Retail News October 2017

OCTOBER 2017

CELEBRATING

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7 - 20 1 5 7 9 GREAT YEARS

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M.D. BARRY GROUP If you have what it takes to run your own business, contact Barry Group in confidence Telephone +353 22 30100

Email retailopportunities@barrys.ie www.BarryGroup.ie

Deloitte Best Managed Companies 2017

Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie|1

News

Budgeting for Failure?

BUDGET 2018 will probably be remembered as one that flattered to deceive. While Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe TD would like us to believe that the Budget formed part of a broad programme of social and economic recovery, the reality for the retail and FMCG sector is different, as the Government failed to address some of retail’s genuine concerns for our industry. Retail News takes the temperature of the leading voices in grocery and finds a decidedly lukewarm reaction to Budget 2018, which most commentators feel was a missed opportunity (Page 2).

Retail News has been busy this month, and we report ringside from the Barry Group Annual Awards (Page 18), the Gala Group Annual Conference (Page 28), the ECR Ireland Leaders’ Congress (Page 44) and the Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo (Page 48), keeping you up to date on the latest trends, products and companies driving the future of this fast-moving industry.

As if that wasn’t enough, we talk to PostPoint MD, Pearl Clarke about staying on top in the ultracompetitive electronic payments sector (Page 14); we focus on the future of recycling at the Repak 20th Anniversary Breakfast Briefing (Page 22) and hear from some of our heroes at the IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch (Page 36).

Kathleen Belton, Editorial & Marketing Director.

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Budget leaves retailers exposed to Brexit pressure.

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National Q Mark award winners announced.

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SuperValu still on top but Tesco growing fast; Consumer spending accelerates in September.

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Cork Retailer crowned Londis Store of the Year; Sterling decline could cost Irish businesses €60m this year alone.

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Conference examines how to tackle food fraud; Retail Excellence search for Ireland’s best store.

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Musgrave MarketPlace upgrades Robinhood branch; Future in Food Ireland 2017 conference for Croke Park.

The Retail News Interview 14

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Gala Annual Conference 28

Gala Retail’s Annual Conference saw the announcement of a massive €1m marketing investment as the group prepares to celebrate 20 years in business.

IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch 36

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Pearl Clarke, Managing Director of PostPoint, takes us through the fast-changing world of electronic payments.

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The IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch provided some fabulous entertainment, while raising much needed funds for the grocers’ charity.

Barry Group presented their Store of the Year and Supplier of the Year Awards at a gala event in Dublin’s Citywest Hotel recently.

Repak recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a Future Gazing breakfast.

Caroline Rigney of Rigney’s Granola takes us on her journey from the farmers’ market to supermarket shelf, including getting retail ready with a GS1 barcode.

Insurance a significant cost for retailers; Irish consumers injecting positivity into the retail sector.

ECR Ireland Leaders' Congress 44

Product Development 24

Michael and Josephine McBride recently recently switched their fuel partner to Applegreen on their Navan forecourt.

Retail Ireland: Monthly Update

Repak

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Forecourt Focus

Barry Group Awards 18

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Contents

a il N e w et

The ECR Ireland Leaders’ Congress provided some valuable insights into the ever-changing nature of Ireland’s retail industry.

Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo 48

More than 3,000 visitors, 200 speakers and 170 exhibitors attended this year’s Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo.

Focus on HR 50

How to go about organising a performance appraisal for an employee that benefits both the staff member and the business.

Regulars & Reports

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Managing Director: Patrick Aylward Editorial & Sales Director:

Published by: Tara Publishing Ltd,

Kathleen Belton

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Sales: Brian Clark

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Web: www.retailnews.ie Email: kathleenbelton@retailnews.ie

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Subscription to Retail News: e95 plus VAT Email: ciara@tarapublications.ie Reproduction without written permission is strictly prohibited.

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Industry News Biscuits & Bars Soups Drinks News Retail Technology On the Vine Forecourt Focus: News What’s New

2|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

News

Budget Leaves Retailers Exposed to Brexit Pressure BUDGET 2018 has failed to Brexit-proof the retail sector, according to retail organisations.

“I think an opportunity was missed in the Budget to protect the largest private industry employer in Ireland: the retail industry,” Lorraine Higgins, Deputy CEO of Retail Excellence, told Retail News. “Over €14m a day is leaked through online sales and to the UK and Northern Ireland. There is not enough support for retailers.”

Paschal Donohoe TD suggested his first Budget as Minister for Finance was intended to be part of a broad programme of social and economic recovery. Retailers, however, suggest that the budget will make life more difficult. Chief among concerns is the rise in the National Minimum Wage to €9.55. It marks a cumulative increase of over 10% since January 2016.

While retailers should sufficiently provide for their staff - a happy workforce breeds happy customers, after all - this hike will increase wage pressures, suggested Higgins. She called for the minimum wage to be revised on a two-yearly basis, instead of annually.

Vincent Jennings, Chief Executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA), was disappointed that there was no effort to balance the minimum wage increase with a reduction in employer's PRSI: a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission.

Thomas Burke, Lorraine Higgins, Deputy CEO, Retail Ireland Director, Retail Excellence. added: “It shows the lack of recognition in government on the pressure on the retail industry. We're in an industry that cannot recover costs in the marketplace. There are extreme levels of competition at play, which are driving prices down. Prices are back to 2008 levels.

Local authority rates, utilities, insurance, all are going up significantly at a time when cost recovery in the marketplace is impossible.”

Retailers are likely to see the impact of the Budget on their shelves. April 2018 will see the introduction of the sugar tax on sweetened drinks. Britvic Ireland has expressed its disappointed that the soft drinks sector has been singled out, particularly as 75% of the company's offerings already have low or no sugar.

Tara Buckley, Director General of RGDATA, hoped the

sugar tax would not add more regulatory burden on local shopkeepers. “It is also important that the operation of this new tax is monitored to assess if it achieves its public health objectives, rather than just being another charge on consumers,” she said.

Evidence is not in favour of the sugar tax, Jennings told us. “They are attempting to reduce the overall consumption of sugar intake to the point where it has a demonstrable effect on national obesity. There is no evidence whatsoever that such a tax works, to the point where some countries, such as Denmark, have reversed it.”

Small retailers will be hit by a 50c increase in excise for a packet of 20 cigarettes, and a 93c per pack increase for Roll Your Own. Last July, the Tax Strategy Group stated that an increase in tobacco excise would not generate any additional revenue, due to money lost to smuggling.

The Government implemented none of the suggestions contained with the pre- Vincent Jennings, CSNA Chief budget submission of Executive.

Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS).

“They didn't give any consideration to the problems we are facing in regards to the illegal trade,” Benny Gilsenan, RAS spokesperson, told Retail News. “Nor did they consider the effect it is having on revenue for the state. It's not only frustrating, it's soul destroying for people involved in the small

Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie|3

News end of retailing. We don't stand a chance. Cigarettes are a core product for us. It's the one item we depend on. We are all playing off a level playing pitch, but the criminal is laughing all the way to the bank.”

As tobacco prices rise, so newsagents also face increased competition from Duty Free.

“Anyone going abroad within the EU can bring back any quantity they want without any questions being asked,” continued Gilsenan.

Thomas Burke, Director, Retail “That's revolting as far as I'm Ireland. concerned.”

In its pre-budget submission, Retail Excellence called upon the government to reduce excise duty on alcohol. However, rates remained unchanged in Budget 2018 “Our fear is that because of the devaluation of Sterling, and the expectation we will see pound for euro parity by Christmas, it will have a detrimental impact on the retail industry in the south,” said Higgins.

“One of the major incentives of shoppers to go north is the cheaper alcohol and cigarettes. Unfortunately, that wasn't addressed in the budget.”

Budget 2018 included some positives. RGDATA and CSNA welcomed the retention of the 9% VAT rate for the tourism sector, which also applies to newspapers and magazines. There is also a hope that additional funding for the Gardaí will lead to an increased presence on the ground.

An extra €19m is being granted for the Department of Rural Affairs, which could assist recovery in maligned areas of the country.

RGDATA “will be urging the various government departments to spend additional funds on town centre renewal projects and a national programme of town centre health checks with some of this funding.”

Higgins, however, claimed the decision to increase commercial stamp duty penalised entrepreneurs involved in town regeneration projects: “They are faced with having to pay 30% of a deposit to get a commercial mortgage. On top of that, they are going to pay 6% stamp duty.”

Retailers broadly welcomed Minister Donohoe's efforts to encourage consumer spending.

The 2.5% and 5% rates of USC rates are to be dropped to 2% and 4.75% respectively. Social welfare payments are expected Tara Buckley, Director General, to be raised by €5 per week.

RGDATA. “The reductions in tax are

modest, but it is a signal to consumers that more tax reduction is on the way,” said Retail Ireland's Thomas Burke. “Anything that puts money back in consumer's products, increases their spending power, and enables them to go out and spend, is good news from a retail perspective. We hope this the first in a series of further tax cuts in coming budgets.”

But although the Budget made efforts to encourage SME companies, retail has been left exposed to the headwinds of Brexit, according to the retailers we spoke to.

“There are things coming down the line, supply disruption and other such issues, that will have a real impact on Irish retailers and Irish consumers from a price perspective,” concluded Retail Ireland's Director. “I'm increasingly concerned that this is not recognised at the highest levels of government.”

National Q Mark Award Winners Announced THE winners of The National Q Mark Awards 2017 were announced recently at the Clayton Hotel, Dublin 4, which saw over 500 people representing 135 companies competing for one of only 26 awards presented.

Dublin Airport was named as overall national winner for their Quality Management System (QMS), Manor Farm in Cavan was the overall national winner for Hygiene and Food Safety and Bluebird Care won overall Business Group of the Year.

“I am continually impressed with the reputation of the companies that use the Q Mark framework and the exceptional teams whose performance creates this important benefit for consumers,” said Irene Collins, Managing Director of EIQA. “We celebrate 35 years of the power of the Q and my heartiest congratulations go to all of the winners and nominees.”

Winners on the night for the Q Mark Awards for Hygiene and Food Safety included: Bagnall's Spar Parkwest; O'Hare's Mace Tivoli; Whoriskey's EuroSpar Ramelton, Donegal; SuperValu Waterford; Rooney's SuperValu Manorhamilton; Byrne's Spar Caherslee; Compass at Bloomfield Health Services; Rooney's Centra Belleek; Compass at Northern Ireland Assembly; Musgrave Wholesale Partners Central Distribution Centre; South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital; Tobin's Spar Express, Letterkenny; Gormley's Centra Claudy; Byrne's Spar Oak Park; Caulfield McCarthy Group SuperValu Bandon; and Donnellan's Centra Loughville was highly commended.

Irene Collins, Managing Director, Excellence Ireland Quality Association (EIQA) (centre) pictured with the overall National Q Mark Award winners; Brian MacGoey and Alanagh Hunt from Bluebird Care; Justin Carton from Manor Farm and Liz Kavanagh from Dublin Airport.

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News SuperValu Still on Top but Tesco Growing Fast THE latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, for the 12 weeks ending Total Take Home Grocery - Ireland Consumer Spend September 10, 2017, reveal that SuperValu has managed 12 Weeks to 11 Sep 2016 12 Weeks to 10 Sep 2017 change** %* %* % to retain its position as the largest supermarket in Total Grocers 100.0% 100.0% 2.3 Ireland, growing sales by Total Multiples 88.7% 89.0% 2.6 0.9% year on year, despite SuperValu 22.4% 22.1% 0.9 another strong performance Tesco 21.6% 22.0% 4.3 from Tesco.

Dunnes 21.6% 21.6% 2.3 “SuperValu remains the Lidl 11.8% 11.8% 2.4 largest grocer with a market Aldi 11.5% 11.6% 3.3 share of 22.1%, although Other Outlets** 11.3% 11.0% -0.2 strong sales growth from Tesco, its highest since April *= Percentage Share of Total Grocers **= Includes stores such as M&S, Boots, Spar, Centra, Greengrocers, Butchers And Cross Border shops 2012, has helped narrow SuperValu’s lead to just 0.1 percentage point,” revealed David Berry, Director at Kantar Worldpanel. increase – up 12.1%,” revealed Berry.

Tesco saw sales grow by an impressive 4.3% during the In third place, Dunnes Stores has held its share of the past 12 weeks, compared to the same time last year. “Although market steady at 21.6% year on year. “Performance has prices have fallen overall at the grocer, this has been countered been mixed for Dunnes during the latest quarter,” Berry by an increase in spending – the average shopper spent €15 mused. “Although spending per trip has increased by 5%, the more with Tesco than during the same period last year,” Berry percentage of the population visiting the store actually dropped explained. “As it celebrates its fifth consecutive period of by 5% during the same period. The challenge now will be growth, Tesco’s fortunes certainly seem to have shifted.” attracting those lost shoppers back to the supermarket, a vital Deflation eased slightly compared to last month to stand at step if Dunnes is to improve its market share ranking.”

0.4%, although falling prices weren’t enough to stymie overall Meanwhile Aldi and Lidl both increased sales year on grocery market growth: up 2.3% year on year. year, up by 3.3% and 2.4% respectively. Lidl held its market “As Irish families head back to school, we’ve seen strong share steady at 11.8%, while Aldi grew market share by 0.1 performance from a number of lunchbox staples. Sales percentage point to stand at 11.6%. of cooked meats and bread increased by 3.7% and 3.6% For more, see www.kantarworldpanel.com. respectively, while crisps posted a particularly strong sales

Consumer Spending Accelerates in September THERE was no sign of consumers expenditure in August and a consistent tightening their purse strings decrease for the past 11 months (since ahead of the Budget as Visa's Irish September 2016 at +0.7%).

Consumer Spending Index, which Growth in face-to-face spending measures expenditure across all for September still lagged behind payment types (cash, cheques and growth in eCommerce spending, electronic payments), signalled the however. This month saw a marked fastest acceleration in consumer rise of +5.4% year-on-year, although spending in six months for the this was the weakest expansion in month of September. eCommerce spending for five months.

Household expenditure was up After having fallen fractionally in +3.1% year-on-year last month, a August (-0.1%), spending increased faster rise than in August (+2.3%) in the Food & Drink sector in and the sharpest overall since September (+3.8%). Growth has now March (+4.2%). Looking at the third been recorded in six of the past seven quarter of the year as a whole, months, with the latest rise the fastest spending rose +2.6% year-on-year, since April. the strongest pace of expansion “This month’s Irish Consumer Philip Konopik, Country Manager, Ireland, since the final quarter of 2016 Spending Index paints a positive Visa. (+3.9%). picture for the Irish retail sector, For the first time in a year, which enjoyed its best quarter this consumers returned to the high street as growth in faceyear,” noted Philip Konopik, Country Manager, Ireland, Visa. to-face spending was recorded. At +1.8% year-on-year, the “eCommerce continued to drive the growth in spending; pace of increase was modest, but represented a significant however, face-to-face spending also played its part, turnaround for the Irish retail sector, following a -2.2% fall in demonstrating its first increase in 12 months.”

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News Cork Retailer Crowned Londis Store of the Year ROCHE’S Londis Doneraile was crowned as the overall Londis Store of the Year Winner at the 2017 Londis Retailing Awards, held recently in the Powerscourt Hotel in Co. Wicklow. The Londis Retailing Awards, which have been running for over 20 years, recognise stores that excel across all areas of store performance. Roche’s Londis also received the award for Londis Food Safety Store of the Year and a Londis Retailing Excellence Award.

“In the past year, the standards across the Londis retail estate have soared,” explained Conor Hayes, Londis Sales Director. “The winners of this year’s awards are among the top retailers in the country. This award is recognition of the commitment and ambition demonstrated by these retailers to keep providing the highest level of service to their customers. Their focus on continually exceeding Roche’s Londis Doneraile, Co. Cork, was named Londis Store of the customer expectations is a testament to the hard Year. Pictured at the award presentation are (l-r): Conor Hayes, Londis work of their staff, for which they should be very Sales Director; Leo Crawford, Group CEO, BWG Group; Majella Roche, proud. I commend them all on this wonderful Londis Doneraile, Co Cork; Willie O'Byrne, Managing Director, BWG achievement.”

Foods; John Roche, Londis Doneraile, Co Cork; and Ger Greaney, Londis Accepting the overall Londis Store of the Year Regional Development Manager, Award 2017, John Roche said: “We are thrilled to awards in recognition of their commitment to implementing receive this prestigious award, which is testament exceptionally high standards throughout their stores, thereby to the extremely hard working team that we have in-store. providing an excellent customer experience to their local This accolade is not only a mark of pride for our store and community. staff, but importantly it shows our customers that we are This year’s awards were held as part of the Londis passionate about delivering a top quality service. This is a very Conference 2017, entitled ‘Londis: Being the Best’, which important point of differentiation in what is a very competitive was chaired by sports journalist Joanne Cantwell. Special marketplace and we’re honoured to have received this award.” guest speakers included Conor O’Shea, head coach of the In winning these awards, the stores were independently Italian national rugby team; Davy Fitzgerald, Wexford hurling examined across a range of criteria, including customer manager; Stephanie Roche, Irish international soccer star; service, the quality of their fresh food offering, product range, and well-known chef Catherine Fulvio. We will have a full and the store’s commitment to upholding the highest standards conference report in next month’s Retail News. of hygiene and food safety. These retailers received their

Sterling Decline Could Cost Irish Businesses €60m this Year Alone THE possibility of euro-sterling parity could cost Ireland’s drinks and hospitality businesses tens of millions in lost revenue as Irish shoppers cross the border for more affordable products, including alcohol. Indeed, crossborder shopping could cost the Irish economy up to €60m this year.

The stark warning was issued by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), Donall O’Keeffe, following a recent CSO report Secretary at DIGI and that implicates cross-border Chief Executive, Licensed shopping in the decline in state Vintners Association. revenue take.

The drinks industry directly employs 92,000 people and enables 210,000 jobs in the wider hospitality sector. Through a nationwide network of pubs, hotels, restaurants, off-licences, distilleries, microbreweries, wholesalers and distributors, the drinks industry exports €1.25 billion in goods annually and generates €2.3 billion of revenue for the Exchequer.

DIGI’s latest report, The Economic Impact of Brexit on the Drinks and Hospitality Sectors, authored by DCU economist Anthony Foley, estimated that a surge in crossborder shopping could cost the economy as much as €60m before the end of 2017. If the sterling continues to drop against the euro in 2018 and reaches parity, these losses could be significantly more.

This problem is compacted by a contraction in Ireland’s biggest tourism market, the UK. In the first seven months of the year, British tourist numbers dropped by 6.2%. If this downward trend continues, decreased spend could cost the drinks and hospitality industry a further €70m by year’s end.

