RN June 2014

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www.retailnews.ie|June 2014|Contents|3

News

A Mixed Bag for Retail THIS month’s issue is something of a mixed bag for retailers, news-wise. On one hand, we report on the inaugural meeting of the Retail Consultation Forum held in Dublin Castle recently (Page 4). Organised to provide a platform for structured engagement between the retail sector and relevant Government Departments and Agencies, it is hoped that the Forum will make a real difference to how retail is viewed in the corridors of power, particularly in light of new legislation and the make-up of the Budget. Our Chief News Reporter, Pavel Barter, talks to those involved in the Forum about what they believe it can and will achieve for the retail sector, going forward.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health, James Reilly TD is moving ahead with plans to introduce plain packaging for cigarette and tobacco products (Page 6), with the Cabinet passing the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014, which now goes before the Seanad for approval. Not surprisingly, this latest move has been slammed by both the tobacco industry and retail groups, who believe that it will not achieve its stated aim of curbing youth smoking rates, but will merely serve to increase the size of the illegal trade.

The tobacco industry, meanwhile, is ready to take the Minister to court to protect its intellectual property rights, and there remains a big risk that the State may be required to compensate tobacco companies if the measures in the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill are enacted, as companies would be deprived of the right to use their valuable trade-marks. This wouldn’t be the first time the State has had to reimburse tobacco companies, as reported in the April issue of Retail News.

This is one argument that looks set to run and run.

Kathleen Belton Editorial Director kathleenbelton@retailnews.ie

Contents The Retail News Interview

4

20

4

Cautious welcome for Retail Forum.

5

Government not doing enough: Retail Index.

6

Plain packaging legislation passed by Cabinet.

7

8

9

New protocol needed for bank negotiations; NFRN campaign achieves rates reduction.

SuperValu GAA winning tastes of summer; Major success at IGBF Dublin golf outing.

XL plans 30 new store openings in 2014; Grocery market continues to grow.

20

10

Centra Fermoy manager wins top award; Musgrave MarketPlace introduces multitemperature delivery fleet.

John Prendergast’s newly revamped SPAR store in Dublin’s Glasthule has brought a new retail vision to the Dublin suburb.

Ensuring a smooth and efficient supply chain is vital for Ireland’s FMCG sector.

Legal Matters 50

Kantar Brand Footprint 24

Home-grown brands topped Kantar Worldpanel’s ranking of Ireland’s most chosen FMCG brands.

Poultry 27

53

Declan Tormey, Leman Solicitors, advises on contracts, providing practical tips on navigating a potential minefield.

54

Moy Park will be taking full advantage of this summer’s World Cup.

Payment Process

Retailers often don’t realise the hidden costs of handling cash, writes Ronnie O’Toole, Programme Manager of the National Payments Plan.

Food & Hospitality Ireland 2014 promises to build on the success of last year’s event.

Retail Ireland: Monthly Update

Retail Ireland joins group demanding rent action; Councillors can help retail recovery; Warm welcome for Statebacked SME bank; Positive growth in latest sales figures.

Irish Quality Food Awards 2014 57

30

Following the huge success of last year’s inaugural event, the Irish Quality Food Awards 2014 are hungry for more.

Bloom 2014 58

National Lottery

Shop Profile 18

39

Food & Hospitality Ireland

28

10

David O’Neill, MD, SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland, discusses the various elements needed to ‘break’ a brand in Ireland.

Logistics/Warehouse Management

30

Dermot Griffin, National Lottery CEO, talks us through last year’s high profile competition for the National Lottery licence.

Over 106,000 happy visitors attended Bloom 2014, which proved a massive success.

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Editorial Director: Kathleen Belton kathleenbelton@retailnews.ie

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Editor: John Walshe

Subscription to Retail News: e95 plus VAT Email: ciara@tarapublications.ie

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Industry News Waste Management Pet Care Drinks News Market News Shelf Life

4|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

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Cautious Welcome for Retail Forum

A NEW retail forum is likely to influence decisions in the next budget, the Minister for Small Business told Retail News. According to Minister John Perry, retail is “paramount in the government’s mind” after the first meeting of the government’s Retail Consultation Forum. “I’m encouraged by recommendations from the forum.

They will be beneficial in Budget 2015 in recognition of the retail sector,” said Perry.

Retail representatives were encouraged by the Forum, which gave them the opportunity to provide feedback to various government departments. Some believe the Forum offers the opportunity to be a voice for retail in the corridors of power. Others are cautious in their appraisal of the initiative.

“We’re all a bit wary of other types of forums we have been in that turned out to be white elephants,” said RGDATA Director General, Tara Buckley.

Minister Perry insisted the forum is “no talking shop, as it’s driven by the Taoiseach himself”.

Sceptical attendees are willing to give it a chance, though. “We have been waiting so long to get this,” said Mark Fielding, CEO of ISME. “It’s the first time the Government have decided to sit down and talk face to face with people who run shops and businesses.”

Vincent Jennings, CEO of the CSNA, concurred: “I’m prepared to give it a chance. There’s no point in any of us wasting our time. We have to understand that being patient is important as well. We can’t afford

to be cynical. We have to engage.

I’m prepared to give my time and commitment to ensure whatever comes from this is positive for retail.”

The first meeting of the Retail Consultation Forum, which emerged from the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs, sported a wide attendance: Minister Perry was there, alongside Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD. There were numerous representatives from government departments and agencies, and a wide range of retail representatives.

“A lot of senior civil servants were there,” said Buckley. “We were told they would bring the messages back to their departments and advise the government in terms of their strategy with regards to the budget.”

“All the leading players were there,” said Minister Perry. “The consultation involved all the different departments.

It was driven by the understanding that 10% of GDP, around €15 billion, depends on the retail sector. It employs 270,000 people.”

The ministers left after an initial address, allowing Declan Hughes, head of the Enterprise and Trade Division at Forfás, to take the helm as Chairperson. “It was a prepared agenda by the Department of Enterprise, with a prepared list of topics, in order of their preference,” explained Fielding.

“We agreed to change the preference to suit the retail trade rather than the departments.”

Budget 2015 was at the top of the agenda. Reversion of the PRSI rate from 8.5% back to 4.25% was a concern

for all retail representatives.

“Within the next budget, we would

John Perry TD, Minister of State for Small Business.

like to see signs that the Government understand the effects bringing back the high PRSI rates have had on job creation in our business,” Jennings told us. “It’s costing the smallest retailers up to €15,000 (per annum). It’s costing many of our mid-sized retailers €30,000.”

Retail Excellence Ireland was vocal about job activation measures not working due to tax restrictions.

“The doubling of the PRSI for low paid employees in the last Budget acted as a significant blockage to all the job activation schemes,” said David Fitzsimons, CEO. “The Government are either serious about jobs or they are not.”

Frank Gleeson, Chairman of Retail Ireland, urged the Government to encourage consumer spending by easing the burden on tax-payers. Other issues included town centre shopping, local rates, and “municipal and administrative charges at local level.

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|5

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RGDATA Director General, Tara Buckley.

If you want to put a couple of chairs outside your shop, there are all these different costs,” said Fielding.

Dealing with the black market was also discussed at the first meeting, as was below cost selling and e-commerce.

The Forum plans to meet four times a year, allowing retailers to raise issues from planning policy, to tax policy and skills – that cut across government departments. Sub-groups of the Forum may meet more frequently.

Representatives for the Department of Health were not in attendance, although they are expected to attend the next meeting in September. Vincent Jennings doubts this is a suitable platform to address the issue of tobacco plain packaging. However, he “would be keen for the Forum to have a view upon the attempt by the Department of Health to increase our costs by way of a licensing fee”.

Some retailers we spoke to said that the Retail Consultation Forum is a

Vincent Jennings, CEO, Convenience Stores & Newsagents Association.

significant initiative for the trade, which is often marginalised at policy level.

“Retail has been the forgotten sector,” said Buckley. “There’s a lot of focus on fiscal issues, employment incentives, exports, manufacturing, and very little focus on retail. Often, legislation is introduced in a way that suits manufacturing or exports.”

Frank Gleeson agreed: “We are a little bit forgotten about. Part of that is our fault. We have not been strong enough in our lobbying as an industry.

We need to be listened to.

Government concentrated on exports and banks.

September. If they haven’t addressed the issues by then, in terms of influencing the various departments where they are preparing budget submissions, they will be too late.”

Minister Perry told us

ISME CEO, Mark Fielding.

David Fitzsimons, CEO, Retail Excellence Ireland.

that civil servants will be working during August toward Budget 2015, keeping him abreast of the situation.

“I don’t want to say it’s a failure before it has even started, but I hope a couple of key issues around retail – the PRSI and retaining the 9%VAT rate – will be dealt with,” said Fitzsimons.

“I hope the Government will show some innovation around interventions to stimulate growth. Let’s wait and see. We’ve been calling for a Minister for Retail, but this is the next best thing.”

Government Not Doing Enough: Retail Index Frank Gleeson, Chairman, Retail Ireland.

Now they need to focus on domestic. Before, during and after the Forum, I spoke to a few of the senior civil servants. I think there’s a real willingness to work together. I haven’t seen that before. It’s probably because retailers are not as organised or as collaborative as other groups.

“When I talk to the people who represent the different cohorts of retail – David Fitzsimons, Vincent Jennings, Tara Buckley –we have more in common than anything else,” he added.

“We fight for our own groups, but when we pull together we’re way more powerful.”

Budget 2015 will be a barometer of the Forum’s success, believes Buckley: “Have they listened? They were well received by the chairperson. Are they going to be communicated back into the departments? The next meaning will be in

IRELAND’S retailers remain upbeat on the future but the overwhelming majority say the Government at local and national level is not doing enough to support the retail economy. Despite this, the majority are seeking growth and 55% of retailers have made a large investment in their business in the past three years.

These are among the key findings in the new One4all Retail Index, which tracks the views of retailers across Ireland, published to launch One4all Shoppers Week, which encourages consumers to spend the estimated €25 million of One4all Gift Cards currently in circulation.

72% of retailers who participated in the One4all Retail Index said that the current retail environment is very good to neutral and 38% say that consumer spending has increased in the past 12 months. A further 28% say spending is holding steady but 32% have decreased prices in order to keep customers. However, price competition remains tight and 56% are also offering more discounts and promotions in-store compared to 12 months ago.

The research, commissioned by One4all, also finds that aside from the general competition and the economy, cashflow and liquidity are the biggest challenges they face.

However, bankers and politicians are not to blame for the recession, as just 14% of retailers blame bankers and only 6% blamed politicians. Instead, poor regulation comes out as the single biggest cause of the recession, with more than one in five retailers blaming poor regulation.

“Retailers, like most businesses, have faced a really challenging time over the past few years,” commented One4all Group CEO, Michael Dawson. “Despite this, they have invested in their business and many are already experiencing growth, with over 30% increasing the numbers employed in the past 12 months and almost 50% maintaining employment levels. However, there is now an urgent need, as shown by our research findings, for Government at local and national level to reciprocate and support this vital part of our economy.”

6|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

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Plain Packaging Passed By Cabinet PLAIN packaging for cigarette packs moved a step closer, with the Cabinet passing draft legislation to ban branded cigarette and tobacco packaging in Ireland.

The Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014 effectively bans the use of any logos on packaging or on cigarettes themselves. Graphic warnings will be mandatory on all packaging, and terms such as “low tar” will be forbidden. The legislation will now go before the Seanad for approval. If enacted, Ireland will be the first EU member state to introduce plain packaging legislation.

Unsurprisingly, the move has been widely slammed by the tobacco industry.

Alan O'Kelly, Manager of Corporate Affairs for PJ Carroll (Dublin) said: “We are disappointed that the Irish Cabinet has approved Minister Reilly’s Plain Packaging draft Bill.

We are strongly opposed to plain packaging for our products.

There is no credible evidence that plain packaging will work in terms of stopping children taking up smoking or encouraging current smokers to quit.

“Instead, Minister Reilly’s plain packaging Bill will simply play into the hands of the criminals who are ready and waiting to supply people, regardless of their age, with cheap tobacco products.”

The tobacco industry has called for the publication of a Regulatory Impact Assessment on the draft legislation “to show how it intends to address the black market and intellectual property issues associated with plain packaging or how Irish retailers and small business owners would be affected. Rather than trying to push through this legislation, the Government should give further consideration to the evidence and drop this misguided policy,” BAT’s O’Kelly stated.

This call was echoed by JTI Ireland, who argue that “the RIA must review in detail the consequences, costs and benefits of the proposal”. “’Plain’ packaging is not as simple as it sounds, and that is why it is vital that we see what evidence the Government has for introducing it here in Ireland!” stated John Freda, General Manager of JTI Ireland. “Not only will ‘plain’ packaging have significant negative impact on business and Ireland’s reputation internationally as a protectorate of intellectual property rights, there is absolutely no credible evidence to suggest the measure will actually work and help reduce consumption amongst minors, or lead to any actual health benefits.”

O’Kelly cited the example of Australia, where plain packaging was introduced a year ago. “The experiment has failed and now some politicians have publicly said the measure should be reconsidered,” he noted. “There has been no impact on legal tobacco volumes in Australia, illicit tobacco sales have increased, and the steady decline in tobacco consumption that Australia had experienced in recent years has actually eased, not increased, since the introduction of plain packaging.”

The introduction of plain packaging also “fails to respect our minimum guaranteed rights on trade mark protection,” O’Kelly argued. “We are clearly not alone in this view regarding plain packaging. Five sovereign states – Indonesia, Cuba, Ukraine, Honduras and Dominican Republic - are challenging Australia’s plain packaging legislation at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). A WTO dispute panel has now been composed and the litigation phase of the dispute should commence shortly. In addition, 36 countries, the highest ever, have expressed an interest to observe and potentially contribute as third parties.”

If the Australian plain packaging legislation is found to be incompatible with the WTO obligations, Australia must amend its legislation or face possible sanctions, including trade-based retaliation. A final ruling is expected in the first

quarter of 2015.

Australia are conducting an official impact assessment on the impact of plain packaging legislation in December 2014, with JTI Ireland arguing that the Irish Government should wait until this is published before moving ahead with the legislation Indeed, the State may be required to compensate tobacco companies if the measures in the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill are enacted as companies would be deprived of the right to use their valuable trade-marks.

John Player has said that it will robustly defend its legitimate commercial right to utilise its trade marks to differentiate its brands from those of its legitimate competitors.

“People start smoking due to peer pressure and social influences and not due to branding. That is why plain packaging has not had any impact on smoking rates in Australia and it won’t in Ireland either,” stressed Deirdre Healy, Corporate Affairs Manager, John Player.

JTI Ireland are also looking into the possibility of legal action. “If implemented, it would deprive us of our property, removing our ability to differentiate our products from those of our competitors,” noted John Freda. “Therefore, we are currently considering all our options regarding a future legal challenge if ‘plain’ packaging legislation is enacted.”

AIB Merchant Services Accepts UnionPay Card AIB Merchant Services, a merchant acquiring joint venture between Allied Irish Banks plc and First Data Corporation, has become the first Irish merchant acquirer to add the Chinese card UnionPay to its list of available card schemes. AIBMS has signed an agreement with UnionPay International to provide Irish retailers and businesses with the ability to accept transactions made using UnionPay debit and credit cards.

Pictured at the launch of Chinese card UnionPay by AIB Merchant Services are (l-r): Jeremy Abbott, Head of UK & Ireland, UnionPay International, and Robert Doherty, Head of Product Management, AIB Merchant Services, with model Yomiko.

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|7

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New Protocol Needed for Bank Negotiations FOUR trade associations representing Irish SMEs have come together to send a clear message to the Government that the current basis on which negotiations between banks and small businesses in dealing with credit difficulties is not working.

RGDATA, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) and the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) issued a joint statement, noting that “While the Irish economy is beginning to recover from the worst recession experienced in a generation, a significant number of small, familyowned enterprises are still facing financial difficulties. There remains a pressing need to ensure that these difficulties are resolved in order to maximise the numbers employed in small enterprises across Ireland.

Regrettably, it has become clear to the bodies representing family businesses in key sectors that the action of some of the banks is actively damaging the recovery for some businesses.”

Acceptable compromise and viable solutions are not being reached, according to the statement. “In some instances, banks are imposing unreasonable conditions on customers seeking to refinance, which are just not achievable. This results in high levels of stress and anxiety for the business owner and their family. The breakdown of negotiations and appointment of receivers is a completely unacceptable outcome,” read the statement.

It called for the Government and Central Bank to ensure that engagement between these enterprises and the banking sector is undertaken with the primary objective of retaining the viability of the core business and keeping people in employment.

While acknowledging that all lenders must adhere to the existing Code of Conduct for Business Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises, the trade associations argued that the Code does not provide sufficient protection to a customer under pressure facing unreasonable demands from their bank. “The problem is particularly acute with the banks exiting the Irish market place, who are taking a very aggressive approach to seeking judgments and appointing receivers,” the statement explained.

To address this, the Group has outlined a protocol for the banks which, if implemented, will result in greater levels of co-operation, with more positive and sustainable outcomes for both the lender and borrower.

The Group’s key demands are: • Banks must seek resolutions that preserve the viability of the underlying business and maintain employment; • For all negotiations, a clearly identified point of contact in the bank must be agreed, who has responsibility for delivering a sustainable solution acceptable to both parties; • A dispute resolution/mediation service must be employed where banks and borrowers cannot reach agreement; • Agreements reached must be full and final.

“Viable business will close and jobs will be lost unless the banks are forced to change their approach to customers in distress,” stressed RGDATA Director

Pictured are Stephen Faughnan, IPOA, Tara Buckley, RGDATA, Noreen O’Sullivan, VFI and IFA President Eddie Downey.

General, Tara Buckley. “The problem is particularly acute with customers of foreign banks that are winding down their Irish businesses. All banks must be forced to be reasonable in trying to reach a resolution with co-operative customers. The banks should be stopped from driving retailers out of business through withdrawing credit facilities and rushing to forced sales.

It’s time the banks focused on helping not hindering these retailers who are the heart of the majority of town centres in Ireland.”

This comes just weeks after a group of 11 of the State’s foremost voices of industry, business and the retail and commercial sector demanded action by the Government to end upward only rent reviews. The group comprises the CSNA; Irish Commercial Tenants Association; Design & Crafts Council of Ireland; Irish Exporters Association; Irish Franchise Association; Irish Hotels Federation; ISME; Retail Excellence Ireland; Retail Ireland; RGDATA; Small Firms Association.

NFRN Campaign Achieves Rates Reduction A CAMPAIGN run by the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) Ireland in Athlone has resulted in a 2.5% reduction in business rates for 2014.

Candidates standing in the local elections found themselves being lobbied

by NFRN Ireland members to support calls for a rate

relief scheme. To help members push for the new scheme, NFRN Ireland widely distributed a poster for retailers to display prominently in-store.

Among those targeted was Councillor Kevin Moran when he visited Martin Mulligan’s Athlone store.

“Councillor Moran called

to my shop in full support of our poster campaign,” said Martin Mulligan. “Since the NFRN campaign was launched, Athlone Town Council has agreed a 2.5 % reduction in business rates for 2014 and Councillor Moran is campaigning hard for a further 2.5 % reduction in the business rates for

2015. This is great news for every business in the town as all will benefit. A wonderful achievement for the NFRN.” The rate relief scheme is similar to that in Northern Ireland where big businesses pay more so that some relief can be provided to small businesses and independent retailers.

8|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

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SuperValu GAA Winning Tastes of Summer SUPERVALU, proud sponsor of the GAA Football All Ireland Championship, have teamed up with Dublin’s Bernard Brogan, Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh, Monaghan’s Dick Clerkin and celebrity chef Kevin Dundon to create the ‘GAA Winning Tastes of Summer’, a selection of favourite recipes made from quality produce that the GAA stars have compiled to share with fans for the Championship ahead.

The recipes are drawn from the players’ childhood memories of food that they associate with the GAA, along with tried and tested recipes that they use to prepare for a big match and their favourite treat dish that they cook up to celebrate a win. Kevin Dundon also shares his own ‘GAA Winning Taste of Summer’ sandwich that reminds him of great GAA occasions.

