RN december 2014

DECEMBER 2014

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

Contents

News 4 Aussie rules on plain

packaging of tobacco products have not achieved reductions in smoking rates.

Shoots of Retail Recovery Starting to Show AS we approach the end of 2014, Ireland Inc. seems to be more firmly on the road to economic recovery, as employment levels continue to rise, disposable incomes have increased and consumer sentiment is at its highest levels since 2007. Indeed, December 1st saw Retail Ireland publishing its Christmas Retail Monitor 2014, which pointed to Irish retailers enjoying their busiest and best performing Christmas trading period in five years, with Irish consumers set to spend €3,960m in Irish shops during December, up from €3,880m in 2013.

The Government’s relatively retailfriendly Budget certainly helped, by putting more money in consumers’ pockets, which will hopefully translate into more sales for retailers.

Our trade was one of the hardest hit by the economic turmoil since 2008 and it is also one of the slowest to recover but most industry experts agree that the worst is behind us, and we are starting to see the shoots of a retail recovery.

This will probably take some time to trickle down to the FMCG industry, with Irish consumers still in thrift mode when it comes to grocery shopping. However, we can approach 2015 with cautious optimism that we are finally heading in the right direction.

In our special Retail Group Report, the biggest names in Irish grocery discuss how 2014 was for them and look forward to 2015 (Page 27-46), while we also provide a guide to the 15 key drivers for leading marketers in 2015 (Page 16), and report from the ECR Ireland Category Management & Shopper Marketing Conference 2014 (Page 56).

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers and advertisers for their continued support and to wish you all a peaceful and profitable Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year.

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NOffLA calls for minimum pricing on alcohol.

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Premier Lotteries Ireland official becomes Ireland’s new lottery operator; Craft brewing growing by 45%; New EU legislation on plastic bags.

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BIM Young Fishmonger 2015 48 Gerry Collier of

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Fisherman’s Catch in Clogherhead, Co. Louth, has been named the BIM Young Fishmonger 2015.

Daybreak Store of the Year 20 Kevin Forde’s Daybreak store in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, has been named Daybreak Store of the Year.

IGBF Christmas Lunch 22 The Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund Christmas Lunch 2014 was one of the social highlights of the year for the FMCG trade.

Irish consumers call for ‘Country of Origin’ labelling; Feeding Ireland’s Future 2015 launched.

National Lottery 24 3,700 new National

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Lottery terminals are being rolled out to retailers nationwide.

26 10

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Retail Ireland: Monthly Update 26 Retail Ireland is

predicting the busiest and best performing Christmas trading period for Irish retailers in five years.

Marketing & Branding 16 Are you wasting

Kathleen Belton Editorial Director kathleenbelton@retailnews.ie

money on irrelevant marketing? Branding and marketing expert, Kay McCarthy highlights the key 15 drivers for leading marketers in 2015.

Retail Group Review 27 The main players in the Irish grocery market assess 2014 and reveal their plans for the coming year.

14 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.

Managing Director: Patrick Aylward

Tel: (01) 6785165 Fax: (01) 6477127

Editorial Director: Kathleen Belton kathleenbelton@retailnews.ie

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

Editor: John Walshe

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

johnwalshe@tarapublications.ie brian@tarapublications.ie

Chief News Reporter: Pavel Barter Wine Correspondent: Jean Smullen

producers will secure retail listings worth €10m with SuperValu through the Food Academy programme in 2015.

Category Management 56 ‘Influence the shopper,

Morton’s Of Ranelagh 58 Morton’s of Ranelagh

in Dublin is celebrating 80 remarkable years in business.

Future in Food 2014 64 The Future in Food

Ireland conference explained how sustainable food production makes massive sense from a financial point of view.

REGULARS & REPORTS

Published by: Tara Publishing Ltd,

Advertising: Brian Clark

SuperValu Food Academy 50 200 small food

online and in-store’ was the theme of the ECR Ireland Category Management & Shopper Marketing Conference 2014.

Irish consumers to spend €528m on festive food; Improved outlook for grocery sector; Aldar Tissues host open day.

NFRN launch new policy agenda; New EU labelling regulations come into force.

48

Production: Jim Heron

Printed by: W&G Baird

Reproduction without written permission is strictly prohibited.

12 52 60 62 63 66

Industry News Breakfast Time On The Vine Drinks News Market News Shelf Life

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

News

Aussie Rules on Plain Packaging Have Flopped!

NEW statistics from Australia on the impact of plain cigarette packaging suggest that its introduction has not had the desired results in terms of reducing smoking rates. Two years after the introduction of plain packaging in Australia, data reveals that the amount of 12-17 year olds who smoke daily has increased from 2.5% in 2010 to 3.4% in 2013.

“The evidence coming out of Australia suggests there is an increase in the number of children smoking since plain packaging was introduced,” Deirdre Drennan, Irish representative for the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), told Retail News.

“NFRN believes that evidence-based decision making is the best form of decision making.”

But can we trust the evidence?

The introduction of plain packaging in Australia has resulted in a quagmire of opposing statistics from tobacco and health lobbies. This data, however, comes from the 2010 and 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Surveys, compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) - a government agency responsible for health statistics.

“This evidence comes from the Australian government itself, so it’s not biased by anybody with a particular interest,” said Drennan.

Another apparently non-partisan report from Australian National University, titled The Plain Truth about Plain Packaging: An Econometric Analysis of the Australian 2011 Tobacco Plain Packaging Act, suggests plain packaging has flopped: “There is no empirical evidence to support the notion that the plain packaging policy has resulted in lower household expenditure on tobacco than there otherwise would have been. There is some faint evidence to suggest…

household expenditure on tobacco increased.”

“There is no evidence to support the view that plain packaging contributed to a decline in household expenditure on tobacco,” author of the Australian National University report, Sinclair Davidson, Professor of Institutional Economics at Melbourne’s RMIT University, told Retail News. “In coming to that conclusion, we controlled for the long-term decline in household expenditure in tobacco.”

He described the results of the University report as “consistent with the EY analysis, done subsequently to ours and using a different data set, and also a Treasury analysis done prior to the introduction of plain packaging, showing that most public health interventions don’t have much impact on tobacco expenditure or consumption, once you control for the long-term decline in smoking incidence.”

This report also suggests smokers are moving from higher-priced to lowerpriced brands. “There hasn’t been a decrease in sales of tobacco products,” said Vincent Jennings, CEO of Ireland’s Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA). “There has been a shift in purchase habits from premium products down into value. That is clearly as a result of the product being

commoditised and branding being removed. It hasn’t reduced demand.”

The Australian experience proves plain packaging will not work in Ireland, according to tobacco companies here. “These facts have been deliberately ignored by plain packaging advocates,” said Igor Dzaja, General Manager of JTI Ireland. John Player’s Market Manager, Peter Lassche, added: “This must be of great concern to plain packaging lobbyists in Ireland.”

When Retail News approached Ireland’s Department of Health with the statistics, a spokesperson pointed out a disclaimer in the AIHW’s 2013 survey. While the report recognises “a slight rise in the proportion of people aged 12-17”, it adds that “this increase in daily smoking was not statistically significant and the trend for those aged 12-17 should be interpreted with caution, due to a high relative standard error.”

The Department of Health spokesperson said AIHW’s data, in fact, proved the success of plain packaging: “What is hugely encouraging in the data from Australia is that 95% of 12-17 year olds have never smoked. Of greater importance was the finding that shows there has been a statistically significant decrease in daily smokers aged 14 years or older in Australia, falling from 16.6% in 2007, 15.1% in 2010 to 12.8% in 2013. The Australian Department of Health has stated that plain packaging operates as part of a comprehensive set of tobacco control measures. It is an investment in the long term health of Australians and its full effects will be seen over the long term.”

What about the black market in Australia? “Our concern was always that [plain packaging] would fuel illicit trade,” said Drennan. “The black economy not only takes away tobacco

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

News sales for retailers, it takes away our customers. It has had a detrimental effect on some of our members’ businesses. Plain packaging, we believe, will fuel the growth of that market.”

The black market is a smoking gun for the tobacco industry. JTI Ireland claim that, according to data from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, seizures of illegal tobacco increased by more than 41% over 2011-12 and 2012-13. A recent KPMG report, Illicit Tobacco in Australia, claimed that “consumption of illicit tobacco products jumped from 11.5% in 2012 to 14.3% in June 2014”.

There is little doubt the rise in cigarette prices here in Ireland has led to an increase in smuggling into the country, although customs are cracking down on these criminals.

From January to October this year, revenue officers seized 50m illegal cigarettes.

Despite these latest results on the impact of plain packaging in Australia, Ireland is pushing to be the first EU state to introduce the same policy. In June, the government approved the publication of the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill. “As detailed opinions on the measures were received, the standstill period on the Bill was extended to December 18, 2014,” a Department of Health spokesperson told us. “The legislative process cannot continue until after this standstill period elapses.”

The government faces opposition from the US Chamber of Commerce and other powerful business groups.

There are also legal implications over intellectual property rights of tobacco companies. All this will

NOffLA Calls for Minimum Pricing on Alcohol

Vincent Jennings, CEO of the CSNA.

come at a cost to the Exchequer.

“That’s a matter at the fore for taxpayers,” said Jennings.

“The Department of Health has decided this is a project worth pursuing, regardless of the cost to the Exchequer. The recent increase in price on tobacco suggest the government are bracing themselves for a reduction of excise, because reduced consumption will follow.

Price is a determining factor for people buying legitimate products.

Unfortunately, price is also instrumental in people moving out of the legitimate market. It’s being filled by smuggled products.

Secondly, a significant amount of people are importing tobacco from other European communities. The government are expecting Irish retailers to take the hit.”

The question of whether plain packaging works remains.

Do people start smoking as a result of seeing logos and colour schemes on packs? “We can only go on evidence-based policy,” said Drennan. “The evidence suggests [plain packaging] has made it easier for kids to access cigarettes.

Criminals don’t ask for ID.”

Public Consultation on Tobacco Legislation THE Department of Health wants your views on legislation in relation to the sale of tobacco products and non-medicinal nicotine delivery systems (NMNDS), including e-cigarettes.

The details of the measures are set out in a consultation paper, available at http://health.gov.ie/blog/noticeboard/tobaccoconsultation2014.

You can submit your views using the online questionnaire at the same web address.

If you’d rather read a hard copy of the consultation paper and questionnaire, e-mail tobaccoconsultation@health.gov.ie or write to: Tobacco & NMNDS Consultation Tobacco and Alcohol Control Unit Department of Health Hawkins House Hawkins Street Dublin 2.

The closing date for views is Friday, January 16.

A consultation report will be prepared and published on the DOH’s website.

THE National Off Licence Association has come out in support of plans in Northern Ireland to introduce minimum pricing per unit of alcohol.

The province’s Health Minister Jim Wells plans to introduce a policy that would set a baseline price, below which alcohol cannot be sold.

“We are in favour of minimum pricing, but we are also in favour of a ban of below cost selling,” said Evelyn Jones, chairperson for NOffLA. “The two can work in tandem.

One will prevent the sale of extremely cheap alcohol, the other will prevent the discounting of premium brands to exact footfall. Very cheap alcohol tends to appeal to marginalised people in society. For the average consumer, the problem is the below cost selling of alcohol, where a premium branded product is discounted to drive footfall to sell other grocery products.”

Ireland’s Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar TD, has vocally supported an all-Ireland approach to minimum unit pricing (MUP).

NOffLA has called on the government to introduce MUP as part of its Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. How would the industry choose an appropriate price? “It’s a matrix,” explained Jones. “The minimum price chosen must work across three categories – wine, beer and spirits – allowing for the differing strengths.”

The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland has also called on the Government to address the sale of cheap alcohol. Earlier this year, all members of DIGI signed a pledge for the introduction of policy options to tackle misuse, including: addressing the widespread sale of alcohol at very low prices in a meaningful way, banning price-based advertising, which encourages an incorrect image of alcohol and the ways in which it should be enjoyed, and also introducing a statutory code on alcohol merchandising.

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News

Premier Lotteries Ireland is Ireland’s New Lottery Operator DECEMBER 4 saw Premier Minister for Public Lotteries Ireland (PLI) officially Expenditure and Reform, becoming the new operator of Brendan Howlin TD, said: “I the National Lottery in Ireland, am delighted that following following payment of the final a great deal of detailed instalment of the licence fee preparatory work by all and a successful transition involved, the operation of process. The company, whose the National Lottery has shareholders are Ontario successfully passed from Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), An Post National Lottery An Post and An Post pension Company to Premier Lotteries funds, will operate the National Ireland. I want to acknowledge Lottery for the next 20 years, the contribution of all the having won a competitive stakeholders, including the tender process with a bid of staff of the companies and Pictured are (l-r): Lee Sienna, Teachers’ Vice-President, €405m. the National Lottery retailers, Long-Term Equities and Chairman of PLI, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform; Brendan Howlin TD, Minister “Premier Lotteries Ireland to this successful transition for Public Expenditure and Reform; Donal Connell, Chief is extremely pleased to and I wish PLI every success Executive, An Post; and Dermot Griffin, Chief Executive, PLI. have successfully completed in its endeavours, which will transition,” noted Dermot be overseen by the recently to PLI represents the next step in Griffin, Chief Executive, Premier appointed National Lottery Regulator, what has been an incredible journey Lotteries Ireland. “We have Liam Sloyan. I am happy that National for the National Lottery so far. PLI successfully commenced operations Lottery funding for good causes will is committed to responsibly growing and look forward to further developing continue to grow in line with the the National Lottery over the next 20 the National Lottery and its associated growth now being experienced in the years and to guaranteeing the ongoing games. The awarding of the licence support for good causes across Ireland.” economy.”

Craft Brewing Growing by 45% New EU MINISTER for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD recently joined Ireland’s leading craft brewers and industry influencers to launch the first official development and economic impact report on microbreweries in Ireland. The report Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney was commissioned TD (centre) launches the Independent Craft Brewers of by the Independent Ireland Economic Impact Report alongside Seamus O’Hara Craft Brewers of of Carlow Brewing Company (left) , and Bernard Feeney, Ireland (ICBI), an report author and economic consultant (right). association set up earlier this year in response to the dramatic growth within the micro brewing market in Ireland.

The report revealed that production of craft beer by microbreweries amounted to some 49,000 hl in 2013, rising to 71,000hl in 2014, indicating that production of beer by microbreweries grew by 32% by volume in 2013 and is set to grow by at least 45% in 2014. Employment in craft brewing has almost doubled since 2011 and at current rates of growth, a five-fold increase in production could be achieved in about six years. Even allowing for a decline in employment intensity, as firm size increases, the total direct workforce in micro-brewing could reach 500 within that time frame.

Legislation on Plastic Bags THE EU has adopted a legislative proposal amending the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) that addresses the challenge of conventional single use plastic carrier bags consumption, and explicitly sanctions the actions of several member states that have already recognised the benefits of compostable bags or charge a tax on on plastic bags, as in Ireland.

“EU member states will have to take action to reduce plastic bag use but they will be able to choose how to do it: either they introduce pricing for plastic bags or equally effective measures, or they deliver on ambitious reduction targets,” noted Green MEP Margrete Auken.

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News

Irish Consumers Call for ‘Country of Origin’ Labelling on Grocery Products A MASSIVE 95% of consumers in Ireland would like to see ‘Country of Origin’ labelling on all grocery food and drink products, while just 11% of shoppers surveyed believe that country of origin on food is currently very clear.

These were amongst the findings in research by Love Irish Food, conducted

by Ignite Research among 1,000 respondents across Ireland in October.

Respondents were wholly or partially responsible for their household’s grocery shopping.

The research also revealed that 87% of Irish consumers try to buy Irish, with 74% of consumers also confirming that they make a deliberate effort to buy ‘Love Irish Food’ labelled products.

Apart from certain food products such as beef and fish, there is no legislative requirement to show country of origin on made/processed grocery food products, unless its absence might mislead consumers as to the true origin of the product. As a result, Irish shoppers are often confronted by mis-directed information as they try to

were once produced here but are now imported.

“At a time when confidence in what you are buying and knowing where everyday grocery products are produced is critical to Irish households, Irish shoppers feel greater clarity on labelling is required,” argued Kieran Rumley, Executive Director of Love Irish Food. “Made at an Irish or even English, French or Polish address would give shoppers the information that they need to decide if they want to continue buying from that source.”

Chairman of Love Irish Food, Jim Power noted how Love Irish Food Executive Director, Kieran Rumley. “this research confirms for our members that having the be confident in the food that they feed Love Irish Food logo on the pack has to their families, with Love Irish Food alleging that some products are causing a positive impact and enhances the confusion due to their use of Irish motivation to purchase for the majority family names or old Irish brands that of consumers.”

Feeding Ireland’s Future 2015 Launched week in March 2015.

The programme is being promoted by ECR Ireland, with the support of its members, in partnership with the Department of Social Protection through its Intreo service.

Speaking at the launch, the Tánaiste described Feeding Ireland’s Future as an important measure in supporting her department’s youth employment strategy: Pictured at the launch of Feeding Ireland’s Future 2015, “By participating in which runs from March 2-6, 2015, are ECR Ireland board Feeding Ireland’s Future, member David O’Neill, Managing Director of SHS Sales & Marketing; Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan you can make a truly positive difference in a Burton TD; and Declan Carolan, General Manager, ECR young person’s life. You Ireland. will be helping them gain THE Tánaiste and Minister for Social the necessary skills to become job ready.

Protection, Joan Burton TD, officially In short, you can help them to put their launched Feeding Ireland’s Future best foot forward to getting a job. Each 2015, an initiative by the Irish food and action by you, no matter how small, can grocery industry body to help support make a big difference in a jobseeker’s young unemployed people. This is the life.” second year of the initiative and will In the inaugural year of Feeding involve food and grocery companies Ireland’s Future, 29 companies and service providers to the sector participated in the programme, offering throughout Ireland providing free over 1,500 places for young unemployed pre-employment skills for young people people to attend skills sessions designed through its core initiative, Skills for to aid their quest for work. Companies Work Week, a designated skills training already signed up for the second year

include some of Ireland’s leading names in the grocery industry; BWG Foods, Keelings, Kellogg’s, Maxol Group, Musgrave Group, Nestlé, P&G Foods, SHS Sales & Marketing, Tesco, and Unilever are all involved to date.

The companies will provide a range of initiatives, including free on-site skills workshops and site visits for young people at locations across Ireland during Skills for Work Week 2015, which will run from March 2-6, 2015. The focus will be on developing pre-employment skills and will include advice on CV writing, interview training and behind the scenes tours of factories, depots and offices.

Declan Carolan, General Manager, ECR Ireland called on as many companies as possible to participate and offer some pre-employment training initiatives during March 2015: “Feeding Ireland’s Future is a great example of how the food and grocery industry can collaborate to further the skills of young job seekers in Ireland and better prepare them in their quest for work…

Our industry needs to collectively step up and help inspire young people and I believe that Feeding Ireland’s Future can play a significant role in this ideal.”

ECR member companies interested in participating in Skills for Work Week 2015 should contact: declancarolan@ecrireland.ie or Tel: 087 2352148.

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

News Irish Consumers To Spend €528m on Festive Food IRISH consumers will spend an estimated €528m on food and drink this Christmas, according to a new report by ecommerce partner Webloyalty. Over 75% plan to spend up to €20 per person on Christmas dinner, with the majority planning to do their festive food shopping in-store (70.1%). Only 9.1% intend to do all of their food shopping online.

According to the Webloyalty research, despite the growth of discount supermarkets, when it comes to shopping for food at Christmas, Tesco is the number one choice for festive food shopping (25.4%),

followed closely by Dunnes (23.1%), SuperValu (21.9%) and Marks and Spencer (19.2%). 7.6% of respondents say they plan to shop in Lidl and 8.9% intend to food shop in Aldi.

Almost half (47.2%) say a

Christmas-themed box of chocolates, such as Roses or Quality Street, is an essential purchase for the festive season, while a third (32.3%) say Christmas tins of biscuits are a musthave. 27.9% say seasonal alcoholic beverages such as Baileys and eggnog are on their Christmas shopping list.

Unsurprisingly, the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings is the most commonly eaten food at Christmas while 5% of people plan to tuck into steak. Other popular items include Christmas pudding (44.3%), mince pies (44.3%), Christmas cake (35.9%) and smoked salmon (11.2%).

Improved Outlook for Grocery Sector THE latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, for the 12 weeks ending November 9, show that the Irish grocery market has grown its sales at the fastest rate since June, with sales up 1.1% over the past year.

This equates to an additional €23m being spent by Irish shoppers.

“Grocery market growth has accelerated, with sales up by more than twice the average rate achieved over the course of 2014,” revealed David Berry, Commercial Director at Kantar Worldpanel. “This is in stark contrast to the Great British market, which has contracted for the first time on record.

One reason for this growth is improved confidence among Irish shoppers, which is illustrated by a marginal return to growth for branded grocery products (0.3%). Since the recession began, branded sales have been in decline, so a return to growth is a positive prospect for recovery.”

Competition in the market is intensifying as the battle to be the number one grocer wages on, Berry noted: “The top three retailers are separated by less than 1.5% share – a record narrow divide at the top of the market. There really is all to play for

among the big retailers as the critically important Christmas period approaches.”

Tesco remains the top supermarket in Ireland, with a 24.9% share of the market, despite falling sales due to shoppers putting fewer items into their baskets. SuperValu closely follows, holding 24.5% of the market and is performing well with a sales increase of 0.8%, driven by new shoppers. Dunnes remains in third place, with a 23.5% market share.