“The drinks and hospitality industry is feeling the tremors of Brexit. DIGI predicts that the cross-border shopping surge and decrease in British tourism could cost the Irish economy €130m before the end of the year,” warned Donall O’Keeffe, Secretary at DIGI and Chief Executive, Licensed Vintners Association. “This is before a Brexit deal is even agreed and discounts many other potential costly factors, including the loss of customers, introduction of tariffs, new trade regulations and border checks.”

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News How to Tackle Food Fraud?

THE issues of food fraud and how to safeguard the global food supply chain are extremely topical at the moment, following the recent chicken scandal in the UK. These and other challenges were discussed at a major international conference in Dublin Castle recently.

Over 300 delegates were in attendance at Safeguarding the Food Chain – Protecting Authenticity and Integrity, hosted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) in partnership with safefood. National and international experts outlined that combating increasing levels of food fraud requires inter-agency collaboration and intelligence-led insights to protect the food chain and ultimately consumer interests and health. The growth in food fraud investigations in Europe is climbing, Pictured are (l-): Dr Pamela Byrne, CEO, FSAI; Bérengère Dreno, Specialist IP with the European Commission’s Food Crime, Europol; and Ray Dolan, CEO, safefood, at Safeguarding the Food Fraud Network dealing with 156 cases of Chain – Protecting Authenticity and Integrity. food fraud in 2016, up from 108 cases in the more we can develop expert and intelligence-based 2015 and 60 cases in 2014. approaches to focus investigations on the highest risk areas.

“Food fraud harms consumers and the economy of all This has to be a strategic and a collaborative approach EU Member States,” Bérengère Dreno, Specialist Intellectual that doesn’t look at singular foods, but rather at the wider Property Crime, Europol, told the Conference. “Intelligence picture,” says Dr Byrne. gathered at Europol clearly shows the involvement of The conference brought together the key stakeholders organised criminal groups in these illicit activities. Europol to enable discussion on how regulators, inspectors, industry, supports the cooperation of law enforcement agencies in the scientists and academics can work in collaboration and fight against food fraud and developed initiatives jointly with partnership to protect consumers when violations of food law other international agencies such as the operation OPSON to are detected in relation to food crime. The event examined tackle the phenomenon." current issues around the authenticity and integrity of food, According to Dr Pamela Byrne, CEO, FSAI, Ireland has the public health implications and effective prevention and robust inspection and enforcement systems, but we have to control strategies. Speakers included Phil Hogan, European be always vigilant and enhancing them to keep pace with new Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, and emerging risks.

European Commission; Mairead McGuinness, MEP and “Food fraud is committed when food is illegally placed Vice Chair of the European Parliament; Gavan Wafer, on the market to deceive the customer as to its content or Head of Intelligence, Food Standards Agency, UK and Ron provenance for financial gain. The more we know about food McNaughton, Head of the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents crime, the motivation behind it, the potential threat it poses Unit. to our €26 billion food and drink manufacturing industry;

Retail Excellence Search for Ireland’s Best Store RETAIL Excellence, Ireland’s largest retail representative body, recently embarked on a country wide Retail Road Trip visiting the 30 finalists in their Store of the Year competition to find the number one store in Ireland. The 30 stores visited include a number of grocery stores, like Garvey’s SuperValu in Tralee, Co. Kerry, Joyce’s Supermarket in Headford, Co. Galway, and Fallon & Byrne in Dublin Over the course of the five-day Retail Road Trip, the top 30 stores were rigorously tested, with an onsite visit from Retail Excellence and Echochamber, their UK Retail Excellence Consultant partners, and a financial audit. The sectoral category winners, Top 5 Stores and the National Store of the Year will be announced at a black-tie awards banquet on November 11.

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News Musgrave MarketPlace Upgrades Robinhood Branch MUSGRAVE MarketPlace has officially unveiled a €2.5m upgrade of its Robinhood branch in Dublin, part of a €10.7m investment in the brand over the past two years.

The relaunch of the Musgrave MarketPlace brand began last November with the opening of the flagship €2.2m Ballymun Food Emporium. Over €1m has also been invested in its Duncrue branch in Belfast and further refurbishments are planned for 2018.

The revamped branches have been transformed into food emporiums, offering customers a more modern and interactive shopping experience. Each revamped branch contains speciality counters for meat, cheese and fish, as well as expert advice in-store and an expanded product range to cater to the changing tastes of its customers.

The new 73,000 square feet Robinhood Food Emporium employs 80 staff and along with new state-of-the-art speciality areas, it also has a contemporary culinary theatre. Tailored classes will be hosted in this area by a full time onsite chef, with a view to creating menu solutions for its customers.

Four new roles have been created at Robinhood to ensure customers can avail of expert information and advice from trusted advisors. These roles feature in the areas of fresh food, alcohol and equipment, along with a new in-branch butcher to advise on specific cuts of meat. Alongside the newly revamped branches, some €5m has been invested into technology, the supply chain and marketing to enhance the overall customer experience.

As part of this ongoing investment, Musgrave MarketPlace has relaunched its food brochure, ‘The Food People’, to offer customers even more choice. The new brochure features 400 new products which have been carefully selected based on food trends from around the world, as well as 260 ‘free from’ products, which feature in its gluten free section.

Musgrave MarketPlace’s online platform, Musgravemarketplace.ie has also been re-developed to offer a flexible and ‘always-open’ shopping experience for customers.

The upgraded web store has been designed with the specific

Pictured at the official opening of the upgraded Musgrave MarketPlace Robinhood branch are Noel Keeley, MD of Musgrave MarketPlace (left) with Paul Gogarty, Mayor of South Dublin, and Matt Lee, General Manager of Musgrave MarketPlace Robinhood. goal of saving customers time by remembering previous orders and favourite products. Another key feature is the ‘Retail Must Stock’ section which uses current Nielsen data to provide customers with details on products that are seen as ‘musthaves’ for Irish retailers. Placing an order is now easier than ever. Customers can purchase in-store, online, via click and collect or over the phone.

“As a company, we understand that the business of food and drink is constantly evolving and we know that it is vital that we continue to innovate to cater to our customers’ changing needs,” said Noel Keeley, Managing Director of Musgrave MarketPlace. “We have listened to our customers and have responded to bring them a best-in-class experience which in turn will allow them to deliver excellence within their businesses.”

Frank and Honest Opens Cork Café FRANK and Honest has opened its first café in Cork city, in the newly revamped SuperValu store in Merchant’s Quay. Shoppers will be able to taste the great flavour of Frank and Honest coffee at the new café, which offers free Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, and an impressive sit-in area.

Frank and Honest Gourmet Coffee Company promises “the closest thing to barista style coffee to ever come out of a machine”. They have combined all the barista steps to deliver the perfect coffee by monitoring the temperature, coffee grind and extraction time and simply put them inside this intelligent device.

Future in Food Ireland 2017 Takes Place in Croke Park FUTURE in Food Ireland 2017, one of Ireland’s leading food and drinks industry events, takes place for the fifth time in Croke Park on November 23, with the title ‘Brexit & Beyond’.

Over 400 sustainability professionals working within the Irish food processing industry will hear from national and international organisations on how they have achieved high

levels of sustainability, lean management and operational excellence. Speakers include Tara McCarthy, CEO, Bord Bia, Deirdre Ryan, Head of CSR, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Eamonn Redmond, Operations Manager, Lily O’Brien’s Chocolates. For more information, see http://futureinfood.ie.

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Industry News

Mace to Open 50 New Stores LEO Crawford, CEO, BWG Group, and Daniel O’Connell, Mace Sales Director, are pictured making the announcement that Mace plans to add 50 new stores to its nationwide network by 2020, leading to the creation of up to 700 new full and part-time jobs over the next three years. More than €19m will be invested in store development by Mace owner and operator, BWG Foods, together with its retailers for the opening of new stores, along with high-spec refurbishments. The announcement comes as the brand launches a new three year strategy and new store design to target growth on the high street, in neighbourhoods and on forecourts.

“Mace has an extremely loyal customer base and this was a key factor in the brand outperforming the market during the recession,” said recently appointed Mace Sales Director, Daniel O’Connell. “Our new strategy and store design gives us a strong platform to grow the business and leverage new consumer trends that are emerging in the convenience retailing market, including the introduction of more creative shopping experiences and a strengthened focus on quality fresh foods.”

The strategy focuses on six key pillars, with a particular emphasis on fresh food and an expanded range. Mace has enhanced its own in-house departmental food offerings, with the launch of new concepts including the new Mace ‘for food’s sake’ Deli, Asian Street Food and ‘I Scream’, its very own ice-cream proposition.

Meanwhile, a brand new store design has been developed and will be rolled out across the Mace estate, following a pilot store launch in Headford, Co. Galway, recently. “The Mace store design has been developed to mirror what we are trying to achieve with our new strategy and is based on extensive consumer research and retailer feedback,” O’Connell said. “Importantly, the new design allows each store to customise its range and layout to specifically cater for its individual customer base, which we believe is a sophisticated approach providing huge competitor advantage.”

Aldi Ireland Backs Every Battery Counts Campaign from WEEE Ireland MINISTER for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten and Bosco joined WEEE Ireland to call on Irish householders to charge up their battery recycling habits to help recycle more than 45% of Ireland’s waste batteries to reach the target set by the EU. The launch followed WEEE Ireland CEO Leo Donovan’s appearance at the European association of national collection schemes for batteries (Eucobat) Summit in Brussels. Through sharing ideas and best practices on the European stage, WEEE Ireland is committed to ensuring Ireland stays on track towards achieving top standards and leading the charge in waste battery recycling. Outlining how people can recycle batteries for free in store, Finbar McCarthy, Aldi Ireland’s Group Buying Director said, “Aldi Ireland is proud to support WEEE Ireland’s campaign, which will not only allow our customers to help protect the environment but also improve the lives of children around the country by supporting the vital work carried out by LauraLynn. We would encourage all our customers to drop off their waste batteries in the blue battery boxes found in all of our 129 stores, or pick up a ‘My Battery Box’ to recycle waste batteries at home.”

Centra Host Coffee Mornings to Support Irish Cancer Society PIPPA O’Connor, one of Ireland’s top bloggers, launched Centra’s initiatives to support the Irish Cancer Society for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, over 2,900 people in Ireland will be told they have breast cancer, with eight women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland every day. Centra is joining the Irish Cancer Society in the fight against breast cancer, as stores across Ireland get their cups at the ready for ‘Cups against cancer’ coffee mornings. Centra are also hosting pink walks throughout communities across Ireland and the group is calling on the nation to take part to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society. For customers who lead hectic lifestyles but are eager to support this worthy cause, they can simply text CENTRA to 50300 to donate €4 to the Irish Cancer Society. For more details, log on to www.centra.ie/cancer. Pippa O’Connor is pictured with radio DJ Doireann Garrihy and Naomi Fitzgibbon of the Irish Cancer Society.

Complete online training to be in with a chance to win a â‚Ź400 holiday voucher

10|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News

Manor Farm is Top of the Q MANOR Farm has been named Best Quality Certified Poultry Plant in Ireland and overall National Winner in Hygiene and Food Safety at the National Q Mark Awards. Based in Shercock, Co. Cavan, and managed by the Carton family, Manor Farm employs over 850 people and has been part of the EIQA programme for over 20 years. “Constant delivery of exceptionally high operating standards has taken Vincent, Justin and the team to the top of the Q! Their commitment to high standards of team training and customer satisfaction is recognised throughout the plant. A brilliant result for a brilliant team!” said Irene Collins, Managing Director of EIQA, pictured with Justin Carton, Manor Farm.

MiWadi Supports Temple Street TEMPLE Street is encouraging guys and ghouls all around Ireland to help sick children by hosting their own Trick or Treat for Temple Street party proudly supported

by MiWadi. A fangtastic Halloween party was held in the beloved children’s hospital where a gaggle of tiny dinosaurs, monsters and superheroes gathered to kick off the Halloween fundraiser. “This is the fifth year MiWadi has proudly supported Trick or Treat for Temple Street and we are thrilled to see it continue to grow bigger and better than ever. It is a unique campaign which reflects MiWadi’s vision of seeing the world through the eyes of a child and this is a perfect opportunity to host a Halloween party for a great cause,” said Dee Cunniam, Marketing Manager, with Britvic Ireland, pictured with Grace Cogan (10) from Carrickmacross, Monaghan, Luke Staunton (6) from Kilmessan, Meath, and Alicia Begley (4) from Kilcullen, Kildare. For more information, see www.templestreet.ie/trickortreat.

Neven Maguire Goes Italian OVER 100 food writers, bloggers and food lovers gathered recently to celebrate the launch of Neven’s Italian Food Trails, a new six-part TV culinary and travel series, sponsored by Dunnes Stores Simply Better. The series follows Neven Maguire’s journey across Italy, where he shares with viewers his experiences of amazing food and wine, meeting many local food and wine producers, as well as other interesting Italian characters along the way. “It was an experience of a lifetime for me and I am looking forward to sharing my adventures with viewers throughout the six weeks of the series,” noted Neven, Brand Ambassador for the Dunnes Stores Simply Better Collection, who is pictured with Diarmuid Murphy and Daragh Lawless at the Dunnes Stores Head Office in Dublin.

Appointment at GS1 Ireland GS1 Ireland have announced the appointment of Seán Dennison to the role of Head of Technical Standards and ICT. Dennison has over 30 years’ experience in the IT arena, having worked with a number of the big names in FMCG manufacturing, distribution and retailing in Ireland including BWG Foods, Topaz, Statoil and Kerry Foods. He also served for three years as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of GS1 Ireland. “With some 76% of GS1 Ireland’s 3,000+ membership and licence holders drawn from the retail, grocery and FMCG sectors, Seán brings a wealth of relevant and practical industry knowledge and experience to our organisation,” said Chief Executive, Mike Byrne. “His appointment will position GS1 Ireland well in the continued development of supply chain efficiency solutions for the benefit of members in Ireland and globally.”

Fyffes Backs Sports Training Initiative FYFFES has teamed with Irish sports technology specialist Metrifit to host a competition that gives sports teams and coaches the chance to trial a Metrifit athlete monitoring software system as part of their training regime over a one-year period. Worth over €3,000, the prize package presented to the overall winner includes a Metrifit training session for coaches/staff and yearlong use of a Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System. Fitness testing on the winning team's training ground, a nutrition workshop and jersey sponsorship from Fyffes and Metrifit are also included.

Five teams will win runners-up prizes of one year’s use of the Metrifit system. Pictured are Metrifit’s Peter Larkin and Fyffes Marketing Manager, Emma Hunt-Duffy, who described the venture as “an initiative perfectly in tune with our culture of promoting healthy eating and an active lifestyle across all age groups”. For more information, see /www.metrifit.com/fyffesfit.

12|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News SuperValu to Sell 120,000 Pumpkins SUPERVALU expects to sell 120,000 Irish pumpkins this Halloween. Suitable for both cooking and carving, the hand-harvested pumpkins are now available in SuperValu stores across Ireland, with retail prices starting from as little as €2. SuperValu’s Irish pumpkins are produced by five local growers, with the very first seeds planted in April to allow for picking by mid-September, just in time for Halloween. Denise Buckley, on her third-generation family farm in Swords, Co. Dublin, is one of those growers.

Spanning 100 acres, Buckley’s farm harvests over 15,000 pumpkins each year and, together with Keelings, they have supplied Irish pumpkins to SuperValu for the past two years. Pumpkin grower for Keelings, Denise Buckley, is pictured with Chris Stafford, Category Manager at Keelings.

Fresh Raises €13,500 for Temple Street Foundation ON September 29, Fresh The Good Food Market, hosted its first Golf Classic in aid of the Temple Street Foundation.

The event, which took place in St Margaret’s Golf Club, North County Dublin, hosted over 90 golfers from across the supply and service sectors of the retail chain, including BWG Foods, Pallas Foods, Leaders Enterprises, Aryzta Food Solutions and many more. “For an Irish company of our size to be in the position to organise and host a day like today for such a worthy cause is something we are very proud of. As part of our strategic development, as well as developing our fresh food departments, store innovation and exceptional customer service, we wanted to focus more on our corporate social responsibility. To raise €13,500 for Temple Street Foundation is fantastic! This money goes straight towards the exceptional work and research carried out by the staff at Temple Street,” said Noel Smith, Founder of Fresh, who is pictured presenting a cheque to Alfreda O'Brien, Fundraising Administrator from Temple Street Foundation.

Aldi Unveils Revamped Cobh “Future Store”

ALDI reopened the doors of its new Cobh ‘Future Store’ recently, following an extensive renovation project which has seen the store extended and completely refurbished as part of Aldi’s €60m Project Fresh investment. The newly refurbished Future Store has received a full make-over and features an exciting new layout, including a new in-store fresh bakery. There is 40% more fridge space, a wide selection of fresh food at the front of the store and new signage that provides a more efficient and hassle-free shopping experience. The shop floor size has been increased by almost 50% to 1,254 square metres and there are 92 free customer car parking spaces available. Staff members Alicja Wolniak and Katie Lordan are pictured outside the reopened store.

Light Bulb Moments for Solus

SOLUS were the big winners at The Innovation Awards, which took place at the Hardware Show at the RDS earlier this year, as they scooped the Supreme Award and the Best Home Product Award for their XCross Filament LED technology.

The next generation LED bulb with XCross filament design creates a compact 360 degree light source that looks and lights just like an incandescent bulb.

It works just how you would expect it: instant light, using up to 87% less energy, with a natural, warm light and up to 15,000 hours lifespan. The New Solus Retail Experience Display Stands allow customers to press a button to ‘try me’ and see exactly what the light bulbs look like when lit in various surroundings and educates the customer about the different technologies, look and feel. Stores that have installed the new Solus concept displays are already seeing growth of 23% in sales in the first year.

Pictured receiving the Supreme Award are (l-r): Bobby Kerr, Newstalk; David Reynolds, Sales and Marketing Manager, Solus; and Kieran Burke, President of the HAI. For more information, contact Solus on (01) 4501988.

Get Fighting Fit with Centra’s Live Well Challenge 90’s fitness icon, Mr Motivator, got Glenda Gilson, Pippa O Connor and James Kavanagh moving on the streets of Dublin to celebrate the launch of Centra’s Live Well Restart Challenges. Restart encourages those who may have given up on their new year’s resolution the chance to get back on the wagon with a series of 21-day challenges to motivate people to get active through simple exercises and accessible goals. Centra is taking boxing out of the ring with this month’s Live Well Challenge, as health and fitness expert Pat Divilly has devised a 15 minute full body workout that suits every level of fitness, no matter if you’re a beginner or a champion boxer. For more information, see https://centra.ie/live-well.

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14|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

The Retail News Interview

Pointing the Way Forward for Payment Services Pearl Clarke, Managing Director of PostPoint, takes us through the fast-changing world of electronic payments.

THE electronic payments business has changed rapidly in recent years, as new products come on stream and some sectors begin to decline.

