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Industry News
Spar supports Daily Mile initiative
AS part of Spar’s partnership as Official Retail Partner of Athletics Ireland, they will support a number of different Athletics Ireland initiatives including the Daily Mile. A primary school programme which sees children run or jog at their own pace for 15 minutes every day, making them fitter, healthier, and more able to concentrate in the classroom, The Daily Mile was launched by Athletics Ireland in 2018. The initiative is fast approaching the magic number of 1,000 primary schools signed-up, equating to more than 180,000 students engaged with the programme daily across 26 counties. Spar have teamed up with Irish international athlete Rhasidat Adeleke (pictured) as a Spar ambassador for The Daily Mile. Rhasidat will encourage teachers and students around the country to participate in The Daily Mile. For more information on The Daily Mile, log onto https://thedailymile.ie/.
Aldi revamps Ballincollig store
ALDI’S ‘Project Fresh’ store on Main Street, Ballincollig, has reopened its doors following an extensive renovation project which has seen the store completely refurbished as part of Aldi’s €160m investment in its Irish store network. Featuring the new layout, the Ballincollig store offers a wide selection of fresh food at the front of the store, hi-spec fixtures and fittings and new signage that provides a more efficient and hasslefree shopping experience. The car-park has been extended to include 20 bicycling spaces and 14 additional car parking spaces, making a total of 103 spaces available for customers. The store will be powered by 100% green electricity. Aldi has invested heavily in improving its energy management systems and its entire store network is now powered by 100% wind generated energy.
Fyffes fitness initiative wins European marketing award
THE efforts being made by Fyffes to help combat childhood obesity through its fitness-based Fit Squad initiative were recognised at the IMC European Awards for Integrated Marketing Communications, held in Brussels recently. The Irish-based fruit importer was honoured with the Silver Award in the ‘Small budget campaign’ category by a panel of almost 40 leading industry professionals across Europe. Developed by Titan Experience, in conjunction with Irish health and fitness expert Tom Dalton, the main purpose of Fit Squad is to demonstrate to young people in schools throughout the country how they can increase their physical activity. Since its inception last year, Fyffes’ fitness initiative has visited some 145 schools and seen over 14,000 children participate in 290 interactive sessions across 29 counties throughout Ireland, north and south.
CHRISTMAS FM, the popular radio station generously sponsored by Cadbury, Coca-Cola and An Post, raised €412,021 for Barretstown, its chosen charity for 2019. The money raised allows Barretstown to ‘press play’ on over 1,400 days of life changing programmes for seriously ill children. The 2019 fundraising figure brings to over €2.25m the total amount of funds the radio station has raised for a range of charities since its inception in 2008. Pictured are Daragh O'Sullivan, Paul Shepherd and Walter Hegarty, co-founders of Christmas FM, with Ria Rianti, Brand Manager - Chocolate, Cadbury, and Garvan Rigby, co-founder, Christmas FM. Christmas FM raises €412,021 for Barretstown
Lidl Ireland to remove cartoon characters from cereal packaging LIDL will stop displaying cartoon characters on its own-brand cereal ranges by spring 2020, to help parents tackle pester power in the supermarket aisles. “Promoting and providing healthier food options for our customers is something we are passionate about at Lidl Ireland and we are proud to be leading the way in the Irish retail market with our significant commitments,” noted Ciara Sheehan, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Lidl Ireland. “We want to help parents across Ireland make healthy and informed choices about the food they buy for their children. This latest move underpins our commitment to helping customers lead healthier lives.” The removal of cartoon characters from all own-brand cereals builds on Lidl’s existing work, which has seen the supermarket commit to reducing the sugar content in own brand products by 20% by the end of this year.
Aldi and the IRFU announce ‘fresh’ four-year deal ALDI Ireland has extended its partnership with the Irish Rugby Football Union in a new four-year deal, which sees Aldi continue as the IRFU’s Official Fresh Food Partner until 2024. The new contract sees Aldi extend its commitment to the Aldi Play Rugby programme, a national initiative for primary school children, and the return of the Aldi Play Rugby Sticker Competition. “Our long-term partnership with the IRFU has been a huge success for everyone involved. Aldi Play Rugby has made a massive impact in schools across the country, encouraging thousands of children to get active and lead a healthier lifestyle,” said Giles Hurley, CEO for Aldi UK & Ireland. “Working hand in hand with the IRFU, we look forward to making the programme available to even more children over the next four years, as well as adding to the €1.2m investment in primary schools during this time.” Pictured are John Curtin, Group Buying Director for Aldi Ireland, with Nicholas Comyn, President of the IRFU.