Elsewhere in the market, Lidl and Aldi’s widespread consumer

appeal has allowed both retailers to continue to enjoy strong growth, with sales increasing by 16.4% and 14.4% respectively. Some 63.5% of all households shopped in each of the two retailers during the past quarter, with Lidl particularly benefitting from more frequent visits by customers as shoppers returned to the store for one additional trip. Meanwhile, Aldi continued to attract new shoppers, bringing an additional 80,000 shoppers through its doors.

For further information, see www.kantarworldpanel.com.

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

12 Weeks to 10 Nov 2013 %*

12 Weeks to 09 Nov 2014 %*

change** %

100.0% 88.8% 26.4% 23.5% 24.6% 14.3% 7.4% 6.9% 11.2%

100.0% 89.1% 24.9% 23.5% 24.5% 16.3% 8.4% 8.0% 10.9%

1.1 1.5 -4.7 0.9 0.8 15.3 14.4 16.4 -1.9

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

Aldar Tissues Hosts Open Day at Dublin Plant ALDAR Tissues recently ran a ‘meet the manufacturer/open day’ at their plant in Finglas, Dublin (pictured), which saw Dublin North West TD, John Lyons, cutting the ribbon on the plant.

The day gave everybody an opportunity to see Aldar’s premises, production plant and meet the Aldar team. It also provided a rare opportunity to witness Aldar’s production line in full operation, as the company is one of only two tissue manufacturing companies here in the Republic of Ireland.

Aldar was born when MD, Darren

Farrell realised that most tissues on sale in Ireland were manufactured in the UK. The company was officially inaugurated in November 2013 and production began in July of this year.

“With the current trend towards indigenous products, the market welcomed locally made tissues and initial responses were very positive,” noted Paul Cleary, Aldar Tissues. “We have now become a serious contender for the domestic bathroom and kitchen tissue market.”

The Aldar range includes Jasmine

luxury toilet tissues and Jasmine Supreme kitchen towels, and the company already has plans in place to manufacture larger and more coloured multipacks.

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

News NFRN Policy Agenda THE National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) have launched their 2015 Public Affairs Agenda, highlighting the main issues affecting retail newsagents in Ireland.

It puts forward recommendations for change across a range of areas, including the introduction of a ‘Small Business Rate Relief’ scheme, similar to that in Northern Ireland, which would see large, out of town retailers paying higher rates to local authorities as a means of supporting independent retailers in town centres.

NFRN Ireland is also calling on the government to get tough on crime by introducing tougher sentences for prolific shoplifters, providing additional resources to combating the black market, while postponing the implementation of policies that could have a harmful effect on retailers, such as plain packaging of tobacco products.

In addition, the Federation is seeking a review of the competition issues that exist in the news distribution industry, including considering the introduction of a statutory instrument introduced under the Consumer and Competition Protection Bill that would protect retailers from significant increases in carriage charges.

“The current climate is a tough one for independent businesses and it is evident that there are further challenges on the horizon which could threaten their existence,” noted NFRN Ireland President Peter Steemers, who owns his own shop in Bunclody, Co. Wexford. “NFRN Ireland is not prepared to see the decline of the independent retail sector. However, NFRN Ireland cannot save its members’ businesses without the support of policy makers and for that reason is asking the Government parties, opposition parties and Oireachtas members to support small shopkeepers, who are at the heart of the communities they serve. ” The full NFRN Ireland Public Affairs Agenda 2015 is available at: www.nfrnonline.com.

New EU Labelling Rules Come Into Force SINCE December 13, 2014, new EU food labelling rules, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2011, will ensure that consumers receive clearer, more comprehensive and accurate information on food content, and help them make informed choices about what they eat.

“European citizens will see the results of years of work to improve food labelling rules,” said EU Commissioner in charge of Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis.

“Key content information will now be more clearly marked on labels, helping people make informed choices on the food they buy. The new rules put the consumer first by providing clearer information, and in

a way that is manageable for businesses.”

Some of the key changes include: • Improved legibility of information (minimum font size for mandatory information); • Clearer and harmonised presentation of allergens (e.g. soy, nuts, gluten, lactose) for prepacked foods (emphasis by font, style or background colour) in the list of ingredients; • Mandatory allergen information for nonprepacked food.

• Requirement of certain nutrition information for majority of prepacked processed foods; • Mandatory origin information for fresh meat from pigs, sheep, goats and poultry.

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

Industry News NEW SPAR STORE DESIGN GROWS SALES SPAR is to invest €5m in rolling out an innovative new store design, following the launch of its new-look concept store at SPAR Millennium Walkway. Sales at the city centre store have increased by 20% since introducing the new store design, which will now be rolled out to over 100 new stores nationwide. In partnership with SPAR International, SPAR Ireland developed the new design following research across multiple territories, including the UK and North America.

Developed to suit neighbourhood,

forecourt, urban and rural SPAR stores, the new design includes various departments including SPAR’s Tasty Deli, Insomnia Coffee, Subway, Grab and Go, bakery, off licence, and fruit and veg. The aim of the redesign is to strengthen the brand’s multi-service offering, by combining traditional convenience retailing with excellence in food service and other essential local services such as bill payments.

Pictured at the official opening are Aslan singer Christy Dignam, with SPAR Millennium Walkway retailer John O’Neill and his family, and Willie O’Byrne, MD, BWG Foods.

Danone Expands Wexford Facility RICHARD Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, officially opened Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition’s extended facility in Wexford. The recently completed expansion is the final phase of a €180m investment programme that has taken place at the company’s Irish operations in Macroom and Wexford over the past four years. By the end of 2014, employment will have increased at Danone in Ireland from 180 to over 400 people, including 50 new positions this year. Pictured are Brendan Howlin TD, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform; Michael Cantwell, Enterprise Ireland Manager, Food Division; Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; Liam Carmody, Site Leader; and Donal Courtney, Managing Director, Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition Ireland.

Tesco Launches Free & Fast BT Wi-Fi

GSK Support Wheelie Good Cause EMPLOYEES of GSK in Ireland and their family members gathered in Sligo to take part in a charity cycle to raise funds for the Irish Hospice Foundation, GSK’s Charity of the Year.

The ‘GSK Wheelie Good Cause’ is an annual cycle which is open to all employees across the four GSK locations in Dungarvan, Cork, Dublin and Sligo. Participants could choose to cycle either 50km or 100km through the glorious North West countryside.

The cyclists left from GSK’s Stiefel manufacturing site in Finisklin Business Park, with those cycling 100km taking to the road at 10am, while those cycling 50km, took off at 11am. There were lots of fun and festivities in the area on the day, as many people came along to cheer on the cyclists as they navigated the high-ways and by-ways of the region! A cheque presentation was made later that evening in the Clarion Hotel. All funds raised will go to the Irish Hospice Foundation, which was selected by GSK employees recently as the GSK Charity of the Year for 2014 and 2015.

Fyffes Appoints Sales & Marketing Manager EMMA Hunt-Duffy has been appointed Sales and Marketing Manager with banana importer Fyffes. Her responsibilities include management of key retail accounts, enhancing the sales of branded and non-branded fruit in Ireland, including bananas, pineapples and melons, and developing and implementing the Group’s brand marketing activity. A graduate in International Marketing and Languages from Dublin City University, she previously held positions as Marketing Manager at EBS and Marketing Executive and Media Buyer at Ryanair.

TESCO is helping customers get more value out of their shopping experiences with free and fast wi-fi access in stores thanks to a new partnership with BT. To enjoy the new service, customers should simply select “Tesco Wi-fi” or “BT” on their smartphones or tablets and they can begin browsing.

The free service has been fully rolled out to Tesco Extra, Metro and superstores Ireland. The BT Wi-fi service will allow customers to download Clubcard vouchers, get product information, browse recipes and take advantage of the latest instore offers much quicker and more conveniently than before.

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

Industry News MAXOL HELPS MAKE WISHES COME TRUE! MAXOL have presented Make-A-Wish Ireland with a cheque for €2010. The money was raised over the October bank holiday weekend, when Maxol donated 10c from every tea and coffee purchased at participating service stations to the charity. Maxol Senior Marketing Executive, Jana Solovjova is pictured presenting MakeA-Wish Ireland Project Manager Mark Wade with the lifesize cheque at Maxol’s ultra modern service station in Templeogue village. Speaking about the money raised, Mark said, “Every cent raised will help us to create more extraordinary moments of happiness and truly wonderful memories that will last a lifetime for the brave children and families we serve. We are so grateful to Maxol for their support.”

Fabulous Fowl from Moy Park

Love Irish Food Brand Development Award

ORLA Dunleavey, from Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, was crowned the winner of the Moy Park sponsored ‘Fabulous Fowl’ category at the recent Easy Food Home-Cook Hero Awards, sponsored by Kenwood.

Orla is pictured receiving her award from Martin King (left) host of the Easy Food Home-Cook Hero Awards 2014, and Paul Burch, Director of Sales, Moy Park (right). Orla’s oriental inspired dish ‘Chinese Kung Pao Chicken’ saw her winning €1,500 worth of prizes, including a weekend break, kitchen appliances, restaurant vouchers, and a hamper of utensils, kitchenware and foodie goodies.

“As Ireland’s number one chicken brand, we were delighted to be involved as sponsors for the ‘Fabulous Fowl’ category for the third year running,” noted Paul Burch.” We were very impressed with the high standard of this year’s entries, which demonstrate first-hand the versatility of chicken as an ingredient for a main meal.” Meanwhile, Moy Park has secured major partnership investments in biomass technology and long term biomass fuel supply to improve sustainable fuel efficiency.

The committed investment will be delivered through renewable energy specialists Land Energy and Cofely and fund manager SDCL backed by the UK Green Investment Bank, which will see 86 biomass boilers being installed at the company’s farm base in England by the end of 2015.

BRODERICK’s Bars and Cakes have been announced as the winner of the Love Irish Food Brand Development Award, which sees the Love Irish Food member receive €70,000 in outdoor and digital Out-of-Home advertising space. The extensive out-of-home campaign will appear nationally for two weeks across Exterion Media’s retail portfolio, PurchasePoints and across their premium digital retail network.

The package also includes print production and digital animation for broadcasting on Exterion Media’s digital network. Love Irish Food and Exterion Media will also mentor the winning brand, Broderick’s, and plan the campaign to ensure it delivers the optimum result and Broderick’s business objectives. Broderick’s is a brand of indulgent handmade cakes and treats, launched in 2010

by Barry and Bernard Broderick. The range includes individually wrapped cake bars for the grab-and-go sector, boxed Mini-Bites for multiples and traybakes for the cafe sector. “We are absolutely delighted to have won, we are very proud of being associated with Love Irish Food and the great work they do showcasing quality Irish food made in Ireland,” noted Barry Broderick, MD, pictured (right), with his brother Bernard.

SsangYong Celebrate 60th Anniversary SSANGYONG Motors Ireland have begun celebrating their 60th anniversary with a series of off-road 4X4 events held in Carton House, which saw the Korando Sports, Rexton W and Korando Commercial put through their paces in muddy terrain, steep hills and treacherous descents. The Korean franchise re-entered the Irish market early last year with a range of passenger and commercial vehicles.

“In many people’s eyes, we’re the new kids on the block. Look a little further though, and you’ll discover a history that goes back to 1954 and one that is steeped in strong off-road capabilities,” said Joe Harris, CEO SsangYong Motors Ireland.

“Many people will be surprised to hear that SsangYong first cut their teeth manufacturing off-road vehicles for the American army.” Pictured are Business Development Manager, John Keogh, and brand ambassador Glenda Gilson, celebrating SssangYong’s 60th anniversry at Carton House.

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

Marketing & Branding

The 15 Drivers for 2015 Are you wasting money on irrelevant marketing? Branding and marketing expert, Kay McCarthy highlights the key 15 drivers for leading marketers in 2015.

AS we prepare for 2015, Kay Mc McCarthy, founder & Managing Director of MCCP - The Planning Agency, explains the 15 trends that are driving marketing and branding, from the advent of ‘mini’ pleasure seeking to connecting with the ‘always-on’ consumer.

what their new mindset and purse will pay for. Examples include the successful launch of Hailo in Dublin, Netflix, Airbnb and Dublin Bikes, pay for what you need when and how you want. Brands need to think like a business and identify where they can earn more revenue by innovating around a new consumer value system to stay relevant.

1. Recovery Mode but Still Cautious Ireland is beginning to recover, as indicators such as GNP are positive, (+ 5% in 2015), unemployment is dropping back to around 11% from 12% last year and consumer confidence is at the highest level since 2005, consumers will feel a lot better. However, the lag between sentiment and spend could take a little while as we’re also seeing house prices and rents rising nationally (up 15%) and by 25% in Dublin. Couple this with the introduction of water taxes and pressures on disposable income will continue. This means that the behaviour of value hunting will continue as the discounters are now an accepted norm for many shoppers, who are moving more of the weekly shop to these brands.

3. Mini Pleasure Seeking As consumers are gradually ‘feeling’ better, we are seeing some short term ‘mini pleasure’ seeking, as consumers want to treat themselves as they tire of being good. They want to enjoy new discoveries that offer sociable and affordable experiences that bring the group together in real time, often enhanced by technology. However, this comes with limits and ‘a little, often’ versus a big binge is expected. There has been strong innovation in the social scene at restaurant and bar level, with the rise of accessible and casual gastro dining, quality beers holding their own, the growth of Craft beers (albeit still niche), spirits and cocktails and pop-up dining.

2. Brands Rewrite the Rules Brands that are truly 21st century are rewriting the rule books and re-purposing themselves, innovating their business model to deliver what the consumer needs and

4. Social Clanning The group has always been important and now with technology, the group can stay together always. Experiences that unify the clan in real time continue to grow: this offers marketers opportunities to move from community to tribe

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Marketing & Branding and to understand the cultural nuances around their tribe.

5. The Global Consumer Even if you are not a global brand, the context in which your consumer operates is global. This means that your brand and communication will not be just referenced against its competitive set but by that of its peers from another market. The current Christmas campaign is a good example of where you will see a John Lewis or Sainsbury’s ad online before you see the Tesco Ireland or Dunnes Stores ad on your own TV. 6. Connecting on a Cultural Level Even though your consumer is operating in a global context, you must connect with them at a cultural level: avoid the pitfall of global blandness, unless it is a universal truth. The most effective brand communication really demonstrates its understanding of the culture of that consumer, even if it is global. Consumers like to be recognised for what makes them unique, and want this celebrated as the world is more global. A recent example is Coca-Cola’s bottle campaign, where each person’s individuality is recognised by way of their name. What can be more individual than that? This is a positive surprise from an iconic global brand such as Coca-Cola. Brands that get this really work well, unless it is a case where you have found a rare and truly universal insight (e.g.

Specsavers, Dove are such recent examples).

7. The ‘Always-On’ Consumer Irish marketers have to manage a challenging recovery but what is more challenging is the rate of change that technology is bringing to their consumers’ world, as we enter the age of the ‘always-on’ consumer. The average Irish consumer now has more gadgets than children and this means a number of important considerations: consumers will wear out quickly if there is not enough engagement and layers to your messaging. They will want to use their multi screens to discover more, share more and if the right content is not there, they will move on and you will lose the opportunity and waste a lot of media investment.

8. Real Time, Not Yesterday To really understand the real time consumer, marketers need to access real time insights about their consumers, as with access to more

the purchase for many categories, including work we completed for Rustlers in the UK. As a result, we were with the consumer in a digital mode along their customer journey, so the insights we gleaned were more accurate and, therefore, more valuable. We also use many more creative techniques involving behavioural economics to ensure our research is more robust and a more accurate predictor of behaviour.

9. From Brand Tell to Brand Storytelling & Doing The old model of brands using parent-to-child communications is well out of date. The always-on consumer wants a brand story that they can engage with. It needs to be based on accurate insights about them and not all about the brand.

They want you to know them, not to just talk about yourself. This goes one step further as consumers want brands to be doing what they value, to have meaning and purpose: Coca-Cola’s bottle campaign, where each beyond what you sell, what is your person’s individuality is recognised by way of their name is “a positive surprise from an iconic higher purpose that mutually benefits you and them? They want action, not global brand such as Coca-Cola”. words. information, by the time the focus group has happened, you are really 10. The Power of Emotion (even if looking in the rear view mirror and communicating a functional benefit) under the lamppost, when you need There is a trend towards positive to be looking ahead, as well as in the emotion after the era of austerity. now. The blend of real time and more Brands that show positive emotion creative techniques needs to be used, and make the consumer feel good and marketers need to avoid wasting do better than those that leave the consumer feeling isolated. Brands that money on some traditional means and use emotion to bring attention to a get closer to real insights and be able strong benefit get greater cut-through: to act on them to continuously improve a good example is Volvo Trucks live their messaging. experiment, as there is no better It is necessary to combine real example of using emotion around a time research techniques with more fairly core and functional product truth traditional ones, such as the focus (steering). group, in order to accurately assess what the consumer is doing versus 11. A Love/Hate Relationship with what they are saying they are doing.

Digital We are living in the era of brands Consumers use technology but it is to ‘doing, not saying’ and so we must make their lives better. They want it also get more accurate information on to be seamless. Increasingly, however, what consumers are doing. We have used software tools to access this at consumers are claiming that technology is taking over their lives and the point of consideration, closer to

Johnnie Walker: Keep Walking – a brand idea that is relevant and able to drive coherence in all its content.

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

Marketing & Branding Heineken’s Sound Atlas which does this but also ticks the global box for the consumer.

Many high-end restaurants and events now want consumers to turn off their devices for some of the experience so that they get more out of it.

Of course, technology will be increasingly important on the other side but when you are using it, make The Heineken Sound Atlas campaign allows consumers to live in sure that it is the moment but also ticks the global box for the consumer. used in a way that reflects their dehumanising the brand experience. behaviours.

A good example is Honda, Studies have shown that they want where the user can really interact and to turn off and live in the moment, to chose different routes and stories as enjoy the experience more. They are seeking out real and live experiences to part of the overall communications feel life more. A great example of this is experience. The viewer presses ‘R’ to

About the Author KAY McCarthy is the founder & Managing Director of MCCP - The Planning Agency.

Kay has more than 22 years’ experience in leading the development of effective consumer-led brand strategies. Experienced in leading both client and agency, Kay also held a senior marketing role at Diageo for over eight years, overseeing the global research programmes. She has held executive board positions globally at Universal McCann, and pioneered engagement research and brand planning techniques in her role as Strategic Planning Director at Universal McCann EMEA, London, and as Deputy Managing Director at McCann Erickson, Dublin.

During her time as Head of Strategic Kay Mc McCarthy, founder & Planning at McCann Erickson, Dublin, Managing Director of MCCP - The her team were awarded best in Global Planning Agency.

Planning by McCann Global. Kay has won two Euro Effie’s for her work on Tourism Ireland International and Xbox (EMEA). She has received several Adfx and AIM awards for her work on Unilever, Sprite and Diet Coke. Kay is a trained facilitator, coach and moderator, and was the chair of the Irish Marketing Society during 2008/09. Kay has an MSc from Trinity College Dublin.

In 2008, Kay set up MCCP - The Planning Agency to bring best in class independent strategy and insight planning to brands. Today, MCCP - The Planning Agency is a real force in the industry as a leading specialist strategy group and has attracted global clients such as Heineken, Smurfit Kappa, Tourism Ireland, Muller, Kepak/Rustlers & Big AL’s UK, Primark, and RaboDirect, amongst others. Kay is regularly asked to speak at key marketing and industry events and conferences, and was invited to speak on the strategy at Cannes Global Festival of Creativity, EuroBest and ASI in 2014.

Kay believes that brands need to reinvent themselves to become rerelevant, using a fresh set of eyes and embracing creativity beyond simply advertising, especially when economy and demand is tight.

find out what kind of person drives a Honda. The story has two sides and the viewer gets to choose which side.

One story follows a dad picking up his children from school, the other a getaway driver.

12. ‘Always-on’ Innovation The days of on and off innovation are gone, as consumers want seamless and pain-free experiences. Brands that use ongoing incremental innovation and to some extent see themselves as in ‘beta’ always do better. Brands need to consider innovation as an ongoing programme to evolve their products to make them more and more relevant.

13. Simplicity Even though it would seem that we live in a complex world, we need to simplify what we communicate. But simplification in a world of more communication means that we need to bring more cut-through ideas to consumers. Brands need one really compelling idea that is a strong enough brand and business generating idea.

A good example of a brand idea that is both relevant and able to drive coherence in all its content is Johnnie Walker: Keep Walking. Global brands seem to get the idea of a brand idea that is delivered consistently over a number of years because the idea is strong and relevant, yet simple enough to carry on working for the brand.

14. The Brand Inside Great brands live out their brand on the outside but also engage their full internal audiences with the brand vision and purpose so that everyone not only understands the brand but also lives it. Embedding the brand into your organisation to engage and create innovation from within is necessary and fruitful as the wider internal team are a valuable touch-point. This means, however, identifying one brand team vision and purpose that excites and engages.

15. Find a Brand Purpose that’s Future Proof As consumers use brands in new and evolving ways, not only do they need brands to offer great authenticity, they want brands to connect with their own values as well. Brands are looking beyond emotional and functional benefits to offer something more enduring and connective such as a brand purpose. Finding a brand purpose means being true to who you are and what you can do for the consumer, beyond the product or service and will create strong value and differentiation for brands of tomorrow.

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

Daybreak Store of the Year

At the Heart of the Community!

Pictured outside the Daybreak Store of the Year in Dungarvan are (l-r): store owner Kevin Forde and David Barrett, Daybreak Business Development Manager.

Kevin Forde’s Daybreak store in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, has been named Daybreak Store of the Year.

