Retail News November 2010

November 2010

November10Contents

www.ism-cologne.com

n inside view

Green Shoots for Grocery AFTER the last two years of ever-tightening margins, there is at last some good news for Ireland’s beleaguered grocery sector, with the latest Kantar Worldpanel report showing chinks of light in terms of market growth. In the 12-week period to October 3, 2010, we have seen solid market growth for the first time since February 2009, while the latest National Consumer Agency survey reveals the changes in consumer shopping habits.

See full report on Page 4.

More good news for retailers comes with the news that the off-trade continues to grow, and now represents almost 35% of the entire Irish drinks sector in value terms and 55% of volume (Page 5), while retail groups like Tesco, Iceland and the Barry Group are investing in new store openings, in what is sure to stimulate growth across the sector.

In other news of ‘green shoots’, we report from the 9th annual Repak Recycling Awards, which took place recently in the National Convention Centre, where the winners included Tesco Ireland, Irish Distillers, Garvey’s SuperValu in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, and Kraft Foods Ireland (Page 25). In a hard-hitting interview, Derek Caswell, Commercial Director of Kraft Foods Ireland reflects on their Award win, as well as the company’s deep-rooted commitment to sustainability, the Government’s role in helping indigenous companies to compete in the EU and why Irish consumers are different to their UK counterparts and should be treated as such (Page 18).

Last but not least, the Festive Season is almost upon us, and it’s time to prepare by stocking up on the big brands guaranteed to sell this Christmas. We focus on the big seasonal sellers (Page 26-40) in grocery, while also examining some of the biggest drinks brands in the country (Page 42-51).

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“Over 53 years

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serving the Irish

Kathleen Belton, Editorial & Marketing Director

grocery trade.”

Your direct contact: Tel.: +44 20 75 66 63 40 Fax: +44 20 75 66 63 41

Managing Director: Fergus Farrell Editorial & Marketing Director: Kathleen Belton Editor: John Walshe

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November10Contents

Contents November 2010

News 4Solid Growth for Retail

Shop Profile 16Padraig Broderick has

Sector.

managed to grow his business at SPAR Croom, Co. Limerick, through a combination of forward thinking and hard work on the part of the store owner and his symbol group partner.

5Off-Sales Continue to Rise; Opportunity Knocks for Tesco; Small Retail Thinks Big at EU Conference.

6Retailers Selling Smuggled Tobacco; Peter Foley Leaves Londis; Iceland to Open 40+ New Stores.

7Repak Announces Membership Fee Freeze for 2011; New Fresh Meat Range from BWG Foods; Bright Future for Barry Group.

8Co-operation Agreement to Combat Tobacco Smuggling; Retail Ireland Calls for Rates Reduction; Topaz Wins at Retail Excellence Ireland Awards.

Music Use In-Store 15Brendan Griffin, Director of Licensing, IMRO, explains the benefits of in-store music and why you need an IMRO licence to play music in your store.

18

Gala Annual Conference 22King’s Gala in

Off Licence Awards 62The third Edward Dillon

Ashbourne was named Gala Store of the Year at the Gala Annual Conference.

EuroSPAR/SPAR/SPAR Express Off-Licence of the Year Awards 2010 took place recently.

Repak Recycling Awards 25Prevention of packaging

26

was the big winner at the 9th annual Repak Recycling Awards which took place recently.

Christmas Stocking Special Report 26Your guide to the

The Retail News Interview 18Derek Caswell, Commercial Director, Kraft Foods Ireland, on the company’s deep-rooted commitment to sustainability, the effect of the recession and what the acquisition of Cadbury Ireland means for the business.

PostPoint News 20PostPoint Christmas Giveaway; New BillPay Campaign; Competition Winners.

Christmas essentials, guaranteed to fly off your shelves this Festive Season.

Tobacco Products 52Illicit cigarette sales are

Shelf Life 64All the latest news and gossip from the trade.

impacting on the legitimate tobacco market, but tobacco sales, when handled correctly, remain a crucial element in every store’s product mix.

Regulars

SHOP 2010 60A 40% increase in

26 Christmas Stocking: Essentials

new exhibitors and strong visitor numbers, allied to a variety of awards, helped September’s SHOP 2010 to be a roaring success.

42 Christmas Stocking: Drinks

10 Industry News 63 What’s New Sectoral Reports 40 Christmas Stocking: Batteries 51 Christmas Stocking: Champagne & Sparkling Wine

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November10News

Solid Growth for Retail Sector THE Irish grocery industry and Irish consumers finally have a meeting of minds. After years at loggerheads accusations of Rip-Off Republic during the Celtic Tiger and shoppers flocking to Northern Ireland in the current recession - the two stables are beginning to understand one another. In a report from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, the 12 weeks ending on October 3, 2010 showed solid market growth and an improved situation for retailers, the first of its kind since February 2009. Meanwhile, a National Consumer Agency (NCA) survey highlights a renewed sense of optimism amongst Irish consumers.

“It has been a difficult time for businesses and consumers, but we are beginning to see the balance between the two is much better,” Fergal O’Leary, Assistant Director of Research at the NCA told Retail News. “Retailers are in business to make money and keep their customers as happy as possible, so they come back. Any part of a good business practice is to have a good consumer who knows what they are looking for, so they push the retailer in the right direction.”

In 2010, consumers certainly know what they want. In October, the Irish grocery market grew by 1.2%, yet grocery inflation stands at 2.4%. This suggests shoppers have traded down to cheaper goods in order to save money.

Discount stores have benefited as a result, according to Kantar Worldpanel, which collects data throughout the year from a consumer panel of 3000 households in Ireland, who discovered that Lidl and Aldi had won market growth of 9.1% and 8.3% respectively in the month leading up to October 3.

Almost €1 in every €10 paid for grocery items is now spent in discount stores, David Berry, Commercial Director at Kantar Worldpanel Ireland and author of the report, explained to Retail News. “Discounters have been real winners during the recession,” he said. “They have increased share significantly. Now they’re up to 10% share of the grocery market.”

Not all retailers have been quite so fortunate, according to the report. Tesco has seen a dip in its market share to 27%, although this is from a record high of 27.6%. Meanwhile, Superquinn’s rate of decline has slowed from -12.4% in 4

March to -2.8% in October: a 6.6% stake in the Irish grocery market.

Aggressive expansion, even in the face of recession, can be to the advantage of a business, believes Berry.

“Tesco have plans to continue opening new stores,” he said. “Discounters have benefited from opening new stores. If you start from the position of closing stores, it is going to be difficult to hold your share. Superquinn, who have lost quite a bit of share over the course of the recession, closed one store and that has a big impact on their performance.”

Superquinn may claw back ground with the opening of a new store in Dublin’s Heuston South Corner and two further store openings elsewhere in Ireland.

Dunnes Stores, on the other hand, remains largely unmoved with a market share of 22.8%. Compared to a couple of years ago, however, when Tesco’s lead over the Irish chain was about 1% in market share, we are now at the point where Dunnes are 5% behind Tesco.

As the NCA survey suggests, the changing grocery plateau is a result of consumers thinking differently.

Although income has decreased, consumers are researching and planning their purchases and comparing products. The average annual shopping bill has fallen from €6,127 to €5,572, so consumers have made permanent changes to their buying patterns. According to the NCA, one in three (34%) consumers is spending more time bargain hunting, three in 10 (31%) are spreading their shopping across a number of shops, and three in four (72%) say the recession has made them think carefully about purchases.

“Comparing 2005 to 2010, there has been an enormous change in consumer

behaviour,” said O’Leary. “In 2005, consumers were generally unwilling to complain - they weren’t switching service providers, even when the service provider wasn’t giving them very good service. They were confused and unsure about their rights. They were also very unhappy with the price they were paying for nearly everything and felt ripped off. Contrast that with 2010. Consumers are more price conscious, thriftier, more confident about their consumer rights, more willing to complain, better money managers. More importantly, they are more empowered for all of their consumer transactions.”

As a result of this shift in shopping attitudes, specific product categories are winning out. Own brand is popular, explained Berry, as are categories such as pizzas and ethnic foods, pasta, rice and frozen poultry. “In this research, we learned that people are preparing more meals from scratch,” said O’Leary. “That suggests we are going back a little bit to the older ways of buying fresh ingredients. People have learned that this is generally a cheaper way to feed a family.

There is money to be saved if food can be freshly purchased and prepared.”

With the seasonal period approaching, more value growth is expected for the market, but if the recent surveys are to be believed, things have changed for the long-term.

“People have learned hard skills over the last few years and they are unlikely to forget those lessons,” said O’Leary.

“We will have a healthier and more competitive consumer environment. I genuinely believe that is good for retail businesses as well. Good consumers create good business.”

November10News

Off-Sales Continue to Rise A NEW report from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) suggests the off-licence sector continues to grow its share of the Irish drinks industry. The report, published by DCU economist Anthony Foley, found the off-licence sector had 34.8% of market value in 2009, compared to 27.5% in 2000. In 2009, off-licences had about 55% of alcohol volume sales and employed 46,000 full time staff across off-licences and distribution businesses.

“By comparison with last year, off sales are having a good year,” explained Kieran Tobin, Chairman of DIGI, in an interview with Retail News. “During the first half of 2010, a lot of cross-border purchasing was repatriated. The overall market was up about 6.5% and that is driven by the off-trade. The off-trade must be up 15%. There is also a shift from the ontrade to the off-trade. There has been a share gain for the off-trade.”

According to DIGI’s report, personal expenditure on beverages in 2009 amounted to €7.185bn, or 8.5% of total consumer expenditure. Of this, €6.531bn of this was spent on alcohol and €654.3m on non-alcoholic beverages. Although 34.8% of this expenditure ended up in off-licences, 65.2% was spent in public houses, bars, restau-

rants, hotels and nightclubs.

However, the report also revealed that the drinks industry - valued at €3bn - is suffering thousands of job losses. DIGI proposed a package of measures to help restore consumer confidence and support the hospitality sector, including a ban on below cost selling of alcohol.

Small Retail Thinks Big at EU Conference THE flag for Irish independent retailers was recently flown in Brussels. Tara Buckley, Director General of RGDATA, was one of the speakers at an EU conference, ‘Towards A Fairer Retail Market’, which sought to improve equality and efficiency of the retail sector by 2020.

Buckley’s platform was part of a session concerning retail accessibility.

“The main message I was trying to get across was that over the past number of years, there has been a feeling that the EU has gone by the ‘big is best’ mantra,” she told Retail News.

“They needed to take into account the contribution smaller independent shops make, particularly in a country like Ireland where we have a displaced population. It is important people have local shops they can walk to. The contribution local shops make to their communities and the local economy should not be undermined.”

As part of her five minutes on the podium, Buckley spoke about Ireland’s planning rules and guidelines, caps on retail store sizes, the preference for town centre development, and bans on

greenfield, out of town, development.

She touched on the burden of regulation that the EU sometimes imposes on small business, giving an example of an owner of a small supermarket who had started importing goods from the UK and received “a telephone directory” of statistical data that he had to supply the EU. “I also spoke about other shops, smaller supporters of artisan producers and local producers,” she continued. “The EU needs to ensure we don’t strangle them with a burden of regulation that takes away their viability as businesses.”

Buckley’s speech was followed by questions from the floor, during which time an attendee questioned whether a fair grocery market should involve small retailers going head-to-head with

RGDATA Director General, Tara Buckley.

big supermarkets. “I responded that this is not about ‘small versus big’. I’m making the argument for diversity: regulations, laws, planning laws that allow for diversity, so small and big can operate.

We know the market has changed and developed over the last 20 years, but I’m saying consumers should have a choice of both small and big.”

Opportunity Knocks for Tesco TESCO has opened a new supermarket in Naas, Co. Kildare, as part of a €113m investment in new stores and the redevelopment of other outlets around the country. The store is creating 266 new jobs in the locality. In a sign of the dwindling workforce amid recession, the store attracted over 3,000 applicants for jobs. The supermarket giant plans to open new outlets in Galway, Mayo and Waterford before Christmas, creating 748 new jobs in Ireland this year.

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November10News

Retailers Selling Smuggled Tobacco SOME small shops across Ireland are starting to sell illegal tobacco in an attempt to remedy their plummeting sales. Benny Gilsenan, Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) spokesperson, told Retail News that smugglers are finding eager customers amongst retailers whose businesses are on the rocks. “Somebody comes in and offers you 200 cigarettes at €40 that you can get a return of €85 for,” he said. “There are some small shops that will think, ‘This is an opportunity for me to make a few bob. I can’t make it on cigarettes normally’. They’ve been suckered by these criminals into taking

Benny Gilsenan, Retailers Against Smuggling spokesperson.

these illegal brands.”

Do these retailers sell them under the counter? “Yes, generally speaking

the small corner shop or the small shop in a small town will know his customers [and what they want]. I’m not saying he should do it and I would not condone it at all, but he knows his clients and can say to himself, ‘I can give these to Joe Bloggs at €7 a packet and I’m still making €3 a packet.’ Whereas on the genuine brands he normally sells, he makes in and around 62c a packet.”

Criminals are also dropping flyers in housing estates, with price lists for illicit tobacco, Gilsenan continued.

Advertised prices range from €28-40 for packs of 200 cigarettes.

Iceland to Open 40+ New Stores ICELAND are set to open more than 40 new stores across Ireland in the next four years. The AIM Group, one of Ireland’s largest independent wholesalers and the holder of the master franchise of Iceland supermarkets in Ireland, announced the new Iceland stores recently, along with the opening of 15 Home Savers stores, a new discount chain of homeware stores, and 50 €2 Stores. The total level of capital investment will be over €25m and will create more than 2175 new jobs.

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Keogh, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the AIM Group, said, “Our combined retail offering of value-formoney Iceland foods along with our own brand Home Savers stores, we believe will capture the Irish public’s attention

and are sure-fire winners. We have a well funded aggressive roll-out programme of retail stores for the next four years.”

Keogh stated that the group are committed to using Irish suppliers throughout the expansion programme. “Iceland spends over Pictured at the opening of the Iceland store £50m in Ireland on quality Irish in Dublin’s Ilac Centre are (l-r): Nigel produce, such as milk, bread, meat Broadhurst, Iceland’s UK Buying Director, and poultry,” he said. “We are very and Tom Keogh, Chief Executive Officer of the AIM Group. committed to spending more in of the Iceland business in Ireland but Ireland and we want to increase it also signals the start of much bigger this value in the weeks ahead.” things for the future. We are keen to Nigel Broadhurst, Iceland’s UK develop strong relationships with food Buying Director, went on to say, “We manufacturers in Ireland and would are absolutely delighted with this latest welcome the opportunity to review development in our franchise partnerrelationships with potential big volume ship with the AIM group. Not only is it suppliers.” good news in terms of the development

Peter Foley Leaves Londis AFTER a very busy and challenging two years that has seen the completion of a number of specific business programmes for ADM Londis plc, Peter Foley has resigned from his position as Commercial Director of the Group to pursue other interests.

The Group is currently recruiting for the role of Commercial Director and expects to make an appointment before the year end.

“I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Board, staff and ADM Londis retailers to thank Peter for all his efforts and support during his time with the ADM Londis Group. We wish him the very best of luck in his future Departing ADM Londis endeavours,” stated Stephen O’Riordan, Commercial Director, Chief Executive, ADM Londis plc.

Peter Foley.

6

Bright Future for Barry Group THE Barry Group is set to plough €5.5m into its business.

The Mallow-based distribution company has earmarked €3.5m for a 55,000 square feet expansion of its warehouse facilities, which will bring its distribution centre to 200,000 square feet over a five acre site. The further €2m is planned for four new BuyLo Superstores, set to open in Killarney, Waterford, Shannon and Dublin before end of November.

“As a country, we need to move beyond the negative business environment of the past two years and look forward to a brighter future,” said Jim Barry, Managing Director of the Barry Group. “The continued growth and expansion of our business is tangible proof that there are significant opportunities in the marketplace for companies brave enough to seek them out and take advantage of them.”

November10News

Repak Announces Membership Fee Freeze for 2011 REPAK, the industry funded used packaging recycling scheme, has announced that due to rigid cost control measures, there will be no increase in the 2011 fee membership.

This is the third year in a row that membership fees have been frozen, despite a backdrop of operating deficits for the last two years and a projected deficit for next year, due mainly to the increased cost of household collections and falling membership income.

Repak is also under strong pressure from the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley TD, and Government to increase the packaging recycling rates to 75% by 2013 (up from the current recycling rate of approximately 60%).