Staying on top of this fast-moving, technologically advanced business isn’t easy, yet PostPoint remain one of the country’s biggest suppliers of electronic payment solutions for the retail trade, from phone top-ups to bill-pay, gift cards to debit and credit card payments.

Still a vital part of the business, mobile phone top-ups have seen an annual decline since around 2007/08, reveals Pearl Clarke, PostPoint Managing Director, which is down to a number of reasons. “Pretty much everybody now has a smartphone, so they’re using different apps to connect with their friends and family, from WhatsApp to Viber or FaceTime, rather than texting, and they are using WiFi zones a lot to transmit this data,” Clarke explains.

“There is also a move to billpay, away from pre-pay, as the big telecoms operators entice customers into contracts with the latest smartphones, value offers and bundles. So, less consumers are choosing Pre-Pay, those who do top up less often, and average monthly top up values per user are declining.”

Pearl Clarke, Managing Director, PostPoint.

Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie|15

The Retail News Interview Gas card POS.pdf 1 08/02/2017 16:40:17

new retail customers.”

One4All gift cards are huge sellers for PostPoint, particularly during the Christmas period, while other occasions like Mother’s Day, children’s birthdays and end-ofAsk term ‘Thank at the counter You Teacher’ cards are also growing in 5mm High Call PostPoint on 1890 20 42 20 popularity.

PostPoint agents can also sell stamps, which can prove PostPoint’s iCT250 Card Payment Terminal is one of the most particularly reliable and robust systems in the market. lucrative around the New Services and Old Favourites busy pre-Christmas sales peak. “It’s To counteract the loss of revenue from absolutely massive,” she says. “The the top-up channel, PostPoint have stamp booklets just fly out of shops broadened their product portfolio, every year.” introducing prepaid gas, prepaid She reveals that PostPoint are hard electricity and National Lottery fast-play at work on two new projects, which will products to their product suite. launch in 2018. While she can’t give a “We are looking at what consumers lot away at this stage, Clarke reveals Ask at want,” Clarke stresses. “The recent that one of the new products is part of the introduction of prepaid electricity and the “postal family, which will bring more counter prepaid gas is proving very popular, footfall into retail stores”. particularly with students and renters. It is about giving customers more options Growth in Card Payments and more ways to pay. With prepaid gas Keeping abreast of the latest technology or electricity, consumers might topis paramount for PostPoint, who need up every week in-store to keep control to ensure they are offering consumers Point-of-Sale merchandising is key over their utilities, which is bringing the the safest, quickest and most reliable to sales for the entire PostPoint consumer into the shop four times in a payment solutions available. PostPoint portfolio. month.” also need to ensure they remain The Lottery fast-play function compliant with banking/payment new portable terminal, as opposed to includes a set of the National Lottery’s regulations, which are changing all the the desktop terminal, which should most popular games, including Quicktime in line with technological advances. be rolling out to stores in the coming Pick selections of Lotto (with Plus), PostPoint now offer broadband months.

EuroMillions (with Plus), DailyMillions terminals, which are faster than Indeed, offering card services is (with Plus) and TellyBingo. In addition, those previously available. These new the company’s biggest growth area. the most popular National Lottery terminals allow retailers to accept “If a retailer in today’s market accepts scratch cards such as All Cash and debit and credit card payments, with cash only, they are losing business, so Winning Streak will be available in these contactless technology as standard, we are giving them the facility to accept stores. and the ability to accept new payment card payments, and sometimes that is “Lottery Fast-play suits retailers technologies such as Apple Pay and a case of us introducing card payments who are not full National Lottery agents, Android Pay. “Contactless transactions into an outlet for the first time,” Clarke allowing them to offer their consumers are firmly established with Irish reveals. “The fact that we are part of An some of the most popular games from consumers now, and we’re seeing more Post gives retailers, particularly maybe the National Lottery from the same and more shoppers starting to use their new retailers, the confidence that they terminal they use to process debit/credit smartphones with the likes of Android are dealing with a long-established, cards, top-ups, bill-bay etc.,” Clarke and Apple Pay,” Clarke notes. reputable company. The fact that notes, “and it is proving a real draw for PostPoint are also launching a PostPoint’s branding is in line with An

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The Retail News Interview Post also reassures consumers that we are part of the An Post family.

“Our business has traditionally been confined to convenience retailing,” Clarke explains, “but by being able to offer debit and credit card payments, contactless payments, Apple Pay, Android Pay etc, we now have customers who are cafés, book-shops, crèches, who are using PostPoint to process debit and credit card transactions.

They’re not using the top-up facility but that’s fine. The convenience retail channel is so competitive so it’s great to broaden our customer base.”

Putting Retailers at the Heart of the Business The convenience channel remains a vital part of the PostPoint success story, however, and always has done. The relationship with its retailers is one of the reasons why PostPoint continues to thrive.

“PostPoint are almost 20 years in business and some of our retail partners have been with us from the very beginning,” Clarke notes.

“We have six Customer Service Managers across the country and being part of An Post, we are very customer driven, so our guys are calling regularly to our stores to make sure they have enough stock, be it till rolls or gift cards, maintaining the relationship with the retailer.” In fact, she estimates that the Customer Service Manager’s role involves 60% sales and 40% customer services.

But PostPoint’s after-sales support doesn’t end there. “We also use An Post engineers across the country so we provide great technical support as well: we offer a next working day service to swap out terminals if there is a fault with a particular unit,” she explains.

Point-of-Sale merchandising is key to sales for the entire PostPoint suite, as the MD reveals. “Our terminal is not a visible product in-store so putting up posters and door stickers is crucial for getting shoppers’ attention, whether it’s a sign saying ‘Stamps On Sale Here’ beside the greeting cards or One4All gift cards, which won’t sell unless they are displayed on a card-stand at the counter. Our Point-of-Sale material is all free and we do two merchandising runs every year across our whole estate, as well as some bespoke displays

for certain customers who might have a special occasion or a store revamp.”

The world in which today’s retailers operate is one of evertightening margins, which is something that PostPoint are very aware of. “We have to ensure that our channel remains relevant, and we negotiate very hard with the big telecoms companies and the utilities companies to try to get the best deal for our retailers,” she insists. “When we agree margins, we agree them for a set period of time, because it is too volatile a market to have margins swinging up and down. In fairness, I think the telecoms companies want retailers to support them and to, perhaps, upsell top-up denominations, and the margins are often designed in such a way to reward retailers for selling higher value top-ups, which makes sense for everybody.”

Price Transparency Transparency around pricing and margins is at the heart of the PostPoint ethos, according to the MD: “We are upfront with our charges, fees, contracts, pricing etc. Retailers are so busy, particularly convenience retailers, and we understand that electronic services make up just one strand of a retailer’s business: they are also selling tobacco, Coke, Corn Flakes etc. We also understand that our products can be tricky because they are all charged in different ways, unlike the margin on confectionery, for example, and I think our transparent pricing has been a real benefit to PostPoint. We try to be upfront about our product portfolio, our pricing structure and even down to queries and refunds, which I think retailers appreciate.

“Our finance team are always at the end of a phone to speak to customers, whether it’s about changing invoicing practices or an issue they have with a particular charge, without using finance jargon,” she smiles. “We engage with retailers all the time – for example, we’re in regular contact with representative groups like the CSNA. We always try to have a presence at the retail groups’ trade shows, and that’s not about being at a stand to make sales: it’s about listening to retailers, finding out what they want, and finding solutions for them.”

Why join PostPoint?

Part of the An Post Group PostPoint is part of An Post. You can trust that your payments will be processed safely, securely, and effectively. An Post has been named the most reputable organisation in Ireland, according to the annual Ireland RepTrak 2017 study.

Quick and Easy Set-Up If you decide to choose PostPoint as your Card Payment provider, a qualified An Post Engineer will visit your site to install your terminal.

Additional pin pad and terminal stand available upon request.

Excellent Customer Support PostPoint’s award-winning Sales Team and Engineers are available and on call nationwide should you require any assistance on site. Their dedicated Retail Support Desk and Technical Support Desk are also available to you should you have any queries.

Fast Replacement Terminal The iCT250 Card Payment Terminal is one of the most reliable and robust systems in the market. However, if your system is damaged, it will be repaired or replaced by one of An Post’s nationwide engineers the next working day after the fault is reported.

Shorter Term Contracts Available PostPoint offer a range of different card payment bundles and contract lengths, including six and 12 month contracts.

Reduce Your Card Payment Fees In switching to PostPoint, some retailers have saved up to 30% on their Card Payment charges.

No Additional Charge for Cashback Unlike some providers, PostPoint do not apply any additional charge for cashback. For some businesses, cashback charges can add up to be an expensive hidden cost and they are worth bearing in mind when choosing a Card Payment Provider.

Contactless, Android Pay and Apple Pay Available Customers can touch their payment card on your PostPoint terminal and quickly pay for items that cost €30 or less, while the terminal also accepts both Android Pay and Apple Pay, so customers can easily pay with a touch of their phone.

Clear Transparent Pricing Structure PostPoint’s pricing is completely clear and transparent, detailing exactly what you pay on each transaction, including interchange charges and scheme fees. Monthly statements also clearly break down these charges for you by transaction type.

Daire Nolan Head of Commercial Fuels 01 512 4800 087 961 7552

daire.nolan@applegreen.ie

Joe Hanney Business Development Manager Connacht area & Donegal 087 410 0000

joe.hanney@applegreen.ie

David Watson National Sales Manager Leinster, Monaghan & Cavan

Ray O’Sullivan Commercial Fuels Manager Munster area

david.watson@applegreen.ie

ray.osullivan@applegreen.ie

086 130 0219

086 464 1565

18|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Barry Group Awards

Barry Group Celebrates Winning Formula Barry Group presented their Store of the Year and Supplier of the Year Awards at a gala event in Dublin’s Citywest Hotel recently.

The 2017 Barry Group store of the year awards were held in Dublin’s City West hotel on September 5. Once again, the awards night featured the best of Costcutter, Carry Out Off Licence and the Supplier of the Year awards.

“We were thrilled by the outstanding standard across the board,” explained Jim Barry, Managing Director of Barry Group. “Our Winners of the Overall Costcutter Store of the Year Award, from Costcutter Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, auditors highlighted George, Susan, Olivia, Niamh, Ronan and Michael Doherty, celebrate with Barry Group MD, Jim Barry the great strides (left), Edwina Lucey, Sales Director (second left), and Norman Lenihan, Costcutter Head of Sales made by stores (right). and the consistent high level of our award winners. We at Barry Group are always challenging ourselves to be better for our retailers and I believe this support is seen in the quality of our award winners. We were also delighted by the continued great support for our Supplier of the Year awards; we view these awards as an invaluable way to take stock of our relationship with our supply partners and to recognise those suppliers who have excelled in the past year.”

Store of the Year Winners The Overall Costcutter Store of the Year Award went to Costcutter Ballybofey.

“This store represents the very best in family business and this award is testament to the hard work and vision

Ray & Jane Byrnes, from Concannon’s Costcutter, Killimor Co. Galway, winners of the Costcutter Foodmarket of the Year, pictured with Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry, Barry Group Sales Director, Edwina Lucey and Costcutter Head of Sales, Norman Lenihan.

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Barry Group Awards of a passionate and dedicated team,” noted Jim Barry, presenting the award to the Doherty family, owners of the busy store. Costcutter Ballybofey was also named Costcutter Supermarket of the Year, while runners-up in this category were Costcutter Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, and Costcutter Roslevan, Co. Clare, which won the title of Overall Costcutter Wine Store of the Year.

In the Foodmarket Store of the Year category, Costcutter Killimor, Co. Galway, took top honours, while the runners up included Costcutter Kilmihill, Co. Clare and Costcutter Baile Na Habhann, Co. Galway. “Being named Foodmarket Store of the Year was a fitting end to the year for a store who

celebrated their 40th year in business this year,” Barry noted. “Costcutter Killimor is a vibrant hub at the heart of their community and it’s a store that has always maintained an incredibly high standard across the board.”

Costcutter Clonard, Co. Wexford, was named Convenience Store of the Year, beating off stiff competition from runners-up O’Brien’s Costcutter Bishopstown, Co. Cork, and Costcutter Dorset Street, Dublin. Jim Barry described the Clonard store as “a shining example for the Costcutter brand for a long time”.

Costcutter Mountrath, Co. Laois, was a double winner, taking home the Fresh Produce Award, while also being

Jennifer Martin, Costcutter Clonard, Co. Wexford, winner of the Costcutter Convenience Store of the Year Award, pictured with Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry; Sales Director, Edwina Lucey; and Costcutter Head of Sales, Norman Lenihan.

Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry, presents Martin Burke from Costcutter Tipperary Town with the Best Deli Award.

Brendan Carroll, Costcutter Mountrath, Co. Laois, accepts the Fresh Produce Award from Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry.

The Mountrath store also won Best Off Licence.

Karen Smith from Costcutter Birr accepts the Best Bakery Award from Jim Barry, Barry Group Managing Director.

Winner of the Carry Out Best Craft Beer Award, Peter Reynolds from Carry Out Clongriffin, with Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry.

20|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Barry Group Awards

Mark Heffernan, Carry Out Tullamore, winner of the Carry Out Western Region, with Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry,

Vicky Galvin from Carry Out Carrigaline accepts the Carry Out Best Spirit Store Award from Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry.

Kevin O’Brien and his daughter Caoimhe O’Brien, from Carry Out Tyrrelstown, winners of the Carry Out Store of the Year Award, pictured with Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry; Barry Group Sales Director, Edwina Lucey; and Carry Out Head of Sales, David O’Keeffe. Carry Out Tyrrelstown was also the Carry Out Eastern Regional Winner.

named Off Licence of the Year. Costcutter Tipperary Town lifted the Best Deli award. “The auditors couldn’t help but be impressed by the range, value and taste across the deli at Tipp. Town,” noted Jim Barry.

“Customers in this store are the real winners every day with a Deli that constantly offers quality.”

O’Brien’s Costcutter Bishopstown, Co. Cork, was named Costcutter Forecourt of the Year. “This is a store that has really established itself as one of the finest forecourts around. Customers in Anthony and Michelle O’Brien’s store in Bishopstown keep coming back for the vast array of service and outstanding quality and value,” explained the Barry Group MD. Runners-up included Costcutter Tipperary Town and Costcutter Charleville, Co. Cork.

Costcutter Birr, Co. Offaly, took home the Best Bakery Award, while the Costcutter Best Butchery Award went to Costcutter Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, with Jim Barry noting how “the customers in Ballinasloe will tell you all you need to know about the quality of their butchery. Expert advice and friendly service are just two of its main strengths.”

There were a number of Customer Service Awards presented to Sadie Keane, Costcutter Kinvara, Co. Galway; Josie McArdle, Costcutter Taylors Lane, Dublin 16; and Mary McMahon, Costcutter Kilmihill, Co. Clare.

Carry Out Awards The Carry Out Store of the Year was presented to Carry Out Tyrrelstown. “Kevin and Catherine O’Brien’s store in Tyrrelstown is more than worthy of this accolade. This is a store that performs exceptionally across all categories and it is a fantastic showcase for the Carry Out brand,” Barry explained.

Carry Out Ennis, Co. Clare, retained the Carry Out Express Store of the Year. “Once again, our auditors noted how they display an outstanding range, great value and fantastic service: they are a worthy winner in this category and a fantastic example for the whole Carry Out operation,” Jim Barry noted.

Carry Out Carrigaline also retained the Award for Carry Out Best Spirit Store, while Carry Out Clongriffin, Dublin 13, was named Craft Beer Store of the Year, and Carry Out Kilcullen, Co. Kildare, took home

Michelle & Anthony O’Brien, Costcutter Bishopstown, accept the Best Forecourt Award from Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry.

Patrick Nugent, Carry Out Kilcullen, winner of the Carry Out Best Wine Award, pictured with Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry, and Peter Foley, Findlater & Co.

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Barry Group Awards the Carry Out Wine Store of the Year Award.

The Carry Out Customer Service of the Year Award went to Carry Out Mallow, Co. Cork, where Dave Knight and his team go above and beyond to help their customers with whatever they need.

There were also a number of Regional Awards for Carry Out stores, including: Carry Out Newcastle West, Co Limerick: South West Regional Winner Carry Out Tullamore, Co. Offaly: Western Regional Winner Carry Out Carrigaline, Co. Cork: South East Regional Winner Carry Out Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15: Carry Out Eastern Winner Supplier of the Year Awards There were a number of Supplier of the Year Awards also presented on the night, with Unilever recognised for their “outstanding application and service of every facet of the Barry Group account” by being named Overall Supplier of the Year, as well as winning the Best Ambient Supplier title.

Diageo were named Best Innovation Supplier, with Jim Barry noting how the company displays “a commitment to constantly challenge themselves to remain innovative”. Green Isle Foods were named Best Central Billing Supplier, while Lucozade Ribena Suntory won Best Retail Support.

Winner in the Best Alcohol Supplier category was Molson Coors, who “once again demonstrated their excellence in service, their dedication to quality and their strict adherence to deadlines across the Barry Group account”. Manor Farm/Carton Brothers won the Best Chill and Fresh Supplier Award.

Alan Claffey, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, accepts the Best Retail Support Award from Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry, and Kieran O'Farrell, Head of Buying, Barry Group.

Unilever were named Overall Supplier of the Year and Best Ambient Supplier.

Pictured are Jim Barry, Managing Director, Barry Group; Justin Lawlor, Unilever Customer Director; Unilever Customer Account Managers Lorna McDonnell and Sean Bourke; and Kieran O'Farrell, Head of Buying, Barry Group.

Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry, presents the Best Innovation Supplier Award to Dave Hyland, National Account Manager, and Ray Sheehan, Commercial Sales Manager, Diageo, with Kieran O'Farrell, Head of Buying, Barry Group.

Josie McArdle, Costcutter Taylor’s Lane; Sadie Keane, Costcutter Kinvara; and Mary McMahon, Costcutter Kilmihill; receive their awards for Outstanding Customer Service from Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry.

Mark Creevy, National Accounts Manager and Keith Fagan, Sales Director from Molson Coors, are pictured accepting the Best Alcohol Supplier Award from Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry, and Kieran O'Farrell, Head of Buying, Barry Group.

Pictured accepting the Best Central Billing Award for Green Isle Foods are Linda-Gene Finn, Customer Controller, and Gilmar Uyema, Ireland – Channel Lead, with Barry Group Managing Director, Jim Barry.

22|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Repak

Celebrating 20 Years of Repak Repak recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a Future Gazing breakfast briefing, which provided a snapshot of the achievements to date and a roadmap for Ireland’s future recycling and waste management needs.

REPAK marked 20 years of recycling in Ireland with a Future Gazing breakfast briefing in the Science Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin, recently. Speakers highlighted Repak's landmark anniversary by praising the not for profit packaging recycling scheme's phenomenal progress, while starkly warning about the future challenges facing waste management and the environment, both nationally and internationally.