FORDE’S Daybreak in Durgavan, Co. Waterford, is the newly crowned Daybreak Store of the Year. Kevin Forde’s store is a testament to the fact that a local shop is far more than just a building, far more than just price point and margin. A local shop is just as much about the people, both staff and customers, as it is about the business, and the bricks and mortar.

Kevin Forde is one of those people it is easy to like.

Bristling with enthusiasm and energy, but always with time for a friendly word, he is a retailer through and through.

He has not always been a retailer, however, taking over the forecourt and shop in in Dungarvan in 2003 after a previous career in manufacturing.

When Kevin took over, the shop was just a few hundred square feet in size. He remained trading as a fully independent store, getting to know his local customers and building a customer base, before joining the Daybreak group in 2006.

“I thought long and hard about which group I would join

with in 2006,” Kevin tells Retail News I looked very closely at Daybreak. The group was growing strongly and at the time I had a relationship with Musgrave in Waterford. I also felt that with the Topaz brand on the forecourt, that Daybreak would be very successful for the associated shop.”

Value For Money While acknowledging that moving from a fully independent store to a symbol group was a big change, Kevin explains that the process proved extremely smooth, thanks to the help of his new partner. “I got excellent advice and support from the Group all through the process, from introducing the new image through to developing a new strategy with Daybreak to help me see a return on my investment,” he says.

The shop has grown considerably from its relatively humble beginnings. It now offers 1,500 square feet of retail space and for a forecourt store, it has a particularly strong grocery offering. Since the first day he took over the shop, Kevin has championed a focus on cost, which has carried through the eight years as a Daybreak store. Even when consumer perceptions sometimes associated convenience stores with higher prices, Forde’s Daybreak was always known for really good value for money.

“I was always very keen to hear the things that my customers appreciated about the shop, or those that they’d like to change,” he explains. “As a result, we never got a reputation as being expensive and when the recession hit, that really stood to the business.”

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Daybreak Store of the Year

State-of-the-Art Deli Alongside the excellent value for money in the price-focused grocery offering, grab-and-go food plays a key part in differentiating Forde’s from the

considerable competition in the area. Forde’s stateof-the-art deli features the freshest ingredients, with the team that Kevin has assembled taking real pride and ownership in their deli and in their jobs.

Indeed, the store owner is not too modest to point out that the shop is widely regarded as having the best deli in town. Building on that reputation, Kevin created the Forde Food brand, which offers readyto-go meals to customers, prepared fresh in the deli.

The shop also has a very strong fresh meat offering, while Forde’s is also very well known in the local community for sponsoring a huge variety of local events, all part of Kevin’s personal commitment to his community.

All the staff in Forde’s share that sense of community and pride in the shop. Each member of staff has a clear understanding of their responsibilities and duties. Kevin is as likely to be found on the shop floor as in the back office and with the help of his staff, has developed a real personality for the shop. Every

Fact File Owner: Kevin Forde Location:

Youghal Road, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

Size:

1,500 square feet

No of staff:

26, full time & part time

Opening Hours: 05:45-22:00, Monday-Friday; 06:15-22:00, Saturday; 07:00-22:00, Sunday

customer knows that when they go to Forde’s Daybreak, they will get a great price, with a minimum of fuss and a friendly, personalised experience.

Team Effort It is a real team effort in Forde’s and Kevin even quips that, “My staff don’t even need a boss to run the place anymore: we all know exactly what to do and how to do it.” These standards of excellence are one of the main reasons why the shop was named Daybreak Store of the Year, the store owner maintains.

“My staff and my partners in Daybreak deserve a huge amount of credit for this shop winning the Daybreak Store of the Year title,” Kevin notes. “David [Barrett, Daybreak Business Development Manager] is excellent to work with and Daybreak gives me continued support. Whenever there are any issues or problems, they are always sorted out quickly. But my staff really are the stars of the show!”

His views are echoed by Daybreak’s David Barrett: “It’s is an absolute privilege to work with a retailer like Kevin. Personally, we get on very well and he is always looking to improve the shop and happy to listen to any advice and suggestions I might have, as well as getting me to help pitch in around the shop, which I am more than happy to do. Kevin is a total team player and we at Daybreak are delighted to be part of that team.”

Forde’s Daybreak is a truly community-focused shop and a worthy winner of the Store of the Year title for 2014. Even discounting the additional sales generated by a full off-licence introduced this year, business is up a little over 10% year on year. That level of growth is ahead of the averages in the sector and is proof of what an award-winning team and a customerfocused attitude can achieve in these relatively early stages of economic recovery.

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

IGBF Christmas Lunch

Festive Fun at IGBF Lunch THE Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund Christmas Lunch 2014, which took place on Friday, December 5, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin, saw upwards of 1,200 retailers, wholesalers and suppliers enjoying what is one of the social highlights of the year for the FMCG trade.

There was a special presentation to retiring Chairman Joe Keane for his many years of service to

the IGBF. Joe will be succeeded as Chairman by Donal O’Shea, while the incoming President of Appeals for 2015 is Noel Keeley, MD, Musgrave Wholesale Partners, who takes over from BWG Foods’ MD, Willie O’Byrne.

Congratulations to Aisling Cotter, Personnel Manager at Tesco Ireland, who won the grand prize of a fantastic cruise in the raffle, courtesy

of Celebrity Cruises.

The lunch was, as ever, a roaring success and special thanks must be made to the range of sponsors, who included ABP, PRM Group, BWG Wines & Spirits, Heineken, Celebrity Cruises, Glanbia Consumer Foods, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Britvic Ireland, Little Miracles, Largo Foods and Stafford Lynch.

All photos by Clodagh Kilcoyne.

Former IGBF President of Appeals, Leonard Hegarty, G&M Industrial Cleaning, pictured with Seamus Hogan, Johnson & Johnson, and Sean Lovett.

President of Appeals Willie O’Byrne, MD, BWG Foods, with Charlie Walshe and Tim Nolan, IGBF.

Retiring IGBF Chairman Joe Keane, pictured with Tom Shields, IGBF, and Leo Crawford, BWG Group CEO.

Claire Kearns, Heineken Brand Manager, and Elizabeth Sheehan, Marketing Director at Lucozade Ribena Suntory.

Cormac Healy from Ibec with Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia.

John Kelly, Off Trade Director, Heineken Ireland, Joe Manning, Category Director, Tesco Ireland, and Stephen Donoghue, Tesco Ireland.

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IGBF Christmas Lunch

Darragh Horkan, Horkan’s SuperValu, with Mona Cleary, Danielle Nolan and Danny Horkan.

BWG Foods Marketing & Communications Director, Suzanne Weldon, pictured with MD and IGBF President of Appeals, Willie O’Byrne.

Paul Murray, National Account Manager, and Orla Clarke, Category & Account Assistant, Danone.

Pictured are Nicola Hanley, Johnson & Johnson, with Colin Dowling, National Account Manager, and AnneClaire Monde, Marketing Manager, John West Foods.

Seamus Keyes, National Account Manager, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, and Michelle Treacy, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard.

Colin Kenny, Key Account Manager, and Neil Finlayson, Channel Manager, Retail, both from Diageo Ireland.

Treasa Flynn, Trade Marketing Manager, and Nicola Maguire, Trade Communications Manager, PJ Carroll.

From Procter & Gamble, Jenny Fagan, Customer Business Development Manager, and Eileen Murphy.

Neil Farragher, Business Account Manager, Mondelez, and Jim Reeves, Customer Director of Unilever Food Solutions Ireland.

Charles Riviere, JTI Ireland, pictured with Ian Hornshaw.

Laura O’Toole, Senior Brand Manager, and Maria Mealiffe, Brand Manager, both from RB Ireland.

David Bridgette, Operations Manager, and Seamus Griffin, MD, Griffin Group.

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

National Lottery

Roll-out of New Lottery Terminals Commences 3,700 new National Lottery terminals are being rolled out to retailers nationwide.

THE awarding of the license for the National Lottery to Premier Lotteries Ireland represents the next step of what has been an incredible journey for the National Lottery.

PLI’s major investment in new technology involves the roll-out of over 3,700 new terminals. In addition to the new terminals, the National Lottery will also be investing in developing the brand, as well as its overall operations, its people, alongside new games, services and new experiences for players.

Their immediate investment in state-of-the-art technology will facilitate game innovation. The National Lottery’s new Photon Terminals will offer additional functionality, which will enable them to roll out bespoke offers around specific National Lottery draws. Touchscreen

operation means that the terminals will be easier to use and complements ongoing work to increase National Lottery’s in-store visual presence through LED screens and increased branding.

Retailer Workshops Retailers are enthusiastic about the introduction of the new terminals and are looking forward to the type of further investment and innovation that will help to increase sales and drive footfall. The National Lottery have been working very closely with retailers for some time now to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible.

They recently completed training workshops with retailers in 18 locations nationwide on the operation of the new terminals. Workshops included: • An introduction to Premier

The National Lottery’s Play Now campaign is proving extremely successful.

Lotteries Ireland and an overview of the Transition Programme pre and post change-over; • High level audio visual demonstrations of the new Photon Terminal; • Comprehensive user training on the new Photon Terminal using standalone training units; • A Q&A session on administration and financials; • Provision of a Transition Pack to all agents, detailing all of the key information covered in the workshops.

A number of other measures have also been undertaken to assist agents with the transition: • PLI’s Field Sales Team has visited every National Lottery Retail Agent in the country and has completed a comprehensive store audit to assess

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National Lottery the transition readiness of each store; • The audit revealed a requirement for some stores to remove or relocate equipment to enable the installation of the two terminals at the same time and this has been facilitated by Gtech; • Audits also examined commuications systems to ensure the correct communications solutions have been chosen for each agent. Each store will operate either on the multi-operator 3G mobile platform or on a fixed line DSL service; • The National Lottery project team, in association with Fujitsu, who have been contracted to install the new terminals, have drawn up detailed plans to ensure minimal disruption during installation of terminals, including 14-day advanced notice of installation dates and reminder calls.

Dermot Griffin, CEO of Premier Lotteries Ireland.

Agent Commission/Bonuses • Retailer commission will continue at 6% of sales.

• Retailers can, at their discretion, pay out prizes to the value of up to €2,500.

• Agents will receive a 1% bonus on

prize payments for draw games and on prizes from €75 up on Scratch Card games.

Cancellations • The new technology will facilitate ticket cancellations (excluding Millionaire Raffle & TellyBingo) within two hours of printing the ticket.

Smooth Transition PLI brings a wealth of international experience and ambition to the lottery business and will help develop and grow the National Lottery and its games in line with the latest international innovation and best practice.

PLI’s involvement also brings with it new opportunities for increased contributions to good causes over the short, medium and long term, as they develop the business and grow revenue.

This will also benefit the National Lottery’s long term retail partners, with new games and larger prizes resulting in increased footfall.

“We hope that the transition to the new system will have minimal impact on retailers and will appear largely seamless to our players,” noted National Lottery CEO, Dermot Griffin.

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

Retail Ireland: Monthly Update RETAILERS SET FOR BEST CHRISTMAS TRADING SINCE 2009 ON December 1, Retail Ireland published its Christmas Retail Monitor 2014, with all key indicators pointing to the busiest and best performing Christmas trading period for Irish retailers in five years.

The data, prepared in cooperation with Ibec’s expert team of analysts, tracks key economic trends to give an insight into how they are likely to impact the key Christmas trading period for the retail sector. Crucially, the monitor shows that more money is likely to be spent in Irish shops over December (€3,960m, up from €3,880m in 2013), representing an annual rise of over 2%. On average, Irish households will spend an extra €650 to €750 in shops this month, compared to other months of the year.

•

•

•

Key Indicators

Key indicators set out in our Christmas Retail Monitor include: • Thousands of more people in employment means more disposable income and enhanced positivity amongst shoppers; • Excluding the effects of buoyant new car sales, general retail sales in the first nine months of this year are up 1.5% in value terms on the same period in 2013. Although modest, this increase is to be welcomed as one of the first signs of a recovery in the retail economy, where turnover

•

has fallen by almost 25% from peak levels in 2007; Rising employment means that more people have more money to spend.

Retail Ireland’s most recent forecasts indicate that there are some 35,000 extra people at work in Ireland since last Christmas: that’s almost 96,000 more than in Christmas 2012; Disposable income is growing again, having suffered a significant drop since 2008. Disposable incomes rose by 3.3% in 2013 and Retail Ireland expects them to grow by a further 3% in 2014; Consumer sentiment has recovered strongly and is now at its highest levels since 2007. The annualised average of the ESRI/KBC consumer sentiment index is now 30% higher than it was in 2013, 70% higher than it was between 2008 and 2009 and 10% higher than 2007. The forwardlooking expectations index is 40% up on the same period last year (the year to October) with the result that consumers are now far more optimistic coming into Christmas.

Competition remains intense in the Irish retail marketplace and this is helping to keep prices down for consumers. At present, goods inflation is at minus 2% annually as shops

Disposable income on the rise 4

•

Disposable income households, % yoy

3

•

2 1 0

•

-1 -2 -3

2011

2012

2013

2014e

Disposable income

Disposable incomes rose by 3.3% in 2013 and Retail Ireland expects it to grow by a further 3% in 2014.

battle for footfall. Goods prices this December are on course to be at their lowest level since December 2002.

Downward price pressures will continue into the postChristmas sales period, helping to further stimulate spending.

Commenting on the publication of the monitor, Retail Ireland’s new Director Thomas Burke, said: “The Irish retail sector has weathered a number of very difficult years, but there is now clear cause for cautious optimism. December is always the most important trading period of the year and key indicators are pointing in the right direction. More people are at work, disposable income is rising and the Irish consumer is more positive about the future. This should translate into a really strong Christmas period for the sector.

This is good news, not just for our sector but for the wider economy; it means more jobs and more tax revenue.”

Legacy Issues

In 2013, disposable income

All this positively and increasedvigour by 3.3%, the first renewed comes against a backdrop of legacy annual rise since 2008. problems, which continue Forpose this year we expect to a challenge to Irish retail’s recovery. household incomeMany to retail operators still pay continue to grow by around unsustainably high rents and 3%. Ireland continues to urge Retail the Government to support The improving labour Senator Feargal Quinn’s market willlegislation have positive proposed on upward only rent reviews, which has effects on householdsʼ been backed by the Seanad. disposable income as more Retailers also continue to people gocommercial back to work. pay high rates to local authorities, at a time when the quality of services is diminishing. Also, much more needs to be done to make our

traditional high streets and city centres more desirable locations to live, visit and shop, including a greater Garda presence.

Retail Ireland’s positive predictions for Christmas came just days after the CSO’s release of the official retail sales index for October 2014, which indicated the eleventh consecutive monthly year-on-year rise in both the value and volume of Irish retail sales, led once again by a very impressive performance in stores selling furniture, lighting and items for the home, with total value up by 20.8% and volumes increasing by 27.8% compared with the same month last year. Meanwhile, nonfood specialised outlets such as toy shops, sports shops and jewellers, saw a similarly welcome rise of 9.8% in value and 16.7% in volume terms, with department stores also seeing growth of 2.8% and 7.4% in values and volume respectively.

To access a copy of Retail Ireland’s Christmas Retail Monitor 2014, visit www.retailireland.ie and follow the link on our homepage.

Tel: 01-6051558 www.retailireland.ie

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

Retail Group Review

Super Year for SuperValu SuperValu enjoyed a tremendous 2014, as the leading Irish food retailer grew its market share through network expansion and attracting new customers.

SUPERVALU had a remarkable year in 2014, growing its market share to 24.5%, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel Ireland. One in four Irish consumers shopped in the country’s 223 SuperValu stores during 2014, with SuperValu handling 2.6m transactions a week.

SuperValu recorded retail sales of €2.1 billion in 2013, a 1% increase on the previous year’s figures, and its 2014 results should prove equally impressive. SuperValu’s performance and growth in market share is attributed to the grocery retailer’s unique business model where stores are owned by entrepreneurs in the local community, that offer outstanding fresh food, local and Irish produce wherever possible and market leading customer service.

February 13, 2014, saw all 24 Superquinn stores being renamed as SuperValu, creating an unrivalled Irish retail brand. SuperValu also implemented a €20m in-store investment programme, which saw the former Superquinn network upgraded with a new focus on service, range, quality and value, in addition to the €10m invested during 2013.

Further to this, SuperValu continued their expansion strategy in 2014 with a €7m investment in new stores. The Rushe Retail Group formally joined the SuperValu network, which saw three new stores open in Killiney, Dalkey and Naas. A further €12m was invested in the expansion and refurbishment of 45 stores this year. May saw SuperValu named as the most reputable Irish brand in the annual Ireland RepTrak 2014 study, announced by The Reputations Agency, which measured the reputations of 100 organisations in Ireland between January and February 2014, based on more than 4,000 consumer ratings from members of the general public.

Putting The Customer First “SuperValu’s success can be attributed to putting the customer first, investing in quality and staying true to our roots in communities across Ireland,” noted Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu. “Customers are voting with their feet as evidenced by the latest

SuperValu MD, Martin Kelleher unveils the SuperValu logo as all 23 Superquinn stores rebranded as SuperValu in February 2014.

Kantar research which shows that we have enjoyed a sales increase of 0.8% over the past 12 weeks, driven by new shoppers.”

SuperValu has delivered value to consumers by investing in price reductions and the development of its Own Brand range, which has continued to win a plethora of awards, including the Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards (IQFDA), the Great Taste Awards and Blas Na hEireann Awards.

Supporting Irish Suppliers SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible, and purchases almost €2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers, which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the economy. Indeed, more than 300 jobs are being created in food business start-ups as a result of the Food Academy Start programme, a collaborative initiative between SuperValu, Bord Bia and Local Enterprise Offices. Martin Kelleher, SuperValu Managing Director, explained, “SuperValu is able to give Food Academy participating companies the unique opportunity of starting their food-retail journey. This initiative will see more than 200 small food busineses

work with their local SuperValu retailers, resulting in sales worth €10m in the next year and leading to the creation of 300 jobs.”

Brand Development and Sponsorship 2014 saw SuperValu’s continued sponsorship support. SuperValu are committed to supporting local causes, which is demonstrated by the 23-year partnership with TidyTowns. 2014 marks SuperValu’s fifth year as proud sponsors of the GAA Football All Ireland Championship.

Last month saw the group launching SuperValu Travel Insurance, and the retailer is currently in discussions with a number of other companies with a view to launching more insurance products into the market in 2015.

“With one in four shoppers now shopping in a SuperValu outlet, we are determined to build on the quality and value proposition that shoppers have come to expect from us and our retail partners,” concluded Martin Kelleher. “Looking forward to 2015 we will continue to focus on offering a unique combination of fantastic quality, excellent customer service and an innovative shopping experience.”

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

Retail Group Review

Centra Soars Skywards Centra has continued to outperform the market in 2014, meeting the needs of shoppers nationwide.

In June, Centra officially unveiled its new gourmet sandwich range, All Day Fresh, hosting Ireland’s first Picnic in the Sky, elevating diners 100 feet above Dublin.

Martin Kelleher, Centra Managing Director, addresses delegates at the Centra National Retailer Conference.

CENTRA continues to be Ireland’s number one convenience brand, with over 465 stores nationwide, serving more than three million customers every week. In a flat Irish grocery market, Centra recorded retail sales of €1.48 billion in 2013, a 3.5% increase on the previous year’s performance, and the brand has continued to outperform the market in 2014.

The Centra Own Brand range continues to drive growth, in addition to new store openings and refurbishments. 2014 saw 80 new products added to the Own Brand range, joining the 900 products already in this extensive portfolio.

Throughout 2014, Centra continued to lead the market by delivering real value to consumers, ensuring the brand remained top-of-mind, thanks to headline grabbing offers and driving the Centra Own Brand range.

Centra continued its support for communities across Ireland through its on-going partnership with the GAA, including the fifth year of Centra’s sponsorship of the GAA Hurling All Ireland Championship, and support for charitable causes such as the Irish Cancer Society’s Action Breast Cancer programme.

2014 saw Centra clinch a number of high profile awards such as four Social Media Awards, including the Sockies Grand Prix award. June of this year saw Kate Walsh, store manager of Herlihy’s Centra in Fermoy, Cork winning the 2014 NACS Insight International Store Manager of the Year Award, beating off stiff competition from store managers from the very best convenience stores across the globe.

Community Impact Centra spent €241.1m in local communities around its store network in 2013. Centra’s ‘Community Impact Study’ shows this spend averages €4.5m per week through a combination of payments to local suppliers, acquisition of local business services, wages, charitable donations and local sponsorships. The study reveals that Centra stores sourced €59m worth of products, from over 1,400 local suppliers, and contributes €2.5m in donations or sponsorship commitments to over 5,500 local charities, community groups, schools and sports clubs. As well as supporting local suppliers, Centra stores also spent a substantial €12.6m with a vast amount of

businesses in communities where its stores are located in 2013.

“For the last 35 years, support of communities has and will continue to be, at the very heart of what makes Centra a successful business. We have ambitious growth plans and if performance continues as we expect, €1 billion will have been invested back into communities between 2013 and 2016,” stated Centra MD, Martin Kelleher.

Range Development Centra took the country by storm when they introduced ‘The Cronado’ to their bakery selection, based on the New York baking sensation the Original Crousti Donut (also known as The Cronut®). The summer of 2014 saw Centra unveil its new gourmet sandwich and pizza range by hosting Ireland’s first Picnic in the Sky and elevated diners 100 feet above Dublin.

Centra took this fresh approach to a traditional picnic to showcase its new All Day Fresh range, which was sampled by special guests right throughout the afternoon. The All Day Fresh range is projected to reach €14m in sales in the first year alone, with further expansion plans in place for the range in 2015.

