Retail News November 2008

November 2008

AND WELL WORTH THE WAIT

RICH:

AVAILABLE IN KINGSIZE (10MG) AND SUPERKINGS (10MG)

MELLOW:

AVAILABLE IN KINGSIZE (6MG) AND SUPERKINGS (7MG) TO GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS EVEN MORE CHOICE

SMOOTH:

A UNIQUE (4MG) VARIANT

A RICHLY FLAVOURED HERITAGE BRINGING YOU RICHLY REWARDING SALES

SMOKING CAUSES CANCER Irish Government Warning

November08Contents

www.ism-cologne.com

■ inside view International Sweets and Biscuits Fair

The quickest way to ISM: our e-shop !

Save time and money when you arrive by buying your ticket in advance online – at www.ism-cologne.com

Christmas Cheer We all know the economy is in a pretty poor state at the moment and you can hardly pick up a newspaper without more predictions of doom and gloom. However, the Christmas season is almost upon us and, recession or no recession, Irish consumers are sure to stock up for the festivities across all grocery sectors.

To this end, we bring you the annual RETAIL NEWS Christmas Stocking guide (Page 29-63), focusing on all the products guaranteed to fly off your shelves this Yuletide.

At the time of going to press, rumours of the sale of Dunnes Stores are rife: we examine the history of the famous multiple and wonder what might be the outcome if Dunnes is sold (Page 5). Meanwhile, talk of Asda entering the Republic of Ireland market just won’t go away: we look at the possibilities if the group, which is owned by Walmart, were to make a play in Ireland (Page 7).

Also this issue, the Awards season is in full swing: we report on the Edward Dillon/SPAR Off Licence of the Year Awards (Page 16), the Costcutter Store of the Year (Page 18) and the Repak Recycling Awards (Page 24). Meanwhile, retail consultant Karen Meenan investigates if magazines are recession-proof (Page 20), we hear about Pat The Baker’s tremendous response to their Bebo page (Page 14) and we look at how new legislation is going to change the way tobacco products are sold in Ireland (Page 84).

Kathleen Belton, Editorial & Marketing Director.

“Celebrating 50 years serving the Irish grocery trade.”

Managing Director: Fergus Farrell Editorial & Marketing Director: Kathleen Belton, email: kathleenbelton@tarapublishingco.com Editor: John Walshe

johnwalshe@tarapublishingco.com

Chief News Reporter: Pavel Barter

Wine Correspondent: Jean Smullen

Financial Correspondent: Carmel Linnane

Advertising Manager: Aaron Stewart

ISM M – THE FUTURE OF SWEET SWEETS The world’s leading trade fair for the confectionery industry

Cologne, 1st to 4 th February 2009

On show at the last ISM – and already on everybody’s lips !

When it comes to confectionery, sweets and snacks, only the ISM has what your customers like best.

As the world’s largest and most important trade fair for the confectionery industry, it’s the only place to find out about the very latest products, new trends and seasonal articles for all the various segments – chocolate, sugar confectionery, biscuits, snack items, ice cream and raw pastes. Meanwhile, the organic trend continues to gather pace – so much so, in fact, that it will have its own presentation area at ISM 2009.

Come and taste for yourself which products will soon be flying off your shelves !

More information ? No problem !

Tel. +44 (20) 75 66 63-40 Fax +44 (20) 75 66 63-41 info@koelnmesse.co.uk

Running four days in parallel to ISM: ProSweets Cologne !

Advertising Executive: Steven Larkin, David Kelly

T A R A Published by: Tara Publishing Co. Ltd., Poolbeg House, 1/2 Poolbeg Street, Dublin 2.

Tel: (01) 2413095. Fax: (01) 2413010. ISDN: 01 2413050

Koelnmesse Ltd 205-207 City Road London EC1V 1JN

Web: www.retailnews.ie Email: retailnews@tarapublishingco.com Subscription to Retail News: €110 plus VAT Email: tracy@tarapublishingco.com Origination by: Rooney Media Graphics

Printed by: Graham & Heslip

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Thank you & Congratulations.

Recycle more - let’s get it sorted.

Repak would like to thank all of its members & stakeholders for helping to make Repak Recycling Week such a great success. In particular, we would like to thank and congratulate the winners of this year’s Repak Recycling Awards companies, bodies and individuals who are leading the way in packaging prevention and recycling.

WINNERS OF THE REPAK RECYCLING AWARDS 2008: Repak in Assoc with An Taisce, Recycling School of the Year 2008 Winner: Tashinny NS, Ballymahon, Co. Longford Repak Recovery Operator of the Year 2008 – Small Company Sponsored by Manvik Ireland Winner: Clean (Ire) Refuse and Recycling Ltd Repak Recovery Operator of the Year 2008 – Large Company Sponsored by Tetra Pak Winner: Thorntons Recycling Repak Civic Amenity/Recycling Centre of the Year 2008 Sponsored by RPS Group Winner: Bray Recycling Centre, Wicklow County Council Repak Local Authority of the Year 2008 Sponsored by Rehab Recycling Winner: Fingal County Council

Repak Best Practice Award 2008 – Independent Retail Winner: Murphy’s Supervalu, Castletownbere Repak Best Practice Award 2008 – Hospitality Sector Sponsored by Rehab Recycling Winner: Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Galway Repak Best Practice Award 2008 Sponsored by The EPA Winner: Glenisk Organic Dairy Repak Best Packaging Prevention Initiative 2008 Sponsored by The EPA Winner: Microsoft Ireland Repak Excellence Award 2008 Winner: Musgrave Group Repak Member of the Year 2008 Sponsored by Arthur Cox Winner: Symantec Ltd

FUNDING PACKAGING RECYCLING

November08Contents

Contents November 2008

News 4 Fuelling Controversy.

5 Dunnes Stores Under the Hammer?

cery spectrum, from biscuits and snacks to beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks.

6 The Asda Effect 7 VAT Hike Criticised 8 Vodafone Launches IVR

Wine Training 64 Training staff on the

Service for Cancelling TopUp Codes; Aldi Expansion Continues.

9 Superquinn Plans Ahead; EU Changes Fruit & Veg Rules.

Bread 14 Pat The Baker has launched a page on the Bebo site, which has proved a massive success.

SPAR Off Licence Awards 16 The inaugural Edward Dillion/SPAR Off Licence of the Year Awards proved a great success.

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Costcutter Annual Conference 18 Entitled ‘Retailing In Turbulent Times’, Costcutter’s Annual Conference took place recently in Athlone.

wine you stock is a key driver of business growth, writes Mike Finnegan, Director, Wine Board of Ireland.

On The Vine 66 Jean Smullen reports on the NOffLA Gold Star Wine Awards.

Karen Meenan’s Top Tips 20 Retail consultant Karen

Money Matters 82 Carmel Linnane advises

Meenan investigates the differing purchasing patterns of magazine buyers and finds out if magazines are recession-proof?

on the necessity of a shareholders’ agreement for the formation of all new companies with more than one owner.

Repak Recycling Awards 24 The 2008 Repak

Shelf Life 88 All the latest news and

Recycling Awards took place recently, with numerous winners from the FMCG sector.

Christmas Stocking 29 Your guide to must-

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gossip from the trade.

Regulars 10 Industry News 26 Drinks News 87 Update Sectoral Reports 38 Christmas Drinks – Beer 46 Christmas Drinks – Spirits 52 Christmas Drinks – Wine 58 Christmas Drinks – Soft Drinks 62 Christmas Drinks – Bottled Water

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68 OTC Medicines 74 Batteries 80 Poultry 84 Tobacco Products

stocks across the entire gro3

November08News

Fuelling Controversy A NEW price survey into the cost of fuel at the pump in Ireland is likely to reveal that indigenous petrol charges compare favourably to Europe, according to a Topaz spokesperson. The National Consumer Agency (NCA) is carrying out the survey, following reports that motorists are charged more for diesel and petrol than consumers in other EU countries.

“I think the National Consumer Agency [NCA] are trying to understand how pricing finds its way into the market,” Frank Gleeson, Retail Director at Topaz, told RETAIL NEWS. “When they do that, and benchmark us against Europe, they will find we stack up okay - particularly in light of the cost of the product coming into Ireland, the amount of tax that goes on the product, and the operating overheads for retailers. Bear in mind we have a minimum wage structure, whereas other countries may not.

We have different utility costs, which are steadily increasing. I would welcome an investigation into the cost of electricity, where there is not as much competition as there is in fuel.”

According to European Commission figures, released as part of a weekly oil price bulletin, motorists in Ireland are charged around 11% more for fuel than the EU average, while diesel is purportedly 20% more expensive and home heating oil is 13% dearer. Fine Gael have added comment in light of the statistics, with deputy leader and finance spokesman Richard Bruton TD stating that motorists were victim of a petrol pump “rip-off”.

However, Gleeson pointed out that the EU calculates averages based on weekly movements, whereas in Ireland they are calculated based on a monthly basis. He welcomed more transparency in how prices reached the consumer. “[The NCA] are talking to all the oil companies to get a greater understanding of how prices filter down toward the consumers - it’s my belief that they will find that Irish fuel prices benchmark very well. We move our prices up and down with the fluctuation on the product market, as everyone does, and there is no price gouging going on with retailers. They don’t have the ability to do it 4

because of competition. The profits are occurring upstream, not downstream.”

Real profits traditionally occur not at retail, but amongst oil companies.

“Furthermore, there are various cost implications for petrol sales in Ireland.

Firstly, as an island, products must be shipped in – everything from the size of the boat, storage, and further transport affects price. The reality is, the further away you are from the source of supply, the more expensive the product is going to be, particularly as an end user,” said Gleeson.

He continued: “We are also heavily taxed: that is probably driving prices more than anything else. Let’s talk about the 8 cents the government put on unleaded. Where did that come from?

Why wasn’t there an outcry over that, instead of blaming the retailers, who make a very small percentage margin, for high prices? Most of my customers are barely making a living - they operate in margins of 2% to 3%, and the government are taking 60% of the fuel price from consumers.”

Price concerns do not appear to affect Tesco Ireland, however, who have cut their prices dramatically in recent times.

Frank Gleeson considers this a loss-leading mechanism, designed to attract shoppers into Tesco stores. Indeed, the multiple has introduced a special offer, whereby Tesco customers can fill up for €1 a litre if they also spend €99 in-store.

“They are having a lot of difficulties with their retail business in the supermarkets and they are seeing their basket size drop,” he said. “There is also a lot of pressure from the discounters. It’s easy for them to take fuel in 15 locations, reduce the price, and carry the discount costs in their supermarket. Bear in mind, our retailers – 2,000 service stations in the country – don’t have the benefit of a 30,000 square feet store to help them with their profitability. They typically have 1,000 square feet, which puts them in a more difficult position. If you worked the Tesco model, there would be 60 service stations in the whole country and people would drive 50 miles to get petrol. How does that make sense?

“It’s easy for them to take a position where they sell fuel at €1.09. Funnily

Pictured outside Topaz’s landmark service station at the gateway to the Dublin Port Tunnel are (l-r): Frank Gleeson, Topaz Retail Director, and Danny Murray, Topaz Chief Executive.

enough, lots of retailers are selling fuel for €1.09 – if you were to do a price survey around those Tesco sites, you’d find that our retailers are competing with them. You will go into other areas that may sell at €1.19, but they could be 100 miles away from that location, and they may be dong a twentieth of the volume that Tesco do. But they provide a service to the community that is valuable – if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be in business.”

The National Consumer Agency intends to release the findings of its price survey to the Tánaiste by mid December at the latest. Ann Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the National Consumer Agency, recently confirmed Gleeson’s assumptions in regard to the validity of the EU’s data.

“Our work to date suggests that price data, on an aggregated basis, is being supplied to Irish authorities on a monthly basis while the EU is publishing weekly tracked prices,” she said. “This means that the data the EU is receiving from the Irish authorities is hopelessly inadequate and out of date, with the result that weekly tracking of Irish prices versus those in other EU countries is impossible.”

November08News

Dunnes Stores Under the Hammer?

RETAILERS rarely come as tight-lipped as Dunnes Stores, who battened down the hatches and stayed quiet during recent speculation that the group was about to sell shop to UK multiple Asda.

The secrecy is par for the course for a company that tends to offer a “no comment” in regard to the most insubstantial of rumours, but in the case of Asda, it was a stance that rattled the bones of workers’ unions.