MUSGRAVE has announced an exclusive partnership agreement across the island of Ireland with The Happy Pear, the leading vegetarian and vegan food brand in the country. Under the terms of the agreement, Musgrave will have exclusive rights to the production, distribution and marketing of all Happy Pear retail products – i.e. packaged products sold in nationwide retail channels. The agreement also includes a framework for both companies to co-operate in developing and activating international markets for Happy Pear retail products. “The Happy Pear is an excellent strategic fit for Musgrave and will strengthen our existing vegetarian and vegan offer to the market,” noted Noel Keeley, Musgrave CEO. Dave and Steve Flynn of The Happy Pear (pictured), said, “Musgrave gives us the scale we need and is a like-minded partner with a team of retailers who believe in helping people to live healthier lives.” Musgrave partners with The Happy Pear
GALA Retail has announced its commitment to continue its partnership with Special Olympics Ireland for a further four years. The deal sees Gala invest a six-figure sum in continuing its platinum sponsorship of Special Olympics Ireland for the next four-year cycle of Olympic activities. “Gala retailers, stores and staff members have shown great enthusiasm and support for this partnership and are extremely proud that Gala Retail will be continuing to support Special Olympics Ireland,” said Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala Retail. Pictured at the announcement are (back row, l-r): Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala Retail; Special Olympics Ambassadors Michéal Ó Mhuircheartaigh and Keith Wood; and CEO of Special Olympics Ireland, Matt English; (front row, l-r): Special Olympics athletes Emma Johnstone, Laoise Kenny and Thomas Caulfield, who will all be competing at the upcoming Ireland Winter Games in March.
LIDL Ireland, together with supplier Meade Potato Company, has announced the introduction of its 100% compostable form fill potato bag. Meade’s 2kg White Potatoes are packed in a 100% Seedling certified compostable bag that uses FSC certified sustainably-sourced paper, strengthened with starch and printed with water-based ink. The window of the bag is made with corn-starch based netting. This innovative solution has eliminated all conventional plastic from the packaging, making it 100% compostable and suitable for disposal in all consumers’ brown bins for industrial composting. In addition to this, the new bag uses 34% less paper than traditional paper bagging machines. Pictured are Ciara Sheehan, CSR Manager, Lidl Ireland, and Philip Meade Jr, Commercial Manager, Meade Potato Company. Lidl Ireland introduces compostable potato bag
Fisherman’s Friend sponsors Run A Muck 2020 FISHERMAN’S Friend has been announced as the title sponsor of Run A Muck, one of Ireland’s largest and most popular obstacle mud run challenges, with a partnership that will include naming rights, branding and sampling opportunities at the 2020 event. The mud run, which returns to Coolcarrigan Estate in Kildare for 2020, will be known as Run A Muck with Fisherman’s Friend, and it’s anticipated that over 5,000 mud run enthusiasts will attend this year’s event. An integrated campaign including PR, radio, sampling and a brand association with TV presenter, Deric Ó h'Artagáin, is planned to amplify Fisherman’s Friend’s sponsorship of Run A Muck 2020.
Repak and Panda raise €20,000 for Focus Ireland
ENVIRONMENTAL not-for-profit organisation, Repak, and leading waste recovery operator, Panda, have raised €20,000 in aid of Focus Ireland, through a joint plastic recycling initiative that was supported by Dublin city businesses. The initiative launched in June 2019 and encouraged commercial businesses across Dublin city to collect their plastic recyclables in specially commissioned recycling bags, which were provided free of charge and collected by Panda staff daily. A significant number of businesses got involved over the sixmonth duration of the initiative, filling a total of over 2,300 bags with seven tonnes of plastic materials. Pictured are (l-r): Siofra Kelly, Corporate Partnerships Officer at Focus Ireland; Elaine Phillips, Head of Marketing and Communications at Repak; and Eddie Moloney, Commercial Sales Manager at Panda.
