll look to grow over the next 12 months.

We have managed a network of self-fill, internal ATMs for more than 15 years, and work with over 4,000 locations across the UK. PayPoint ATMs enable retailers to earn commission on every cash withdrawal, and recycle their cash rather than having to bank it, thereby avoiding banking charges – it’s a double win!

With frequent news of bank branches closing, internal ATMs are popular with shoppers and, our research shows, increase customer spend by 4.7% over stores with external cash machines.

Finally, our PayPoint One EPoS platform empowers convenience stores to become even more efficient and profitable.

The platform is available in a range of packages.

PayPoint One EPoS Core system integrates point-of-sale technology with bill payments and integrated card transactions and offers many benefits, including the ability to view sales reports on-the-go via the free PayPoint One app (available on iOS and Android), printing off shelf-edge labels, setting up promotions and special offers, and viewing product margin analysis, in addition to receiving a free cash drawer.

With the PayPoint One EPoS Pro package, retailers also get multiple supplier integrations, real-time stock management and the opportunity to control inventory remotely via their smartphone, removing the need of being tied to the till.

With the recent increase in customer card payments, having an integrated solution with competitive rates is a key benefit of PayPoint One. Our latest PIN pad technology comes with contactless payments accepting Apple Pay™, Samsung Pay™ and Google Pay™ payments at a competitive rate you perhaps wouldn’t expect.

We also offer retailers the chance to make PCI compliance quick and easy with an exclusive PCI Portal.

Now is the time to see how PayPoint can benefit your business, as we are running a promotion for existing PayPoint One users to trial an upgraded package for three months at no additional cost, including set-up, training and ongoing customer support.

FIND OUT MORE AT WWW.PAYPOINT.COM/EPOS 62

SLR |SEPTEMBER 2020

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Free EPoS Upgrade Trial Includes free mobile app

up Save

to *

!

0 6 2 £

‘Try before you buy’ with a free 3 month trial Take advantage of our risk free limited offer to upgrade to PayPoint One EPoS. If it’s not for you, simply switch back to your original subscription.

Find out more today at www.paypoint.com/epos or call 01707 600 605 *Saving based on EPoS Pro for 3 months at £30.75 per week vs. Base at £10.25 per week. Promotion open 1.9.20 to 31.10.20. Requires new term commitment. If Retailer doesn’t downgrade before end of trial period, upgraded package continues. PayPoint hardware subject to terms. Booker EPoS link requires a non-refundable setup payment. Full promotion terms & conditions can be found at www.paypoint.com/terms. App Store is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

Unitas Wholesale appoint Henderson Technology as an approved EPOS supplier Henderson Technology is delighted to announce its partnership with Unitas Wholesale as an Approved EPOS Supplier for Unitas Wholesaler’s customers.

Unitas Wholesale was formed in late 2018 following the merger of two leading, well-established wholesale buying groups.

With 173 wholesale members, they have the largest network of independent cash and carry and delivered wholesalers in the UK. Their members are committed, ambitious and forward thinking, representing more than 285 depots nationwide.

The partnership enables Henderson Technology to supply EDGEPoS, the award winning global EPOS software system, to retailer stores supplied by wholesalers within Unitas Wholesale.

The partnership ties in with EDGEPoS’ tenth birthday and the announcement of 600 EDGEPoS installs globally. Over the past ten years EDGEPoS has continued to develop by responding to retailer requests and market research in order to integrate innovative third party offerings. This allows Henderson Technology to offer a cost effective way of supplying an award winning EPOS system which can include Self-Checkout, ESELs, Scan & Go App, Pre-Order and Pre-Pay Food to Go and Grocery App; and the 2019 Mobile App of the Year, Gander, which shows in real time an individual store’s reduced items to their community of shoppers in their area.

Steve Hodson, Trading Controller of Unitas Wholesale, said: “Henderson Technology can provide our members with reliable and future-proof EPOS solutions, and meet the demands of 24/7 customer service required by the busy forecourts we supply. We are delighted to have formed this partnership with Henderson Technology and look forward to working with them in the future.”