SuperValu are calling on GAA fans and foodies alike to replicate the recipes and tweet their efforts using #SVwinningtaste to be in with a chance to win fantastic prizes throughout the Championship. Prizes include a VIP trip to the All-Ireland Final, a weekend stay in Dunbrody House, along with SuperValu shopping vouchers, food hampers and many more.

Dublin footballer, Bernard Brogan

said, “My ‘GAA Winning Taste of Summer’ dish is Cottage Pie with sweet potato topping, which I usually cook after big Championship games or I am partial to a traditional dinner of Roast Chicken with roast potatoes and vegetables. I’m no chef but I am particular about the Pictured at the launch of GAA Winning Tastes of Summer are (l-r): source and quality of my food, so it was celebrity chef and SuperValu ambassador Kevin Dundon, Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh, Dublin’s Bernard Brogan and Monaghan’s Dick great to meet up Clerkin. with Kevin Dundon roll or a Sunday roast. My own choice today to get tips is a nostalgic one from my childhood on how to make the most of the fresh and reminds me of the excitement and local produce available at SuperValu. I build-up to heading up to Croke Park am looking forward to giving Sean and with my family. We wanted to work Dick’s recipes a go and hopefully people with our GAA stars to share their ‘GAA will try them out at home over the Winning Taste of Summer’ with a little summer season.” twist with fans, and hopefully people SuperValu ambassador and will feel inspired to give them a go celebrity chef, Kevin Dundon said, throughout the Championship.”

“Everybody has a meal or snack A range of recipes will be made that they associate with the GAA available on SuperValu.ie over the Championship, whether it is the reliable ham sandwich, the breakfast coming weeks.

Major Success at IGBF Dublin Region Golf Outing

IGBF President of Appeals Willie O’Byrne is pictured receiving a cheque for €53,000 from Leonard Hegarty at the IGBF Dublin Region Golf Outing.

THE Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund Dublin Region Golf Outing held at Palmerstown Stud Golf Course on May 22, proved to be a major success in the fundraising efforts of the IGBF. With over 200 golfers supporting the event, a total of over €50,000 was raised on the day, which will aid the IGBF in supporting families in distress. Following an extremely competitive day’s golfing, the overall winners were Team Heineken.

World Retail Congress 2014 THE World Retail Congress 2014 takes place in Paris from September 29 to October 1, focusing on the unprecedented changes affecting retailing around the globe. This year’s programme will feature over 130 senior retail industry leaders who will all be addressing the impact of what are described as “disruptive” new technologies and new retail competitors who are adopting new approaches to retailing.

“With ecommerce expected to grow by over 100% in all key markets of the world over the next five years and with mobile becoming an important part of that, retailers are telling us that there has never been such a period of change in the history of retailing,” noted Ian McGarrigle, Founder and Chairman of the World Retail Congress.

“It is clear that the industry will look very different in the next 10 years and so this

year’s Congress will provide an important platform for retailers to hear about the impact of this change and what they need to do to ensure their business stays relevant and successful.”

The Congress has already confirmed a prestigious list of speakers across the three-day event, including: • Michael Ullman, CEO, JC Penney: • Mike Gould, Former Chairman, Bloomingdale’s; • Ayana Parsons, Head of Retail, World Economic Forum; • Dr Ira Kalish, Chief Global Economist, Deloitte; • Joe Tripodi, Global CMO, The Coca-Cola Company; • Robin Terrell, Group Multi-Channel Director, Tesco; • Mohamed Elsarky, President International, Godiva Chocolatier.

For more information, see www.worldretailcongress.com

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|9

News XL Plans 30 New Store Openings in 2014 THE XL retail brand is planning to add 30 new stores to its network by the end of the year as part of its new growth strategy for 2014/2015. The 30 new stores will be located across the country, and by yearend there are expected to be 240 stores in total, providing employment to approximately 2,500 people locally. The brand has added 90 stores over the past three years, making it the fastest growing retail brand in Ireland.

Making the announcement, John Moane, Managing Director, BWG Food’s Wholesale Division, said, “Our strategy is focused on empowering our network of independent retailers, giving them the support and buying power of one of Ireland’s largest wholesale groups, while ensuring the XL brand stays close to its roots in local, community retailing.

“We continue to invest in the XL network at supply

Willie O’Byrne, Managing Director, BWG Foods, announces XL’s ambitious growth plans for 2014.

level,” he added, “through the continued upgrade of the nationwide Value Centre network, and at store level, through enhanced technology solutions, category management tools, and promotional support.

It’s this commitment to continued investment which is helping the brand go from strength to strength.”

BWG Foods Managing Director, Willie O’Byrne, added, “We have set out an ambitious growth strategy which we feel is achievable in line with improving market conditions and because XL is a very attractive proposition to independent operators. XL has proven itself to be a very resilient brand, continually

evolving alongside consumer expectations, and we will remain focused on the price and value agenda, which has been a key determinant of XL’s success to date.”

BWG Foods also said it would be continuing the very successful ’Enhance Your Store’ initiative, through which the company contributes up to 50% towards the cost of individual store upgrades.

It also revealed plans to prioritise the roll-out of a new deli concept, which since its introduction has resulted in 15% uplift in category sales.

The announcement follows the annual XL Retail Forum, Making it Happen’, where over 200 attendees gathered to hear from BWG Foods’ management about plans for the brand over the next 12 months. The company also announced the appointment of 10 retailers to the newly established XL Retail Council.

Grocery Market Continues to Grow THE latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, for the 12 weeks ending May 25, show the Irish grocery market continuing its recent return to growth. Among the large retailers, Dunnes has recorded the strongest sales performance, while Aldi and Lidl continue to grow market share.

“A gradual increase in the cost of food and drink has helped push price inflation to 2.6%, a record for 2014, which has increased the amount shoppers are spending at the tills and has kept the grocery market in growth,” noted David Berry, Commercial Director at Kantar Worldpanel.

Dunnes is the only one of the big three retailers to grow its sales this period, albeit by a relatively modest 0.7%. “Its clear strategy of offering ‘round euro’ promotional offers is appealing strongly to price-conscious consumers,” Berry explained. “Some 30% of Dunnes’ in-store sales are now sold on a round euro deal – up from just over 20% a year ago.”

Aldi and Lidl have both maintained their impressive double digit growth

Total Take Home Grocery - Ireland Consumer Spend Total Grocers Total Multiples Tesco Dunnes Total SuperValu SuperValu Superquinn Total Discounters Aldi Lidl Other Outlets**

12 Weeks to 26 May 2013 %*

12 Weeks to 25 May 2014 %*

change** %

100.0% 88.5% 28% 21.5% 25.2% 19.6% 5.6% 13.7% 6.7% 7.1% 11.5%

100.0% 88.4% 26.3% 21.4% 24.8% 15.9% 8.0% 7.9% 11.6%

1.4 1.3 -4.7 0.7 -0.1 17.2 21.6 13.2 1.7

*= Percentage Share of Total Grocers **= Includes stores such as M&S, Boots, Spar, Centra, Greengrocers, Butchers And Cross Border shops

at 21.6% and 13.2% respectively. Aldi’s record share of 8% is held from last month while Lidl has reached a new record high of 7.9%.

SuperValu’s sales remain in line with last year, with a slight dip in market share from 25.2% to 24.8%.

Tesco continues to perform behind its main competitors, but the retailer’s sales have improved since the decline of almost 7% seen at the end of

2013. “Interestingly, both retailers have succeeded in recruiting new shoppers this month,” Berry revealed.

“SuperValu has gained 32,000 additional shoppers and in so doing has recorded a seventh consecutive month of footfall growth. Tesco’s additional 12,000 customers is more modest, but the trend over the past year has been one of losing shoppers, so this is a welcome change for the retailer.”

10|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

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Centra Fermoy Manager Wins Top Award

Kate Walsh, store manager of Herlihy’s Centra, Fermoy, Co. Cork, shows off her NACS Insight International Store Manager of the Year Award.

KATE Walsh, store manager of Herlihy’s Centra in Fermoy, Cork has won the 2014 NACS Insight International Store Manager of the Year Award. She beat off stiff competition from store managers from the very best convenience stores across the globe.

The award was presented during the 2014 NACS Insight Convenience

Summit in London on June 4. NACS is the international association for convenience retailing and these awards recognise excellence in convenience retailing from around the world.

Walsh has worked at the Herlihy Group for more than seven years and has progressed through the ranks as grocery manager to assistant manager,

and then from fresh food manager to her current role as store manager, which she assumed in April 2013.

She studied food business and completed a trainee management program with Musgrave as part of a work placement opportunity.

A diploma in human resources, meanwhile, has provided insight into people management and the

skills to motivate and lead a team.

Judges found that Walsh’s knowledge and training in the fresh food arena has given her the key skills to develop the business.

Proud winner, Kate Walsh thanked her teams for their continued support over the years. “I am absolutely delighted to be crowned International Store Manager of the year - it’s almost hard to comprehend,” she said. “As with all retail stores, we face increased competition, along with value driven and time sensitive shoppers.

We tackle these issues head-on and achieve so much more by bringing the team together to fulfill the local community’s needs.

Each member of my team has personally contributed to this win, by leading by example and taking immense pride in serving our customers.”

Musgrave MarketPlace Introduces Multi-Temperature Delivery Fleet MUSGRAVE MarketPlace have announced a major upgrade of its delivery fleet. The €8m investment will see Musgrave MarketPlace introduce 55 new multi-temperature trucks to its fleet, significantly reducing the company’s carbon footprint and facilitating highfrequency nationwide coverage.

The new multi-temperature fleet will allow Musgrave MarketPlace to deliver ambient, frozen and fresh food liquor and non-food products in a single delivery. The company’s vehicles supply products to all of its 10 MarketPlace cash and carry outlets nationwide. In addition to its sixdays-per-week delivery service, the company also offers a customer collect and online service.

“This is the largest investment made by Musgrave MarketPlace in our delivery fleet to date, underlining our

commitment to ensuring a timely, quality service to our customers,” said Paul Kerrigan, Director, Musgrave MarketPlace.

“It means that we can now offer Ireland’s widest wholesale range of over 12,000 products, to our 40,000 customers nationwide with an even greater efficiency.”

Barry O’Neill, Supply Chain Director, Musgrave MarketPlace, added, “The improvements Pictured are (l-r): Barry O’Neill, Supply Chain Director, to our network are Musgrave MarketPlace; and Paul Kerrigan, Director, a very important Musgrave MarketPlace. part of delivering on investing to deliver on our brand our commitment to promise of ‘first for value, first for customers in providing unrivalled choice and first for service’.” quality and value. We are continually

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|11

Tax & Finance

Pension & Succession Planning for Retailers contributions as an expense.

Furthermore, the level of contributions paid by the company in any particular year can be significantly higher than personal pension contributions.

When retiring, you can take 25% of your pension fund in a tax-free lump sum, subject to the particular pension scheme.

Certain tax implications apply when the lump payment exceeds €200k. Regarding the balance Director: Martin Hyland, Director: Derek Keating, of fund, there are a number of ACCA, AITI Chartered Tax Adviser, BBS, ACA, options available.

Tax Accounting Ireland.

Tax Accounting Ireland.

TAX relief is provided on a working director for 10 years Succession Planning contributions to approved up to the date of disposal, five Capital Gains Tax (CGT) personal pensions. This relief is years of which must be full time.

Retirement Relief: S.599 of the more generous as you get older, When disposing of an asset like TCA 97’ provides relief from which is calculated on your net a retail premises owned by you CGT where an individual is relevant earnings subject to a personally, but it was actually disposing of chargeable business limit of €115k. used by the company, the assets to a “child” under current When it comes to company disposal of the asset may also legislation. Certain conditions pensions, company contributions qualify for CGT retirement relief. apply, such as, 55 or over, must on behalf of Directors/staff Capital Acquisition Tax be of qualifying assets held for 10 are not treated as a BIK and (CAT) Business Relief enables years, transfer at market value, the company can offset anyHP PressAd-v2_Layout 0314-TAI01 Retail News 1 30/03/2014 15:47 Page your1 child to reduce the value current shareholders must be

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BUSINESS & TAXATION CONSULTANTS

of a relevant gift/inheritance of business property by 90% of its taxable value under current legislation. Business property is considered certain shares and property used within the business subject to conditions.

The balance of 10%, which is subject to CAT paid by your children, can be reduced by the lifetime tax free group threshold, which currently stands at €225,000 regarding parent to child. There is also a system of clawback of CGT and business relief, however, where the child disposes of an asset within six years of the date of acquisition from his/her parent.

This is a brief overview.

Therefore, if you require further information please do not hesitate to contact us at: Tax Accounting Ireland, 32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2. Tel: (01)6624977 or at our email/website detailed below.

Our mission is to add value to our clients business in an efficient and cost effective manner whilst maintaining high professional standards.

Our Services include: 4 Accounting, auditing, computerised bookkeeping, monthly/quarterly management accounts, full inhouse payroll and taxation advice in the food & beverage and retail industries especially in the ownermanaged sector.

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We have over 25 years’ experience in industry & practice with a high level of involvement with each client. For further details please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website.

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12|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News New SPAR Ad Campaign SPAR is launching a new TV Ad for its latest ‘EuroCrunch’ campaign, as part of a €900,000 marketing investment by brand owner BWG Foods. The new ad campaign, ‘Get Your Life Back’, is themed around the convenience of shopping in SPAR stores and highlights the brand’s adaptability to busy lifestyles without hurting the pocket. The ad portrays a number of SPAR customers embracing their individual lifestyle activities, from water-skiing to bird watching, while encouraging viewers to embrace shopping, not as a chore, but as an effortless everyday occurrence which can fit seamlessly into their daily routines. “We wanted the campaign and the new TV advertisement, in particular, to reflect the modern meaning of convenience shopping in Ireland. As shopping habits evolve in line with people’s lifestyles, SPAR continues to advance the convenience offer, while maintaining an overall focus on value,” said Suzanne Weldon, Marketing & Communications Director at BWG Foods, pictured with Ken Mackay, SPAR Monkstown, and Willie O’Byrne, MD, BWG Foods.

CORK & KERRY FOOD FORUM Super Sausage Sales Ahead AN exciting event to promote Cork and Kerry food and artisan producers in the Region was launched recently by a partnership including the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) Cork & Kerry, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Bord Bia and SuperValu. The Cork and Kerry Food Forum will take place in City Hall Cork on Monday, June 30, 2014, with a showcase of artisan produce from all over Cork and Kerry, from unique cheeses to farm fresh herbs, confectionery, meat and fish products, as well as cookery demonstrations with celebrity chef and SuperValu ambassador, Kevin Dundon. The event also includes a conference for food producers, opened by Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Simon Coveney TD, to discuss opportunities in food retail, consumer trends and the new Food Academy Start Programme. The programme is a national joint initiative led by SuperValu, Bord Bia and the LEOs, aimed at supporting and nurturing start-up food businesses.

Speakers from Bord Bia and SuperValu will also be on hand to share their insights to food businesses and food retail. Pictured are Kenneth O’Connor, SuperValu, Miriam Crowley, Kinsale Gourmet, Michael Reynolds, Kenmare Living Foods, and Deirdre O’Mahony, LEO North Cork.

SUPERVALU expects to sell €14m worth of Superquinn sausages in 2014, after making four new products available in response to popular demand.

In addition to the popular Superquinn sausage 12-pack, SuperValu stores have now also begun to sell Superquinn sausage meat, Superquinn pork jumbo and cocktail sausages and Superquinn pork sausage burgers. Since the introduction of the Superquinn sausage to SuperValu stores last October, sales have doubled and 30 tonnes of sausages are sold each week. As a result of the four new lines being introduced, this is expected to rise to 35 tonnes per week. Emil Gajewska, SuperValu Butcher, is pictured with the famous Superquinn sausages.

€30m Investment at Green Isle Foods

450 New Jobs at Aldi

GREEN Isle Foods is to make a significant investment of €30m across its operations in Ireland, which will result in an additional 115 jobs over the next five years. As a result of this investment, an additional 50 jobs will be created at the company’s pizza production facility in Longford and an additional 65 jobs in its pastry production plant in Portumna. Further growth will be supported across its operations following on from the announcement. This investment also secures the jobs of the 700 people currently employed by Green Isle, part of the 2 Sisters Food Group. Pictured are (l-r): Minister for Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD, and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, with Eddie Power, Managing Director, Green Isle Foods.

ALDI Stores (Ireland) is seeking to recruit 450 new employees in 2014.

The new roles will be created nationwide, as Aldi continues to expand its store network, building on the momentum which has seen the retailer grow year on year sales by over 22% to capture 8% of the Irish grocery market (Source: Kantar Worldpanel 12 w/e April 27, 2014). “We expect to build further on the sustained growth we have achieved in the last few years, opening a further seven stores and hiring an additional 450 employees in 2014,” said Niall O’Connor, Managing Director, Aldi Mitchelstown Region.

Opportunities are now available at Aldi for Area Manager, Store Manager, Assistant Store Manager and Store Assistant positions.

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14|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News Centra Picnic in the Sky! CENTRA officially unveiled its new gourmet sandwich range by hosting Ireland’s first Picnic in the Sky! during the June Bank Holiday weekend, elevating groups of diners 100 feet above Dublin.

Centra took this fresh approach to a traditional picnic to showcase its new All Day Fresh range, which was sampled by special guests right throughout the afternoon. The launch party saw over 100 diners elevated by a 120 tonne crane and strapped into race car style seats (similar to a roller-coaster) and lifted into the clouds for a once-in-alifetime dining experience at The Point Village, Dublin. The picnic table, weighing seven tonnes, was themed with a festival atmosphere as guests were treated to a selection of tasting plates, which included Centra’s new mouth-watering slow cooked pulled pork bap and its chicken, brie and roast pepper diamond roll, all available in Centra stores nationwide. “This new gourmet range takes our current offering to new heights, and we wanted a launch to match,” said Martin Kelleher, Centra MD. “Substantial research and development has gone into this new innovative All Day Fresh concept, with projected sales of the dinner and lunch ranges expected to reach €14m within the first year alone.”

THE TASTE OF SUCCESS KitKat Joins Nescafé to TO NET €100K PRIZE Simon’s Delight RTÉ One and Lidl Ireland have launched an incredible new competition that could net the winner a prize worth at least €100,000, including a massive €50,000 in cash for coming up with the next great Irish food product. A new RTÉ One series, The Taste of Success, will see members of the public and local producers compete to get their unique food product on the shelves of Lidl Ireland’s 140 supermarkets. “This is a life changing prize,” said Lidl brand ambassador Paul Flynn (pictured). “And it’s testament to the passion Lidl have for Irish food. This is a massive investment and commitment to Irish producers.”

The competition is open to anyone at all who has a wonderful food idea. Your unique food product could net you a prize worth at least €100,000. This includes a €50,000 cash prize, a 3% royalty on the product while it’s listed in Lidl (for a minimum of six months, to a value of at least €25,000 but potentially more if the product continues to sell) and €25,000 product development and marketing support. For more information, see www.rte.ie/food or follow on @RTEfood.

A Fresh Approach to Gourmet FRESH supermarkets are joining culinary forces with Italian Chef, Nico Olivieri, to launch an exclusive range of ‘Artisan Kitchen’ Irish-made eat-in gourmet meals. From cinnamon-infused Chilli con Carne to Vibrant Vegetarian Paella, the new ‘Artisan Kitchen’ range features an extensive list of colourful recipes and healthy ingredients; offering a modern twist on classic cuisine. Noel Smith of Fresh is pictured with Italian Chef, Nico Olivieri at the launch of the exclusive ‘Artisan Kitchen’ range.

NESTLÉ Ireland is renewing its relationship with the Dublin and Cork Simon Communities and from this month, will provide its iconic KitKat in addition to Nescafé Gold Blend coffee to Simon.

Since 2009, Nestlé Ireland has provided over two million cups of Nescafé for Dublin and Cork Simon Community clients as part of the ‘Food for Simon’ programme.Dublin and Cork Simon provide the care, accommodation and support for people experiencing homelessness and those at risk. Pictured at Chester House High Support Housing Simon service are Deirdre O’Donoghue, Country Manager, Nestlé Ireland, and Sam McGuinness, Chief Executive Officer, Dublin Simon Community.