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

Retail Group Review

BWG’s Big Year

BWG Foods had a brilliant 2014, including a brand new ownership structure.

BWG Foods is a leading wholesale and retail company. It operates the SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE, XL and Xpress Stop brands in the Republic of Ireland, with over 900 stores across the country.

The wholesale division of BWG Foods also includes BWG Foodservice and a nationwide network of 22 Value Centre cash and carry branches.

As owners and operators of these leading retail brands, BWG Foods provides retailers with many benefits from a marketing, training and operational point of view, as well as access to years of retail experience.

Importantly, support is tailored to meet the ethos of each brand and the needs of the individual retailer.

BWG Foods provides dedicated multi-dimensional marketing and advertising campaigns for each individual brand, spanning national, local and social media, and supported by public relations. Regular promotional activity is run across each brand to drive consumer spend and footfall, supported by strong in-store displays and point of sale material.

BWG Foods provides bespoke staff training programmes for retailers, covering a range of topics, including Food Safety, Fresh Food Advice, Category Management and Store Standards.

BWG Foods operates an award winning National Distribution Centre

(NDC) located in Kilcarbery Business Park, Dublin 22. This 240,000 square feet state-of-the-art facility opened in 2012 and caters for BWG Foods’ entire ambient and alcohol distribution.

BWG Foods has relationships with more than 500 suppliers, dealing directly with approximately 14,000 customers in the retail, foodservice and licensed sectors. Through its branded retail estate, BWG Foods and its retailers provide employment to over

20,000 people and serve in excess of one million customers every single day.

In 2014, BWG Group announced SPAR South Africa’s investment in the business, which continues to be led

by Group CEO, Leo Crawford and the existing management team.

SPAR SPAR is one of the country’s largest convenience retail groups, bringing consumers the most innovative in-

SPAR retailers have unique access to some of the best practice in retail from around the world.

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Retail Group Review

SPAR consumers have come to expect a high level of consistency in terms of product, price and service, no matter what store they visit.

store offering and shopping experience for over 50 years. The group operate SPAR stores for convenience and neighbourhood shopping and SPAR Express for forecourt shopping.

While convenience is the foundation on which the SPAR brand is built, the offering is constantly changing to meet the changing needs of consumers.

Today, SPAR is more focused on price and value than ever before, and while the offer is always evolving, it is SPAR’s firm belief that they are not in the food business serving people but in the people business serving food, which means superior customer service is the key to success.

Being part of SPAR international, SPAR retailers have unique access to some of the best practice in retail from around the world.

SPAR continues to invest in the SPAR own brand range and in 2014 unveiled a new addition to this range, SPAR Select. The SPAR Select range is a premium range of own brand products that combine quality, local Irish and international produce, a delicious range of premium food, with one thought in mind, ‘for the love of food.’

SPAR has a number of exclusive offerings, including Tasty Deli and coffee partnerships with Insomnia and Tim Hortons, to drive sales and differentiation for SPAR retailers and the brand.

SPAR continues to invest in promoting the SPAR brand through a number of high profile sponsorships,

CONTACT INFORMATION: SPAR Head Office address: BWG Foods, BWG House, Greenhills Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

Tel. (01) 4090300.

SPAR Contacts:

Malachy Hanberry, Sales and Retail Advisory Services Director, 086 6055621, mhanberry@bwg.ie; Colin Donnelly, National Sales Manager 086 3803924, cdonnelly@bwg.ie; Peter Dwan, Regional Manager (Leinster) 086 0436113, pdwan@bwg.ie; Barry Doyle, Regional Manager (Munster) 086 0230892, barrydoyle@bwg.ie; Eric Shally, Regional Manager (Connaught & Ulster), 086 8122157, eshally@bwg.ie.

including a SPAR shop in RTE’s Fair City and sponsorship of celebrity cook Donal Skehan’s ‘Kitchen Hero’ series on RTE. SPAR continues to support athletics with the SPAR Great Ireland Run and a series of international athletics events.

Above all else, SPAR aims to recruit retailers who share their vision for the SPAR brand and who will collaborate with the group to achieve this vision.

SPAR consumers have come to expect a high level of consistency in terms of product, price and service, no matter what store they visit. In terms of new stores openings, 2014 has been a record year for SPAR. EUROSPAR The EUROSPAR Brand has been operating in Ireland since 1997. BWG Foods works in partnership with

independent local retailers, serving local communities around Ireland and supporting local jobs, suppliers, producers and community groups.

EUROSPAR has been awarded many local and international awards for innovation and best practice in retailing and has international scale through SPAR International, with stores in over 36 countries worldwide.

EUROSPAR stores are easy to get around - they are designed to be open, bright, modern and easy to shop in and easy to save money. EUROSPAR promotes ‘SuperEasy Savings’ as a way for customers to save every time they shop with EUROSPAR; easy to get rewards - with the ‘SuperEasy Rewards’ programme, which also provides a vehicle for targeted communication with local customers; and easy to find help: customer service is one of the pillars of EUROSPAR’s success.

The EUROSPAR retailer is supported in such a way that they can become the supermarket of choice in their locality. National and regional advertising campaigns drive awareness and demand to enable the retailer to compete with other supermarkets in their area, as well as marketing programmes which are adapted to the needs of the local store.

EUROSPAR retailers have access to exclusive product offers that can set them apart from competitors: everyday low pricing, strong promotions, along with exclusive departments. The ‘S Budget’ discount range means they can

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

Retail Group Review

The EUROSPAR retailer is supported in such a way that they can become the supermarket of choice in their locality.

compete with the local discounter and an ever-expanding own brand range gives a quality value alternative for today’s shopper. The latest addition to the own brand range is SPAR Select, which is a range of premium products sourced from local Irish and international suppliers.

EUROSPAR retailers have very strong ties to their local communities and pride themselves on engaging with local community projects. They work with nominated charities in their areas to raise much needed funds through collection boxes, donations made from the sale of a range of SPAR own brand products and local fundraising activities.

Retailers in the EUROSPAR group have a strong voice through the National EUROSPAR Council of

Founded in 1960, MACE is Ireland’s longest established neighbourhood and forecourt convenience shopping brand. With 240 MACE stores around Ireland, MACE retailers have a strong presence on garage forecourts, to serve the needs of people on the move, while neighbourhood stores have the everyday essentials with great ‘Value Deals’ to make it easier on consumers’ pockets. The MACE brand continues to have a strong pipeline of new stores joining the group in both formats.

MACE has been a part of the Irish community for over 50 years, so understanding customers remains central to the business. MACE is a convenience retailer that promotes a proposition of ‘Going the extra smile’, based on the fact that consumer

research found MACE is the standout retailer when it comes to valuing its customers. MACE believes in going the extra smile by: making sure the right range of products are stocked to meet local shoppers needs; store layout is designed and planned to make shopping enjoyable and easy; and customers are greeted with a friendly ‘hello’, a smile and a ‘thank you’.

In 2014, MACE named the Irish Hospice Foundation as their charity partner. Through this partnership, MACE retailers and customers will raise money for this very deserving charity. Donations will be made to the charity through the sale of a selected range of MACE own brand products, from collection boxes in stores and through locally organised fundraising

CONTACT INFORMATION: EUROSPAR Malachy Hanberry, Sales and Retail

Retailers in driving direction of Advisory Services the Director, the brand development and in daily 086 6055621, mhanberry@bwg.ie; operational activities.

EUROSPAR Sean Lavin, Head of The EUROSPAR, retailer is customer focused, financially 086 2541230, slavin@bwg.ie; Dirkand Harding, Operations Advisor astute wantsRetail to work with BWG (Leinster North), 086 8598525, Foods to develop the brand at a dharding@bwg.ie; national and local level. They see Des Smyth, Retailan Operations the benefit of being independent Advisor (Leinster South), 086 3805488, supermarket owner in their local dsmyth@bwg.ie; community, whilst having the backing Ciaran Quinn, Retail Operations Advisor of marketing, retail operations and (Connaught/Ulster), 086 3835900, storecquinn@bwg.ie; development expertise of BWG Foods.

David Tarrant, Retail Operations Advisor (Munster), 086 0267051,

dtarrant@bwg.ie.

MACE

Founded in 1960, MACE is Ireland’s longest established neighbourhood and forecourt convenience shopping brand.

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Retail Group Review

MACE is a convenience retailer that promotes a proposition of ‘Going the extra smile’.

activities.

MACE retailers have many exclusive offerings that set them apart from their competitors, including: strong promotions; exclusive Fair-Trade coffee offerings in partnership with Bewley’s and Perk; strong deli offers; an extensive MACE own brand range, including exclusive wine and spirits products.

As a partnership, the MACE team at BWG Foods supports MACE retailers in many ways, from helping improve store standards through the MACE Excellence programme to online training and marketing toolkits. From a people point of view, the MACE team are very accessible and pride themselves on being there to listen to and help retailers.

The MACE Retail Council is an important structure that helps guide the direction of the brand’s development and members of the Council are there to work with retailers so that their views are voiced in a structured and proactive way.

XL CONTACT INFORMATION: MACE Alex Banahan, MACE Sales Director, 086 207 3776, abanahan@bwg.ie; John Tully, Regional Manager (Northern Region) 086 8189312, jtully@bwg.ie; Liam Attridge, Regional Manager (Southern Region), 086 8521362 lattridge@bwg.ie.

Established by BWG Foods in 1997, XL was set up by the wholesale division in response to a demand for a local retail concept that offered support whilst allowing retailers to retain their independence and community identity. XL is now one of the fastest growing symbol groups in Ireland. With the support of 22 Value Centre branches nationwide, XL is a progressive neighbourhood store format, providing all the daily staples you would expect from a local store.

XL offers retailers the opportunity to retain their independence and local identity, while benefitting from the many advantages of symbol group membership.

The group offers a top quality and flexible package, enabling retailers to tailor their shop to consumer needs and react quickly to changing market conditions to help grow their business.

Being part of the XL group is a true business partnership. The XL team are committed to maintaining the highest standards in stores via the XL Store of the Year programme, with 28 accolades presented across different award categories.

The XL tag line ‘A great deal more at your local store’, is what the brand is all about; by delivering value to consumers and remaining an essential part of the local community.

A commitment to continued investment at store level, through enhanced technology

XL is a progressive neighbourhood store format, providing all the daily staples you would expect from a local store.

solutions, category management tools and promotional support, and in the XL network at supply level, through the continued upgrade of the nationwide Value Centre network, is helping the XL brand go from strength to strength.

Value Centre Value Centre is Ireland’s largest network of wholesale Cash & Carry’s, with 22 branches nationwide, serving in excess of 22,000 customers, offering both a walk-in and delivered service.

In 2014, BWG Foods launched an online ordering platform, e-Order for Value Centre customers. The new platform streamlines the ordering process for customers, offering greater control of stock, while giving customers access to the entire range available to them through their local

Value Centre Cash & Carry. e-Order is accessible via personal computer, laptop and tablet; the pioneering online ordering site can be used as a primary order tool or in conjunction with the existing telesales option, offering customers additional support features aimed at improving their margins and increasing efficiency.

The Value Centre brand celebrates a major milestone in 2015 as it turns 50.

CONTACT INFORMATION: XL & XPRESS STOP Colm Fitzsimons, Business Development Manager, 086 8079051, cfitzsimons@bwg.ie.

The Value Centre Cash & Carry brand turns 50 in 2015.

34|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Retail Group Review

Londis Celebrates 60 Years of Success ADM Londis celebrated its 60th birthday in 2014, a significant milestone for the Group.

Londis has been focused on a campaign to rejuvenate its store estate and this will continue into 2015, as the Group works with its retailers to advise and support them on revamps and rebranding.

2014 has been a very special year for ADM Londis plc, as it marked the Group’s sixtieth year of trading and as we see some positivity returning to the economy, Londis retailers, like others, are hoping that in 2015 they will see this translating into increased consumer spending.

Owned by Retailers for Retailers Founded in 1954 by the late Val McCarthy, the Group consisted of 100 like-minded retailers who came together not only to secure better trading terms from suppliers but also to enhance their businesses through collaboration and co-operation. Today, this sense of community and cooperative ethos remains at the forefront of how the Group does business. This is an operating model that has proven to be very successful, given two successive retailer surveys in 2013 and 2014 which highlighted an almost unheard of 98% satisfaction rating amongst Londis retailers.

Many of the Group’s successful

initiatives, from Centralised Chill to iSIS, have come about as a result of retailer input – forward thinking concepts that have helped improve cost efficiencies and grow retail sales.

“We’ve always enjoyed a very flat structure” says Stephen O’Riordan, Chief Executive, ADM Londis plc. “Our retailers have access to all levels of the organisation; there isn’t a hierarchy.

When it comes to decision making, the structure is an essential piece of the jigsaw; many initiatives that are put forward by retailers quickly become part of day-to-day operations.”

Innovative & Pioneering What’s abundantly clear about the Londis model is that retailer input is integral to their business and the improvements and advantages the Group has made in recent years have come about through collective endeavour. Its multi award-winning Centralised Chill facility has been a runaway success since implementation and continues to go from strength to strength, with leading FMCG suppliers

eager to participate and work with the Group in bringing their brands to Londis stores across the country.

Technology too is an area where ADM Londis excels. The Group has a long history of innovation when it comes to supply chain efficiency. iSIS, the Group’s intuitive online ordering system, goes way beyond a simple webordering solution, making it as easy as possible for each individual Londis retailer to buy product according to their specific needs. Londis retailers know exactly what their best sellers are, what products were sold yesterday, last week, last month and last year, and can also identify what the best sellers are in peer stores so that they are not at risk of missing an opportunity.

This end-to-end integration with the retailer’s ePOS system ensures that the products a store has in stock are the correct ones and are in demand from their customers.

All this investment empowers retailers to make the right decisions when it comes to stock control and product offering. But even more than

Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie|35

Retail Group Review

Londis continues to build its store network with a number of new store openings and strategic supply partnerships in 2014. Pictured are (left) the state-of-the-art deli offering in Londis Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan, and (right), Hanratty’s Londis, Belturbet.

that, it gives time back to the retailer to spend on the shop floor, enabling them to deliver what matters most; the best shopping experience for local customers.

Local Like You Marking 60 years in business this year, the Group gave three Irish charities 60,000 reasons to smile with the launch of ‘€60,000 for 60 years’, a novel initiative which gave local customers the chance to share €60,000 between the Irish Hospice Foundation, Pieta House and Temple Street Children’s Hospital, charities which were chosen

by Londis retailers.

This initiative followed the launch of the brand’s award-winning ‘Local Like You’ advertising campaign, which has as its aim to show just how much Londis retailers care about the local communities which they serve.

All in all, it’s been quite a successful birthday year for the Group!

Forward Momentum ADM Londis has enjoyed significant momentum behind its store recruitment throughout 2014, with a number of new Londis stores opening in recent months and more in the pipeline due to open by the end of the year.

The Group has also welcomed a number of leading independent retailers who have appointed Londis as their key strategic supply partner, testament not only to the excellent value passed back to member retailers, but also to the integrated supply chain and IT infrastructure from which these businesses derive significant efficiencies.

“It gives me great pleasure to warmly welcome new retailers and their teams to the ADM Londis group,” notes Stephen O’Riordan. “I am delighted by the trust these retailers have placed in ADM Londis and our Group Support Office team and we are committed to demonstrating that this

AFTER 60 YEARS OF RETAIL INNOVATION, OUR RETAILERS ARE STILL DELIGHTED. NOW WE’RE AFTER THAT 2%.

rvey al Retailer Su Londis Annu 2014 - 2015 faction Member Satis

98%

Londis enjoys an overwhelmingly positive satisfaction rating from its retailers, achieving a 98% satisfaction rating for the second year in a row.

trust is well placed. Our focus now is to work closely with each of the teams in these stores, supporting them as they serve their local communities and to ensure that they trade optimally over the years to come. In our sixtieth year, it is very rewarding to see the momentum behind the Londis Group as we continue to build our store network.”

The Road Ahead Whilst other retail sectors may be showing some signs of improvement, grocery retail remains extremely challenging. Consumer behaviour has fundamentally changed over the past number of years and Londis expects that even with other sectors showing signs of improvement, the way people now purchase groceries has changed fundamentally. The drive for value,

intense competition and offer-fixated consumers means that Londis expects 2015 to be as competitive as recent years. That said, the Group feels that given its unique ownership structure and the fact that it is not managed for private interests, its retailers receive some of the best support in symbol group retailing.

“We have a commitment to our retailers on the issue of promotional margins; no retailer will be asked to sell a product at a loss,” says Stephen O’Riordan. “The Group structure ensures that retailers make a solid margin, regardless of the price of a product. Everything we do is about making sure the retailer margin is passed on.”

In addition, Londis’ 2013 link up with Stonehouse has served to bolster even further their efforts to deliver margin support to their retailers.

Looking forward, Stephen O’Riordan appreciates the tasks facing local independent retailers but he is buoyant about how they will continue to thrive.

“It’s hard not to admire the sheer hard work, tenacity and resourcefulness that our retailers bring to the shop floor every day in order to compete with wellresourced multiples and discounters,” he says. “But they compete and succeed every day, which just goes to show that well run, independently owned retailers who know their customers and continue to serve them well will always have an edge locally. Communities want to support their local business people, as these people give so much more back to their local communities.

“We expect 2015 to be competitive, but Londis retailers are very well prepared to compete successfully,” he concludes.” Our role in Londis Group Support Office is to invest in initiatives which will both lower their cost burden, whilst growing ePOS sales and alongside the determination, drive and resolve of our retailers, together we will succeed in the future as we have in the past.”

36|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Retail Group Review

Barry Group Forges Ahead Jim Barry, Managing Director of Barry Group, evaluates the performance of the Group in 2014, which has “raised the bar to a new level”.

Jim Barry, Barry Group Managing Director, with his daughter Holly, presents the Costcutter Supermarket of the Year Award to Michael, Olive, Susan and George Doherty, from Costcutter Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, at the Costcutter Store of the Year Awards, held at The Heritage Hotel, in Killenard, County Laois.

year. We believe we have raised the bar to a new level.

Jim Barry, MD, Barry Group.

“AT Barry Group, we place the customer at the core of everything we do,” explains Jim Barry, Barry Group MD. “We constantly revaluate everything within the company to ensure we are offering our customers every available resource they need to compete in the marketplace. Our positive team environment assists us in going the extra mile for our customers.”

The Barry Group MD spoke to Retail News about their exceptional performance in 2014 and anbitious plans for the

coming year.

How have you performed as a group over the course of 2014?

We’ve been very satisfied with our performance over the course of 2014. Last year saw a root and branch review of our operations at every level of the business and this enabled us to go into the year fully equipped to offer every available resource a retailer could need. The measures we put in place immediately bore fruit and we really saw the benefits of that in the past

What have been the major developments this year?

We launched our Chilled Distribution Solution in late 2013 and that in essence completed our full package. By offering a best in class Chilled Distribution Solution, we can now offer a retailer the full package at a very high standard.

This year has seen us

refine everything we do operationally to continue the momentum generated by reaction to the Chilled Distribution Solution.

We’ve also focused a lot on our own brand promotions across all of our franchises and this really generated a lot of reaction.

From a marketing point of view, we refined every facet of our message and used all avenues such as TV and social media to better

A Brief History of Barry Group JIM Barry is the Managing Director of Barry Group, one of the leading wholesale groups in Ireland. The company was founded in 1955 by Jim’s father, James A. Barry. Since that point, the company has grown and developed at a rapid pace. Today it operates from a state-of-the-art headquarters in Mallow where over 230 people are employed.

Under Jim’s leadership and vision, Barry Group has grown from a once local business to a leading wholesale distribution company, trading both nationally and internationally and supplying over 1,000 customers. Barry Group supplies 265 franchises under the Costcutter, Carry Out Off Licence and Quik Pick symbols, as well as a large number of independent retailers and wholesalers based in Ireland.

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

Retail Group Review sell ourselves as a company and the benefits of that were evident almost immediately.

How many new stores have you opened in the last year and how many do you expect to open in 2015?

Across our three franchises, we’ve had a very strong year and for 2015, we will land a minimum of 15 Costcutters, 20 Carry Outs and eight Quik Picks. We can say these numbers with a measure of certainty and that is indicative of the performance of the company.

How do you expect your group to perform over the course of 2015?

We are very positive about our position heading into 2015. The New Year is our 60th in business and we fully expect to mark this milestone with a very strong year performance wise. We have a number of new initiatives and exciting projects in the pipeline and we fully expect them to continue the growth and performance we enjoyed in 2014.

Are we finally seeing a turnaround in retail fortunes?

I believe we are entering the next cycle in retail, which is good, considering

www.barrygroup.ie

Barry Group operates from a state-of-the-art headquarters in Mallow.

how tough it has been for the last five to six years. But we have noticed in the last six months that there is a good level of pick-up; with quite a number of new customers joining us and existing customers investing in their stores.

I think there is a willingness now to get stuck in, dig in deep and come out fighting hard. It is still a very tough trading environment but I think there is a general acceptance that we are entering a new fresh cycle after a very hard period.

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Retail Group Review

Daybreak: Ireland’s Fastest Growing Convenience Group With 25 stores joining the group in 2014, Daybreak is Ireland’s fastest growing symbol group.

Daybreak now has 220 stores nationwide.

DAYBREAK is Ireland’s fastest growing symbol group and this year an additional 25 new stores joined the Daybreak brand. Currently numbering 220 stores nationwide, including 15 rebranded stores, the Daybreak brand is well positioned for future growth.

Retailers have made the smart move in switching to Daybreak, where they can avail of enhanced sales and margin through the Musgrave Group buying power, strong promotional offers and a competitive development cost and marketing fee. With a strong sales performance in 2014, Daybreak experienced a healthy 5% growth and 1.3% in like-for-like growth in 2014.