Such targets would place Ireland above all other European countries, with the exception of Belgium, for packaging

recycling rates. Achieving this means greater subsidies to waste contractors to incentivise collection of less attractive and more difficult to recycle items.

Additionally, the draft policy is calling on Repak to abandon its shared cost model and pay full cost, which would add further to members’ costs.

In such a climate, it is remarkable that Repak have being able to hold fees and have not increased fees like most other European compliance schemes, where increases have been in double digits.

However, the organisation has indicated that rigid control of costs without increases is unsustainable and that future fee increases will be necessary to met future increased targets.

“Despite the tough economic environment, Repak is the only packaging compliance scheme within the main

Dr Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Repak.

European member states to hold charges at previously low levels, while continuing to achieve national recycling targets,” noted Dr Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Repak. “Based on the continued growth in domestic recycling, which currently accounts for over 70% of the Repak spend, and the necessity for Repak – as a not-for-profit organisation – to seek equilibrium with costs and expenditure over the medium-term, fee increases in the future will be needed.”

New Fresh Meat Range from BWG Foods BWG Foods has launched an exclusive Irish fresh meat range, Glenmór, investing €1m over three years in the roll-out through its store network, totalling some 800 in the country.

BWG Foods has for the last 12 months been working with local Irish suppliers to develop a comprehensive range of quality, competitively priced fresh meat products, which are all sourced from Bord Bia accredited suppliers. There are 13 products in the range at present, with plans to introduce new products.

“We identified a gap in our offering for a dedicated local fresh meat range and felt it was a category that would thrive in our stores based on consumer shopping habits,” noted Willie O’Byrne, Managing Director, BWG Foods. “All products selected for the newly created Glenmór brand have been produced by suppliers who meet the strict standards set down by the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme.”

The newly created Glenmór range will be exclusive to the SPAR,

Pictured at the launch of the Glenmór range is Willie O’Byrne, Managing Director, BWG Foods, with Brandon Noble and Eabha Last.

EUROSPAR and MACE retail brands, and will include pre-packed meats and whole chickens as well as primal cuts.

The primary suppliers of these beef, pork, lamb and poultry products currently include: AIBP, based in Cahir, Co. Tipperary, supplying pre-packed beef and pork; Carton Bros., based in Co. Monaghan, supplying pre-packed poultry; Oliver Carty, based in Athlone,

Co. Westmeath, supplying bacon and ham; Irish Country Meats, based in Co. Wexford, supplying pre-packed lamb.

Commenting on the new range, IFA President John Bryan said, “BWG Foods’ move to 100% Bord Bia Quality Assured Irish beef, lamb, pork and poultry under the new Glenmór fresh meat range is a positive and welcome development for both consumers and producers.”

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November10News

Co-operation Agreement to Combat Tobacco Smuggling JOHN Player’s parent company, Imperial Tobacco has recently signed a co-operation agreement with the Member States of the European Union, including Ireland, and the European Commission to jointly combat smuggling and illegal selling of tobacco.

Under the agreement, John Player and its parent company, Imperial Tobacco, will work together with the European Commission and law enforcement authorities in Ireland and the Member States to tackle the smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products which cost the EU €10billion last year.

Building on the successful cooperation that already exists between

Irish Customs and John Player, the Agreement will strengthen cooperation in a number of areas and includes payments by Imperial Tobacco of US $300m (€207m) over 20 years to combat tobacco smuggling.

Commenting on the agreement, Andrew Meagher, Managing Director of John Player, said that the only winners in tobacco smuggling are the criminals, while government revenues and tobacco control measures are adversely affected: “The Agreement will enhance antismuggling initiatives in Ireland and underlines our commitment to partner with the authorities in the fight against tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting.

Andrew Meagher, Managing Director of John Player.

We want to play our part in dismantling this concept that Ireland is a smugglers’ paradise and this agreement underlines John Player’s commitment.”

Retail Ireland Calls for Rates Reduction

Retail Ireland Director, Torlach Denihan.

RETAIL Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the retail sector, has called for a 20% cut in commercial rates in 2011. The group wrote to An Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD, Enda Kenny TD, and Eamon Gilmore TD, as well as the chairperson of every local authority, city and county managers to ask for a reduction of 20% in commercial rates when the local authorities finalise their annual budgets.

“Retailers are competing to attract customers by cutting prices,” noted Retail Ireland Director Torlach Denihan. “Last year recorded the larg-

est ever annual fall on record in retail sales, and CSO data shows that the value of retail sales has fallen by 25% since 2007. Unfortunately the high cost of running a retail business has not declined, and this has contributed to the loss of over 47,000 jobs in the sector.

Unless retailers can regain lost price competitiveness, the sector will struggle to avoid further redundancies.”

He noted how “retailers need all local councillors to support a reduction in commercial rates to ensure that local retailers remain viable and retain employment.”

Topaz Wins at Retail Excellence Ireland Awards TOPAZ has been crowned Irish Retail Company of the Year and Best Employer at the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards. Paul Candon, Marketing and Corporate Services Director, said it was a fantastic achievement, and the company was delighted and proud to be accredited by the REI: “We are so proud at being named overall Irish Retail Company of the Year. This means a huge amount to Topaz, as we have only been around for a couple of years. Yet this shows how far we have come in this short time.

It was also very pleasing to note the judging panel was looking for evidence of a business strategy that demonstrably contributes to the Irish economy, and that has always been a priority for us.

“We are also thrilled to have won the ‘Best Employer’ award,” Pictured at the Retail Excellence Awards are (l-r): Paul he continued. “This is especially significant as we would not Candon, Marketing and Corporate Services Director, Topaz; have won this award without the full support of our employees. Arleen Quigg, CPL; MC Miriam O’Callaghan; Frank Gleeson, Retail Director, Topaz; Eddie O’Brien, Chief Executive of We value our employees so highly and we are extremely grateful Topaz; and Kevin Jephson, Chairman, for their commitment, energy and dedication every day.”

Retail Excellence Ireland.

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Always choose pork with the Quality Mark

There’s more to

Pork than you think You’d be amazed at what you can do with pork for everyday meals and what great value it is. Why not try something different like Stir-fried Pork with Ginger, Pan-fried Pork Chops with Orange and Rosemary or even Pork Fillet with Prunes. For an exciting range of pork recipes visit www.bordbia.ie

www.bordbia.ie

November10Industry

News

New Online Training Programme for Retail Sector PICTURED are (l-r): Mark Fielding, Chief Executive, Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME); Billy Kelleher TD, Minister for Trade and Commerce; and Brenda Farrell, MD, Total Training, at the launch of ISME’s world-class online certified training programme for retailers and their staff, in collaboration with Total Training. This programme provides retailers throughout the country the opportunity to improve their retail skills and gain certification, without taking time away from work, as time is of the essence for small retailers.

“In a period when up-skilling is essential and time is scarce, this programme offers all retailers and their staff the opportunity of gaining world-class certified skills,” said Minister for Trade and Commerce, Billy Kelleher TD. Mark Fielding, Chief Executive, ISME, said, “This initiative for the retail trade is opportune, timely and cost effective, allowing staff to upskill in an innovative and flexible manner, which will help retain staff and improve the prospects of the unemployed.”

Flahavan’s Launch Recipe Booklet

New Superquinn Store in Dublin

A SELECTION of delicious oat recipes straight from the Flahavan’s kitchen has been launched in a special booklet

by Mary Flahavan (pictured), Company Director and wife of John Flahavan, Company Chairman. The book, Tasty Oat Recipes, was launched to coincide with Flahavan’s Porridge Week on October 18, and is free of charge with 1.5kg bags of Flahavan’s Progress Oats in selected retailers nationwide.

The book contains 12 mouth-watering recipes that showcase the versatility of oats, including breakfast options such as Apple Porridge and Fruit Oat Smoothie, lunch options such as Vegetable and Oatmeal Soup and dinner options such as Oatmeal and Fish Pie and Vegetarian Broccoli or Cauliflower Oat Bake.

SUPERQUINN has opened a new 20,000 square feet supermarket in Heuston South Quarter, Dublin 8, with the creation of almost 60 jobs. The store was officially opened by Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation, Conor Lenihan TD (pictured with Superquinn’s Executive Chairman, Simon Burke), during a special opening celebration attended by the local community. Superquinn also signaled that the opening of its HSQ store is the first of a number of stores it hopes to open over the next two years, in a return to growth for the business. “Following two tough years, Superquinn is now focused on growth once more, and we are very happy to be making this announcement today and welcoming almost 60 new colleagues to the team,” noted Simon Burke. Located within the contemporary Heuston South Quarter area adjacent to Heuston Station, Superquinn Heuston South Quarter is open from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday.

EUROSPAR Motors Ahead with Subaru Promotion EUROSPAR has launched a nationwide consumer promotion in conjunction with Subaru Ireland, offering new and existing SuperEasy loyalty card holders across the country the chance to win a brand new Subaru Justy worth €12,000. Pictured launching the promotion are MD of Subaru Ireland, Neville Mathews, with Willie O’Byrne, MD of BWG Foods. This promotion, exclusive to EUROSPAR customers, runs nationwide until December 5, and SuperEasy customers will be automatically entered into the draw just by using their loyalty card instore to collect shopping points. “We are fully committed to rewarding customer loyalty and this exclusive promotion with Subaru Ireland will make a positive difference to the life of one lucky SuperEasy card holder,” noted Willie O’Byrne.

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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 newly amended packaging regulations – or face prosecution. Compliance is as easy as joining Repak, from as little as 1 1.10 per day. 46 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

4, 4 ) ,9 : - <5 + 05 . 7( * 2 ( . 05 . 9, * @ *3 05 .

November10Industry

News

Newscentre Team Are Top Employees CONGRATULATIONS to Dublin newsagent Joe Sweeney, whose 10 members of staff, employed at his Newscentre store in Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Dublin, were jointly named Employee of the Year at the NFRN Awards Ceremony in London recently. Now into their seventh year, the NFRN Awards are a widely respected industry accolade, which focuses on the news and convenience retailing sector and recognises those who have made a real contribution to its success and future.

Pictured at the award presentation are William Yates of Cadbury, with store owner Joe Sweeney, his wife Margaret, staff members Alice Jones and Mary Duggan, and Nikki Bedi, BBC TV and Radio Presenter.

Stonehouse Tees off for IGBF STONEHOUSE Marketing Ltd recently held a golf day which raised a whopping €44,000 for the Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund. Tom Shipsey, CEO, Stonehouse, is pictured presenting the cheque to Donald Williamson, IGBF President of Appeals.

Pumpkin Feast at SuperValu SUPERVALU expects to sell €80,000 worth of pumpkins this year, with 80% supplied by Irish growers. The season’s first Irish grown pumpkins went on sale in SuperValu in time for the traditional Halloween celebrations. Grown by Oisin O’Gradaigh at Keelings Farms, Dundalk, Co. Louth, the pumpkins range in price from €1 for the ‘small’ size to €4 for the “giant” size. SuperValu’s commitment to Irish based growers and producers resulted in combined Irish retail sales of €1.2 billion of fresh Irish food in 2009.

This commitment to investing in local produce guarantees top quality, fresh Irish fruit and vegetables for consumers.

Six-year-old Molly Kate Fitzpatrick is pictured with some of the new season SuperValu pumpkins.

Gala Score with Camogie Championship THIS year’s Gala All-Ireland Camogie Championship culminated in a fantastic triple header All-Ireland Day at Croke Park. Tens of thousands of Camogie fans, players and supporters gathered to see their respective teams be crowned Gala All-Ireland Camogie Champions, with Wexford regaining the senior crown, Offaly winning the intermediate title and Antrim lifting the junior title. Una Lacey, Captain of Wexford, is pictured celebrating winning the Gala All-Ireland Senior Camogie Final, with President Mary McAleese and Gary Desmond, CEO, Gala in the background. This year, Gala continued with the Gala Performance Awards and 10 awards were handed out during the season recognising individual players’ contributions to their teams, and to the sport of Camogie. “We hope that by recognising these players, it demonstrates that every performance counts; something that resonates with our 200 stores who deliver outstanding customer service to their communities daily,” noted Gala CEO, Gary Desmond.

RTÉ Cross Platform Conference RTÉ media sales recently hosted its first cross-platform conference for 200 of its advertising clients. The theme of the afternoon was ‘Competitive Advantage Through Creative Thinking’ and it was chaired by Pat Kenny. Speakers included Luke Reaper from Behaviour & Attitudes, who presented some details on a new research study on how the media consumer interacts with various RTÉ-platforms throughout the day. Bernadette Grant, Marketing Director, Kellogg Company of Ireland (pictured) spoke about the highlysuccessful ‘Field of Dreams’ multi-media campaign, which was followed by a lively presentation from keynote speaker, Hamish Taylor, while leading figures from the advertising industry took part in an interesting debate on the challenges facing the Irish advertising industry today.

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November10Industry

News

Garnier’s Blonde Ambition LORRAINE Keane is pictured with David O’Brien, Product Manager, Garnier, at the launch of the Garnier Nutrísse 2010 Shade of the Nation Campaign, which revealed that the Garnier Nutrísse 2010 Shade of the Nation is Natural Blonde 8.03, which confirms our desire to brighten up our lives this year! The survey of over 800 Irish people saw respondents vote for blonde as their preferred shade, a change from the 2009 winner Intense Red 6.66. The Shade of the Nation survey also revealed that Ireland’s favourite brunette shade is Nutrísse Deep Golden Brown (4.3) and favourite red shade, Nutrísse Deep Red (4.6). To celebrate, Garnier Nutrísse will be launching Natural Blonde 8.03 as their official ‘Nutrísse Shade of the Nation 2010’ as chosen by the Irish public.

Bewley’s Carbon Credentials Commended BEWLEY’S is the only Irish coffee company to feature among the 33 leading Irish businesses commended in the Carbon Disclosure Project 2010 Ireland Report. The authoritative report, produced by KPMG, ranked Bewley’s in the top 10 among the leading Irish corporate businesses, indicating that the company has a strong understanding of climate change issues, a commitment to address these issues at the top level of the organisation and has developed the capability to manage the company’s carbon footprint. Pictured at Bewley’s Grafton Street Cafe are Minister for the Environment, John Gormley TD, with Siofra Campbell, Chairman, and John Cahill, Chief Executive of Campbell Bewley Group.

MACE Kit4Kids

TV personality Brendan O’Connor is pictured with Alanna Clarke (10), Jamie Kelly (9), Erick Davis (8) and Kelly Clarke (10) at the launch of MACE’s Kits4Kids giveaway, which sees MACE giving away about 150 full team soccer & Gaelic kits. The initiative is open to all soccer and Gaelic teams in the Under-18 brackets. Customers pick up nomination forms in-store or on www.mace.ie/kits4kids and every time MACE Own Brand product is purchased, customers are given a jersey sticker. Once five stickers are collected, this completes the nomination card and counts as one nomination. The club with the most nominations per store wins a full O’Neill’s kit for their kids team.

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New One4all iPhone App DAVID Walsh, Group Retail Manager at the Gift Voucher Shop (left), is pictured with Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Sean Gallagher and Aoife Davey, Marketing Manager, Gift Voucher Shop, at the launch of the One4all iPhone App. The new app, which is free to download, allows users to locate retailers that accept One4all gift vouchers and cards on a map while out and about and to share locations with friends. In addition, shoppers can check the balance on their One4all Gift Card at the touch of a button and view their transaction history. It is the first app to locate all Post Offices nationwide as well as PostPoint outlets and Topaz service stations.

BuyLo Opens In Killarney KILLARNEY’S new Irish discounter, BuyLo, opened its doors just in time for the busy October Bank Holiday weekend. Jim Barry, Managing Director of the Barry Group, which is the exclusive promoter and owner of the BuyLo franchise, said, “The opening of the new BuyLo store on the Cork Road marks the beginning of an exciting new shopping experience for the people of Killarney. BuyLo is a successful and proven retail concept and I have no doubt that the Killarney store will prove as successful as our other outlets in Tralee, Ashbourne and Mullingar.” According to a spokesperson for BuyLo, the store’s early trading has exceeded all expectations.

The BuyLo model is Ireland’s answer to rival German discounters, offering an Irish solution to discount retailing, with well-known brands of food and non-food household items at significantly discounted prices.

November10Music

Use In-Store

Hitting the Right Note Brendan Griffin, Director of Licensing, IMRO, explains the benefits of in-store music and why you need an IMRO licence to play music in your store.

Why does a store owner need an IMRO licence?