“We had speculation and rumour, counter rumour, and counter speculation,” Gerry Light, assistant general secretary of Mandate, told RETAIL NEWS. Subsequently, Mandate sent a letter to Dunnes requesting clarification, but did not hear back from the retailer. “Nothing has progressed further from the formal request we made for information from the company. This kind of thing only adds fuel to the fire. It’s not going to go out unless Dunnes turns the hose on us.”

Following the rumours, it was reported that Dunnes are reviewing the open market value of their sites, suggesting that a sale might be possible in the near future. While rumours are always rife in the grocery sector, Light believes that Dunnes have an obligation to interface with their workers. After recent speculation that Superquinn was for sale to Asda, for example, Chief Executive Simon Burke wrote to Mandate clarifying that this was not the case.

“The economy has been a major benefactor of partnerships over the last

20 years,” argued Light.

“Some say the Celtic Tiger would never have happened without national partnership structures. And, indeed, major companies have significantly gained on the back of the growth of this partnership structure. 21 years down the road, and here one of the biggest players in the country, Dunnes, is still treating its workers in such a way. That’s no way to treat workers in 2008.”

As a private operation, Dunnes are not legally obliged to reveal details of their operations. Nevertheless, certain information can be ascertained. The group was founded in Cork in 1944, and has since grown to 120 outlets in Ireland, with the rest scattered around England, Scotland and Spain. With an alleged turnover of over €3 billion, the company is not struggling, although market research suggest sales are suffering due to competition from the German discounters. Nevertheless, the multiple’s 23.8% share of the Irish market puts to shame Aldi and Lidl’s combined 7.2% stake.

Due to tough trading conditions, Dunnes appear to be scaling back operations, shelving plans for new stores in Drogheda, Saggart, and

Newtownmountkennedy. Nevertheless, Gerry Light is resigned to the fact that, should the company eventually be sold, the workers will be the last ones to know. Only senior management are often informed as to prospective takeover bids. Such was the case in 1997, when Tesco acquired Quinnsworth from Associated British Foods for €820m.

“Dunnes Stores being what they are and who they are - the size of them and the role they play within the economy they do have a responsibility,” said Light.

“Call it professional, moral, call it whatever you want. But clearly there is a responsibility on them and I think they failed that responsibility fairly miserably over the course of the last while in not coming back to us, or making some kind of public statement in regard as to whether the company was for sale or not.”

FSAI Assures Consumers on Water Safety THE Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has moved to reassure consumers about the quality and safety of bottled water on the Irish market. Reacting to a report in the Irish Independent, the FSAI stated that the statistics quoted in the article related to a draft report on the safety of bottled natural mineral water, spring water and other waters, which is a summary report of historic enforcement activity and sampling on the ground in 2007. Any issues identified at the time they were found were corrected immediately, according to the Authority, with a number of bottled waters withdrawn from the market and corrective actions taken by the industry when found.

According to Dr John O’Brien, Chief Executive, FSAI this report is part of the regular microbiological surveillance carried out. This is a summary report of official activity on the ground over a specific period of time, bringing together all the data and sampling from EHOs around the country. It reviews actions taken in the past and provides an overview of the findings identified. “Corrective actions are taken at the time. We do not wait until a report is compiled – if foods are found that are not compliant with the food safety legislation, then immediate action is taken,” he stressed.

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November08News

The Asda Effect DESPITE recent speculation of a takeover bid for Dunnes Stores, Asda’s presence in the retail market in the Republic of Ireland has yet to be felt.

Nevertheless, rumours persist that the supermarket giant has its sights set on Ireland and is waiting for the right opportunity to arise. According to sources, Asda executives have been visiting Ireland on occasion for almost 10 years, trying to find a potential foothold in the market. So how might an Asda presence change the retail sector as we know it?

According to James Lowman, Chief Executive of the Association of Convenience Stores in the UK, where Asda is the second largest retail chain after Tesco, what sets Asda apart is its focus on large stores.

“Tesco have some convenience stores, as do Sainsbury’s and Morrisons,” he told RETAIL NEWS. “Asda’s model is focused on large stores in which they provide clothing, other non-food and grocery. If they do enter the Irish market, the question is: how will they find the sites or convert the sites to meet what appears to be their preferred trading model?”

A multiple like Dunnes seems a good match for this model, with its mix of food and clothing. The format has certainly worked in Northern Ireland, where Asda set up shop in 2005, following the purchase of 12 Safeway stores at a cost of €110m. The group subsequently spent €44m redeveloping the stores. The same year, Asda was rumoured to have approached several logistics firms in

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Ireland, inquiring about setting up logistics firms for a proposed Irish operation.

North of the border, Antrim council have now backed plans for a 52,000 square feet Asda superstore, a flagship outlet for Asda in the North. While this model may not necessarily be repeated in the Republic should Asda enter the market here, it is symptomatic on the group’s “bigger is better” attitude.

The UK Competition Commission recently undertook a two year investigation into the grocery sector, studying issues around competition and supply chain practices, to discover that the “big four” (Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury and Asda) were using supply chain practices that were harming suppliers.

“Those four control 80% of the entire grocery market, which gives them real buyer power – to the detriment of suppliers and consumers,” Helen Rimmer, food campaigner at UK-based Friends of the Earth told RETAIL NEWS. “The Competition Authority criticised them for their ability to invest and innovate, and recommended a strong grocery supply code of practice that would govern relationships between supermarkets

and their suppliers. They also recommended that an ombudsman, an independent watchdog, oversee and police that code.”

Asda have since stated that an ombudsman would tie up supermarkets and suppliers in red tape, ultimately leading to an increase in prices. “We have become increasingly concerned that the ombudsman will not be sufficiently qualified to understand the way the market works” Asda’s Chief Executive Andy Bond recently stated.

Were Asda to enter the Irish market, they would be restricted in regards to store size - current planning regulations limit retail warehouses. However, the decision to allow furniture giant Ikea to open a 30,500 square metre store in Ballymun, Dublin 11, suggests an ease in size restrictions, opening up a door for retailers like Asda, Sainsbury’s and Costco.

In the UK, according to James Lowman, the rules are laxer. Hence, larger stores are endemic. “There isn’t any specific regulation about store size, but if you’re building out-of-town you have to go through a number of hoops,” he said. “You have to prove there are no appropriate sites in the town centre, and you have to prove there is a need for the development, and that it will not have a detrimental impact, environmentally, etc. There is a lot of discouragement toward out of town planning.

Nevertheless, it still happens.”

Ultimately, said Lowman, the Big Four have such massive buying power

November08News

that smaller outlets struggle to compete. Asda, in particular, exert an extremely strong arm in the market.

In 1999, WalMart purchased the supermarket chain for €8.17 billion – not a huge feat for a retailer with a market capitalisation of €185.27 billion and annual revenues of €309 billion.

Nevertheless, WalMart in the US have caused numerous controversies over alleged shady environmental practices, the decimation of small town “Mom and Pop” stores, and their treatment of workers. In the US, Wal-Mart have been rabidly anti-union. How might such a philosophy play out in Ireland?

Gerry Light, assistant general secretary of Mandate, the union of retail, bar and administrative workers in Ireland, discussed this with RETAIL NEWS. “In a purely hypothetical situation, if they were to assume the presence that WalMart assumes in the States, in respect of workers’ rights and unions, I think we would have a problematic situation early on,” he said. “It would be rather naïve, from an industrial relations perspective, and a high risk strategy, if someone decided, on acquisition of Dunnes, to apply the WalMart model.

It would be rather foolish.”

However, the trade union movement is far stronger in the UK and Ireland than it is in the US. And in the UK, Asda works alongside unions as part of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).

“I’m not presuming that Asda would adopt the Wal-Mart ethos,” said Light.

“They sit down and negotiate with unions in the North of Ireland and the UK, so it is not true to say they reflect the parent company. By and large, what we find is, there’s a certain amount of pragmatism applied when a company is taken over.”

For the time being, Asda’s presence in the Republic of Ireland is mere conjecture. Following the fracas over the rumoured purchase of Dunnes Stores, Asda remain quiet as to their intentions in the country. However, if the group does find an opportunity to enter the Irish market, we are likely to hear about it from Asda’s end of the business. After all, the multiple has stock market obligations through WalMart, and while Dunnes’ staff may be none the wiser, WalMart’s shareholders will certainly not be left in the dark.

VAT Hike Criticised VINCENT Jennings, Chief Executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA), has condemned the government’s decision to increase the VAT rate in Ireland from 21% to 21.5%. There was nothing in either the budget, or the raising of excise duties, “that consolidates, solidifies or gives comfort to anyone within the retail sector,” he told RETAIL NEWS. “I feel it is a cynical attempt by the Government to make use of preChristmas purchasing,” Jennings said of the VAT increase, which comes into effect on December 1, 2008, and applies to a large volume of food and non-food grocery items.

“Retailers are going to find it difficult developing two different approaches for returns. For the products we buy at 21%, we either Vincent Jennings, Chief Executive of the have to increase our prices to accomConvenience Stores and Newsagents modate them, or subsume the loss Association (CSNA). ourselves. There is no doubt that help. For our sector, it’s a penny here, some suppliers will be increasing their rectwo cents there, five cents there, but it ommended prices to accommodate them. all adds up to an additional amount for Others will hold their prices, either to pass the retailer to pass onto the Revenue. on the cost or subsume it.”

In regard to alcohol, I have no doubt The VAT increase is likely to comthat if people are travelling north of the pound challenges raised in the recent border, they will consider it better valBudget, in which the excise duty on a 75cl ue for a bottle of wine there.” bottle of still wine increased by 41c to In a time of economic hardship, €2.46 (the highest duty on wine in the when consumer confidence is at a low, EU), and a packet of 20 cigarettes was the rise in VAT is counterproductive, he increased by 50c. As far as cigarette sales added: “There is a huge uncertainty are concerned, a new structure is about how long-lasting this [recession] required, according to the CSNA Chief will be. We are in completely uncharted Executive. waters – we have had recession and “The retailer should have the right to retail difficulties before, but this is very price tobacco – not the tobacco companies distinct and difficult. I don’t believe and not the Department of Finance. anybody knows what is going to hapThere should be a minimum price, pen.” beneath which it cannot be sold for social While Jennings believes that the reasons and for health reasons. But there increase will not “turn a significant is no reason, either financial or in regard proportion of people away from makto social policy, as to why cigarettes ing their purchase of cigarettes or should be a fixed price. There should be wine”, it may well lead to an increase no law that prevents us from determinin smuggling. ing the market, rather than having a “Every increase in tobacco leads to an tobacco-company ordained price.” increase in people willing to buy smugFood and Drink Industry Ireland gled products or buy outside of the state.

(FDII) have expressed their concerns Overall, I see very little joined-up thinkthat these increases could add to the ing in terms of assisting retail in this problem of cross-border shopping. budget.”

Jennings concurs: “It certainly doesn’t 7

November08News

Vodafone Launches IVR Service for Cancelling Top-Up Codes FOLLOWING consultation with RGDATA, the CSNA and Top-Up wholesalers, Vodafone Ireland have launched a new IVR service for cancelling Top-Up codes. Retailers can now cancel Top-Up vouchers by calling 1800 234235 and selecting option 1. This new service means that retailers can save time dealing with customer queries. Following cancellation of a Top-Up code, the retailer simply follows the standard returns process with their intermediary (e.g. Payzone, Paypoint etc.).

Aldi Expansion Continues

Britvic Reports Good Performance BRITVIC’S Irish division is hot property. During the soft drink manufacturer’s last financial year, which ran until the end of September 2008, Irish operations contributed €258m to the group’s total revenue of €1.1 billion. In Ireland, Britvic owns the former soft drinks division of C&C, which includes brands like Club Orange, Mi Wadi, and Ballygowan Water.

Despite these buoyant statistics, Britvic Chief Executive, Paul Moody, predicted a difficult year ahead due to tough market conditions and plummeting retail sales.

Shopping Mate A NEW consumer gadget, designed to help write shopping lists, has been developed by a Waterfordbased company. The Shopping Mate is a device that allows users to scan empty packaging and create a digital list, which can be printed at the press of a button. The device is also compatible with computers, allowing people to order goods online.

According to the Shopping Mate’s creators, Ellickson Software Systems, “There will also be an option to transmit adverts to the devices, with householders given the opportunity to add featured products and services to their shopping list, or buy them directly through the touch-screen device.”