Hero Categories The Daybreak brand is committed to ensure that the right range is available when the consumer wants it, with a particular focus on key categories.

Another area of focus for Daybreak is

developing ‘hero categories’ to drive consumer footfall. To support this, Daybreak has launched new in-store concepts, including fresh in-store bakery, hot and cold deli, perfect blend coffee and a new range of wines.

The new in-store bakery includes classic favourites such as French breads and Danish pastries, and also includes a unique and carefully selected range of artisan and traditional loafs and scones.

The hot and cold deli in-store offering has been rejuvenated to include new Hot Burrito wraps, Hot Sub rolls, handheld snacks and a range of ‘Our Favourite’ sandwiches.

The new Daybreak fresh bean to cup coffee concept, ‘Perfect Blend’ is now a 100% Arabica espresso bean, which has been carefully roasted to coax the flavours from every bean to create a smooth, full bodied coffee every time.

The new Daybreak fresh bean to cup coffee concept, ‘Perfect Blend’ has proved hugely popular with consumers.

The new products are supplied directly from Musgrave Wholesale Partners and are complemented with new in-store branding and packaging elements to help drive sales in these hero categories.

Daybreak stores are independently owned by local retailers who

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Retail Group Review

The multi-award winning Daybreak store on Clonliffe Road in Drumcondra, Dublin 9.

understand and respond to the every-day needs of their communities.

History Daybreak is part of the Musgrave Group.

Established in 1876, Musgrave is Ireland’s largest grocery and food distributor, serving over 5,000 shops across Ireland.

The Daybreak brand was launched in late 2005 with the aim of catering for independent retailers who want to remain independent.

Over the past number of years, Daybreak has perfectly balanced retailer flexibility and support, providing the benefits of a structured symbol group

With a strong sales performance in 2014, Daybreak experienced a healthy 5% growth and 1.3% in like-for-like growth in 2014.

with the freedom to localise stores for local market and shopper needs. The concept of Daybreak emerged following much research and referencing the vast experience Musgrave had with the convenience store sector.

Daybreak has provided existing and new retailers with the full support they would expect from a contemporary brand, including uniformed image, retail advice, central billing, central warehousing, development support, category management, exclusive promotional activity and marketing campaigns. This allows independent retailers to experience the rewards that come from having a clearly defined brand identity, brand pillars and definitive hero categories in-store.

Daybreak retailers enjoy the benefit of extensive marketing and promotional support, including the monthly distribution of 1,000 promotional leaflets in order to increase consumer awareness and drive footfall, as well as a vibrant brand image, food to go solutions that enhance profitability and an experienced and responsive retail support team.

In 2014, Musgrave also introduced a full chilled distribution offering. This allows retailers to receive their chilled dairy wall, frozen retail, hot and cold deli, bakery and all top selling lines directly from MWP.

Daybreak’s hot and cold deli in-store offering has been rejuvenated.

Daybreak Store of the Year 2014 Daybreak Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, was named Daybreak Store of the Year. The store, which is owned and managed by Kevin Forde, scooped the top accolade at Daybreak’s annual Store of the Year awards at Killashee House Hotel recently, beating off stiff competition from over 220 other Daybreak stores nationwide.

The Daybreak Store of the Year awards recognise retail excellence across Daybreak outlets nationwide. A total of 15 retailers were shortlisted for the overall award, which focuses on four key areas: Products & Services, Environment, Communications and People & Behaviours. Throughout the competition, a series of audits are conducted and stores are assessed against this criteria. Daybreak Dungarvan was awarded the top prize thanks to their impressive customer service and outstanding product offering.

As well as the coveted overall Store of the Year accolade, there were seven other awards presented, focusing on key in-store categories. These were: • Forecourt Store of the Year: Daybreak Ballina, Co. Mayo; • Convenience Store of the Year: Daybreak Clonliffe

Rd, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 • Best Hot Beverage To Go: Daybreak Clonliffe Rd, Drumcondra, Dublin 9; • Best Wine: Daybreak Raven Terrace, Galway; • Best Food To Go: Daybreak Broomfield, Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan; • Best Customer Service: Daybreak Ballymahon, Co. Longford; • Best Confectionery: Daybreak Camolin, Co. Wexford.

Overall Store of the Year winner Kevin Forde, Daybreak Dungarvan, said, “We are delighted to have been named Daybreak Store of the Year for 2014. This award is testament to all the hard work that our team in Dungarvan put in to ensure that customers receive a first class service. I would also like to thank our loyal customers who continue to support us throughout the years.”

Paul Kerrigan, MarketPlace Director, Musgrave Wholesale Partner said: “These awards recognise excellence across our retail network nationwide and I would like to congratulate all winners.

At Daybreak, we are passionate about providing a first class and convenient customer experience and our winners embody what our brand is all about.”

40|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Retail Group Review

Gala Performance!

2014 saw Gala Retail Services celebrating its 15th birthday in Ireland, as well as successfully launching its Chilled Distribution solution to all stores nationwide. borne out by the highest number of Gold Award winners this year of its B.E.S.T (Business Excellence Standards Tool) Awards. Designed to acknowledge and applaud excellence in retail standards and customer service, the Awards recognise the ongoing commitment to excellence that is at the heart of all Gala stores. The awards acknowledge Gold, Silver and Bronze standard winners, in addition to category awards for specialisms in retailing.

Gary Desmond, Gala CEO, and Jonathan Irwin, Jack & Jill Foundation, are pictured with Jack and Jill at the launch of the ‘Gala Up the Hill for Jack & Jill’.

GALA is one of Ireland’s premium convenience retailers, employing over 3,000 people in its retail and wholesale operations in Ireland. Operating on the principle of ‘Partnership Through Independence’, Gala enables independent retailers to compete and trade successfully, whilst partnering them with a network of 16 wholesale distribution outlets across Ireland.

A 100% Irish owned operation, it prides itself on being in touch with its retailers and customers through a heavy on the ground presence.

With over 235 stores affiliated to the Gala group across symbol brands, including Gala, Gala Express and Checkout stores, Gala’s Head Office works with retailers on a continual basis to optimise elements such as value propositions, store design, their Chilled Distribution solution, customer service and information technology for the success of each store.

Gala stores have access to buying power in excess of €800m through

the group’s association with the Stonehouse buying group. This buying power ensures that Gala stores can offer quality products at value prices, a combination that is crucial in today’s competitive convenience sector. Gala is known for its great one-to-one service. It also places great importance on developing relationships with local wholesalers and is committed to delivering high standards of customer service, whilst supporting the communities that it serves. This has been and will continue to be core to its strategic development.

24 Gala Group stores will have opened by the end of 2014. Whilst a small number of Gala stores did close during 2014, the Group achieved its objectives and was on par with expectations, despite the continuing challenges within the retail environment.

The Gala Group have a robust group of dynamic retailers who are all committed to excellence in retailing,

Gala’s Brand Goals Gala is a young, enthusiastic and vibrant convenience retail brand that prides itself on its professionalism and the quality of all its retailers. With its tagline of ‘The National brand with local focus’ the Group is actively working towards achieving its ultimate brand goal of being recognised by Irish consumers as their local convenience store; a store that is determined to support Irish producers, while at the same time offering its loyal customers fantastic value.

Ensuring Retailer Success Retailer support has always been at the core of what Gala Retail Services offers, playing a critical role within the business proposition, along with innovative fresh food initiatives, enhanced promotional offerings, partnerships with suppliers and category management and investing in new technologies to improve both the Gala retailer and customer experience.

Chilled Distribution In 2014, the group successfully launched its Chilled Distribution solution to all stores nationwide. The solution offers all retailers greater access and availability across a wide range of products and allows them to

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Retail Group Review

Gala CEO, Gary Desmond is pictured with Irish soccer legend Niall Quinn at the Gala Retail Conference.

be even more competitive in terms of price and more efficient in terms of the ordering process. The system will also reduce administration work for busy retailers and will allow for increased margins and better stock control management. The bespoke online ordering system, which has seen all Gala retailers equipped with iPads, was developed to be very easy for retailers to use. An extensive consultation process ensured the end product was what retailers wanted.

Supporting Its Retailer Network & Rewarding Its Customers As the Gala brand name is associated with the very essence of the community, every corporate level decision made reinforces and supports this focus. Gala prides itself on the community support that it provides to each of its retailers, as well as their community-based initiatives. This includes all forms of fundraising, community support and online digital promotion.

Gala’s Marketing Strategy Gala believes that innovation is key to

the success of all of its stores, which is why it continues to explore new and inventive ways to enhance the customer’s experience. Its marketing strategy embraces the latest digital and social media platforms, together with above-the-line activity, sponsorship and trade relations. 2014 saw Gala nominated as a finalist for the Social Media Awards in May and then later on in November as a finalist in the ECR Digital awards for its work on developing its Facebook page. To date, Gala have 92,000 likes on their Facebook page, an impressive figure achieved in little over two years.

Gala undertook a number of initiatives in 2014, which included: - To celebrate Gala’s 15th Anniversary, it undertook as part of The Gathering in 2013 to bring back 15 lucky people from around the world. 2014 saw the last three winners arrive back home, much to the delight of their loved ones.

This initiative connected really well with local communities, and the local Gala store was central to the celebration when they arrived home.

- February saw Gala sponsor the Gala Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown as part of Hennessy Gold Cup day. The day featured four Grade 1 events, which is the only racing day in Ireland or England to feature that number.

Guitar Pete took the Gala Hurdle event, and went on from there to score at the Aintree Grand National meeting.

- An ongoing association with Disney surrounding the launches of Muppets Most Wanted, Planes 2: Fire & Rescue, Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast, enabled

Gala CEO Gary Desmond is pictured presenting the winner’s trophy to the connections of Guitar Pete, winner of the Gala Spring Juvenile Hurdle.

Gala to host preview screenings of the blockbuster animations for Gala customers around the country.

- A key pillar of the marketing plan in 2014 was the sponsorship of local radio station programmes throughout the year. In all, there were 16 local radio stations covered, among them LMFM, C103, Midwest & Shannonside. Again, the local element of this sponsorship matched Gala’s core message of ‘The national brand with local focus’.

- With the Jack and Jill Children’s Charity being Gala’s nominated charity, 2014 saw its biggest push yet in raising much needed funds and awareness for the charity.

To that end, Gala Sponsored the ‘Gala Up the Hill for Jack & Jill’ initiative which ran over the course of September. The hill climbed for the campaign was up to each individual/group and could be a literal mountain or a metaphorical hill, such as a hill of ironing. Participants were invited to register by giving a donation of €16. To date, over €100,000 has been raised for Jack & Jill from this initiative, which is a fantastic result.

Group Expansion & Partnering With Gala The group is setting ambitious growth goals for 2015, after the successful roll-out of its Chilled Distribution solution. Gala will also continue to invest in building the Gala brand, as well as consumer awareness of its offering. This continued commitment strengthens Gala’s relationship with its stores as it looks to expand into a wider geographical area and build its customer base.

Gala works with each and every retailer to make them the best at what they do. Partnership is essential and helps retailers deliver a professional and competent retail operation that increases customer satisfaction and drives sales growth. Gala prides itself on its ability to bring out the best in retail and, importantly, it listens to the needs and wants of its retailers, who retain their independence on all levels, something that is key to continued success.

Gala continues to look for progressive retailers who want to grow with Gala. If individuality, provision of exemplary service and simply being the BEST in retailing are important to you, find out more by contacting Gala on 045 910066.

42|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Retail Group Review

A Busy Year for Tesco Ireland Tesco Ireland opened five new stores in 2014, bringing total numbers employed to almost 15,000 across its 148 stores and 22 forecourts.

Minster for Agriculture Simon Coveney TD is pictured with Fresh Food Commercial Director of Tesco Ireland, Malachy O’Connor, in the Tesco Tent at the National Ploughing Championships.

2014 saw Tesco invest in five new stores with the new Park Pointe, Dundalk Extra, Ballincollig Extra, Aungier Street Express and a revamped Edenderry store. These store openings bring the total number of new jobs created by Tesco Ireland this year to 250, with the retailer directly employing nearly 15,000 people across its network of 148 stores and 22 filling stations in Ireland.

Tesco also further expanded its grocery home shopping service, reaching 86% population coverage and increasing Click and Collect to eight locations, with plans to add to these locations over the coming months.

Tesco continues to focus on giving the best value possible to its customers.

In addition to its price promise, Tesco launched ‘Staying Down’ in April, whereby the retailer commits to maintaining prices on hundreds of popular products for as long as possible, but at a minimum of three months. Tesco also continues to accept competitor spend-and-save coupons.

Healthier Choices at Tesco In May, Tesco announced plans to remove sweets and chocolates from

all checkouts by the end of the year.

Tesco is the only retailer in Ireland to make this commitment and this announcement is part of a wider ongoing effort from Tesco to help customers make healthier choices.

Further underpinning Tesco’s commitment to engaging with grassroots communities, the Tesco Community Fund was launched in July, a new initiative that will see Tesco donate €1m to local good causes in the communities around each store over the coming year.

During the same month, Tesco launched an innovative partnership with foodcloud, a not for profit organisation that connects businesses with surplus food to community groups and charities through the use of an innovative app. Since launching the partnership, Tesco has donated over 300,000 meals to over 200 local charities throughout Ireland and the partnership recently won the Environmental Innovation award at the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Chamber Envirocom Awards.

Ploughing Ahead Tesco is committed to building relationships with local suppliers and works with 11,000 Irish farm families

Tesco Ireland removed sweets and chocolates from all checkouts in May. Con McCrory (aged 10) is pictured enjoying a juicy apple with: Christine Heffernan, Corporate Affairs Director, Tesco Ireland, and Health Expert Dr Eva Orsmond at the checkout in Tesco Merrion Centre, Dublin.

and over 400 Irish suppliers. 2014 marks the third year of the Tesco Bord Bia Supplier Development Programme, which has to date assisted 33 Irish suppliers with tailored support and guidance to help them secure, grow and maintain listings with Tesco stores.

In September, Tesco returned

Broadcaster Kathryn Thomas is pictured at the launch of Tesco Community Fund, which will see Tesco donate €1m annually to local good causes

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Retail Group Review

Jason Popplewell, Commercial Director of Lily O’Brien’s and Malachy O’Connor, Fresh Food Commercial Director of Tesco Ireland, pictured at the announcement at the National Ploughing Championships that Lily O’Brien’s chocolates will be stocked extensively in Tesco UK stores.

Tesco partnered with foodcloud to become the first retailer to commit to donating all its surplus food to local charities across Ireland. Christine Heffernan, Corporate Affairs Director, Tesco Ireland is pictured (centre) with Aoibheann O’ Brien and Iseult Ward, founders of social enterprise, foodcloud. Since launching the partnership in May, Tesco has donated over 300,000 meals to over 200 local charities throughout Ireland.

to the 2014 National Ploughing Championships, joined by over 50 Irish suppliers, showcasing high quality local products available at Tesco. At the event, Tesco announced a lucrative export deal for Kildare based chocolatier Lily O’Brien’s that will see Lily O’Brien’s products listed in Tesco stores throughout the UK, highlighting the export opportunities realised through the Tesco Bord Bia Supplier Development Programme.

Following on from the National Ploughing Championships, growers welcomed moves by Tesco to trial the sale of ‘Wonky Veg’. Every year, millions of kilos of fresh vegetables are thrown away or used as animal feed if they are classified as an irregular shape or size. Tesco is the first retailer in Ireland to trial a ‘Wonky Veg’ offering, with carrots and mushrooms that will be sold in specially marked ‘Wonky Veg’ packs, giving shoppers the

Tesco became the first retailer in Ireland to trial a ‘Wonky Veg’ offering with carrots and mushrooms that will be sold in specially marked ‘Wonky Veg’ packs: model Roz Purcell is pictured with some of Tesco’s Wonky Veg.

opportunity to choose which vegetables they would like to purchase.

Charity of the Year After a successful two year partnership with Aware, Tesco announced Temple Street Children’s University Hospital as its new Charity of the Year partner in October. To kick-start fundraising for the partnership, Tesco stores throughout Ireland hosted ‘Ireland’s Largest Face Painting Day’, which raised over €60,000 in just four hours.

All funds raised during the partnership will be used specifically to help the children’s hospital to purchase lifesaving medical equipment for patients.

Tesco started its Charity of the Year programme in 2001 and to date has raised over €13m for charities in Ireland, including the Irish Cancer Society, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Down Syndrome Society, Childline, Irish Hospice, MS Ireland, Temple Street Children’s Hospital and Make A Wish Foundation.

Your Kind of Christmas As the end of the year approaches, Tesco recently launched ‘Your Kind of Christmas’, a campaign celebrating the traditions and idiosyncrasies that make each Irish household’s Christmas special. The campaign was launched with the introduction of a turkey and ham pre-order service in-store.

This service, coupled with ongoing every-day value prices, demonstrates a real commitment to delivering a competitively priced shopping basket for customers both online and at Tesco’s 148 stores throughout Ireland.

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Retail Group Review

Aldi’s Irish Success Story Continues Aldi’s Irish success story continued in 2014, with the retailer once again being the standout performer in the Irish grocery market.

Aldi’s Irish suppliers celebrate at the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards: Brian Seery from Seery’s Bakery, Carlow, Peter Rodgers from Neil’s Flowermill, Belfast, Pat O’Connor and Hyat Syed from Kohinoor Ltd, Dublin.

BY offering leading quality products at consistently low prices, Aldi achieved double digit sales growth month after month in 2014, as more and more Irish families voted with their feet and made Aldi their supermarket of choice. Aldi grew its share of the Irish grocery market to 8.4% during the year (Source: Kantar Worldpanel, 12 weeks to November 9, 2014).

It was a another landmark year for Aldi’s

store opening programme, which saw the retailer open eight new stores across the country, including new stores at Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan; Dungarvan, Co. Waterford; Ballybofey, Co. Donegal; Glanmire, Co. Cork; Greystones, Co. Wicklow; Macroom, Co. Cork; Wexford Town, and The Elysian Building in Co. Cork, which opened on December 11 and is Aldi’s 113th Irish store. Aldi’s store in Carrickmacross was

Aldi’s exhibition at the 2014 National Ploughing Championships.

28 by Aldi, the group’s pop-up restaurant at Taste of Dublin.

its first in Co. Monaghan, meaning Aldi now has a presence in each of the 26 counties.

In May 2014, Aldi announced it was seeking to recruit 450 new employees. This recruitment drive is under way, with opportunities across the organisation for Area Manager, Store Manager, Assistant Store Manager and Store Assistant roles.

Award Winning Irish Products Aldi’s Irish suppliers and Irish sourced products once again performed exceptionally well at the leading national and international food awards.

Aldi’s suppliers won 10 Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, nine Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards and 36 Great Taste Awards.

Aldi has won more product awards in the last five years across these leading award programmes than any other

retailer in Ireland.

Aldi’s innovative marketing produced numerous highlights throughout the year. The retailer received widespread plaudits for its ‘28 by Aldi’ pop-up restaurant at the 2014 Taste of Dublin, while its exhibition at the National Ploughing Championships stole the show, being visited by over 220,000 people during the three-day festival. Aldi also launched a successful new advertising campaign, ‘Meet the Makers’, which highlights Aldi’s strong Irish sourcing credentials, longstanding partnerships with Irish producers and the roots Aldi has established in many of Ireland’s local communities.

Aldi plans to build further on its success in 2015, adding new stores to its existing network, creating additional jobs and bringing great value to more and more Irish consumers.

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Retail Group Review

Topaz Moving Forward With two new service stations set to open in January 2015, the future looks bright for Topaz.

He went on to describe how “these new sites will provide services to approximately 50,000 motorists using the two motorways each day. They will also raise the bar in terms of the services available to customers and will include a shop, barista coffee, hot food to go, a cafe, wi-fi internet access, EV charger, toilets, car wash, parking and truck fuelling, as well as a quick serve restaurant.”

Pictured at the Clonshaugh site in North Dublin are (l-r): Paul Candon, Marketing and Corporate Services Director at Topaz, Deirdre Bruton, Topaz staff member, and Retail Network Development Manager, Jonathan Diver.

TOPAZ announced recently that it will create 110 new jobs between two major new service stations opening in North Dublin and Co. Laois in January 2015.

The two stations are being developed at a cost of €10m. In addition to the full time jobs being created, an additional 200 people are employed on the development of the sites, which will include service stations, restaurants and shops.

One of the stations is located at Junction 3, adjacent to where the M50 meets the M1 at Clonshaugh in North County Dublin, while the other is at Junction 3 on the Dublin Cork [M8] motorway near Ballacolla in County Laois.

Paul Candon, Marketing and Corporate Services Director at Topaz, said the new sites heralded a period of significant investment by the company and further job creation: “Topaz is in job creation and expansion mode and we are constantly looking at sites with good potential – particularly near motorways. Our award winning sites at Dublin Airport and Cashel have been extremely successful and we expect

these new sites to be likewise. We are actively looking for new sites and locations across the country.”

Roz Purcell is pictured launching the Topaz Home Heat campaign.

Topaz Home Heat Campaign Topaz Home Heat recently launched a new campaign to remind people to order their home heating fuel before the onset of cold weather, coinciding with a warning from weather experts that Ireland could be set for an Arctic freeze within weeks.

Topaz Commercial Director, Liam Mulcahy said the fact such cold weather was on the way underlined the need for customers to get their oil delivered in a timely fashion. “Ordering oil has never been easier and on our revamped website, you can order it in four simple clicks and we guarantee delivery within 48 hours,” he said. “To mark the launch of the new site and online ordering facility, we are giving away 500 litres of fuel every week for the next 26 weeks and double Play or Park loyalty points to customers who order online. So that’s another reason to get onto www.topaz.ie straightaway.”