Tesco Ireland sponsors youth camogie TESCO Ireland has signed a two-year deal to become Youth Development sponsor of the Camogie Association until the culmination of the 2021 season. The sponsorship will see Tesco support the All-Ireland Post-Primary Camogie Schools Championships as well as the All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championships. Additionally, the sponsorship will see Tesco support the Association’s Camán to Croker and Hurl With Me development initiatives. Under the partnership, Tesco aims to engage with its network of stores in the communities that it serves and partner with local camogie clubs to activate their initiatives over the lifetime of the agreement. “We look forward to helping to inspire and empower young women and girls as they progress through the game’s life cycle,” said Tesco Ireland CEO, Kari Daniels, pictured (centre) with Kathleen Woods, Camogie Association President, and Sinead McNulty, Camogie Association CEO.
Innocent seek dairy free chefs INNOCENT have teamed up with the darling of dairy free, Roz Purcell (pictured), to seek out the nation’s best dairy free chef. With creativity high on the agenda, innocent and Roz will be on the hunt for delightful dairy free dishes that make the taste buds of innocent fans all over the country do somersaults. Dairy free cooks were asked to submit their tastiest dairy free recipes for a chance to join Roz at Ireland’s first ever Dairy Free Cook-Off on February 29 in Airfield Estate, Dundrum. A panel of judges led by Roz and the team at innocent will select the five finalists and declare the winning dish.
Aldi to open new Kanturk store
ALDI confirmed its plans to open a new store in Kanturk, Co. Cork, as part of its €160m Irish store network investment programme. Located on Percival Street near the centre of the town, the new development will see a substantial investment into the local area. Up to 80 jobs will be created during the construction period, with 20 permanent positions to become available upon opening. The 1,315 square metre store will be constructed in Aldi’s award-winning Project Fresh design. The store will be powered by 100% green electricity, with 84 free car parking spaces available for customers. It is expected to open in April 2022.
KINETIC has announced Lucozade Ribena Suntory Ireland Ltd as its partner for this year’s TU Dublin, Tallaght Out of Home (OOH) Advertising competition. For the sixth consecutive year, Kinetic Academy, Kinetic’s training arm, has teamed up with TU Dublin, Tallaght (formerly IT Tallaght) and Mindshare to challenge marketing and advertising students to devise an eye-catching and engaging Out of Home campaign. Students from the BA in Advertising and Marketing Communications programme will be briefed to devise an Out of Home campaign for Lucozade Ribena Suntory Ireland Ltd using technology. To bring the campaign to life, students can utilise a range of different technologies including augmented reality, gaming, mobile and Dynamic Digital Out of Home (DOOH). Kinetic announces Lucozade Ribena Suntory Ireland Ltd as competition partner
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ARNOLD DILLON TAKES UP POSITION AS RETAIL IRELAND DIRECTOR
ARNOLD Dillon has been announced as Director of Retail Ireland. Arnold joined Ibec in 2003 as European Affairs Executive in the Brussels office. After working for a period in London as a Policy Adviser with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), he returned to Ibec and worked as Press Officer and then as Ibec's Head of Press and Public Relations in the Dublin Head Office. In recent years, Arnold was to the fore in developing Ibec’s campaigning capability and as Head of Strategic Campaigns, working extensively on Ibec's response to Brexit.
Arnold Dillon, the new Director of Retail Ireland.
RETAIL IRELAND ANNUAL LUNCH 2020
THE Retail Ireland Annual Lunch will take place on Friday, May 22, at The Marker Hotel, Dublin. This flagship social event for the sector is a great opportunity for you, your colleagues, clients and guests to come together, discuss key industry issues and network in a relaxed environment. To book your place, please visit our website www.retailireland.ie. For members, seats cost €130 plus VAT or a table of 10 costs €1,200 plus VAT. For non-members, seats cost €160 plus VAT or a table of 10 costs €1,500 plus VAT. Further details, including our guest speaker, will be announced shortly. If you have any queries please contact events@ibec.ie.