Rain Won’t Dampen Irish BBQ Spirit TWO thirds of Irish consumers don’t let the rain dampen their spirits during BBQ season, according to new research from Bord Bia. Over half of those surveyed (56%) opt to cook outdoors but eat indoors when the rain threatens to pour and only 10% have cancelled their BBQ due to the weather. The research coincides with the launch of new season lamb, with Bord Bia encouraging consumers to consider barbequing or cooking Bord Bia Quality Assured lamb for a range of delicious everyday meals. Summer is often considered a time to enjoy lighter, healthier fare and BBQs are seen as a healthy way to dine for 68% of the respondents with many (60%) choosing to cook meats such as Quality Assured lamb and including wholesome salads and vegetables on the day.

Olympic Sprinter and Winner of Celebrity Masterchef 2013, David Gillick and celebrated food blogger and fitness enthusiast, Roz Purcell are pictured celebrating the start of the BBQ season with Bord Bia Quality Assured Lamb.

16|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News BWG EXPANDS OWN BRAND RANGE WITH DAILY BAKE DEAL BWG Foods has announced the launch of a new own brand range in partnership with Armagh-based company Daily Bake in a deal expected to be worth €1m over 12 months. Opening as a family business in 1988, Daily Bake offer freshly prepared convenience foods from locally sourced ingredients using traditional recipes. The company will supply fresh dinners and desserts across all BWG Foods’ retail brands spanning SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE and XL. The announcement was made following

a trade event in BWG’s bespoke 35,000 square feet Kilshane Cross facility in North Dublin, where Daily Bake, along with 50 suppliers from across the country, were given access to sell to up to 300 retailers from every county in Ireland. “We are delighted to be partnering with Daily Bake as we look to expand our increasingly popular own brand range,” noted Willie O’Byrne, Managing Director, BWG Foods. ”Their emphasis on fresh, locally sourced ingredients is what really appealed to

us in looking for a supplier who could provide home-cooked style food, which is affordable and fits with our ethos of quality convenience.” Willie is pictured (right) with Leo Crawford, Group Chief Executive, BWG Group (left) and Johnny Stinson, Managing Director Daily Bake.

GeoPal Mobile Technology SuperValu Award for for Field Sales Reps Food Microbiology A NEW technological innovation could impact on your sales force.

GeoPal is a cloud service and mobile app for companies that need to manage a field-based workforce and is ideal for the food and drinks industry. Their web based solution immediately improves productivity, reduces administration costs, eliminates paperwork and gives clear visibility in real time where field staff are located. Their software’s API suite is also designed to easily integrate with a variety of IT systems for reporting invoicing and CRM or ERP requirements. It is a very competitive pay-as-you-go model with no up-front capital expenditure. GeoPal also provides lone worker protection for outdoor field staff. Their mobile app will raise a panic alarm status check or detect non-movement, which could indicate an employee has been immobilised by a fall or illness. The service is available on a free trial for 30 days. For more information, contact John Kerins on 087 2427405, email sales@skytext.ie or visit www.geopalsolutions.com.

Tesco Ireland Removes Sweets from Checkouts TESCO Ireland is to to remove sweets and chocolates from all checkouts by the end of the year across all 146 stores in an initiative to support a healthier Ireland. Tesco Ireland is the only retailer in Ireland to commit to having all checkouts sweet free. “Our customers have made it clear to us that removing sweets and chocolates from checkouts will help them to make healthier choices so we are responding to this,” noted Tesco Ireland CEO, Phil J Clarke (pictured). “We all know how easy it is to be tempted by unhealthy treats at the checkout. We are striving to reduce calories in our soft drinks, sandwiches and ready meals by introducing new ranges and changing recipes to reduce their sugar and fat content. At present, over 65% of our checkouts are sweet-free and are now extending this to all our checkouts by the end of December to make a real difference to all the customers we serve on a daily basis.”

SUPERVALU has presented the inaugural SuperValu Award for Excellence in Food Microbiology to James O’Shea at a ceremony at University College Cork (UCC).

This collaboration with the School of Microbiology, UCC, is intended to acknowledge the high standard of research being done by UCC scientists across a range of food microbiology areas. The award was presented to James, who is currently completing a Masters in Food Microbiology, for his work to investigate the ability of food ingredients to modify the community of bacteria in the human gut, the so-called microbiota. This is of particular relevance to the food industry because of the potential health benefits. As part of his award, James will receive a bursary of €2,000 from SuperValu to continue his work in this area. Pictured are (l-r): Professor Gerald Fitzgerald, Head of UCC’s School of Microbiology; award winner James O’Shea and Ray Bowe, Head of Food Safety & Quality at SuperValu.

Rosderra Celebrates Origin Green Membership ROSDDERRA Irish Meats Group recently became the first Irish pork processors to be verified as full members of Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Simon Coveney TD recognised and thanked Rosderra Irish Meats for their commitment to Origin Green and the leadership they have shown, during a visit to the company’s head office in Edenderry, Co. Offaly. “We now have the biggest player by far in the pig industry signing up and committing to a sustainable programme and a continuously improving audit based system, which is exactly what we need to do as a food producing country,” the Minister noted. Pictured are (l-r): Niall Leydon, Operations Director, Michael Slevin, HR Director, Minister Simon Coveney TD, Jim Hanley, CEO, and Andrew Flemming, Finance Director.

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18|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Shop Profile

A New Retail Vision for Glasthule John Prendergast’s newly revamped SPAR store in Dublin’s Glasthule has brought a new retail vision to the Dublin suburb.

Store owner John Prendergast, pictured inside the Glasthule store.

Retail News travelled to Glasthule on the southside of Dublin to meet John Prendergast and find out how a revamp of his shop has radically transformed his entire business model and helped him to fully implement an entirely new vision for his store.

In the 10 years since John Prendergast first opened his shop in The Forum on Glasthule Road in Dublin, he built up a strong loyal local trade. In 2012, however, John began to think very seriously about the future, he tells Retail News: “When I was thinking about where the business would go in the future, I paid very careful consideration to the impact that discounters like Aldi and Lidl have had on the Irish market. Since they entered the market, they have changed their business model: they are not a pure discounter anymore and they are stocking more and more Irish produced lines. Combined with that, I had to consider the reaction of the Irish multiples. As a relatively small local shop, I simply cannot compete on a pure price proposition with those organisations,” admits the store owner.

The Perfect Partner In order to survive in an extremely competitive market, John chose to differentiate his business significantly from the competition. After consultation with a host of possible partners, John chose SPAR as his symbol group partner for this project, despite having traded for a decade with another symbol.

“I was making a huge change to my business with this project,” he reveals. ”I was very happy working with

my previous symbol partner, but I had to investigate all opportunities and after extensive discussions, I felt that SPAR was the best fit as a partner for this project.”

Glasthule is a relatively affluent neighbourhood and it has more of a village feel to it than that of a suburb of a large city. John thought long and hard about his community and his customers and what they would need and want from his shop, not just today, but as economic recovery becomes more widespread.

John’s SPAR is not just a shop anymore: it is a café, a post office, an off licence, but more than all of that, it is a blend of quality and value that has created a genuinely unique selling point that he can deliver straight to the heart of his community.

Attention To Detail From the moment visitors approach the front of the shop, which is decorated with street furnishing and large leafy potted plants, they are left in no doubt that they are approaching quality. The SPAR and Insomnia branding at the front of the shop blend together eloquently and the introduction of the Insomnia element, with fully trained barista, has allowed John to offer his customers high quality refreshments, with a comfortable 20-seat café area for customers to enjoy those treats.

John and the SPAR store design team examined absolutely every aspect of the shop and its layout during the development. The shop’s deli was moved further forward, adjacent to the Insomnia section, creating an attractive and

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|19

Shop Profile

Carmen Iriminiciu, Store Manager, SPAR Glasthule.

extremely functional ‘food to go’ area.

Wrapped around the café is an extremely attractive and well stocked fresh fruit and vegetable display.

Food to go and fresh fruit and veg have always sold well in the shop and although John had a desire to introduce new elements to the store, he was just as keen to retain all the elements that had allowed him to build up his loyal customer base during the previous decade.

To that end, he continued trading right throughout the redevelopment, despite the fact that this was far more than a revamp. “There was a lot of disruption during the development because we moved every part of the shop around,” he explains, “but I was loathe to close the door on my customers. This is their community shop and without their support and loyalty, I would have very little left.

The customers were great and even during the height of the disruption, we never had a week where sales were down by more than 20% on where they would otherwise have been.”

The off licence and post office have been moved to the rear of the shop.

Since the vast majority of John’s trade is repeat custom, it was a deliberate decision to move those areas. With the deli and Insomnia “impulse” elements located towards the front, the post office and off licence deliver strong

footfall, even located at the back of the shop.

Strong Ambient Grocery Offering Despite the addition of a number of new elements to the shop, John lost minimal retail space in the redevelopment. In fact, given the huge array of elements and services offered, the shop still serves up a very strong selection of ambient grocery.

“To be a local shop, I need to serve local people,” he explains. “Obviously, the emphasis in the shop has changed but I still wanted to offer my customers everything they were used to. My intention was to create a better shop for my customers and working with SPAR, I really have been able to do that.”

John has made a significant investment in his business and more than anything else, has thought about the needs of his customers. Along with his symbol group partner, he has created a local shop that really is at the heart of its community.

The final element is the people and personalities that populate the shop.

John, his management team and his staff all reflect this commitment to their customers and John’s undeniable love of the community. Indeed, the well trained, professional and polite staff deliver the ethos of superior quality and service to every single visitor to the shop.

Owner:

John Prendergast

Location:

The Forum, Glasthule Road, Co. Dublin

Size:

2,100 square feet

Number of staff:

20

Opening Hours:

07:00-22:00, Monday - Sunday

20|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Retail News Interview

Breaking Brands

David O’Neill, Managing Director, SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland, discusses the buoyancy of the FMCG sector, the importance of brands to Irish consumers and the various elements needed to ‘break’ a brand in Ireland.

SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland has more than 35 years’ experience of growing brands across a range of categories. Through the harsh trading conditions of the last five years, they have remained a dominant player in the delivery of outsourcing, sales, distribution, and business support services. Indeed, more and more businesses are turning to companies like SHS to gain an edge and capitalise on their channel expertise and proven ability to improve brand performance.

David O’Neill, MD, SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland, discusses some of the big issues facing Ireland’s FMCG market in 2014 and beyond.

Do you think that the Government is doing enough in terms of helping Ireland’s FMCG market?

The sector can be impacted upon by such a wide range of government policies or by various taxes, depending on the nature of the product and where it is being produced, stored and packaged; even how it is being transported and the extent of the distribution network that is being utilised will have an impact. What I can say is that Government is aware of the scale of the FMCG market; there are individuals and organisations directly linked with the FMCG sector who are regularly lobbying elected representatives on a wide variety of issues, to ensure that policies take account of the challenges within the sector.

Have we bottomed out? Are we starting to see a resurgent FMCG market? Why do you think this is?

There is no doubt Irish consumers are becoming more shrewd in their shopping habits but the sector is buoyant. With convenience buying, for example, shoppers are no longer simply top-up shopping. They expect to see leading brands across all store formats and at competitive price points. This trend has prompted retailers and suppliers alike to revisit how they can maximise value and develop promotions which satisfy bargain hunters, without impacting heavily on already tight margins such as ‘Big Night In’.

The rise of discounter stores in Ireland has also increased the pressure. Aldi and Lidl, for example, now control over 15% share of the Irish market, more than twice their share of the UK market, according to Kantar data. The reality is that local brand owners and distributors have not yet forged the same trading relationships with these accounts and in many instances are likely to find it difficult to do so.

How can we improve consumer confidence to ensure Irish consumers start to spend again?

Although there are signs that the economy is in recovery, continued instability is driving consumer spend into discounters such as Aldi, with shopper behaviour towards

‘deal-hunting’ becoming the norm.

In parallel to this, shoppers are increasingly demanding ‘value’, which isn’t necessarily just about price, but also about accessing the brands and pack sizes shoppers wish to purchase when they want to buy them. However, where retailers are able to offer value and service for customers, these trends are having a positive impact on the convenience channel, which has seen growth in the last year. This growth is anticipated to continue.

The SHS Group has been in business since 1975, so presumably your longevity stands you in good stead when dealing with the inevitable ups and downs of the market?

The art of good business, it is said, is to be a good middleman. While that may ring true for others, the SHS Group has rewritten the rulebook for getting top brands into the hands of eager consumers. Founded in 1975, the Belfast-based firm set out its ambition from day one to become a major player in the FMCG market. A string of deals with some major brands such as Colgate-Palmolive and Jordans Cereals quickly underlined the sales and marketing company’s potential to be much more than a middle cog between the producers and end-users.

Today, the SHS Group commands a turnover in the region of £400m; employs more than 700 staff across the UK and Ireland and enjoys regular placing on The Sunday Times Fast

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|21

Retail News Interview Track list of top performing companies, all achieved while remaining a family owned business with its roots firmly in Belfast.

What advantages does being part of the SHS Group bring to your business?

Being part of a Group that is both a brand owner and sales & marketing specialist gives SHS Sales & Marketing a unique perspective, particularly in recognising and adapting to changing trends. Buyers and brand owners recognise the value of the unique service and solutions that we provide and how we can help forge relationships with key decision-makers and generate reliable market insight.

What does SHS offer clients that sets it apart from competitors?

In tough times, brand owners are working harder to secure shelf space and deliver greater value in already

“Whether you believe we are seeing the green shoots of recovery or that the worst is still to come, brands with a great story to tell and who continue to invest in the Irish FMCG sector through tough times will always emerge the stronger.” competitive channels. To gain an edge, many are collaborating with specialists such as SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland, which provides outsourcing, sales, distribution and business support. We not only allow brands to tap into our wealth of resources and experience, but also to access established relationships with buyers and retailers. SHS Sales & Marketing are also able to utilise our business support expertise to manage all the functional elements, such as finance and credit control, to ensure excellent customer service. Our strategy relies on a deep understanding of consumer

trends and ensuring brand visibility is fully optimised with effective instore ranging, merchandising and compliance checking.

We carefully evaluate market changes and shifts and respond strongly to position brands in the right way and in the right places so they reach their target audiences.

We know the pressures in the FMCG sector.

That’s why we invest time, working closely with brand owners in developing bespoke solutions that generate results and value for money.

Considering the growth of private label in the last few years, can brands be brought SHS Sales & Marketing manages a wide portfolio of brands including Bottlegreen, which is owned by its parent company. back to a position of make your business more efficient and real strength in the keep you informed of key promotions, market? in order to stay competitive and drive Private label will always have a place sales. Keeping your brand visible onin the consumer’s basket but equally, shelf in the multiples and convenience brands will continue to grow from stores around the country takes time strength to strength, driven primarily and effort and many brands simply through the high levels of investment don’t have the capabilities to achieve carried our by the brand owners to this. Many brand owners choose to ensure the consumer is receiving a collaborate with sales and marketing quality trusted brand at a fair price specialists to outsource their sales, SHS Sales & Marketing manages a wide portfolio of brands in the household, healthcare, grocery, soft drinks and alcohol categories – including brands owned by its parent company such as WKD, Shloer, Bottlegreen and Cara matches. It is also one of the few Irish companies that can offer a full British Isles solution, enabling brands to grow across markets rather than just within categories and channels. The company’s strong performance in Ireland has seen it grow its portfolio of well-known client brands, including Askeys, Cricket, Deep Heat, J&J, Jordans, Juvela, Mars Consumer Drinks, Orangina, Snapple, Ryvita, Savlon, Tommee Tippee, Twinings and many more.

What is involved in breaking a brand in the Irish market?

Looking at the Irish FMCG sector, the market is highly fragmented. Building a relationship with a professional distribution and marketing agency such as SHS Sales & Marketing can

The incredibly popular Cara matches from Maguire & Paterson, an important part of the SHS Sales & Marketing brand family.

22|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Retail News Interview distribution and marketing functions to a company that has the experience of dealing with similar brands in a changing marketplace.

Is advertising still as important as it has been traditionally in reaching consumers? Why? Advertising undoubtedly has an important role to play in reaching consumers but it is only one part of the marketing mix. Effective marketing strategies are underpinned by a great brand story that can be told across many platforms.

How big a role does/can the internet play in marketing a brand to consumers?

Online retailing is a growing channel and brands need to fully maximise the opportunities the internet offers for them. There has also been a growing recognition of the impact which social media can have on marketing a brand – though brands are very conscious of the need to ensure that the marketing tool is purpose fit for the channel. Material developed for one channel may not always be appropriate for another. We believe in communications planned and executed in such a way that a brand’s story is told simultaneously and seamlessly

through digital and traditional channels.

How crucial is the relationship with retailers?

The key benefit for any brand in working with a sales and marketing agency is in gaining access to front line sales, along with channel and commercial expertise that has been developed from working across a variety of categories and customers.

From a customer’s perspective, engaging with an agency such as SHS Sales & Marketing gives them expert access to a range of leading brands, along with key channel and shopper insights that can help them plan their range, merchandising and promotional offering most effectively in order to maximise their sales opportunity. SHS Sales & Marketing staff work with retailers every day, so they understand the needs, challenges and opportunities faced by retailers and can share experiences with brand owners who in turn are able to respond to those needs in order to drive retailer satisfaction.

How do you ensure this relationship is maintained?

SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland works with some of the biggest global brands

The hugely popular WKD brand, part of the SHS Sales & Marketing portfolio.

and we therefore demand the best people to work with them. We firmly believe it’s our people that make the difference and in an ever-changing and demanding business environment, these values provide the focus we need to sustain a culture of high performance and delivery from our team to ensure we remain one of the leading sales and marketing companies in Ireland.

How important is innovation and new product development to the FMCG market?

Innovation is crucial in any market and the FMCG sector is no exception.

SHS Sales & Marketing plays a central role in supporting innovation and adds real value for brand owners by cutting through multiple streams of data and acting as a trusted advisor. At both a brand owner and customer level, SHS Sales & Marketing can find the right evidence to help demonstrate the opportunities and benefits of stocking certain products. By ensuring our advisors are open to relevant, compelling and timely insight means that we are able to respond quickly and effectively to changes in shopper behaviour on behalf of brand-owners.

Have you any new product launches in the pipeline?

SHS Sales & Marketing invests considerable time and money attending global trade fairs in order to understand future consumer trends, while also taking time to source new products or brands for our Irish retailers/consumers. SHS Sales & Marketing have a number of exciting product/new business launches in the pipeline, details of which will be unveiled over the coming months.

How do you think the FMCG market in Ireland will perform over the coming year?

We know the FMCG sector is experiencing significant pressure: that’s why we invest time working closely with brand owners in developing bespoke solutions for our retailers that generate results and value for money. Last year, a number of retail channels experienced considerable growth. If similar growth can be achieved in the coming year, this is positive news for the FMCG market in Ireland. Whether you believe we are seeing the green shoots of recovery or that the worst is still to come, brands with a great story to tell and who continue to invest in the Irish FMCG sector through tough times will always emerge the stronger.

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|23

Hygiene Solutions

The Hand & Handle Wet Wipe Stations Are Cleaning Up! BBC ‘Food Inspectors’ test Supermarket trolley handles and the results are quite alarming…

environments nor are they THE recent BBC’s broadcast expected to be. It is an almost of the ‘Food Inspectors’ proved impossible task to ensure all interesting viewing for any trolleys are clean and hygienic customer of the Supermarket to use. Even with the most chains. Swabs were taken from thorough cleaning regime, every randomly selected shopping trolley is only as clean as the last trolley handles from Waitrose, user.

Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and An Irish company, Addgards Morrisons. What they found was, have designed a product for this alarmingly, some of the trolley purpose: a unique and innovative handles were really quite dirty design, it is a free standing and unhygienic. Results showed dispenser for anti levels of bacteria Here is what some Hand & bacterial wet you might Handle customers have to say; wipes, suitable for find on dirty cleaning both hand hands, mobile “I think this is a great addition and surfaces. The phones and to the shop. I particularly notice women using it to wipe the trolley unit holds rolls of toilet surfaces. baby seat. It’s a great idea and I will up to 1000 wipes, Bacteria was continue to use it.” Sean O’Doherty, with an integrated found on all the SuperValu, Churchtown. bin for the used trolley handles wipe. Placed at but Ecoli was “We are delighted to have found on 2 of the Addgard’s wipe stand as an addition the Supermarket entrance, it offers 20 samples taken. to the forecourt facilities for our customers. It is both practical and the customer It is true to say that bacteria pleasing to the eye and with its sleek choice and peace of design, it fits in well with other mind at very little is transmitted forecourt items. Customers have cost. from humans to reacted positively to the stand and Dr Ron Cutler, surfaces all the are finding it very useful for cleaning Microbiologist time and most of up any spills or residues on their us are unaffected. hands after dispensing fuel. I would at the Queens highly recommend this product to University However, such other retailers.” Mary McGroarty, in London, levels of bacteria Manager, Centra, Rochestown. recommended can be very Supermarkets provide an harmful to the old, vulnerable alcoholic wipe available for and very young. Now consider use to customers: “It then a toddler in the trolley seat, puts the emphasis on both the touching the handle with not supermarket to supply the wipes only its hand but also its mouth. and let the customer actually do Supermarkets are not sterile what they feel is correct.”

The Wet Wipe stations are also perfect for busy forecourts: the anti bacterial wipes have odour neutralisers built in to help remove petrol and diesel odours from customer’s hands.

The Hand & Handle Wet Wipe Station is used in SuperValu, SPAR, MACE, Gala and Costcutter. www.addgards.com

24|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Kantar Brand Footprint

Irish Brands Come Out On Top Home-grown brands topped Kantar Worldpanel’s ranking of Ireland’s most chosen FMCG brands.

NOW in its second year, Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint ranking of Ireland’s most chosen FMCG brands has revealed that local brands are dominating the market. Irish brands now account for six of the top 10 most chosen brands in Ireland.

The Brand Footprint barometer, launched in 2013, ranks the brands that are being bought by the most people, the most often. Avonmore leads the ranking as Ireland’s most chosen brand for the second year running, picked an average of 27 times per year by 81% of the population, while Galtee has jumped an impressive six places, from 16 to 10.

Capturing Consumers’ Hearts & Minds “Irish brands such as Brennans and Denny continue to dominate, showing that shoppers are looking for brands that they know and trust,” reveals David Berry, Commercial Director at Kantar Worldpanel. “Knowing exactly where our food is coming from is more important than ever after the

horsemeat scandal, and has reinforced the importance of brands with clear Irish roots to our consumers.”

He cites the example of Galtee, which has “increased both how many people buy it and how often, appealing to savvy customers with its price marked packs and promotions”.

Overall, Irish brands have captured the hearts and minds of consumers by offering traditional favourites, which are winning over global brand heavyweights, Berry notes: “Familiar brands like Avonmore, Brennans, Denny and Galtee topped the rankings, showing the full Irish breakfast is certainly set to remain a staple. In the recession, we saw consumers turning to familiar, comforting foods and this trend is continuing into recovery.”

Robert Jordan, Head of Beverages and Innovation, Glanbia, said: “Avonmore has been a favourite of Irish households for over three decades now, so consumers have great trust in the brand. And consumers engage with the brand across so many sectors, whether

David Berry, Commercial Director, Kantar Worldpanel Ireland.

that’s milk, cream, soup, butter and cheese. We’re delighted that Avonmore is Ireland’s most chosen brand.”

The Global Viewpoint In the global Brand Footprint Top 50 ranking, only 16 brands were chosen more than one billion times last year – with Coca-Cola the top-ranked brand, with 5.8 billion Consumer Reach Points. Coca-Cola is the number one

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|25

Kantar Brand Footprint Rank Brand

Consumer Reach Penetration Points (million) %

Frequency Consumer Reach Points Growth % 2013 v 2012

1

Avonmore

35.8

81.2

27

-10%

2

Brennans

28.6

73.3

24

No change

3

Denny

24.6

80.2

19

-11%

4

Knorr

19.8

85.7

14

6%

5

Jacob’s

15.7

82.2

12

-8%

6

Batchelors

14.6

73.5

12

-10%

7

Muller

14.1

64.4

13

10%

8

Heinz

13.6

80.9

10

1%

9

McVitie’s

13.1

80.5

10

-4%

10

Galtee

13.0

70.2

11

23%

The top 10 Irish FMCG brands revealed by the Brand Footprint study.

brand in eight countries. Multinational FMCG brands are being chosen, on average, by just 18% of the global population, highlighting the huge potential that each has to reach more shoppers.

Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint Ranking reveals the strength of brands in 35 countries around the world, across the food, beverage, health and beauty and homecare sectors.

It uses a metric called Consumer Reach Points, which measures how many households around the world are buying a brand (its penetration) and how often (the number of times shoppers acquire the brand).

This unique calculation of penetration and frequency helps FMCG manufacturers to clearly understand their Irish and global reach in terms

of actual basket reach and provides a vital guide on which regions present the biggest opportunities.

It was interesting to note that the average increase in local brands’ Consumer Reach Points was 2%, outrunning global brands, which grew on average 1.2%.

According to Kantar, the FMCG retailing landscape is predominantly local and one that is evolving over time. Traditional trade continues to dominate in the emerging markets, discounter shares have increased just over 2% in the last seven years in Western Europe and online share in FMCG markets is still less than 4%, despite having been around for over a decade.

To access the full global, regional, country and sector

Jacob’s JACOB’S, Ireland’s number one biscuit brand (Source: Kantar, Janaury 2014) has an impressive array of family favourites, including Fig Rolls, Kimberley, Mikado, Coconut Creams, Elite, Cream Crackers, Club Milk and Jaffa Cakes. It has been a busy year for Jacob’s, with a number of high profile launches that have truly captured the attention of the Irish consumer.

Jacob’s J-O’s were successfully introduced to the market late last year and the brand has been a huge hit with its crunchy, creamy biscuits and catchy theme tune. Made with a delicious cocoa flavoured biscuit base and top, and filled with a sweet vanilla cream, the range includes two tempting varieties: vanilla roll pack and milk chocolate covered snack packs.

In the healthy and savoury segments, Jacob’s also introduced some exciting innovations. Tuc Sour Cream & Onion flavour has been a huge success for the brand, adding over €1m worth of sales to the Tuc brand since launch last year. Jacob’s Rice Cakes were introduced late last year and are already one of the brand’s star performers. The range includes natural, salted, milk and dark chocolate varieties and most recently, a delicious new Yoghurt variant (pictured).

Watch out for more exciting news from Jacob’s very soon.

rankings and a complete index of the brands included in the Global Top 50, please visit www.kantarworldpanel.com/ brandfootprint

Brand Footprint Methodology Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint is based on research from 66% of the global population; a total of 956m households across 35 countries, and 68% of the global GDP. The complete ranking comprises over 200 FMCG categories tracked around the world by Kantar Worldpanel across the beverages, food, health and beauty, homecare, alcoholic drinks, confectionery and nappies sectors. The ranking is based on an innovative metric created by Kantar Worldpanel called Consumer Reach Points, which measures every time a consumer chooses a brand. The data for this year’s ranking was collected over the 52-week period between October 2012 and October 2013. All data relates to purchases that are brought into the home.

Avonmore

ONE of the most popular categories of the Avonmore portfolio has to be Avonmore Cream. Produced by Glanbia Consumer Foods, the range consists of ever popular Fresh Cream, the chef’s favourite Double Cream, convenient Freshly Whipped Cream, tangy sour cream for barbecues and baked potatoes, and sumptuous Avonmore Fresh Dessert Cream, perfect for pouring over summer berries.

Also from Glanbia, Avonmore Cheese comes in both Sliced and Grated formats and is ideal for burgers, baked potatoes, salads & dips.

Avonmore Cheddar Cheese is packed and produced in Ireland and comes in re-closable packs with an easy to follow recipe on the back of pack. Consumers can choose from Red Cheddar, White Cheddar, Mozzarella, Cheddar & Mozzarella or Light Cheese for a wide range of summer dishes.

Avonmore’s food website, cookwithavonmore.ie, features over 300 easy to make delicious recipes, including starters, mains meals, desserts, snacks & picnic ideas.

26|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Kantar Brand Footprint BBQ Heroes with Heinz

HEINZ Ketchup is synonymous with taste and what better accompaniment for summertime eating than the extensive Heinz Tomato Ketchup range. Boasting a large variety of flavours, including Fiery Chilli, Mexican Chilli, Sweet Chilli, Organic and Reduced Sugar and Salt, Heinz Tomato Ketchup is available in glass, Squeezy and Top Down formats.

Heinz offers the benefits of an innovative no mess, no waste, stay-clean cap and all the taste of Ireland’s favourite tomato ketchup.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup is the number one selling tomato ketchup brand in Ireland, with a 60% share of the Tomato Ketchup category in ROI (Source: ACNielsen, February 2014).

BBQ sauce is popular indoors all year round but is also the ideal accompaniment to barbecued foods, making it a household essential in summer months. HJ Heinz, the market leader in BBQ sauce holds a combined market share of 37% (Source: ACNielsen, February 2014), across its two BBQ brands, Heinz and HP. There are three BBQ varieties under the Heinz brand, Classic BBQ, Sticky BBQ and Chilli BBQ, all in the handy Heinz Top Down format.

The HP range of sauces, from HJ Heinz, offers Classic Woodsmoke and Spicy Woodsmoke and Honey.

Lea & Perrins, the original Worcestershire Sauce, has a 90% market share (Source: ACNielsen, February 2014) and provides the ideal base for home-made marinades.

Heinz Salad Cream has been popular with generations of Irish consumers. Heinz Salad Cream offers consumers lots of choice in both regular, light and extra light varieties in a range of pack formats, including glass, squeezy and Top Down. The Heinz salad cream range also includes the highly successful Weight Watchers from Heinz Salad dressing.

McVitie’s Masterbrand Grows Share

ENJOYED by Irish families for generations, McVitie’s has a large biscuit portfolio of much-loved iconic brands. Earlier this year, United Biscuits embarked on a major re-launch of its McVitie’s brand to rejuvenate and create fresh interest in its top sweet biscuit brand. As part of the overarching Masterbrand strategy, UB unveiled its new design created to drive an ownable, distinctive and consistent brand identity across the entire McVitie’s range, including McVitie’s Digestives, Jaffa Cakes, Rich Tea, Hob Nobs and Penguin.

In addition to the redesign, the most significant element of the McVitie’s relaunch programme was a brand new approach to its advertising. The re-launch kicked off in February and was supported with €1m multi-media campaign, UB’s biggest ever.

McVitie’s through-the-line campaign hits all consumer touch points, extending from TV, digital and press to bespoke in-store shopper marketing activity. Three new TV adverts were created, each focusing on one of the following McVitie’s biscuit brands: Jaffa Cakes, Digestives, and Chocolate Digestives.

By harnessing the power of the McVitie’s brand, UB plans to modernise and grow the McVitie’s brand by unlocking new occasions and driving fresh interest in biscuits and sales for retailers. Results year to date have been positive and in response to the successful campaign, UB grew its market share by 4.3% in value & 11.2% in volume (Source: ACNielsen, April 20, 2014).

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|27

Poultry

Moy Park On The Ball Andrew Nethercott, Moy Park Director of Brand Marketing, explains how Moy Park will be taking full advantage of this summer’s World Cup.

Moy Park are an official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup through parent company Marfrig, which brings incredible opportunities for the brand this summer. Indeed, the Moy Park brand will be beamed to millions of viewers across the globe on pitch perimeter boards during matches.

Andrew Nethercott, Director of Brand Marketing, talks us through what it means for Moy Park What sort of opportunity does the World Cup present for Moy Park?

This is a huge opportunity for Moy Park to raise our profile on a global scale. Sponsoring the FIFA 2014 World Cup is an important tool in growing awareness and product distribution in our key European markets. It shows we are serious about developing the Moy Park brand into a leading player and that we want to bring a bit of excitement to the poultry aisle.

Why is it so important for Moy Park to be an official sponsor?

This sponsorship, which is a part of our parent company Marfrig’s deal for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, gives us exposure on an unprecedented scale.

We will sit alongside global brands such as McDonald’s and Budweiser, and it has come along at a time when we are looking at expanding our reach into new markets.

What is Moy Park planning to do to make the most of it?

We have lots of exciting plans in place to celebrate the sponsorship with our customers, consumers and employees.

We are giving Moy Park consumers the chance to win a trip to Brazil to watch a World Cup semi-finals game, as well as giving away 2,014 exclusive Moy Park FIFA World Cup footballs. This will be supported by a fully integrated marketing campaign across the island of Ireland.

We have also launched four limited edition football inspired products to mark the occasion. They are breaded products, perfect for snacking during the games and are available in retail outlets across Ireland until after the tournament. The range includes Buffalo and Southern Fried Kickin’ Chicken Wings, Breaded Kickin’ Chicken Pops and Southern Fried Kickin’ Chicken Sticks.

We have also partnered with some of our customers to run joint promotions on retailer own branded poultry products, giving away prizes including trips to watch England play at the World Cup, LED TVs and exclusive Moy Park World Cup goodie bags. We are hosting World Cup parties for stakeholders at venues in Northern Ireland, England and Paris – including one at Wembley Stadium. We will also have lots of activity throughout the

Moy Park Director of Brand Marketing, Andrew Nethercott.

business for staff, and we’ll be sending a member of the team to the World Cup to watch England’s first game in Brazil.

How has Moy Park seen consumer behaviour change in previous World Cups? How will this one be different?

Social media has had an increasingly important role to play in consumer communications. All our promotions drive consumers online and we are using social media in new ways to engage our audience. Our social media activity around the World Cup sponsorship has seen engagement and followers increase significantly.

What has Moy Park learned from the previous World Cup - or from World Cups that took place in Latin America?

We’ve learned how to really maximise the sponsorship this time round. We’ve looked at ways to incorporate the World Cup into all areas of the business and focus on how we can share the experience with our customers, consumers and staff.

Moy Park have also launched four limited edition football inspired products to mark the World Cup: Buffalo and Southern Fried Kickin’ Chicken Wings, Breaded Kickin’ Chicken Pops and Southern Fried Kickin’ Chicken Sticks.

28|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Payment Process

The Hidden Costs Of Cash While retailers complain about the cost of processing card payments, they often don’t realise the hidden costs of handling cash, writes Ronnie O’Toole, Programme Manager of the National Payments Plan.

CONSUMERS and retailers know that the retailer needs to be paid. What the consumer doesn’t know is that retailers have to pay for payments.

Debit cards are now firmly established alongside cash as a nearuniversal form of payment. Over the last eight years, debit card usage in Ireland has tripled. The hugely successful Laser Card scheme may be no more, but the transition to Visa Debit cards has seen the growth of usage accelerate even further. There is now one debit card in Ireland for every member of the population.

On the flip-side, ATM withdrawals have fallen dramatically. People in Ireland withdraw on average €50 less from an ATM every week than they did in 2008, as the switch to plastic has taken hold. The cheque also has mostly disappeared from the point of sale.

The closure of the cheque guarantee scheme in December 2011 was the final nail in the coffin for a practice which had largely died out anyway in most mainstream retailers.

Consumer Preference For Card Payments Irish consumers have already demonstrated their preference for card payments in other areas. It is nearly 30 years since Telecom Éireann introduced the successful CallCard, which saw public telephones throughout Ireland switch away from the use of coins.

a high proportion of insurance and motor tax renewals and concert tickets.

Parking Tag is also growing rapidly: over 20% of all parking fees in Dublin are now paid by this cashless method All of this points to one thing.

Consciously or otherwise, consumers are embracing electronic payments.

As a result, accepting cards is now central to survival for many retailers.

A survey compiled by the National Payments Plan (NPP) showed that 94% of retailers accept card, and a large majority say that cards drive sales when customers don’t have cash.

A new regulation on interchange is being discussed at EU level, which if enacted would greatly reduce the cost of card acceptance to retailers, particularly credit cards.

Just over two years ago, the Leap Card was introduced on Dublin public transport services, and around 384,000 commuters have switched from cash to card payments. The latest figures show Leap Card usage was up 7.2% in the first quarter of this year to 7.2m journeys. The increase in the last year is 57%, and it was recently launched in Cork.

Almost all airline tickets in Ireland are purchased electronically, as are

Reducing the Cost of Cards However, the feedback from retailers on costs is clear. The same NPP survey showed that eight out of 10 retailers said that cards were expensive to process. So is there anything practical that can be done to reduce the cost of cards for retailers?

The good news is that developments in Europe will help over the next one to two years. A new regulation on interchange is being discussed, which if enacted, would greatly reduce the cost of card acceptance to retailers, particularly credit cards. Further, Visa has recently agreed to lower their interchange levels in a bilateral agreement with the EU Commission.

However, there is a lot retailers can do to help themselves. While retailers will usually negotiate down to the last

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|29

Payment Process cent with sub-suppliers, many don’t shop around to get the best rate from merchant acquirers. If retailers don’t do this, then the chances are they won’t even benefit from any reduction in interchange coming down the line from Europe.

Underestimating the Cost Of Cash Cards may not be free, but neither is cash. A hidden truth is that many small retailers greatly underestimate the cost of cash. While the costs of accepting debit and credit cards can be seen upfront in a quarterly or monthly bill, the costs of cash are often internal, and often hidden. They include backoffice costs, the cost of money transport, fees for depositing notes/coins, insurance, purchasing and maintaining safes, paying security guards etc.

A Dutch study in 2012 showed that 83% of cash costs are internal. Not surprisingly, retailers sometimes don’t appreciate the true cost of cash to their business.

Ireland’s high rate of cash usage also has a very high societal cost, and reducing cash is one of the goals of the National Payments Plan. One of the largest costs of cash relates to theft,

to which retailers are particularly vulnerable. Cash is a target while it lies in the retailer’s till; while it is being sorted and counted by staff; while it is being stored awaiting transfer; and finally, when it is being transported to the bank.

In rural areas, where banks don’t accept cash on certain days each week, large volumes of cash are often stored on the premises, creating an unnecessary risk. Far from cash being king, it is a cost that needs to be managed and reduced.

Evolution Of Payment Technology The future is likely to see the rapid evolution of payment technology accelerate. Apple, for example, offers the largest mobile wallet, with 600m payment cards linked to its iTunes account. Last year, Google announced the integration of its Google Wallet and Gmail, allowing users to send money through Gmail attachments. Limerick brothers Patrick and John Collison have founded the e-payments company Stripe, currently valued at €1.3 billion.

In deciding which payment types to accept, the retailer will have to follow the consumer, and the consumers

Ronnie O’Toole, Programme Manager, National Payments Plan.

is moving away from cash. It is important, therefore, that they get the most of the technologies that are there, and doing this at the lowest cost possible.

FOR more information, contact Ronne O’Toole, Programme Manager of the National Payments Plan.

Email: Ronnie.otoole@centralbank.ie.

Stick with the best.

Freephone: 1800 340 156 (ROI) or 08000 390 156 (NI) Email: sales.ireland@uk.henkel.com

30|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

National Lottery

A Lotto Talent

Dermot Griffin, National Lottery CEO, talks us through the 2013 annual results, the continued rise of the scratch card and last year’s high profile competition for the National Lottery licence.

THE National Lottery achieved sales of €685.2m in 2013 in a challenging retail environment, according to their annual results, released at the end of May. This was a drop of 6.8% from 2012’s sales of €735.1m.

Those figures alone, however, don’t tell the whole story. Scratch card sales, for example, continued to increase, up 2.5% to €167.7m, while Play Online sales increased by 30% to €11.2m, as the number of registered players increased to 57,000 by the end of 2013. Daily Million sales were up to €21.9m, from €10.8m in 2012, in its first full year. Total operating costs, meanwhile, were down by 6.5% to €96.6m, which included €42.1m in agents’ commission, which CEO Dermot Griffin describes as “a fair reward for our retailers, who are the main interface with the player.”

The drop in sales is not just down to tough trading conditions, however, as Griffin explains. “The main reason we were down last year was the lack of significant jackpots on our two main games, Lotto and EuroMillions, which impacted on sales,” the affable CEO reveals. “The average Lotto jackpot in 2013 was 4.8% lower than the year before, and the size of the jackpot is a big driver in terms of increasing sales, so that certainly impacted on us. Likewise with EuroMillions, our performance, while down by 10%, exceeded the EuroMillions group, which was down by nearly 11% in sales last year overall, due to a lack of big jackpots, those over €100m.”