Celebrating the milestone, the not for profit, for purpose, packaging recycling scheme reflected on the outstanding accomplishments in packaging recycling achieved to date.

Repak will continue to educate both its members and the public on more efficient ways to recycle business and household waste through various initiatives and is working with all of its stakeholders to provide a sustainable solution for the country’s waste needs.

Jonathan McCrea, broadcaster and science consultant, welcomed the audience with a short introduction. ”I

Pictured celebrating Repak’s 20th anniversary are CEO of Repak, Séamus Clancy with Environmental Scientist and Climate Change Expert, Dr Tara Shine.

John Ahern, Managing Director, Indaver Ireland, addresses delegates at Repak’s Future Gazing breakfast briefing. look back to when we took off a piece of packaging, threw it in the bin and put in the ground as almost like a cave-manlike time,” McCrea said. “There were 126 landfills in the country, whereas today there are only four. We’ve come an extraordinarily long way. Over eight billion plastic bottles have been recycled in the last two decades.”

Repak has helped financially support the diversion of over 10.1m tonnes of packaging from landfills in the last 20 years. Séamus Clancy, Repak

CEO, outlined how the organisation responded to the 1997 EU Directive, which essentially meant that the more waste a company produces, the more they should pay. “Every single retail store in the country is a member of Repak, or should be,” Clancy said. “If you look at the big names, such as Lidl, Tesco, Aldi, Diageo and Mars, all these people are members of Repak, and they pay membership fees based on the tonnage of packing they place on the market, every day, month and year. We take

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Repak

Pictured is CEO of Repak, Séamus Clancy (on right) with Environmental Scientist and Climate Change Expert, Dr Tara Shine, and Technology Expert, Jonathan McCrea at a special environmental panel discussion to mark Repak’s twentieth anniversary. that money and support recycling and recovery all over the country.

Every recycling bin in the country is subsidised by Repak. We contribute €65 for every tonne of waste produced in Ireland.”

Massive Behavioural Change Clancy explained how there has been massive behavioural change by Irish consumers and retailers, who have very successfully adapted to green bins and recycling initiatives to the point that these are now second nature. However, there are still very significant causes for concern globally.

There are presently no further capacities for glass recycling in this country, and it is expected that China will cease recycling plastic in the near future. With an expected three billion people joining the global middle class in the next two decades, this could lead to a chronic capacity problem.

Clancy outlined the areas of immediate concern. “We have to look at exactly where our future waste is going to go, as there is no vision in terms of where Ireland needs to be,” he said. “We have to ensure that the public are educated and informed.

Unfortunately, the infrastructure as it stands is grossly inadequate. Sadly, it comes back to a human nature issue. If it is out of sight, it is out of mind. Future infrastructure needs are enormous, and while the EU are good at setting standards, 83% of plastic waste leaves Europe. If China closes the door, where will it go?”

Clancy said a bold long-term vision is necessary as opposed to a short-term political plan, which tend to last for a maximum of five years.

He said we have to realise that waste

is expensive and then ask ourselves how we manage it in the future.

The Future of Waste Management Regulations John Ahern, Managing Director, Indaver Ireland, started his address by citing his personal experience of Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of northern Belgium. “In 1998, they were recycling 70% of their municipal waste,” he said.

“In Flanders, six million people live in an area the size of Munster.”

Ahern projected what Irish waste management requirements will be like in 2037. Targets will have to get tougher in order to see continued reduction in landfill. At present, waste planning is done on a regional or provincial basis, but in order to meet future challenges, it would be more prudent and effective to adopt a plan for the entire island of Ireland.

Ahern noted that during the recession, there was a definite trend towards being less wasteful, but he is seeing bad habits re-emerging in recent times. Another problem is the practice of landspreading. Incineration could provide a possible solution.

Getting Excited about Waste Environmental scientist and climate change expert, Dr Tara Shine asserted that our ultimate aim should be to produce zero waste. While this sounds optimistic to point of being Utopian, if we take less, and make better use of materials and use

them more responsibly, this is achievable.

Shine said it is hard to get the general public very excited about waste. However, if our bins are not collected, people will get very annoyed. She said we must ask ourselves about what we value and care about. If these values are to include health, family, safety, quality of life, and human dignity, then waste and human emissions are integral to improving and enhancing our lives.

“Ultimately, waste is about health and quality of life,” Shine said. “Eight million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped into our oceans every year. Micro-plastics are going to be a huge problem. Despite all the progress, people are confused about recycling. Companies must take more responsibility for making the process cleaner and more efficient.”

Shine outlined a few examples with photographs and illustrative slides, such as a biodegradable alternative to plastic toothbrushes, which take over 1,000 years to decompose. Another everyday example she mentioned are plastic bowls and packaging. Also, she noted how 25% of food produced is wasted, a shockingly high statistic that is easily reduced if people took more personal responsibility.

“Almost every piece of plastic ever created still exists,” Shine said starkly.

“Reducing waste to zero is not an unattainable dream, but something we can all strive for.”

Ambitious Thinking During the Q&A and panel discussion which concluded the event, the runaway success of how consumers and retailers adapted to the plastic bag levy was cited as a very inspiring example of making massive progress. Initially, some feared that this was a very far-fetched and unattainable plan, but the scheme became a trailblazing success, with Ireland taking the lead over other countries. Such longsighted and ambitious thinking will be the key to further waste reductions, and a healthier future for all.

Repak CEO, Séamus Clancy, celebrates the organisation’s 20th anniversary with broadcaster and Technology Expert, Jonathan McCrea, and Environmental Scientist and Climate Change Expert, Dr Tara Shine.

24|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Product Development Caroline Rigney of Rigney’s Granola describes her journey from the farmers’ market to the supermarket shelf.

Caroline Rigney’s dreams of running her own food business have been realised, with Rigney’s Granola currently flying from supermarket shelves in Munster, with national expansion plans already in the pipeline.

Rigney’s Granola gets Retail Ready IRELAND has seen an explosion in the number of artisan food businesses in recent years. Craft producers have brought a variety of tasty and innovative foods to market through programmes such as Supervalu’s Food Academy. The results have set taste buds singing and tills ringing. This boom has also given entrepreneurs like me the chance to

follow their dreams of making it big in the food sector.

Launching a food business has been a lifelong ambition of mine. I have been baking since I was knee-high to a grasshopper and I wanted to make great food to sell to people. I finally took the plunge and moved with my family from our home in Celbridge to West Limerick,

where we opened a rustic farmhouse B&B. The early days of running the B&B were full of challenges. I wanted to give visitors the real farm experience, so we soon had a farmyard full of hens, ducks, geese and pigs, and we were growing our own vegetables.

All of the food we served was made by hand with ingredients from our farm.

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Product Development Despite the wonderful produce on the breakfast table, I felt my cereals were letting me down, so I began to make my own granola. The key to a great granola is in the ingredients. Most are packed with oats, but mine have a wider variety of ingredients, such as goji berries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds, nut butter, and gluten free oats. My granola is gluten free and while most gluten free granola brands can be very bland, mine is packed with taste.

Rigney’s Granola has won 2 Star Gold at the Great Taste Awards in London, Gold at the Listowel Food Fair, and has won gold at this year’s Blas na hÉireann awards, so I think that speaks for itself in terms of taste.

From Farmers’ Market to Supermarket I initially sold the granola through my own farm shop, and through farmers’ markets. I eventually made the decision to try and sell my granola through supermarkets. Switching from farmers’ markets to retail came with a learning curve. I had no degree in business or anything like that, so I was learning as I went. I enrolled in a Leap course, and then graduated onto a ‘New Frontiers’ course run by Enterprise Ireland. I learned about things like marketing, product photography, packaging, and barcoding for the first time.

Supervalu’s Food Academy was my next big challenge. If you’re selling at farmers’ markets, there are changes you need to make to your product packaging to get it ready for retail. Your packaging becomes vitally important on the shelves. You’re no longer there to sell in person like you would be at a market. Your packaging has to make that connection with the customer for you. To achieve that, I sat down with Paul Morrissey of Edgewater Design Group, and we designed my packaging to give that sense of homely comfort you’d feel staying on my farm. I’m really proud of it.

Getting Retail Ready with a GS1 Barcode No retail product would be complete without a barcode. I was fortunate to have retail consultant James Burke as a mentor in Food Academy and he pointed me in the right direction from the start.

He said that you’d find barcodes in all sorts of places, but he recommended getting my barcodes from GS1 Ireland.

They were very helpful and explained everything I needed to know. I’ve heard of other people having issues with barcodes they’ve bought elsewhere, but I’ve never had a problem with mine.

I’ve found that starting up your own food business is tough but rewarding.

Getting Retail Ready with a GS1 Barcode WHEN it came to making the leap from the farmers’ market to the supermarket shelf, Caroline Rigney knew one of the elements she needed was a barcode.

Working with GS1 Ireland took the hassle out of obtaining a barcode for Caroline.

“I was 10 years trading at farmers’ markets without a barcode, but I needed one to break into the world of retail,” Caroline Rigney explains. “Getting a barcode was a big thing for me. Without it I’m not going to Dublin, London, or anywhere else I want to go with my granola. That’s my access to the rest of the world. I was delighted when I got it, because it meant I was moving on to bigger things with my business.”

There is a lot to learn, especially when you’re coming from the farmers’ markets like I was. Getting your product into a shop is only the starting point.

You have to make sure your product is out on the shelves in a prominent place so the customer can see it. Your packaging has to stand out from the other products. As an artisan producer, you won’t be able to compete on price with the big brands, so you’ll want to convince the customer with the quality of your product. Promotions like in-store tastings and having samples by the till are a great way to introduce your product to consumers.

Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Advice The best advice I could give to new entrepreneurs would be to ask for help when you need it. There is a great community of entrepreneurs out there who are very generous with

their knowledge. If you need a hand getting started, reach out to your Local Enterprise Office and Enterprise Ireland.

They are there to help get your business going, and they do that very well.

Remember, you can manage a farmers’ market on your own, but you will need help and advice when taking on the big world of retail.

With Rigney’s Granola already available over a dozen stores in the Munster area, I feel like I’m well on my way to world granola domination. My plan for the coming 12 months is to grow my reach nationally, so you can expect to see Rigney’s Granola coming soon to a supermarket shelf near you.

Find out more about Rigney’s Granola, by contacting Caroline at info@rigneysfarm.com. Visit www.gs1ie.org/retailready to find out how to get your products retail ready with a GS1 barcode.

26|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Forecourt Focus

Applegreen Expands in Navan

Retail News travels to County Meath to meet Michael and Josephine McBride and find out more about their recent move to Applegreen and how the changeover process has worked for them.

MICHAEL and Josephine McBride have been running their forecourt near Navan for almost 35 years. The couple recently switched their fuel partner to Applegreen and initial results have been extremely positive.

Michael McBride has seen many ups and downs in the forecourt sector over his 34 years in business. “Back in 1983, I bought the cottage here on an acre of land,” recalls Michael. “We developed the greenfield portion of the site into a forecourt. At that time, we began working with Shell and we had a very happy relationship. Ireland was a very different place in the 1980s; there were many changes over the years but we remained happy working with Shell.”

The McBrides’ forecourt, located between Navan and Slane, enjoys strong passing trade, but recent years have seen motorists increasingly concerned

not just with location, as fuel prices pushed to the fore of consumers’ thinking.

“The forecourt sector has almost always been quite a price sensitive one in Ireland, so we have always had to keep the price at our pumps competitive to get drivers to stop in,” Michael notes.

“However, since the recent recession, that price sensitivity has reached new heights.”

Josephine adds, “The decision to stop and buy petrol, or pass by, is made very quickly by motorists. If the numbers on our sign are too large, we lose trade on the forecourt. Not only that, but we have a forecourt shop and when motorists do not stop for petrol, we also lose potential sales in our shop.”

Fast Growing Brand For the past couple of years, the

McBrides have been considering their business strategy, and how to get the best value out of their forecourt presence. With their knowledge of the sector, they knew they needed a price led strategy, but they also knew they needed a partner with the right expertise and image in order for everything to work together.

The Applegreen brand has grown rapidly, both in Ireland and abroad, in recent years. Key sites with fantastic visibility introduced the brand to the Irish people and the quality of the brand is apparent across its forecourt presence.

“For this latest development, we needed to consider every option,” Michael reveals. “I was familiar with the Applegreen brand and I liked what I had seen on its forecourts. But for me, it was when I met David Watson [Applegreen’s National Sales Manager] that I really

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Forecourt Focus FACT FILE: Owner:

Michael and Josephine McBride

Location:

Harmanstown, Hayes, Navan, Co. Meath

No. of Pumps:

4

No. of Staff:

6, full time & part time

Opening Hours: 07:00-21:00, Monday-Friday;

08:00-20:00, Saturday & Sunday.

and its associated shop.” specific strategy David Watson tells Retail News, “As for the business.

National Sales Manager for Applegreen By reducing the Dealer Business, I am very happy to forecourt margin, welcome Josephine & Michael to the they are looking Applegreen Dealer family. With our to drive volumes ever expanding network across Ireland, by cutting price, a sites such as Michael’s are key to our strategy which ties Pictured outside the newly rebranded Applegreen forecourt into the Daybreak development. We are actively seeking in Navan are Michael McBride, store owner, with David out forecourt retailers with ambitious forecourt shop, Watson, National Sales Manager, Dealer Business East, plans like Michael and Josephine to work which should Applegreen. with, so that we can add value to their receive a trade businesses as we strengthen our own boost derived from brand around Ireland.” the increased footfall in-store. knew it was time to change.”

Michael and Josephine have developed “Not only does our partnership Josephine adds, “David [Watson] is a volume led, price based strategy to add with Applegreen allow us to compete absolutely on the ball. From the moment value to their business. In Applegreen, they aggressively on price, it also offers we met him, we knew he was hungry to have found a partner that is as committed 100% traceability on all its fuel, so we work with us, and just as hungry to help to making their plan a success as they are. can reassure our customers that they make our business a success. He has With the right people and the right plan, are getting the best quality fuel from a a ‘can do’ attitude and not only that, he they have given themselves the very best reputable source,” Michael notes. “This delivers the results too.” chance of success and this is hopefully gives us the strongest possible leverage the start of another long lasting business to get drivers off the road and onto our Changing Fuel Partner relationship. forecourt, to the benefit of the forecourt When his contract with his previous fuel partner came up for renewal earlier this year, Michael and Josephine took the decision to make the switch to Applegreen. The changeover to the new livery and new fuel supplier meant that the McBrides were left without fuel for just two days while the entire forecourt was revamped and rebranded.

“Once the plans were complete and it came time to switch over to the new forecourt, the team were just fantastic,” Michael explains. “The old pumps were removed, tanks cleaned, state of the art pumps installed and all required branding was introduced onto the forecourt in a matter of only days.

“We were really impressed with the quality of the work and the effort that was put in,” he continues. “David Watson has been with us every step of the way, resolving any sort of issues that came up. Applegreen has made a very large investment in this forecourt and in this project. The quality of the pumps, the branding, even down to the auto top-up IT ordering for the tanks, it has all added significant value to my business and it is exactly what we needed for our strategy to work.”

The changeover to the new Applegreen forecourt meant that the McBrides were Price-Driven Strategy left without fuel for just two days, while the entire forecourt was revamped and Michael and Josephine have a very rebranded.

28|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Gala Annual Conference

Gala Marks 20 Years in Business with €1m Investment Gala Retail’s Annual Conference saw the announcement of a massive €1m marketing investment as the group prepares to celebrate 20 years in business.

TO MARK its milestone 20th year in business, Gala Retail has announced its biggest-ever investment in marketing at its annual conference, which took place at The Malton Hotel, Killarney, recently.

CEO of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond, unveiled a €1m commitment to marketing in 2018 as the group continues to invest in the brand and rewards customers for choosing Gala over the past 20 years.

The investment will centre around a major consumer promotion, Gala Gifts, in which customers of the Group will be in with a chance of winning over 120,000 prizes. In addition, 2018 will see a continuation of Gala’s commitment to Special Olympics Ireland, becoming a platinum sponsor of Special Olympics’ Ireland Games, while there are many exciting initiatives planned for online rewards and in-store promotions for

customers.

Attended by the majority of Gala retailers, the annual Gala Retail conference was opened by a panel of Irish sporting greats, including broadcaster, Tracy Piggott; former Munster player, Frankie Sheahan, and journalist, Billy Keane, with a keynote address by Consumer and Shopper Behaviouralist, Ken Hughes.

Conference information included an update on store openings and acquisitions, with 14 new stores joining the Gala Group this year, in locations including Kilkenny, Portarlington and Clonee.

Community Values at the Heart of Gala “Gala was created by a group of Irish wholesalers in 1998, who collectively had the vision to launch an Irish convenience group that put ‘community

Pictured at The Malton Hotel, Killarney, for the Gala Retail Conference are speakers, shopper behaviouralist, Ken Hughes; Sports commentator, Tracy Piggott; MC & mentalist, David Meade; former Munster player, Frankie Sheahan; Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala Retail; and journalist, Billy Keane.

retailing’ front and centre for shoppers,” explained Gary Desmond. “Our ‘local’ and ‘community’ values are still central to the Gala Group today, which has matured from our first store, Bracken’s Gala in Portlaoise, to almost 200 retailers operating Gala stores nationwide.”

Over the intervening two decades since the first store opening, Gala has demonstrated how innovation and giving back to its communities have helped the group to grow.

From becoming the first-ever sponsor of the Gala All-Ireland Camogie Championships back in 2005, to being named as the first commercial supporter of parkrun Ireland, and most recently agreeing a four-year deal to become a major supporter of Special Olympics Ireland, Gala’s CSR commitment is a thread that runs through the group’s history.

Gala Retail and Gala retailers have raised close to €1 million for charitable organisations through national partnerships with charities including the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, as well as supporting many good causes locally.

Innovation in retailing has been particularly important for Gala, especially in recent years, as shopper behaviour and the retail climate have changed immeasurably. Keeping ahead of the curve, the group introduced realtime EPOS ordering, chilled distribution, Gala own-brand products and fresh instore concepts, including Gala’s Baker’s Corner and Coffee Junction.

National Approach with Local Knowledge Reflecting on the success of the Gala

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Gala Annual Conference Gala B.E.S.T Gold Award Winners

Pictured are the team from Britvic Ireland, who won the Supplier of the Year Award: Allen Lynch, Eoin Nevin, Eoin Tracey and Jonny Burnett.