Mulcahy also urged customers to consider using Topaz Thermal, a home heating fuel specially developed by Topaz which lowers carbon and sludge build-up, reduces CO2 emissions and is kinder to the environment.

Topaz is the largest service station and convenience retailer in the country.

It is a fully Irish owned and managed company. It has 330 sites throughout the country, 120 of them company owned. Topaz is one of Ireland’s largest privately owned companies with annual turnover of €3 billion and one million transactions every month. It employs 1,600 people.

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

Retail Group Review

Lidl Leads the Charge

Lidl Ireland enjoyed a hugely successful 2014, with eight new store openings, new product ranges and a host of awards.

2014 has been a year where Lidl have really focused on their brand and how they communicate to customers.

In the past year, Lidl have opened eight new outlets, including their first city centre store on Belfast’s High Street. Their modernisation programme continues at pace, which is a large investment for the company.

On the purchasing side, new products like the “Heat, Eat and Enjoy” convenience range continues to add to Lidl’s everyday assortment.

They have enjoyed continued success at industry food awards like the Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards and the Blas na hEireann awards.

New Departure A new departure for the brand this year was the

Christmas Markets in Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Belfast, which offered shoppers the chance to sample some of Lidl’s festive food offerings. Lidl also had a ‘Secret Garden’ pop-up restaurant in May in Meeting House Square in Temple Bar that received rave reviews from the public before it was unveiled as a Lidl owned and run restaurant.

Lidl also teamed up with RTE for a TV show called ‘The Taste of Success’, where members of the public and local producers compete to get their food product on the shelves of Lidl Ireland’s supermarkets.

A Lidl History Lidl was founded as a wholesaler in Germany in the 1930s. The company bought the rights to the Lidl name from a retired teacher,

Lidl’s Secret Garden pop-up restaurant in Meeting House Square in Dublin’s Temple Bar received rave reviews.

Ludwig Lidl. The first Lidl store was opened near Ludwigshafen, Germany, in 1973. The 1980s saw the Lidl discount concept grow nationally in Germany and then internationally in the 1990s. Today, Lidl is a privately owned recognised

leader in European retail, with more than 10,000 stores in 26 countries. More than 120 Regional Distribution Centres operate these stores. In Ireland, Lidl has four Regional Distribution Centres and over 4,000 employees.

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

Seafood

BIM Announce Young Fishmonger 2015 Gerry Collier celebrates being named BIM Young Fishmonger 2015 with Donal Buckley, BIM’s Business Development & Innovation Director (left) and Martin Shanahan (right), celebrity chef and owner of Fishy Fishy.

Gerry Collier of Fisherman’s Catch in Clogherhead, Co. Louth, is the BIM Young Fishmonger 2015.

BORD Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Seafood Development Agency, have announced Gerry Collier of Fisherman’s Catch, Clogherhead, Co. Louth, as the overall winner of the BIM Young Fishmonger 2015 competition.

Gerry was selected as the winner from a shortlist of five finalists, all of whom demonstrated an exceptional high standard in technical expertise, product knowledge and customer service.

“I’m absolutely delighted to win,” revealed an emotional Gerry. “I gave it absolutely everything. I was shaking when they called out my name, but I’m so proud.”

The fishmonger believes winning the award will make a “massive difference” to his business. “The whole house was full of ‘Good Luck’ cards,” he grins. “Going back to Clogherhead, knowing that I’ve won and I can tell my customers that I am the BIM Young Fishmonger of the Year is amazing. The whole town was behind me, so the award will take pride of place in the shop and I think it will really help to build up my customer base.”

“I’m very proud to have been involved in the competition.

It’s a long process and you always want to win, but the overall prize went to a good man,” smiles finalist Stevie Connolly, Connolly’s Seafood, Rathmines, Dublin 6.

Real Innovation This is the second year of the BIM Young Fishmonger Awards, developed to recognise and reward young fishmongers, with a view to encouraging new entrants into

the business and to ultimately raise the bar across the sector.

“These are the future leaders of the sector,” explains Donal Buckley, BIM’s Business Development & Innovation Director. “This competition enables these young fishmongers to raise their profile and the profile of seafood in general.

New people coming into the sector bring new ideas and help to develop consumers’ palates for seafood.”

To this end, convenience is key and the five finalists are at the forefront of this trend, creating superb, tasty and, importantly, simple dishes for consumers to take home with them and cook easily at home.

“When I started out in this business, we coined the phrase ‘no skin, no bone, no fear’,” revealed guest speaker Martin Shanahan, owner of Fishy Fishy Café & Restaurant, author and TV broadcaster. “People want convenience and they want to be able to eat a piece of fish with confidence that, in particular, there is no bone.”

This is something that is very close to the heart of another of the finalists, Gary Quinn, from Stephen’s Fish Market, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. A trained chef, Gary spent time in the kitchens of Dromoland Castle and Dublin’s legendary Shelbourne Hotel.

“I’m very lucky to have that background,” he admits.

“One of the reasons why we are so successful in Mullingar at the moment is because our customers trust me and they know I am giving them good guidance on which fish to choose and how to cook it. The big advantage fishmongers

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Seafood they will come back again and again,” reveals overall winner Gerry Collier. “When I get a new customer who comes back and says ‘what you sold me last week was beautiful’, it gives me a great feeling.

The customer is happy, but I’m even happier. I know most of my customers by name, and that is something supermarkets can never do.

“My customers ask me what I recommend, which is a great because it means they’re putting their trust in me. One of the hardest things for me is coming up with a new recipe every week,” he grins.

Developing The Business As overall winner of the competition, Gerry wins a study trip to France, a cheque The five finalists (l-r): Gerry Collier, Mateusz Kowalik, Gary Quinn, Stevie Connolly and Neil Turner. for €1,000 and along with the other finalists, he benefits have is that our customers trust us. are looking for ready to eat meals as from a free placement on BIM’s retail They appreciate the fact that what well, so we produce a whole range of development workshops and a set of they’re getting is extremely fresh and fish dishes that they can just throw in professional knives. they are reassured that they know how the oven for 20 minutes and are ready Last year’s winner, James Kirwan to cook it. That is why customers come to eat.” of East Coast Seafood, Naas, Co. back to us again and again.”

Stevie Connolly, Connolly’s Seafood, Kildare, revealed that the award “Almost every customer wants notes how the tradition of eating fish “really helped me develop my business advice on how to cook seafood,” agrees once a week on a Friday is changing in terms of new innovative product fellow finalist Mateusz Kowalik, as more consumers embrace seafood. ranges. The prize fund from the Doran’s on the Pier, Howth, Co. Dublin. “Some people are still afraid of fish, competition allowed me to install “I am always trying to explain to so you have to ease them in gently,” a new kitchen production unit in them that cooking fish is very simple: he admits. “But we try to encourage the shop and as a result we are just throw it on the pan with a little those people by giving them something producing an extensive range of value butter or if it’s salmon, put it in the simple to do and hopefully they’ll come added products in-store, including oven for 20 minutes. When we did the back.”

Mediterranean fish soup, salmon masterclass with Martin [Shanahan], Connolly’s are in the process of burgers, smoked mackerel paté, fish he showed us that it’s just as easy to introducing a seafood deli counter pies and fish cakes, as well as crusts, cook mussels – throw them on the pan into their Rathmines store, with two sauces and toppings.” with a few spices. I had never cooked metres of ready-to-eat products. “We The awards are timely, given the mussels before and I was amazed by have a full kitchen and we have the encouraging performance of the seafood how simple it is. I’ve already been space and the staff to do it,” Stevie market in the last 12 months and in passing that information on to my enthuses. “It will hopefully give us an particular fresh fish sales. According edge over some of the other shops and customers.” to BIM commissioned research by supermarkets in the area.”

Kantar Worldpanel, fresh fish sales are A Growing Market valued at €122m and have increased All five finalists agree that the Irish Incredible Support by 1.4% year on year. Of these fresh consumer is embracing seafood more The five finalists are keen to highlight fish sales, loose fish sales were valued often and in greater varieties than in the importance of BIM to seafood at €41m and have grown by 7.9% years gone by. retailers across the country. Hailing year-on-year. The future, it seems, is “We get a lot of younger customers, the incredible support he receives, Gary bright for seafood and our hardworking a lot of people in their 20s. There are finds invaluable the fact that “BIM fishmongers. even a few 12-year-old chefs who come keep us in the loop of what’s going on in “Irish per capita consumption into the shop who know more about terms of trends”. of seafood is still behind our seafood than a lot of older customers,” Stevie feels that the success of TV European neighbours so we see great laughs Neil Turner, Caviston’s Food shows like Martin’s Mad About Fish, opportunities for growth,” concludes Emporium, Glasthule, Co. Dublin. supported by BIM, has really helped Donal Buckley. “There are great fish “People are realising the nutritional the growth of seafood: “We sell bigger shops all over the country, with new benefits of seafood, particularly quantities and more varieties of fish retail outlets opening all the time, shellfish: you get more micro-nutrients because of programmes like these.” which makes high quality seafood more accessible and demonstrates the clear and more iron from 10 clams than you The best marketing plan, however, market demand.” would in a sirloin steak.” is simply about getting consumers to For more information on Gerry “Consumers are looking for different try quality Irish seafood for themselves. and the other four finalists, see types of fish and are constantly trying “If you look after your customer and www.bim.ie. new dishes,” Mateusz adds. “But they give them a product that is top quality,

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

SuperValu Food Academy

Small Suppliers Score with SuperValu 200 small food producers will secure retail listings worth €10m with SuperValu through the Food Academy programme in 2015. and furthering Ireland’s credentials as a food leader, both nationally and internationally.”

Graduates of the SuperValu Food Academy are pictured with Martin Kelleher, SuperValu MD (right).

TWO hundred small food producers will secure retail listings worth €10m with SuperValu, through the Food Academy programme in 2015. Food Academy is a joint initiative between Bord Bia, the Local Enterprise Office Network and SuperValu to support small food companies in Ireland.

Of the total Food Academy programme participants, 30 high-performing small food companies will graduate to Food Academy Advance, the next stage of the programme.

Food Academy Advance provides these companies with access to expertise in branding, market research, business development and distribution, to allow them to scale up and secure national listings with SuperValu. This combination of both commercial and marketing insight assists in supporting producers through the challenging initial phases of business growth and strengthens their chances of future success.

“Food Harvest 2020 has identified the long term potential of the Irish agri-food industry to support ‘smart, green growth’,” said Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD at the recent Food Academy Conference in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. “Ireland’s artisan food producers are making a valued contribution to this growth. Structured support from Bord Bia and Local Enterprise Offices, in partnership with SuperValu, will ensure that high potential food entrepreneurs can scale their businesses in a sustainable manner, creating jobs

Research Results The results of a research study conducted with Food Academy participants were also launched at the conference.

The main findings included: • Almost 85% of Food Academy participants expect to employ new staff over the next 12 months, with almost a quarter expecting to take on more than three new staff during this period; • Almost half of Food Academy participants expect sales to increase by 50% or more over the next 12 months; • Approximately 70% of small food producers expect to launch new products during the next 12 months; • 98% of participants found the Food Academy programme beneficial to their business development; • Gaining access to finance is the number one priority for Food Academy participants; • Almost 80% of companies participating on the programme plan to develop their brand through social media.

Unique Opportunity By virtue of its community retailer model, whereby stores are independently owned by local entrepreneurs, SuperValu is able to give Food Academy participating companies the unique opportunity of starting their journey on a small scale. Participants are able to secure listings with individual stores, helping them grow to a point where they are on a commercial footing to supply a network of stores.

Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu, commented: “At SuperValu, we are committed to supporting local suppliers and building vibrant communities around Ireland. We are delighted to be able to work hand in hand with budding artisan food producers, providing them with the opportunity to trial their products in local SuperValu stores initially and then grow their partnership with us as they scale their business and supply more SuperValu stores, creating local jobs in the process. As SuperValu stores are independently owned and operated, our retailers are perfectly placed to support suppliers in scaling their business

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SuperValu Food Academy at a sustainable pace. At the same time, it allows our retailers to provide customers with a tailored local offer, stocking products which you cannot buy in other supermarkets.”

Supporting Local Entrepreneurs Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive of Bord Bia, added “Bord Bia’s role in this partnership has been to design solutions for entrepreneurs to allow them to thrive in an environment that looks to support local.

The Irish consumer is a discerning one and has in recent years grown to seek out and support local products and companies.

The Food Academy model uniquely facilitates the promotion of these entrepreneurs to consumers in every county in Ireland, whilst equipping these young food companies to be consumer focused from the

outset and to grow at a sustainable pace.”

Also speaking at the event, Vincent Reynolds, Chairperson of the Local Enterprise Office, said: “Food Academy provides a cohesive, structured support system for local food producers, to help them grow their businesses sustainably. It is an example of Government agencies and the private sector working together to create the right environment for food entrepreneurship in Pictured at the Food Academy Conference at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham Ireland. The Local are (l-r): Aidan Cotter, CEO, Bord Bia; Martin Kelleher, MD, SuperValu; Enterprise Network, supplier Rachel Nolan, Nobó; and Vincent Reynolds, Chairperson of the Local with on-the-ground Enterprise Office Network. expertise and achieve a listing initially SuperValu stores. With that local contacts, is perfectly with their local SuperValu support, their growth is placed to support small store and beyond to achievable, manageable and and medium enterprises to regional and national importantly, sustainable.”

Advance Food Companies Fair!

THIRTY high-performing small food companies are graduating to Food Academy Advance, the next stage of the programme. This stage provides participants with access to expertise in branding, market research, business development and distribution, to allow them to scale-up and secure national listings with SuperValu.

Securing participation on Food Academy Advance means a lot to these small food producers. One of the participating companies, Cool Bean Company, explained on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/coolbeanco) how they were “thrilled to graduate to Food Academy advance and expand to 60+ new SuperValus.” Another participant, Monaghan cake mix producers, The Cake and Crumb, were “so excited to announce that we have been selected progress onto the Supervalu Food Academy Advance programme. A big thank you to our wonderful staff and our brilliant customers who continue to support our small family business!”

The 30 Food Academy Advance participants are: • Atlantis Seafoods Ltd, Wexford: Chilled seafood • Beechlawn Organic Farm, Co. Galway: Organic vegetables • BiteSize Ltd, Co. Cork: Frozen desserts • Boutique Bake, Dublin: Cake mix • Cool Bean Company, Dublin: Chilled ready meals • DeRoiste Puddings, Co. Cork: Breakfast puddings • Everest Granola Products, Dublin:

Granola • Honest Bakery, Co. Roscommon: Gluten free cakes • Improper Butter, Dublin: Flavoured butter • Janet’s Country Fayre, Co. Wicklow: Italian Sauces • Lily’s Tea Shop, Co. Louth: Green tea • Maria Lucia Bakes, Dublin: Granola • Morans Homestore, Co. Cavan: Jam preserves • Nobo Ltd, Dublin: Dairy free ice

cream • Old Mac Donnells Farm Ltd, Co. Wicklow: Yoghurts & speciality cheeses • O’Neills Dry Cure Bacon, Co. Wexford: Bacon • Patels Authentic Spices, Dublin: Spices • Rafferty’s Fine Foods, Louth: Flavoured sea flakes • Jennings Potato Bread, Cavan: Potato bread • Sushi King, Dublin: Sushi • Tea & Coffee Warehouse Ltd, Co. Waterford: Coffee • The Cake and Crumb, Co. Monaghan: Cake mix • The Farmers Table, Co. Cork: Frozen potato meals • The Happy Pear Living Foods, Co. Wicklow: Pesto & organic superfoods • The Tipperary Kitchen Ltd, Co. Tipperary: Bakery treats • Trudies Catering Kitchen Ltd, Co. Wexford: Salads • Uncle Aidan’s Flour, Co. Wexford: Wholemeal flour • Wild about Foods, Co. Wexford: Pesto & wild seasonal artisan foods • Fastnet Catch, Co. Cork: Gluten Free Battered and Breaded Fish • Wicklow Rapeseed Oil Ltd, Co. Wicklow: Rapeseed Oil

52|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Breakfast Time

The Breakfast Of Champions innovative and convenient breakfast solutions, and also for retailers, who can grow sales through enticing more consumers to buy breakfast in-store.

Innovative new product development is fuelling growth in the breakfast category.

HALF of Irish consumers eat breakfast at home every SPREADS day, some skip breakfast altogether and many 46% 22% consumers opt to grab breakfast from convenience 41% stores and cafés on the 34% 29% 28% way to work, while there is huge growth in convenience 17% 36% oriented breakfast snacks 48% The BIG such as cereal bars and 30% Breakfast breakfast biscuits.

57% With the average Irish 66% consumer working over 35 53% 45% 44% 37% hours per week (and working for longer than ever before), it is squeezing the time 56% 63% that consumers can spend sitting down to breakfast.

Moving forward, breakfast items that help to cut down The breakfast category is changing, as consumers on preparation time and embrace items containing functional or healthy offer convenience will likely ingredients (Source: Mintel). appeal more to consumers. strongly to consumers.

For example baked goods that are Such was the message from Mintel’s easy to consume on the good (such as Director of Trends and Innovation, croissants).

David Jago, who spoke at a Marketing But this trend towards convenience Institute of Ireland breakfast briefing doesn’t mean consumers care less about recently on ‘Innovation in Food and their health. There is strong evidence Health Trends’. that breakfast items that contain All of this is good news for the functional or healthy ingredients (such manufacturers of breakfast products, as a ‘superfood spread’) would appeal who can target consumers with

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34% of Irish consumers eat croissants for breakfast

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of Irish consumers have eaten Nature Valley cereal bars in the last 6 months

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of Irish consumers eat chocolate spread (almost half)

of Irish consumers would be interested in buying a ‘superfood’ spread

Weetabix Leading breakfast brand Weetabix has recently unveiled a new pack design that aims to remind consumers about the nutritional strength of its product.

Low in salt, sugar and fat, whilst also being high in fibre and a great source of protein, Weetabix is made from 100% natural wholegrain wheat, ensuring that it is a healthy, nutritionally balanced and tasty breakfast for the whole family.

The green flash, present across all packs since the start of September, reminds shoppers of Weetabix’s impressive health credentials, with a bowl of Weetabix and milk being one of the healthiest breakfast options available in the category.

Commenting on the new design, Weetabix Senior Brand Manager Claire Canty said, “From listening to our customers, we know that health is one of the biggest motivating factors in their decision making process. As such, we wanted to make it easier than ever for people to remember that when it comes to providing a nutritional and tasty start to the day, Weetabix really is the number one choice that the whole family can enjoy.”

With 134 calories in a two biscuit serving, as well as many of the

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

Breakfast Time of a more mobile and time-sensitive generation of consumers, without forcing them to compromise on taste or nutrition.

With a vision to identify key drivers in order to unlock The Weetabix portfolio includes some of the most popular cereal breakfast brands in Ireland. growth through vitamins and minerals a body needs to innovation, stay healthy, including one third of the Weetabix is the first to market recommended daily intake of Thiamine ‘breakfast drinks’ and aims to (B1) Riboflavin (B2), Niacin, Folic Acid capitalise on a category with massive and Iron, Weetabix has been fuelling potential. With an ambition to fuel consumers’ breakfast since 1932, and is modern lifestyles, the milkshake drink made the same way, the same size and is available in a 250ml single serve, on the same site for over 80 years. resealable bottle in four different Designed to be a delicious breakfast solution, Weetabix On The Go Breakfast Biscuits boast the famous Weetabix wholegrain fuel credentials for those mornings when there isn’t time for a bowl of breakfast cereal.

The crunchy breakfast biscuits, baked in the distinctive Weetabix lozenge shape, are available in three delicious flavours, Milk & Cereal, Fruit & Fibre, and Apple & Cinnamon, to appeal to a wide range of consumers who are looking for a tasty on-the-go breakfast solution and know and trust Weetabix to deliver the fuel they need.

Weetabix On The Go Breakfast Drink is a deliciously smooth portable drink, designed specifically for breakfast times. Delivering quick Weetabix On The Go Breakfast Drink and easy breakfast fuel, it has all the is available in a 250ml single serve, energy, fibre and protein of a Weetabix resealable bottle. cereal in milk. Its announcement is a pioneering move for the breakfast flavours: Chocolate, Strawberry, category, which attempts to provide Banana and Vanilla. alternative consumption options that The Breakfast Drink should be are better placed to meet the needs located within the ambient cereal aisle for shoppers to chill at home. It will also be available ready-chilled in metropolitan and corner stores plus garage forecourts for consumers who purchase breakfast whilst commuting. Available in 250ml resealable bottles, consumers can grab it, drink it, bin it and get on with the morning, knowing they’ve had a good start to the day.

Meanwhile, Ready Brek, also part of the Weetabix Weetabix On The Go Breakfast Biscuits boast the range, recently added to famous Weetabix wholegrain fuel credentials for those its Easy Sachets porridge mornings when there isn’t time for a bowl of breakfast range with two delicious new cereal.

flavours, Chocolate and Gingerbread.

Designed to appeal both to parents, looking to ensure their kids have a wholesome and nutritious start to the day, and kids who just want something tasty, the new flavours boost all of Ready Brek’s nutritional credentials.

Made from wholegrain oats, a serving of Ready Brek is high in fibre, as well as delivering 50% RDA of Calcium and 25% RDA of Iron and Vitamins.