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Pictured are (l-r): Aldi Ireland Managing Director, Donald Mackay, and Aldi Managing Director UK and Ireland, Paul Foley.

ALDI’S sales are rocketing in the face of financial woe. In the UK, for example, the group’s sales grew by 22.1% in the 12 weeks running up to October 5.

Closer to home, Aldi’s expansion is continuing at an impressive rate. The retailer recently applied for planning permission for a new store – a singlestorey discount food store, including an off-licence, on the Grey Abbey Road in Kildare.

This, however, is merely the tip of the iceberg. The German-owned group is planning on opening 35 new stores and creating 650 new jobs over the next three years, with locations mooted for Drogheda, Wexford, Mallow and Dublin.

All this, according to Aldi, amounts to an investment of some €350m.

Mary Coughlan TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, reacted positively to the announcement: “The 650 jobs created by this investment will be of significant benefit to a number of local economies, who will also receive a further boost by the jobs that will be created in the construction phase of these new outlets.

“The entry of discounters such as Aldi in recent years have brought significant changes to the retail grocery sector, by contributing to greater competition resulting in significant benefits to the Irish consumer.”

Paul Foley, Managing Director of Aldi UK and Ireland, noted, “Our new €350m investment underpins our commitment to Ireland and our on-going support to our customers, staff and Irish suppliers.”

Indeed, Aldi operates an Irish buying department committed to sourcing as much of its product range from Irish suppliers as possible. Over 40% of the groceries sold at Aldi are now sourced from Irish suppliers. This includes all the fresh beef, pork, lamb and poultry along with eggs, spring water, soft drinks, cakes, yogurts and artisan cheeses.

Aldi’s Irish supplier base includes: Bewley’s – coffee and tea; Irish Yoghurts – yoghurt; Largo – crisps; Odlums – flour; Gleeson Group – mineral water and soft drinks; Doolittle’s – sandwiches; and AIBP – meat.

November08News

Superquinn Plans Ahead RUMOURS of Superquinn’s impeding demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Executive Chairman Simon Burke has spoken of his plans for a residential and shopping centre in Bray (located on Southern Cross Road).

Alongside a Superquinn store, the development will include eight shops, a restaurant, and 700 car park spaces.

Superquinn plans to open 15 new stores over the next five years, most of them in the Dublin area, according to The Sunday Business Post.

Meanwhile, retail developSuperquinn Executive Chairman ers are not so optimistic in Simon Burke.

Limerick, where planning permission for a huge retail projas saying he did not understand ect has been turned down. why planning was refused: “I Chieftain Construction were hopunderstand the council want to ing to extend Coonagh Cross protect the city centre retailers, Shopping Centre, at Ennis Road, but developments like the Opera but were knocked back by Centre and Arthur’s Quay are four Limerick City Council – at a cost, or five years down the road. This is say the developers, of over 800 a green-field site with parking and potential jobs. would have served somewhere in Local councillor Kevin Kiely the region of 18,000 people.” was quoted in the Irish Examiner

EU Changes Fruit & Veg Rules CERTAIN fruit and vegetables, that don’t currently meet EU regulations, are to be given a stay of execution, thanks to a decision from the EU's Management Committee for Fruit and Vegetables to amend the minimum size and shape standards for fruit and vegetables.

Produce that is safe but misshapen will now be available for sale, following a move by Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, who was reacting to higher food prices, caused by the increased cost of oil on the global market.

The laws defining minimum

shape and size are to repealed for a total of 26 fruits and vegetables: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocados, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons and witloof/chicory.

Current standards will remain in place for apples, citrus fruit, kiwi, lettuce, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes.

Potato Promotion Ongoing POTATO promotions are all the rage these days, especially since 2008 has been deemed International Year of the Potato by the United Nations. Now Agri Aware are peeling their own place in the public eye, having launched a potato growing challenge called ‘Meet the Spuds!’

This event involved 120,000 school kids from across the country, who learnt about the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables by harvesting their own Colleen potatoes.

The promotion is available at retail level.

Packs provide consumers with recipes and a chance to explore the broader farming and food industry. Agri Aware teamed up with Sam Dennigan and Company as part of the promotion.

“We have embraced this initiative and we hope this latest campaign will provoke greater thought and appreciation for the spud. Although the potato has had a deep connection with Irish history and food, its popularity has dwindled in recent years in comparison to other so-called staple foods. It's high time the spud is reinstated as the true champ of Irish vegetables,” said Sam Dennigan Junior, Marketing Director of Sam Dennigan and Company.

Shining Light on Retail THERE is a new revolution in in-store advertising, according to an Irish signmaker. LED advertising signs are starting to replace traditional neon signs in retail outlets, Finbarr Clarkson, Managing Director of Gaelite, tells RETAIL NEWS. “LED is far more efficient in terms of running costs and is much more effective as a light source. Neon is really dying out,” he says.

So what are the advantages?

“Firstly, running costs, and secondly, maintenance,” Clarkson notes. “An LED has a lifespan of 50,000 hours. Neon needs a major overhaul every two to three years - in fact it’s impossible to know how long it is going to last for.”

Because it uses less electricity, LED also has an environmental advantage, he added, and provides savings in running costs.

Gaelite recently replaced all of neon store signs with LED in Tesco stores in the Republic and Northern Ireland, and plans on following suit with Maxol. Clarkson feels that LED is unlikely to translate to street advertising – since a 48-sheet billboard would be prohibitively expansive to convert to an LED, and would raise issues of light pollution – but it could be effective in the realm of backlit displays, boasting that “the technology is improving and becoming more sophisticated every year.”

9

November08Industry News

Garvey’s Wins HR Award KERRY-based retail group Garvey’s was awarded the Excellence Through People Platinum certification for best practice Human Resource Management (HRM). Winning the Platinum standard sets Garvey’s SuperValu apart as the only retailer in the country to have achieved this prestigious level of Award. The FÁS Excellence Through People Award is recognised as the Irish quality standard for human resources best practice. Pictured at the Award presentation are Rody Molloy, FÁS Director General; Kevin McCarthy, Managing Director, Garvey Group; Caroline McEnery, Operations Director Garvey Group; Junior Minister of State Billy Kelleher TD, Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment – Labour Affairs.

Ferrybank Off-Licence Wins Store of the Year ASHLEY and Karina Thompson, franchisees of the Ferrybank Carry Out Off Licence, have won the overall ‘Store of the Year’ within the Carry Out Off Licence chain nationwide. They beat off stiff competition from over 60 stores to claim the title and a trip to South Africa to visit the wine regions of Stellenbosch. Ashley and Karina are pictured receiving their award from David O’Keeffe, National Sales Manager, Carry Out, and Tom Desmond, Managing Director, Galvins Wholesale Ltd, who run the Carry Out franchise.

Love Olive Launches at SHOP GREECE was the word for olives at the recent SHOP Expo in Dublin for new gourmet Irish brand, Love Olive. Some of its Greek partners made the trip over for the show, and included George Kentris, an olive producer from Greece, his wife Eleni, and James Philipson, Love Olive Supply Director. Also at the show to support the brand was Konstantianos Piperigos from the Greek Embassy in Dublin. Although a relatively young company Love Olive has already invested over €300,000 on Greek stock to date, from suppliers spanning the whole country, as it prepares to take the Irish market by storm.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Bord Bia Promotes Premium Irish Beef Range

ORGANIC vegetarian burgers from a new Cork company called Veg-e-Que took the prize for ‘Best Growth Potential’ at the Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, held recently in Cork. The annual Shell Livewire Awards identify and reward business start-up role models.

The competition is a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit in young companies across Ireland. Deirdre Collins won the award for her new innovative range of fresh, organic, vegetarian, wholefood Burgers, which are handmade at her new commercial kitchen in Ballincollig, Co. Cork.

John McGuiness TD, Minister for Trade and Commerce, congratulates Deirdre Collins on her Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur award.

PICTURED is Nour Lala, Director of Fresh Food, Monoprix; Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia; and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD; at the launch of Bord Bia’s latest promotion of premium Irish beef in Paris, with two major French retailers, Monoprix and Intermarché. Monoprix is the number one premium high street supermarket in France, with a turnover of over €3.5 billion, while Intermarché is the fourth largest French multiple group, serving almost 1,800 outlets.

10

I.D. Help stub out under-age smoking.

It is an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone aged under 18.

To help retailers comply with the law, the Office of Tobacco Control has developed a DVD which explains your responsibilities and those of your staff. There is also signage available which can be displayed in store along with information guides for owners, managers and staff.

These guides are available in English, Irish, Chinese and Polish.

You may order a DVD and retailer resource pack by calling us on 045-852700.

Alternatively both the signs and the guides can be downloaded from www.otc.ie

Let’s keep our children smoke-free

November08Industry News

Topaz Lifts Top Awards TOPAZ had a very successful evening at the recent Ireland Forecourt and Convenience Retailer Awards. Topaz were nominated for several accolades and walked away with four awards. Topaz Dublin Port won ‘Newcomer of the Year’, Topaz Newlands Cross won ‘Best Use of Category Management’, Topaz won ‘Best Oil Company Initiative’, and Tobins Gala/Topaz, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal won ‘Best Forecourt Facilities’. All the Topaz winners are pictured with event MC, Gráinne Seoige.

Cool Power Helps Tesco Go Green COOL Power, one of Ireland’s leading providers of solar electricity, has provided Tesco Ireland with a world-class energy efficient Photo Voltaic (PV) system for its first Eco Store in the country. Located in Tramore, Co. Waterford, Tesco's Eco Store is the first supermarket in the country designed to the internationally recognised 'Passiv Haus' standard and it will use 45% less energy than a store of a similar size, combining Cool Power's solar electricity system with other energy saving design features. Tim Cooper, Managing Director of Cool Power, noted, “It is extremely important that companies like Tesco lead the way and invest in renewable energy to show the public that renewable energy is not only ethically correct, but also cost- effective.”

Saving Money and Energy THREE leading Irish firms have launched a new initiative which will potentially see up to 2,100 tonnes of CO2 eliminated from the atmosphere, with a possible annual saving of approximately 44 megawatts of electricity to the national grid. Competitive electricity firm Energia and the energy cost management firm ResourceKraft will offer a new computerised energy efficiency system to SuperValu and Centra stores throughout Ireland.

One of the first stores to have benefited from trials of the ResourceKraft system is Twohigs SuperValu in Kanturk, Co. Cork, who are now saving over €14,000 off an original annual electricity bill of €140,000, as part of an overall energy efficiency drive. Pictured at the launch are (l-r): Derek Hannick, Costs Manager, Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland; Michael Twohig, Head of Store Development, Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland; and Aidan Brennan, Key Account Manager, Energia.

Good News For Economy “BY mid-2009, the world’s economy will have stabilised and the consumer will be in a much better place.” Such was the view of Micheal J Silverstein, best-selling author of ‘Treasure Hunt’ and senior partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group, speaking via live link at the launch of a new Irish digital research agency, Sponge it (www.spongeit.ie) at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Sponge it provides cutting-edge market research covering consumer thinking and branding, which gives subscribed retailers greater certainty about their commercial decisions and marketing plans. “In the current turbulence, it is more important than ever for retailers to stay on the pulse of consumer thinking. This makes the launch of Sponge it very timely as we can help pinpoint those trends accurately and quickly for our clients,” noted Ger Farrell, MD of Sponge it, who is pictured with Eoin Dardis of the National Council for the Blind (one of the charities who will benefit from research points) and James Lenehan of Win Win.

12

Pampers Join Forces with Unicef BUBBLY babies Elise Cunningham, Jackson Kaneswaren, Sonni Ogoo Logan were on hand to help mother and musician, Sharon Corr launch the Pampers Unicef Ireland ‘1 pack = 1 vaccine’ campaign in the Westin Hotel, Dublin. Every special pack of Pampers purchased between October 1 and December 31, 2008, will provide a vaccine to protect mothers and babies in the developing world against the preventable but often fatal disease, maternal and newborn tetanus. This is the third year in a row that Pampers and Unicef have teamed up to help eliminate a disease that kills one baby every three minutes and 30,000 mothers each year.

A-Range Your Store for CHRISTMAS... A Time for Sharing!

Our series of “A-Range Your Store” features this year with James O’Rourke from Walkers has been tremendously popular and highly informative. This month is James’ final feature for 2008 and he has left the best to last… that biggest of selling times – Christmas! For retailers this is THE time to get it right and maximise profit. Christmas is all about the seasonal festivity purchase – crisps, snacks, confectionery and alcoholic and soft drinks.