Just like any other input into your business, the use of musical compositions by a retail store must be paid for. Thus, when you use copyright music in a retail shop (and you do this by using a radio, TV, or any other music conveying system), under the law, you must first get the permission of the owner of that piece of music for such use. You can do this for over 10m music works by taking out a licence from and paying royalties to IMRO. What exactly does an IMRO licence allow a store owner to do?

To use in their business over 10m copyright musical works, the public performance right to which is controlled by IMRO in the Republic of Ireland.

If a store owner has already bought CDs, for example, why does he/she still need an IMRO licence to play them in-store?

The purchase of a CD does not authorise the purchaser to perform the musical works therein in public. It only allows the purchaser to perform the works within the domestic environment; hence, the need for a licence from IMRO. Where do the licence fees go?

IMRO is a not for profit organisation representing the public performance rights of composers, songwriters and music publishers in Ireland. All distributable royalties collected by IMRO, less a deduction to cover its running costs, are paid directly to those who compose, write and publish the music that you are playing in your retail store.

How much does an IMRO licence cost?

The level of royalties due in respect of background music use is dependent on the shop floor area. For example, the cost (pre-VAT) for a shop space up to 100m² is currently €206.75 pa for the first year and €137.64 pa in the second year of the licence. That works out at 56 cents a day for the most extensive range of the best quality music available! For a shop with a floor area up to 500m², the cost works out at €1.41 per day. It should be noted that a retail store can save 33% of the year one price if they obtain a licence in advance of using music. Please contact our Licensing Department at (01) 6614844 or by email at licensing@imro.ie or visit www.imro.ie for further information.

What are the potential benefits to a store owner’s business?

With competition in the retail trade becoming increasingly intense, consumers are being encouraged to select one retail premises over another. This is where the power of music becomes a positive influencing factor. Research (Source: www.

Brendan Griffin, Director of Licensing, IMRO.

musicworksforyou.co.uk) has shown that music has the tendency to put customers at ease, thus encouraging them to spend more time in retail outlets. Therefore, the longer they spend in your shop the more likely they are to make a purchase. Research shows that 84% of shoppers say they like shops that play in-store music and of that percentage, 23% claim they would be prepared to pay 5% more for goods if music is being played.

This demonstrates that creating the right atmosphere can help drive your business. In addition and very importantly, the advantages of using music in your shop extends to staff motivation as well as buying behaviour.

Again from research (Source: www. musicworksforyou.co.uk), 66% of staff surveyed believed that background music made them feel better and more motivated at work, and as all retailers know, with improved motivation often comes improved productivity.

IMRO has a national on-the-ground sales team monitoring the use of music on all commercial premises, including retailers. The relevant person for your area can be reached via the IMRO office by phoning their licensing team at 01 6614844.

15

Novemer10Shop

Profile

Onwards and Upwards for SPAR Padraig Broderick has managed to grow his business at SPAR Croom, Co. Limerick, through a combination of forward thinking and hard work on the part of the store owner and his symbol group partner.

Padraig Broderick is pictured outside his 5,000 square feet SPAR store in Croom, Co. Limerick.

Kerryman

Padraig Broderick cut his teeth in retail working for the Garvey Group as a store manager for 10 years, before taking the plunge into shop ownership in 2007. When the chance arose to purchase the SPAR store in Croom, Co. Limerick, the Irish economy was flying high and Padraig saw it as an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.

Unfortunately for Padraig, our economic bubble burst soon after he purchased the shop. However, not only has Broderick’s SPAR in Croom survived the past few years of recession but it has managed to grow its business through a lot of hard-work on the part of Padraig, his staff and his symbol group partners in SPAR. “I became manager of this shop in 2005 and took ownership in 2007,” the store owner recalls. “We achieved growth in sales in the shop every year from 2005 until last year, which was the first year where sales showed no growth. With the economy still showing little sign of recovery, I knew the only way to grow sales was to exploit a new area of trade.”

Recognising that his store had a good reputation for fresh food and a loyal local customer base used to trolley and basket shopping, Padraig felt that “high-end convenience and food services were underexploited. We used to shut the deli down at six o’clock, after which time we had no fresh food-togo offering for customers.”

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Massive Revamp The result of Padraig’s rethink: a massive revamp, which resulted in significant changes across SPAR Croom. Floor space was increased by 25%, allowing for the introduction of a number of new elements to the shop. Some of the extra 1,000 square feet of retail space, however, was not filled but used simply as space, to help create a large open-plan environment for the interior of Broderick’s SPAR. The fresh meat, fruit and veg offering was given additional floor space and frozen food was also increased significantly, allowing all these sections to offer customers a bigger and better selection. New elements were introduced, such as an upgraded deli, an in-house bakery and the Hot Spot microwave, greatly increasing the range of food-to-go available from the shop. A large health and beauty section was also created as part of the revamp.

Novemer10Shop

Profile

€7 etc. This strategy has worked superbly, with wine now accounting for 50% of off licence sales, while total off-licence sales are up by 10% on last year.

The development of SPAR’s own brand range has also helped retailers like Padraig enormously, as he explains: “SPAR has invested strongly in the brand and it is showing dividends for retailers”. He also cites SPAR’s regular retailer meetings as a valuable tool, where retailers share experiences, hints and tips with each other.

Passion for Retail

Not only did the revamp of Broderick’s SPAR enable Padraig to offer a superior selection of grocery to his customers, it married a new high convenience element to the existing business model. Customers were delighted when they saw the new look of the shop and even moreso when they found out all it had to offer.

Indeed, Padraig is quick to point to the high levels of support from his symbol group partners as critical to his store’s success: “SPAR have been absolutely fantastic to work with throughout this project. SPAR is a very open, very retailerdriven organisation. My local Retail Operations Advisor, Colin Power has a passion for retail that is infectious. All through this project, I have been given all the support and expert advice that I have needed.”

Incredible Customer Reaction “The reaction from some of my customers was almost disbelief,” enthuses Padraig. “Although Croom is close to Limerick City, it has a very rural feel and people were genuinely surprised by the quality of the new shop. The deli now offers a huge selection of really top quality food-togo, including pizzas and ready-to-eat meals. We also offer ready-to-cook meals that are proving very popular and we already have a queue in the mornings for the fresh baked bread. For late nights, the Rustlers Hot Spot microwave has also been very successful.”

With a fully staffed butcher’s counter, Broderick’s SPAR already had a strong trade in fresh meat. This has been complemented by the introduction of the Glenmór range of pre-packed meat, which has proven very popular with Padraig’s customers, given its top quality and competitive price point. Since the revamp, the proportion of sales in fresh meat, fruit and veg and deli has increased from 18% to 25% and across the shop, margin is up by an average of 3%, which is no mean feat.

The full off-licence in Broderick’s SPAR was another area with traditionally strong sales. As part of the revamp, it was re-designed to offer all its wines grouped by price point, rather than by type or region, with wines grouped as €5, €6,

The store owner notes, however, that “it’s not just during a revamp that the support is there. SPAR has built an exceptionally strong brand across the country and it has also provided retailers with cost saving measures to help us maintain margins in difficult trading conditions. There’s no denying there is a lot of gloom around, but there is also a lot of innovation and action being taken by SPAR to help retailers.”

By way of example, he highlights innovations like the Virtual Academy as proof of SPAR’s retailer-driven, forward thinking philosophy: “Virtual Academy allows me to train and upskill staff from a PC in the shop rather than losing the staff member for a whole day.”

With the quality of support being provided by the SPAR Group and the continuing hard Fact File work of Padraig and all his staff, Owner: Padraig Broderick Broderick’s Location: Main Street, Croom, Co Limerick SPAR in Croom Size: 5,000 square feet is managing Number of not only to surStaff: 25 full time & part time vive the recesOpening sion but actually Hours: 06:30-23:00, Monday-Sunday grow the business as well.

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November10Retail

News Interview

Derek Caswell, Commercial Director, Kraft Foods Ireland, on the company’s deep-rooted commitment to sustainability, the effect of the recession and what the acquisition of Cadbury Ireland means for the business.

Master of his Kraft It

was back in 2005 when Derek Caswell realised just how important the issue of sustainability was. Sitting at a table with Costa Rican coffee growers, in Europe to promote the fact that Kenco had signed an agreement with the Rainforest Alliance, Kraft Foods Ireland’s Commercial Director asked them what has been the biggest benefit from their involvement with the Rainforest Alliance? “It means our children don’t die any more,” was the answer he received.

Not just an industry buzz-word, sustainability is key to the future of our planet, and that’s not hype or ‘spin’, merely a fact. Sustainable development is defined by the United Nations as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

For the last seven years, Kraft (with the Kenco brand in particular) have been at the forefront of the move towards sustainability, and the company was rewarded for its efforts at the recent Repak Recycling Awards, where it was presented with the Repak Best Prevention Initiative Award, which Caswell describes as a “public affirmation of the fact that we’re doing the right thing”.

The award was ostensibly for the introduction of the Kenco Eco Refill pack, which replaces the glass jars and removes 97% of packaging from the supply chain, but is ultimately the culmination of a mission which began back in 2003.

“Because Kenco is such a big brand, when we originally linked with the Rainforest Alliance in 2003, we couldn’t physically get the quantity of coffee we needed to be certified by the Rainforest Alliance, so we realised that this was going to be a long journey,” Caswell explains. “Kraft Foods is one of the biggest global purchasers of coffee on the world’s commodities market, so to get a company like ourselves to decide that this was a direction we wanted to move in meant that you couldn’t flick a switch to make such a high percentage of the world’s coffee crop sustainably produced, so it was a long-term project.

“Some companies put a sustainable, fair trade or organic variant on-shelf, alongside all their mainstream 18

brands, but the reality is that if you want to really make a difference in society, you have to bring that ethos to your mainstream brands. That is where the bulk of the volume comes from and it really makes a difference at the other end of the supply chain.”

Last year saw Kenco announce that 100% of the coffee beans they use are sustainably sourced. Rather than resting on their laurels, however, they decided that the next step was to examine their packaging; hence the development of the Eco Refill Pack, which may be extended across other products in the Kraft Foods portfolio.

While admitting that the laminate used in the Eco Refill Pack itself cannot be recycled, Caswell notes that the company is “working on material that will be able to maintain the integrity of the product and be recyclable, but the technology is not quite there yet. The vision is to get to a 100% sustainably produced and recyclable pack.”

In the meantime, Kraft have a partnership agreement with Terracycle, who make affordable, eco-friendly products (including shopping bags, back-packs and even toys) from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials.

“It is in its infancy in Ireland but in the US and the UK, Terracycle is gaining some traction,” says Caswell.

“As a business, Kraft is committed to sustainability, right through the entire organisation,” he sums up. “The business is committed to exploring every possible way to becoming more sustainable in all areas of its activity, be it the crops we buy for use in our products to the production plants. This is a core belief and core ethos of the company. I’m not going to say that the journey is easy or quick, but we are committed to it.”

The Economic Impact In general business terms, Kraft Foods Ireland recently posted their 2009 results, which saw turnover down by almost 20%, from €42m to €35.1m.

“We are all aware of the difficult economic situation which exists in the country at the moment, which has an impact on consumption for an awful lot of people,” Caswell

November10Retail

notes. “This economic impact is felt most strongly in our away-from-home business. We have a very large and very successful away-from-home business in Ireland, but that has been impacted by the greater economic reality. But that is cyclical: the economy will recover, and our awayfrom-home business was and probably still is one of the most successful within Kraft.”

The bigger issue, however, is in terms of the grocery sector, where one of their major customers took a decision to source Kraft Foods Ireland’s product range from outside this country, which according to Caswell “accounts for a large proportion of the revenue decline”.

This is not just an issue for Kraft Foods Ireland but for the entire indigenous supply chain, as major multiples increasingly seek to source product from larger markets, primarily the UK, where they can take advantage of vast economies of scale.

already been rolled back, with Irish brands, so beloved of our homegrown consumers, back taking pride of place in a host of categories. Ultimately, consumers dictate the market.

“For the Irish consumer, it is in their long-term interest to make it clear to any retailer what brands they want and why they want them,” Caswell stresses. “If Irish consumers don’t get the brands they want in one store, they will simply go to a rival store. No retailer is going to be in business very long if they don’t give their customers what they want.”

Improving Ireland’s Competitiveness

The retailers will doubtless argue that they can source the same products cheaper from overseas. One of the big reasons for this price discrepancy is the high cost of doing business in Ireland, as was identified in a Competition Authority Report last year. So how do we make Ireland Inc. more competitive?

“We have to recognise that Ireland is an island and, by its nature, is always going to be more expensive to get to, so we may never be as competitive as a country like Spain or Italy,” he ponders. “When you look at the Irish minimum wage versus other European countries’, there is a huge difference. I don’t see Ireland going back to paying the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local kind of low wages they pay in Government, John Gormley TD, is pictured Spain, for example, and nor do I presenting the Repak Best Packaging Prevention Initiative 2010 Award to Kraft Foods Ireland’s Derek think it would be the right thing Caswell and Toby Bevans. Also pictured are Andy to do, but we have to be clever Fanning from award sponsor EPA (left) and Dr about how we do business in a Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Repak (right). more efficient and effective way.

“There are a whole lot of things “The Irish consumer is still a very that the Government don’t make easy individual consumer, with very differfor Irish business,” Caswell stresses. ent needs to the UK,” Caswell stress“Even from a regulatory point of view, es. “I feel that some multiple retailers we need to make sure we are operatunderestimate the brand loyalty of ing on a level playing pitch. Take a the Irish consumer, who doesn’t like commodity like milk, for example: to be told what brands they are going what an Irish producer is required to buy and consume. For a long-term to do to put milk on the shelf is subsuccessful business, giving your cusstantially more onerous than what tomers what they want is the key.” is required from producers in other Caswell’s words would seem to be countries. With the freedom of moveborne out by the fact that even a cursoment of goods and services across the ry glance along the shelves of multinaEU, somebody can decide to import tional grocery retailers in Ireland sugmilk from another country, which gests that last year’s move to source may be of a significant lower quality, more brands directly from the UK has

News Interview

“Government need to look at the regulatory burden that is placed on industry to ensure that standards are consistent across the EU.” and place it on-shelf here in Ireland.

That’s not a level playing pitch.

Government need to make it easy for businesses to compete. They have to look at the regulatory burden that is placed on industry to ensure that standards are consistent across the EU, to allow Irish manufacturers to produce their goods in a fair way.”

The Cadbury Question This year’s acquisition by Kraft Foods of Cadbury is arguably the biggest news to hit the market over the last couple of years. Describing it as a “very exciting time”, Caswell sees it as a massive opportunity to “bring the two businesses together and make the combined business bigger than the sum of the two parts”. To that end, Kraft Foods Ireland will be moving from its current location to the Cadbury Ireland plant in Coolock by the end of the year.

Looking to the future, Caswell predicts that value growth will return to the market “as more added value propositions are brought to market by companies”, and he predicts a particularly bright future for Kraft Foods Ireland: “The combination of the existing Kraft Foods Ireland business and the existing Cadbury business will be a fantastic organisation and I’m very excited about the possibilities which it brings for the new organisation. When this is complete, the vision is to have a much stronger, larger and more effective business. I think we will have a much larger organisation with access to much more products that we can look at bringing to market in a way that we wouldn’t have been able to do before.”

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November10

PostPoint News

PostPoint Christmas Giveaway!

POSTPOINT is giving you, the retailer, a free “Christmas Opening Hours” poster for your shop.

“Every year, in the run-up to Christmas week, we notice that you, the retailer, regularly request a ‘Christmas Opening Hours’ poster for your shop,” notes Barry Dignam, Head of Sales & Marketing, PostPoint. “We have decided that this year we will give you exactly what you want by including this poster in your Retail News magazine.

“A regular problem for customers at Christmas is not knowing when their local shop is open, at a time of the year when standard opening hours can vary significantly. PostPoint is here to help by providing this poster and allowing you to keep your customers notified of your shop opening hours.”

Stamp sales increase by over 300% in the weeks leading up to the Festive Season, with the first two weeks of December being a particularly busy period.

You will find your poster inserted into this month’s magazine, ready for you to use when needed.

Barry Dignam concludes: “We at PostPoint, in conjunction with An Post, hope you enjoy your poster and wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year!”

New BillPay Campaign POSTPOINT, a wholly owned subsidiary of An Post are rolling out a BillPay radio and print promotion, which runs from November 22 until December 3.