Craig Brown, Retail Sales Director of associated J.W. Filshill Wholesale, said: “We work with many innovative retailers, and when we looked at Henderson Technology and the EDGEPoS system, we saw these same values and progressive ideas from the company and the software it provides. We are delighted to be associated with Henderson Technology and are proud to announce EDGEPoS as our preferred EPOS suppliers for fuel forecourts in Scotland and England. I look forward to working alongside Henderson Technology in more of our petrol forecourt sites.”

A recent Unitas Wholesale member install was Park’s Motor Group in Lanarkshire, who operate four Keystore Express and JET branded forecourts.

“…reliable and future-proof EPOS solutions.”

Darren Nickels, Retail Technology Operations Director, said:

“We are delighted to have been installing our award winning EDGEPoS system with Unitas Wholesale member sites since 2019. It has been a successful couple of years, and we look forward to building our network.”

Ian Mackay, Director of the Group, said: “EDGEPoS was recommended to us by a local JET retailer who had it installed in 2019 and we decided to look at the system for all four of our locations. We quickly made the decision to install EDGEPoS and it has gone live this week across the Group, including the Head Office system which now gives us full control of all four sites remotely. The system meets our needs for the fuel side of our business, while providing an easily operated and efficient frontend till. The installs all ran smoothly with minimum disruption and full onsite training was provided at each site.”

Henderson Technology looks forward to sharing the benefits of EDGEPoS with many more Unitas members across all parts of the UK. EDGEPoS Self-Checkout tills in use

For more information visit: henderson.technology or email: sales@henderson.technology

Security, operational efficiency and business development within your store.

Control pricing, product and reporting across multiple locations.

A reliable new and innovative offering to the convenience and fuel market for Self-Checkout.

Innovational integrations with many third party Apps. Connect with your customers.

Learn more about our EPOS products at henderson.technology/edgepos

The EDGEPoS Electronic Shelf Edge Label (ESEL) System is a tool used by retailers to display specific product pricing on shelves.

Electronic display modules are fixed to the front edge of the retail shelving.

Accurate pricing Shelf edge influence Enhance your shopper experience Increase margin instantly Utilise assistant hours in different areas of the store Reduce wrong pricing customer complaints Instant promotion changeovers and price changes

Speak with an EPOS expert at henderson.technology/esels

Keep your shelves talking with EDGEPoS ESELs

Feature

Breakfast

LOCKDOWN DRIVING BREAKFAST BOOM? New data from Lumina Intelligence suggest an increase in breakfast occasions as lockdown continues to ease, which is great news for local retailers.

W

ith more people than ever now based from home thanks to the new world order of lockdown, it makes sense that more shoppers will be enjoying breakfast at home – and that appears to be borne out by the latest data from Lumina Intelligence (formerly HIM and MCA Insight).

Lumina’s latest Channel Pulse has found a significant increase in breakfast occasions while lunch and dinner occasions see declines.

For the week of 6 to 12 July, breakfast occasions grew its share of the overall percentage of meals consumed at home from 25.9% to 26.9%, a significant shift.

Whatever the reason for this growth, it represents another opportunity for local retailers to grow footfall, sales and profit by ensuring that their offering is in line with market demands.

That can, of course, mean both breakfast 66

SLR | SEPTEMBER 2020

food-to-go or take-home items, but either way it’s an opportunity not to be missed.

FAMILY FAVOURITES With children finally back to school after months of home schooling, quick, tasty and nutritious breakfast options are a must for many, so a great place to start with your range is by ensuring you stock family favourites like

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, Coco Pops and Crunchy Nut. Available in £2.99 PMPs, these four lines alone will ensure you grab your fair share of the valuable breakfast market.

New from Kellogg’s is a range of Granola Fusion products that can help you cash in on the breakfast-to-go opportunity. Available in Special K Protein and Crunchy Nut variants, www.slrmag.co.uk

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Breakfast

all shoppers have to do as add water for a tasty, convenient, nutritious start to the day. Both products are available in £1.59 PMPs and will drive sales when sited in the breakfast-to-go fixture.