When it comes to EuroMillions, €100m is a real watershed in terms of driving sales, Griffin explains, and EuroMillions enjoyed an exceptional year of jackpots in 2012, including a record jackpot of €190m.

Scratching The Surface The success of scratch cards, he stresses, is independent of jackpots, which has been a big feature in their continued growth. Indeed, the National Lottery have worked hard to grow this side of their business.

“We increased the range of scratch cards,” Griffin notes. “Our All Cash scratch cards are performing particularly well and we introduced a new All Cash Spectacular card, which sells for €10, and that has proved hugely popular.

“We also find that we are attracting a younger profile of players to our scratch cards, with a big growth of players in their 20s. The fact that it is an instant win, and can be a significant win, really appeals. I

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|31

National Lottery think people like the fact that for two or three euro, they could win enough money for a good night out, which is very attractive to players.”

The last two years have seen the National Lottery installing 42-inch screens in over 2,000 stores, which account for more than 80% of annual turnover.

“The fact that we are able to broadcast into those stores in real time allows us to promote things like our scratch cards at the point of sale,” Griffin notes.

“Scratch cards are impulse purchases so this makes us very visible in-store. Every week, we highlight the winners from the Winning Streak game show and we dedicate a substantial proportion of our broadcast to scratch cards, particularly on days when we don’t have a Lotto or EuroMillions draw.”

The digital screens also allow National Lottery retailers will soon be in receipt of new modern terminals, with vastly increased the Lottery to target specific memory capacity and optical reading technology as standard. campaigns to a particular symbol €94m and €12.8m. play is because they see someone else group or geographical area, tailoring play. So making it convenient for the message to the customer base. people to play, whether they’re in-store Online Sales Growth or online, is the right approach.”

Returning to the online players, He points out that once you form surely the 30% rise isn’t exactly being a relationship with players, you welcomed by retailers with open arms. can remind them to play, you can Griffin disagrees, however. incentivise them and communicate “When you look at international directly to them, with all channels experience, and even our own benefiting from this approach. experience of those who play online, He cites the example of April’s Lotto they don’t pick one channel and play promotion, which saw a separate prize exclusively there. We have a lot of of a Mercedes car with each draw. “It players who play online who, if they can be hard to promote special events are in a shop, will buy the ticket in like this above-the-line in the press, but that shop. But if they have forgotten if you have a relationship with players, to play in-store and it’s five minutes to you can highlight that to them and draw-time, they can still play. You are encourage them to play,” Griffin states. creating a relationship with the player and making it easy for them to play.”

In Ireland, there are 2.2m people Competition Time who consider themselves as National Of course, the really big news for Lottery players. When there are big Ireland’s National Lottery in 2013 Lotto jackpots, take-up is almost 100% wasn’t the sales results, but was the of these players. “The difficulty is result of the open competition for the that week in, week out, we have 1.5m new 20-year Lottery licence, which players, with the other 700,000 players was won by Premier Lotteries Ireland, dipping in and out,” Griffin stresses. a consortium of An Post, the Ontario “If we make it more convenient for Teachers’ Pension Plan (the owner them to play, they will continue to play of the Camelot Group, who operate and that is good news for everyone, the UK Lottery) and An Post Pension including retailers. That has been the Fund. experience elsewhere: the UK are now While An Post National Lottery had up to 15% online sales and its retail previously been involved in two licence sales have continued to grow. bids, the difference this time around “We want to give people the choice was that the Government required to play whenever and wherever suits an upfront payment of €405m, which Other highlights from 2013 included them,” he adds. “The number one will be used for a number of national players sharing winnings of €382.7m reason why people don’t play the projects, including the building of the representing 56% of sales, which Lottery isn’t because they don’t have new national children’s hospital. The doesn’t take account of last year’s two the money to play: it’s because they upfront payment meant that National big EuroMillions jackpot winners of forget. The number one reason they Lottery and its parent company, An

“Retailers are a very important stakeholder in the business. We have an agent council, which is very important to us in terms of getting feedback on initiatives.

We will be utilising that council right through the transition period and we will leverage the knowledge and expertise of the retail community through that agent council.”

32|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

National Lottery

Lucky couple Carol Loran and Kevin Geoghegan from Mullingar, Co. Westmeath scooped a massive €10,651,567 Lotto jackpot in May 2013.

Post, had to “team up with somebody who had the financial muscle to win the bid”, Griffin explains, going on to describe the result as “a strong consortium that gave us the best of both worlds, in terms of bringing the required financial muscle to win the bid, but also being able to maintain the expertise within the business and leverage that knowledge and experience that has helped to grow the business over the last 27 years.”

During the licence competition, there was a separate unit operating within the National Lottery, assisting the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to run the competition process. The challenge was to ensure that the process was handled in a clear and transparent manner with no conflict of interest. Dermot Griffin is delighted with how the process worked.

“Internationally, I don’t know of any other competition that didn’t end up in the courts and delayed, but the process here was run really well,” he says. “It was extremely transparent

Dermot Griffin, Chief Executive of the National Lottery (right), congratulates the staff of Staunton’s Costcutter Express, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, who sold a EuroMillions jackpot winning ticket worth €15m for the draw on April 1, 2014.

and generated a good price, at the end, which means that the new children’s hospital will be built, along with a string of other projects, which will be rolled out in the coming year.”

What Will It Mean?

For the National Lottery itself, it’s pretty much business as usual. “The operation of the National Lottery will remain a standalone business with

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|33

National Lottery

The new National Lottery terminals will be rolled out to retailers in the coming months.

its own business structure. We will operate, in terms of our values and our vision for the business, in the same way,” Griffin explains. “The main difference is that we will have different shareholders.”

Will that bring different pressures?

“The good thing about this new licence is that it is structured in a way that is very much aligned with how the Lottery has been run. The model is that good causes get 65% of gross gaming revenue (sales minus prizes), so there is an incentive to make that number as big as we possibly can, so the good causes and the operator benefit. It is a fair system and one where the good cause fund is aligned very closely with the Premier Lotteries Ireland return, which can only be good.”

Griffin feels that the fact that the licence was granted for 20 years, instead of the previous seven-year licences (with three-year extensions) is hugely beneficial in terms of investing in infrastructure. “Towards the end of a licence period, you have no time to get a return on any investment, so you delay investing. This is a far more sensible period in terms of the licence,” he reveals.

Most of the existing National Lottery staff will move over to Premier Lotteries Ireland, aside from a small number who are taking voluntary severance or early retirement: “ “We have never had a scheme like that before, so there was a pent-up demand for it,” Griffin notes.

New Technology From a retailer perspective, the National Lottery are introducing new state-of-the-art technology into stores in the coming months. “Because the current licence dates back to 2002, the technology in-store is over 12 years old,” Griffin says. “Computers have moved on so much in that time, so the new terminals are modern, with vastly

increased memory capacity, optical readers and indeed, less moving parts, which means that they don’t break down. They will provide a big advantage to retailers.”

The National Lottery have surveyed all retail outlets and will have an eight-week period where the new terminal is in situ with the existing terminal prior to changeover. “We have found a novel way of linking the two machines under our brand hood, so the changeover will be easy for the retailer,” the CEO

insists.

Indeed, the company’s relationship with retailers is “very positive”, according to Griffin. First and foremost, the retailer margin of 6% is enshrined in the licence and will remain intact going forward. Indeed, Griffin is hugely cognisant of the role retailers play in the National Lottery’s success here.

“Retailers are a very important stakeholder in the business,” he says.

“We have an agent council, which is very important to us in terms of getting feedback on initiatives. We will be utilising that council right through the transition period and we will leverage the knowledge and expertise of the retail community through that agent council.”

Evolving Product Range From a consumer point of view, the brand won’t change. “The ticket they get from the new terminal will look the same. Our scratch cards will look the same. I think the player will see the benefit as we build up our customer relationship management and we are able to provide a more tailored approach to customers,” Dermot Griffin says. “We will also continue to innovate and evolve our games: that is the cornerstone for successful lotteries.”

To that end, they are working with the EuroMillions group on a EuroMillions scratch-card game, where instant millionaires could be created in-store, possibly as soon as 2015. He also points to the possibility of a world lottery draw in coming years.

“There is huge potential both in the EuroMillions and in our own portfolio of games, including Lotto, Daily Millions and Telly Bingo, where we will continue to make them as exciting and innovative as we can,” he reveals.

“We do a lot of market research on our games, finding out which games, what features of a game, appeal to players

and we then try to incorporate them into the games. We will continue to do that, going forward.”

The fact that their new shareholders run the UK lottery will also be of benefit, as they will “be able to leverage the knowledge of Camelot as a sister company and learn from the things that work and don’t work for them”.

The Challenge Ahead Having been at the helm of the National Lottery for eight years, Griffin has overseen a period of big change, and surprisingly, rates last year’s competition as just another in a long list of challenges.

“There is always something different happening in the lottery business,” he smiles. “Since I’ve come in, we’ve changed our Lotto game, we changed our master brand, we’ve introduced digital signage, we’ve had the additional EuroMillions draw, so each year there have been major projects happening within the business and last year was no different. We had the licence process, but the year before we had a major EuroMillions game change, which was a huge project in terms of IT and marketing. This year, we have our commercial changeover and in many ways the secret of our success is that players won’t notice the changeover.”

Looking to the future, he is extremely upbeat. 2014, he insists, has begun very well for the National Lottery. “Our scratch cards are up again on this time last year; our Lotto and EuroMillions are performing a little better than last year. We’re happy with the progress so far,” he maintains.

“From a business and an economy point of view, it does seem that things are improving. The experience elsewhere in terms of lotteries is that it takes a little bit longer to be hit by a downturn but it stays down a little longer than most other sectors. But I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel in terms of an upturn. When we get into this new licence period, we will be very conscious of growing the funds raised for good causes and doing anything we possibly can to achieve that, and for our shareholders as well. Things are looking a lot healthier going forward and the 20-year licence allows us to start planning things for the longer term.”

The National Lottery Annual Report 2013 is available on www.lottery.ie.

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Waste Management

What Are Irish Retailers Getting From Repak?

When it comes to waste management, Repak provides a value for money packaging compliance scheme which ensures retailers are compliant with legislation.

SINCE its formation in 1997, Repak has been providing to its members a value for money packaging compliance scheme, which has delivered the recovery and recycling of packaging in accordance with targets set by both Irish legislation and the European Union.

The retail sector, with 900 members, is Repak’s largest membership group. Altogether, Repak has 2,111 members, including producers, wholesalers, distributors and packaging manufacturers. This retail group includes the major supermarkets, branded high street outlets, and over 600 independent retailers. Together, they make a substantial contribution to Repak’s fee income, currently of the order of €24m a year.

The question which many retailers ask, usually when they receive their Repak invoice, is ‘What am I getting for this?’

The short answer is that it is a legal obligation. Under EU and Irish legislation, businesses which place products on the market are obliged to ensure that the packaging is recycled. This is referred to as producer responsibility. Rather than take back packaging from customers at their premises and send it for recycling, Irish businesses use Repak as their vehicle to pay for recycling.

Repak charges fees to members on a ‘pay as you produce basis’, so

that the bigger retailers pay the lion’s share, with smaller retailers paying less. Repak then uses that money to subsidise the cost of recycling packaging, via a network of registered recovery operators.

A Virtuous Circle This ‘virtuous circle’ has been running since 1997, and has worked very well. Irish packaging recycling rates have grown from a very small base to become one of the best in Europe – fourth highest, at last count. The Irish retail sector (through your compliance)

has been a significant contributor to Repak’s success.

So it’s been a good overall performance, but how can an individual retailer say if they are getting value for their Repak membership?

Recycling Success In 2013, Repak recovered and recycled 712,000 tonnes of packaging from the market to comply with legislative targets of 75% recovery and 70% recycling. Without Repak, this legal obligation would fall on you as a

“Repak charges fees to members on a ‘pay as you produce basis’, so that the bigger retailers pay the lion’s share, with smaller retailers paying less. Repak then uses that money to subsidise the cost of recycling packaging, via a network of registered recovery operators.” retailer to do so at your premises.

Repak, along with the statutory reporting requirements to the Department of Environment

PACKAGING REGULATIONS are putting your business under

pressure

Repak membership will lighten your load.

Any business with a turnover of 1million that places 10 tonnes, or more, of packaging on the market, must comply with the amended packaging regulations 2007 – or face prosecution. Compliance is as easy as joining Repak, from a little over 1per day. Repak is the most effective compliance option chosen by over 2300 companies. Over 50 companies have already been prosecuted and, with over 2,000 inspections a year, your business could be next. Why risk heavy fines and even prison?

Find out more about your company’s obligations under the amended packaging regulations - and how Repak membership can help – by visiting repak.ie or call 01 – 4670190.

- FUNDING PACKAGING RECYCLING

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Waste Management Community and Local Government, as well as the Environment Protection Agency, on behalf of members also provides a comprehensive Packaging Prevent & Save programme, delivering significant cost savings to members who have availed of this service.

Repak also provides guidance to members on waste prevention, segregation and collection.

Repak also ensures that members’ funds are used in the most cost efficient way to maximise recovery and recycling of packaging placed on the market, with strict protocols and auditing processes of collection and processing contractors who are approved by Repak on their members’ behalf.

Benchmarking Fees It is not easy then for any retailer to benchmark their fee payments against a competitor because, for confidentiality reasons, individual fees are not published. Equity of membership is based on the ‘pay as you produce basis’ and is comparable with many of the mainland

European compliance schemes in France, Spain, Belgium and most other EU countries, set up along Repak’s lines. Fees payable to those schemes are, by and large, higher than those paid to Repak, and many of those countries do not have recycling rates on a par with Ireland. Repak’s fees have remained static since 2008, demonstrating its focus on value for money for members.

But what about Repak itself? Should it be more accountable to its members, and provide them with more information? Should a member be able to ask on what basis their fee level is set? How was this arrived at? Where is the money spent? What is the basis of the Repak subsidy system and who gets it?

What efficiency criteria are involved?

New Mandate, New Changes In October 2013, Repak received a new mandate from the government to continue to provide a waste packaging compliance scheme for Irish business

to run to December 2018.

During that time, the Government will review Repak’s performance on behalf of its members on a regular basis. Coupled with this, a new board and management team have been put into place.

Board member elections were held amongst Repak members to appoint board representatives from individual sectors to adequately represent these interests.

The retail sector is well represented on the new board, this is comprised of; • Tony Keohane, former CEO and current chairman of Tesco Ireland, who is now chair of the Repak board.

• John Curran of the Musgrave Group.

• Jim Bird, owner of a number of SuperValu, Centra and Daybreak outlets in Co. Meath, and former president of the CSNA. • Jim McNeill, Managing Director, Kelloggs Company of Ireland.

• Ailish Forde, Public Affairs & Communication Director, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland.

• David Duffy, Managing Director, National Plastics Packaging Group Ltd. • Heading up the management team

is Seamus Clancy, a newly appointed CEO with extensive business and environmental management experience.

Repak Members Conference The new team is committed to a policy of openness and transparency, and is seeking the widest possible engagement with Repak members. A special members’ conference will be held in the Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny on October 17, to which all members will be invited to share their views and help drive the agenda for members’ funding of recovery and recycling of packaging in Ireland.

Your attendance is vital as Repak lobbies the government for its members’ needs in how recovery and recycling of your packaging placed on the market can be carried out in the most cost efficient and effective way to support Ireland Inc’s legislative compliance.

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|37

Waste Management

Big Changes To WEEE Legislation

New industry legislation for the Irish WEEE system sees Ireland working towards a more circular economy, helping to increase the amount of e-waste we recycle annually.

NEW Regulations for Ireland’s WEEE system, effective from March 29, 2014, require all stakeholders, including retail collection points, to continue to play their role in the national WEEE recycling programme.

WEEE Ireland, the largest compliance scheme in Ireland, managing waste electrical and electronic equipment, has welcomed the legislation, which will mean, from 2016, 45% of WEEE items we purchase each year (by weight comparison) will need to go through an authorised recycling system. This is set to increase further to 65% from 2019 onwards.

Ireland has improved year-on-year the WEEE recycling figures being brought back. We now recycle almost 8kg per capita annually, double the EU target of 4kg per head of population.

All old fridges, PCs, televisions and electrical toys and tools, along with fluorescent tubes and batteries can be easily recycled free of charge thanks to the WEEE system put in place in Ireland since 2005. The new regulations also underline the mandatory handover of WEEE from retail and recycling centre collection points, ensuring the recycling feedstock is kept in an authorised treatment loop.

Treatment Standards The new regulations also highlight the importance of treatment standards for WEEE recycling facilities, so that the quality of material recovered from the recycling process is high. WEEE Ireland were early adopters of the new recycling standard WEEELABEX and are working with their many Irish waste operators and European partners in the WEEE Forum to ensure it is

in place to meet the requirements of these new rules.

Environmental management costs may be shown to the purchasers of EEE at the time of sale of new products. A vEMC will apply to all large household appliances, large televisions and some lighting equipment (e.g. fluorescent tubes and CFL lamps), with effect from July 1, 2014. As a result of this, funds will be distributed by the Compliance Scheme to the retail collection points, Local Authorities and EPA. They will be allocated to retail collection points to support the costs of increased take-back from households and on consumer marketing campaigns to promote greater levels of WEEE take back and recycling. Funds will be allocated to the LA’s Ireland has improved year-on-year the WEEE recycling figures: and the EPA to support we now recycle almost 8kg per capita annually, double the EU WEEE take-back at CA target of 4kg. sites and enforcement obliged to register with the WEEE programmes.

Register Society (WRS); • Companies importing and Renewed Priorities placing photovoltaic solar Other renewed priorities outlined in panels on the market will now the e-waste legislation include: have responsibilities under • All re-use organisation will be the regulations to register

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Waste Management as a ‘Producer’. All producer responsibilities will now apply to these companies; • Producers in Ireland selling products into another EU Country can now appoint an Authorised Representative in that country to take on producer responsibility in that jurisdiction. Similarly, any non-Irish based company selling into the Irish market can appoint an Ireland based authorised representative to take on producer responsibilities for them; • Retailers continue to take back WEEE on a like-for-like basis from customers in-store and on delivery of new appliances. However, electrical stores >400m² are obliged to take back very small WEEE from customers without purchase obligation.

• Updated requirements for retailers to promote awareness and inform customers about WEEE takeback for recycling at point of sale, in store legal posters, website information, catalogues, brochures and advertising.

WEEE Ireland will be working

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Battery Recycling Thank you for helping us to recycle over 25 million batteries and raising €90K for LauraLynn!

WEEE Ireland also helps stakeholders manage their obligations under the Battery recycling legislation. This year, the Scheme is saying another thank you to all stakeholders not only in supporting the WEEE recycling efforts to date but and also in helping recycle over 25m portable batteries in 2012 and 2013. These efforts have helped Ireland reach the 25% EU collection rate target and raise funds for the WEEE Ireland donation programme for the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice Charity. WEEE Ireland will be launching a new schools awareness programme for battery recycling this year on www.weeepledge.ie and remind everyone to bring waste portable batteries to their local collection point in WEEE Ireland designated areas where they see the blue battery boxes.

with Producers and Retail collection points throughout 2014 to help meet compliance requirements and promote awareness among their

customers on how, when and where to recycle WEEE. For further information, visit www.weeeireland.ie or contact the Scheme on info@weeeireland.ie.

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Logistics & Warehouse Management

Supply Chain of Command Effective warehouse management is critical to an efficient supply chain. Pic: Allied Logistics.

Thankfully, after years of economic downturn, the Government seems to be ready and willing to spend public money on improving our infrastructure, including our road network, while the These sectors are also crucial to the advent of lean principles have doubtless continued success of Ireland’s FMCG impacted on all links in the supply industry, as if shops are going to remain chain. in business, they need a ready supply However, the four fundamentals of of products and given the nature of our supply chain management remain vital business, just-in-time (JIT) delivery is a to the continuing profitability of the key component in the grocery industry, companies in all parts of any product where fresh product is a key driver of supply chain. footfall in-store.

The first of these relates to the

Ensuring a smooth and efficient supply chain is vital for Ireland’s FMCG sector.

A SUSTAINABLE, effective and efficient supply chain, logistics and transport sector are critical if Ireland is to be competitive and we, as an island nation, are to trade our way out of our financial difficulties, according to Finbarr Cleary, President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).