The objective of this promotion is to highlight any new bills live with PostPoint, educate customers about BillPay and ultimately drive footfall into your shops.

Both the radio and print promotions will surround a Christmas focus, highlighting the following core messages of controlling your finances, convenience

and making life easier. These radio advertisements, radio promotions and press campaigns will be fully utilised across the West of Ireland and parts of Leinster.

Once again PostPoint, in conjunction with An Post, demonstrates they are here to help you, the retailer, drive customers into your store.

For more information check out the latest news at www.postpoint.ie or contact the Retail Support Desk on 1890 20 42 20.

Competition Winners POSTPOINT wishes to thank all participants for entering our “Win Big with PostPoint” competition in the October issue of Retail News.

Congratulations to the below winners: Anthony Walsh Dublin 14 Mel Lundy Dublin Port

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Christmas is bright for retailers this year with Stamps and One4all Gift Cards. These exclusive PostPoint products will be sure to increase footfall into your store this Festive Season.

One4all Gift Card sales double within the first two weeks of December, with a further 3000% surge in sales during the final week leading up to Christmas.

If you would like to speak to a sales representative about selling One4all Gift Cards or Stamps in your shop please contact us on 1890 20 42 20 or check us out at www.postpoint.ie Remember One4all Gift Cards are FREE to order, so why not order today?

PostPoint, a wholly owned subsidiary of An Post, would like to wish its retailers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

STA M P S

Richard Brennan Leighlinbridge Co. Carlow As Ireland’s leading electronic service provider, PostPoint are happy to support your business in terms of Mobile Top Up, BillPay, Gift Cards, Stamp Retailing, Calling Cards, Tolling and Parking solutions. If you would like to speak to a sales representative about any of the above services, please contact the Retail Support Desk on 1890 20 42 20.

GI

FT CAR DS

www.postpoint.ie

Christmas is Bright with

Gift Cards and Stamps will be sure to drive footfall into your store this Christmas.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the research to prove it : Gift Card sales increase by up to 3000%.

Stamp sales increase by over 300%.

Give us a call today or visit us online at www.postpoint.ie

Call PostPoint on 1890 20 42 20 to speak to a sales representative www.postpoint.ie

November10Gala

Annual Conference

King of Stores King’s Gala in Ashbourne was named Gala Store of the Year at the Gala Annual Conference recently.

In

just under one year of trading, King’s Gala and Gulf Oil Forecourt, Baltrasna, Ratoath, has scooped the Gala Store of the Year title, beating off stiff competition from the 200 Gala stores across Ireland.

King’s Gala walked away with the top title, following independently-audited store assessments by QHS under the Gala BEST (Business Excellence Standards Tool) programme. The awards, supported by Nestlé Ireland, took place at Gala’s Annual Conference, held at Carton House, and were MC’ed by RTE presenter, Daithi O’Shea.

The title of Gala Store of the Year is the highest accolade that a Gala retailer can be awarded, and along with the title, King’s Gala was presented with a fabulous fivestar trip to Las Vegas to celebrate the win in style.

“To be awarded Gala’s BEST store is an amazing achievement for King’s Gala. Previously, a derelict, dormant forecourt had been situated on the land and we worked tirelessly to develop the site to make King’s Gala

Pictured at the Gala Store of the Year presentation are (back row, l-r): Diarmuid Murphy, Nestlé, sponsors of Gala Store of the Year, with Daithi O’Shea, compere at the Gala conference; (front row, l-r): Liam Peters, Chairman, Gala; Brian King, Proprietor of King’s Gala – winner of Gala Store of the Year, and Gary Desmond, CEO, Gala.

the best it could be,” said a thrilled Brian King, Proprietor of King’s Gala in Ashbourne.

“Our forecourt and store opened in early 2010 and the response from customers has been phenomenal. We have created jobs for 23 people and it’s due to them and our excellent managers, John White and Robbie Fisher, that the store has been awarded this title.”

King went on to thank the the team from Gala Retail Services “for the support which we received since the idea was born. They’ve been with us every step of the way and the Gala systems, procedures and offerings have been instrumental to our success.”

An Exemplary Store

The Gala own brand range consists of 200 lines and is expected to generate an estimated €15m of sales for Gala in 2011.

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Gala CEO, Gary Desmond, described King’s Gala in Ashbourne as “an exemplary store where the standards implemented are second-to-none. The commitment of Brian King to make his store the ‘BEST’ is a huge credit to Brian and his hard working team. The store beat off competition from 200 Gala stores, which is an incredible feat. The Store of the Year Award is recognition of the excellent customer service and standards in retailing that Brian’s customers from Ashbourne, Ratoath and surrounding areas receive daily.

November10Gala

• •

Annual Conference

Mulrooney’s Gala Group: Gala Best Training & HR Award Camier, Gala, Ballydehob: Gala Business & Finance Award

Gala Own Brand Range

Pictured at the Gala Own Brand announcement and launching Gala’s new chilled distribution agreement with RDD are (l-r): Liam Peters, Chairman, Gala; Tony Cluskey, Marketing & Promotions Manager, Gala; Gary Desmond, CEO, Gala; and Mark Flanagan, Managing Director of RDD.

The other major news at the Gala annual conference was the unveiling of the Group’s own brand range to over 200 retailers. The Gala own brand range consists of 200 lines and is expected to generate an estimated €15m of sales for Gala in 2011.

“Gala is a 100% Irish-owned convenience group and it was hugely important to us that all of our new products were of Irish origin,” stressed Gary Desmond. “Consumer appetite for own brand products has been increasing steadily for some time and over the last six months, we’ve been trialling our own brand products to make sure that the value proposition maintains the quality that Gala is renowned for.”

Benefiting the Simon Community

Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala (second from right) is pictured with Gala Own Brand suppliers (l-r): Daire Loughnane of Loughnane Foods; Jane McEvoy of McEvoy Foods, and Padraig McEneaney from Celtic Pure.

The annual trade fair at the Gala conference was well supported by suppliers, with over 50 stands on display, and huge customer discounts available for Gala retailers. Following the Trade Fair, suppliers generously donated all surplus products to the Simon Community in the Midlands, benefiting those less fortunate. Products, including Gala Own Brand, were collected from by Cormac Lally and Cristina Hurson from the Simon Community, who distributed the products at the emergency centre for the homeless in the Midlands.

“King’s Gala is an excellent example of Gala’s progressive and forward-thinking retailers. On behalf of Gala, I would like to congratulate the whole team at King’s Gala.”

Presenting the awards was Tom Hardiman from Gala Retail Services and Diarmuid Murphy from Nestlé Ireland. WFC’s Gala store in Bosheen was named as the Gala Express Store of the Year, with Karen Farrell from Wexford Farmers Co-Op collecting the award on the night.

“Our dedicated customers and enthusiastic team, managed

by Lisa Philpott, are instrumental to the store’s success,” she noted.

Other award winners on the night were: • McGloin’s Gala, Foxford: Gala Merit Award • WFC Gala Group: Gala Community Award • McCaughey’s Gala, Clones: Gala award for Environmental Awareness • Durkan’s Gala, Louisburgh: Gala Best Fresh Foods Award

Denise Lord and Siobhan Comerford from Gala Retail Services are pictured with Cristina Hurson and Cormac Lally from the Midlands Simon community.

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National Waste Prevention Programme

New EPA Guidance for Operators of Refrigeration and AirConditioning Equipment in the Retail Sector

Owners and managers of retail outlets need to ensure that their refrigeration, air-conditioning and heatpump (RAC) equipment is operated in compliance with European Regulations to prevent emissions of the refrigerant gases this equipment relies on.

What is the Purpose of the Regulations?

The purpose of these regulations is to reduce the emissions of refrigerant gases such as F-gases (fluorinated greenhouse gases) and ODS (Ozone Depleting Substances), which are often found in RAC equipment.

These gases are excellent refrigerants, but are major contributors to climate change and are extremely harmful to the ozone layer.

What do I have to do?

Owners and operators of RAC equipment must take measures to avoid emissions, check for leaks, keep records of leak checks carried out, ensure maintenance is carried out by qualified personnel and ensure that contractors hold company certification. The EPA’s new guidance booklet provides details on the key obligations, gives an overview of best practice and concludes by demonstrating how good containment of gases can improve the efficiency of RAC systems, leading to potential financial benefits.

Who is responsible?

It is the operator, often the owner, of the RAC system that is responsible for compliance with the Regulations.

Will this cost me money?

Well maintained RAC systems are cheaper to operate: a 10% decrease in operational efficiency may lead to a 10% increase in energy costs.

The steps necessary for compliance with the F-gas and ODS Regulations provide an opportunity to assess and optimize the energy efficiency of your RAC equipment and reduce running costs.

Where can I get more information?

A copy of the guidance booklet entitled “Complying with Regulations Controlling Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depleting Substances - A Guidance Note for Operators in the Retail Sector” is available on the EPA website www.ozone.ie or by contacting the Environmental Protection Agency LoCall: 1890 33 55 99 Email: ods@epa.ie

Smuggled Cigarettes Freephone Smuggled cigarettes not only damage the economy of this country and legitimate businesses, they also help to support organised crime.

You can assist us in combatting this threat by contacting the new confidential freephone:

1800 295 295

November10Repak

Recycling Awards

Green Giants!

Prevention of packaging was the big winner at the 9th annual Repak Recycling Awards, which took place recently in the National Convention Centre.

Kraft

ing away from landfill into recycling, as well as implementing a food recycling project across all stores, resulting in 3,700 tonnes of food waste being recycled that was previously landfilled.

Winners of the Repak Best Member Award, Irish Distillers were recognised for using 70% recyclet in their Jameson bottles. They have increased their recycling by 9% and diverted more than 95.5% of all waste material from landfill in Minister for the Environment, Heritage 2009. & Local Government John Gormley TD Meanwhile, Garveys is pictured with Paul Whelan, of Irish Supervalu in Dungarvan, Distillers Pernod Ricard, winners of the Co. Waterford, took the Repak Best Member Award 2010.

Best Practice Award for Repak Best Practice Award Independent Retailers, havIndependent Retail: Garveys ing achieved a 90%+ recycling Supervalu, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford rate of all waste, while reduc“We are witnessing through the ing its waste bill for the year Repak best practice awards a developby 18%. ing partnership that focuses efforts The award winners included: to recycle more and prevent packagRepak Best Packaging ing waste arising in the first place,” Prevention Initiative: Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local noted Dr Andrew Hetherington, CEO Kraft Foods Ireland Government John Gormley TD is pictured with of Repak. “What is clear is that all Repak Best Practice (l-r): Tom Walsh from AES (award sponsor), Tomás organisations can make a real impact Award Industry Member: Garvey, from Garvey’s SuperValu, Dungarvan, but this needs commitment and a Tesco Ireland Co. Waterford, winners of the Repak Best Practice Award 2010 Independent Retailers, and Dr Andrew Repak Best Member structured approach which Repak is Hetherington, CEO, Repak. able to provide to its members. This Award: Irish Distillers developing support for recycling and Pernod Ricard part of Repak Recycling Week, acknowlfor removing excess packaging will Best WEEE and Waste Battery edge best practice and prevention have a lasting and profound effect on Recycling Event of the Year: in packaging recycling of companies, Ireland’s environment.”

Cork County Council schools, local authorities and waste contractors from around the country.

Some of the outstanding achievements include Tesco Ireland, who lifted the Best Practice Award – Industry Member. In the last year, packaging on Tesco own label products has been reduced in line with their target of a 15% reduction by 2010, they have increased the use of returnable packaging in both their stores and distribution centres, diverted more than 64% of all waste material to landfill and Tesco Ireland were named winners of the Repak Best Practice Award Industry are reducing the carbon footprint of all Member. Pictured are (l-r): Bill Dolan; Kieran Whelan, WEEE Ireland; Leo stores by 50% before 2020. They have Donovan, CEO, WEEE Ireland; Michelle Mahon, John Walsh, Lorraine Sheils and diverted 17,000 tonnes of used packag-

Foods Ireland were among the winners at the Repak Recycling Awards, lifting the Best Prevention Initiative Award for their Kenco Eco Refill packs, which led to a 97% decrease in its packaging, preventing over 100 tonnes on its products (see our in-depth interview with Kraft Foods Ireland’s Commercial Director, Derek Caswell on page 18).

The awards, which took place as

Allan Davies, all from Tesco Ireland.

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November10Christmas

Stocking: Essentials

The Best in Festive Fare Your guide to the Christmas essentials, guaranteed to fly off your shelves this Festive Season.

The

Festive Season is almost upon us and it’s time to stock up on seasonal sellers, those products guaranteed to prove popular with Irish consumers this Christmas, from selection boxes to Sellotape, pastries to potatoes.

Irish consumers are the second biggest spenders in Europe when it comes to Christmas, according to the annual Deloitte consumer survey of Christmas spending, despite the fact that they plan on spending an average 10.6% less this Christmas.

The average spend per household in Ireland this Christmas will be €1,020, significantly higher than the average European spend of €590.

The survey, which was carried out in the last two weeks in September, shows that of the average spend per household in Ireland this Festive Season, €650 will be spent on gifts, €250 will be spent on food, and €120 will spent on socialising.

The report provides some useful insight into consumers’ buying behaviour for retailers. Similar to last year, utility, durability and value for money will be important considerations. Four out of five Irish consumers will focus more on purchasing useful gifts this year. In addition, 78% of respondents indicated that they will aim to buy discount or retailers’ own label products and purchase fewer branded products.

“The survey emphasises the importance that retailers will need to place 26

on their strategy this Festive Season,” noted Susan Birrell, Consumer Business Partner, Deloitte. “The mainly price-driven strategy that consumers have adopted will lead them to seek out information on where they can find the best prices and special offers. It will also have an impact on

the mix of products purchased – something retailers will have to take into account in their merchandising.”

Nestlé Quality Street A leading gifting brand, Quality Street brings together a selection of 12 different sweets, guaranteeing

A leading gifting brand, Quality Street brings together a selection of 12 different sweets, guaranteeing there’s always something for everyone.

30% of Confectionery Gifting sales occur in December* Quality Street is a leading Gifting Brand at Christmas Quality Street tin sales growing +30% YOY** Heavyweight support campaign – TV, Outdoor & PR Stock up now to benefit from sales throughout the season Contact your local Nestlé Sales Representative or telephone 1890 88 26 07 to place an order * Nielsen Scantrack, Multiples Value Sales 4 we Dec 27/09 ** Nielsen Market Track 16 weeks to Dec 27/09

€600k media support

November10Christmas

Stocking: Essentials

for that special dessert. The delicious sponge fingers can be eaten straight from the pack as a treat and truly complement a cup of coffee. Emma Jean’s sponge fingers are a key ingredient in Tiramisu and Trifle. There is a step-by-step guide of how to make Tiramisu on the back of the pack, and consumers who have used it are delighted with the end result!

The baking category is one that continues to grow and flourish. Indeed, the baking shelf is no longer perceived as an oldfashioned category: rather, it is an area which is bringing in new consumers all the time across all age groups.

The Thorntons range for Christmas 2010 has been updated with a new design with a Emma Jean’s also caters for vibrant range of colours to ensure maximum stand out on-shelf. the health conscious consumer with less than 4% fat per packet, fitconfectionery market for Christmas there’s always something for ting perfectly into the widely recog2009. The range for Christmas 2010 everyone. Last Christmas saw tins of nised movement toward healthy eathas been updated with a new design, Quality Street grow by 30% year-oning habits. Emma Jean’s is available with a vibrant range of colours to year, not surprisingly as one in four of in a 200g size and is a firm favourite ensure maximum stand-out on-shelf. us purchased a tin. amongst households throughout the The Milk Collection & Premium Back by popular demand, this country. are available to order in 452g and 310g Christmas customers can pick up Emma Jean’s sponge fingers formats this year – a delicious range of their favourite individual sweet from are packed for and distributed by chocolate. The Milk Collection range the Quality Street My Favourites Flanagans Sales and Marketing in is a must stock for Christmas and range available now in My Green Ireland. To place an order, please conincludes a variety of flavours, includTriangle, My Caramel Swirl and the tact 01 4506100 or visit www.flanaing caramel, fudge, praline, fruit & nut ever popular My Purple One. gansdirect.com centres and plenty more!