Positive economic backdrop to Christmas trading
RETAIL Ireland has published its Christmas Retail Monitor 2019, which suggests the Irish household spent an average of €2,800 in shops in December, approximately €940 more than any other month of the year and roughly 3.4% more than Christmas 2018. Consumer spending over the 2019 Christmas season is expected to have topped €4.9 billion, up from €4.75 billion in 2018. Irish retailers are also expected to have continued to grow their share of the online market during the period, with continued significant investment in online platforms.
While Brexit concerns weighed on consumer sentiment throughout last year, this did not translate into a fall in sales. With the risk of an imminent ‘no deal’ Brexit gone, Christmas 2019 looks set to deliver a broadly positive performance for the retail sector, although challenges remain in certain categories. Rising disposable incomes, record numbers at work and falling prices have all combined to give consumers greater spending power than ever before.
The Christmas period remains crucial for the sector, with many retailers recording over 30% of their annual trade over the six-week period. Black Friday fell nearly a week before the end of November, with some of the bounce carrying through into December. Key indicators point to retail prices remaining low, due to intense competition between retailers. Other insights from the monitor include:
• Consumer goods prices fell by 1.7% in the first 10 months of 2019. • Retail sales in the first 10 months of 2019 were up 2.8% in value terms, with volume up 5%. • Overall employment in the sector grew by 45,000 in the year to the end of September 2019. The total number employed is now in excess of 2.3 million. There are now more people at work than at any time in the history of the State. • Central Bank statistics show that total e-commerce spend was likely to exceed €21 billion in 2019. This would represent an increase of over 100% since 2015, highlighting the increasing number of Irish consumers shopping online. • Growth in the online sales channel is running at six times that of traditional bricks and mortar outlets.
Tel: 01-6051558 www.retailireland.ie
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Stonehouse celebrates 20th birthday
The year 2000 saw the merger of two of Ireland’s foremost independent cash and carry groups, AND Keencost and National Wholesale Grocers Alliance, to form Stonehouse. Stonehouse CEO Tom Shipsey looks back over the last two decades in the Irish wholesale business and predicts that the coming years will bring even greater change.
WHILE it was in the year 2000 that two of Ireland’s best-known independent wholesale groups, National Wholesale Grocers Alliance (NWGA) and AND Keencost, merged to form Stonehouse, the seeds for that alliance were sewn two decades before that, according to Tom Shipsey, the CEO who has steered Stonehouse through the intervening years to the point where it is about to celebrate 20 years in operation.
Both AND Keencost and NWGA had been “doing the exact same thing and fighting for the same patch of turf” up to that point, the CEO admits. Tom was fortunate to have worked with both parties, so when they finally agreed to join forces, he brought a level of trust and calmness to proceedings.
Getting the balance right between the two former rivals was a challenge, he admits: “We had four members from Keencost and four from National Wholesale on the board. We even set a rule that you couldn’t mention either Keencost or National Wholesale for the first two or three years, unless it was said in a positive manner, because we didn’t want people looking back with rose-tinted glasses. But we were fortunate to have people on both sides who really knew the time was right, and they were willing to make it happen for the betterment of all members.”
The Stonehouse logo, featuring a Martello tower, was an important part of the new company: “The Martello towers were designed as lookouts around the coast, mostly looking for foreign invaders. Around that time, we had Tesco getting stronger and the discounters coming into Ireland, so we felt it was appropriate that these cash and carries all over Ireland needed to look out for each other. There was and still is, thankfully, a huge need for a unified grouping when you have such a small part of the market.”
The most immediate advantage the creation of Stonehouse gave its members was in terms of increased buying power, but the CEO is quick to stress that “it also gave suppliers the confidence that this was a group that had a future and they were willing to support us. It gave us better buying power and probably cost suppliers money but I think they also believed that we were doing the right thing. I have always found that when it comes to suppliers, if they can see what you are doing and why you are doing it, they will support you. Even though we are a small entity, I have always felt we boxed way above our weight because of our relationship with suppliers.”