Christmas is also a time for sharing so James is going to share his three wise tips for Christmas Category Management with us…

We’ve covered with you in previous features the 3 Basic Principles of Category Management: • Having the Right Product, at the Right Price in the Right Place to Satisfy your Shoppers • Managing the available Floor space & fixtures to maximise Shopper Reach & Sales Contribution • Knowing the Facts about the Category to make the Fixture work for your Customer and for you When applied, these principles can deliver impressive results. Our test store pilot in Spar Edward Street Newbridge showed that the above principles resulted in a 45% increase in Sharing and an 11% increase in Standard Bag Sales – that’s an overall Crisps & Snacks sales Increase of 25%!!!

During the Christmas period sales of categories which are shopped for Seasonal Festivities & Parties - Crisps & Snacks, Confectionery, Alcohol & Soft Drinks - increase. Shoppers are even more time pressured and looking to “just get in & out”. So..this means the biggest-ever opportunity for incremental sales, so follow these next steps to have your best ever Christmas. Here are my “Three Wise Tips”:

WISE TIP ONE: Christmas is a Time for Sharing….

Sales of Sharing Bags increase by an average of 68% over the 8 Weeks of Christmas!! This means that if

JAMES O’ROURKE James is the Category Manager for Walkers in Ireland. James has been with the company for the past 4 years and has worked in a variety of roles from Territory Manager to Grocery & Wholesale Account Manager.

you don’t normally stock these products or if they are merchandised in a cold spot of the store, they should be stocked together with the other products shoppers are looking for when stocking up for a Great Christmas Party Night; Alcohol, Soft Drinks & Confectionery. Look at cross promotions and take up supplier promotions to maximise effects.

WISE TIP TWO: Make Room For Christmas…..

You have a fixed amount of space in your stores and a lot of products. Don’t clog up the store and make it difficult to shop. Sharing Bags of Crisps & Snacks when placed on floor units at Christmas can result in up to 200% increase in Bags sold! Give space to the Christmas sellers

WISE TIP THREE: Know your Christmas Facts…..

Know the facts about the categories stocked in your store. For example, 60% of all Sharing Crisps & Snack Sales currently come from just the Top 12 Products! Prioritise which products you feature at these peak times in order to maximise shopper variety, store contribution & maintain stockholding levels and merchandising resource in your store at what is one of the busiest periods of the year for us all.

From all of us at Walkers, we wish you a profitable Happy Christmas!

For any retailer enquiries contact Donna Byrne on 087 416 9486

November08Bread

Pat The Baker Shines on Bebo

Launching a page on Bebo has proved a shrewd move for Pat The Baker

It

may seem an unusual move for a bread brand to launch a page on Bebo, the social networking site, but for Pat The Baker, such a strategy has proved a real winner.

“I wanted to do something interactive to launch our new ‘Product Characters’, which are characters that personify some of our most popular products,” explains Oliver Durkin, Brand Manager, Pat The Baker. “Bebo offered us a platform for engagement with an audience that is often missed in the FMCG world of brand positioning and marketing.”

There is a very tangible 14

business reason for this strategy, as Durkin explains: “The young opinionated householder often affects the purchasing decisions of the main shopper. If a child asks their parents to purchase Pat The Baker Multigrain because it’s really healthy, that has a seriously strong impact on the purchasing decision of an FMCG brand.

“But beyond the demographic and gender profile of the space, it has allowed us to stretch the brand and introduce the characterisation of our products in a tangible manner, getting immediate feedback.”

Hugely Successful Since launching in October, the Bebo page has taken on a life of its own. It is one of the fastest growing sites on Bebo, amassing more than 2,500 friends in its first two weeks and enjoying more ‘skin’ downloads than any other corporate venture.

It doesn’t end there, however. The brand also sponsors iRadio’s drivetime show, ‘iGo Home’ with Fergal Darcy, which recently won the PPI Award for Best Light Entertainment Programme. The show features a series of radio stings, voiced by ‘Father Jack’, which have proved immensely popular with the public. “It is a great synergy between the radio audience and the Bebo audience,” Durkin explains.

Massive Consumer Competition The company is also running a massive consumer competition, which is also flashed on 1m bread-pans, to win €10,000 by singing the Pat The Baker tune, recording it on video and posting it on the site. Entries so far include a 60-strong Welsh male voice choir and Dublin electro band Robotnik, as well as traditional Irish versions and a multitude of other entries.

“The versions by Robotnik and the Welsh choir have now been incorporated into a 60-second radio commercial,” notes Durkin. “We are allowing the public to generate our content because of their ownership of the Pat The Baker brand. People feel like they own this brand and to a great extent, they do. The response we have had to this competition has been nothing short of phenomenal.”

Durkin’s views are borne out by the fact that the Bebo site is full of comments by members of the public about how much the Pat The Baker brand means to them, with allusions to its heritage as a part of their childhood, and there is a very real sense of love for this quintessentially Irish brand.

“The over-riding principle of all of this is that it’s fun,” Durkin enthuses.

“We can’t go out and try to fool kids with corporate nonsense. This is a real site, ran by real people, and it is a tangible place to come and talk to Pat The Baker. The feedback we have got is amazing. This is putting the relationship with the consumer back at the core of our business.”

We see it all around us, a constantly evolving consumer, an increasingly dynamic retail environment and increased prosperity. How can you be a part of it?

Mace are happy to announce the shop of the future. A totally new shop designed to respond to consumer needs and guaranteed to be a winner with today’s demanding shopper. From changeable window graphics to clutter-free counters for greater access, from a new deli to a customer services centre, Mace have thought of everything.

Early in the morning is a good time to make a great decision, so pour the coffee, wake up to the smell of success and get one of Ireland's finest retail packages working for you now. And into the future.

November08SPAR

Off Licence Awards

SPAR Off Licences Rewarded The Edward Dillon EUROSPAR/ SPAR/ SPAR Express OffLicence of the Year Awards 2008, took place recently in the Stillorgan Park Hotel, Co Dublin.

SPAR/SPAR Express OffLicence of the Year and the SPAR/SPAR Express Wine Store of the Year.

This year, EUROSPAR Laghey, Co Donegal came out on top, as winners of the Edward Dillon EUROSPAR Off-Licence of the Year Award 2008.

EUROSPAR Carpenterstown, Dublin 15, won the SPAR/ SPAR Express Off-Licence of the Year Award 2008 and SPAR Garrycastle, SPAR Laghey, Co. Donegal wins the Edward Dillon, EUROSPAR Off-Licence of the Year Award 2008.

Athlone, took the title of Pictured accepting the award from Andy O’Hara, the SPAR/ SPAR Express Edward Dillon, and Liam Nolan, BWG Wines & Wine Store of the Year Spirits, is Des Ree from SPAR Laghey.

2008.

The runners up in the EUROSPAR Off-licence of the Year Awards category were EUROSPAR Newpark, Co. Kilkenny, and EUROSPAR inaugural Edward Dillon Dunmore, Co Galway.

EUROSPAR/ SPAR/ SPAR Express OffSPAR Mullingar and Licence of the Year Awards 2008 was a SPAR Merlin Park, Co. huge success, with 35 finalists shortGalway, were runners up listed from around the country in attenin the SPAR/ SPAR dance. There were three main awards Express Off-Licence of the up for grabs on the night, including the Year category, whilst EUROSPAR Off-Licence of the Year, SPAR Express, Bundoran Road, Sligo and SPAR Joe Donnegan from SPAR Garrycastle, Athlone, Co. Santry were the Westmeath is pictured accepting the Edward Dillon, SPAR/ SPAR Express Wine Store of the Year Award runners up in 2008 from Andy O’Hara, Edward Dillon, and Liam the SPAR/ SPAR Nolan, BWG. Express Wine ists, whose stores have excelled in Store of the Year category. this competition.”

Speaking of the associaAs well as the 35 finalist stores, tion, Andy O’Hara, Sales representatives from Edward Director of Edward Dillon, Dillon, EUROSPAR and a number said, “We are very proud to of key trade media attended the be associated with the inaublack tie event, which was hosted gural Edward Dillon

by Master of Ceremonies, Doug EUROSPAR/ SPAR / SPAR Pictured accepting the Edward Dillon, SPAR/ SPAR Express Off-Licence of the Year Award 2008 Express Off-Licence of the Murray, whilst entertainment was from Andy O’Hara, Edward Dillon, and Liam provided by comedian Oliver Year Awards. I would like to Nolan, BWG, is Mark Jones, from SPAR Callan. congratulate all of the final-

The

Carpenterstown.

16

WI N

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The Wyatt Hotel is a gem of a boutique hotel in the heart of Westport. The Irish welcome makes guests feel immediately at home, ensuring a memorable stay. It is renowned as a very personable place to stay where the atmosphere is warm and intimate. The boutique décor combines a traditional and contemporary style, with antiques and an impressive art collection, worth checking out. The bedrooms offer all the comfort that today’s guests expect at good value.

The dining experience in JW’s Brasserie is excellent and the new Cobblers Bar & Courtyard is the ideal place to catch up with friends and meet some of the locals.

There is any number of leisure and theme breaks for golfers, families, leisure and active guests along with their great value special deals like their g99 Value Breaks. For details contact the hotel direct on telephone: (098) 25027 or log on to their website: www.wyatthotel.com You won’t be disappointed with the town of Westport, Ireland’s Tidiest Town Winner where there is so much to see and do during your stay. Great golfing, water sports, climbing Croagh Patrick, selection of restaurants & hostelries, the choice is yours.

To be in with a chance to win this great competition for a Champagne Weekend Away for two just answer the following question:

Q: What is the name of The Wyatt Hotel’s Bar & Courtyard?

Answers on a postcard, together with your name, address, telephone number and email address to Wyatt Hotel Competition, Tara Publishing, Poolbeg House, 1-2 Poolbeg St., Dublin 2 or email retailnews@tarapublishingco.com.

Closing date for entries is December 12th 2008. Terms and conditions apply. Judge’s decision is final.

Wyatt Hotel, The Octagon, Westport, Co. Mayo.

Tel: (098) 25027 Fax: (098) 26316 Email: info@wyatthotel.com Web: www.wyatthotel.com

N I W

November08Costcutter

Annual Conference

Great Year for Barry Group which included the revamp of 25 stores and the development of a number of greenfield sites. 32 new stores will join the group by the end of this year, bringing the total number of Costcutter stores in Ireland to over 135. The target for 2008 is Pictured are: Niall Hartnett, Human Resources/Logistics the opening of 22 Director, Barry Group; John McAllen, Commercial Director, new stores, leadBarry Group; Pat Falvey; Ray O'Driscoll, Finance Director, ing to the creBarry Group; Edwina Lucey, Sales Director, General ation of 300 jobs. Wholesale Division, Barry Group; Marty Whelan, MC; and Jim Barry Group Barry, Managing Director, Barry. Group. operates from a Europe, Australia, the US and New 125,000 square feet state-of-the-art Zealand by logging onto central distribution centre in Mallow, www.theirishhamperstore.ie. and employs in excess of 230 staff.

Barry Group is part of the Stonehouse Group, as well as being part of Costcutter Annual Conference Other Speakers Aontas, a buying alliance between took place recently in Athlone, with 230 In total, seven speakers spoke on sevStonehouse and Superquinn. delegates attending this year’s event, en areas or pillars which are imporCelebrating a number of innovawhich was themed ‘Retailing In tant in order to improve business pertions in 2008 Barry Group announced Turbulent Times’. formance. These were: that it is soon to launch the Irish Speaking at the conference, Jim 1.

Our offering Hamper Store. Offering a wide range Barry, Managing Director of Barry 2.

Our Consumer of luxury products sourced direct from Group, who operate the Costcutter 3.

Finance suppliers from around the world, it and Quik Pick brands in Ireland, 4.

Community will take the hassle out of shopping reported a turnover of €691m in 2008.

5.

People for that perfect gift. The hampers are The Managing Director’s address 6.

Change elegantly packaged and can be delivfocused on the challenges and oppor7.

Execution ered to all destinations in Ireland, tunities in the marketplace for wholesalers and retailers alike.