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Logistics & Warehouse Management overall objectives of Supply Chain Management and is concerned with meeting or exceeding customer service requirements in the market and optimising total supply chain costs and investment. Downward pressure exists on costs (such as purchasing costs, production costs, transport costs and customer service costs), while customer service requirements are becoming more and more demanding.

Secondly, a supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link, which is true for all industry sectors and requires that raw material suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, retailers and others work together in new and innovative ways.

The third fundamental is concerned with the efficient and effective management of material, money and information flows throughout the supply chain, while fundamental four requires companies, particularly in an environment where outsourcing has become more common, to re-appraise both internal and external customer/ supplier relationships.

Skills For Logistics So what skills are most needed for the logistics industry? According to Darren Connolly, Ireland Manager Supply Chain, with recruitment agency Morgan McKinley, the competencies needed for the logistics sector can be broken down into 10 distinct categories.

Be Customer Focused: Putting customers first and demonstrating a commitment to service leading to satisfaction for both internal and external customers.

Planning & Organisation: Effectively plan what is to be achieved

and properly coordinate and involve all relevant stakeholders. The key here is being able to demonstrate that you can determine the necessary sequence of activities and the efficient level of resources required to achieve both short and long term goals.

Problem Solving: Being able to evaluate a problematic situation and being able to resolve it based on planning and reasoning.

It is important to demonstrate your ability to display how you chose the best course of action by using logic, judgment and data.

Conflict Management: Demonstrating your ability to manage conflict in a way which is sensible, fair and efficient.

Teamwork & Collaboration: Demonstrating your ability to work as part of a multifunctional team to meet desired business goals. Simply put, show your understanding of the concept of collaborative effort for collective goals.

Relationship Management: The ability to leverage interpersonal skills to establish rapport and develop relationships with all key stakeholders: third party suppliers, customers or colleagues.

Aptitude for Technology: The ability to apply in-depth specialised knowledge, skills, and judgment by assessing and translating information technology into responsive and effective logistics solutions.

Demonstrating how you can use ERP systems such as SAP, ORACLE OR JDE or how you can manipulate data

Darren Connolly, Ireland Manager - Supply Chain, Morgan McKinley.

using Excel is very relevant for this.

Accountability/Responsibility: Taking ownership of your own work and assuming responsibility for either successfully accomplishing business objectives, or identifying where you have not.

Results Focused: Demonstrating your ability and drive for achieving and surpassing targets.

This is about showing a passion for improving the delivery of services with a commitment to continuous improvement in your logistics processes.

Innovation: Being able to apply new and creative solutions to old problems and constantly seeking to improve upon processes, systems or services.

One of the most experienced

Leading the Way: Logistically Speaking SINCE they began operations in 1999, Allied Logistics have grown to become one of Ireland’s largest distributors of ambient, chilled and frozen stock. With a network servicing all 32 counties, they offer the widest range of supply chain solutions to suit clients of all sizes, from small chains to multinationals.

The most comprehensive and advanced IT tools enable Allied Logistics to employ robust controls. They track their entire fleet, making sure that everything is delivered on time and within temperature. Real time stock management means customers have an opportunity to reduce stock inventory and improve their margins.

“We ensure continuous improvement plans are being implemented that will keep Allied Logistics ahead of the curve, now and in the future,” notes a company spokesperson. “And our experienced team takes pride in a high level of interaction, communication and support with all our customers. In short, we’re the answer to all your problems, logistically speaking.”

We’re pretty chilled.

Logistically speaking.

Allied Logistics offer the widest range of supply-chain solutions, with large specialist warehousing and nationwide distribution for ambient, chilled and frozen goods. We take care of some of the biggest in the business, and the smaller ones too. Whatever the size of your business, we’re the answer to all your problems. Logistically speaking.

alliedlogistics.ie

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Logistics & Warehouse Management recruiters in the Irish market, Darren joined Morgan McKinley in September 2000 and has worked in a variety of management roles for the Group since 2006. His team of Supply Chain Consultants recruit for specialised supply chain, procurement, production and operations roles.

Warehouse Management Of course, the supply chain is about more than logistics. Good warehouse management is critical and cannot be over-stated. Before the recession, warehouse automation was growing considerably, and now, as the first green shoots are visible,

automated handling systems are once again peeking out from the warehouse in a bid to maximise supply chain efficiency. Ongoing innovation in both product quality and software is the backbone of the sector, which is no longer solely the preserve of large multinationals.

New developments in technology have helped make effective warehousing easier, such as the advent of automated pick and place technology as well as new innovations in forklifts and other materials handling equipment. Indeed, materials handling has often been defined as “the industry that makes the supply chain work”.

Toyota: Handling the Best TOYOTA is commonly associated with manufacturing cars and light commercials but this is not the only area where they are leaders in their field of expertise. They are also manufacturers and suppliers of world-leading material handling products. This includes a wide range of forklifts.

Toyota’s base in Ireland is situated on the Killeen Road in Dublin 12. Toyota Ireland and Toyota Material handling are 100% Irish-owned, having been set up in 1973 by the Mahony family. Toyota Ireland distributes motor vehicles and forklift trucks to the Irish market. Over the years, Toyota Ireland has firmly established the Toyota brand as a household name here.

Full Range

Toyota material handling Ireland brings to the market the full range of Toyota and BT products, offering customers a one-stop-shop for all material handling needs.

“From hand trucks, pallet trucks, reach trucks and stackers to gas, diesel and electric counterbalance trucks, we offer the widest product range in the business,” notes Terry O’Reilly, MD, Toyota Ireland. “The Toyota brand gives customers peace of mind that they will be looked after in all aspects – before and after the sale. “‘Our service offering is top level too,” Terry adds. “From forklift maintenance by expert technicians to business solutions such as rental, financing and fleet management – not to mention our genuine parts, driver training courses, financial solutions and more.”

Benefits

All the benefits, peace of mind and value for money that Toyota provides to make it the number one seller of motor cars in Ireland are also available in its material handling range,

according to Terry.

Last year, Toyota’s success was recognised when German material handling magazine DHF Intralogistik named Toyota industries Corporation (TICO) the global number one in handling material equipment for 2013.

The company has gone from strength to strength over the years. In Ireland, there are 45 main car dealers, while there are five dedicated dealers looking after the material handling products.

These are located in Kilkenny, Sligo, Cork and Dublin, where there are two dealers.

Toyota dealers have over 30 years knowledge

and experience selling Toyota products.

“In a market where there are over 30 different brands, Toyota has been a consistent leader and trusted partner for many customers over the years,” Terry boasts.

“Toyota is the best selling material handling equipment in the world and is famous for its reliability, technological advancement and overall value for money.”

Being part of Toyota Group undoubtedly brings strength to the organisation, with Toyota R+D capabilities, financial resources and proven work methods as exemplified by the ‘Toyota Way’ and the Toyota Production System.

FRESH THINKING

FROM

TOYOTA

Contact: Toyota Material Handling Ireland at Toyota Ireland, Killeen Road, Dublin 12. Tel: 01 4190200.

www.toyota-forklifts.ie

It’s small wonder the Toyota Traigo 48 has won the prestigious iF Product Design Award 2009. The Traigo is the most compact 48 volt forklift ever, with fresh, modern styling, intuitive operation and rugged ability, even in the tightest spaces. There are 10 models in the Traigo range, with six 3-wheel, and four 4-wheel ranging from 1.5 to 2 tons of load capacity. The new models share the look and feel of the famous Traigo 24-volt family and the Toyota System of Active Stability (SAS) because safety is always our number one consideration. All our forklifts deliver the safety, productivity, durability and driveability you would expect from the world No. 1 in material handling. Be a winner every time with the Traigo 48.

Toyota Ireland is a 100% Irish owned company.

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Logistics & Warehouse Management

Irish Lift Trucks Launch Hyster Reach Truck Hyster’s new reach truck has propelled the company to the forefront of reach truck design, making the brand one of the strongest partners for warehouse operations all over the world.

HYSTER have introduced a new reach truck, which has been designed to lift loads up to 12.5m and is technically advanced, featuring a new mast design and a modular operator compartment.

“A reach truck is the number one warehouse product at the core of most warehouse materials handling fleets” says Ralf Mock, Managing Director, EMEA for NMHG. “The latest Hyster Reach Truck model has been intelligently designed to deliver reliability, dependability and a low cost of ownership to demanding operations everywhere.”

Two mast types are available and share innovative features.

Residual capacity is maintained to greater heights thanks to the new unique patented channel mast design and visibility is improved through reduced total channel width. The overall height of the new Hyster Reach Truck can be lower for travelling under doors and onto trailers, for example.

“Previously, a two tonne truck would be specified, not necessarily to lift two tonnes, but to achieve a

lower weight at a higher lift height” says Robert O’Donoghue, Senior Product Strategy Leader, NMHG. “The new Hyster Reach Truck offers faster lifting and lowering speeds and improved residual capacity, with reduced friction between the mast stages.

Some operations may find that they can specify a smaller truck where a larger one may have been required previously.”

Offering travel speeds of up to 14km per hour and a lift speed of 0.8m per second, the new Hyster Reach Truck has been successfully trialled in a number of operations, including DHL and Renault trucks.

Extensive Operator Testing “Extensive research, operator testing, evaluation and feedback have gone into the development of this Hyster Reach Truck, with testing carried out by over 50 real drivers, rather than one or two product managers” says Ralf Mock. “We have ensured substantial customer involvement throughout the process, as well as input from our network of distribution partners.”

An operator will get

on and off a reach truck approximately 60 times during a 12 hour shift, according to research carried out by Hyster, so easy access and egress has been integrated into the design, with two dedicated handles and a low, wide step. Easy access and a spacious and comfortable operator compartment help the reach truck operator to work harder and faster, combating fatigue through enhanced comfort.

To help enhance speed and accuracy, an optional laser positioning system shines a beam of light onto the racking when a load is raised above free lift (around 2m). NACCO Materials Handling Group is currently the only company to offer this option in Europe.

Common features used on Hyster counterbalance trucks and the Hyster reach truck will allow operators to easily transfer between different types of vehicle.

Reliability & Dependability “Reliability and dependability are hallmarks delivered by all Hyster equipment. We work with our warehouse customers to help specify the correct product to meet the

application requirements, and surrounding services, delivering dependability in heavy duty and intense operations” says Ralf Mock. “Through a network of distribution partners, we offer global capability, powerful service back-up, and a strong, local support infrastructure.”

Irish Lift Trucks offers a comprehensive range of forklifts, including Hyster warehouse forklift trucks, counterbalanced forklift trucks, container handlers and reachstackers. In addition, Irish Lift Trucks distributes both the Lancer and Hubtex range of side-loaders, designed for specialist applications.

For more information visit www.irishlifttrucks.ie or www.hyster.eu.

IRISH LIFT TRUCKS

NEW HYSTER REACH TRUCK FOR DEMANDING WAREHOUSE APPLICATIONS. 速

Greater efficiency through faster acceleration and lift speeds.

Excellent all-round visibility with innovative mast design.

Designed for business with the driver in mind.

DISCOVER THE NEW REACH TRUCK WITH ALL THE HALLMARKS OF HYSTER

速

Irish Lift Trucks, Clonlara Avenue, Baldonnell Business Park, Baldonnell, Dublin 22, Ireland t. (+353) 01 4034100, f. (+353) 01 4034183, e. info@irishlifttrucks.ie A member of

www.ohm.ie

WWW.IRISHLIFTTRUCKS.IE HYSTER, the Hyster logo and STRONG PARTNERS, TOUGH TRUCKS.TM are registered trademarks, service marks or registered marks in the United States and certain other jurisdictions.

46|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Pet Care

The Pet Set

Irish consumers love their pets and are willing to spend to prove it, which is good news for retailers.

IRELAND is a nation of pet lovers, with dog and cat owners, in particular, ready and willing to spend to keep their four legged friends. Indeed, the pet care sector is one of the few categories to buck the recession over the last few years.

That said, the sector wasn’t totally immune from the economic conditions, with a number of consumers trading down to lower priced products and own label.

Mid-range products were affected to the greatest extent in this regard, according to the latest report into the sector from Euromonitor International, with a significant number of consumers trading down to lower priced products, while others sought greater value in the types of products purchased, with competition and discounting activity remaining fierce. Conversely, those willing and in a position to purchase more premium positioned products benefited from increased product availability and promotional activity as retailers sought to maximise category potential.

Euromonitor maintain that the search for value placed increased pressure on branded manufacturers to maintain competitiveness through product innovation, with a succession of additions to existing product lines, as well as offering greater variation in packaging sizes, with multibuys and larger pack sizes becoming more visible. A greater number of premium

products were visible in supermarkets as the channel continued to come under pressure from discounters offering good quality, low priced economy and midrange products.

From a European perspective, the pet market is worth €8.5 billion, having grown in value by 1.7% in 2013, driven primarily by six key markets, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and the UK. This is according to the latest Pulse Report from IRI, which reveals that cat owners in particular have been fuelling this success, with cat food remaining the trendsetter in pet care. Representing just over half (50.1%) of all pet care sales across Europe, cat food delivered the fastest growth after pet accessories. Dog food, with European sales of just over €3 billion, increased its share but at a slower pace, driven largely by snacks and treats. Offering shoppers greater convenience and choice, single servings of wet cat food and to a lesser extent dry food are the drivers for growth in cat food – and where brands are investing most “While the pet care category isn’t growing like it used to, we can see that the trend is better or at least in line with other FMCG products,” according to Paolo Garro, Director of Business Insights, IRI. “It’s interesting, however, that pet care appears to be an increasingly polarized category.

Shoppers are trading down, with private label growing across most

European markets, offering a cheaper but acceptable alternative to premium brands during challenging economic times. But shoppers are unique in this market, and a dog owner may shop very differently to a cat owner, so manufacturers must continue to innovate and defend their brand equity.”

Mackle Petfoods Brandy, from Mackle Petfoods, has a strong local heritage dating back to 1971. Brandy is made using only 100% Irish meat sourced from across the island of Ireland. The use of 100% Irish meat is unique to the brand. Brandy is also fully traceable from farm to

Brandy has just launched a new Variety Chunks in Jelly 12-pack, which is a mixed poultry selection in four tasty varieties: Chicken, Chicken & Duck, Chicken & Turkey and Duck & Turkey.

YOUR SALES

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Our new cuddly toy promotion is sure to get sales growing.

All your customer has to do is collect 2 tokens from Brandy Traditional Loaf, Chunks in Jelly and Chunks in Gravy promotional 6 Packs then claim their Cuddly Brandy Toy - easy!

Your sales go up, your customer goes ‘aww, look at its little face!’

Contact NI: 028 87784641 ROI: 048 87784641 www.macklepetfoods.com /brandydogfood

Because they’re 100% family

48|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Pet Care

This summer, Brandy have an exciting new promotional on-pack offer, whereby consumers can collect a cute Brandy Cuddly Toy by collecting two tokens from the promotional Brandy six-pack range.

can. Irish consumers are concerned about the provenance and quality of the product they feed their dogs and they have really embraced the fact that Brandy uses only 100% Irish meat and has full traceability. Dog owners view their dog as a key member of the family, so they want to feed them the best. Consumers are also looking for value and Brandy offers customers high quality products at a value price.

Since its hugely successful relaunch, Brandy has grown from strength to strength and continues to remain the number one Irish made dog food brand and the second largest branded dog food in the Irish market, according to Mackle.

Brandy’s two promotional variety three-packs, Brandy Variety Traditional Loaf and Brandy Variety Chunks in Jelly, both price marked at €2, offer the customer exceptional value for money, while offering the retailer strong margin. Both packs continue to perform exceptionally well and have proven to be key selling lines, particularly for the convenience sector, due to their keen €2 value price message.

Following on from the hugely successful launch of Brandy Variety Chunks in Jelly six and three packs, Brandy has just launched a new Variety Chunks in Jelly 12-pack, which is available to order now. This new Brandy Chunks in Jelly 12-pack will complement the current Brandy Variety Loaf 12-pack. This new pack is a mixed poultry selection and is available in four tasty varieties: Chicken, Chicken & Duck, Chicken

& Turkey and Duck & Turkey.

This summer, Brandy six-packs present an exciting new promotional on-pack offer, not to be missed by retailers and customers alike.

While their dog enjoys their Brandy dinner, by collecting two tokens from the promotional Brandy six-pack range (Loaf, Chunks in Jelly, Chunks in Gravy), customers can collect a cute Brandy Cuddly Toy for themselves. This promotion runs on-pack throughout the summer and will be supported by an all-Ireland radio advertising campaign and a strong digital campaign.

Throughout 2014, Brandy will continue to be supported by strong promotional activity and an extensive advertising campaign. For more information, see facebook.com/ brandydogfood.

Nestlé Purina Pet owners don’t want to cut back on the quality of the food that they give

their pets and will only do so as a last resort, especially as there is a risk that cheaper foods won’t get eaten by the pet.

“There are 400,000 dogs in Ireland, that’s nearly one million meals per day,” says Nestlé Purina Country Category Manager, Kieran Conroy.

“Pet owners are particular about the food they buy and incredibly loyal to their preferred brand, flavour and format. If a product is unavailable, 73% will leave the store without an alternative, potentially taking the rest of their basket spend with them.”

Bakers, a top selling complete dry dog food brand is well known for bringing excitement to the category with many ‘category firsts’ delighting both dogs and their owners.

With Bakers As Good as it Looks, Bakers extends its portfolio into the wet dog food sector. Bakers As Good as it Looks is the result of more than 5,000 hours of research and development, to make sure the product delivers beyond the most demanding shopper expectations.

Bakers As Good as it Looks is launching into the total market from this month and is a range of wholesome meals, which smell delicious and look like hearty home cooked food. Bakers As Good as it Looks combines succulent

Bakers As Good as it Looks combines succulent meaty chunks with country vegetables and tasty gravy to provide the great taste and texture that dogs just can’t resist.

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|49

Pet Care meaty chunks with country vegetables and tasty gravy to provide the great taste and texture that dogs just can’t resist. Packed full of high quality nutritious ingredients, all recipes are complete, balanced and have no artificial colourings. ”Bakers As Good as it Looks has been packed in transparent tubs so dog owners can see the wholesome meaty and vegetable pieces for themselves,” Kieran adds. “Each tub is also resealable, so it is convenient, easy to use and helps keep food fresher for longer.

It’s like no dog food dogs have ever seen before.”

The launch of Bakers As Good as it Looks is being supported by a multimedia campaign, with a TV advert running throughout the month of June.

Mars Petcare The Dog Care & Treats sector is in growth of 2% (Source: ACNielsen, MAT value sales growth W/E March 26, 2014) and represents a huge opportunity to recruit new and impulse buyers into the category, particularly if retailers carry a range of Pedigree oral care and treats.

Pedigree, with 60% value market share, is delivering value and volume growth of 3%, out-performing the market.

Pedigree is launching a revolutionary new oral care product for dogs called DentaFlex, adding to its already hugely successful Dentastix range. New DentaFlex is an x-shaped dental chew that is scientifically proven to reduce plaque and tartar build-up at the gum line. It has a unique “selfhealing” texture that flexes around teeth to clean to the gum line. It offers a deep clean from just two chews a week. Developed in association with Specialist Vet Dentists, it contains active ingredients, is starch based, low in fat and is a great tasting chicken flavour. Designed for adult dogs over four months, DentaFlex is available in three sizes, small, medium and large,

New Pedigree Tasty Bites unlock an additional penetration growth opportunity in the dog care and treats market by entering a new bite size segment.

in most major stockists from mid-June.

A new heavy weight media campaign supporting DentaFlex launches in September to support the NPD. Pedigree Ireland is continuing to invest behind TV, PR and digital campaigns to highlight the serious issue of gum disease in dogs: four out of five dogs over the age of three have gum disease, caused by the build-up of plaque and tartar. The current ‘Doggie Dentures’ TV campaign highlights the importance of oral health care in dogs.

New Pedigree Tasty Bites unlock an additional penetration growth opportunity in the dog care and treats market by entering a new bite size segment. Dogs love to be rewarded and Pedigree Tasty Bites are a range of scrumptiously tasty and meaty treats.