Flahavan’s Flahavan’s is the top selling porridge product on the Irish market, and continues to build on its long established, loyal consumer base by staying close to the consumer and their evolving needs. The growing interest in health, combined with the changes in legislation around packaging nutritionals, has lent itself well to the hot oats category, offering new opportunities to meet health and convenience needs.

Brand differentiation within the category is key to retaining loyal consumers in this challenging retail market and according to Brand Manager, Moya Verling, Flahavan’s consumers’ appreciation for the quality of its product is a strong differentiator for the brand. Consumer appreciation of the product is as a result of a number of key differentiators that are linked to everything that is unique about the Flahavan’s product.

“The key Flahavan’s differentiators are its Irish heritage, and its quality and taste,” Verling notes, “from the sourcing of our oats from local Irish farmers, the unique milling process that retains the full rich texture of the plump Irish oats sealing in their natural aroma, giving them a distinctive creamy taste, and our strong sustainability credentials. All these unique brand qualities are reinforced by the assurance that our product is truly Irish, endorsed as such

by Bord Bia Origin Green and Love Irish Food.”

Flahavan’s focus on Flahavan’s: the top innovation selling porridge product continues to be on the Irish market. at the forefront

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Breakfast Time For more information, see www.flahavans.ie or www.facebook.com/ flahavans.

Flahavan’s hugely popular Quick Oats Apple, Raisin & Cinnamon, Natural and Golden Syrup sachets.

of the brand strategy. The recent launch of Flahavan’s Original Granola, a deliciously indulgent toasted wholegrain oat granola, combining fruit, nuts, seeds and the finest Flahavan’s Irish oats, was very well received in a busy and growing category, further evidence of consumers’ interest in the Flahavan’s brand Flahavan’s Original Granola is made with the finest quality ingredients, including Flahavan’s Irish porridge oats, and has no additives or preservatives. It comes in an easy-open 450g pack, which is resealable for lasting freshness. The added advantage for the trade is that it comes in a small case size, with six units per case, and in shelf-ready packaging.

Flahavan’s Quick Oats convenience range remains one of the leading lights in their portfolio. Grown, milled and produced in Ireland, Flahavan’s Quick

Flahavan’s Original Granola, a deliciously indulgent toasted wholegrain oat granola, combining fruit, nuts, seeds and the finest Flahavan’s Irish oats.

Oats provide a wholesome breakfast that’s packed with taste, ready in minutes and keeps consumers going

Flahavan’s Quick Oats convenience range remains one of the leading lights in their portfolio.

right up to lunch, making breakfast a pleasure every day.

The convenience range includes natural, multi seed and organic sachets, drum and portable porridge pots in natural, multi seed, strawberry and organic varieties, as well as Flahavan’s Quick Oats Apple, Raisin & Cinnamon sachets and Flahavan’s Quick Oats Golden Syrup sachets.

Designed for maximum shelf impact and available in 10 x 40g servings, Flahavan’s Quick Oats sachets are deliciously tasty and easy to prepare in the microwave in just two minutes. Flahavan’s has also introduced a new individual sachet format where consumers can use the free reusable liquid measure provided or simply pour milk or water directly into the sachet and fill to the splash line, making it the ideal portable healthy start to any day either at home or in the office.

Kellogg’s Research commissioned by Kellogg’s found that most adults in Ireland use full fat milk on their cereal (38%) followed by semi skimmed (36%). The research also found that almost one in five (17%) say that they would have a longer breakfast if they had another hour in the morning. A further 15% would be more likely to eat breakfast if they had an extra hour in the morning.

Meanwhile, a new scientific review, written and published by the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), revealed low Vitamin D status across Europe even in those countries renowned for enjoying great weather.

Almost nine out of ten (88%) children in Ireland have poor vitamin D status in the winter months.

Similarly, adults in Ireland are not reaching their recommended intakes, with 72% of men and 78%

of women aged 18-64 years having low vitamin D intakes (less than 5 µg /d).

Aideen Mulligan, Marketing Director for Kellogg’s Ireland, believes the cereal manufacturer can play an important role in raising awareness about the vitamin D issue.

“The conclusion of the BNF study is a real concern and sadly it’s not surprising.

We know that inadequate intakes of Vitamin D is an issue right across Europe, not just in Ireland but even in countries renowned for sunshine such as Spain and Italy,” said Mulligan.

“That’s why Kellogg’s is calling on families in Ireland to improve their vitamin D intake. All of our children’s cereals, including Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Coco Pops, are fortified with Vitamin D to help increase intakes substantially and reduce the likelihood of any resulting health concerns.”

For more information on Kellogg and vitamin D, visit www.kelloggs.ie.

New Style Avonmore Milk Cartons AVONMORE has launched an innovative new design for its milk cartons, which makes them easier to open, pour more smoothly and flatten more conveniently for recycling. The new Elopak carton (Pure-Pak® Sense) is a first for the Irish market and is being introduced across the Avonmore milk range, starting with Avonmore Super Milk. The new packs have a twist cap that seals in the freshness but is simple to open with just one twist. It is wider than the existing caps, so pouring is smoother and special folds in the cartons make flattening the carton for the green bin simpler.

The cartons also look even more attractive on display and ensure shelf standout, with a bright new modern look and family feel to the design, right across the range. The new design also allows for additional space on the pack to reinforce the Avonmore brand story. Kyle Moloney (aged 5), Kate Cepeda (aged 6) and Matthew MacDougald (aged 8) are pictured with Sarah Leahy, Glanbia Consumer Foods, at the launch of Avonmore’s new milk carton.

56|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Category Management

Influencing the Modern Shopper ‘Influence the shopper, online and in-store’ was the theme of the ECR Ireland Category Management & Shopper Marketing Conference 2014.

THE theme of the ECR Ireland Category Management & Shopper Marketing Conference 2014 was how to ‘Influence the shopper, online and in-store’.

Category management and tools such as the planogram, have stood the test of time and are proven to influence activity in-store. There are specific reasons why various elements are placed where they are in a store, and we understand those reasons. But, as usual, the theme of the ECR Ireland conference considered the latest trends and, just as importantly, what will happen next.

Ken Hughes from Glacier Consulting kicked off proceedings with a bang with his presentation on the new shopper DNA. As Ken pointed out, next year will see the first crop of the ‘Millennial’ generation (anyone born in 1985 or after) turn 30 and enter those critical consumer years of marriage, settling down and babies.

Understanding your customer is more important now than ever in activities such as retail, where marketing and giving the customer what they want is paramount.

To grossly over-simplify Ken’s main point for the sake of brevity, the main things to be aware of with Millennials is that they are very discerning, not very patient, and perhaps more than any previous generation, are looking for something more; be that the benefit of a super food, an experience as well as a meal, a two-way dialogue with brands rather than one-way. They are a challenging demographic to engage with, but they will become a larger and larger proportion of the market in the coming years.

David Berry, Commercial Director, Kantar Worldpanel Ireland, focused on on-shelf availability and instore activity. Significant trends he highlighted included the continued growth in own brand product

sales, slightly increased shopper fragmentation, continued strong discounter growth and the healthy/ healthful focus among shoppers. The numbers supporting his assertion that in-store activity is becoming more important are impressive. With 1.6m Irish households purchasing on average 85 items per week, across 4.7 trips per week in, at least, two different shops, that means there are 4.5m opportunities to sell your brand to customers in Ireland in-store every week.

ECR Ireland Cat Man & Shopper Marketing Award 2014 The event also saw the presentation of the ECR Ireland Catman & Shopper Marketing Award 2014, with presentations from the finalists. They included: Red Bull & Tesco Ireland Patricia Garry, Head of trade marketing - Off Premise, Red Bull, spoke about the Red Bull Cliff Diving and Tesco partnership to bring the Red Bull cliff diving experience to life in-store. Working closely, the two partners created an in-store experience whose aim was to excite and engage shoppers in-store and at shelf. The campaign drove up footfall in Tesco stores, and increased penetration and volume sales for Red Bull. Featuring elements such as a €4 Tesco-only round price point, palette displays located at high visibility high traffic locations, floor graphics and imaginative use of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets, the partnership between Tesco and Red Bull produced extremely positive results all round.

Unilever Kathryn Dodd, Shopper Marketing Homecare, Unilever, demonstrated how the brand’s creation of an experience

Declan Carolan, General Manager, ECR Ireland.

in the aisle enabled it to reinforce a distinct brand identity in the minds of consumers. Washing powders are a very price sensitive product, with consumers with older children making their choice almost exclusively on price.

With its Mother & Baby initiative, Unilever was able to target the young mum with its non-bio proposition and create a relationship at a time when quality concerns take precedence over those of price. The campaign saw instore activity but also online interaction as young mums can spend up to two to three hours online investigating brands and shopping. During the course of the campaign, sales of Comfort increased by 38%, Persil non-bio by 27% and Unilever enjoyed a 17% increase in sales across the Mum & Baby category.

BWG Foods ‘From complexity to compliant’ was the title of the presentation from Barry Carty, Category Manager, BWG Foods. The initiative from BWG Foods aimed to clearly demonstrate the importance of category management and planograms as tools for the modern

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Category Management Rift in-store experience knocked shoppers’ socks off around the country.

The dramatic digital immersion let shoppers jump in with both feet.

6,000 lucky shoppers got a go and 12,500 played the online game, all the while driving brand awareness and engagement.

MJ Tierney, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Topaz, discusses the award winning ‘Play Or Park’ initiative.

David Berry, Commercial Director, Kantar Worldpanel Ireland, addresses the conference.

independent retailer. Through awards such as SPAR Five Star and the MACE Excellence Awards, BWG Foods has been driving best practice with its members. Now through the technology of SORT (Sales Optimisation & Ranging Tool), they have produced a time saving, accurate, high tech solution to help retailers drive sales.

SORT provides real time updated information on stock and sales across 30 categories to retailers, giving them ability to drop or buy lines with a minimum of fuss. Described by Carty as a “high tech sales solution that goes back to basics”, SORT is designed to deliver the best possible user experience to the independent retailer.

Mars Ireland & Tesco Ireland The winner of the overall award, the partnership between Mars Ireland and Tesco Ireland was a worthy choice in a very tightly contested field. “We love our pets” explained Rebecca Lyons, Category & Insights Manager, Mars Ireland. However, that emotion is often lacking in the pet aisle in-store.

Quite often a drab and functional aisle, it does not reflect how consumers feel about their pets. Tesco and Mars Ireland set out to completely transform the in-store pet aisle, including graphics such as paw prints and graphics at top of shelf, to hide extra stock and give the aisle a look much similar to that of a high-end pet shop.

In the test store, the initiative drove up customer spend and volume for Tesco as well as for the Mars portfolio of pet products, demonstrating a win-win for the two partners, and claiming the 2014 award.

The ECR Digital Award 2014 The conference also saw the presentation of the ECR Digital Award 2014. Finalists included.

Red Bull Oculus The Red Bull virtual reality Oculus

Barry Carty, Category Manager, BWG Foods, pictured addressing delegates.

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard Nicola Barrett, Marketing Manager, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, spoke about ‘igniting Innovation via Compelling Content’. The key demographic for West Coast Cooler is the solidly millennial 22-27 yearold age group. West Coast Cooler & Vodka and its #epictogether campaign proved extremely popular and delivered exceptional rates of consumer generated reaction and content. The campaign proved how a digital marketing strategy can and should be executed in order to deliver on objectives.

Britvic Claire Colgan, Head of Commercial Intelligence, and Kieran Forde, Category and Shopper Insight Manager, both of Britvic Ireland, showed the role digital can play in B2B relationships. Soft drinks are a footfall driver and an impulse purchase for retailers. The website www.buildwithbritivc.com launched in late 2011 and is an all-in solution for convenience retailers. With a responsive design, it works on any platform and it has been helping retailers by providing a wealth of data, insights and services. More than one in five convenience retailers in Ireland have registered on the site, which is perfect example of the role digital can play in developing B2B relationship.

Gala Retail Services Tom Cluskey, Marketing and Ambient Trading Manager with Gala, presented the Group’s nomination for its work with Facebook. Gala has created a strategic approach to its Facebook presence, with a focus on quality of content, to help it to achieve the highest number of Facebook fans per store in the country. In terms of affection and activity, their fans have a high engagement rate which saw Gala named as finalists in the 2014 Social Media Awards. Not only is the campaign building brand awareness and engagement, it is also providing excellent insights for the Gala Group.

Topaz MJ Tierney, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Topaz, accepted the overall digital award for the Topaz ‘Play or Park’ loyalty campaign.

Play or Park brings an element of gaming or ‘gamification’ to the loyalty scheme, as well as very high levels of personalisation in rewards, thanks to the use of an app-based approach as an integral part of the scheme. As well as engaging customers and giving customer rewards based on their instore activity, Play or Park is capturing huge amounts of customer data for the group to help it further refine and improve its in-store experience.

Digital Strategies To close a very informative conference Colin Hetherington, MD, Zoo, gave some top tips for digital strategies: (i) Keep it simple; (ii) Content is everything; (iii) Be Brave; (iv) Measure, Monitor, Refine.

All the companies and organisations featured at the conference demonstrate these four points very ably and the conference more than delivered on its theme of influencing online and instore activity.

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

Morton’s of Ranelagh

80 Years A Growing!

Gary Morton, MD of Morton’s, is justifiably proud of the store’s reputation for quality.

Morton’s of Ranelagh in Dublin is celebrating 80 remarkable years in business.

MORTON’S of Ranelagh began life in the 1930s, when bicycles were the normal mode of transport. It was on a bicycle that Charles Morton used to make his way to the Fish Market in Smithfield, where the fish was delivered by horse and cart.

Now we have bus and taxi apps to help get us from A to B, the Millennial generation is about to enter its 30s and while there are still a lot of bicycles around, some of them have been branded by large multi-national companies.

Morton’s too has changed greatly during the 80 years since it opened. However, some core, fundamental values have not changed in this family owned and operated business. Nor has the business ever lost sight of the importance of the local community in its success and the role it must play in that community.

Strong Community Identity As a fully independent shop, Morton’s has built up an incredibly strong identity in the Dublin 6 area. It sits squarely at the heart of the relatively affluent Ranelagh/ Rathmines community and it provides its customers with the right product, in the right way at the right price. Retail News spoke to Gary Morton, MD of Morton’s, who explained how the Morton’s name has become synonymous with the best possible quality and service: “Obviously, the shop built up slowly over time. We grew along with the community and evolved as it evolved,” Gary revealed. “It’s a slightly strange thing when your name is over the door of your business: when the work day ends you still carry that name with you, out into your personal life.

It makes it even more important to ensure your business conducts itself admirably.”

To that end, Morton’s acquits itself very admirably.

The interior of the shop is immaculate. Warm and inviting, every single part of the shop has been tailored to create the ideal backdrop to display the quality produce on offer. From Café 21, a small but perfectly formed add-on for customers where they can enjoying fine coffee alongside mouthwatering treats, baked fresh each day in-store, through to the extremely impressive and recently upgraded wine presentation, the store looks great and each section serves the same purpose: to display the real star of the show - the product.

Top quality is ubiquitous in Morton’s, from James Lawlor’s butcher to Sheridan’s fishmonger, down to items as small as the own brand orange juice, made from 100% freshly squeezed oranges, and the breathtaking array of cheese, meat, cakes, breads, pies and pre-prepared meals.

There is even a full florist service in-store.

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Morton’s of Ranelagh Ger Ellis, who he describes as an “exceptional asset that we have and he works incredibly hard running the shop”.

Fishmonger, Alan Cashin, displays the fine fresh fish on offer in Morton’s.

Morton’s seeks out and attracts hard-working, passionate and enthusiastic staff who are brand ambassadors for the store’s quality products.

Entering Another World Crossing the threshold of Morton’s is like stepping into another world, a million miles away from the graband-go culture of Dublin city centre. Morton’s of Ranelagh is an experience; it’s all about savouring the atmosphere and the product.

The shop offers regular instore tastings, and the staff are not just well trained but passionate about the product, from fine wine to coffee or cheese.

Morton’s seeks out and attracts hard-working,

passionate and enthusiastic people. On the shop floor, they are brand ambassadors.

“We do engage in a lot of staff training but you can’t really train things like passion,” admitted Gary.

“We have really excellent staff here. We seek out excellent members of staff and we work hard to retain them: they are absolutely critical to what we do. Some staff have worked here for 30 years and the average is close to 10 years.”

He pays particular tribute to store manager,

A Reputation For Quality Quality, and not price, has always been Morton’s USP, and remains so. “We cannot be discounters on price because we do not use that business model,” Gary explains. “Our point of differentiation is quality: we connect our customers directly with the quality ingredients we use and to the network of top quality suppliers with which the business has formed extremely strong partnerships over the years.

Value for money is critical, but given the quality of our offering, we must use a higher price point.”

Given its scale, the shop can offer some attractive price point deals: round euro pricing of €1 on items such as milk, eggs and bread are popular with customers. With 80 years of family experience behind it, the Morton’s brand seems to get the balance right.

While Morton’s is a fully independent retailer, it has a very strong working relationship with ADM Londis.

The on-site kitchen really is the icing on the cake of the Morton’s model, helping the business simply to offer an incredible portfolio of own branded product that has made it synonymous with quality in Dublin 6. The kitchen runs an early-only cycle, so that everything in-store is absolutely fresh on the day. The Ranelagh

on-site kitchen also acts as a production facility for the nearby Hatch St store, opened by Morton’s in 2008.

Morton’s has grown and evolved at the heart of the Dublin 6 community.

The world has changed dramatically in the 80 years since it opened its doors, but in some very fundamental ways, people have not changed so very much, and that is why Morton’s is still right at the heart of the community it loves.

A Brief History Of Morton’s 1934 Morton’s Fish and Veg Shop is established by Charles and Esther Morton.

1953 Albert Morton opens a grocery shop on the corner of Dunville Avenue and Moyne Road.

1960s Charles and Esther Morton, along with sons Albert and Charles, combine their shops to create C. Morton & Sons.

1985 Morton’s expand the store and introduce a kitchen for homecooked meals.

2007 Further expansion brings the kitchen upstairs above the store, and adds Cafe21.

2008 Morton’s open a store in the vaults of the old Harcourt Street Railway Station, at Park Pllace, Hatch Street, Dublin 2.

2014 Morton’s celebrate 80 years in business.

60|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

On The Vine

Grape Expectations Jean Smullen looks back over 2014 as the year the Irish wine trade fought back.

2014 will be remembered as the year the Irish wine trade fought back. Despite having the highest taxes on wine in the EU, the trade conducted a robust campaign against a further increase in wine duty and managed to get the Government and the Department of Finance to listen, at least for the moment.

With over 1,100 people employed directly by Irish wine distributors and importers and thousands more jobs in the 13,000 pubs and restaurants where people sell wine, the Irish wine sector is an integral part of employment generation today. Factor in the retail sector, which includes key independent off licences, supermarket groups as well as the off licence groups, and employment numbers for those currently employed in the wine industry mount up.

The Government’s decision not to increase excise on wine was seen as a positive show of support for the sector.

However, post-Budget 2015, Michael Foley, Marketing Director at Findlater Wine & Spirit Group and currently Chairman of the Irish Wine Association (IWA), said that the recent Annual Wine Market Review showed that wine taxes in Ireland are the highest in Europe, due to a 62% excise increase since Budget 2013. This led to an 8% drop in the volume of wines being sold in Ireland in 2013. Distributors and importers are spending an extra €17,958 in taxes on every 1,000 cases, creating cash flow issues for SME’s.

This continued throughout 2014, with indications that volume sales remained flat and value sales increased as a result of the higher tax rate.

The reality of retailing wine in 2014 involves a customer

The Barton & Guestier range is now distributed in Ireland by Richmond Marketing.

who is firmly stuck in the €8-€9 price category and who will only buy a bottle of wine when it is on promotion. Consumers buying at entry level price points are spending €4.86 in tax, up from €3.53 in 2011. What this means is that the wine is cheaper and of lesser quality, because what is now a €9 bottle of wine, was previously a €7 bottle of wine. Try explaining that to the customer, though!

The Irish wine customer firmly believes that a bottle of wine costs €9; the problem is they expect it to taste like a bottle of wine costing €14. How do you explain that the lion’s

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On The Vine business of the Gleeson Group, one of Ireland’s leading beverage wholesalers, creating a new, formidable force in the drinks sector in Ireland: C&C Gleeson.

Other changes saw Searsons Wine Merchants merging with Tindal Wines, while Findlater Wine & Spirit Group was sold to Valeo Foods by DCC.

Irish wine retailers have to convince their customers to “drink less, drink better and prepare to pay €12-14 a bottle for a decent glass of wine”.

share of what they are paying for their bottle is going on tax and not on wine, without losing your customers?

The mantra for 2015 has to be: drink less, drink better and prepare to pay €12-14 a bottle for a decent glass of wine.

The IWA have said that the Government should use next year’s Budget as an opportunity to reverse excise on wine, in order to promote job creation and growth in the sector.

This message has got to continue to be driven home in 2015.

The Old World Fights Back The IWA’s 2013 report on the Irish wine market makes for interesting reading. It shows that Irish wine consumers prefer white wine to red, with white holding a 51% volume share.

This marks a shift from 2003, when red wine was the preferred option, with a 52% volume share. The report also notes that more men over 35 now drink wine (76%) than women over 35 (70%). In terms of country preferences, Australian and Chilean wines have proven to be the most popular with Irish consumers, holding 20.6% and 20.1% of the market respectively.

When it comes to volume sales, it is interesting to see how preferences are changing and to note the swing back to European wines in terms of the growth in sales from wines from France, Italy and Spain.

Yes the pendulum is definitely swinging back toward European wine, with France leading the way and showing strong overall growth, alongside Spain and Italy, a trend that is likely to continue into 2015.