Quality Street will also benefit Thorntons Chocolate is distributed from a heavyweight support campaign

by Flanagans Sales and Marketing in which will include TV advertising, 6 Jacob’s Ireland. To stock up for the Festive sheets, 48 sheet, 3D specials & PR. When it comes to tins of biscuits, Season, please contact 01 4506100 or Retailers wishing to maximise sales Jacob’s are the clear market leader visit www.flanagansdirect.com. and profit should take advantage of with 51% value share of the total this by stocking up before the adverChristmas Assortments biscuit tising goes live and by maintaining market. This includes the top three the brand’s presence right through the selling value share SKUs - Jacob’s season.

Afternoon Tea 1kg , Jacob’s USA 1kg and Jacob’s Elite Chocolate Kimberley 660g (Source Nielsen Scantrack 13 Thorntons Emma Jean’s weeks ending 27th Dec 2009).

Christmas is an ideal opportunity for Sponge Fingers The iconic biscuit trio of retailers to maximise sales within Emma Jean’s sponge fingers are Kimberley, Mikado and Coconut their stores. Confectionery is perfect for all occasions and ideal Creams one of the most universal are also gifts and will provide available retailers with the in famchance to generate ily sharing higher sales and tubs this increase footfall Christmas. over the festive Jacob’s period. Celebrating Chocolate 100 years of business Mallows , in 2011, Thorntons is a Jacob’s Elite leading boxed chocolate Pleasures brand and claimed second Emma Jean’s Sponge Fingers, ideal for and Jacob’s spot in the premium that special dessert this Festive Season.

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Christmas Great gifts for everyone

Christmas is an ideal opportunity for retailers to maximise sales A delicious range of premium chocolate at affordable prices Thorntons is the leading boxed chocolate brand, celebrating 100 years in 2011 Thorntons was the No. 2 manufacturer in the premium confectionary market for Christmas 2009

Please contact Flanagans Sales and Marketing to place an order

call 01 4506100

www.ďŹ&#x201A;anagansdirect.com

November10Christmas

Stocking: Essentials

Clean Up this Christmas with Killeen Killeen, as the number one player in the cleaning product and refuse sack market with a whopping 40% market share (Source: ACNielsen), is driving the category with innovations to satisfy all your customers’ needs this Christmas!

Killeen Recycled Refuse Sacks: massively popular for Christmas clean-ups.

Killeen, from Boyne Valley Group, continues to deliver a powerful combination of high product performance, whilst remaining value for money for the consumer.

This Christmas, Killeen has a cloth and scourer to tackle any cleaning job around the home. The ever versatile ‘Kitchen Mate’ sponge scourer remains a firm favourite with consumers due to its flexibility and durability in the kitchen. Killeen ‘Easi Clean’ shifts stubborn stains fast and is suitable for any household cleaning job: it is also ideal for scrubbing Christmas vegetables.

For clean-up after all those staff and home parties, Killeen Aware biodegradable sacks save the earth without costing the earth.

In addition, Christmas cleaning is made easier by Killeen in-home products, including 4 Pack Micro Fibre Cloths, 6 Pack Mop Ups, Bathroom Cleaner and Killeen ‘Easi Clean’ shifts Polishing stubborn stains fast Sponges. and is suitable for any household cleaning job.

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Jacob’s Afternoon Tea and USA, two of the most popular biscuit brands in the Christmas Assortments category.

Biscuits For Cheese Selection complete a mouth-watering line-up which are all must-stock items. These traditional brands continue to be as popular as ever, particularly over the Festive Season.

Adding a taste of Christmas to any desert, Avonmore Freshly Whipped Bailey’s Cream has all the convenience of Avonmore Whipped Cream and the unmistakable taste of Baileys: it is the perfect complement to Christmas pudding or mince pies and is a delicious topping on coffee. Equally popular, Avonmore Freshly Whipped Brandy Cream is an indulgent blend of fresh Avonmore Whipped Cream with the flavours of rich golden brandy: perfect when spooned generously over mince pies and delicious Christmas pudding.

Whipped cream dominates consumer usage during the Christmas period, be it for mince pies, pudding or Irish coffees.

Avonmore Whipped Cream is already whipped and ready to serve, providing consumers with added convenience at this busy festive time. Sales of whipped cream treble over the Christmas period,

Jacob’s Elite Chocolate Kimberley and Jacob’s Elite Pleasures: two surefire winners from the Jacob’s portfolio.

Avonmore Cream Top of everyone’s shopping list this and every Christmas is Avonmore Cream. Ireland’s favourite cream has a wide range of products to suit every occasion over the Festive Season, including traditional fresh cream, freshly whipped cream, light, double and flavoured whipped cream.

Avonmore Freshly Whipped Bailey’s Cream has all the convenience of Avonmore Whipped Cream and the unmistakable taste of Baileys.

Stock up on these best-sellers from McCain – and be ready for the Christmas rush.

Our roast potatoes and wedges are top of so many customers’ shopping lists, that you can expect strong demand. We’re also running a high-impact communications campaign on TV, Radio, Outdoor and Press, and supporting it with promotions and POS – making sure that McCain is the name on everyone’s lips this Christmas.

It’s all good.

November10Christmas

Stocking: Essentials

Avonmore Cream has a wide range of products to suit every occasion over the Festive Season, including traditional fresh cream, freshly whipped cream, light, double and flavoured whipped cream.

Cuisine de France Maximise your in-store bakery sales this year with the Cuisine de France range of delicious and enticing festive treats!

Tips for success: • For an optimal consumer offer, stock the full range of seasonal treats from Cuisine de France; • Manage your baking throughout the day: the smell of freshly baked Mince Pies instore will create an appetising aroma and will maximise your sales!

• Use the Cuisine de France Seasonal Treats customised secondary display unit to ensure availability of the range, whilst not impacting your regular in-store bakery sales; • Place the Cuisine de France Seasonal Treats secondary display unit in a high footfall location, either at the front of store or at the entrance of the fresh food area; • Ensure POS material is on display in all locations: this will create theatre in-store and correctly priced product always encourages consumers to shop the area; • Keep the Cuisine de France Seasonal Treats display full: an abundant display means you will never miss a sales opportunity.

32

with consumers stocking up for all their favourite festive treats.

Available nationwide, the Avonmore Cream range offers the great fresh taste shoppers expect in convenient formats and pack sizes suitable for today’s lifestyles. Avonmore is the cream market leader with 47% market share (MAT Oct 2010) and continues be the lead the category.

Carié Carié Real Dairy Cream, from Boyne Valley Group, is guaranteed to spice up Christmas fare this year. It not only tastes delicious but is ideal for use in finishing off cakes, tarts, desserts or given the season, as a final flourish on a coffee, Irish or otherwise.

Carié Cream is equally at home in the chilled cabinet or

Carié Real Dairy Cream not only tastes delicious but is ideal for use in finishing off cakes, tarts, desserts or given the season, as a final flourish on a coffee.

November10Christmas

Stocking: Essentials

in ambient so it can be merchandised in multiple locations around your store. Boyne Valley Group also supply dump-bins, which provide stand-out impact while maintaining a low instore footprint in what is such a busy period. For best results, Boyne Valley Group recommend merchandising near fruit, desserts, coffee and puddings.

Homecook Wonderbar Cooking Chocolate Also from Boyne Valley Group, Homecook Wonderbar Cooking Chocolate is a firm favourite in households throughout the country. It is so versatile, it can be used in a wide variety of recipes including chocolate chews, buns, cakes, toppings, mousses and it is the perfect decoration for all cakes, buns and treats. Homecook Wonderbar Cooking Chocolate, made in Ireland, comes in a variety of flavours to suit all tastes - Dark, Milk and White, available in 150g, 450g and a 1kg catering size. New to the range is Homecook Wonderbar Microwaveable Cooking chocolate, which is available in a handy 250g microwaveable pouch, perfect for ‘no fuss, no mess’ baking.

Homecook Belgian Dark Chocolate Cake Covering and Homecook Belgian Milk Chocolate Cake Covering are both high in cocoa and specially developed for home baking.

The latest addition to the Homecook brand is a range of premium cooking chocolates. Homecook Belgian Dark Chocolate Cake Covering and Homecook Belgian Milk Chocolate Cake Covering are both high in cocoa and specially developed for home baking.

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Sellotape Have Christmas Wrapped At Christmas you can feel inundated with festive frivolities and novelty gifts. However, there is one brand that consumers always seek out at Christmas; Sellotape– the must stock product during the festive season.

Henkel Consumer Adhesives General Manager David McKeown says: “When it comes to wrapping gifts, consumers want to rely on an instantly recognisable and trusted brand and the name Sellotape inspires that confidence.”

2010 has been a milestone year for Sellotape, one of the most iconic brands in Ireland.

The brand, which launched in 1937 and has led the market ever since, has been reSellotape has been re-positioned this year positioned this year following following a massive investment into the a massive investment into the development and redesign development and redesign of the of the entire Sellotape range. entire Sellotape range. The new Trends are also shifting in products and packaging follow the the gifting market, with many newly identified proposition of the consumers looking to purchase brand. ‘Simple Ingenuity’ – the abilpremium products to add special ity to turn something ordinary into touches to their gifts. Sellotape’s something special. The new livery new gifting range, due to launch in and product execution praises con2011 allows retailers to capitalise on sumers for their own cleverness and these trends. New additions include provides them with simple, ingenFinishing Touch Single Sided and ious solutions to everyday problems.

A massive TV spend is scheduled for Decorative Spots, which add a special touch to any gift. Finishing November and will be supported by Touch Single Sided Spots are clear a viral campaign. and pre-cut for ease of use, making McKeown explains: “This year we them ideal for fast and premium have taken the next step in the life wrapping solutions. Finishing Touch of this household brand; a step that we hope is ingenious, in line with our Decorative Spots feature an elegant, lace décor that adds a perfect heritage, and yet forward thinking finishing touch to any Christmas and dynamic.” card or gift. The new Gifting range Remaining at the heart of the is an ingenious addition to the brand, as it has for over 70 years, is gifting market. the ‘hero’ Original Golden, an iconic Sellotape remains the nation’s product and a retailer essential. favourite tape with number one The introduction of Sellotape’s new brand share of the utility tapes ‘Super Clear’ tape in 2011 will provide a modern counterpart to the tra- market. Seven out of 10 consumers claim that they would buy products ditional Original Golden. Developed from Sellotape in preference to other through extensive market research, brands of sticky tape. McKeown this premium tape will offer a maxisays: “Retailers should capitalise on mum clarity using the latest Sello this customer loyalty and continuClear Technology, giving a seamless ous innovation by making Sellotape finish, anti-tangle for better control the one prominent brand on their and easy tear: no more need for scisChristmas fixtures. sors or teeth!

November10Christmas

Stocking: Essentials

Boyne Valley Honey

contribute to the reduction of cholesterol and heart disease.

Giovanni Di Frienze has been bringing the best of authentic Mediterranean food to Ireland for the past decade. The brand is known for the range of attractive spice grinders, which add a touch of Italy to each and every meal – the range includes: 4 Seasons Pepper Corns, Black Pepper, Mediterranean Sea Salt, Garlic and Chilli.

Boyne Valley Honey has been available to Irish consumers for almost 50 years and is the most popular brand of honey in Ireland.

Boyne Valley Honey is 100% pure and natural. It is available in a range of formats, from the 250g Bizzy Bee kids’ squeezy right up to the 907g jar.

McCain

Boyne Valley Honey is the most popular brand of honey in Ireland.

Boyne Valley Honey is not only a delicious spread, but it is an ideal store cupboard staple this Christmas.

Irish households will be stocking up on Boyne Valley Honey to glaze their hams and to create the perfect honey glazed roast vegetables.

The Giovanni Di Firenze olive range has a range of flavours and stuffings to suit all consumer tastes.

an appetiser before the main event of Christmas dinner!

Olives are a perfect fit for a low carbohydrate diet and are loaded with healthy monosaturates, which can

McCain continues to dominate the frozen potato sector. It’s already Ireland’s most popular, with 71% value share of the frozen oven chip market, and a 33% value share of the prepared potato market (Source: ACNielsen Scantrack, August 2010).

But at Christmas, it gets even better as McCain is put on top of even more shopping lists.

Christmas shoppers seek out high quality and taste. But they also want food that’s easily prepared, allowing them to spend more time with family and guests, and less time in the kitchen. For all festive occasions, McCain has something to suit.

Year after year, McCain Home Roasts prove to be the real family favourite, and over the busy Festive Season, it’s a retailer’s favourite too! With celebrity chefs like Nigella Lawson continuing to promote goose fat as a key ingredient for perfect roast potatoes, you can expect sales for McCain Simply Gorgeous Goose Fat Roasts to rocket.

It’s no surprise that

Giovanni Di Firenze For consumers sick of the usual dips and crisps for this year, they can treat their Christmas callers to a delicious, healthy alternative. The Giovanni Di Firenze olive range has a range of flavours and stuffings, including: Feta, Garlic, Pesto and Italian Spices. They are excellent for snacks (either on a platter or in a salad) and are also useful as 36

McCain is the star performer in the frozen potato sector and proves particularly popular at Christmas.

November10Christmas

Stocking: Essentials

McCain also makes it to so many parties, as wedges are big sellers over the party season, and their Lightly Spiced Wedges are by far the most popular, according to a company spokesperson.

McCain’s high-impact communications campaign will run on TV, radio, outdoor and press, and will be reinforced with Point of Sale, competitions and promotions.

Magic Turkey Bags Consumers can use self-basting Magic Turkey Bags, from Jaymark Sales & Marketing, to roast meat and poultry, or boil vegetables, ham or gammon. Magic products take the worry out of preparing Christmas dinner. The versality of Magic Turkey Bags, Roasting Bags and Cooking Sheet means consumers can use them for cooking meat, poultry, fish and vegetables in a variety of ways.

Consumers can use self-basting Magic Turkey Bags to roast meat and poultry, or boil vegetables, ham or gammon.

The self-basting Magic Turkey Bags can help consumers roast meat and Magic Roasting Bags are suitable for meat, chicken, fish poultry to a rich, succulent or vegetables up to 4lbs (2kg). brown. The natural meat juices are locked inside the bag to seal in more flavour and ensure tender succulent r results.

Vegetables can be boiled Mr. Crumb makes fresh, handmade products which save in the Magic consumers time at Christmas; from their Stuffings, such as Turkey Bag with“Organic Sage & Onion” (Great Taste Award Winner) or “Pork, out losing any of Cranberry & Chestnut” (Irish Product their goodness, of the Year), to their “Honey & Mustard unlike tradi-

If you’re selling products for Christmas, M . Crumb is essential

Glaze” for Ham and their “Cranberries in Port” for Turkey. Also, don’t forget to stock their fresh breadcrumbs, recommended

by Delia Smith as an ingredient for those making Christmas puddings etc, their delicious Party Food range for starters and their Puddings for dessert!

In the run up to Christmas 2010, Mr. Crumb, the No. 1 category brand, is running on pack promotions, a major pigsback.com campaign and will be featured on TV in December. Products are available through central distribution to Dunnes Stores, Superquinn, SuperValu and Tesco plus all independents through Hogans Farm Turkeys (contact 046 9240273) or Horgans (contact 1800 303 900). www.mrcrumb.ie Pigsback.com “Irish Enterprise 2010”

tional boiling where flavour and most of the vitamins can be lost in the water. Magic Turkey Bags can also be used for boiling ham and gammon joints. Magic Roasting Bags, meanwhile, are more suitable for meat, chicken, fish or vegetables up to 4 lbs (2 kilos).

Another useful kitchen tool at Christmas, the Magic Cooking Sheet is flexible and completely non-stick.

Ideal for frying, baking and microwave cooking, it can be cut to size and cleaned and reused.

BacoFoil Essential for fuss-free cooking, BacoFoil Classic and BacoFoil Non-

BacoFoil Classic and BacoFoil Non-Stick will help consumers rustle up sumptuous dishes, while Baco-Foil is also available as a pack of 25 sheets, with no need for any measuring or cutting.

37

9i\eeXej n`e H DXib 8nXi[ ]fi k_\ *i[ k`d\ Joseph Brennan Bakeries have won this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prestigious Q M a r k Aw a r d f o r Q u a l i t y Management Systems in the Food Sector categor y at the 42nd National Q Mark Awards.

These awar ds are par t of the EIQAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Quality and Excellence Pr ogramme w h i c h celebrates the drive, commitment and achievements o f c o m p a n i e s committed to quality in all aspects of their business. A par ticipant in this programme since 1986, the award marks the third time that Brennans Bakeries has received this prestigious accolade and is fur ther illustration of their commitment to delivering only freshly baked quality products.