Made with added vitamins, minerals and Omega 3, new Pedigree Tasty Bites come in four varieties of bite size treats: Chewy Cubes, Cheesy Nibbles, Crunchy Pockets and Chewy Slices.

These new treats contain a minimum of 40 treats, are fresh every time due to re-sealable packs and are a perfect complement to the current Pedigree treat range, offering more bonding and reward occasions.

As 30% of dog care and treats are purchased on impulse, this range offers the perfect opportunity to tempt shoppers both in the pet care aisle and away from it. Tasty Bites are available from mid-June in most major stockists.

A new heavyweight media campaign supporting the launch starts in the autumn.

New DentaFlex from Pedigree is an x-shaped dental chew for dogs that is scientifically proven to reduce plaque and tartar build-up at the gum line.

50|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Legal Matters

Contract Killings?

Declan Tormey, Leman Solicitors, advises on contracts, providing practical tips on navigating a potential minefield.

EVERY business transaction is subject to a contract, whether formal or informal, written or oral. Too often, informal or poorly drafted contracts create hazards for one side or the other.

Unfortunately, these hazards come to light only when it is too late, where there is a subsequent dispute between the sides.

This article sets out characteristics of a good contract and some practical tips that can help businesses to avoid or minimize these hazards.

The Basic Characteristics A good contract should have the following basic characteristics: (a) Is in writing and signed on behalf of both sides; (b) Fully reflects the terms that each side believed formed part of the transaction; (c) Clearly sets out the fundamental terms and the rights and obligations of each side; (d) Does not have any ambiguity,

uncertainty or “agreement to agree�; and (e) Complies with any applicable laws.

While these basic characteristics may seem self-evident, they are too often lacking in contracts, whether in standard terms and conditions or in specifically negotiated agreements.

In particular, there is enormous scope for misunderstanding between sides as to the fundamental terms of a transaction, and if this is clarified at the time of entering into the contract, it can significantly help avoid disputes at a later date.

Initial Negotiation Before entering into any contract, a business should clearly set out its requirements and communicate these to the other side. Depending on the type of transaction, this may be by way of purchase order for a relatively standard transaction, or it may be by way of heads of terms or memorandum of understanding for a non-standard

Declan Tormey, Leman Solicitors.

transaction.

The purpose of this first step is to

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|51

Legal Matters clearly set out what each side expects from the other and to ensure that there are not any conflicting assumptions by the parties at an early stage. It is far better to clarify at an early stage any doubt, uncertainty or lack of understanding.

All correspondence at this stage should be marked subject to contract/ contract denied, and note that no contract is intended to be formed as yet. The risk of not doing so is that a contract could be deemed to have been entered into when the sides were still at negotiation stage. This is an issue which has been brought before the courts on a regular basis, and accordingly, care should be taken.

Typical Contract Types The typical form of contract that is put in place largely depends on the type of transaction:

as minimum sales targets in a distribution agreement), but these are the minimum terms that each contract should have.

If a contract does not include each of the above, then the consequent uncertainty creates risks for businesses.

If a contract does not satisfy the above, don’t be afraid to negotiate: it will typically be better for all parties if the contract is improved. Many contracts can have an abundant amount of text but nevertheless fail to meet these basic requirements.

The value that professionals bring is to ensure that contracts meet these requirements.

Type of transaction

Type of contract and actions

Regular transaction where the business can largely dictate the terms of the contract.

Standard terms and conditions should be drafted and used by the business with scope to amend variables such as price, quantity and specific goods or services.

Regular transaction where the other side can largely dictate the terms of the contract.

Terms and conditions are likely to be specified by the other side but should be reviewed by the business and amended where appropriate.

Significant transaction for both sides.

Specifically negotiated agreement drafted and agreed between both sides.

Fundamental Contract Terms Once the underlying terms have been agreed, these terms should be reflected in the formal, written contract. The contract type will typically largely be dictated by the form of transaction, as noted in the table above.

No matter what the form of the contract is, each contract should: (a) meet the basic characteristics set out at the start of this article; (b) accurately identify the parties to the transaction; (c) specify the basis of pricing, invoicing and discounting; (d) set out the terms of delivery and when risk passes, if appropriate; (e) set out what warranties and indemnities, if any, are being given; (f) include retention of title provisions, if appropriate; (g) limit the liability of the parties, if appropriate; (h) set out the length or term of the agreement and how it may be ended early; (i) include “boiler plate” terms such as jurisdiction, dispute resolution and related terms.

Each particular contract may include other specific terms (such

Actions After Signing The importance of an agreed form of contract does not change once the contract has been entered into. Even where a contract has been entered into between the sides which meets the criteria set out above, changing circumstances after signing can still lead to difficulties. The three most common causes of subsequent difficulties are: (a) The term of the contract has ended but no new agreement is put in place; (b) Additional services and/or goods are supplied but are not included under the terms of the original contract; or (c) The terms of the contract are not followed in practice.

On the last issue, if the terms of a contract are not followed in practice, then particular hazards can arise.

In this event, no matter how well negotiated and drafted, the terms of the formal agreement may no longer apply and any dispute may be subject to the terms of the informal arrangements. This can arise to costly claims, and is avoidable by properly reflecting actual practice in the

contract and amending the contract as practice changes.

Practical Tips In summary, when entering into a contract it is essential to: (a) Agree the principal terms in advance of drafting the contract; (b) Minimise the scope for misunderstanding or uncertainty between sides regarding expectations and obligations at an early stage; (c) Ensure each contract has the basic characteristics and contains the fundamental terms set out in this article; and (d) Manage the on-going relationship in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Disclaimer This article is for general information purposes only and does not comprise legal advice on any particular matter.

You should not rely on any of the material in this article without seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this article, we are not liable for any inaccuracies, errors, omissions or misleading information contained in it.

About The Author DECLAN Tormey leads Leman Solicitors’ Commercial and ICT unit. His areas of practice include information technology, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate and commercial advice. Declan has extensive experience as a commercial lawyer, advising both domestic and international clients on a full range of ICT, corporate and commercial issues. Declan is also a qualified Trademark Agent. Declan previously worked as a management consultant in the ICT sector with one of Ireland’s leading independent strategy consultancy firms. Declan specialises in information technology law, corporate transactions and contract law.

OPEN UP YOUR OFF LICENCE TO BETTER VALUE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS & BETTER MARGINS FOR YOU

Barry Group, Upper Quartertown, Mallow, Co. Cork Contact: David O’Keefe 086-7740885 www.barrygroup.ie

go ahead! Unveils a Fruity New Look!

Carryout_RetailNews_210x145 1

United Biscuits is pleased to announce the launch of a new modern look for go ahead! as part of its overarching brand strategy which was unveiled earlier this year. Including a new logo and a fresh new look for its packaging, the launch will ensure the brand is easy to recognise and quicker to find on-shelf to boost healthier biscuit sales for retailers.

A fresh new look Available since early April, the move will see go ahead! emphasise its distinctly fruity offering with a fresh new look. Following a simplified change in lettering, the go ahead! logo will be contained within a green circle and will feature prominently on packs across the range. Each pack will be colour co-ordinated across ranges and flavours so shoppers will be able to quickly find their favourite go ahead! product on the fixture.

Darren Abbott, Commercial Marketing Director of Sweet Biscuits at UBUK, commented: “Healthier biscuits is worth

07/05/2014 11:52

€12m with strong growth year on year, making it a very important part of a retailer’s fixture. With its eye-catching new look, go ahead! will be sure to grab the shopper’s attention and attract new and existing shoppers to the healthier biscuits fixture and grow sales for retailers. As one of the largest healthier biscuit brands, retailers should make sure they stock up on the new look range now to take advantage of the sales on offer through the new design for go ahead!.”

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|53

Food & Hospitality Ireland

Tasty Show Lined Up at Food & Hospitality Ireland Taking place on September 17 and 18 at the Citywest Events Centre, Food & Hospitality Ireland 2014 promises to build on the success of last year’s event.

Foods is another confirmed exhibitor and commenting on last year’s event, the company’s Jimmy McLoughlin said: “Food & Hospitality Ireland was an excellent show. It provided us with a great opportunity to meet our distributors and our end users. We made some very good and unexpected contacts also.”

BUILDING on the success of its inaugural event, Food & Hospitality Ireland is returning this September 17 and 18, with new exhibitors, partners and features.

Whilst still retaining the most popular elements from the 2013 event, Food & Hospitality Ireland is growing and this is reflected in its new location, the Citywest Events Centre.

The choice of new location, just off the N7, is already providing popular with exhibitors, who are keen to avoid Dublin City Centre traffic where possible. For visitors to the event, free parking will be

a welcome addition and for those using public transport, there’s a near-by Luas stop which facilities direct travel to Citywest.

This year’s Food & Hospitality Ireland is set to be even bigger than before.

The show has just been launched, with many of the 2013 exhibitors pledging to return again this year.

Interest from new exhibitors has also been brisk and confirmed exhibitors include Velox Grills, CBE, Catalyic, Delpac Packaging, Montgomery Food Consulting, ASAP Ltd and Hugh Jordan.

Rosie & Jim’s Gourmet

Artisan Food Producers Once again, the County Enterprise Board companies will play an important role in this year’s event, with Food & Hospitality Ireland providing artisan producers with a platform to showcase their products on a national stage. South Cork CEB has already pledged its support and many other CEBs are set to follow suit.

Last year, Manuela Goeb, proprietor of start-up Utterly Nutty, commented: “I attended the show with Kerry CEB to launch a new business and I got fabulous results back.”

Numerous Trade Partners Returning to Food & Hospitality Ireland will be its trade partners – the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland, the Restaurants Association of Ireland and Retail Ireland. In addition, FHI is about to announce a new show partner and feature – of which further details will be revealed over the next month.

Dave Lang, Development Director with the Craft Butchers, adds: “Our 2013 Craft Butchers’ national awards, held at Food & Hospitality Ireland, proved to be our most successful to date. We’re looking forward to being involved with Food & Hospitality Ireland 2014 and now that it will be in Citywest, just off the N7, we feel it is much more accessible to many more attendees.”

To keep updated on new features, exhibitors and partners, follow the show on twitter @ FHIexhibition or log onto www.foodhospitality.ie.

If you would like to be a part of Food and Hospitality Ireland, please contact Caroline McCusker at Caroline.McCusker@ freshmontgomery.co.uk.

Alternatively please call 048 90431000.

54|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Retail Ireland: Monthly Update RETAIL IRELAND JOINS GROUP DEMANDING RENT ACTION RETAIL Ireland recently joined a grouping of Ireland’s foremost voices of business and industry, demanding action by the Government to end upward only rent reviews. The group, representing thousands of retailers, small and medium businesses, exporters and wider industry, said the Retail Ireland Director, Stephen Lynam, is pictured with a group of Government could no longer rest behind legal industry and business representatives outside Leinster House on advice that has had the May 8, calling for action on upward only rents. effect of devastating shops and other commercial outlets across the country, and has called on the Dáil to urgently enact legislation banning upward-only rent reviews, originally introduced by Independent Senator Feargal Quinn and recently passed in the Seanad.

For more on this, visit www.retailireland.ie

Councillors Can Help Retail Recovery RETAIL Ireland has called on Ireland’s newly elected local representatives to do more to address the high level of vacant units on the streets of our towns and cities. Now that the elections are over, the enormous significance of our industry in terms of local employment and regional development needs to be recognised and reflected in the decisions and priorities of local government.

Recent research from CBRE shows that while retail activity has picked up a little, vacancy rates in key towns and cities remain high: • Athlone had a vacancy rate on its high street of 21.6% in Q1 of 2014, up from 18.2% in Q3 of last year.

• The vacancy rate on Patrick Street in Cork is up from 13% to 14.3%.

• Sligo’s high street vacancy rate stands at 12.5%, unchanged from last year.

• Limerick’s rate also remains unchanged at 16.3%.

• Henry Street in Dublin city centre has a vacancy rate of 12.8%, up from 4.3%.

There are improvements in some parts of the country, with high profile areas like Grafton Street showing increased activity and Cork’s Opera Lane development now fully let, but the overall picture highlights the continued problems in the sector, right around the country.

One of the most significant challenges for Irish retailers is the high level of local authority charges, such as commercial rates. Retail Ireland strongly encourages new Councillors to remember that a recovery in the retail sector will reduce the number of vacant units, increase the rates base and ultimately provide extra funding for much needed local services. A key way to ensure such a recovery is to reduce rates for retailers and offer rates holidays for operators that choose to take on a vacant unit. That way we can breathe new life into Ireland’s towns and cities.

Warm Welcome for State-backed SME Bank

RETAIL Ireland warmly welcomes the Government’s recent announcement that it is to establish a new credit facility for SMEs, the Irish Strategic Banking Corporation.

This new State-backed bank is being established to lend €500m directly into the cash-strapped SME sector.

Retail Ireland has long highlighted the serious problem many retailers face when attempting to access credit. Although we are seeing a strengthening recovery in the wider economy, many viable retail businesses are still teetering on the brink due to a lack of viable options to access much needed finance. Many small and medium sized Irish retailers operate solid, viable businesses, but they need ready access to credit to operate and expand. The current banking market is failing these companies - lending criteria are too restrictive and interest rates are simply too high. This new facility should help address this problem. It is not a solution, but it is a very positive development and we look forward to seeing a tangible impact.

Positive Growth in Latest Sales Figures THE CSO’s latest retail sales data for April 2014 was encouraging, despite the fact that overall figures for Q1 2014 were disappointing. April’s numbers were much stronger, showing encouraging growth across most retail categories on an annual comparison basis. The data indicates that in value terms, total retail sales (excluding motor sales and bars) were 2.1% higher in April 2014 when compared with April 2013 and were 4.9% higher in terms of volume of sales.

April saw a welcome increase in sales across supermarkets, department stores, service stations and fashion outlets. There were, however, falls in sales in specialised food shops like butchers and bakeries, and in book stores, highlighting the continued difficulties facing some retailers. Retail Ireland is forecasting growth in consumer spending of around 2% this year and April’s sales trends certainly support this. We look forward to these latest gains resulting in continued growth over the rest of the year.

Tel: 01-6051558 www.retailireland.ie

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Amstel Radler will be positioned in store beside mainstream lagers, on shelf and on floor.

Heineken Ireland are supporting Amstel Radler’s entry into the lager category with a €2M investment.

The Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards 2014 11 September 2014 Round Room Mansion House, Dublin

Entry deadline extended until 16 June 2014 Timeline 11 – 13 March Awards launch

16 June Extended entry deadline

7 – 18 July Judging

11 September Awards presentation

Over 50 food and drink categories

To enter please visit: www.irishqualityfoodawards.com For more details please contact: Lara Monahan lara.monahan@irishqualityfoodawards.com 00 44 (0) 20 8253 8663 / Ireland 00 353 (0) 1 8176363 Please quote the promo code: RNEDFP1 when booking your place.

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Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|57

Irish Quality Food Awards 2014

Food Awards Back For Seconds!

Following the huge success of last year’s inaugural event, the Irish Quality Food Awards are coming back to Dublin this September.

DISHING up another chance for success and industry acclaim, the Irish Quality Food Awards are back for 2014 and calling all retailers, food producers, wholesalers and food service operators across Northern and Southern Ireland.

As last years’ winners continue to feed on the outstanding success of their inauguration in 2013, the Irish Quality Food Awards are back and hungry for more!

A unique collaboration between Food and Hospitality Ireland (formerly SHOP) and The UK Quality Food and Drink Awards (now in its 33rd year), these prestigious accolades set out to recognise excellence in food and drink product development from a variety of companies across Ireland.

Intense Judging Process Once again, the judging will take place over two weeks at The School of Culinary Arts and Food & Technology in Dublin. The results will be announced at a gorgeous gala dinner in the fabulous surroundings of the

Round Room at The Mansion House in Dublin on September 11, 2014.

Repeating last year’s trade-media partnership with Retail News, while forming a consumermedia partnership The team from Marine Harvest are pictured receiving their 2013 with Easy Food Award for Organic Salmon Fillets from Neven Maguire, event MC; magazine, the Irish and Helen Lyons, Organiser, Irish Quality Food Awards.

Quality Food Awards so pleased to be organising a just-as2014 place your food exciting event for 2014,” enthuses and drink products onto the tables you need for success. organiser Helen Lyons, Metropolis The awards themselves are Business Media. “As former winners organised into three distinct sections: can testify, picking up an Irish Quality Category Q – products for the multiple Food & Drink Award is a powerful and independent grocery retail market; marketing tool, with many winners Catering Q – products for the catering using the awards’ logos on their market; Quality Drink Awards – packaging and in national press, alcoholic drinks for retail and food television and outdoor advertising.” service.

Full entry details are available at www.irishqualityfoodawards.com.

Make sure you stay up to date with the Powerful Marketing Tool latest news and competitions via the “We are absolutely delighted with IQFA Facebook and Twitter pages. the success of last year’s awards and

58|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Bloom 2014

Blooming Good Show Over 106,000 happy visitors attended Bloom 2014, held in the Phoenix Park over the June Bank Holiday weekend, which was a massive success for organisers, Bord Bia, and for exhibitors.

BLOOM is now about much more than flowers, having evolved considerably since the inaugural Bloom festival in 2007. While show gardens have traditionally been at its heart, Bloom

now encompasses a comprehensive food and drinks sector, showcasing the latest innovations from Ireland’s burgeoning artisan food and drink producers.

Pictured at the Love Irish Food area at Bloom are Zac Redmond, age 6, from Tyrellstown, Dublin 15, and Anna Beth Leavy, age 4, from Dunboyne. Love Irish Food commissioned a specially designed sand sculpture by Daniel Doyle.

This year saw Bord Bia welcoming over 106,000 visitors to Bloom 2014.

Artisans, exhibitors and garden designers alike have enjoyed a very busy few days, with many reporting buoyant sales onsite, including Donal Skehan’s Skoff pies, CAIS farmhouse cheese and Caulfield Country Boards, who were all sold out before lunchtime on the last day of the show. Last year, a Behaviours and Attitudes study valued the onsite sales at €5.5m and the trend in 2014 was for more of the same.

Outstanding Success “Bloom 2014 has been an outstanding success and feedback from those trading onsite has been extremely positive,” noted Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia. “Bloom is now firmly established in the parklands setting of the Phoenix Park and is regarded as the most important event in the Irish horticulture calendar. Bord Bia is privileged to provide this public showcase of Ireland’s world-class food and horticulture sectors, both of which significantly contribute to Ireland’s economy.”

President of Ireland and Bloom Patron, Michael D Higgins described the event as “a beautiful festival of scents, colours and flavours that announces the delights of summer.”

Addressing a large crowd of Bloom visitors, President Higgins added, “Over the last seven years, Bloom has become an important and beloved rendezvous, not just for professional horticulturists and landscape

Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie|59

Bloom 2014 Topaz and Sodexo.

Irish Cheese Awards The Irish Cheese Awards 2014, the most well-known and prestigious event in the Irish cheese industry calendar, took place at Bloom 2014, where Marion Roeleveld from Killeen Farmhouse Cheese, County Galway, was awarded Supreme Champion for Marion Roeleveld, Killeen Cheese (right), winner of the her ‘Killeen Mature Goat’ Supreme Champion of the 2014 Irish Cheese Awards, pictured with (l-r): Katherina Broderick (daughter of the cheese. The only competition dedicated entirely to Irish late Sheila Broderick) and Grainne Whalley, Traditional cheese, cheese makers from Cheese Company. all over Ireland were judged designers, but also for amateur in 17 classes by a panel of gardeners and all those who wish experts, including Adrian Boswell from to enjoy, discover or simply admire Selfridges and Aoife Carrigy from the Ireland’s wide variety of flowers and Irish Independent. This year, a special plants, fruits and vegetables, and food category entitled Cheese for Children, and drink products.” was judged by Hannah Cahill (10 Bord Bia hosted over 130 food years), Leon Cullen McLoughlin (seven trade buyers from Ireland and the UK years), Ryan Mooney (12 years) and who attended Bloom to meet face to Sarah Whalley (16 years) who awarded face with the 120 Irish food and drink a gold medal to Coolea Farmhouse companies trading on-site at this year’s Cheese for its ‘Coolea Young Matured’ festival. Ireland’s top retailers were cheese. present, along with an impressive SuperValu were an official partner representation from the UK, including of Bloom 2014. SuperValu created an buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & interactive cooking demonstration with Mason and Ocado. In addition, Bord celebrity chef Kevin Dundon which Bia also hosted 50 foodservice buyers included the best of summer food from companies such as Aer Lingus, ingredients, while the supermarket

Food Waste Highlighted at Bloom DUBLIN City Council’s ‘Food For Thought’ garden at Bloom highlighted food waste and showed how to prevent it. Designed by Elma Fenton and commissioned

by Dublin City Council and Cork Institute of Technology’s Clean Technology Centre, the ‘Food for Thought’ Garden is supported by the Stop Food Waste programme and the Local Authority Prevention Network. These initiatives work in partnership with local community groups, businesses, festivals and householders to promote and highlight the message of food waste prevention nationwide.