Flexibility & resilience When Stonehouse formed 20 years ago, it had 12-13 former Keencost cash and carries and more than 30 mostly smaller depots that had been part of NWGA. Today, Stonehouse has 22 members with 27 cash and carry depots. “We are probably where I thought we would be at in terms of numbers by 2020, but it is a different set of members,” Tom confesses. “I thought some of the smaller members might not survive but they are the ones who are still there, and some of the bigger members have either closed their doors or been bought out by BWG or Musgraves. That shows the power and resilience of small family businesses.”
The CEO believes that the primary reason why most of these smaller family businesses survived, while other bigger companies didn’t, is primarily down to prudent business practices: “None of the smaller, family Stonehouse members had over extended themselves in either personal or business debt. They weren’t the people buying apartments in Poland or Croatia. A lot of them are second, third or fourth generations of the same family running the business and they understood the value of money and weren’t going to run away with themselves. That certainly helped us through the batten-down-the-hatches time.”
Of course, the independent wholesale sector wasn’t immune to the overall economic recession: “Our
members had to cut costs, sometimes by reducing staff numbers, or by becoming even more efficient. But sometimes smaller businesses are the ones who can rise to the challenge. I think that is how Stonehouse has been able to survive not just that serious depression but also the growth of the
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”The relevance of traditional grocery for us today is smaller compared to what it was. Our reliance on peas and beans, jams and marmalades, has disappeared. I remember buying containers of those type of products, but we are not selling them to any scale anymore. We are now in a different product category. discounters and the push by the multiples evident through the year but most pronounced at every Christmas, Easter and Bank Holiday. We have been able to weather that storm. But we have also had to change.”
The rise of foodservice The biggest change in the way Stonehouse members operate has been the rise of foodservice as a crucial element of their sales mix.
“We have become far more foodservice oriented,” Tom admits. “The relevance of traditional grocery for us today is smaller compared to what it was. Our reliance on peas and beans, jams and marmalades, has disappeared. I remember buying containers of those type of products, but we are not selling them to any scale anymore. We are now in a different product category.
“Our retail element has changed and is now far more about convenience and fresh. It has become all about deli, fresh food, coffee. The growth of Costcutter and Gala in that 20 years has been phenomenal. We are far more educated into the needs and demands of progressive retailers than we were in those early years. Our other business, selling to pubs and restaurants, has gone through the roof.” One area of growth, and a fairly new category for Stonehouse, is frozen food for the foodservice and retail trade. Pioneers in the area of frozen foodservice include M&P O’Sullivan and Dublin Food Sales, according
to the CEO, but other members are now starting to enter the category. Stonehouse members have started with the “low hanging fruit”, he laughs, the most reliable and popular frozen foods, including chips, burgers, chicken and prawns.
“The area of frozen is relatively new for us,” Tom reveals. “We had two or three members who dabbled in frozen five or 10 years ago; now, we have two or three very serious frozen foodservice operators and another eight or nine who are entering that category.”
That means a big investment in frozen distribution. “A lot of our members have started to invest,” Tom stresses. “They have maybe put a frozen 40-foot container in the back yard, giving them 12 pallet spaces.”. The bigger members have a dedicated frozen unit within the cash & carry and a fleet of multi-temp vehicles to service the market.
It also meant finding new suppliers, “explaining who we are and starting
all over again,” he maintains. “People around the country will know our members but we’ve never pushed the Stonehouse name because our ethos is all about being local, whether it be Barry’s or Leydens etc. But now we are explaining to these new suppliers that we are also Stonehouse and we have group buying power. That has been a new venture for us and it’s quite exciting, because to survive we need to have a presence in both retail and foodservice, with a service to match.
While Stonehouse’s biggest retail members, Gala and the Barry Group, remain successful in the retail sphere, via the Gala and Costcutter symbols and the Carry Out off licence chain, the smaller members have had to diversify out of grocery, primarily into foodservice. “The way forward for some members is in foodservice, incorporating frozen,” Tom maintains, “because it is an area where the market is a little more diverse and a lot of the big competitors can’t deliver the type of service that we can.
A Concerned Citizen OUTSIDE Stonehouse, Tom Shipsey is very active, having spent a decade on the board of Concern and just taken up a similar position on the board of Repak.