7KLV &KULVWPDV JLYH 2[IDP 8QZUDSSHG JLIWV RI *RDWV DQG 6FKRRO ERRNV 7KH\ÂśOO FKDQJH WKH IXWXUH IRU SHRSOH OLYLQJ LQ SRYHUW\ DQG PDNH \RXU IULHQGV DQG IDPLO\ IHHO JRRG WRR %X\ RQOLQH DW R[IDPLUHODQG RUJ YLVLW \RXU ORFDO 2[IDP VKRS RU FDOO

Homelessness is everywhere this Christmas.

Instead of your business spending money on Christmas cards, please give the money to Simon so we can provide shelter, hot food, housing and support for those who need it most.

To be part of the Simon House of Cards appeal please call 01 47 22 111

November10Christmas

Stick will help consumers rustle up sumptuous dishes. BacoFoil NonStick makes recipes even healthier, as its unique coating means there’s no need for additional fat or oil, so it instantly reduces fat content

without compromising on taste or appearance. Plus, food doesn’t stick to BacoFoil Non-Stick, so it glides from foil to plate, without tearing or leaving food behind. For the ultimate in convenience Baco-Foil is

Stocking: Essentials

available as a pack of 25 sheets, so there’s no need for any measuring or cutting. Baco-Foil is available in all major supermarkets and independents. Visit www.baco.co.uk for more details.

Christmas Condiments Irish consumers are increasingly falling in love with the orient, when it comes to food. Indeed, a cursory glance around your shelves proves this, with Thai, Chinese and other Asian foods high on the consumer agenda across a range of categories.

“In the current economic climate, research suggests that 52% of consumers are eating out less – they have less disposable income and are becoming increasingly reluctant to dine out or treat themselves to takeaways,” explains Tracy Hughes, AB World Foods Consumer & Trade Marketing Controller. “Consumers are also becoming more adventurous in the kitchen whilst they seek to re-create their favourite Oriental or Indian dish at home. In fact, 53% of consumers now claim to cook Chinese or Thai food in the space of their own kitchen.“ The growth in the table sauces and condiments category is a reflection of this trend, as Hughes explains: “At ABWF we’re experiencing an increase in the popularity of the inhome consumption of Patak’s Pickles and Blue Dragon’s Thai Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauces. Both products are specifically targeted at consumers looking to complement a variety of Asian-inspired dishes from stir fries, to salads and curries at home. They are also being used more broadly to add flavour to a wide array of mainstream dishes.”

Extending the consumption occasion of Blue Dragon Dipping Sauces and Patak’s Pickles has helped widen appeal and drive volume sales. For example, Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce is now used heavily in Western dishes, such as fish & chips, bangers & mash and burgers, as well as Oriental dishes. As such. retailers are able to stock them alongside mainstream table sauces and condi-

ments, as well as on the ambient world foods fixture, increasing frequency of purchase.

Tracy Hughes comments, “Recent research proved that consumers perceive products with ‘chilli’ in their title to be hot, creating a purchase barrier for those who don’t enjoy eating spicy food. To overcome this preconception we’ve toned down the heat levels and created Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce Mild, a great tasting convenience product, versatile with both Oriental and Western dishes.

“Its subtle chilli flavours make it ideal for adults and children alike, therefore broadening appeal and enticing new shoppers into the category who would have previously rejected Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli the product on the basis of heat.

Dipping Sauce Mild, a great Overall, we’re confident this new tasting convenience product, versatile with both Oriental and variant will drive market growth and Western dishes. widen consumer choice, whilst maintaining Blue Dragon’s high levels of authenticity.”

Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauces, presented in 190ml glass bottles, are available in four variants: Original, Hot, Kaffir Lime and Mild.

Blue Dragon continues to innovate within the category. Recent additions to the range include Blue Dragon Upside Down Thai Sweet Chilli Squeezy Sauce and Thai Sweet Chilli salad dressings, while Patak’s Original Bengal Pickle matches the consumer desire for new flavours and textures to accompany everyday foods, such as sandwiches. Patak’s Original Bengal Pickle is a fruity and flavourful Indian-inspired pickle, created with the mainstream condiment consumer in mind, perfect for consumers who want to experiment with an authentic pick- Patak’s Pickles are specifically targeted at consumers le outside of the tradilooking to complement a variety of Asian-inspired tional Indian mealtime. dishes, from stir fries to salads and curries, at home.

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November10Christmas

Stocking: Batteries

Energizer Powers Ahead Energizer has a proven track record in high performance batteries and has responded to consumer trends by evolving and expanding its portfolio to deliver products that perform even better in the nation’s gadgets.

Ireland

which is delivering powerful growth (16.7%) (Source: Value MAT April 2010, Nielsen & Gfk) as people discover that better performance means better value – just one of the reasons that Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA and Energizer Ultimate AAA batteries were named Which? Best Buy 2009 (Source: Which? Battery Report, December 2009).”

Meanwhile, with the growth of micro digital devices, Energizer’s Number 1 Specialist Battery range is perfectly positioned to respond to the increasing demand for miniature batteries.

35 hours with standard is a nation of gadget AA alkaline batteries. lovers. Each household now owns an Energizer High Tech is average of 30 battery-powered devices, a new alkaline battery while 89% of households have at least that has been formuone digital device (Source: Gfk, MAT Invigorating the lated to last up to 40% June 2009). This means consumers are Category longer than Energizer demanding more long lasting batteries “Our research revealed that Ultra+ batteries (in digthat represent value for money in consumers are confused by the ital cameras). high drain devices, battery category,” noted Don O Energizer and signifies continued Sullivan, Managing Director of Marketing growth within the highEnergizer Ireland. “They Energizer have a range Manager, performance sector are still unclear about of battery chargers and Emily (Source: Nielsen & GfK rechargeable batteries, which which battery is suitable Smith, MAT to December 2009). for which device and are are proving increasingly popular with consumers. said: “The Gaming is currently looking for guidance from trend towards more highthe fastest growing area manufacturers.” drain gadgets and in-home for battery operated To address consumer confusion in gaming is proving an exceldevices (+19.8% MAT the sector, Energizer recently introlent opportunity to boost May 2010). As the longest duced a progressive new portfolio battery sales. This is parlasting AA and AAA batapproach, designed to invigorate the ticularly true in the performtery in high tech devices, battery category. The aim is to simplify ance sector [which includes Energizer Ultimate the shopping experience for consumEnergizer Ultra +, Energizer Ultimate Lithium, Lithium can now last up to ers by using clear performance-related 60 hours in a Nintendo Wii performing extremely Energizer Ultimate, Duracell messages that make the category well in Ireland.

Powerpix and Duracell Ultra], remote compared with just easier to understand.

Central to this initiative, Energizer has revised its packaging Secrets to Successful Battery Sales design to include useful icons indicatThere are three simple steps to maximising battery sales: ing which battery is most appropriate 1. Right Location - High visibility converts shoppers into buyers for which device. For example, the • 46-49% of battery purchases happen away from the main battery fixture, so it Energizer Ultra+ packs include icons is important secondary displays and off-fixture sites are kept fully stocked. depicting low-drain devices such as • Batteries don’t always make it onto shopping lists, so retailers should a clock or torch, while the Energizer prompt consumers in-store using engaging POS to encourage purchase.

Ultimate Lithium icons show high2. Right Products – A comprehensive range will meet different shopper needs tech devices, such as gaming control• Sales will be maximised by ensuring a battery offering includes good value, lers and digital cameras. lower power batteries and added value, higher power lines, as well as a mix of The move to better signposted other battery types, including specialist, rechargeable and torches. packaging is part of a wider relaunch • 79% of purchasers believe there is a difference in performance between of the Energizer global identity. A branded and own-label batteries, so it’s important to stock a complete range new look for the brand has been of branded products. designed to fit with the requirements 3. Right Message - Help consumers choose the right battery for the right job of today’s consumers by reflecting • Shoppers spend around one minute at the battery fixture – longer than other Energizer’s leadership in the category grocery categories. Help consumers make an informed purchasing decision and in terms of technology and innovation. encourage trade-up using visual merchandising and an educated sales team.

40

s No 1 brand in Lithium1 World’s longest lasting AA and AAA batteries in high tech devices*

s No 1 brand in Rechargeables 2 s No 1 brand in Specialist batteries 3

For more info – visit www.energizer.co.uk or call 0845 601 0169

*Compared to up to 35 hours with standard AA alkaline as per Nintendo website. Source: 1–3 Nielsen & GFK (covering: Electrical; DIY; Variety; Grocery; Forecourt; Off Licence; CTN) Value Sales MAT ending Dec 2009.

November10Christmas

Stocking: Drinks

Liquid Assets Are you prepared for the seasonal surge in drinks sales, as consumers stock up on their favourite brands for the Festive Season?

More

and more Irish consumers are turning to the offtrade for their drinks purchases.

According to a recent Drinks Industry Group of Ireland report into the Irish drinks sector, the off-trade accounted for approximately 35% of market value (up from 27.5% in 2000) and about 55% of the volume of alcohol sold in 2009. The good news for offlicence owners is that this trend shows no signs of abating, thanks to a combination of the economic downturn and the increasing desire on the part of consumers to entertain at home.

The peak period for home-entertaining is, of course, the Christmas season, with the result that the runin to the Festive Season should prove a bumper sales period for the offtrade, as consumers across the country stock up on their favourite drinks of choice for consumption at home or for gifting.

Heineken This Christmas, Heineken makes it easy to cater for every festive occasion with special Christmas offers including special edition 12-bottle packs; 20-bottle packs; 8-can packs; 24-can slabs and the Heineken Draught Keg. 42

The massively popular Heineken brand has a range of special edition packs for the Festive Season.

The 5L draught keg is perfect for entertaining and comes into its own over Christmas, consistently providing perfect quality draught Heineken with an intelligent patented pressure system, which ensures fresh beer for 30 days after tapping.

All Christmas activations will be supported with an above the line campaign as well as a full suite of complementary POS for all offtrade partners. Heineken is the number one lager and currently holds a 27.2% volume share of the total lager market (Source: ACNielsen, August 2010). With a marketing calendar that packs a punch all year round and prolific sponsorships, including the Heineken Cup, the Rugby World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Oxegen and the Heineken Green Spheres series, Heineken continues to resonate and connect with Irish lager lovers throughout the year, but especially at Christmas.

across all regions. The latest figures from AC Nielsen demonstrate strong consumer call for the brand in an ever challenging market. This was especially true in the off trade, where Coors Light now accounts for 5% of the total market (Source: ACNielsen, MAT, August 2010). Coors Light is now also the number one on-trade

Coors Light Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s set to be a cool Christmas for Coors Light this year. To cap off a great year for the brand, Coors Lightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new customised Christmas packaging and POS material promises to bring the Rockies to life. The new Rocky Mountain packaging will be unveiled just in time for the festivities, both on-pack and in-store.

In 2010, Coors Light boasts continued growth in all channels

Coors Light is available in customised Christmas Rocky Mountain packaging this year.

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November10Christmas

Stocking: Drinks

has become an all year round drink of choice for consumers as the number three brand in the LAD market, with peaks at key selling periods such as Christmas.

Stephen Kent, Marketing Director, Bulmers, is giving customers a timely reminder to stock up early in anticipation of this busy period in order to avoid the risk of being caught out of stock.

This Christmas-time, Bulmers is offering a selection of great value party packs for the season, including: Bulmers Original in an 18x500ml can party pack and an ‘8 for the price of 7’ 500ml can pack; Bulmers Pear ‘6 for the price of 5’ 500ml can pack; Bulmers Light ‘6 for the price of 5’ 500ml can pack; and Bulmers Coors Light’s new Rocky Mountain packaging will Berry ‘6 for the price of 5’ 500ml can pack. Reflecting be unveiled just in time for the festivities, both on-pack and in-store. the current economic climate, all packs offer consumers a discount versus standard retail prices. bottle and the fastest growing draught The Bulmers Christmas campaign lager beer in the on-trade. The results returns with a TV ad, shot on locaare a result of increased activity from tion in Clonmel, which will commence the brand and a fresh new look and at the start of the Christmas season feel for 2010, which brings rocky in December across TV and outdoor mountain refreshment to pubs and formats. off-licences across the country.

February 2010 saw the launch of This year, Coors Light introduced Bulmers Berry: this new fruit cider its first ever on-pack promotion called entered a largely untapped, growing Destination Rocky Mountains. The market with considerable potential. promotion lived online, where hunBulmers Berry is a unique blend of 17 dreds of consumers competed to win varieties of apple, similar to Bulmers one of eight weekly trips of a lifetime – a trip to the Rocky Mountains in December with three friends. A brand new TVC and outdoor creative also increased visibility. See www.facebook.com/coorslightireland or www. coorslight.ie for more information.

Original, fused with the finest selection of blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries. With an ABV of 4.5%, Bulmers Berry is a premium and natural product, maintaining the distinctive character of its parent Bulmers.

New Bulmers Berry was supported by a heavyweight national TV, outdoor, online and sampling campaign.

In keeping with the undergrowth nature of the product, Bulmers opted for an underground theme for its launch activity, in association, with Undergrowth Movement Secret Wars events across the country. For the first time ever, Bulmers rolled out a PR, online, viral and word-of-mouth campaign prior to the launch of the mainstream ATL activity in the summer. Additional Bulmers Berry PR activity was Bulmers Berry DJ Wars, which saw the brand join forces with Spin 1038 and Spin South West in a search to find undiscovered DJ talent.

The Bulmers brand also engages with consumers through a number of heavyweight sponsorships. Now in its fifth season and firmly established as one of the leading tournaments in the rugby world, the Magners League

Bulmers Ltd Bulmers Ltd predicts a busy Christmas period this 2010.

Maintaining the time-honoured tradition of cider making, which has been continued for over seven decades in Annerville, Clonmel, Bulmers

This Christmas-time, Bulmers is offering a selection of great value party packs for the season.

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November10Christmas

Stocking: Drinks

Marcus Goodwin, Brand Manager, Bulmers Original Cider, is pictured with Irish musical legend, Sharon Shannon and Hallie’s Comet the horse at the launch of Bulmers Live at Leoprdstown earlier this year.

continues to grow from strength to strength. Bulmers longest running sponsorship entered its 19th consecutive year as title sponsors to the Bulmers All Ireland Cups and Shields competition, with this year being one of the most successful to date. Organised by the Golfing Union of Ireland, the tournament is one of the most coveted championship tournaments in the inter-club calendar and is regarded as the biggest amateur golfing competition in Europe.

‘Bulmers Live at Leopardstown’ proved a tremendous success, combining the atmosphere of a boutique music festival with the best in horse racing at Dublin’s only racecourse over eight nights.

Bulmers Pear teamed up with Today FM’s KC Show to launch their brand new singles events entitled, ‘Pear Up with Bulmers Pear and KC’.

The Pear Up events took place in the Turk’s Head in Dublin, and Kelly’s Bar in Galway, both proving to be a massive success.

In 2010, Bulmers Light teamed up with well-known Irish fashion retail brand, A|wear, to support a series of customer events in stores nationwide.

Customers were invited to sample Bulmers Light in Dublin’s Henry Street and Grafton Street, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Galway. The events were promoted in-store and via social media; print advertising and PR, with shoppers enjoying shopping discounts, Bulmers Light product, makeovers and goodie bags.

46

Barry & Fitzwilliam Michael Barry of Barry & Fitzwilliam claims that they now have probably the most successful prestigious French wines on the market, when you take account of the success of Michel Lynch and Guigals wine from the Cote du Rhone.

The Gabriel Meffre range, which includes La Chasse du Pape, adds to their armoury of French wine and will be heavily promoted this year.

Faiveley Burgundy Wines, Jolivet Loire Wines and Preiss-Zimmer Alsace wines complete what is arguably the most outstanding portfolio of French wine on the market.

From Germany, Blue Nun is still an old favourite and will be heavily promoted by Barry & Fitzwilliam, who will offer a litre bottle for the price of 70cl.

Australia’s McGuigan wines continue to out-perform the market.

The Black Label range comprises of a Cabernet/Merlot, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Rosé, as well as McGuigan Black Label Sparkling Chardonnay and Sparkling Rosé.

The range will have strong above the line marketing support, particularly in national press and radio, with a major emphasis on Neil McGuigan’s award at the IWC awards as “the Best White Winemaker in the World” and “Winemaker of the Year” at the IWSC awards.

Brown Brothers wines have garnered a fantastic reputation from wine writers the world over and are very popular with the Irish consumer, while the popular Hardys range will be backed by a radio campaign, with the major emphasis on the promotion of Hardys Stamp litres for the price of 75cl. The Hardys Bin Range will be used as a promotional price offering.