On the business front, in 2014 the importing trade went through massive changes. C&C Group plc confirmed the acquisition and integration into its

Moving Agencies As well a mass change in the structure of the importing trade as we move into 2015, quite a number of wine agencies are also moving distributors.

Richmond Marketing has just announced that as of January 2015 it will be the sole distributor of two Spanish bodegas, Faustino branded wines from Rioja and Portia branded wines from Ribera Del Duero. Since October of this year, Richmond Marketing is now the sole distributor of Barton & Guestier Wines in Ireland.

Based in Bordeaux and selling 10m Irish Table Wine Market Share 2012 1.

Australia

24%

2.

Chile

21%

3.

France

14%

4.

United States

10%

5.

Spain

10%

6.

Italy

10%

7.

South Africa

4%

8.

New Zealand

4%

9.

Germany

1%

10.

Argentina

1%

All Others

1%

(Source: Irish Wine Association – July 2013)

Irish Table Wine Market Share 2013 1.

Australia

20.6%

2.

Chile

20.1%

3.

France

15.2%

4.

Italy

11.4%

5.

Spain

11.2%

6.

United States

8.7%

7.

South Africa

4.5%

8.

New Zealand

3.9%

9.

Argentina

2.1%

10.

Germany

1.2%

All Others

1.1%

(Source: Irish Wine Association –September 2014)

bottles to 130 countries per year, Barton & Guestier has based its

White wine now claims a 51% share of the Irish wine market.

winemaking strategy on AOC and varietal wines from the main French regions: Bordeaux, Loire, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Rhône, Provence, Languedoc, Corsica and Gascony.

For more information, please contact Jenny Corkery in Richmond Marketing: jennycorkery@richmondmarketing.com.

Tel: 01 631 6100.

MacCormaic Vintners has announced the addition of the Marques de Victoria Rioja DOCa and Fortius Navarra DO brands to its portfolio.

Both brands are part of and owned by the Faustino Group, one of the largest vineyard owners in Rioja. For more information, contact MacCormaic Vintners, DMG House, Deansgrange Business Park, Deansgrange, Co. Dublin. Tel: 01 494 1430.

Liberty Wines has taken on the agency in Ireland for Champagne Charles Heidsieck, since October 8.

Champagne Charles Heidsieck is back in family ownership since 2011. It was founded in 1851 by Charles-Camille Heidsieck, who gained the nickname ‘Champagne Charlie’ in his travels around the royal courts and the name has ever since been synonymous with quality. For more information about Liberty Wines in Ireland contact Ben Reynolds: ben.reynolds@libertywine.ie.

Tel: (086) 853 2951.

Cassidy Wines have just announced that Cantina Zaccagnini Winery is the latest addition to their portfolio, moving to them from Searson Wine Merchants.

From a small winery established in 1878 by Fattoria Zaccagnini, the family have grown their production to more than 1.2m bottles per year. Best known for the famous ‘Twiggy’ Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, Cassidy wines will also distribute wines from the Kasaura, La Cuvee Dell’Abate and Chronicon range.

For more information contact: Amanda Cardiff: Amanda.Cardiff@cassidywines.com. Tel: (01) 466 8900.

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Drinks News BROCKMANS WINS GOLD AT ARTISAN AWARDS BROCKMANS Gin continues to take the US by storm, scooping another gold medal in an American awards scheme. Following a string of accolades in the USA, the latest award has seen the UK gin winning a gold at the 2014 Artisan Awards, which honours the skill, ingredients and traditional methods that go into production of craft spirits and other drinks. “Brockmans is carefully crafted using a unique recipe which uses the highest quality botanicals and batch distillation,” said Bob Fowkes, Marketing Director and Co-Founder of Brockmans Gin. “Our gin is created in a vessel that’s over 100 years old. It is a brand that is inherently artisanal. Craft spirits are on the rise, and being able to support our brand with accolades helps set us apart from the others, encouraging consumers and the trade to try the product.”

For more information, visit www.brockmansgin.com.

Smithwick’s Winter Spirit Returns BEER drinkers are applauding the return of Smithwick’s Winter Spirit, the limited edition seasonal brew from the award-winning Smithwick’s Master Brewers. Part of Smithwick’s Seasonal Ales range, this popular Irish ale is perfect for the cold and crisp winter months. In keeping with its seasonal roots, Winter Spirit provides a deeper flavour from the roasted barley added to the brewing process. Fermented using the prized Smithwick’s yeast, the inclusion of aromatic hops late in the brewing makes this superb winter ale the perfect smooth pint, from the first sip to the very last drop. “We’re thrilled to see the return of Winter Spirit this autumn,” noted Smithwick’s Brewer Luis Ortega. “This premium, dark ale was a hit with craft beer drinkers last year and we’re hoping to see a repeat of that this season.”

SALES DIRECTOR APPOINTED AT AMPERSAND CIARÁN Scolard has been appointed Sales Director at Ampersand. Ciarán brings a wealth of FMCG industry knowledge from his time at John Player and Georgia Pacific and has a proven track record in launching and developing brands. He is always looking to find new and innovative products to bring to the market.

New Copper Pot Stills Arrive in Dublin REVIVING the Spirit of Dublin, the Teeling Whiskey Company recently witnessed the historic arrival of three new, handcrafted copper pot stills at the new whiskey distillery, located in Dublin’s Newmarket in The Liberties. The pot stills mark a milestone for the Teeling family, bringing whiskey production back to their ancestral roots in Dublin 8. The new distillery will be a modern revival of the Teeling distillery that thrived in the area in the 18th century. Crafted in Sienna in Italy by Frilli Impianti, who have been making distilling equipment since 1912, the traditional copper pot stills travelled 2,275 kilometres to their new home in The Liberties, where they were assembled on-site.

The 15,000 litre wash still, 10,000 litre intermediate still and 9,000 litre spirit still will be at the heart of the distillery and are essential for creating the distinctive flavour of Teeling Whiskey. For more information, see www.teelingwhiskey.com.

D’ARENBERG WINES ON SPECIAL OFFER D’ARENBERG is one of the most significant wineries in the McLaren Valley, an Australian wine region with its proud sense of its own identity. No winemaker epitomises that sense better than Chester Osborn, fourth generation family who took over as Chief Winemaker in D’Arenberg in 1984.

Chester’s wine-making philosophy is to produce wines that have great fragrance and fruit character with palate texture and length balanced by fine natural acidity and tannins.

D’Arenberg has been included in the Top 100 Wineries of the Year

by Wine and Spirits Magazine USA for 2014 and 2013. Now, Febvre wine company has brought in special the award-winning wines from the D’Arenberg range and these are on special offer exclusively through participating independent off-licences for Christmas and the New Year.

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Market News PLENTY READY FOR FESTIVE SEASON FROM polishing wine glasses to dabbing excess grease off roast potatoes, you’ll be amazed at the number of things Plenty can do for your customers at this time of year. While household towels have traditionally been associated with wiping up spills, changes in consumer behaviour have resulted in shoppers looking for versatile products to satisfy changing needs. Plenty’s range of versatile products has resulted in consumers rating the brand higher for being indispensable around the home. With continued marketing investment this festive season, things are looking bright for the number one household towel brand (Source: Kantar Worldpanel, 52 week data to September 14, 2014). Absorbent, strong when wet and re-usable, Plenty is the must have item in the lead up to Christmas. For more useful tips, visit the Plenty Genius Tips channel at YouTube.

TESCO CHILLS OUT WITH PARTY FOOD TESCO’s range of chilled party food puts a twist on traditional favourites with edible glitter, fun popping candy and jewel-like jelly pearls sure to cause a stir at festive parties. The range includes: Tesco finest Glitter Prawns with Cocktail Dip – sweet prawns lightly seasoned, dusted with edible glitter and served with a tomato cocktail dip; Tesco finest Bang Bang Chicken Skewers with Popping Candy – Red Thai marinated chicken breast skewered onto spears of fragrant lemongrass and lightly steamed (pictured); and Tesco finest Bubble Shots – a moreishly spicy cocktail of Virgin Mary tomato, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and dill with pearls of sweet, juicy Clementine jelly.

Other highlights in the Tesco finest festive range include Caramelised Red Onion Herb Camembert Sharing Bread, Coconut prawns with mango salsa, Tempura prawns and Bruschetta selection.

FERRERO COLLECTION ON TRACK FOR FESTIVE SUCCESS FERRERO have launched their ‘Give Something Special’ advertising campaign in Ireland, ensuring they have Christmas wrapped up with a very tasty advertising campaign. A luxurious wrap on the Luas Green Line from Stephen’s Green to Bride’s Glen promoting the Ferrero Collection brand stretches over 36.5km of Dublin. The creative for this campaign hopes to drive awareness and trial amongst potential shoppers of Ferrero Collection featuring the tagline, ‘Give Something Special’. The Luas initiative will span a three-month period until March 2015, capturing some of the key gifting moments for boxed chocolates, including Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. The Luas tram wrap provides Ferrero with a unique opportunity to create high awareness and communicate the deliciousness and prestige of the Ferrero Collection brand in a luxurious, tasteful and memorable way. For more information, see www.ferrero.com.

CARROLLS NUMBER ONE IN BIG PACK 23S

CARROLLS Number One, the iconic Irish cigarette brand, is now available in a big box 23s format. The introduction of a big pack into the Carrolls family highlights the desire to cater to all Carroll’s adult smokers’ needs. Carrolls Number One is a premium, 10mg full flavour Virginia cigarette. It has been a trusted brand in Ireland for over 55 years. Carrolls Number One 23s is currently €10.50 RRP. Carrolls’ adult smokers can expect the best Carrolls quality. The past year has been an exciting time for the Carrolls family, with the introduction of three new SKUs, Carrolls Additive Free* Red and Blue in December 2013 followed by Carrolls Number One 23s in July 2014. For further information, please contact Carrolls telemarketing department on (01) 2052345. *No additives in the tobacco blend does NOT mean a less harmful cigarette.

Toradh caithimh tobac - bás Smoking Kills

CUSHELLE HEAT ‘N’ HUG KOALA SCA are launching a new on-pack competition with their Cushelle toilet tissue brand, which is offering Irish consumers the chance to win one of 6,500 limited edition Heat ‘n’ Hug Koala plush toys, based on their iconic advertising character. The 12-week campaign aims to give the brand stand out in-store during the crucial Christmas trading period. The little Koala contains special lavender scented beads that can be heated in a microwave to keep lucky winners warm this winter. Consumers enter an on-pack code to a microsite, with a winner chosen at random every 10 minutes. The on-pack promotion runs until January 30, 2015, and will be communicated above-the-line with a revised promotional end frame on the existing Cushelle TV advert.

64|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Future in Food 2014

Sustainability: Not Just A Pretty Idea

Future in Food delegates, pictured at the conference.

Sustainable food production makes massive sense from a financial point of view.

Such was the message from the Future in Food Ireland conference.

THE Future in Food Ireland conference in the Aviva Stadium on November 5 offered visitors an enlightening view of the rapidly evolving world of sustainability in food production.

The over-arching message on the day was that sustainability ticks three increasingly important boxes when it comes to food production methods: • Introducing a culture of sustainability into the production and other work processes decreases costs and introduces efficiencies; • Employing sustainable practices in production and other work processes will help reduce adverse effects from climate change; • Sustainable production techniques are increasingly important

to consumers, and organisations that are on trend should shout it loud and let their audiences know the good things they do.

Origin Green The day started with a presentation from Sharon Colgan, Marketing Manager, Bord Bia, on the Origin Green initiative. “Ireland is forming a new contract with nature” was the strongest message from the latest iteration of the marketing campaign.

Indeed, Bord Bia’s Origin Green initiative now has 367 companies registered and 71 plans have been accepted. Adherence to Origin Green is internationally recognised as complying, or superseding, best

practice in sustainability in food and drink production. Bord Bia has an aggressive, internationally focused marketing campaign that is driving awareness of what Origin Green and Irish food producers are doing in this area. Thanks to all this hard work, Ireland is recognised globally as a leader in implementing sustainable production methods in the food sector.

Adherence to Origin Green standards is an involved process: it requires a rigorous review of processes and production and in order for plans to be accepted, changes must be made.

However, doing so has already proven to deliver on those three key targets of (i) reducing waste and increasing efficiency, (ii) building a better future and (iii) providing a strong USP for marketing the end product. To learn more about Origin Green or to be considered for application, go to www.origingreen.ie.

Over the course of the conference, a variety of companies, big and small, Irish and international, spoke about their experience with Origin Green and what they bring to the area of sustainability production.

Hilco Hakman, Manager of Energy Consulting Services, Business Markets, at Electric Ireland, highlighted some of the services that the organisation offers businesses (www.electricireland. ie). The company also offers advice on energy consumption and reduction and Hakman’s top tip of the day was to always explore all the ways to reduce energy consumption in an organisation as the first step when it comes to being sustainable and saving money.

Ambitious Targets Gary Nugent, Environmental Manager with Rosderra Irish Meats, shared the

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Future in Food 2014

Ronan McGlade, Director, PB Media Limited, organisers of Future in Food Ireland 2014: “Future in Food Ireland 2014 has once again shown the level of commitment Irish food processors have for sustainability.”

organisation’s Origin Green journey.

Formerly Glanbia Meats, Rosderra joined Origin Green in 2013. The company has ambitious targets as part of its Origin Green plan, including reductions in energy use of 12%, in water use by 16%, in emissions of 10% and in waste to landfill of 10% and all by 2016. According to Nugent, Rosderra has a good starting place for Origin Green as the organisation already had a culture of sustainability.

Working with Origin Green, however, has created specific targets and helped identify practical changes to deliver on its ambitious targets. For example, the ‘singer’ unit, effectively an oven-like device where carcasses are singed at 500˚C, formerly lost all its heat up the chimney. The system that was installed to capture and re-use that heat will pay for itself in two years through energy savings.

Environmental Manager with Monaghan Mushrooms, Donna McKenna shared its Origin Green experience. Already registered with Origin Green, the company’s plan is currently awaiting approval.

Monaghan Mushrooms has targeted mushroom packaging, peat use, water, bio-diversity, energy and social sustainability as elements in its plan.

Monaghan Mushrooms is a real ‘home grown’ success story as it is the number two fresh mushroom producer in the world and the largest producer of mushroom substrate.

The company has achieved this in part through innovation in product development, such as the recently launched vitamin D mushroom, which provides 100% of the RDI of vitamin D. Other contributing factors include being recognised for its commitment to sustainability and quality in production techniques. In the UK market, the company provides 75% of ASDA’s mushrooms, 75% of Sainsbury’s and 100% of M&S’ mushrooms. According to McKenna, it is partly because the organisation fosters a culture of sustainability and very clearly communicates that fact to customers such as M&S that it has enjoyed such high levels of success. Simple, practical money saving elements in its Origin Green plan include run-off water capture and improved automatic watering systems. More involved elements include bio-diversity plans and extensive work around odour production and reduction. As with the other Origin Green members, Monaghan Mushrooms has created ambitious targets, all with the aim of delivering real benefits to the organisation and to the broader community of which it is a member.

Sustainability Brings Rewards The conference featured numerous other Origin Green stories from companies such as Shellfish De La Mer. Smaller than some of the other companies represented, Shellfish De La Mer joined Origin Green in 2013 and had its plan accepted early this year. It is proof that no matter what size the company, sustainability brings rewards. The company is saving 10,000 litres per annum as a result of just one of its Origin Green activities.

The message from Barry Cullen, Head of International Development with Silver Hill Foods, the only commercial duck processor on the island of Ireland, was that sustainability brings financial reward.

He told the conference, “Membership of Origin Green has brought us many benefits. Foremost among our priorities for this process is that it makes economic sense to our company: we would not do it if it did not.”

Charlie Coakley, Group Environmental Sustainability Manager, Dawn Meats, gave a very transparent glimpse into the organisation’s journey with Origin Green. One of his top tips on the day was that once the initial enthusiasm has worn off and the easy fixes have been made, things can get more challenging. However, commitment,

Gary Nugent, Environmental Manager, Rosderra Irish Meats, addresses the conference.

communication and a determination to seek out and try innovative solutions will keep an organisation and its staff on the right path.

The presentation from Inder Poonaji, Head of Sustainability with Nestle UK and Ireland, demonstrated very clearly how seriously such a large organisation takes the idea of sustainable production.

Calor Ireland informed delegates of the solutions that natural gas can provide for sustainable production, while Dr John Ryan of Certification Europe informed delegates about the ISO 50001 energy management standard, which is another useful tool for any organisation looking to achieve best practice in this increasingly important approach to food and drink production techniques.

Positive Figures The presentation by Tom Hayes TD, Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, was peppered with positive figures for the sector, including very strong export led growth. Origin Green and ISO 50001 are internationally recognised qualifications. Adherence demonstrates implementation to audited codes of practice. The Irish Government and industry bodies, such as those represented at the conference, are committed to bring the message around the world that not only has Ireland got a great reputation for food, we are working every day to get better.

That, in a nutshell was the message from Future in Food Ireland: do it, prove it, let the world know.

66|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie

Shelf Life

VODAFONE is lighting up the Out of Home market with its latest Christmas campaign, which offers bill pay and pay as you go customers six months Netflix included with the latest smartphones.

To promote this festive offer, Vodafone has teamed up with OMD and Kinetic, the Out of Home media agency, to run an innovative campaign across December. The campaign includes a large format billboard with a 3D paper chain of family characters ready to enjoy premium entertainment content including a wide selection of movies and TV shows. The special 3D billboard, measuring approximately three metres in height and 31m in width, is currently running in Ranelagh, Dublin, and features 15 individual light boxes attached to the poster, made from white perspex and cut to the exact shape of the characters.

FOODIES and bloggers from all across the country assembled in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre at the end of November for Lovin Dublin’s first ever live show. “We wanted to do something that was a huge celebration of Dublin and really highlighted the best the city has to offer,” revealed Niall Harbison, founder of Lovin Dublin. Speakers included Jamie Heaslip, Marco Pierre White and Mark Little. At the event, the Supervalu ‘Food Start-up of the Year’ award was won by Nobó Dairy-Free Ice Cream, after the judging panel saw a level of quality, originality, and market-readiness which separated it from the hundreds of other competitors. Nobó will receive €5K cash, €4K of legal services from Philip Lee, PR support from PR 360, mentorship from leading Irish retail guru James Burke, and much more.

KINSALE Bay Food Company, an Irish owned and operated artisan food producer, has signed a significant contract with Tesco Ireland to supply its products into 73 Tesco stores. The agreement follows the company’s involvement in the Tesco Bord Bia Supplier Development programme and is worth approximately €1m annually. As a result of this investment, the company has recently expanded its workforce by 10 and now employs a total of 31 people. The multi-award winning Cork-based food manufacturing company specialises in restaurant quality food products, with signature soups, patés and seafood dishes that are free from artificial preservatives and additives and are also gluten free.

CONTINUING their support of Irish food and drink producers, Insomnia showcased a number of festive treats as part of their Taste of Christmas range in their Chatham Row store recently. Made locally by six producers, the festive treats range from the Christmas signature sandwich, red velvet cakes and sushi to Christmas favourites of mince pies, gingerbread families and of course Turkey and stuffing crisps! Allowing the producers freedom to create the flavours for their suggested Insomnia Christmas festive range has meant the introduction of new exciting flavours and treats. This has allowed Insomnia to build on last year’s range and extends their festive selection even further. The six producers are Sweet Things, Oishi Foods, Lumley’s Bakery, Broderick Brothers, Keogh’s and Around Noon. Pictured at the launch were Bobby Kerr of Insomnia with Ciara Byrne of Sweet Things Bakery.

ICELAND has opened the doors of its newest Irish store in Waterford, where it was welcomed to the community by guest of honour, President of the Waterford Chamber of Commerce, Dr Derek O’Byrne. The new store has created 32 new jobs for the Waterford area, and offers shoppers great savings on over 2,000 branded grocery and chilled products. Iceland also offers a free home delivery service to customers when they spend €30 or more.

LIAM Wall, licensee of the Maxol service station in Tipperary town, recently revisited Circle of Friends, a support centre providing respite and counselling services to cancer patients and their families. Just over six months ago, Liam nominated the charity for funding as part of Maxol’s Community Awards Initiative. The awards were designed to help Maxol’s network of retailers build even closer relationships with their respective communities by championing a worthy local initiative. “Circle of Friends has given our staff and my wife Breda and I in Maxol Tipperary a fresh awareness of community activity and a real appreciation for the need to support worthy local initiatives,” noted Liam. Pictured are (l-r): Monica Fogarty, Asst Secretary, Circle of Friends; Maxol’s Group General Manager, Brian Donaldson; Pat Jones, Chairman of Circle of Friends and father of Jennifer Jones, founder; with Breda and Liam Wall.

CONGRATULATIONS to the winner of the PostPoint Christmas One4All competition, Bridget Nolan, from Daingain, Co.Offaly, who is the lucky winner of a €100 One4All gift card, just in time for Christmas.

IRELAND’S oldest and best-loved baking brand, Odlums, is projecting a surge in flour sales over the Christmas period, due to the increased popularity of home baking over the past two years. Market research also reflects an increase in the total Irish flour market of 3%, most of which is being driven by Odlums who have recorded a 7% surge in value sales (Source: Kantar Worldpanel, 52 weeks w/e September 14, 2014).

Pictured are Ellie Mooney, aged seven, Kiki Deegan Hughes, aged six, Conor O’Hanlon, aged five, and Caoimhe Barrett, aged five, with TV baker Catherine Leyden, who celebrates 40 years with Odlums this year. To celebrate her anniversary, Catherine has created a series of traditional and quirky Christmas recipes which can be viewed on www.odlums.ie.