“I’ve always had an interest in development in Africa, because I worked in Africa during my college days and it gave me a lifetime of feeling that it is important that we help. So Concern has been a big part of my life for the last 10 years; I’ve been fortunate enough to visit probably the 20 poorest countries in the world in very difficult times, whether it is earthquakes, war, Ebola or famine. I’ve been in tents and shelters where there has been bombing overhead. But it has given me a different perspective on life. I set the governance rules in Concern and part of that was my own exit, because all entities need to move-on boards to ensure good governance, so I’ve ended that chapter and I’m starting a new chapter with Repak.
“The next five years will be all about sustainability and climate,” he continues. “It is something I am interested in and passionate about and I am looking forward to learning about it and to contributing in Repak. I also believe that on behalf of small wholesalers and small family businesses, it will be important to have a voice at the table because we are going to have to change how we do things if we want to have an environment that our kids and grandkids want to live in. And that is going to come with some pain. It’s going to cost, but to be part of the decision-making process on that is very exciting.”
They can all be, for example, in Kenmare in the summer months, but not a lot of them want to be in Kenmare every day in January and February, and not many can provide the almost-daily service that Stonehouse offers. Our niche is that our members are nimble enough and flexible enough to offer a service that is almost daily countrywide; that’s probably why we are still successful.”
He highlights the deep discounting of the multiples, such as five Easter eggs for €5 or the massive alcohol promotions in the run-up to Christmas, as huge challenges for the independent
wholesale and retail sector, who just cannot compete with these offers, no matter their buying power.
“Seasonal was always very strong in both Keencost and National Wholesale, and in the early years of Stonehouse,” he explains. “But we have had to change from seasonal because we have found it almost impossible to compete with the loss leaders in the multiples.”
He expresses his delight that the Northern Ireland Executive is back up and running in Stormont, and is hopeful that the entire island, north and south, can implement Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol, which would effectively prohibit retailers from using alcohol as a loss leader to entice customers into their shops: “Hopefully, the Government can now impose a little sanity back on the alcohol business now. When beer is cheaper than water, you have to start asking questions.” still there. So Homestead has survived all these years but it now occupies a different place in the market.”
Stonehouse have developed another brand in recent years, the White Hat foodservice range, which has proved hugely popular. “White Hat has been particularly successful in getting us into state contracts,” Tom reveals. “We have a very strong presence in the HSE and White Hat has enabled us to really target that business.”
Homestead: still bringing value home The Irish consumer has changed too during Stonehouse’s lifespan, particularly after the global recession. The once brand loyal consumer has mostly disappeared, replaced by one who seeks value and fairness, is aware of the environment and isn’t afraid to shop around to get it. Did this benefit Homestead, the own brand that has been part of Irish life since 1983, when it was initially launched by National Wholesale? “When Homestead launched, there was almost no other own labels. Then Yellow Pack came along and Dunnes launched theirs. But Homestead was never in that category; Homestead was always a premium brand but at a slightly cheaper price than the branded equivalent. So we went to Jacob’s to produce our fig rolls; we went to Odlum’s to produce our flour; we went to Barry’s to do our tea and Batchelors to produce our peas and beans. We didn’t have to do the manufacturer’s marketing on it, so we were able to take a smaller margin. “But what happened as own label has grown and most of the multiples and discounters have entered that field, is that the quality of own label has risen over the years. Homestead is still a premium product but we cannot command a premium price due to the other own labels out there. So why is Homestead surviving? It’s probably surviving because we are still giving retailers a brand they have confidence in with substantial margins. We may be no cheaper than Jacob’s biscuits, for example, but the retailer can get a substantial margin on Homestead biscuits and they know the quality is The Brexit effect The other spectre on the horizon, forever on the edge of view, is Brexit. The Stonehouse CEO is bullish about the prospect, however.
“As much as you can be Brexit ready, we are,” he says. “For our smaller members, a lot of them aren’t importing directly from Britain but are buying from a third party. For our bigger members, it is an issue, but they have set up the mandatory regulatory licences etc. they need to do to import goods from Britain and all of them are looking at other sources outside the UK for products. They are as ready as they will ever be, but whatever type of Brexit we get will still have an effect on the market here.” What about the assertion that some Irish suppliers could actually gain business from Brexit, by supplying products to Irish wholesalers and retailers that were traditionally imported from Britain?