Tony Cluskey from Gala Retail is pictured with Ciaran and Mary O’Shea from O’Shea’s Gala, Blennerville, Co. Kerry, winners of the Brand Champion Award; Tony Costigan, National Account Manager, Mondelez, award sponsor; and Colin McTaggart from Gala Retail.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Smiths Gala, Newtownforbes, Co. Longford Holly’s Gala, Moyvane, Co. Kerry Dunne's Gala, Mountmellick, Co. Laois McGloin’s Gala, Foxford, Co. Mayo Kane’s Gala Carlow, Co. Carlow Gala Kylemore Road, Dublin 12 Harkin’s Gala, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal Gala, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick Bracken’s Gala, Portlaoise, Co. Laois Coyle’s Gala, Belmullet, Co. Mayo Lee’s Gala, Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan King’s Gala Kiltale, Co. Meath Corrigan’s Gala, Moyne, Co..Longford Crowley’s Gala, Ballygarvan, Co. Cork Maunsell’s Gala,Tullamore, Co. Offaly Hennessy’s Gala, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford Harkin’s Gala, St Johnston, Co. Donegal Gala Louisburgh, Co. Mayo Gala Bosheen, New Ross ,Co. Wexford Mulrooney’s Gala, Roscrea ,Co. Tipperary Fox's Gala, Ballinalee, Co. Longford Gala Mounthawk, Co. Kerry Worrell’s Gala, Kildangan, Co. Kildare McDermot’s Gala, Patrickswell, Co. Limerick Gala Raheen, New Ross, Co. Wexford O'Shea’s Gala, Blennerville, Co. Kerry Larkin’s Gala, Ballina, Co. Clare Flynn’s Gala, Glenties, Co. Donegal Gala, Bunclody, Co. Wexford Gala Oakpark, Tralee, Co. Kerry Costello’s Gala, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary Cullen’s Gala, Adamstown, Co. Wexford

Mulrooney’s Gala, Roscrea ,Co. Tipperary, were winners of the Fresh Food Award, sponsored by Aryzta. Pictured are Kevin Fitzgerald, National Account Manager, Aryzta; with Catriona Conlon from Gala Retail; Gwen Culbert from Mulrooneys Gala; and Mags Kenny from 4 Aces Wholesale.

Group over the past 20 years, Kevin Bracken, the first retailer to sign up with the then fledgling symbol group, recalled, “When I was first introduced to the Gala brand almost 20 years ago, the vision for Gala was to create a fresh and modern convenience brand, that would be supported nationally by Gala Retail, and complemented by local knowledge and supply of goods from our group of wholesalers.

“It was this ‘dual approach’ model that convinced me to choose Gala, becoming the Group’s first retailer,” he continued. “ 20 years on, this unique, dual level of support remains, and I believe that this is one of the great strengths of Gala, that

helps Gala retailers to innovate and succeed.”

Highlighting the individuality of the Gala Group, Gary Desmond believes that each of the group’s stores have bought into the overall group ethos: “However, we recognise that our retailers know their customers best, and it’s this level of autonomy, where every Gala store is different, that has encouraged many independent retailers and those from other symbol groups to become part of the Gala Group.”

A ‘Gala’ Trade Event Packed with almost 80 suppliers, the Gala trade expo was a widelyregarded success, with retailers

Mandy Maguire from Gala Mounthawk, Co. Kerry, was named Manager of the Year. She is pictured with Colin McTaggart and Billy Massey from Gala Retail; Peter Clifford from Peter Clifford & Sons; and David Dowling, Head of Trading, JTI, award sponsor. Gala Mounthawk also took home the Alcohol Award. availing of ‘show-only’ offers, and suppliers benefiting from valuable one-to-one time with Gala retailers from across the country.

“We’d like to thank each and every Gala supplier who attended the Gala conference,” noted Gary Desmond. “We greatly appreciate the efforts

30|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Gala Annual Conference

Terry Kane from Kane’s Gala, winners of the Customer Service Award, is pictured (centre) with Edwin Kingston, Mars Primeline, and Caroline O’Connor from Gala Retail.

Flynn’s Gala, Glenties, were winners of the Marketing Initiative Award. Kevin O’Donnell, Manager, and Janet Connolly, Assistant Manager, Flynn’s Gala, are pictured with John O’Connor from Largo Foods .

Gala Kilmallock were winners of the Community Initiative Award: Sinead Duffin from Nestlé Ireland is pictured with Eoghan Higgins from Gala Kilmallock and Helen Oldridge from Gala Retail.

McGloin’s Gala, Foxford, Co. Mayo, was the winner of the Chilled Retailer Award.

John McGloin, store owner, is pictured (centre) with Gillian Wilson from award sponsor, Carroll’s Cuisine, and Paul Cluskey from Gala Retail

made by our suppliers, not only at the trade show, but throughout the year. For our retailers, the trade expo provided the ideal opportunity to hear about suppliers’ NPD and benefit from exceptional offers.

“Our relationships with suppliers are an important part of the Gala mix, which enables us to deliver great value, quality produce and excellent service to our customers.”

Simply the B.E.S.T Also taking place at the Gala Group’s annual conference was the annual Gala B.E.S.T store awards ceremony, which saw a host of Gala convenience stores from throughout Ireland receiving awards for excellence in retail.

Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented to the winning stores, along with a selection of category awards, including the Marketing Initiative and Supplier of the Year awards, among others.

The ‘Gold Standard’ is awarded following a comprehensive and independent assessment process under the Gala Business Excellence Standards Tool programme and is an accolade all Gala stores aspire to win.

“We offer our congratulations to the winning stores,” noted Gary Desmond. “These stores provide a fantastic service to their customers, day in, day out ,and are amongst the B.E.S.T retailers in the Gala Group.

We wish all our award winners another successful year and look forward to the stores retaining their excellent standards throughout the year and aiming to win again at next year’s conference, which will mark the Gala Group’s 20th year in business.”

Gala B.E.S.T Awards Category Winners: Customer Service Award, sponsored by Mars Primeline: Kane’s Gala, Carlow, Co. Carlow Alcohol Award, sponsored by Coca Cola: Gala Mounthawk, Co. Kerry Fresh Food Award, sponsored by Aryzta: Mulrooney’s Gala, Roscrea ,Co. Tipperary Baker’s Corner Award, sponsored

by O’Brien Ingredients: Worrell’s Gala, Kildangan, Co. Kildare Marketing Initiative Award, sponsored by Largo Foods: Flynn’s Gala, Glenties, Co. Donegal Community Initiative Award, sponsored by Nestlé: Gala Kilmallock, Co. Limerick Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by JTI: Mandy Maguire, Gala Mounthawk, Co. Kerry Brand Champion Award, sponsored

by Mondelez: O'Shea’s Gala, Blennerville, Co. Kerry Chilled Retailer Award, sponsored

by Carroll’s Cuisine: McGloin’s Gala, Foxford, Co. Mayo Gala Supplier of the Year Award: Britvic Ireland

Pictured are Darren Savage from award sponsor, O’Brien Ingredients, with Catriona Conlon from Gala Retail, Nicki Worrell, Yvette Rossouw and Bernie Worrell from Worrell's Gala, Kildangan, Co. Kildare, winners of the Baker’s Corner Award, and Mags Kenny from 4 Aces.

Breathtaking food.

IT’S YOUR FOOD. IT’S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. IT’S THE LAW. Failure to provide accurate food allergen information in writing for your customers can result in their throat swelling and their airways being restricted.

Visit fsai.ie/allergens to learn how to comply.

Retail_News_185x130_Breathtaking_Food.indd 1

05/05/2017 14:49

32|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Biscuits & Bars

Crunch Talks

Biscuits and bars remain big business for Irish retailers, with NPD ensuring interest remains high.

IRISH consumers love biscuits and bars, which are seen as permissible treats, even given the move towards health and wellness. Indeed, the market for sweet biscuits, snack bars and fruit snacks has grown by 3% in current value terms in 2016 to reach €315m, according to the latest report into the sector

by Euromonitor International, who reported a slight decline in volume last year.

Consumers’ desire for healthier products has impacted the category, yet Irish shoppers still love to treat themselves with their favourite biscuit or bar, with Euromonitor predicting annual 1% growth rates, to reach €325m in 2021. New product launches, increased numbers of healthier options and the rise of savoury biscuits will combine to ensure that consumers remain interested in the biscuit category.

Cadbury Biscuits Cadbury are introducing new products to their biscuit range this year, which are sure to bring excitement to the biscuit category! Cadbury Roundie launched earlier this year, featuring light, crispy wafer layers covered in delicious milk chocolate. Cadbury Roundie is available in three variants, Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Caramel, Cadbury Break Bar is a crunchy in packs of five. biscuit that crumbles in the Cadbury Crunchy mouth to reveal a velvety Melts launched during the chocolate filling. summer. These crunchy chocolate chip cookies with a soft melting centre come in three variants: Chocolate Centre, Double Indulgence &

Cadbury Roundie: light, crispy wafer layers covered in delicious milk chocolate.

Cadbury Crunchy Melts are crunchy chocolate chip cookies with a soft melting centre.

Soft Cookie Centre.

Cadbury Break Bar, launching this month, is a crunchy biscuit that crumbles in the mouth to reveal a velvety chocolate filling. Cadbury Break Bar is available in two variants: Melting Middle and Choco Melting Middle.

McVitie’s Harnessing the power of the McVitie’s brand, pladis plans to modernise and grow the biscuit category by creating fresh interest in biscuits. McVitie’s, loved by Irish families for generations, continues to excite and delight consumers with a constant stream of winning edge innovation. Having enjoyed huge success of sweet biscuit range in 2016 with the launch of McVitie’s Digestives Nibbles, McVitie’s maintains the NPD momentum in 2017 with several new launches.

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Biscuits & Bars New range extensions include; McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Hobnobs Nibbles, McVitie’s Digestive Banoffee Caramels and McVitie’s Digestive Coffee Caramels. Uniquely delicious Caramels have a ‘Sweet’ wheaty base, smothered with a secret layer of caramel, topped off with a chocolatey covering, making it a perfect evening treat. pladis has marked its ongoing commitment to unlocking new occasions for growth in the biscuit category with the launch of its hero sweet NPD for 2017, McVitie’s Digestives Thins. A thin

McVitie’s Digestives Thins, a thin and light biscuit with a delicate crisp, covered in scrumptious chocolate, are available in three variants: Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Cappuccino and Dark Chocolate. and light biscuit with a delicate crisp, covered in scrumptious chocolate, McVitie’s Thins lets consumers enjoy the taste of McVitie’s Digestives biscuits in a modern and more refined way. McVitie’s Thins are available in three variants – Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Cappuccino and Dark Chocolate. The launch was supported with an ATL marketing campaign this September.

Carr’s Enjoyed by Irish families for generations, Carr’s continues to lead the taste revolution in savoury biscuits with an 11% growth rate in its value MAT (Source: Nielsen, MAT, YTD, w/e September 10, 2017).

Carr’s is renowned for its quality and expertise and is continuously evolving its range to ensure consumers are inspired with tasty meal solutions every day.

Earlier this year, Carr’s launched the first innovation of its kind for the savoury category – Carr’s Ciabatta Crackers. This unique new product combines the taste of a ciabatta bread with the lightness and crunch of a cracker. The award-winning range has been one of the main savoury category growth drivers this year, adding €235k incremental value (Source:

carrs.ie and watch ‘Chef Adrian Eats Ireland’, in association with Carr’s, on rte.ie/ player/ie.

East Coast Bakehouse East Coast Bakehouse, Ireland’s newest biscuit brand, has recently celebrated its first year in business Carr’s continues to lead the taste revolution in savoury and now boasts eight biscuits.

SKUs across cookies, half-coated and Nielsen, MAT, YTD, w/e September 10, plain sweet segments. To capture a 2017). share of the growing on-the-go segment, In September, Carr’s continued the two twin-packs have recently been momentum by launching new Carr’s launched - Choc Chunk Cookie and Milk Ancient Grains, exceptionally tasty Choc Enrobed Cookie. crackers made with whole grain and Made with Irish butter and Irish oats sesame seeds. The NPD is available in and proudly baked in Drogheda by a team two delicious variants, Buckwheat, Spelt of biscuit bakers, East Coast Bakehouse & Sesame and Quinoa, Amaranth & is targeting Irish biscuit lovers who Rosemary. are seeking better biscuits with quality pladis has continually supported ingredients, as well as switching Carr’s above-the-line since its re-launch. consumers from imported biscuits, This year, the brand has partnered with which account for 99% of biscuits sold in RTÉ Player and sponsored rising star Ireland.

Chef Adrian Martin to launch his first “Baking biscuits that people love is food series ‘Chef Adrian Eats Ireland’ our number one priority at East Coast which is now available to view.

“We were delighted to be partnering with RTÉ Player and Chef Adrian on this exciting new series,” noted Niamh Twyford, Head of Marketing at Carr’s.

“As a brand, we are constantly innovating and bringing fantastic new premium tasting products to our discerning

East Coast Bakehouse has recently celebrated its first year in business.

New Carr’s Ancient Grains are exceptionally tasty crackers made with whole grain and sesame seeds in two delicious variants, Buckwheat, Spelt & Sesame and Quinoa, Amaranth & Rosemary. customers. Together with Chef Adrian, we want to encourage the Irish nation to create great tasting food with quality ingredients that are easy to prepare and that everyone can enjoy. ‘Chef Adrian Eats Ireland’ delivers this in spades in a really fun and inspiring way.”

For recipe inspiration log on to

The delicious new Milk Choc Enrobed Cookie from East Coast Bakehouse.

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Biscuits & Bars “We believe the strength of our brands will really enliven the cookie category,” explained Michelle Frost, General Manager at Mars Chocolate Drinks and Treats. “Not only does this range benefit from brand recognition and fantastic, eye-catching packaging, but boasts an authentic taste too! We look forward to seeing the reaction to our cookie range, and to creating excitement and growth in the category.”

Galaxy Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Bounty Soft Baked Cookies and M&M’s Chocolate Cookies are available now in packs of eight cookies (RRP €2.49), in cases of eight, from SHS Sales & Marketing.

Bakehouse and we want to produce biscuits with just that bit extra that will get people talking as is demonstrated by a clean sweep of Gold, Silver and Bronze at the Blas na hÉireann / Irish

Burton’s Biscuit Company Burton’s Biscuit Company’s iconic biscuits range is helping retailers to meet consumer demand for quality products and excellent value for money.

Burton’s produces a variety of popular treats and biscuit barrel favourites, including Maryland Cookies, Wagon Wheels and Jammie Dodgers, alongside Viscount and Toffypops under the trusted Lyons’ brand.

Lyons’ Biscuits, first baked back in 1938, have remained a firm favourite

The newly launched Choc Chunk Cookie from East Coast Bakehouse is proving a real winner with Irish consumers.

Food Awards in 2017,” noted a company spokesperson.

With an ongoing commitment to brand investment that includes radio, sampling, digital, PR and shopper marketing, East Coast Bakehouse aims to capture a significant share in its core segments. Available in 12 x 160g shelf ready packaging and with an RRP of €1.90-2.55, the East Coast Bakehouse range is firmly targeted at the mainstream biscuit consumer, with more exciting biscuit launches across the biscuit category in the coming months.

To stock up, contact Tennent & Ruttle or your local wholesaler / cash and carry.

Mars Chocolate Drinks & Treats Mars Chocolate Drinks and Treats has today announced a new range of delicious chocolate cookies. Available in three variants, Galaxy Chocolate Chunk Cookies with real Galaxy pieces, Bounty Soft Baked Cookies with flakes of coconut and chocolate chunks and M&M’s Chocolate Cookies with real chocolate M&M’s inclusions, taste as good as they look. So whether you’re a dunker, dipper or cruncher, there’s something for everyone.

The total biscuits market has value sales of €290.6m growing at a rate of +3.6% vs a year ago, according to Kantar Ireland (Total Biscuits, 52 w/e 16/7/17).

Everyday treats (including cookies) is the largest segment within the sweet biscuits sub-category and is currently worth €52m, showing growth of 2.8% in value sales, while the total cookies segment is growing at over twice the rate +7.7% value year on year (Source: Kantar Ireland, Total Biscuits, 52 w/e 16/7/17).

The iconic Lyons Viscount and Toffypops brands remain firm favourites with Irish families.

New from Mars: Galaxy Chocolate Chunk Cookies with real Galaxy pieces, Bounty Soft Baked Cookies with flakes of coconut and chocolate chunks and M&M’s Chocolate Cookies with real chocolate M&M’s inclusions.

with families across Ireland ever since. Lyons' Viscount and Toffypops are purchased by almost one in five households in Ireland (Source: Kantar Ireland WPO Total Biscuits 52w.e 01/01/17), and are firmly positioned as permissible treats, perfect for sharing with friends and family along with a cup of tea.

“Shoppers are reacting to the rising cost of living by looking for marketleading products that offer good value for money and provide a treat. Lyons' Viscount & Toffypops, Ireland’s number one children’s biscuit, offer highly competitive pricing and promotions, helping retailers to capitalise on this trend,” said Vicky Beresford, Burton’s Biscuit Company’s Category and Shopper Manager.

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IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch

Sporting Legends Support IGBF The IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch provided some fabulous entertainment, while raising much needed funds for the grocers’ charity.

SOME of Ireland’s sporting heroes shared their stories with a rapt audience recently, with all proceeds going to the Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund.

The IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch took place on Friday, September 1, at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, where Lions, Ireland and Leinster hero, Seán O’Brien, Irish football legend, Niall Quinn, and Sky Sports News anchor, Rachel Wyse, provided the entertainment, courtesy of an enthralling sports panel discussion, chaired by RTE’s Darragh Maloney.

Sponsored by Cadbury’s in association with The Sales Institute and Fulfil Nutrition, the event kicked off with a drinks reception, followed by lunch, before the stars of field and screen regaled the audience of approximately 400 with some hilarious and insightful tales from the world of top level sport.

There was a fantastic raffle with a host of wonderful prizes, including a trip for two to a Premier League game in the UK, with all proceeds going to the IGBF.

Niall Quinn, Darragh Moloney, Rachel Wyse and Sean O’Brien pictured with Eoin Kellet of Mondelez. Cadbury’s sponsored the annual IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch that took place in the Aviva Stadium on Friday, September 1.

Robbie Keogh, Senior Stock Controller; Sam Simpson, Stocking & Pricing Controller; and Shane Lynch, buyer, all from Applegreen.

Former Irish Olympic athlete and Chief Product Developer with Fulfil, David Gillick, is pictured with Nicky Travers, PJ Carroll & Co Ltd.

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IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch

Mary Honohan, tax partner, and Owen McFeely, Director, Advisory Services, Retail & Consumer Practice, both from PwC Ireland.

Sharon Yourell Lawlor, MD, Think Plan Do Consulting, pictured with Conor Kilduff, IGBF President of Appeals and Marketing Director of Keelings; and Frances Higgins, Head of Promotions at BWG Foods.

Gerard Murphy and Conor Kilduff highlight the inaugural Grocers Fun Run, which took place on October 8 in Corkagh Park, Dublin.