John McAllen, Commercial “Our objective is to increase Director, Barry Group, spoke our scale to better respond to about how focusing on your offermarket change,” he said. “We ing will improve your business plan to achieve this through a performance. According to combination of organic McAllen, the Barry Group’s congrowth, acquisition and the sumer offering can be defined as identification of additional follows: “Making available a bunopportunities in the market.” dle of benefits to meet the demands and expectations of our consumers”. He advised retailers Massive to review their offering regularly, Investment avail of Category Management The combined investment in Plans, know their bottom and top 2008 by Barry Group and its retailers was over €25m, Barry Group MD, Jim Barry addresses the Conference. selling lines and implement, as a

Costcutter’s Annual Conference, entitled ‘Retailing In Turbulent Times’, saw the Barry Group reporting turnover of €691m in 2008.

The

18

November08Costcutter

Annual Conference

noting that a happy employer means a gins. He explained happy employee and thus a delighted that retailers need to customer. Staff are at the centre of the work with the Barry organisation and need to be seen as a Group and request key resource. help if needed.

The changes in the cigarette and Colin Gordon, tobacco industry in Ireland were the CEO, Glanbia focus of the presentation by Derek Consumer Foods, Mooney, Sales Director, Gallaher Ltd, looked at the imporin particular the new legislation on tance for retailers of the ban on in-store/point-of-sale building links with advertising of tobacco products, the the communities in ban on the display of tobacco products which they have in retail premises and the introductheir stores. He tion of a closed container/dispenser spoke about the benprovision. He spoke on the how efits these links can Winners of the Cost cutter Supermarket of the Year 2008 (lr):Jim Barry, MD, Barry Group; Wayne Johnston, Manager, have for both the Gallaher Ltd continuously adapts to and Michael Doherty, Owner, Costcutter Supermarket, change and how in business the same retailer and the conBallybofey, Co. Donegal; and Marty Whelan, MC. is true for the retailer. Long term sucsumer. He used cess depends on anticipating and Glanbia Consumer Foods as a case minimum, a ‘must-stock’ range. He responding to change. study and presented some of the also highlighted the Costcutter image Guest speaker was the explorer things which Glanbia have done to and stressed the importance of keepand adventurer, Pat Falvey. During forge these links, such as supporting ing to the Costcutter Store specificahis travels, Pat has lived with over sporting occasions, supporting charition.

20 different tribes of people worldties etc. The Barry Group also work Brian O’Sullivan, Sales Director, wide. He has climbed Everest twice with their Costcutter Group stores to Cadbury Ireland Ltd, outlined how and has trained and led the first build these links in communities knowing the consumer and consumer Irish team to complete the buying behaviour allows the 1140km trek to the South Pole, retailer to build loyalty with the in honour of Ernest Shackleton consumer. He also highlighted the and Ireland's unsung polar importance of creating a pleasant heroes. In an extremely entershopping experience for the containing and motivational pressumer. Using Cadbury as a case entation, Pat explained how he study, he explored how his compahas learned from his experiences ny have used product placement as a businessman, adventurer and category management to and explorer what it is that has entice the consumer to purchase driven man since the evolution more of their products. of our planet, to set out to Ray O’Driscoll, Finance Pat Falvey, keynote speaker, explorer, adventurer achieve, challenge and succeed.

Director, Barry Group, addressed and movitational speaker, pictured with Marty Pat believes that we all have an the conference on how the current Whelan, MC. Everest and that we all want to financial reality is impacting on be part of a winning team. through sponsoring local teams and retailers and how retailers need to celebrating with communities have a good business plan and an Niall Hartnett, Human Resources understanding of their costs and marStore of the Year and Logistics Director, Awards Barry Group, outlined the The Costcutter Store of the Year 2008 importance of staff to busiAwards were announced at a gala ness performance. Niall’s banquet at the end of the conference. presentation was twofold.

The winners were: He outlined to retailers the • The Costcutter Supermarket importance of understandStore of the Year 2008: Costcutter ing employment law and Supermarket, Ballybofey, Co. adhering to all aspects of it, Donegal. as well as the importance • The Costcutter Foodmarket of the of the National Year: Kearneys Cosctutter, Employment Rights Grenagh, Co. Cork.

Authority. He then went on • Costcutter Express Store of the Pictured addressing the conference is John to look at the importance of Year 2008: Martin Murphy, McAllen, Commercial Director, Barry Group. staff to the retail business, Amber Oil, Mayfield, Co. Cork.

19

November08Karen

Meenan’s Top Tips

Are Magazines Recession Proof?

Karen Meenan investigates the differing purchasing patterns of magazine buyers and reveals how to increase profitability across your news-rack.

It

is not that long ago since we were preoccupied with talking about house prices. Now, we’re consumed with cutbacks, both government and personal.

So the new buzz talk is all about what savings can be made in consumer spending to cope with the credit crunch.

It is generally agreed that big ticket items such as new cars and new furniture can be delayed and discretionary spending such as eating out and visits to hair and beauty salons can be curtailed – but what will happen to normal weekly shopping habits? In particular, what will happen to our magazine shoppers during these challenging times?

One piece of research conducted by M&C Saatchi in July 2008 examined magazine shoppers to see what would happen on the magazine stands while belts are tightened all around the globe.

The economic downturn is hitting those who are less well off harder – lower income groups and older 20

consumers will be hit hardest.

Magazines are known for reaching the younger, more upmarket demographic, which other media find hard to capture. Because of this younger, more affluent bias, magazine shoppers will not feel the full force of the credit crunch and this department in your store should continue along the “business as usual” lines for those customers.

M&C Saatchi released a report which shows how different groups of consumers react to the slowdown. The study, called ‘Reacting to Recession’ categorises these consumers into eight groups, according to their attitudes and behaviour. The key part to this research is that although we can talk about the ‘general economic outlook’, no two shoppers are the same, especially in difficult market situations.

Marketforce, publishers of household names such as Woman, Woman’s Own, Chat and Now, have summarised the findings from that study to make it easier for retailers to react to the changing behaviour of magazine customers.

Mutones have announced a new launch date of November 27, and are set to be one of the craziest crazes to hit the school yards yet.

1. Crash-Dieters These consumers take drastic action.

They aim to cut their weekly spend by eliminating any indulgent spending and try to spend as little as possible on essentials until their own personal economics look a little better.

Magazine implications: could Crash Dieters cut out buying magazines totally?

Action: Encourage purchase by offering value promotions – 3 for 2 or subscriptions.

2. Scrimpers

High School Musical 3 is set to become one of the fastest selling newsagency products in convenience stores this month.

These customers are looking to maintain their lifestyle at a lower cost. These people have just discovered discounters and have starting buying own label brands for the first time.

Magazine implications: Scrimpers are value conscious – they will still buy magazines but will compare the cover prices on the news stand before purchase.

Action: Highlight special offer prices – they react to good value.

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November08Karen

Meenan’s Top Tips

place of another household discretionary spend (convenience food or bottle of wine).

Action: Encourage trial and encourage repeat purchase – pay particular attention to layout on the magazine stand to encourage trial and cross purchase with newspapers.

5. Treaters

These have put off spending money on big ticket items such as cars and furniture but they have not changed their weekly spending habits.

Magazine implications: Magazine buying should remain unchanged

Belt tightening doesn’t come naturally to Treaters. These customers have learnt to cut back in personal spending but reward themselves for being frugal by indulging in the odd treat. They have cancelled the night out at a restaurant but will buy an expensive bottle of wine and good food to have “a nice night in” instead.

Magazine implications: Treaters are more likely to indulge in ‘me time’, so magazine purchasing will be seen as an affordable little luxury to make up for all the other treats recently cancelled.

Action: Treaters indulge in escapism – so highlight that fact (‘Lose yourself in a magazine’) in a promotion.

4. Cloth-Cutters

6. Justifiers

These consumers know that they can’t have it all – they have reacted moderately to the credit crunch.

Magazine Implications: ClothCutters won’t buy a magazine every week – but will buy sporadically in

Justifiers like to spend – they just need a good excuse. These customers are still using their credit cards on the basis that the purchase makes sense to them: a limited offer, a latest model or an additional something free.

Magazine implications: Justifiers like to be rewarded for their purchase. Display is very important to these customers, so full covers only to highlight cover-mount offers.

Action: Multi-buys (3 for 2), limited offers, cover-mounts and exclusives are all attractive to these shoppers.

The Simpsons, one of the top performing comics for primary school boys.

3. Abstainers

7. Ostriches

Zoo still sells in huge volumes – often still making it into the Top 10 in the local convenience store.

22

Our favourite customers! These keep spending as if nothing is happening.

Ostriches are young, they enjoy themselves and they are refusing to change their shopping habits. They are maxing out on credit cards but they have grown up in boom times and do not know or don’t want to know how to curtail spending.

Magazine implications: Ostriches see magazine buying as a

Men’s Health, one of the top-selling male titles on your news-rack.

necessity, so buying behaviour won’t change for them.

8. Vultures Vultures are enjoying this economic crisis! They see bargains everywhere and are ready to swoop. While others are cutting back on spending, vultures are making a killing on the high streets.

Magazine implications: Vultures are more likely to be infrequent magazine purchasers.

Action: Highlight ‘value’ on the magazine stand and introduce good value promotional offers.

Outlook for 2009 The outlook for magazines in general looks strong. Magazine purchasers tend to be younger and more affluent and less likely to be affected by financial swings. More importantly, magazines are viewed as a small ticket item, a personal treat, so when expensive clothes, handbags and make-up are left on the shelf until those credit card payments are up to date, a €5 spend on a magazine is regarded by most customers as an affordable luxury.

Men’s Interest And what is happening to men’s titles during this crunch? The lifestyle sector is down and big brands such as FHM, Loaded and Maxim are showing significant sales dips against this time last year.

November08Karen

Weekly titles, Nuts and Zoo, are still selling in huge volumes – often still making it into the Top 10 in the local convenience store – but with the disappearance of builders in general and ‘breakfast roll man’ in particular, sales of Zoo and Nuts are heading for a sharp decline over coming months.

Other titles struggling are Stuff, Esquire and Arena – GQ is just about holding its own against this time last year.

So if all these men’s titles are struggling, where is the growth coming from? Men’s Health and in particular, Men’s Fitness, are performing very well at the moment.

Why? These health magazines are generally bought by singles – so perhaps the credit crunch is really affecting those with children and not those without.

So why are men’s titles so important to retail stores, particular convenience stores? Men like what they like and rarely deviate from their preferred genre. If they want a specific magazine title in any of these categories, they will find another shop if you are not stocking it: Music (Q, NME, Kerrang); Computing (GamesMaster, Xbox 360) Motoring (Auto Trader, Car Buyers Guide) or News and Current Affairs (The Economist, Time, Phoenix, Magill).

Men will find a way of getting the title they want, either by ordering it on the internet or by getting a subscription, so if you are not giving enough space on your stand to men’s titles, you could be losing valuable sales. Men’s titles are important in terms of cash margin – they tend to be more expensive than women’s titles and so 25% of an €8 ticket is worth more at the till than 25% of a woman’s weekly.

Meenan’s Top Tips

Action for Men: Full face men’s magazines so that shoppers can easily see content and relevance to their lives: you won’t sell volumes just by showing the title header.

Research shows that men are, in fact, much more considered shoppers at the magazine stand than women, who are quite impulsive in this category. That said, men will not spend time wading through magazines they have no interest in, to find the titles which are attractive to them. So extract your men’s titles from the range of titles on your stand and pay particular attention to the current star performers, Men’s Heath and Men’s Fitness.

Watch Out for the Boys!

And while you are at it, pay attention to your comics! Boy customers will not wade through all the comics on your stand to find the titles attractive to them! Pre-School boys’ titles usually have a boy’s name in the title

Doctor Who Adventures, hugely popular with pre-teen boys.

About the Author RETAIL consultant Karen Meenan runs her own consultancy business, Results Training & Marketing, focusing on net profit and how to maximise profit for the retailer. For more information, contact Karen on 086 6027711 or by email kmeenan@eircom.net.

Results Training & Marketing When Results Really Matter

Kerrang, one of the most popular music titles on your news-rack.

(Postman Pat, Tractor Tom, Bob the Builder). Primary boys’ titles selling well include The Simpsons, ScoobyDoo, Spiderman. Pre-Teen boys are buying Match, Kick, Doctor Who Adventures, and of course, make sure you stock up on Match Attax and Slam Attax. There are fixtures available from Newspread to display Topps products, with all the ancillary products, binders and starter packs.