While not averse to the idea, he isn’t overly optimistic: “Sadly, there aren’t as many Irish suppliers out there as we’d like. I’d love to be buying more Irish produce than I can. But there will be opportunities, possibly, for Irish suppliers to step up. However, I feel that for a lot of categories, we will be supplied by European rather than British companies; that is happening already with a lot of our bigger suppliers, who are changing factories from the UK to continental Europe.”
Packaging and labelling issues start to become a concern when it comes to goods produced in countries like France or Germany in terms of language – where it could prove prohibitively costly
to produce a pack in English just for the Irish market. Multilingual packaging, however, could solve that problem. “Brexit has put everybody on the back-foot,” Tom notes. “Import levies are placed not on product but on components, so you could have effectively the same chocolate bar range with three or four different prices, depending on whether it has nuts, sugar, caramel etc, so it becomes extremely complex.”
When beer is cheaper than water, you have to start asking questions. The Irish retail and wholesale market has weathered a number of storms in the past, however, and the Stonehouse CEO feels that it will deal with Brexit too, whatever form it takes. “We are resilient,” he avows. “We find ways. We have managed to cope with every piece of legislation that has come at us, from cigarettes to sugar taxes, and I am under no illusion that we won’t have a problem in fixing whatever needs to be fixed with this one.”
Indeed, Tom is reasonably confident about the future for the Irish wholesale sector and Stonehouse in particular.
“In 20 years’ time, I am pretty sure that there won’t be the same number of Stonehouse members,” he admits. “A number of our members have indicated that there will not be a next generation of their family taking over the business, while with others, the next generation already have their feet firmly under the desk. The business will change, however, and I believe the next five years will see even more change than the last 20. But we are a ‘people business’; we are very close to our suppliers and our customers and pride ourselves on those relationships. I am confident that Stonehouse will continue to succeed and a big part of that is because of our ethos, both of our members and of Stonehouse central office, that close relationships with suppliers and customers are vital.” “
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Coca-Cola launches Sleek Can
The most significant evolution of Coca-Cola’s can offering for 70 years, the new Sleek Can will be introduced across all Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite variants.
COCA-COLA Ireland, and its bottling partner Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, have announced plans to launch a new Sleek Can in response to consumer needs for a more premium pack. The taller, more stylish, 330ml can is being introduced to the market in February, across all Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta variants.
The Sleek Can launch marks the most significant change in Coca-Cola’s can offering for more than 70 years and is a first for the soft drink industry in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The island of Ireland will be among the first markets in Europe to launch the new can. Premium pack format When considering new pack innovations, Coca-Cola’s market research confirmed that consumers are seeking more premium pack formats (Source: Qualitative Research - Focus Groups in January 2017) and the Sleek Can provoked an immediate positive reaction when tested. The shape was considered ‘sleek’ and ‘stylish’ and was found to be easy to carry and nice to hold.
The new Sleek Can will also contribute to Coca-Cola’s journey towards a World Without Waste, by enabling the introduction of more sustainable secondary packaging for multipack cans. Keel Clip, an innovative, minimalist paperboard packaging solution for four, six and eight pack Sleek Cans, will be introduced in April 2020. A cardboard wrap for 10 to 24 packs Sleek Cans will also be rolled out later in the year. These design changes will eliminate 620 tonnes of shrink plastic from circulation annually.
A significant milestone “The launch of the Sleek Can marks a significant milestone in the evolution of our pack offering,” said Miles Karemacher, General Manager, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland. “It also furthers our journey towards a World Without Waste by
Keel Clip, an innovative, minimalist paperboard packaging solution for four, six and eight pack Sleek Cans, will be introduced in April 2020.
enabling the transition to cardboard solutions for our multipack cans. We’re very proud to report that this move alone will eliminate 620 tonnes of shrink film plastic annually. We look forward to working with our retail partners to bring this campaign to life in stores across the island.”
Petre Sandru, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Ireland, said, “Cans are one of the preferred packaging types across our portfolio, and we want to make that experience even more special with the introduction of the Sleek Can. The new taller can is stylish, sophisticated and contemporary. It received an overwhelmingly positive reaction when tested with shoppers.