Model Aoife Walsh, wearing a dress entitled Kiwi In Ireland there is over one million Kouture made from Kiwi skins, and Faith Barnett tonnes of food waste disposed of wearing Banana Belle made from Banana Skin and each year and around 1/3 of this copper wire, are pictured at the Dublin City Council waste comes from households. commissioned Stop Food Waste Garden at Bloom This means that each household is 2014. The garden won a Silver medal in the small throwing out about 1/4 of a tonne of gardens category. food waste each year, costing the average household €700.

The launch of the ‘Food For Thought’ garden coincided with EU proposals to scrap compulsory “best before” labels on certain products to help reduce the estimated 100m tonnes of food wasted across Europe each year.

“We warmly welcome the EU’s move to extend the list of foods that do not require best before dates,” said Odile Le Bolloch, spokesperson for the Stop Food Waste programme at the EPA. “We’ve always been supporters of the premise that best before doesn’t mean bad after and in the case of certain foods this can mean a considerably long time after once the foods are stored correctly.” See www.localprevention.ie for more information.

Strawberry Grower Shares Top Growing Tips at Bloom

KEELINGS Strawberry Grower, Igor Chpak is pictured explaining growing methods for Keelings Irish strawberries to his 10-year-old son, Eric. Igor offered his tips to growing your own strawberry plants at home from Keelings 15m growing tunnel at Bloom 2014.

Visitors to Bloom had the chance to take part in planting for themselves in the “Love to Grow” section of the growing tunnel, while also savouring the delicious taste of Keelings Irish strawberries. Keelings also showcased raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, lettuce and their stunning lily varieties

group also provided 10 free shuttle buses to and from the entrance, used by over 20,000 people over the five days.

“Bloom is a brilliant way for us to connect with our customers in Dublin and help give them a fantastic day out in the Phoenix Park,” noted SuperValu Marketing Manager, Des O’Mahony.

Love Irish Food This year’s show also featured a dedicated Love Irish Food area, where 15 member brands from Love Irish Food exhibited the very best in Irish food and drink manufacturing.

“We surveyed our members brands attending Bloom and the good news is that the majority of them are optimistic about growth and many companies are hoping to create new jobs, locally and internationally, in 2014 and 2015,” noted Kieran Rumley, Executive Director, Love Irish Food.

“If consumers continue to support Love Irish Food brands when they are making purchasing decisions, this pays a real dividend for local producers and communities alike.”

Love Irish Food brands attending this year’s event include: Avonmore, Big Al’s, Britvic Ireland, Dairymaid, Ballymaloe, Jelly Bean Factory, Coole Swan, Broderick’s, Golden Irish Eggs, Skoff Pies, TJ Crowe, Spice Of Live, Gran Clarkes, Empire Donuts and Ballygowan.

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Drinks News Blue Moon Launches New Summer Beer SARAH Smith, Keith Villa and Hannah Davis are pictured at House, Dublin, where Blue Moon Brewing Co. founder and Head Brewmaster Keith Villa, gave a talk about his brewing career and hosted a beer and food pairing session, showcasing a range of limited edition Blue Moon beers. Keith was on a rare visit to Ireland to meet with retailers and Blue Moon drinkers and also officially launch Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat. Blue Moon is America’s top-selling craft brand, while Blue Moon Belgian White is one of the fastest growing beer brands in Ireland.

CHAMPAGNE TAITTINGER TO FLOW IN RIO FIFA have selected Champagne Taittinger Brut Réserve as the official Champagne of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. To mark the occasion, Taittinger has created the first Champagne label in 3D (appreciable without special glasses), a technical feat that makes the bubbles fizz straight out of the label! Taittinger Brut Réserve 2014 FIFA World Cup is available in Ireland through O’Brien Shops nationwide and selected independents with an RRP of €60 per 75cl bottle. Jim Bradley, CEO of Febvre & Company Limited, Irish distributors of Champagne Taittinger, said, “We are very pleased that Champagne Taittinger Brut Réserve 2014 FIFA World Cup will be available to Irish soccer lovers to enable them to acknowledge the feats of their chosen team in the appropriate manner and, by doing so, acquire a collector’s item with the bottle”.

Corona Fastnet Film Festival The 6th Corona Fastnet Film Festival took place in May and was a huge success, welcoming international film crews form Poland, Australia, USA, Hawaii, Italy and France over its five days. Several exciting participants at the festival included film experts Steven Frears, Steve Coogan, Gabrielle Tana, Jim Sheridan, Tracey Seaward, Sandy Lieberson, David Quin and Jack Gold, while the event was documented by film-maker Myles O’Reilly. Despite the fact that Schull has no cinema, organisers have come up with innovative methods to showcase over 350 films all over the town by encouraging filmmakers, tourists and locals to access the submitted competition films locally, on their laptops, iPads and smart phones, simply by logging on. ‘Rubai’, directed by Louise Ni Fhiannachta, was named Best Drama and Best of Festival in the Festival Awards.

Louise is pictured with Michael Satke, sponsor.

JAMESON EXPERIENCE TOUR REVAMPED THE Jameson Experience, Midleton, has launched an upgraded tour ahead of what is predicted to be its busiest summer on record. Coopers who worked in the original distillery during the 1960s led the restoration of a disused warehouse, and for the first time, visitors can now explore where casks of Midleton whiskey are matured. The new addition to the tour, dubbed ‘WHA1’ or ‘Warehouse One’ will add a sensual experience for visitors to view, feel and smell a traditional whiskey warehouse. The work, which took almost a year to complete, was undertaken by local Cork contractors. Tourists will also now have the opportunity to learn about the craftsmanship involved in creating a whiskey cask in the new cooperage exhibition room. For further information, see www.jamesonwhiskey.com/tours/.

SANTA HELENA SCOOPS INTERNATIONAL AWARD SUPPLIER of BWG Wines & Spirits’ exclusive label Santa Helena, Chilean winery VSPT, has been named as ‘Ethical Company of the Year’ at The Drinks Business’ annual Green Awards, recognising the company’s dedication to its community through best ethical practice. Speaking about the award, Gill O’Meara, BWG Wines & Spirits, said: “We are very proud to be the exclusive Irish suppliers of the Santa Helena label, especially in light of this achievement. It is our mission to source the very best wines at affordable prices for our discerning consumers.” This is the third global award received by one of BWG’s exclusive label wines, having recently picked up a bronze for its Canaletto Pinot Noir at the Global Pinot Noir Masters 2014, in addition to a Gold medal for its renowned Prestige Champagne at International Wine Challenge 2013.

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www.retailnews.ie|May 2014|Retail News|61 www.retailnews.ie|June

Market News LYNX ATTRACT RETURNS TOREFUEL TV LUCOZADE SPORT HELPS TO WORLD CUP COVERAGE EARLIER this year, Lynx launched its Lynx Attract - For Him and has For teamed Her range multiplatform marketing campaign.

The brand LUCOZADE Sport upwith withaRTÉ to help keep the players taking part in the The during introduction of Lynx Attract - For Him continues to cause chaos with its return to TV,2014 as part of World a €4.4m FIFA Cupmarketing refuelled campaign. and energised their matches.

If temperatures and For Her was an historic moment for brandexceed as it brought the ‘Lynx Effect’ to women for the time in its 27-year 32 degrees before a game, the referee willfirst introduce fluid breaks,history. one in “Lynx each Attract is continuing to unleash the full power of thelasting ‘Lynx approximately Effect’ to men two and minutes, women across Ireland with to TV,” saidbefore half, to allow players to its restreturn and cool down Selina Sykes, Lynx Marketing Manager. “The TV advert to is set remind peopleSport of thehas chaos that can be caused bywill theprovide incredibly returning the to pitch.

Lucozade teamed up with RTE and seductive fragrances, which have been designed to make the mating game doubly exciting.” www.facebook.com/lynxeffectuk hydration messaging advertising during the liveSee televised fluid breaks featuring England for more information. captain Steven Gerrard. “We are really excited to bring a media first to the market, as mid-match advertising has never happened before during a major soccer tournament, whilst also educating viewers on what the high performance athletes are going through on the pitch,” noted Jim Geraghty, Marketing Manager, Lucozade Sport.

MCVITIE’S CHEDDARS CRISPY BACON UNITED has announced the launch of McVitie’s Cheddars IN CrispyJELLY Bacon. The new Crispy Bacon flavour addition to the McVitie’s NEWBiscuits BRANDY VARIETY CHUNKS 12-PACK

Cheddars range will be available in the same 150g roll wrap format as other products in the McVitie’s Cheddars range, with the addition of FOLLOWING on from the successful launch of Brandy Chunks in Jelly six and three-packs, Brandy is a purple colour at one end to differentiate from the core range. Retailers can stock it alongside existing savoury biscuit lines and the splash excited to announce the launch of their new Brandy Variety Chunks in Jelly 12 Pack. Brandy Chunks of colour will create standout on-shelf. The product will be supported by an initial trial price mechanic, as well as price-links to existing in Jelly 12 Pack will complement the current Brandy Variety Loaf 12 Pack. This new Chunks in Jelly McVitie’s Cheddars lines.

12 Pack is a mixed variety poultry selection and is available in four tasty recipes to tempt your dog’s taste buds: Chicken, Chicken & Duck, Chicken & Turkey and Duck & Turkey. This pack is available to order now. Made from 100% Irish meat and fully traceable from farm to can, consumers know they’re feeding their dog only the best. Brandy… because they’re 100% family!

NEW LOOK CADBURY ECLAIRS

SCORE WITH SCRIBBLES

THIS August, KraftFOR is introducing a new pack format and design for its ever popular Cadbury Eclairs brand. In line with shopper trends, the REBRAND DONEGAL RAPESEED OIL iconic brand will move from a roll-pack to a pocket bag format, which will improve visibility and stand-out. The new design highlights the rich DONEGAL Rapeseed Oil is enjoying BRAZILIAN Moralinda and indulgent associationsawith brand and incorporates the unique ‘journey to the model, centre’ that consumers love about the product. The totalthe rebrand, as well as extending Diaz, who hails from Sao Paulo, with is in-store POS. € 1.20 and will be supported product which has a RRP of 75 cent will launch at a special offer price of 2 for its product line. With sales increasing pictured launching the latest on-pack substantially year by year, the promotion from Irish sandwich brand, company has decided to develop a Scribbles. ‘Score with Scribbles’ will clear brand and image that merits see lucky customers win a plasma the award winning high quality CROZIER BLUE TEAMS UP WITH TESCO TV if they find a ‘golden ball’ in their product. Stocked in over 300 stores ONE of Ireland’s best known cheeseincluding makers has teamed up with Tesco Irelandpacks. to promote andgolden boost consumption of Crozier Blue, sandwich With five nationwide, SuperValu the only blue cheese in this country madeRapeseed from sheep’s milk. The promotion Crozier hosting tastings in Tesco Ireland outlets balls up sees for grabs, customers can stores, Donegal Oil has throughout the country, offering significant for consumers, ‘Score in whatwith is aScribbles’ major marketing opportunity for Crozier Blue, also gained the sealdiscounts of approval if they come from some of Her Ireland’s most cheesemaker Sarah Furno explained. parents, Jane and Louis Grubb, who also created Cashel Blue, up trumps and find a golden ball.

To first began making the reveredinchefs, winning cheese their including Tipperaryaward dairy 20 yearscelebrity ago nextchef year.Neven “Crozier Blue is the best cheeses to be found in Ireland,” said Tesco tapone intooffootie fever and embrace all Maguire (pictured), who Barra doesn’t cook with anything The Ireland’s cheese buyer, McFeely.

“The cheeseelse. is performing well in our shops and it is anhas important things Brazilian, Scribbles createdpart of our range. We are company have such also recently extended product line, with proud to stock a prestigious Irishtheir cheese.”

Jane and Louis Grubb’s Henry Clifton Brown is pictured with Crozier Blue threenephew Brazilian-inspired limited edition sandwiches – Sao Paulo flavoured Donegal Rapeseed Oil in lemon, chilli, and garlic; range.

Beef, Piri Piri BBQ Pork and Chimchurri Chicken – which are and the premium gold range oils in curry, fennel, and porcini sure to score with customers mushroom flavours.

CRYSTAL INVISIBLE SALES WITH SURE WOMEN VOGUE PERLE CAPSULE SURE Women is launching a new

PJ CARROLL & of Co.the Ltd is drivingofinnovation in the cigarette variant as part re-launch its category with the range launchofofanti-perspirant Vogue Perle Capsule. “Vogue Perle Crystal Invisible Capsule has been to refresh accelerate the growth of the deodorants.

With developed a packaging Vogue range and meet adult smokers’ desire for continued and a new and improved aerosol formula, innovation within the category,” comments the range offers consumers Sure’s best Martin Keevers, Trade Development Manager P J Carroll.

Perle Capsule adds ever protection againstatwhite marks “Vogue and ayellow whole stains. new dimension with a Spearmint flavoured capsule, so Available in the compressed when clicked, Vogue Perle Capsule delivers a refreshing burst format, new Sure Women Crystal Invisible inDiamond comparison to other menthol-flavoured capsule cigarettes.”

– for Black + White, along with 8.20, Vogue Perle Capsule contain the same Priced at €Crystal the entire Invisible range, haswill been smooth 7mg as current Vogueand Perle Bronze, which it designed to blend minimise white marks replaces from July onwards. purchase products, and for yellow stains, whilst offeringTo long-lasting details of their nearest launch deals, retailers can call 1800 604 48-hour sweat protection. The packaging 500. refresh sees the entire Crystal Invisible range boast a new pack design, which includes a black and white t-shirt icon to communicate the no-marks proposition.

BEWLEY’S LAUNCHES FRESH COFFEE CAPSULES

ROBINSONS FRUIT SHOOT NOT BEWLEY’S have unveiled IMPACTED BY coffee UK RECALL new single-serve fresh

espressoIreland capsules BRITVIC hassuitable confirmed that Robinsons Fruit Shoot for use in and all Nespresso produced sold by it coffee in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) is not machines. new Bewley’sand voluntary product recall impacted byThe a precautionary capsules,inwhich containKingdom.

100% This is because Fruit Shoot occurring the United Arabica fresh coffee roasted by is fitted with a standard cap sold by Britvic Ireland in the ROI Bewley’s in Dublin, come in two and not the new design cap – ‘Magicap’ - that has given rise espresso style coffee blends to packaging safety issues in the UK. In the unlikely event that Bewley’s Excelso (strength 6) consumers encounter Fruit Shoot packs sourced from other and Bewley’s Prima (strength markets and bearing the Magicap pictured below, they should 8). The airtight foil capsules are return it to the retailer for a full refund. For further information, specially designed to maximise call Britvic Ireland’s Customer Contact Centre: 1890 704804.. the flavour intensity and taste of Bewley’s fresh ground coffee, making it ideal to enjoy all day at home. Available in packs of 10 individually wrapped capsules with an RRP of € 3.59, the capsules are listed in select supermarkets nationwide.

62|Retail News|June 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Shelf Life WELL done to all the team from Mackle Petfoods who completed the eightmile walk at the recent Belfast Marathon. The Mackle Team collected over £2,000 for The Clic Sargent Children’s Cancer Charity. Pictured are (l-r): Karen Douglas, Amy Kelly, Debra Murphy, Steph Magowan, Elaine Hall, Claire McCann, and Gwen Rafferty.

THE first commercially caught Irish wild salmon of 2014 will shortly be found on sale in Harrods after a Co. Clare company landed a 12-month deal to supply its trademark product at the world famous department store’s prestigious slicing area. Burren Smoked Irish Wild Salmon, which is produced by The Burren Smokehouse, will be offered for sale at Harrods Food Hall in the latest commercial success for the Lisdoonvarna-based company, which already supplies its products overseas to KaDeWe Berlin, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason. The family-run company sources its wild salmon from commercial fisherman, Mick Murphy on the River Nore in Co. Kilkenny, before smoking the fish in the Burren. For more, visit www.burrensmokehouse.ie.

EXPERTS in the dried fruit and nuts category, Forest Feast took to the tee with over 200 lady golfers at Lisburn Golf Club to compete in the 5th annual Forest Feast Lisburn Ladies’ Open on June 5. 20 teams from across Northern Ireland and Donegal battled it out on the fairways and greens, with Eileen Moore from Dungannon being crowned the Open Champion. Each golfer received a Forest Feast goody box, ensuring they were fuelled to play the 18-hole parkland course. Lisburn ladies captain Gil Colvin and Forest Feast Marketing Manager Deidre Burns are pictured with Eileen Moore, Dungannon, overall winner of the 2014 Forest Feast Open at Lisburn Golf Club.

FLANAGAN’S Fish Merchants, the renowned fish shop in Waterford City, has launched two new seafood product ranges that are sure to prove popular with new and existing customers. With assistance from Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s (BIM’s) Seafood Development Centre in Clonakilty, Co. Cork, the company has produced a range of healthy pre-pack fish meals for families, called Catch of the Day, and a new range of summer seafood offerings that are perfect for cooking on the BBQ this summer, including a selection of fish and seafood skewers available at the fresh fish counter, in addition to marinated tuna, swordfish and salmon and whole fish for the BBQ. Pictured are (l-r): John and Aine Whittle, Flanagan’s; Aileen Deasy, BIM’s Seafood Technologist; and Katie Healy, BIM SDC, Clonakilty, Co. Cork.

DISCOUNT retailer Dealz recently launched its highly anticipated exclusive Jane Asher bakeware range, with early figures showing it is set to be one of the business’ most popular and fastest selling ranges to date.

Proving Ireland’s love of baking is stronger than ever, the range has exceeded forecasted sales for the first week by 40% so far since launching in April. The pastel coloured bakeware range makes for the perfect introduction to bakery, boasting more than 50 items. Top sellers to date include cake moulds, the icing set, the five litre food container and Jane Asher’s Beautiful Baking book.

The range is currently sold in all 31 Dealz stores across Ireland at a €1.49 price point.

THE IGBF Black Tie Gala Ball takes place on Saturday, October 18, in the Shelbourne Hotel. For your chance to be part of a fun night of ‘Rock & Royalty’, while helping this most worthy of causes, contact Ciara on (01) 6280111 or email ciara@hotel-solutions.ie.

ONE of Ireland’s largest craft breweries, Carlow Brewing Company, has signed a new ‘green’ energy supply deal with competitive energy provider Energia. The 12-month contract will see Energia supply over 400,000 Kwh of renewable electricity to Carlow Brewing Company’s production facilities in Bagnelstown, Co. Carlow. “Our beers use the finest natural ingredients sourced from the Irish countryside. That is why it makes perfect sense for us to sign this ‘green’ energy deal that will see all of our brewing powered by 100% renewable energy,” explained Andrew Lowry, Operations Manager, Carlow Brewing Company, pictured (right) with Alan Mulcahy, Business Markets Manager, Energia.

SUPERVALU has launched its summer expert panel in all 223 stores nationwide, just in time for BBQ season, and the retailer is predicting a surge in sales in the coming months. SuperValu helps shoppers make the most of summer through their extensive network of in-store experts. Boasting more expert butchers and fishmongers across their stores nationwide than any other Irish retailer, SuperValu is always on hand with hints and tips, not only in food selection, but also in preparing the perfect meal for any occasion. This summer, SuperValu forecasts rising summer temperatures will lead to sales for pre-packed and over the butcher counter burgers more than tripling, while sales of butcher style sausages and dressings will double, and burger buns and hot dog rolls should see an increase of over 200%. SuperValu ice-cream sales are also expected to see a massive increase of 50% to 100% as temperatures start to rise.

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