Stephen Harris and Raymond Nolan from Musgrave enjoying the IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch.

Niall Quinn, Darragh Moloney, Rachel Wyse and Sean O’Brien pictured with Tom Gannon and the team from Fulfil Nutrition, who sponsored the annual IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch that took place in the Aviva Stadium on Friday September 1.

Spar store owner John O’Neill and Tom Lynch from Spar, pictured at the IGBF Sporting Legends Lunch.

The CSNA’s Tom O’Toole and Noel Kelly, enjoying the event.

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Retail Ireland: Monthly Update INSURANCE A SIGNIFICANT COST FOR RETAILERS RETAIL Ireland recently submitted our views, experiences and ideas regarding employer’s liability insurance and public liability insurance to the Cost of Insurance Working Group.

The Cost of Insurance Working Goup was established in July 2016.

The first phase of its work centred on motor insurance, given the large increases experienced in that sector in recent years. When concluded, the motor insurance report contained 71 recommendations. The Government plan to implement all 71 recommendations before the end of 2018.

During its work, the group established that after motor insurance, employer’s liability and public liability insurance are the two largest areas where personal injury claims arise, and that there was a pressing need to examine the rising and unsustainable cost of such insurance for businesses.

Retail Ireland’s submission stated that Ireland’s personal injuries regime is making it very difficult for the Irish retail industry to remain competitive and unless action is taken now, there is a risk that the rate of premium increases will continue to accelerate. The submission detailed our support for an overhaul of the country’s personal injuries regime, and urged government to implement the Cost of Insurance Working Group recommendations without delay. Retail Ireland also recommended that:

• The legal system must have due regard for published guidance on awards; • Initial screening of injury claims must be impartial; • The legal profession should promote better control of costs; • Insurance firms need to make well-informed choices about dubious claims; • Insurers should publish more information on factors driving insurance costs; • Increase funding for in-work training in order to allow retailers further promote safe and healthy work practices.

Retail Ireland believes success in this area will mean: • • • •

Businesses and public bodies will avoid unnecessary costs and may be able to create more jobs as a consequence; Insurers will find fewer customers opting for self-insurance; Claimants will continue to get fair compensation, only more quickly; The courts will cease to be backed up with injuries litigation cases, which can run for years

As part of the roll-out of our new strategy, ‘Shaping the future of Irish retail 2020’, Retail Ireland has been highlighting that the retail industry is under increasing pressure from rising costs, including insurance. As stated in this submission and in all of our communications on these issues, Retail Ireland strongly believes that an overhaul of our personal injury regime is required to ensure the continued vibrancy and competitiveness of the Irish retail industry.

Irish Consumers Injecting Positivity into the Retail Sector IN 2016, total spending by households on goods and services, totalled €95.7 billion. Total spending by households in 2017 is forecast to top €98.4 billion, an increase of some 2.8%. While these figures include housing, the expected growth in 2017 reflects a more positive outlook amongst consumers for employment and earnings this year. Recent retail indicators reflect this upsurge in household spending. Prices

increased by 0.4% in August compared with August 2016.

Recently published CSO data shows the total value of Irish retail sales (excluding sales of cars and sales in bars) increased by 4% compared with July 2016; total sales volumes in July of this year increased by 7.8% versus the same month last year.

Despite these strong numbers, core retail sales remain volatile, as most of the current growth is being driven by deep discounting and ongoing sales activity. Such prolonged discounting is squeezing margins and making it difficult for Irish retailers to take positive business investment decisions. Brexit and the resulting exchange rate fluctuations are likely to give rise to uncertainty over the coming months, and there is now a real fear that retailers and consumers will adopt a wait-and-see approach to major spending decisions for the remainder of 2017 and beyond.

Despite their concern, retailers remain hopeful that recent broadly positive consumer sentiment will continue and this will enable a strong performance in the second half of 2017.

Tel: 01-6051558 www.retailireland.ie Need more?

For more information about what we do and how your retail business can benefit from our unique services and supports, please visit us at www.retailireland.ie.

40|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Soups

Soup-er Foods

The soup market remains in growth, driven by the fresh/chilled soup category, where new flavours and healthy options ensure consumers remain engaged.

THE soup category in Ireland is in robust health, thanks to a number of factors. Firstly, soup ties neatly into the consumer drive towards health and wellness, with soups, particularly fresh/chilled variants, seen as a healthy alternative to more traditional lunchtime meals. Secondly, manufacturers continue to engage in New Product Development, with new and interesting flavours ensuring that the soup category remains vibrant and relevant to consumers.

According to figures from Kantar Worldpanel, the overall soup category is growing by 0.7% annually, driven primarily by a 7.8% rise in packet soups to €28.96m and fresh soup (growing at 0.3% to €30.15m). Fresh soup accounts for the lion’s share of the market, at 42.8%, followed by packet soup at 41.2%

and canned soup at 16%.

The latest report into the soup category by Euromonitor International maintains that soup in Ireland recorded retail value growth of 2% in 2016 to reach €79.8m, spearheaded by chilled and instant soups, each seeing its retail value sales increase by 4% over the year.

Euromonitor expect the soup market to grow at 2% per year, to reach €86.3m by 2021. “Ireland’s improving economy, combined with soup’s position as a convenient and healthy meal, should cement growth within the category,” the report predicts.

Cully & Sully Cully & Sully has become the number one soup brand in the total Irish soup market, according to ACNielsen’s Top 100 Brands. The list is compiled using

the latest Nielsen Scantrack data.

Cully & Sully has gone from strength to strength since the company launched in 2004 with a range of premium pies. Four years later in 2008, Cully & Sully launched a range of soups, having noticed a gap in the marketplace for convenient and tasty soup, and in just under 10 years, the soups have become number one in the Irish retail market.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the ranking in this years’ Top 100 Brands and we are very thankful to our loyal customers who have helped us get to this position,” enthused Cullen Allen of Cully & Sully. “We pay huge attention to the quality of all of our products. We make our soup the way you would make it at home and with only ingredients your granny has heard of.”

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42|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Soups up. “Making tasty convenient food and having fun doing it is what makes it all worthwhile.”

Cully & Sully’s soup range has become Ireland’s number one soup brand, according to AC Nielsen’s Top 100 Brands.

Childhood friends Cullen Allen and Colum O’Sullivan formed the Cully & Sully brand in 2004 and haven’t looked back since. six of their soups into the UK market, and performance so far has exceeded expectations. They are also an exclusive supplier to Delhaize in Belgium, and Cullen reveals that they already have big plans for 2017, with new soups and pies coming out later this year.

Cully & Sully was started in 2004 by childhood friends Cullen Allen and Colum O’Sullivan. Cully was working as a designer, following a degree in fine art, and Sully was working in retail after graduating from Food Business in UCC. The business has now grown to employ 12 full-time staff, all based in an office in Cork City.

Both Cully & Sully were immersed in good food, growing up around Ballymaloe and Midleton in Co. Cork, and noticed a gap in the market for convenient quality meals and soups for busy young professionals. The range extended from pies to soups and hot pots and plans are in place to extend the range even further in 2017. “Keeping

a close eye on all of the recipes and using quality ingredients are key to the success of Cully & Sully,” Cullen sums

Avonmore Soup Avonmore is Ireland’s leading dairy brand, with products enjoyed on a daily basis in households across Ireland.

Avonmore introduced Ireland’s very first fresh soup in 1991, and has been famous for making these great tasting fresh soups in Kilkenny ever since.

Avonmore soup is made using nature’s best ingredients, including grass-fed dairy, fresh vegetables, and aromatic herbs and spices. These carefully-selected ingredients are cooked slowly to ensure the wonderful flavours are kept locked in, and then packed immediately after cooking to ensure all the wholesomeness and freshness is maintained. This careful process ensures all Avonmore soups deliver on the promise of ‘the taste of homemade’.

Avonmore has a vast range of formats and flavours to suit every occasion, including 400g, 700g and 1kg cartons with a re-closable cap, which are suitable for both lunch-time and family meal occasions. Avonmore Premium soups, launched in 2015, come in convenient portable tubs, perfect for ‘al desko’ dining or a quick, nutritious meal at home. The Avonmore Premium soup range includes traditional favourites with a delicious twist, such as Vine Tomato with Aged Parmesan Soup.

With the colder weather creeping in, Avonmore soups will warm up hungry tummies across Ireland this winter and are a must-stock item for the chilly evenings ahead.

Avonmore soups and are a must-stock item for the chilly days ahead as we approach soup’s peak selling season.

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Drinks News Findlater Strengthens its Wine Empowering Programme Offering from Coca-Cola FINDLATER & Co. has announced an expanded wine portfolio, with over 100 new lines sourced from innovative independent producers. With a focus on provenance and sustainability, the new range, sourced from more than 20 new producers, is available exclusively in Ireland through Findlater & Co. Highlights of the new range include Clos Puy Arnaud, a biodynamic Bordeaux estate, and from Burgundy, Le Grappin, a micro-negociant producer and the maiden offering from Mayo native Roisin Curley. Also featured are two new natural Austrian wine producers, Michael Wenzel and Gut Oggau, while El Maestro Sierra, a sherry house that is run solely by women, is another interesting addition. “We are really excited to introduce our new wine producers,” noted Mick O’Connell, Master of Wine and Portfolio Development Manager at Findlater & Co. “Our priority throughout this process has been to not only find delicious wines, but to meet our customers’ needs for more dynamic wine lists, with a tailored offering of interesting and innovative producers.” Leading sommelier, Julie Dupouy is pictured showcasing Findlater & Co.’s new wine portfolio.

Diageo Unveils Plans for New Urban Quarter

DIAGEO has announced ambitious plans to transform 12.6 acres at its iconic St James’ Gate site to create one of the most dynamic urban quarters in Ireland and Europe, at the heart of Dublin’s Liberties area.

To make this vision a reality, they are commencing the search for a world class development partner. Following significant investment since 2011 at St James’ Gate and advances in technology, Diageo can now brew more beer with less space and is aiming to transform 12.6 acres of its nearly 50-acre site, in a venture that will embrace new and old, to create a mixed-use development called the St James’ Gate Quarter. Pictured at the announcement are (l-r): Oliver Loomes, Country Director for Diageo Ireland, and Colin O’Brien, Beer and Packaging Director at Diageo.

COCA-COLA HBC has launched #YouthEmpowered in Ireland. The ambitious initiative which is being run globally

by Coca-Cola HBC, will provide training to 400 unemployed young people across Ireland and Northern Ireland in its first year, helping them to get on a pathway to meaningful employment. With the economic recovery taking hold, youth unemployment sits at 12.7% and remains stubbornly higher than the national unemployment level of 6.3%. The programme will be delivered in partnership with Fastrack to IT (FIT). “Coca-Cola HBC passionately believes in the potential of young people as leaders and community change makers,” said Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director, CocaCola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland. “We hope that the 400 young people that benefit from the #YouthEmpowered programme will use it as a stepping stone towards a brighter future.”

DIT Launches BSc in Brewing and Distilling A BRAND new, industry approved BSc in Brewing and Distilling has been officially launched at the DIT Grangegorman campus.

The commencement of the programme coincides with the drinks industry’s continuing efforts to lay the foundations for Ireland to become a world leader in research, development and innovation in the category. The BSc will provide candidates with the necessary scientific and engineering skills to pursue careers in both well-established and new breweries and distilleries. Students will undertake subjects such as Beverage Product Development and Science of Brewing and Distilling, offering an unrivalled learning experience due to the strong emphasis on research projects and work placements.

Pictured at the launch of the new, industry approved BSc in Brewing and Distilling are (l-r): Dr Jesus Frias, Academic Leader, Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute, DIT; Minister of State at the Department of Education with special responsibility for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell-O’Connor TD; Aidan Crowe, Operations Director at Diageo’s St James’ Gate Brewery; and Tommy Keane, Production Director at Irish Distillers.

CSO Figures Confirm Strength of Drinks Exports NEW CSO figures confirm the massive contribution the drinks industry makes to Ireland’s agri-food exports, revealing that drinks exports have grown by 8.65% since June 2016 and were valued at €527m for the first six months of 2017. Whiskey exports increased by 18.5%, and were valued at €256m for the first six months of 2017. The Irish spirits category has undergone a spectacular revival in recent years, with exports up by 16% since June 2016.

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ECR Ireland Leaders' Congress

Facing the Future with Certainty The ECR Ireland Leaders’ Congress provided some valuable insights into the ever-changing nature of Ireland’s retail industry, and what the future holds from both a technological and consumer perspective.

ECR Ireland’s fourth annual Leaders Congress took place recently at the Intercontinental Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, under the theme, The Future of Shopping.

A host of industry experts examined the changing face of retailing, as societal and technological developments create a new consumer and retail environment, drawing on real world experiences and global insights to analyse The Future of Shopping from two perspectives: The Consumer & Technology, The Stores.

‘Turmoil in Global Grocery Markets: Run for Cover or Grasp the Opportunities’ was the title of the presentation by event chair, Dr David Hughes, Emeritus Professor of Food Marketing at Imperial College London, who is a much sought-after speaker at international conferences and seminars on global food industry issues, particularly consumer and retail trends.

He discussed changing consumer patterns, such as the rise in singleperson households, how the time spent on preparing meals continues to fall rapidly and how consumers are willing to pay 5% more for healthy food, 22% more for better taste, and considerably more for ready made meal solutions.

In a wide-ranging presentation, he covered trends like the rise of the millennial, the growth of non-traditional families and the shrinking middle class, as well as global trends such as the interest in health and product origin, the drive for convenience, the search for value, and consumers’ search for relevance and connection with the brands they choose.

He discussed changes in shopping habits from an international perspective, including Lidl and Aldi’s “unstoppable” US invasion, and looked at how technological advances are changing how we shop, such as Walmart’s trial of a 24-hour automated pick-up kiosk for

Pictured are (l-r): Des Ferris, Technical Director, Keelings; Declan Carolan, General Manager, ECR Ireland; Conor Kilduff, Sales & Marketing Director, Keelings; and David Keeling, CEO Keelings Retail, Keelings.

Marie Davis, Head of Google Marketing Solutions Ireland.

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ECR Ireland Leaders' Congress journey and make the search process fast and painless for users, advising that 90% of users switch between screens to complete tasks and 38% of all customer journeys involve more than one channel of interaction.

Making Technology Work For You Colm O’Brien, Global Consumer Industry Director, IBM, explored the opportunities to Professor Daniel Corsten, IE Business School. leverage technology and transform groceries and Tesco’s robot delivery. brand experience Professor Daniel Corsten, IE and operations for success in his Business School, has worked with the presentation, ‘Technology in Retail, ECR Community since its inception and Creating Disruption and Opportunity’. is an expert on consumer goods, brands He examined the changing nature of and retail. His most recent research how we consume groceries, highlighting calls for brands to stop shrinking to the erosion of meal rituals. O’Brien glory and start managing for growth. In revealed that just 24% of dinners are ‘Managing Brands for Digital Growth’, made from scratch, and 60% of families he presented examples of brands across cook multiple meals / dishes to cater for the globe that have grown exponentially individual tastes. More than half (53%) by radically changing their strategy to of dinners are planned within an hour of win mind and market share in the digital eating. economy.

He discussed the trend towards healthy and better-for-you products, He identified the trends as: revealing that today’s consumers • Intent - from shrinking to glory to are now far more aware of ‘negative’ managing for growth; or perceived harmful chemicals • Assortment - from category and additives. Furthermore, 77% of management to item profitability; consumers think “diet products are • Availability - from shelf out of stocks not as healthy as claimed”, and that to online availability; consumers are choosing minimally • Leadership - from brand processed, natural foods, believing that bureaucracies to digital eating whole foods in moderation is entrepreneurship; better than over processed diet foods.

• Future - from packaged goods to worlds of experiences.

The New Realities of Retail In her presentation on ‘The New Realities of Retail’, Marie Davis, Head of Google Marketing Solutions Ireland, examined ‘The Shopper Of the Moment’, explaining how a whopping 60% of consumers now research purchases online before buying in-store and there were twice as many searches on mobile as desktop during the 2016 peak.

Her presentation was littered with insights into the changing mindset of the Irish consumer, including the fact that 40% of Irish consumers regard shopping as a chore, and over half choose a grocery store on how short or fast the checkout is rather than if they have a loyalty card.

She advised companies to be smart, to be present on an entire user

How consumers want to use technology when grocery shopping is changing too, as they look for flexibility in how they shop:48% would like to have the option of same day deliveries; 44% would like to online order customised fresh food items for collection and 51% want to be able to collect instore or via drive through orders placed online.

The modern consumer is also seeking a more personalised experience.

42% of shoppers would like personalised notifications when near a store, while almost half (48%) would like personalised shopping list created for them and 42% would like personalised recipes generated just for them. 52% would like on-demand coupons available and 44% would like on-demand new product recommendations when instore.

O'Brien described how retailers are adapting to consumer demands, explaining how the leading retailers are pushing the experience bar higher and moving further ahead: if you’re not leading, you’re falling behind.

Leaders differentiate themselves in those disciplines where the capability gap is greatest: store experience, mobile experience, social media, physical/ digital integration, supply chain, digital experience, personalisation, CEI score.

O’Brien looked at Amazon’s move to physical stores and how its acquisition of Whole Foods has ignited the focus for grocery and convenience retailers.

He argued that Amazon may make headlines, however Alibaba grocery retail stores in China may offer more insight for the future.

The key technologies driving opportunity and disruption are artificial intelligence, hyper-local analytics, the

Pictured at the ECR Ireland Leaders’ Congress are (l-r): Sharon Yourell Lawlor, MD, Think Plan Do Consulting; and Paula Conlon, Customer Marketing Controller, Heineken Ireland.

46|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

ECR Ireland Leaders' Congress Internet of Things, and Blockchain, according to O’Brien, who examined each of these in detail.

AI also being applied to product development, merchandising and supply chain, he argued, while harnessing hyper-local insights at a neighbourhood level can radically improve operational performance.

He described how the Internet of Things will change the store of the future, enabling cost take-out, better insights and customer experience, citing areas such as smart signage and realtime stock monitoring. He also looked at other technological advances, including how the connected home and car will influence purchasing decisions in the future.

ECR Initiatives Declan Carolan, General Manager ECR Ireland, highlighted ECR Ireland & ECR Community initiatives, including the development of the ECR Digital Forum, a series of workshops to discuss, debate, better understand and track the impact of digital in the grocery sector.

He noted the advances made by the ECR Ireland Shopper Workgroup, a quarterly peer-to-peer workgroup to advance the standards of consumer insights, category management, digital and shopper marketing in Ireland for demand side professionals, where participants debate hot topics, industry challenges and global best practices to keep the individuals and their companies ahead.