Paul Masson is one of the great success stories from California in the last number of years. Sales continue to boom here, with 2009 looking to be a record year. Distinctive by its Carafe shaped bottle, the red,white and rosé litres retail at €9.99.

After 41 years, Robert Mondavi Winery still embodies its founder’s commitment to excellence, innovation and creative spirit, while continuing to produce wines that stand in the company of the world’s finest. The Woodbridge range will be promoted aggressively.

The popular McGuigan Black Label range includes a Cabernet/Merlot, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio.

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November10Christmas

Stocking: Drinks

Also from California, the Glen Ellen range includes premium quality wines such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot.

Glen Ellen is distributed in most of the world’s largest wine importing countries and the brand produces approximately 3m cases annually.

From South Africa, Barry & Fitzwilliam distribute the Kumala Range of quality wines that are full of character, which have long been favourites with Irish consumers, and the Boschendal range, which is described by Michael Barry as “one of South Africa’s iconic wineries, established in 1685, which makes it one of the oldest wineries in the world. We have recently launched Boschendal Pavillion range at under €10, to bring Boschendal into the value for money category.”

A family owned winery, Villa Maria has been New Zealand’s leading wine award winner, both nationally and internationally since the early 1980s. The repositioning of the Private Bin Range has seen sales surge in the last six months. Also from New Zealand, Nobilo are a well-priced range of excellent quality wines from both the North and South Islands, including the entry level White Cloud.

Mont Gras, a former “Chilean Producer of the Year”, continues to grow strongly. B&F will be offering activity across the full range, from entry level Blends at €6.99 to the fantastic Reserva at €11.99. The Soleus range of Organic Wine produced by Mont Gras is also going from strength to Villa Maria has been New Zealand’s leading strength, while wine award winner, Montes wines both nationally and are the latest internationally since the addition to the early 1980s.

48

The popular Teacher’s brand of Scotch Whisky from Barry & Fitzwilliam.

B&F portfolio, with lots of activity planned for the brand.

From Spain, Beronia Rioja wines from Gonzalez Byass and Raimat from Penedes are two exceptional ranges which have developed a cult following here and the Altozano range of varietals continues to make steady headway.

From Argentina comes the Santa Julia/Zuccardi range of excellent wines at all ends of the spectrum, with a fantastic price quality ratio. At the top end, Zuccardi Zeta is an absolute wow, according to Barry.

B&F have a very strong line up in the Fortified Wine Sector, where they represent Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry, Croft Original Sherry, Tio Pepe Sherry, Cockburns and Taylor’s Port, described by Michael Barry as “the category captains of this sector”.

The advertising campaign for Harveys will have its main emphasis on a new ‘Harveys Rocks’ campaign.

B&F also distribute a wide range of premium spirits, including Teacher’s Scotch, Courvoisier Cognac, Rémy Martin Cognac, The Famous Grouse Finest Scotch Whisky, Jim Beam Bourbon, Vladivar Vodka, Boru Vodka and Stolichnaya.

Cointreau is a cool experience on ice with a warm afterglow, sur-

rounded by the exotic scent of oranges, while maintaining its elegant French heritage, while the selection of flavours available from Bols is vast and includes Bols Blue, Grenadine, Advocaat, Crème de Cacao, Cherry Brandy, Amaretto and many more. A new addition to the range that is doing very well is Bols Natural Yogurt.

Sourz continues to be a great success. It has a unique, dual sweet & sour flavour that is both refreshing and tangy. Sourz Apple is a lowstrength (15%) shooter brand that is taking the clubs and style bars by storm. Look out for Sourz Cherry and Sourz Pineapple.

Jagermeister, the famous German schnapps, is a huge seller in the shooter market, particularly among student trend setters, and is growing internationally. It is a half-bitter German schnapps with a unique blend of 56 herbs and spices and is ideal served chilled or try the new phenomenon of mixing it. Sales are up 10% for the first quarter of 2010, which is a fantastic achievement, particularly in view of the state of the market.

Two of the most exciting brands that have been added to the B&F portfolio are Tia Maria and Disaronno.

Tia Maria is a hugely popular coffee liqueur worldwide, particularly in its mixability in cocktails, with coffee or in desserts, or mixed with milk and ice as a luxurious long drink. It will be heavily backed by the TV cam-

Jagermeister, the famous German schnapps, is a huge seller in the shooter market, particularly among student trend setters.

November10Christmas

paign, ‘Mix It’. Disaronno is described as a ‘cool’ brand. With its distinctive square glass decanter and smooth almond flavour, it has a secret recipe which is said to include the pure essence of 17 selected herbs and fruits with an infusion of apricot kernel oil.

It is a very “hot brand” in the UK offtrade and B&F are hoping to emulate that here.

B&F also have the massively popular beer brand, Corona Extra, which has grown dramatically in both the on- and off-trade over the last few years and the trend already this year is for more of the same. Corona is currently backed by an intensive radio, TV and poster campaign with the theme ‘Experience the Extraordinary’ and will sponsor the Corona Cork Film Festival again this year. The 12-pack for the off trade has really helped its visibility in this sector. “We anticipate a 10% growth in our overall Corona sales for 2010 in a market that is suffering dramatically,” noted Michael Barry.

B&F also distribute Echo Falls Spritz.

One 250ml bottle of Echo Falls Spritz is the equivalent to just one unit of alcohol, so consumers can quench their thirst, enjoying one of the refreshing new varieties: Chardonnay (white), which is zesty and refreshing with a light sparkle and subtle lemon-lime fruit flavours; or the White Zinfandel (rosé) – lively and refreshing, with a light sparkle and bursting with sweet summer berry fruits.

Aimed primarily at the female market, B&F feel that this has great potential, and will be backed with both a radio and Sales of Corona national press Extra are expected campaign initially. to grow by 10% this

Stocking: Drinks

New Drinkaware.ie Campaign

Bombay Sapphire’s Christmas Gift Tin makes home entertaining even easier this holiday season.

Bombay Sapphire This holiday season, home entertaining will be more popular than ever and to help inspire consumers, Bombay Sapphire, from Edward Dillon & Co. Ltd, has created a striking gift tin to make it even easier to create delicious cocktails for friends and family.

Bombay Sapphire has a refined and delicately balanced taste, making it exceptionally versatile. Its extraordinary taste is created by infusing spirit vapour with the aromatic flavours of 10 exotic botanicals - herbs, fruits and spices, hand-selected from around the world. These combine to create a spirit prized by top bartenders for its ability to create refreshing long drinks and the most delicious cocktails.

The beautiful ‘Coffre Bijiou’ gift tin will show off the iconic blue bottle to its finest. Also included within is a home entertaining guide with a selection of cocktail recipes, essential ingredients and preparation tips to ensure consumers have everything they need to create a memorable experience for friends and family at home this Christmas.

Grey Goose Grey Goose, from Edward Dillon & Co. Ltd, one of the world’s best tasting

IN the run up to the Festive Season, drinkaware.ie are rolling out a nationwide campaign, in conjunction with the Road Safety Authority, to raise awareness of what a standard drink is - a glass of beer, or a small glass of wine, or a pub measure of spirits - and the period of time it takes the body to eliminate it. The aim of the campaign is to reduce incidences of road collisions due to ‘morning after’ drink driving, when many individuals are unaware of the continuing effects of alcohol. In addition to a national radio and poster advertising campaign, MEAS have produced handy information cards explaining what a standard drink is and how it affects your body. Campaign materials are available free of charge from MEAS. To request the ‘Morning After’ posters or info cards, please contact MEAS on 01 6114811 or email info@meas.ie.

Time is the only cure.

Your body gets rid of roughly one standard drink per hour.

So if you’re drinking tonight, you might be over the limit to drive tomorrow morning.

And the only cure for that is time.

=

or

or

A glass of stout / lager / cider (284ml) or A small glass of wine (100ml) or A pub measure of spirits (35.5ml)

vodkas, has the perfect solution for Christmas gifting needs this year. The Grey Goose limited edition Gift Pack will impress even the most particular person on your customers’ Christmas lists and makes a great addition to any festive celebration.

Every aspect of Grey Goose vodka is designed to ensure it stands alone as the “world’s best tasting vodka”.

Each bottle is produced using the

year.

49

November10Christmas

Stocking: Drinks

distillation process that ensures the production of smoother, softer and more refined vodka. The end result is a unique taste that is smooth, buttery and rounded, melting in the mouth to give a long, satisfying finish.

December 16 to be in with the chance to win. See http://www.facebook.com/ Baileys for more information.

Baileys

The Grey Goose limited edition Gift Pack makes a great addition to any festive celebration.

finest ‘gastronomer’ traditions in France under the watchful eye of Grey Goose’s ‘mâitre de chai’ (cellar master) Francois Thibault.

The crystal clear, award winning taste is the result of a five-step

Baileys has the perfect Christmas gift available for this Festive Season with its stylish gift solution for friends, the Baileys Red Bow Bottle. Its bespoke red bow allows for an instant, stylish gift without the hassle of wrapping paper - it’s Baileys as we know and love it, stylishly dressed with a gorgeous, red Christmas Bow! This Festive Season, as part of its ‘Lets do this again’ campaign, Baileys has teamed up with one of the world’s greatest and original supermodels, Helena Christensen, to offer one lucky Irish Facebook user the opportunity to attend a VIP party in New York City, co-hosted by Helena and Baileys!

To celebrate the special moments people share with friends, Baileys is encouraging people to capture their get-together on camera and upload the photographs onto the Facebook page in advance of the closing date of

The Baileys Red Bow Bottle allows for an instant, stylish gift without the hassle of wrapping paper.

Tipperary’s Natural Ability TIPPERARY Natural Mineral Water offers a large selection of product sizes to meet all the needs of the Irish consumer.

The Tipperary Natural Mineral Water Sports Range, or ‘Tipp Active’ is available in 500ml, 750ml and 1-litre sports cap. The specially designed, ergonomic bottle is perfect for those who lead an active lifestyle. In 2009, Tipperary Natural Mineral Water also launched the new fliptop cap for the 500ml Tipp Active Sports range. This easy-open bottle top is not only innovative, but more environmentally friendly. The Tipp Active 500ml range has also been expanded, with a number of packs offering Irish consumers even better value.

Tipperary Natural Mineral Water is also available in 1.5-litre and 2-litre sizes for all the family.

The Clearly Tipperary range offers sparkling flavoured water in both 500ml and 2-litre bottles. The 25cl and 75cl glass sizes are the natural choice for dining out or dining in.

Given the exceptional nature of Tipperary Natural Mineral Water, it is the water of choice for all of Ireland’s Michelin starred Restaurants – sitting proudly in some of the Irelands finest dining outlets.

Tipperary Kidz water is the perfect water for packed lunches and for quick re-hydration throughout the day. Designed especially for kids, Tipperary Kidz water comes in an easyto-hold bottle with a fun sports cap for instant refreshment. Not only is it fun for kids but Tipperary Natural Mineral parents can be happy too in the knowlWater launched a flip-top edge that water is the healthiest option. cap for the 500ml Tipp Active Launched in 2003 and available in a Sports range, which has Tipperary Kidz continues to lead the way 10-pack or singles, Tipperary Kidz contin- proved extremely popular in the kids’ water category. ues to lead the way in the kids’ water category. with Irish consumers.

50

November10Christmas

Drinks: Champagne & Sparkling Wine

Bubbling Over Jean Smullen examines sales of Champagne and Sparkling wines in the Irish market.

According

to Lorna Rouse, Wine Brand Manager with Febvre & Co., Prosecco is certainly one of the success stories of the recession. Obviously, its price point works very well at the moment but it is also on-themoney in terms of wine style: crisp and fresh, with lots of fruit.

Sparkling wine, which includes Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, Sekt, New World sparkling wine, as well as Italian Spumante wines and French Cremant styles, currently has a total share of 2.1% of the Irish wine market. Figures to July 2010 indicate that the overall figure for the wine market (including still and sparkling wines) to July 2010 has grown by 1.2% on The massively popular Moet & an MAT basis. Still wine Chandon from accounts for 96.8% of the Edward Dillon market and is up by 1.5%; & Co. Ltd. sparkling wine, however, is struggling with a decrease in sales of 10.2% on an MAT basis against

July 2009 (Source: Government Clearance Figures).

Steady Demand

New Year with a bottle of Champagne or Sparkling Wine. It is important to make sure that the retailer keeps a range of sparkling wine styles visible on their shelves. Let us not forget that on an on-going basis, everyday life will involve a celebration, be it a wedding, a christening or a child graduating from college. People will get engaged, others will get a job. Life as we know it does not cease because we are living through an economic downturn. The customer wants to buy something to celebrate these occasions in life and usually that will involve a wine with bubbles and now more than ever, the retailer needs to keep an awareness of this.

Champagne sales have been quite challenged over the last number of years, but with the Irish consumer in need of a treat now more than ever, there is still a steady demand.

MAT figure for Champagne to July 2010 showing a decrease of 35% (against a fall of 24.4% in July â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;09). However, sales of champagne are improving on a calendar year basis, with the decrease slowing to 13%, based on figures to July 2010.

Not all brands are feeling the pinch.

Paul Nolan of the Findlater Wine & Spirit Company told Retail News that for the same period, the Sparklers to Stock: Champagne house Bollinger is Ultra Premium outperforming the market, with sales up 8% for the calendar year Dom Perignon & Krug (Edward Dillon & Co) to July 2010.

Super Premium Sparkling wines are faring Moet & Chandon & Veuve Clicquot (Edward better. The MAT figure to July Dillon & Co) 2010 shows a decrease of 14% Laurent Perrier (Gleeson Group/incorporating against a fall of 13.7% in July Gilbeys Wines) 2009. Calendar year figures Bollinger (The Findlater Wine & Spirit to July 2010 show that sales Group) of Sparkling Wine fell by just Tattinger & Nicholas Feuillatte (Febvre & Co) 1%, indicating that this market Piper Heidsieck & Charles Heidsieck (Barry has potential, especially for the & Fitzwilliam) upcoming Festive Season.

Mumm & Perrier Jouet (Irish Distillers) Overall, the general feeling Pommery (Cassidy Wines) in trade appears to be that the consumer is gradually coming French Sparkling Wines back into the market â&#x20AC;&#x201C; maybe Caves de Lugny (Mackenway Distributors) not as often, but they still have Gratien & Meyer (Comans Wines) things to celebrate in life. At this time of year, Italian Prosecco your customers are Valdo Prosecco (Febvre & Co) likely to celebrate Bisol Prosecco (Searsons Wine Merchants) the Festive Season and see in the Cava

The House of Heidsieck FROM Barry & Fitzwilliam, Charles Heidsieck is carefully blended and cellared and gives a general impression of a vivacious, well-balanced wine. The company also produces the fashionable and contemporary Piper Heidsieck Grande Marque Champagne. Both Charles Heidsieck and Piper Heidsieck have won numerous awards both here and abroad.

Barry & Fitzwilliam also distribute Pol Roger and Codorniu in the Champagne/sparkling category.

Freixenet (The Findlater Wine & Spirit Co) Cordorniu & Castell de Vilarnau (Barry & Fitzwilliam) Australian Sparkling Jacobs Creek (Irish Distillers) Wolf Blass & Domaine Chandon (Edward Dillon & Co) Wynns Seaview (Febvre & Co) Angas Brut (Cassidy Wines) McGuigan Black Label (Barry & Fitzwilliam) 35 51

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Innovation to the Fore at SHOP 2010 A 40% increase in new exhibitors and strong visitor numbers, allied to a variety of awards, helped September’s SHOP 2010 to be a roaring success.

A third of exhibitors at SHOP 2010 are already signed up for the next SHOP event.

This

year, thousands of retailers and buyers descended on SHOP 2010, Ireland’s largest food and drink trade show, at the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin. It is a key

Pictured are (l-r): Peter Thomas, owner of Glyde Farm and producer of Bellingham Blue, winner of the Supreme Cheese Award, with fellow finalist Dick Williams, owner of Coolea Irish Farmhouse Cheese, winner of Best Modern Cheese at the British Cheese Awards.

60

event in the food, drink, retail and hospitality calendar and continues to offer the right ingredients to help exhibitors and visitors alike to achieve a much needed sales boost and act as a catalyst for getting deals done. This year, there was a 40% increase in new exhibitors offering innovative products and business solutions, with a third of exhibitors already signed up for the next SHOP event.