Mutones have announced a new launch date of November 27, so watch out for one of the craziest crazes to hit the school yards yet. Mutones are crazy creatures that live in your phone – essentially ring-tones which also star in a website called ‘Mutonia’ and double up as a ‘Top Trumps’ style game.

Advertising is booked for Nickelodeon, Sky, TV3, RTE and TG4 – what’s it in for you? 25% of €2 will do nicely!

So are collector cards showing any signs of recession? Not a bit! Match Attax and High School Musical 3 are set to become the fastest selling newsagency products in convenience stores this month.

It seems the credit crunch hasn’t affected pocket money…yet.

Source: M&C Saatchi-Campaign 21 July 08/Forsaking Waitrose for Aldi Analysis – The Times 13 Aug 08/ Dunnhumby/Consumers Feeling the Pinch – PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP – Namnews 07 August 2008 / Marketforce / Frontline BOrlsS Jun 06-May 08.

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November08Repak

Recycling Awards

Green Winners Announced The 7th Annual Repak Recycling Awards took place recently, with a host of winners from the grocery sector.

Glenisk

Organic Dairy was awarded the Repak Best Practice Award 2008 for outstanding achievements in the reduction of Packaging Waste, while Musgrave Group won the Repak Excellence Award 2008. In total, 11 Repak Awards were presented in recognition of their environmental best practices, by Minister for the Environment, John Gormley TD, at the 7th Annual Repak Recycling Award ceremony in the Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin, recently. Other winners on the night included Murphy’s SuperValu Supermarket, Castletownbere, Co. Cork, who won Best Practice – Independent Retailer Sector 2008, and Glenlo Abbey for their innovative ‘Packaging Free Breakfast’.

The awards were presented as part of Repak Recycling Week 2008 at the 7th Annual Repak Awards ceremony. The Awards serve to recognise and commend both businesses and schools that are exemplars in packaging minimisation, prevention and recycling and that are actively seeking to make a difference to recycling and to the environment in Ireland.

Commenting, Dr Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Repak, said, “We are delighted to see the range and quality of initiatives undertaken by Irish business and schools increase this year. Over the last number of years, we have implemented a num24

Pictured at the presentation of the Repak Best Practice Award 2008 to Glenisk Organic Dairy are (l-r): Minister for the Environment, John Gormley TD; Mark Cleary and Evelyn Cleary, Glenisk Organic Dairy; Andy Fanning, EPA (sponsor); Gerard Cleary, Glenisk Organic Dairy; and Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Repak.

ber of programmes to help increase recycling rates and also to improve packaging prevention measures, which have resulted in financial and environmental gains for these companies. In order for Ireland to meet its ever increasing recycling rates, we need to be innovative in all areas of packaging development, usage, design, manufacture, reduction and recycling.”

The awards were sponsored by RPS Consulting, Manvik, Tetra Pak, Rehab Recycling, Environmental Protection Agency and Arthur Cox Solicitors.

The awards judges were Hugh Stevens of Enterprise Ireland, Andy Fanning of the EPA, Alan Sherlock of the SFA, Roger Gillespie of KPMG, Danielle Conaghan of Arthur Cox and journalist Fearghal O’Connor.

Best Practice Award Glenisk Glenisk Organic Dairy has been endeavouring to make their packaging as environmentally friendly as possible to coincide with their organic food ethos. In 2007 they: - Changed larger yogurt pots from polyesterene PS to Cardboard; - Changed lids of pots from PET to paper; - Changed secondary packaging to

-

-

-

new shelf ready packaging, which removed the need for outer plastic shrink wrap; Reduced the amount of plastic packaging they use from 33% in 2006 to 12% in 2007; Widely moved the remaining plastics from PS (polystyrene ) to PET packaging where possible, (which is more readily recyclable in Ireland); Recycled over 97% of their own back door waste; Source their new paper pots from sustainable managed forests; Reduced their overall packaging waste by a phenomenal 45%.

Other finalists in the Repak Best Practice Award included Bulmers Ltd and Tesco Ireland. Previous award winners, Bulmers continue to find opportunities to lightweight their packaging, while also improving the environmental performance of their packs. In 2007, they reduced the weight of their aluminium can, preventing 91 tonnes of packaging going on the market and reduced the weight of their foil materials, saving a further three tonnes per annum. They are currently working on projects that will have a major impact on the weight of their packaging in 2009.

Their internal packaging recycling

November08Repak

rate stands at about 95%.

Tesco have previously been Repak award winners and in 2007 they launched their ‘Strategy on the Environment and Carbon Reduction’, which has brought particular focus on packaging recycling and prevention, as well as other prevention initiatives.

Meanwhile, Tesco, along with a host of other Irish retailers, are working with Retail Ireland and Repak to produce a retail agreement to prevent packaging.

Repak Excellence Award – Musgrave Group The Repak Excellence Award recognises and honours Irish companies which have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the environmental field. Musgrave Group has demonstrated strong leadership in the protection of the environment through its strategy to address crucial environmental concerns through recycling, packaging reduction and sustainable energy use.

Musgrave’s environmental achievements include: • • • • • •

Energy and natural resources management initiatives; A proactive environmental management system; Development of a sustainable head office building; Support for Tidy Towns; Participation in the EPA Cleaner Greener Programme; Company-led packaging optimisation and minimisation initiatives;

•

Recycling Awards

Being the first Irish company to produce an annual environmental report.

The award recognises the substantial support which the Musgrave Group has made to Repak’s best practice programmes through membership of the Packaging Prevention Steering Group, participation in best practice seminars and case studies, and support for the Repak Recycling Awards.

Pictured at the presentation of the Best Practice Award for the Independent Retail Sector to Murphy’s SuperValu are (l-r): Minister for the Environment, John Gormley TD; Teresa Ryan of SuperValu; Bob Rowatt, Rehab Recycling Partnership (sponsor); Nora Nash, of SuperValu; and Andrew Hetherington, CEO Repak.

Best Practice Award – Independent Retail Sector Murphy’s SuperValu Supermarket, Castletownbere, Co. Cork, was the winner of the Best Practice Award for the Independent Retail Sector.

Lorraine Murphy and her staff go the extra mile to drive recycling rates to new heights and have achieved a superb recycling rate of 90% in 2007.

They also managed to keep the increase in their waste costs to a net 3% whilst waste volumes climbed by 7%.

Other finalists in the Best Practice Award for the Independent Retail Sector include Quish’s SuperValu, Ballincollig, Co. Cork, where major emphasis is placed on waste management best practice in all areas of the supermarket and in-store bakery, and McInerney’s Supervalu Supermarket, Loughrea, Co. Galway, which achieved a commendable recycling rate of 79% in 2007.

Additional Award Winners

Pictured at the presentation of the Repak Excellence Award 2008 to Musgrave Group are (l-r): Minister for the Environment, John Gormley TD; Chris Martin, Musgrave Group Managing Director; Danielle Conaghan, Arthur Cox (sponsor); John Curran, Musgrave Group Environmental Manager; and Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Repak.

Additional award winners included technology companies Microsoft, who won the Best Packaging Prevention Initiative Award 2008, and Symantec, who were named Repak Member of the Year.

Finalists in the Repak Member of the Year, which was won by Symantec Ireland, included Glanbia Ingredients Ltd, Virginia, Co. Cavan, who excelled in waste management

and recycling by switching to bulk containers in favour of smaller unit packaging wherever possible. All of their waste paper, plastics and wood packaging goes for recycling, making the site a virtual waste free zone.

Glanbia Ingredients Ballyragget was also a finalist in the Best Prevention Initiative Award. In 2007, Glanbia implemented a strategy to prevent packaging arising on-site, resulting in savings of over 81 tonnes of paper and plastic material.

Award Winners The complete list of category winners on the night were: Repak Best Practice Award 2008: Glenisk Organic Dairies Repak Excellence Award 2008: Musgrave Group Repak Member of the Year 2008: Symantec Ireland Best Packaging Prevention Initiative Award 2008: Microsoft Repak Best practice Award 2008 – Hospitality Sector: Glenlo Abbey Hotel 2008 Recovery Operator of the Year Award - Large: Thornton’s Recycling 2008 Recovery Operator of the Year Award – Small to Medium Company: Clean Ireland Recycling 2008 Local Authority of the Year Award: Fingal County Council Best Practice – Independent Retailer Sector 2008: Murphy’s SuperValu, Castletownbere, Co. Cork.

Recycling School of the Year: Tashinny National School, Ballymahon, Co. Longford.

25

November08Drinks

News

New Campaign for Guinness Can PICTURED at the launch of the new Guinness Can advertising campaign at Gaynors Off License, Cork St, Dublin 8, are models Roberta Rowat and Sarah Morrissey. With a significant investment, the campaign will support the off trade in the crucial selling period in the run up to Christmas. Comprising TV, outdoor, radio, PR, sampling, digital and consumer promotions, the heavyweight campaign will ensure that Guinness in a can is to the forefront of consumers’ minds, ensuring brand awareness and encouraging purchase, which will ultimately boost sales for retailers. Entitled ’Fridge Magnet’, the TV ad hit Irish screens earlier this month, to wide acclaim from the industry and consumers alike.

Captain Morgan Launches in Ireland DIAGEO Ireland have announced the launch of Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold, the 6th largest spirit brand worldwide, into the Irish market. Previously known as Morgan's Spiced, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold is being rebranded to tie it into line with other worldwide markets. “Captain Morgan is an iconic brand which is all about fun and partying,” noted Graham Villiers-Tuthill, Brand Manager, Captain Morgan. This Caribbean rum based spirit will have the classic symbols of its worldwide heritage, such as the Captain's logo, and that allows for greater brand visibility. The launch campaign is supported by a comprehensive on-trade sampling, PR and digital campaign across the Republic and Northern Ireland. Pictured with ‘Captain Morgan’ at the launch are models Aoife Coogan and Jenny Lee Masterson.

Better By Design MODEL Baiba Gaile and a group of emerging Irish designers were on hand recently to launch Design Week, in association with Bombay Sapphire, which took place from November 3-8. The Design Week Bombay Sapphire Programme included an exclusive Irish address by acclaimed international designer Tom Dixon, as well as a week-long schedule of design focused seminars, talks and features, comprising of nationwide events in centres around the country including Cork, Belfast, Kilkenny, Carlow, Louth, Offaly, Limerick/Shannon and Dublin. “Bombay Sapphire has strong links within the design community and we are delighted to be joining with Design Week committee to build on the success of the programme and our collaboration last year,” noted Karen Halpin, Bombay Sapphire, Brand Development Manager.

Corona Cork Film Festival BARRY & Fitzwilliam recently celebrated their second year of sponsoring the Corona Cork Film Festival.

Following the reception, the opening film of the festival (Burn After Reading by the Coen Brothers, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt) was screened and received an extremely positive response. Michael and Kathleen Barry, Barry & Fitzwilliam, are pictured at the launch with the Chairperson of the Corona Cork Film Festival.

26

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Seasonal Sellers With the Christmas Season just around the corner, RETAIL NEWS provides a mammoth guide to the products guaranteed to fly off your shelves this Yuletide, from snacks to spirits, selection boxes to soft drinks. In short, this is a handy and comprehensive one-stop-shop for all your Festive needs.

Contents Christmas at Cuisine de France

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Christmas Stocking: Product Focus

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Christmas Drinks – Beers

38

Christmas Drinks – Cider

44

Christmas Drinks – Spirits

46

Christmas Drinks – Wines

52

Christmas Drinks – Soft Drinks

58

Christmas Drinks – Bottled Water

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29

RN November08Christmas Stocking ●

Seasonal Treats from Cuisine de France Cuisine de France have introduced a new, delicious and exciting range of seasonal treats.

This

year, Cuisine de France have a premium range of loose and wrapped products to suit every consumer. The range for 2008 consists of wrapped handmade products that come in a selfmerchandised Cuisine de France Seasonal Treats case, which can be displayed in various locations throughout your store.

The Handmade Christmas Star Is a delicious wrapped shortcake biscuit hand decorated with chocolate sugar beans and chocolate shavings.

The Handmade Christmas Mallow Log Is an irresistible shortcake biscuit base with hand piped jam and mallow, enrobed in a chocolate flavoured coating and wrapped for convenience.

Also new to the range is the Cuisine de France luxury mince pie: a

The tempting Christmas Pudding muffin.

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The Cuisine de France luxury mince pie.

luxurious mix of rich fruits including cherries, sultanas, apples with a hint of brandy and port in a buttery shortcrust trellis pastry, which can be showcased in a premium gold box inside the Seasonal Treats case.