He highlighted the forthcoming ECR Community webinar series, which deal with highly relevant topics, including the evolution of category management; the influence of online out-of-stocks in consumer behaviour and sales; and how to drive the conversation with consumers online.

Changing Retailer Investments In a presentation entitled ‘Retailer Investments for an Uncertain Future’, Owen McFeely, Director, Retail & Consumer Practice, PwC, explored how changing shopping behaviour and consumer expectations are altering the way retailers need to invest in their businesses. Utilising insights from the first PwC Irish Total Retail Survey, he identified how retailers need to invest to stay ahead and remain relevant by developing future store models that are aligned to the needs of their changing customers.

“The industry has constantly adapted to changing technology and consumer trends,” he noted. “Why will it be any different in 2017?”

In a hugely entertaining presentation, he made reference to some of the technological advances likely to impact on the retail industry of the near future, including Blockchain, the Internet of Things, self-driving cars, AI, 5G networks, robotics, and data analytics.

“Stores are not dying, but evolving,” he reassured his audience, advising retailers to adapt a ‘mobile first’ strategy to win and retain consumers.

Online grocery is relatively Owen McFeely, Director, Retail & Consumer underdeveloped, he argued: Practice, PwC. while 49% of shoppers regularly visit an online as no-scan checkouts and robotic grocery website, 27% never do so. automation as ways in which stores “Power has shifted from the retailer can evolve with the consumers’ new and manufacturers to the consumer,” he purchasing journey. noted. “Offering consumers what they Alan Ross Commercial Director, want, when and how they want it will J&J, spoke on ‘The Changing Face of separate the winners from the losers.”

Pharmacy’, while Alex Barry, Head He advised that customer data has of Insight & Analytics with Musgrave, rich insights and needs to be maximised, explored how the role of physical stores but admitted that effectively utilising this won’t die but will evolve. Looking at data can be a challenge going forward. societal, cultural and technological Indeed, 39% of retailers stated that change, he examined how our stores their ability to turn customer data into will evolve as fulfilment centres and intelligent and actionable insights is showrooms, driven by new technology one of their great challenges. However, and experiential, shopper-centric he noted, given the fact that 51% of formats. consumers believe that real-time, “The large and senior attendance personalised offers are important to illustrates the real and imminent change them, and 56% are happy to receive to the grocery sector from a consumer offers to their mobile device, converting and technology perspective,” noted data into consumer insights is a winning

Colm O’Brien, Global Consumer Industry Director, IBM. strategy.

How we shop is changing and grocery needs to adapt, he warned, outlining consumers’ changing purchase journey. Consumers will spend less time in-store interacting with grocery products, and the ability for brands to influence consumers will change. He cited the increased focus on experience and theatre, investment in customer services and investment in areas such

Declan Carolan of the event. “We had senior executives from leading global tech companies onstage predicting what this change will look like and its likely scale. This view was balanced by retailers and manufacturers illustrating how physical stores may consequently evolve. All delegates certainly left with plenty of ideas to plan for the future accordingly.”

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Retail Tech New GDPR Manual for Retailers RETAIL Excellence launched a General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) manual to help members around Ireland achieve compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which are due to come into effect on May 25 next year. The manual was compiled by a Retail Excellence Corporate Partner, Grant Thornton.

GDPR means that any company processing personal data will be required to comply with the provisions of the Regulations. Failure to adhere to same could lead to retailers facing fines of up to €20m or 4% of global turnover, depending on which is greater.

“This new development on the legislative landscape changes the way everyone deals with data,” noted Lorraine Higgins, Deputy CEO of Retail Excellence. “Our member retailers deal with data on a daily basis with their ezines, loyalty schemes and employee information thus it is of huge importance to us that we have them prepared so as to ensure they are fully compliant and insulate them from prosecution.”

Adtower Facing Bright Future

Vincent Whelan, Managing Director of Adtower Digital Media.

ADTOWER Digital Media has partnered with Quividi, the globally accepted audience authority for Digital Out Of Home Advertising (DOOH). Adtower will be providing its customers with Quividi’s VidiReports, an image processing and analysis suite of software that collects audience metrics for the digital out of home advertising industry.

Pictured at the launch of the GDPR manual are (l-r): David Campbell, eCommerce Manager, Retail Excellence; Lorraine Higgins, Deputy CEO, Retail Excellence; Colm Carroll, Chairman of Retail Excellence; Dale Sunderland, Deputy Commissioner at Data Protection Commissioner, Ireland; and Mike Harris, Partner, Cyber Security at Grant Thornton.

VidiReports track faces and categorise them by age and gender within a fraction of a second. A discreet data sensor, placed in front of a digital screen, views a scene and detects human faces as they come into view. The metrics are collected at each digital screen and then uploaded on a regular basis to a cloud-based data aggregation service called VidiCenter. By calculating the ratio of attention time to dwell time, it will be possible to understand the attraction index of an advertising message.

In a breakthrough for advertisers in Ireland, the system will determine if a person is paying direct attention to the advertisement on a screen or just dwelling in the area.

The face detection system is completely anonymous as it cannot perform face recognition, therefore, is fully compliant with privacy rules regulated by The Data Protection Commissioner.

Vincent Whelan, Managing Director, Adtower Limited, described the new technology as “a breakthrough in the audience metrics… it means that a customer is able to curate dashboards and charts for their network or campaign, and review automated performance reports. By developing insight from the wealth of inbound data, it is possible to optimise the performance of an advertising network. For example, they may discover an unexpected volume of traffic at certain locations at specific times, perhaps due to the proximity of a sporting venue or local event. It may, therefore, be sensible to change the advertising playlist to present ads most relevant to that audience, thus increasing the reach of the advertised brand.”

Retailers Experience Two Cyber Attacks Per Week RETAILERS are responding to cyber attacks on average twice a week, according to the latest research from Zynstra, an enterprise-grade IT software provider. 16% of retailers said they experienced an attack or attempted attack every day, 11% said they responded 2-3 times per week, and 64% said once a month.

The incidence of cyber attacks was found to be especially high in the grocery industry, with 29% of respondents dealing with attempted security breaches every day, and 55% every week.

The research, conducted by independent survey consultants Censuswide on behalf of Zynstra, surveyed 300 IT professionals and C-level executives in the retailer sector in the UK and US.

“Taking care of a distributed branch network, from a maintenance and security point of view, can be extremely challenging,” says Nick East, CEO, Zynstra. “Looking at the high number of cyber attacks and attempted attacks shines light on the ongoing battles that retail IT is facing in terms of workload, particularly when it comes to security basics like patching and performing updates.”

This is reflected in the research, with 55% of retailers applying security upgrades and patches across their branch network at least once a week; with 12% doing it daily, and 77% once a month. In addition, when asked about the frequency of backing up critical in-store data across their branch network, 75% do so once a week, with almost half of respondents (46%) doing it daily.

48|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo

Shaping the Future!

More than 3,000 visitors attended this year’s Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo, where 200 speakers and 170 exhibitors showcased the trends currently shaping the sector.

THE Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo took place as part of the National Food and Drink Conference on September 13 in the Citywest Convention Centre, Dublin. The annual event brought together 3,000 food industry professionals, 200 speakers and 170 exhibitors to discuss the key issues facing the retail and foodservice industry.

This year’s event took place as the retail and foodservice sector continues its steady growth following the recovery in the sector that has taken hold in recent years. Last year, the value of Irish retail sales grew by 1.7% across supermarkets and convenience stores according to Ibec, even as competition in the sector is heating up. The retail sector is also the largest employer in the country, generating 275,000 jobs.

• • • • •

move, along with increased disposable income amongst families, has changed how consumers plan journeys. They want destinations,” McClean revealed.

Michelle Fennelly, Marketing Director of Musgrave Wholesale Partners, discussed the company’s newly launched take-away brand, Chipmongers. “We are absolutely delighted and excited about the future of Chipmongers,” she noted. “Since the first Chipmongers

This year's event included a top billing of speakers including: Michelle Fennell, Marketing Director, Musgrave Wholesale Partners; Ian Mullin, Head of Innovation, Freshways; Thomas Burke, Director, Retail Ireland; David Fitzsimons, CEO, Retail Excellence; Dave McClean, Head of PFS, Applegreen.

During his presentation, Applegreen’s Dave McClean discussed the emergence of the ‘transumer’, Applegreen’s mission in selecting the most appropriate food offering for its forecourts and its journey to date in becoming one of the largest petrol forecourt retailers in Ireland. “The emergence of the ‘transumer’, time poor and on the

Dave McClean, Head of PFS, Applegreen, talks about the emergence of the 'Transumer' on Main Stage at the Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo.

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Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo

Kevin Kennedy of Anu Dairy is congratulated by Lion's Den judges (l-r): Andrew Bradley of Bradley Design, Cormac Lucey, Applegreen, Alison Cowzer, Dragons Den, Brian Lee, Freshly Chopped and Colum Sullivan of Cully and Sully. in Churchtown, we have opened several Chipmongers in Dublin, Bray, Enniscorthy and Ballina, so look out for one soon coming to a town near you.”

Fennell also outlined Musgrave Wholesale Partners’ decision to rebrand its symbol group, Daybreak. “Consumers expect the highest levels of convenience – get me in and out with what I want super quick – but also really value a level of service and personal interaction.

Based on this, we have totally redeveloped the daybreak offer,” she revealed. “We were very conscious as we developed this new brand position that its appeal for our retail partners was as important as its appeal to consumers. So we have redeveloped the total Daybreak offer and our first store with this opened on South Link Road in Cork a few weeks ago.”

Attendees and Exhibitors The 3,000 attendees at this year’s conference included senior executives from across the retail and foodservice sector, including CEOs and Directors, Heads of Food Procurement,

Commercial Directors, logistics experts and leading industry associations representing the largest supermarket chains, symbol groups and forecourts, along with new food start-ups, food enthusiasts, nutrition specialists and more.

Attendees were treated to a showcase of the latest technology driving innovation in the Irish food sector, with the likes of Macfarlane Packaging, TransferMate Global Payments and Cold Move showcasing their latest products and services on the exhibition floor.

Attendees also tucked into samples from exhibitors such as The Foods Of Athenry family bakery, Chia Bia seed suppliers, Fentimans botanically brewed drinks and bottled mineral water company, Aqua Carpatica, based in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains in Romania.

Lions Den Competition For the second year running, the conference hosted the Lions Den competition for Irish food startups, with a judging panel of four that included

Delegates enjoy a tasting of Fentimans product range at the Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo.

Michelle Fennell, Marketing Director of Musgrave Wholesale Partners, discusses the launch of their new foodservice brand 'Chipmongers' on Main Stage at the Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo.

Conor Lucey, Director of Operations, Applegreen; Alison Cowzer, Investor, Dragons Den and Director of East Coast Bakehouse; Colum O’Sullivan, Cofounder, Cully & Sully; and Brian Lee, CEO of Freshly Chopped.

Organic food startup, Anu Dairy, with an ambition to connect soil health to food, emerged victorious from the competition against competitors The Local Juicing Co., Just Add and Hapi Food Co. Anu Dairy’s prize is valued at over €5,000 and includes a free exhibition stand at the International Food and Drink Event (IFE), which attracts over 30,000 key food and drink buyers from 108 countries, €1,500 cash for expenses and exposure to Ireland’s largest stockists.

"Getting in front of people like this, who are in the industry and can ask me questions, that's really key as they know what they're doing. If they ask me a question and I can't answer, I'll go away and ask why can't I answer it,” noted Kevin Kennedy, founder of Anu Dairy.

Delegates quiz Macfarlanes packaging about their product range at the Food, Retail and Hospitality Expo.

50|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Focus on HR

Praising the Bar: How

Performance Appraisal Can be a Win-Win How to go about organising a performance appraisal for an employee that benefits both the staff member and the business.

A PERFORMANCE appraisal is an assessment of an employee’s performance and potential and is a good opportunity to assess their development needs. A performance appraisal is also an excellent opportunity to take an overall view of work content and volume and to look back on what has been achieved during the reporting period. It is also the best way to agree objectives for the next period.

The appraisal process benefits staff, management and the business as it allows for clear communication in a two-way process, where both parties have equal opportunity to discuss the role, work performance, objectives and future goals.

The performance appraisal process aims to monitor past performance, with the goal to improve future work performance. The appraisal will help the organisation to identify ongoing training needs and employee potential, and can prove to be a great tool in a company’s succession planning.

As well as using this opportunity to give feedback to employees, it’s also an opportunity for the company and the individual managers to receive feedback from employees.

Plan in Advance When implementing a performance appraisal system, it is important to plan

in advance to ensure that employees have as much information as possible about the system. This is vital to ensure that there is a positive approach overall to the process and to ensure that all staff are on-board.

Other factors that should be looked at are how often the review meetings will take place: will they be annually or biannually, for example? It should also be agreed in advance who should conduct the appraisals: for example, will the manager appraise all staff or will the department supervisors get involved?

Often, the supervisor or manager

who has the most interaction with the employee is the best person to conduct an appraisal, as they have a good insight into that employee’s strengths and weaknesses.

The appraiser should inform their employees that they will be conducting a review with them approximately one week in advance. The appraiser should then provide the employee with the correct template paperwork and ask them to prepare a review of their own performance.

Once staff have completed the appraisal form and returned it to management, it should then be reviewed and assessed by the appraiser. By assessed, we mean the appraiser should review how the staff have rated their skills, performance etc. The appraiser should outline in their own notes if they would rate the staff member higher than what they have rated themselves in each relevant category. Essentially, the appraiser will be preparing their own

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Focus on HR About the Author

review of the employee’s performance.

When conducting the meeting, both parties should be honest and fair in their review and feedback. Clear, relevant and achievable goals should be set for the year ahead and these should be agreed by both parties prior to the meeting concluding.

At least one meeting should take place during the year to review the progress of the goals. Following the correct process and using the right performance review forms ensures consistency in the process.

Conducting performance appraisals in your business has numerous advantages. It enables a structured framework to record feedback. It allows the appraiser to receive feedback and to give feedback to the employees on past performance and to set out objectives for the future. It allows the opportunity to identify training needs and to give employees an opportunity to improve. It has positive effects, such as improving staff motivation, performance and commitment to the company.

Asking the Right Questions The appraiser needs to have the skills, qualities and knowledge to conduct the review. Asking the right questions is essential. The appraisee should be asked to be open and honest and ask questions and give feedback: they should talk 70%, versus 30% for the appraiser.

Useful questions to ask during the process include open questions which encourage them to talk, such as “how do you feel you are getting on?” Probing questions should also be used and these questions provide specifics, uncover feelings and attitudes: “Tell me more about working on that project”.

It is advised that all supervisors or managers involved in conducting performance appraisals receive training in the process and in the skills needed to carry out a successful, positive appraisal meeting.

A constructive appraisal review

has the following characteristics.

Achievement is recognised and reinforced. Past performance is reviewed. The appraiser listens actively.

There is honest and open discussion, reflection and analysis. Action plans are agreed jointly.

Characteristics of a poor review meeting involve the appraiser focusing on negatives and failures; one where the appraisee has no input and the entire process is controlled by the appraiser, ends with disagreement and no set joint objectives. A bad review meeting is one in which the appraisee leaves feeling demotivated by the process.

Performance Appraisal Checklist In conducting the appraisal the appraiser must ensure that they: • • •

• •

• • •

Control the environment: schedule adequate amount of time; State the purpose of the discussion: explain that it’s a two-way process to allow for open communication; Ask for the employee’s opinion: use appropriate questioning techniques, including probing and open questions; Outline review of their performance: be specific and give corrective and positive feedback; Build on the employee’s strengths: ask the employee to name his or her strengths. The appraiser should outline their opinions of those strengths; Ask for employee’s feedback: listen to what the employee has to say; Set specific goals: the appraiser must outline areas for improvement and identify training needs; Close the discussion: the appraiser must summarise the meeting, and both parties should sign the appraisal form. The appraiser should thank the employee and explain next steps.

After the appraisal, it’s important to

THE HR Suite provides a full range of HR and business services to organisations nationwide.

Our objective is to raise the standards and performance of your organisation, while ensuring legal compliance at all times. We take a best-practice approach to outsourced HR management and our services include dispute resolution, performance management, training, and disciplinary and grievance management. We have a dedicated recruitment department to assist our clients with recruitment and selection .Our team of qualified professionals offer a superior service to our clients via telephone and email support, on-site visits, and representation as required.

MD Caroline McEnery has over 20 years’ experience in providing HR services to Irish companies.

She is a member on the Low Pay Commission and is also an adjudicator in the Workplace Relations Commission.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact our office on (066) 7102887 or (01) 9014335 or email info@thehrsuiteonline.com.

Website: http://thehrsuiteonline.com. follow up correctly: Arrange any necessary follow up meeting; • Write up key points on the appraisal; • Write up targets/objectives which have been agreed; • Copy of all notes and forms to be placed in employee’s file; • Plan to conduct another meeting in six months’ time to ensure the staff member remains focused on achieving their objectives.

It is important to remember that the review meeting is only a small part of the process which should be occurring continually throughout the year. Managers and staff should continually review their progress against goals, make adjustments as necessary, and recognise achievements.

Managers should give their team feedback to ensure that the organisation gets the most out of their most valuable resource, their people.

If you have questions on performance appraisals or any HR issues you need to talk through, please contact the HR Suite on 066 7102887.

52|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

On The Vine Jean Smullen examines some of the best New World red wines available in Ireland this autumn, including some truly exceptional wines.

Seeing Red! THE Irish Wine Association (IWA) recently released its wine market statistics for 2016. From a market perspective, the report shows that Chile is still the number one country of origin for Irish wine drinkers, followed

by Australia, France and Spain. Wine is Ireland’s second most popular alcoholic beverage after beer; in 2016, the market share for wine increased slightly from 27.7% in 2015 to 27.8%.

Sales of New World wines continue to account for the lion’s share of the Irish wine market. 63.8% of all wine sales in 2016 were New World wines, up from 62.5% in 2015. In the years 1990 to 2004, there was a dramatic increase in sales, with New World wines rising from 6% of the total market in 1990 to 75% of the total market share by 2004, although that growth has fallen off slightly in the last decade.

When New World reds first hit the market in 1990, their appeal was obvious. The wines were made in a ‘fruit forward’ style with lots of alcohol and were rich and appealing. Fast forward 30 years and you will find that New World reds have changed dramatically: the style is now elegant and restrained and the importance of regionality (or ‘terroir’ as the French like to call it) is very much reflected in the more restrained styles.

At the recent Australian Immersion Day trade tasting in Dublin, copresented by Wine Australia EU Wine Educator, Emma Symington MW and Ian Brosnan of ely wine bar in Dublin, the red wines were utterly unrecognisable from their predecessors a quarter of a century ago.