TAKE THE BISCUIT Another product that fits neatly with current consumer lifestyles is belVita from Mondelez International.

“The idea behind belVita is the insight that one in three people in the UK skip breakfast during the working week and the main reason for this is lack of time,” says Susan Nash, Trade Communications Manager at Mondelez International. “Breakfast biscuits tap into the consumer need for a convenient and nutritious breakfast that slots into their busy daily lives.”

Indeed, belVita is the UK’s number one breakfast biscuit brand and the third biggest biscuit brand overall in the UK and has been

powering up the nation’s mornings for nearly 10 years with slow release carbohydrates.

Breakfast remains a key meal with 95% of all UK adults saying they eat breakfast, and while out-of-home breakfast occasions have seen growth in recent years, 93% still eat breakfast at home.

Of those adult consumers that eat breakfast, 78% say they want a breakfast that will fill them up, while 67% say they try to eat a healthier breakfast. With that in mind, the belVita range features a mix of five whole grains and is a natural source of fibre, calcium, magnesium and iron, providing energy for the whole morning in a tasty and nutritious biscuit.

Launched last summer, belVita Seeds and Berries comes in two flavours, with Raspberry & Chia Seeds and Blueberry & Flax Seeds available in six-pack boxes with three biscuits per pack at an RSP of £2.79.

Alongside the new variants, the brand also launched its first-ever reduced sugar variant, belVita Chocolate Chip with 30% less sugar.

The breakfast biscuit includes the much-loved chocolate chip taste but with 30% less sugar.

Both launches were supported with a brand new £3.5m marketing campaign with TV, out-of-home, digital, social, PR and in-store activity.

LOCAL SOURCING One interesting consequence of coronavirus appears to be increased interest in local sourcing.

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A new survey commissioned by Weetabix has found that that almost a third of UK consumers admit the Covid-19 pandemic has made them realise how important locally sourced products are to the UK economy, with 48% of Brits actively looking for locally sourced items in the supermarket.

A third of those polled say they have been more supportive of local British businesses both during and since lockdown, than ever before. More than a third do so to be more ethical in their shopping habits, whilst over two-thirds hope to support local farmers and almost half do so for healthier and fresher produce.

The survey comes as Weetabix unveiled a crop circle in the British countryside during this year’s harvest to raise awareness of the fact that it sources its wheat from within a 50 mile radius of its home in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire.

The survey found, when it comes to meals, breakfast is believed to be the dish with the least food miles. A further 29% also believe fewer food miles will mean they receive healthier food and 58% think the goods will be fresher as they have travelled less.

Francesca Theokli, Marketing Director at Weetabix, commented: “Our study showed that more than two-thirds believe companies are not transparent enough about where their food is grown and produced. There are many ways Brits can support local farmers and being careful about where breakfast is sourced is one simple step.” www.slrmag.co.uk

UTC

BREWDOG GIVE IT YALDI

We’re all familiar with the discounters’ habit of creating copycat version of branded products and most of the big brands are reluctantly prepared to live with it. Brewdog clearly isn’t one of them.

So when Aldi made a thinly-disguised version of the Scottish brewer’s flagship Punk IPA, Brewdog responded in kind by creating... Yaldi.

MY, HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED Mind that time when half your life was spent moaning about how your wholesaler couldn’t get you enough flour for all those budding Mary Berries out there?

INNOCENT REMINDERS

UTC thought it would be rude not to share the latest billboard campaign from Innocent reminding us all about a few of the things we may have forgotten over the last six months.

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But the story doesn’t end there.

The Auld Yin took a keen interest in the Twitter-spat as it developed when Aldi responded with a Tweet stating that they “would have gone with ALD IPA”. Within 24 hours, Brewdog had revamped the design and, who knows, you might even see it on sale in Aldi someday soon. Isn’t social media wonderful?

www.slrmag.co.uk

To order or to open an account, contact John Lucas: 07760 431230

john.lucas@bobbysfoods.co.uk