The Apple & Cranberry Lattice Tart is a sumptuous tart, with chunks of Bramley apple mixed with seasonal juicy cranberries enclosed in a shortcrust trellis pastry.

The new mince lattice is a delicious, rich and spicy fruit mix including juicy sultanas in a sumptuous golden puff pastry.

Traditional Favourites These seasonal indulgent treats complement their traditional favourites: shortcrust mince pies, delicious brandy puffy mince pies, cranberry and orange muffin and the tempting Christmas Pudding muffin, which is a light and moist muffin with rich fruits, a hint of brandy and vanilla flavour, topped with white icing.

Their new ‘thaw and serve’ Mince Star tartlets are delicately light shortcrust pastry tartlets with a juicy sultana and brandy mince filling in a two-pack tray.

Exclusive Bread Range Cuisine de France also have

The Apple & Cranberry Lattice Tart.

a range of exclusive bread products for Christmas, including a unique, limited edition Cranberry & Cherry Loaf from McNamee’s, made using juicy cherries and seasonal cranberries in a moist wheaten mix with pure buttermilk. Cranberry & Rosemary loaf is a tasty North American-style bread filled with juicy whole cranberries, subtly combined with rosemary.

The Sage & Onion Bread is a delicious fusion of sage and onion flavours.

These delicious flavoured bread lines come with a Cuisine de France bar-coded ‘Taste of Christmas’ bread band.

Impactful POS Suite An impactful point of sale suite and exciting new Cuisine de France seasonal packaging has been developed to encourage impulse purchases. Uniquely designed to support Christmas confectionery lines, this merchandising stand includes sparkle lights and features four attractive shelves. This free display unit will be available to all stores and holds any combination of the seasonAn impactful point al treats range to create of sale suite is an eye-catching area in available to all your store. stores.

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Step into Christmas with BIC

Brady Family Cooked Hams

REPRESENTING terrific value for money, with Christmas themed packaging and free cases, the BIC Select festive range has the perfect stocking filler gift for both men and women. There are two products for men - the BIC Select Line Gel Pen, in a grey brushed metal barrel and a ‘leather look’ case, or the BIC Select 3 Grip Ball Pen, with a sleek black finish, presented in a matching box. For women, the attractive BIC Select Line Gel Pen has been designed with a red brushed metal barrel and the choice of a leather look case or stylish presentation case.

BRADY Family has introduced a range of cooked ham joints for Christmas which are ready to eat/heat at home. As with all Brady Family hams, the joints are Bord Bia quality assured. The range includes a Baked Ham (average weight 2.5 kg) in a branded box and a full Glazed Ham on the bone (average weight 5kg) in a branded Hessian bag. The new vibrant packaging ensures strong presence on-shelf and details serving suggestions. The cooked ham joints are ready to eat so can be served cold, or very simply re-heated.

Celebrate Christmas with Cadbury

Glade Has Aircare Covered

THE Cadbury range for 2008 includes a variety of strong brands such as Roses, Heroes, Milk Tray, Flake Moments, Green & Blacks and a strong range covering selection boxes, novelties and biscuits. All selection boxes and stockings in the 2008 Cadbury range have been given a new design this season, allowing for more interaction and fun for the consumer. The Cadbury Medium Selection Box remains the number one selling selection box in Ireland. New to the Cadbury novelty range for 2008 is the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chunks, available in a classic Dairy Milk branded milk carton.

THE Glade Winter ‘Spiced Apple’ range returns for Winter 2008, designed to create a festive atmosphere in people’s homes. It’s available in Glade Candle, Scented Oils (unit & refill), Electric Plug In (unit & refill) and Flameless candle refill. Also returning is the ever popular Glade 2 Scents Candle Seasonal Spices, while new fragrances include the Glade ‘Glistening Snow’ range, available in Glade Candle, Scented Oils (unit & refill) Electric Plug In (unit & refill) and new Vanilla Frost in Glade Flameless Candle and Glade Sense & Spray. There is heavyweight €400k TV campaign while Glade Winter stands are also available to display the range in-store.

Nestlé’s Green Christmas

Cadbury Roses

NESTLÉ Ireland is reducing packaging used across its Christmas range. This includes using more recyclable packaging and encouraging consumers to reuse and recycle through on-pack communication. In addition, Nestlé have introduced full size bars across the selection box range so there is no compromise on product. New additions to the Nestlé range this year include Smarties Tree Decorations and the Milkybar Advent Calendar, while their portfolio is packed with consumers’ favourite gifting brands, including Black Magic, Dairy Box, Quality Street, and After Eight, which has a premium new look.

CADBURY Roses are the number one chocolate gifting assortment, accounting for 28% of the total assortments market (Source: ACNielsen, Sept 2008).

The twist wrap market, worth €27.8m, is the biggest assortments segment, accounting for 46% of total assortments. Of this Cadbury Roses are worth €15.2m and claim a 56% share. Roses are growing at 5% in sales value MAT. The Roses brand, including Roses Luxury Collection and Roses Truffles, offers ideal solutions for sharing and giving, in both the everyday and premium assortment markets.

Uni-ball On the Ball Uni-ball, the leading rollerball brand, is all set for the Christmas period, offering a range to satisfy your customers’ festive needs. Their Christmas Signo Gift Set includes 10 Signo UM120, the smooth, quick-drying rollerball with the largest colour variety of all uniball ranges. The limited edition POSCA craft set offers five festive colours, with the first 6,000 containing an exclusive free gift. The Jetstream Premier has been adapted to provide the ultimate writing experience, with an ergonomicallydesigned grip and sleek design in silver and black.

Snack to the Future

Kühne’s Christmas Range

BR Marketing distributes Chio, Pom Bear and Truller snacks. Over the past year, the range has gone from strength to strength with outstanding growth achieved once again in 2008. A strong finish to the year is expected, with new product introductions and strong promotional plans for Christmas 2008. The Truller range, which includes BaconPep, has been extended for Christmas 2008 to include the party favourites Big Box and Cocktail Box. Watch out for a range of new Chio and Truller products available in early 2009.

SYNONYMOUS with the Festive Season, the Kühne range now includes delicious Kühne Salatfix Dressings (Herb, Italian, Yogurt, American Caesar, Thousand Island and Balsamico.) Also included in the range are Kühne Sauerkraut, Gherkins, Pickled Onions, Beetroot, Mixed Pickles and a selection of traditional German Mustards. For Christmas 2008, BR Marketing will be supporting the Kühne brand with strong promotional activity, including extra fills, multi-buys, coupons and display solutions.

Happy Crisp-mas From Walkers

Magic from Daelgate

THE eight weeks of Christmas are the most important of the year for retailers, with consumption of big bags up by 40%, representing a significant opportunity for profit.

Overall the sharing category is in strong growth at +9.7% in value terms – and Walkers is contributing to this with the highly successful Sensations and Doritos brands.

Doritos and Sensations are the number one and number two sharing bags in Ireland respectively and together they have six of the top ten selling sharing lines (Source: ACNielsen Marketrack, w/e September 2, 2008).

MAGIC Turkey Bags, Roasting Bags and Cooking Sheet from Daelgate are so versatile that consumers can use them for cooking meat, poultry, fish and vegetables in a variety of ways. These self-basting Magic Turkey Bags are the perfect way to roast meat and poultry to a rich, succulent brown. Vegetables can be boiled in the Magic Turkey Bag without losing any of the goodness, unlike traditional boiling. Magic Turkey Bags are also ideal for boiling ham and gammon joints. The Magic Cooking Sheet, flexible and completely non-stick, is ideal for cooking, frying, baking and can even be used in the microwave.

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34

Season’s Eatings

A Royal Christmas Treat!

A sell-out every year, Tayto Christmas Party Boxes are available in traditional Tayto Cheese & Onion and Tayto Variety Pack (containing Cheese & Onion, Salt & Vinegar and Smokey Bacon flavours). Tayto Popcorn Pleasures party box is also available again this year! Tayto Christmas Boxes have been a firm Christmas favourite with Irish families since their launch back in the early 1980s. As the years have passed, the Tayto Christmas Boxes have become more and more popular in homes around the Festive Season. Also available are Mr Tayto’s Christmas Packers, a bag stuffed with delicious Cheese & Onion, Salt & Vinegar and Smokey Bacon flavoured Tayto.

HAIL the King of party boxes. King are proud to announce the arrival of their little regal treasure chest just in time for the merry making. Packed full of delicious King crisps, this party box is truly fit for the King of party-time. The party box is a Christmas essential that will bring a right royal delight to households (and retailers!) across the land this Yuletide.

Hunky Dorys Party Box

Giovanni Di Firenze

THE Hunky Dorys Party Box is sure to rock your party this festive season! They’re thick, they’re chunky and they’re smothered in a mature cheddar cheese and spring onion flavour. Every party is sure to be just Hunky Dory!

GIOVANNI Di Firenze Fresh Olives are all ready to eat straight from the container or for adding to one of consumers’ favourite dishes. They’re available in five delicious traditional Italian styles, including sundried tomatoes, spicy olives, olives with garlic, olives with feta cheese and Kalamata olives.

Lakeshore’s Seasonal Range

New Look Harvest Fare

LAKESHORE have been producing a mouth-watering range of meal condiments for almost 25 years, including mustards, dressings, marinades, sauces and chutneys, which are perfect for every meal occasion. The Lakeshore seasonal range make up the perfect ingredients for a culinary Christmas. The range of seasonal products includes: Christmas puddings, goose and duck fat, cranberry sauce, ham glaze, brandy butter and brandy cream, mincemeat and dessert coulis.

HARVEST Fare has a completely new look, just in time for Christmas, with improved packaging, that is now easy-toopen. Harvest Fare offers a range of nuts and snacks, ideal for Christmas, including spicy mixes such as Chilli Nuts, savoury mixes such as Bombay Mix, sweet nut mixes such as Yoghurt Covered Peanuts as well as nut bars. For Christmas, Harvest Fare are offering 33% Extra Fill on family bags of nuts. The Christmas range includes buckets of the best selling Chilli Nuts, Fruit & Nut Mix and Extra Large Seasalted Peanuts. A Cocktail Selection of Chilli Nuts, Spiced Nuts, Sea Salted Peanuts and Hot Spiced Nuts is ideal for party entertaining.

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Killeen Clean Up

Sellotape Has It Wrapped

KILLEEN is driving the cleaning product and refuse sack category with innovations to satisfy all consumer needs this Christmas. The launch of Killeen’s hardware and glove ranges in 2008 was extremely successful.

Killeen has a cloth and scourer to tackle any cleaning job around the home, including the flexible, durable ‘Kitchen Mate’ sponge scourer and ‘Easi Clean’, which shifts stubborn stains fast. Killeen Aware biodegradable sacks save the earth without costing the earth. The Killeen range also includes 4 Pack Micro Fibre Cloths, 6 Pack Mop Ups, Bathroom Cleaner and Polishing Sponges.

SELLOTAPE commands unprecedented levels of consumer awareness, taking its place alongside Pritt and Loctite in the range of marketleading products from Henkel Consumer Adhesives. Although Christmas isn’t just about presents, 50% of all Sellotape sales take place during the crucial festive season. There is a range of merchandising options, dump bins, clip-strips and till packs, to help you maximise profit. In addition, strong, proven promotion packs will make Sellotape more popular than ever this Christmas.

Christmas with Jacob’s

Fox’s Biscuits

JACOB’S Afternoon Tea, Chocolate Kimberley and USA are firm family favourites. This year, there are two new additions to the Jacob’s festive family. The Elite Continental Selection is a delectable collection of premium milk, white and dark chocolate smothered biscuits, while the Chocolate Kimberley Tube contains 10 individually wrapped biscuits and comes in a shelf ready display case. Other favourites available in the range are Kimberley , Mikado & Coconut Cream tubs, Elite Caddy tins, Elite Cookies and Crumbles,Teatime, Biscuits for Cheese and Chocolate Mallows.

FOX’S biscuits have a superb range for the Christmas market. The Fox’s brand in Ireland has proved to be particularly successful within the seasonal market, testament to its number two brand status. Speciality and Creations, the brand’s key seasonal assortments, feature in the top 5 seasonal assortments.

Fox’s Inventions, a new addition this year, is a delightful assortment of well established favourites, famous from 150 years of biscuit making. All products within the range have been refreshed and modernised for 2008.