The stand-out Australian wine for me was made by an Irishman who started his career here in Dublin, around the time the Irish wine market started to grow and develop. Master of Wine, Fergal Tynan MW began his wine career working as Off Licence Manager in SuperValu in Raheny. Fergal, who studied his Diploma here in Ireland via the Wine Development Board, was one of the first Irish Diploma students to graduate with Honours. He moved to the UK in 1999 where he completed his MW studies. Today, he is the MD of Alliance Wines, one of the UK’s top importer/ producers of wine.

We tasted his 2015 Thistledown ‘Vagabond’ McLaren Vale Grenache, which was shown under the category New Wave Reds. What a revelation this wine was. Australian Grenache is now undergoing a huge revival and with wine making like this, you can see why.

A lovely creamy elegant wine, with lots of restraint and edgy summer fruit, the creamy character reflects the 10 months this wine spent in 15% new oak. This was one of 32 white, red and sparkling wines which were tasted at the Masterclass. All were exciting and innovative, reflecting how far Australia has come in terms of its quality wine making.

Let’s now take a look at some of the New World Reds available here, this autumn.

AUSTRALIA

Ireland is the 17th most important market globally for Australian wine; a total of 4.6m litres of was sold here

in 2016/17, an increase of 30% on the previous year (Source: Wine Australia 2017).

2013 Peter Lehmann, Clancy’s - €12.99 (Comans Beverages Limited) Peter Lehmann’s Clancy’s is ranked amongst the world's great drinking experiences, delivering exceptional flavour, quality and value. They follow the pioneering Australian tradition of blending Shiraz with Cabernet Sauvignon, but give it their own touch with the incorporation of Merlot to give a soft, approachable and richly enjoyable red wine. For more information, contact: Aisling Kennedy, Marketing Executive.

Email: aisling. kennedy@comans.ie.

2016 The Accomplice Shiraz - €12 (Febvre & Co.) This cheeky fun, everyday drinking Shiraz is brand new to the market. With bright red cherry, raspberry and hints of spice, this youthful medium bodied Shiraz reflects the more restrained style of Australian wine. Produced in Riverina, the wine is

The Accomplice Shiraz is a brand new, everyday Shiraz from Febvre & Co.

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On The Vine aged in a mix of French and American oak. For more information, contact: Kerri Judge, Marketing Manager.

Email: kjudge@febvre.ie McGuigan (Barry & Fitzwilliam) McGuigan wines continue to outperform the market and according to a recent report, McGuigan is now the number one wine brand in the off trade. The Black Label range comprises of a Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot, with a Malbec joining the range this autumn. The range will have strong above the line marketing support this winter, particularly on TV and radio, with a major emphasis on Neil McGuigan’s IWC awards. For more information, contact: Kate Barry, Brand Manager. Email: kate.barry@BandF.ie.

CALIFORNIA

Wines of California held their Annual Wine Fair at the end of September, highlighting over 35 producers. There was a great turnout, reflecting the enormous interest in wines from the United States. For more information, contact: Justine McGovern, California Wine Institute. Email: Ireland@DiscoverCaliforniaWines.com.

Cassidy Wines Cassidy Wines have just taken over the distribution of the Trinchero brands from California. They will be distributing the Sutter Home Varietals, Menages a Trois & Charles & Charles range of wines.

Look out for trade offers on these lines coming up over the coming months.

For more information, contact Amanda Cardiff. Email: Amanda.Cardiff@cassidywines.com

CHILE

The Embassy of Chile will be holding a Chilean Wine Open Pour Trade & Press Tasting to highlight mid-priced and premium Chilean wines at the Embassy of Chile, 44, Wellington Place, Dublin 4 on Wednesday, November 1, from 11:0018:00, open to bone fide trade and press, all are welcome.

Febvre & Co. De Martino’s pioneering commitment to Chile’s wine history has led to the rediscovery of vines and Chile’s many and varied ‘terroirs’ lost over the years.

Led by Chief Winemaker, Marcelo Retamal (named 13th most influential winemaker in the world by Decanter Magazine), a crusade first initiated in 1996 has resulted in the discovery of many old vines. As a result of this pioneering work, Febvre now introduces a stunning wine from De Martino, Gallardia del Itata. The 2015 Gallardia

NEW ZEALAND

Cinsault (RSP €19.95) is an intense wine, displaying cranberry and redcurrant fruits with fine tannins and a twist of white pepper on the finish (90 Points, Tim Atkins). For more information contact: Kerri Judge, Marketing Manager. Email: kjudge@febvre.ie.

Gilbeys of Ireland Santa Rita, Ireland's top selling wine, have just introduced a new De Martino’s range of labels for Galladria their Reserva wines.

Cinsault is an The labels have intense wine, been licensed by the displaying National Gallery in cranberry and London and feature redcurrant some of their most fruits with fine famous paintings. tannins and a The wines featuring twist of white the paintings will be pepper on the available with these finish. labels until 2020 and will be distributed globally.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva features Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers on the label. Other famous label/paintings include the 2016 Santa Rita Reserva Pinot Noir from Aconcagua Valley which features Camille Pissano’s The Boulevard Montmartre at Night.

For more information, contact: Des King.

Email Des.King@ gilbeysofireland.ie.

Concha Y Toro Concha y Toro are launching a new Chilean brand called Sunrise, a range of varietals which includes Cabernet Sauvignon. Sunrise will retail at €9.99 and is the first eco-friendly wine to be C0² neutral. For more information, contact Annmarie Nagle, Country Manager – Ireland, Concha y Toro/ Fetzer Vineyards. Email: anagle@cyt-uk.com.

Concha Y Toro’s new Chilean brand, Sunrise, is the first ecofriendly wine to be C0² neutral

Barry & Fitzwilliam A family owned New Zealand 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 recently. Villa Maria is now the number one New Zealand wine brand on the market. Villa Maria Merlot/Cabernet is on promotion this autumn at €12, while there will be promotional activity across all the major retailers on the Private Bin Range from €10 across the Christmas period. For more information, contact: Kate Barry, Brand Manager. Email: kate.barry@BandF.ie.

BWG Hosts Exclusive Santa Helena Tasting

NICOLÁS Pérez Yánez, chief wine maker at leading Chilean wine maker Vina Santa Helena, was in Dublin recently to present a tutored tasting hosted by BWG Wines and Spirits in the Merrion Hotel to launch their new range of wines from their portfolio.

The Santa Helena range is exclusive to BWG Group, with annual sales of this popular Chilean wine now exceeding 250,000 cases per annum.

Nicolás heads up the winemaking team at Vina Santa Helena in Chile.

For the tasting, he presented three new Santa Helena portfolio wines: Alpaca, Siglo de Oro and Seleccion del Directorio, the Reserva range. All three were very well received.

“We have seen significant increases in the quality of the wines produced by Santa Helena and with that in mind, have extended our portfolio this year to include new reserve and premium ranges,” noted Liam Nolan, Commercial Manager, BWG Wines & Spirits.

Leo Crawford, CEO, BWG Group, with Nicolás Pérez Yánez, chief wine maker at leading Chilean wine maker Vina Santa Helena, at the tutored tasting hosted by BWG Wines and Spirits in the Merrion Hotel.

54|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

Forecourt Focus: News Stars Align at Maxol Clonakilty MAXOL Clonakilty welcomed Rachel Allen and Keith Barry recently for ‘Let’s Do Lunch!’ to celebrate some of the exciting food offers available on-site from Abrakebabra, Bagel Factory, O’Brien’s Sandwich Café, and Maxol’s own speciality sandwich range, Moreish. Customers were treated to a free lunch, along with some delicious samples from the food offerings in-store, and the Maxol team had lots more besides lunch to keep customers occupied. Cork's Red FM Street Team were in attendance with music and plenty of prizes up for grabs. A spinning wheel offered customers the chance to win great giveaways including dinner for two at Rachel Allen’s new restaurant, Rachel’s, while master hypnotist Keith Barry was also on hand to entertain customers with a special show.

“Having invested over €500,000 in the refurbishment of Maxol Clonakility, we were delighted to see such a large turn-out of support for this ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ event,” said John Hadnett, Regional Manager at Maxol. “The investment has created 15 new jobs in Clonakilty and added three new food offerings to our Moreish Deli range. Our aim in Maxol is always to offer customers first class service and a great forecourt convenience experience, and I’m confident we deliver that in Clonakility.”

Applegreen Race Ahead in Berlin Marathon ON September 24, 2017, 12 members of Applegreen staff participated in one of the largest marathons in Europe, the Berlin Marathon. The marathon attracts over 40,000 runners and supporters every year and is a great attraction for European runners. The Applegreen team all finished the race in fantastic times, and in the process raised over €40,000 for Barnardo’s, a charity founded to care for vulnerable children and young people.

The 12 Berlin Marathon runners from Applegreen proudly display their finisher’s medals.

Topaz Play or Park Winner Announced

Pictured at Maxol Clonakilty are (l-r): Shane Cantillon, Licensee at Maxol; Caroline Burton, Marketing Manager, Maxol Group; celebrity chef Rachel Allen; John Hadnett, Regional Manager, Maxol; and Keith Barry, hypnotist and magician.

JOHN O’Mahony from Athlone has been announced as the August 2017 winner of Topaz Play or Park and will be jetting off to Sydney, Australia.

John and his wife, Fidelma, will stay in the luxurious Novotel Sydney, at Topaz Play or Park winner for August, Darling Harbour, John O’Mahony from Athlone, is taking in the pictured with Richard Pollock, Loyalty stunning views, and Insights Manager at Topaz. before enjoying a show at one of the most recognisable buildings in the world, the Sydney Opera House. “I was absolutely delighted when I got the call from the team at Topaz,” said John. “I’ve been to Australia once before but it will be the adventure of a lifetime to return with my wife, Fidelma. We’re particularly excited for our evening at the Sydney Opera House!”

Always FRESH MILK

and the SAME BEANS as our coffee shops

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Forecourt Focus: News Topaz Launches New Customer Experience Initiative TOPAZ has launched ‘talk2us’, an initiative that is designed to shine a light on customer experience and provide an opportunity for customers to have their say on in-store services. Revolutionising the customer experience is at the heart of Topaz’s pledge to delivering an unrivalled forecourt offering in Ireland. With ‘talk2us’, Topaz has developed a specialised online tool that allows customers to rate their satisfaction with all forecourt facilities, providing valuable feedback on how its offering can be improved. All customers who take the time to complete ‘talk2us’ will be entered into a monthly draw to win a €250 Topaz gift card.

“Expectations from customers have never been as high and as a business we must ensure that we continue to deliver a top-quality experience for Irish consumers,” noted Derek Nolan, Retail Director at Topaz. “In order to help us to achieve this, we have launched ‘talk2us’, our new customer experience survey that demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving in-store service at forecourts across the nation.”

For more information, see talk2us.topaz.ie.

Topaz’s new ‘talk2us’ initiative provides an opportunity for customers to have their say on in-store services.

Maxol Celebrates Excellence Award Winners MAXOL has announced the winners of its 2016-2017 Excellence Awards, which recently took place at the Quinta Do Lago resort in Portugal. The scheme promotes and rewards excellence in retail standards, customer experience, and community engagement, throughout its network of service stations across the island of Ireland.

Maxol service stations in Carlow, Donegal, Dundalk, Kerry, Limerick, Maynooth and Meath were honoured for the quality of their service, offering a broad range of fresh food, and ensuring customers experience nothing but the best facilities and service when they stop at a Maxol forecourt.

“I would like to congratulate our winning retailers and their staff who have topped the league tables in our 2016/17 Awards and was delighted to welcome them to Portugal in recognition of the high standards they delivered on a consistent basis, making Maxol first choice for our customers every day,” said CEO of the Maxol Group, Brian Donaldson. “Our winning retailers have set a very high standard this year and I am extremely proud of their achievements, which sets them apart from their nearby competitors.”

The Maxol Excellence Awards are now in their 20th year.

Awards were presented on merit in the following categories: Customer Experience, Best Standards, Excellence in Community Engagement, and Store of the Year. Top performing

Pictured at the 2016-2017 Maxol Excellence Awards were owners of Souhan’s Maxol Service Station, Meath, Ena and Nikkie Souhan, who were honoured in the ‘Excellence in Customer Experience’ category, with Brian Donaldson, CEO of the Maxol Group. licensees are awarded in each category, and those achieving excellence across all the categories are recognised as Store of the Year.

To find out what Costa Express can offer you contact: ROI tel: 021 500 3526 NI tel: 02892 580207

56|Retail News|October 2017|www.retailnews.ie

What’s New INDEPENDENT News & Media has launched a brand-new reader experience, The Vow. Combining a dedicated digital hub with a premium glossy magazine, The Vow is the place to discover the latest wedding trends, fashion and celebrity wedding gossip.

Thevow.ie will provide an online wedding destination, with unrivalled knowledge and advice from not only the best in the business, but also from real people who have been there, done that and even thrown the bouquet. In addition, INM’s glossy wedding magazine, Irish Brides will rebrand to become The Vow magazine. Drawing on over 30 years of expertise, the newlook magazine will feature stunning photo shoots, inspirational content, latest trends and expert advice to help with every aspect of planning a sensational wedding, right through to organising a heavenly honeymoon.

CHIQUITA LOOKING PRETTY IN PINK CHIQUITA Brands International is aiming to add a splash of pink to fruit bowls in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The banana producer will be adding a distinctive pink sticker to more than 100m Chiquita bananas worldwide to bring the important topic of breast cancer to the public’s attention. The stickers combine Chiquita’s iconic blue and yellow Miss Chiquita logo with the global campaign’s famous pink ribbon to create a highly visual addition to the effort to raise awareness. “As the first lady of fruit, Miss Chiquita has been putting a personal face on our bananas since 1944 and remains the indisputable first lady of fruit, so it feels totally appropriate for us to support a campaign that offers help, hope and support to women everywhere,” explains John Cockle, MY LITTLE PONY MOVIE Sticker Collection Sales and Market Director, UK and Ireland.

SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR NESTLÉ CONFECTIONERY NESTLÉ Confectionery has teamed up with digital movie retailer Sky Store for a brand new on-pack promotion in which consumers are rewarded with a €7.99 Sky Store Buy & Keep movie voucher in return for collecting four promotional packs from its range of best-selling sharing bags. The promotion features on KitKat Bites Milk, KitKat Bites Peanut Butter, Milkybar Giant Buttons, Aero Peppermint Bubbles, Smarties, Munchies, Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles and Rowntree’s Randoms sharing bags. The promotion features across TV, digital video, cinema advertising and social media. *No sky subscription required

@Reg Trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.

SAY ‘I DO’ TO THE VOW

KERRYGOLD: MEMORIES IN THE MAKING KERRYGOLD is launching its first Irish advertising campaign since 2010. The advert, Memories in the Making, centres on the link between generations of family members and how we pass on the lessons we learn. The new advert, like Kerrygold itself, is distinctly Irish in look and feel. A young father, remembering his mother and how she would insist on cooking with Kerrygold, introduces his own daughter to the fun of cooking at home.

“This advertisement builds on the great tradition that Kerrygold adverts have in the Irish public consciousness,” says Adam Murphy, Kerrygold Commercial Director, Ornua. “It focuses on the part Kerrygold plays in making memories between generations of families. It is a great representation of the way many of us view Kerrygold’s role in our homes.”

MY LITTLE PONY STICKER COLLECTION

PANINI is excited to announce the launch of the brand new My Little Panini isMULTIPACK excited to announce the launch of the brand new MY LITTLE PONY: ALPRO LAUNCHES Pony: The Movie Sticker Collection THE MOVIE Sticker Collection.

The collection comes ahead of the UK movie ahead of the movie release, featuring ALPRO is expanding its almond release and features over 200 stickers for fans to enjoy. There are also lots over 200 stickers for fans to enjoy. line-up with the launch of a multiof special stickers including holographic and glitter!

There are also lots of special stickers, pack version of its star-performing including holographic and glitter! th Almond Unsweetened drink.

The In MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE, coming to theaters on October 6 , a dark Starter Packs include an album, plus move annual salesApplejack, of force threatens Canterlot, and the comes Mane 6 –as Twilight Sparkle, 26 stickers to get collectors started!

Alpro’s total almond drinks portfolio Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity – embark on an There are also limited figurine starter have hit €7.5m, +13% unforgettable journey beyond Equestria whererecording they meet new friends and packs which include a My Little value growth year year, while exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic ofon friendship to save their Pony figurine – there’s Princess home. sales of its long-life almond drinks Cadance, Rainbow Dash, Starlight range are up +18% (Source: Nielsen Starter Packs include an album, plus 26 stickers to get collectors started! ThereGlimmer are also limited and Trixie Lulamoon! Plus, brand new for this year, MAT w/e 18/06/17). Vicky Upton, figurine starter packs which include a MY LITTLE PONY figurine – there’s Princess Rainbow MyCadance, Little Pony: The Movie Collector’s tins! Each tin includes 10 Head of Marketing at Alpro UK and Ireland, explains: “Our Dash, Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon! Plus, brand new for this year, MY LITTLE PONY: THE packets and acts as a handy place to store those extra stickers! almond drinks continue to be a key growth driver for the brand, MOVIE Collector’s tins! Each tin includes 10 packets and acts as a handy place to store those extra The collection is being backed by a heavyweight marketing so adding a multi-pack format is a natural next step for us – stickers! campaign, including cinema and YouTube advertising, along particularly with plant-based food and drink fast-becoming part with newspaper promotions and covermount sampling on the The collection is being backed by a heavyweight marketing campaign including cinema and YouTube of the average shopper’s grocery list, and retailers dedicating My Little Pony Magazine. with newspaper promotions and covermount sampling on thebest-selling best-selling MY moreadvertising space to along plant-based products on-shelf.”

Thursday 5th October 2017

LITTLE PONY Magazine. There is also sampling in dedicated MY LITTLE PONY Parlours across 150 Tesco Stores as well as an album sampling on the MY LITTLE PONY Friendship Tour Bus! Jessica Fulford, Marketing & Digital Media Executive, says, “We’re delighted to be working with

Show your Support and join us this year at our annual IGBF Christmas Lunch on Friday 1st December 2017 in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Tickets cost

€230 per person and are

available now on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, so book early to avoid dissapointment!

If you wish to reserve your place, just print out this booking form, fill in the details below and send it to us along with your payment.

Name: Email Address: Company Name & Address:

Mobile No:

Landline:

Please reserve

tables/s of 10 at €2,300 per table

Please reserve

tables/s of 12 at €2,760 per table

Individual tickets may be purchased at €230 each. Please reserve

I enclose full payment of €

tickets

for the above booking.

Please note: Cheques should be made payable to The Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund.

If paying by Bank Transfer, please reference company name and invoice number.

Please forward this booking form together with full prepayment in advance to:

Hotel Solutions, Unit B10, Baldonnell Business Park, Dublin, D22 NP97, Ireland

Telephone: 01 630 9211 Email: stuart@hotel-solutions.ie