As always, features played a substantial role within SHOP, with the Association of Craft Butchers’ National Sausage and Puddings Final, plus the Product of the Show and Irish Cheese Awards, attracting hundreds of new visitors to the show.

Business features such as the SHOP Discount Directory, learnShops and informative seminars were well received and offered visitors valuable advice. Keynote speakers at SHOP 2010 included Bobby Kerr, Chairman of Insomnia Coffee, and Brody Sweeney, founder of O’Brien’s. A new addition this year was the Dragons’ Den-inspired feature ‘Product of the Show - Live’ where exhibitors pitched their latest innovations to a panel of expert judges.

Product of the Show Awards Awarding excellence in the Irish food sector, the highly anticipated Product of the Show Awards, sponsored by communications agency Marla.ie, saw the Simply Honest Food Company walk away with the title of Overall Product of the Show. Its Chicken and Chili Vol Au Vent also claimed the award for Best New Taste 2010.

“To win the Best New Taste Award is a fantastic honour, but to win the Overall Product of the Show Award, with our new Chicken and Chili Vol Au Vent, is an amazing

Rosita Moyles, Simply Honest Food Company, accepts the award for Overall Product of the Show, SHOP 2010, from judge John Hickey and Sheila Gallogly, Marla.ie, award sponsors.

Best New Taste: Simply Honest Food Company; Best Value for Money Award: Floortech; Best Branded Product: Galbert Salads; The People’s Product of the Show Award 2010: Irish Atlantic Salt Ltd; Overall Winner: Simply Honest Food Company Pictured are Ciara O’Rourke and Brendan Hyland from Mash Direct, accepting the Best of Irish Product of the Year Award from judge John Hickey (left) and Sheila Gallogly, Marla.ie.

endorsement from our industry,” noted Rosita Moyles of Simply Honest Food Company. “The competition was very high this year, and I am delighted that our product, in the eyes of the judges, was the best for quality, innovation and high food standards.”

The SHOP Product of the Show Awards is now firmly established as the major event in the Irish food and drink retail industry. From sponsors Marla.ie, Managing Director, Sheila Gallogly comments: “It is our second year of sponsorship and we are delighted at the quality of entrants. The Simply Honest Food Company’s product was an allround winner and has huge potential.

As the overall prize, we’ll be working with the winning company to provide strategic online and off-line marketing direction to the value of €2,000.”

Mike O’Donoghue, Sales Director from Floortech is pictured receiving the award for Best Value for Money Product 2010 from judge John Hickey and Sheila Gallogly, Marla.ie.

There were seven categories in total, and the winners were: Best for Innovative Product: Activeion (Europe) Gmbh; Best of Irish Product: Mash Direct;

from Keane’s Supermarkets, who has two shops in Co. Roscommon and Co. Longford. With the €1000, Bernard bought a spider fridge at SHOP from Anglo-Irish.

The Irish Cheese Awards Ireland’s Supreme Cheese was also crowned at SHOP 2010. With the very best in Irish cheese producers vying for the top crown, it was Co. Louth Company, Glyde Farm, producers of Bellingham Blue Cheese, that impressed the judges to be named the Supreme Cheese.

The Irish Cheese Awards were created in order to recognise the outstanding talent amongst homegrown Irish cheese producers and provide a platform for local producers to get in front of key decision-makers and buyers from across the food, drink and retail sectors. With over 100 cheeses entered into this year’s competition, the standard was extremely high.

Speaking on the win, Bellingham Blue cheese producer, Peter Thomas, said, “To be crowned the Supreme Cheese at the SHOP Irish Cheese Awards is terrific recognition for the hard work that we’ve put into making our cheese the best. We believe this win will have a positive impact on our brand and open doors in terms of retailers who appreciate and stock quality cheese.

“It re-affirms to all our existing customers and potential customers that Bellingham Blue is a strong brand, committed to producing the highest quality cheese,” he continued.

“There is a lot of talent across Ireland amongst local producers and I hope this encourages others to follow in our footsteps.”

Daily Cash Draw Over the three days at SHOP, €1,000 was given away daily to visitors who had pre-registered their attendance at www.shopexhibition.com. One of the winners was Bernard Keane,

SHOP 2010 featured a host of informative seminars, learnShops and excellent exhibitors.

Gaining a Competitive Edge Some of Ireland’s biggest companies exhibited at SHOP 2010, including Country Crest, Daikin Europe NV, CashGuard, Martin Food Equipment, PRM Group, Unilever Ireland, The Packaging Centre Ltd, Retail Solutions, Kestrel Foods, IT Providers Ltd and Morgan’s Fine Fish; plus local producers Donegal Rapeseed Oil Co, Inishowen Country Kitchen, Edenmore Farm Meats and Albatross Seafoods.

“We were extremely pleased with visitor numbers to SHOP 2010, and it was evident that in the current climate, the visitors that attended the show were there to do business,” summed up Matt Benyon, Managing Director, easyFairs. “The food and drink professionals that attended SHOP came to source the latest, innovative products and retail solutions to give their businesses the competitive edge. With many new features added to the show, it provided hundreds of companies with an excellent platform to meet new and existing customers and the feedback from exhibitors has been excellent… most importantly, business was done at SHOP 2010.”

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November10Off

Licence Awards

Sparkling Success for SPAR Stores The third Edward Dillon EuroSPAR/SPAR/SPAR Express Off-Licence of the Year Awards 2010 took place recently in The Stillorgan Park Hotel, Dublin.

The

Stillorgan Park Hotel, Dublin, was the venue for the third Edward Dillon EuroSPAR/SPAR/ SPAR Express Off-Licence of the Year Awards 2010, with 30 finalists shortlisted from around the country up for the three main awards: EUROSPAR Off Licence of the Year, SPAR/SPAR Express Off Licence of the Year and the SPAR/SPAR Express Wine Store of the Year.

Ger and Denise Canning accepted the SPAR/SPAR Express Off Licence of the Year Marnius Botha and Mary Glennon from SPAR, Tongelee 2010 award on behalf of Road, the winners of the SPAR Wine Store of the Year Award, are pictured with Andy O’Hara, Commercial Director of SPAR Express on Pearse Edward Dillon & Co. Ltd, award sponsors.

St, Sligo, while the they will have the opportunity to visit runners-up were Derek Clarke, SPAR, the Nederburg Winery and vineyards, Castleforbes Street, Dublin 1, and Noel meet the winemakers and taste the McGowan, SPAR, Kinlough, Leitrim. latest vintages, while enjoying the The SPAR Wine Store of the Year sights and sounds of Cape Town.

2010 was, for the second year in a “We were delighted to be associrow, awarded to Mary Glennon, SPAR, ated with the 3rd EUROSPAR / SPAR Tonlegee Road, Coolock, Dublin 5, with / SPAR Express Off-Licence of the Marie and Brendan Mullen from SPAR, Year Awards again this year,” noted Bundoran Road, Sligo, receiving the Andy O’Hara, Commercial Director of runner-up award on the night.

Edward Dillon. “Over the past three Each finalist was delighted to years, the quality of entries has risen accept a prize of an overnight trip to to a very high standard and we would Sitges, near Barcelona, where they like to take this opportunity to thank will have the opportunity to visit the each of the stores who took part and coveted Casa Bacardi Academie. congratulate the winners for their The winners will also enjoy a trip great achievement.” to Cape Town, South Africa, where

Ger Canning from SPAR Express, Pearse Road, Sligo, winner of the SPAR/SPAR Express Off Licence of the Year 2010, with Andy O’Hara, Commercial Director of Edward Dillon & Co Ltd, award sponsors.

Colin Byrd and Kevin White, EUROSPAR, Passage West, Co. Cork, were delighted to be awarded the EUROSPAR Off Licence of the Year 2010 award, while Fergus Giblin, EUROSPAR, Malahide, Co. Dublin, and Des Kee, EUROSPAR, Laghey, Co. Donegal, scooped the runners up prizes.

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Paul Lenihan from BWG is pictured with Kevin White and Colin Byrd, from EUROSPAR Passage West, Cork, winners of Edward Dillon EUROSPAR Off Licence of the Year Award 2010, with Tony Reade from award sponsors Edward Dillon & Co Ltd.

November10What’s

Knorr Season & Shake KNORR Season & Shake is the breakthrough innovation in the Seasonings category. A convenient, all-in-one baking bag and seasoning sachet, consumers simply add meat and veg to the bag, shake in the seasoning and pop in the oven for an easy and mess-free way to create succulent, flavoursome meals. Knorr Season & Shake is being launched with three chicken variants: Rustic Chicken - chicken breast, potatoes, carrots & green beans (the whole meal in the bag); Mediterranean Chicken - chicken breasts, tomatoes, peppers & courgettes (only need to add rice); Paprika Chicken Drumsticks (just the seasoning for meat). Knorr has created an ingenious and easy way to combine unique seasonings with a baking bag that seals in the flavour. Knorr Season & Shake contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and no added MSG.

New

Stork Celebrates 90th Birthday STORK is celebrating an incredible 90 years at the heart of home baking, helping generations of households to create the perfect cakes and pastries. Like a favourite recipe book or prized heirloom, Stork has been passed down through the generations, becoming one of the most trusted ingredients for home baking. To celebrate 90 years of Stork, a new website has been launched – www.bakewithstork.ie – which includes baking hints and tips and expert advice from Stork advocates, pastry chef Phil Vickery and the doyenne of baking, Marguerite Patten The new website is packed with lots of new Stork recipes, plus some modern twists on old home baking classics, with plenty of inspirational ideas to tease the taste-buds.

Steven Gerrard Stars for Lucozade Sport

Tax Free Rewards from One4all

LUCOZADE has launched its latest television advertising campaign. The new advert has been produced exclusively for the Irish market and features Barclays Premier League star Steven Gerrard. The commercial is a follow-on version of last year’s hugely successful ‘The Last 15’’ campaign that featured three of Ireland’s top athletes; Ireland and Munster out-half Ronan O’Gara, Kerry footballer Colm ‘The Gooch’ Cooper and Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin. The advert focuses on the Liverpool FC Captain’s thoughts on the last 15 minutes of the game and how important it is to have the belief in yourself and fuel to keep going to ensure a strong performance.

C O M P A NI E S seeking to reward their staff this Christmas can save more than 56% by availing of the Small Benefit Exemption Scheme, which allows them to award up to €250 in gift cards and vouchers completely tax and PRSI free. As Ireland’s leading multistore gift card and voucher, One4all offers a flexible alternative to the traditional Christmas bonus, benefiting employers and employees alike. According to Jock Jordan FSII, Group Sales Director at The Gift Voucher Shop (GVS), “Although we have seen a marked increase in the number of companies availing of the Small Benefit Exemption Scheme, many bosses are still not aware of the benefits available to them. However, the savings are significant and a company with 120 staff which gives a bonus of €250 at Christmas, could save up to €18,500 on its bonus bill.” See www.one4all.ie for more info.

FireMagic from Bord na Móna

Goodfella’s Ultimate Takeaway

FIREMAGIC from Bord na Móna Fuels Ltd is a revolutionary new product innovation that guarantees the fastest and fullest ‘real’ fire within minutes: not only will it light a fire instantly, but it will also form your fire. Quicker to ignite and generating heat more quickly, FireMagic is Bord na Móna’s biggest new product development in 2010, representing a total investment of over €1m for this year’s winter campaign. The exciting new product is set to be a real game-changer within the category, coming with the assurance that it will light first time, every time, and will create the intense glow of a full, real fire within 15 minutes of lighting. Fire Magic is available through Allegro Distribution or Bord na Móna Fuels Direct on 1850 744755.

GOODFELLA’S launch their new ultimate Takeaway in November 2010 – the real authentic Takeaway pizza found in your freezer! What better way for consumers to enjoy the Takeaway than in the comfort of their home: no fuss, no mess, just good quality pizza for everyone! Extensive research has been done to ensure Goodfella’s deliver the perfect authentic takeaway pizza, with unique recipes created from generations of experience, improved base made with quality ingredients and dusted with semolina to give a rustic, authentic look. True to Goodfella’s, each pizza delivers on generous, quality tasting toppings. The launch will be supported with a mixture of through-the-line media.

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November10Shelf

Life

Shelf Life AVONMORE Super Milk won a Gold Award Irish at the Institute of Advertising Practitioners (IAPI) Advertising Effectiveness Awards for its advertising campaign, which was developed by Irish International BBDO. Super Milk won for the FMCG sector, and was one of only four recipients on the night to be presented with a Gold Award. The advertising campaign was executed over three years and aimed to, firstly, re-position Super Milk as a milk for all the family and secondly, to drive relevancy of Super Milk by focusing on its specific health benefits, primarily Vitamin D. Pictured receiving the Gold Award for the Super Milk campaign were Ian Young, IIBBDO; Rachael Haslam, IIBBDO; Robert Jordan, Glanbia; Muirghin Brophy, IIBBDO; and Emma Stapleton, Glanbia.

PICTURED at ‘Pear Up With Bulmers Pear and KC’, a brand new singles event from Bulmers Pear and partner, Today FM’s KC Show, are Nadine Hyland, Today FM; Anne Hogan, Brand Manager, Bulmers Pear; and Roisin Daly. The Pear Up event took place in the Turk’s Head in Dublin and was a massive success, with over 300 attending. With ‘Old Skool’ slow sets for the romantics, lots of fun games like giant Twister for the more adventurous, as well as spot prizes like weekends away, there was something for everyone.

IT was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Kilian Hennessy, Advisory Board Member at LVMH Moët Hennessy–Louis Vuitton, who passed away on October 1, 2010, at the age of 103.

All the staff of Retail News would like to pass on our condolences to the Hennessy family.

THE Irish News of the World is investing €500,000 in a new television advertising campaign to promote the newspaper, focusing on the fact that the Irish News of the World costs just €1.50 and has stories so big, that they will unapologetically interrupt your Sunday breakfast routine and demand to be read. The campaign features a number of Irish News of the World writers including: Paul Williams, Ireland’s top crime reporter; Bertie Ahern, self-confessed sports fanatic, who offers razor sharp insight and analysis in his dedicated sports column; Claudine Keane, Ireland’s best known fashionista and the Irish News of the World’s newest columnist; and Eoin Murphy, Ireland’s leading showbiz writer. You can watch the ad on: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WN0DtRJYs_0

PETER Keogh and Sons, the potato growing and packaging company owned by the north county Dublin Keogh family, are re-launching their delicious limited edition ‘Blue’ potatoes as part of Superquinn’s 50th Birthday celebrations. “Superquinn have been a champion of fresh Irish potatoes for 50 years now, so to celebrate this milestone we decided to grow a small plot of these special potatoes on our family farm,” explained Tom Keogh. “Customers will be amazed by the striking deep blue colour, and the novelty factor of cooking blue mash or blue chips will raise many eyebrows at the dinner table.”

Keoghs Heritage Blue potato, which has a slightly nutty taste, fries and steams well and makes great blue mash and blue chips!

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THE Sunday Times has signed a partnership deal with ERC to become the official print media partner for rugby competitions, the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup in Ireland.

To celebrate the partnership, The Sunday Times will be running numerous reader competitions for much sought after match tickets for both tournaments throughout the season. The Sunday Times also recently gave readers a free double-sided poster with both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Cup Challenge fixtures for the season.

CARRY OUT, one of Ireland’s leading specialist off licence businesses, has confirmed that it is sponsoring a task challenge in an upcoming episode of the hit show, The Apprentice on TV3. Carry Out will set the Apprentice candidates a secret task that will be unveiled during the series.

“This is a significant investment by the business and will help boost awareness and affinity for Carry Out among our key audience,” noted Jim Barry, Managing Director of the Barry Group.

At CATEX 2011, there is set to be a variety of world-class and tight fought competitions taking place to hunt out the freshest talent across the Barista and Bartender sector in Ireland. CATEX 2011, which takes place at the RDS, Simmonscourt, from February 8-10, 2011, is continually evolving with new attractions being added all the time. For more information, contact: Garret Buckley at Event Haus: garret@eventhaus.ie; Tel. 01 8460020.

12 Old El Paso Mexican amigos descended on St. Stephen’s Green for a mild yet sizzling show-down, proving it’s cool to be blue! The Mexicans were in town for the launch of Old El Paso Extra Mild, Super Tasty Fajitas, delivering a tasty treat to shoppers and families. The Extra Mild kit offers a cool, milder alternative for family feasts. The Fajitas are full of the fun and flavour of Mexico, and bring the whole family together, making it cool to be blue!