“We have an exciting campaign planned for March that will ignite love for the brand by tapping into the nostalgia of Coca-Cola and its evolution throughout the ages.” Evolution of can The introduction of Coca-Cola’s Sleek Cans to Ireland and Northern Ireland will be supported with a significant marketing investment, to celebrate the ‘Evolution of Can’. The advertising campaign will reinforce the message that the new Sleek Can offers the ‘same great taste of Coke’ in a ‘taller, sleeker and better looking’ package, while celebrating the transformation of the soft drink can throughout the decades.
Marketing will include out-of-home advertising, PR, social and influencer activity, to drive talk-ability and excitement around the pack changes. Soft drinks in cans account for €149m in value across the island of Ireland (Source: Nielsen IOI Value MAT July 2019). Cans also drive the growth of the soft drink category, delivering 39% of total value (Source: Ibid). As the primary supplier of cans in the market, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland accounts for 57% of that value (Source: Ibid).
For more information, visit www.Coca-Cola.ie | https://ie.coca-colahellenic.com/
See those energy bills fall
Energia’s Cash for Kilowatts scheme offers you a grant of up to 30% on an energy efficiency upgrade for your business. The grant is based on the annual kWh savings achieved from the upgrade and you’ll see the savings on your bills for years to come.
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Centra records new sales milestone
Centra announced record sales of €1.7 billion in 2019, along with plans to open 20 new stores in 2020.
CENTRA cemented its status as market leader in the Irish convenience sector, recording sales of €1.7 billion in 2019, a 4% year-on-year increase on 2018.
Building on this strong commercial performance, Ireland’s leading convenience retailer plans to open 20 new stores this year, adding over 480 jobs to the Centra network in 2020. Centra retailers have also committed to further invest in revamping stores as part of an investment of €27m. Centra’s continued success stems from its 2016 brand repositioning to redefine the traditional convenience store experience with a healthier, more innovative offering across its network. The increase in sales has been largely attributed to increased demand for its innovative healthy food-to-go offering, capitalising on emerging consumer trends by offering new vegan, vegetarian and prepared evening meals, as well as increased footfall to the newly designed internationally award-winning store format.
Inspired by Centra Centra’s ‘Inspired By’ gourmet range was recognised as the number one convenience range at the prestigious Great Taste and Blas na hÉireann awards this year. The ‘Inspired By’ Centra premium range saw sales spike by double digits during the course of the year, helping the brand to attract more customers to do top-up shopping and purchase items for dinner or entertaining at home. The overall hot food-to-go category fared particularly well for Centra in 2019, increasing by 13%.
Centra has continued to invest in new product development. Frank and Honest coffee, which has established itself as the number one coffee brand Pictured at Centra's annual conference at the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry, are Bernard Lynch, Centra Council Chair; Dan Curtin, Centra Sales Director; and Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, Centra.
in Ireland, having seen sales increase by 19% in 2019. Centra rolled out a number of new brands, including Moo’d, an in-store ice cream kiosk. Customers voted with their feet leading to over three million Moo’d cones sold during the course of the year.
Transforming the convenience store experience Speaking at Centra’s annual conference at the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, Centra, said: “Centra continued to go from strength to strength in 2019, benefiting from the brand repositioning a number of years ago to transform the convenience store experience.
“People increasingly view Centra as a destination shop, so we’re seeing increased footfall as groups of consumers eat together in-store or do top-up shops for dinner. We continue to surpass shoppers’ expectations by rolling out new innovative and healthy ranges and working hard to ensure our customers have a great experience in our stores.
“We could not deliver any of this without our retailers, who are some of the best entrepreneurs in Ireland. They have embraced our new ideas and also shared their own innovative solutions with us to spread across the network. As a result, Centra continues to lead in the convenience market.”
With a total of 473 stores, Centra employs almost 11,000 people and serves over three million customers per week. Centra invests more than €240m in local communities per annum, which is the equivalent of €4.5m per week, through a combination of payments to local suppliers, acquisition of local business services, wages, charitable donations and local sponsorships.