Toblerone

Terry’s Chocolate Orange

WITH its one-of-a-kind triangular shape, its peaks, its packaging and its name, Toblerone has achieved very high recognition throughout the world and is a long time favourite with consumers. For Christmas 2008, look out for the quirky seasonal sleeved Toblerone 400g, a perfect gift for Christmas. Also available for Christmas are new Toblerone Selection Boxes, the perfect gift for a Toblerone lover, and after huge success in 2007, Toblerone Tiny Tins are back, great as a gift or for sharing. Toblerone will be supported this year with national TV, Shopperlites and Trolley handles.

AVAILABLE in both milk and plain chocolate, Terry's Chocolate Orange is a fun gift and the essential Christmas stocking filler. Look out for the special threefor-the-price-of-two packs and their advertising campaign on national TV this Christmas. Terry's Chocolate Orange Segsations are available in tubs and tins, and are the perfect gift for sharing: individually wrapped, delicious segments of Terry's Milk Chocolate Orange in five different segment flavours.

November08Christmas

Drinks - Beer

The Beer Essentials Increasing consumer preference for the off-trade is good news for retailers, particularly this Festive Season.

The

total market for alcoholic drinks was stagnant in volume terms over the course of 2007, according to the latest report from Euromonitor International. Euromonitor also report a steady shift of alcoholic drinks volume sales from the on-trade channel to the off-trade.

Euromonitor refer to this trend as “cocooning, the desire among consumers to do the bulk of their socialising in the comfort of their own homes”, and whatever you call it, it’s good news for retailers and according to Euromonitor, it’s set to continue: “As the cocooning effect continues to take hold and consumers realise how much money entertaining and drinking in their own homes saves them, Ireland's alcoholic drinks sales will become less focused on the on-trade”. The current economic climate should see even more consumers choosing to socialise at home and not in the pub, which should see a seasonal sales surge in the off-trade this Christmas.

This viewpoint is mirrored by Heineken Ireland, who recently reported the value of the total Irish beer market at €3.27 billion, with the off-trade accounting for a 32% share, 38

up from 29% last year.

Further data from Euromonitor reports that volume sales continue to move away from specialists and independent food stores to convenience stores, discounters and supermarkets.

Heineken Ireland Heineken is gearing up for the festive season, with special offers on both the Heineken 24-pack and eight-pack of 50cl cans and on the 24-pack and 15-pack of 33cl bottles, as well as plans for a heavyweight advertising campaign in December.

Heineken lager is demonstrating excellent performance in both the onand off-trade, where Ireland’s number one lager brand is reenforcing its position by continuing to further grow share of the beer market. This strong brand performance is largely underpinned by its ongoing investment in rugby, music and the UEFA Champions League.

The Heineken Cup season is now well underway, with Munster looking to retain the coveted title Heineken is gearing up for the festive season, with and Leinster looking to special offers on the Heineken 24-pack of 50cl cans, as well as plans for a heavyweight advertising win the tournament for the campaign in December. first time. The Heineken

November08Christmas

Drinks - Beer

Cup final at Murrayfield on May 23/24 2009 will be the second tournament final played in the Scottish capital. Rugby fans the length and breadth of Europe have already bought 17,350 tickets for the final.

The 08/09 UEFA Champions League season has also kicked off and Manchester United are vying for the title again this year. All eyes will be on Rome next May to see who will take home the much sought-after silverware.

Heineken Green Spheres continue to travel the country, bringing breaking acts to smaller intimate venues.

The latest Green Sphere events took place in Galway in October, when Crystal Castles played in Cuba, while Primal Scream headlined in the Savoy in Cork this month.

The third Heineken Green Synergy music festival returned to Dublin this month with an exciting mix of established and emerging international artists performing in the capital’s finest music venues along Wexford Street, Camden Street and Harcourt Street over five days. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock made his first Irish appearance in 13 years as part of the festival. Other acts included the sensational TV On The Radio and electro-popsters Cut Copy. Heineken Music continues to proudly sponsor Random Access on Phantom FM. The end of 2008 may be nearby but plans are currently underway for lots more activity in 2009. The Heineken Cup and UEFA Champions League will culminate in the first half of 2009 and music activity will feature throughout the year.

Beamish & Crawford Beamish & Crawford brands, Beamish Stout, Miller Genuine Draft, Foster’s Lager, Carling Lager, Kronenbourg 1664 and San Miguel have performed very well throughout 2008 and Beamish & Crawford hopes to build on this during the festive season.

Miller Genuine Draft is one of the leading brands in the Irish lager market. In 2007, Miller Genuine Draft claimed top spot in the Irish bottled beer market, with latest ACNielsen data reporting a 24% share (Source: ACNielsen, August 2008). Miller 40

Genuine Draft now claims to be the the number three brand in the off-trade beer market, with a share of 7.9% (Source: ACNielsen, August 2008).

Miller Genuine Draft unveiled a redesign of its packaging in September. The new design retains established brand cues whilst re-enforcing the brand’s image. The clean, minimal and sleek design reflects the urban cool attitude of the brand. The new packaging is expected to continue to deliver a great performance for the brand and is expected Foster’s Lager has experienced exceptional to improve in-store standout. growth over the past three years, with its price flashed 6-for-€8 50cl cans proving very popular.

In 2008, Miller Genuine Draft launched ‘Easy Bar’; the Draft launched the first Ireland spefirst Irish-produced TV ad in the curcific commercial Myspace profile rent Genuinely Easy campaign. (www.Myspace.com/millerireland) in Supported by an extensive outdoor June 2008. The Miller MySpace concampaign, ‘Easy Bar’ communicates cept was developed by Captivate the message that Miller is about a Digital and offers consumers the laid-back attitude to life. To date, conopportunity to interact with the brand sumers have responded favourably on a virtual level. The site serves as a towards ‘Easy Bar’, digital touch-point that provides users reflected in the high with details of what’s new at Miller advertising awareness Genuine Draft, promotions and onscores the campaign going sponsorships. has achieved.

Miller Genuine Draft is available Miller Genuine in 6x330ml bottle, 10x330ml bottle, 18x330ml bottle, 20x330ml bottle, 500ml can and 8x500ml can.

Beamish Stout continues to be the number two stout in Ireland, with the off-trade can showing a growth of +1.3% for the month of August 2008.

The Beamish ‘Real Men’ advertising campaign for 2008 included billboard advertising, in-store signage, a press and POS campaign, including posters, show-cards and drip-mats.

Beamish Stout is available in draught, 500ml draught can, 4x500ml can pack, 500ml standard can and pint bottle.

In 2008, Beamish Stout was highly visible on official soccer pitches across the country throughout the soccer season with the brand’s continuaMiller Genuine Draft: one of the tion of sponsorship of Cork City leading brands in the Irish lager Football Club. The sponsorship agreemarket.

November08Christmas

Drinks - Beer

Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium Corona Extra has grown dramatically in both the on and the off-trade over the last few years and the trend already this year is for more of the same. Corona is currently backed by an intensive radio TV and national press campaign with the theme “A Refreshing Slice of Life”. Corona is

The Carling multi-pack offer of 8 cans for €10 is performing extremely well.

ment included the Beamish Stout logo being carried on the front of the team and jersey replica kit.

Throughout the season, Beamish Stout consumers were given the chance to enter in the draw to win tickets for home games and Cork City memorabilia in selected Cork stores.

Foster’s Lager has experienced exceptional growth over the past three years. The brand has trebled in size in draught format to become the 4th biggest draught lager in the state (Source: ACNielsen, August 2008).

Over 7m draught pints of Foster’s were sold nationally in 2007. This accelerated performance has been driven by both aggressive pricing and promotional activity since 2004 on the brand.

This success is now translating into the off-trade, with Foster’s 500ml can packs performing very strongly.

The price flashed 6-for-€8 pack grew by 23% on MAT basis to August according to ACNielsen, while the 8pack grew by 77% over the same period.

Foster’s is recognised as a top quality lager brand, providing great value to its consumers. All promotional activity is supported by Foster’s television advertising campaign called ‘Shadow’ with its emphasis on Super Chilled cold beer. Foster’s is now available through all leading multiples and independent off-licence groups.

Carling is the top selling lager across Britain and Ireland. Carling’s sponsorship of football including the

shirt sponsorship of the ‘Old Firm’ and the League Cup ensures that the brand has strong associations with football that can be built on through promotional activity.

The Carling multi-pack offer of 8 cans for €10 is available to selected stores throughout the calendar year. Corona Extra has grown dramatically in both the on and the off-trade over the last few years.

This pack is experiencing growth of +54% (Source: ACNielsen, August 2008). Carling also the title sponsor is also available in 500ml single of the Cork Film can format.

Festival.

Kronenbourg 1664 is the super “Sales have risen premium lager (5% ABV) of threefold in the last Brasseries Kronenbourg, the numthree years and ber one brewer in France. It is anecdotal evidence widely available in both can and would suggest that bottle format.

Corona Extra is Kronenbourg 1664 has proven the biggest sellheritage, tradition and internationing bottled beer al performance. It is the number in the on-trade one super premium lager in its at the moment,” home market of France, and the says Barry number three super premium lager Fitzwilliam in the European market.

Maxxium Kronenbourg 1664 is brewed Managing using the world-renowned ‘caviar Director, of hops’, the Strisselspalt aromatic Michael Barry. A hop. This unique variety of French new 12-pack for aromatic hops gives the lager unrithe off-trade has valled aroma and superior taste. really helped its The Strisselspalt hop has been visibility in this grown exclusively in the Alsace sector. region since 1885.

Bavaria has rebranded its nonKronenbourg 1664 is available Gleeson alcoholic bottle in 500ml can, 6x330ml basket, Group while Kronenbourg Premier Cru To tie in with the beer, Bavaria 0.0% (330ml), available and Kronenbourg Blanc are availChristmas mesin a 24x330 ml able in selected off-licences. sage of responsible pack.

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Drinks - Beer

natural mineral water from its drinking and own wells, malt from its own maldriving, Bavaria tery and its own specially selected launches a hops. This gives Bavaria 100% rebranded control brewing every drop of ‘Designated beer, giving consumers a great Driver’ camtasting Bavaria every time. paign this year in conjunction with its new Richmond rebranded Marketing non alcoholic Internationally renowned Tiger bottle beer, Beer is brewed to be full Bavaria flavoured and deeply refresh0.0% ing. Imported by Richmond (330ml), Marketing for the last eight available years, it has shown progresBavaria Crown 10-pack of bottles, price flashed at in a 24x330 sive growth every year and is €9.99, should be a strong performer in the busy ml pack. regarded as “the genuine Christmas trade.

The Asian beer”, according to ‘Designated Driver’ Richmond. campaign is being Tiger is Ireland’s (and the rolled out across the world’s) most popular importcountry by Gleesons. ed Asian beer with a sales The way it works is increase in the off-trade last drivers just tell the year of over 20%. Amongst its bar man they are the many accolades, Tiger has ‘designated driver’ won over 35 international for the night and medals, including the 2004 they get their first World Beer Cup, representabottle of Bavaria tive of its quality credentials 0.0% for free in parand thanks to its ‘tropical Peroni Nastro ticipating bars, which Azzurro is the largest laagering’ process which ferwill be listed on the ments the beer at optimum selling Italian Bavaria.ie web site. premium beer brand. temperature.

In the off-trade, a new Christmas themed slab of 24x500ml Bavaria Crown Cans has been launched for the Festive The Bavaria Crown 6-pack of 330ml Season. Also new for this bottles flashed at €6.49 is expected to perform extremely well this Festive Season. Christmas are two new Bavaria Crown 4.3% bottles packs. The new 6-pack of 330ml bottles flashed at €6.49 and a new 10-pack flashed at €9.99 are expected to do very well in the busy Christmas trade.

So far in 2008, Bavaria has had great success in Ireland, achieving considerable growth in tough market conditions. Bavaria has been brewed In the off-trade, a new Christmas themed slab of in Lieshout, Holland, since Tiger Beer has shown progressive growth 24x500ml Bavaria Crown cans has been 1719 by the Swinkle family. year-on-year and has just launched a new launched for the Festive Season.

The brewery only uses pure 4-pack to the Irish market.

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An extremely exciting new brand campaign built around vibrant Full Moon Parties will include advertising, Point of Sale, exclusive events and promotions. The campaign kicked off this month in Galway with a party at Karma and more events are in the pipeline.

In response to emerging consumer trends, a set of new SKUs have been introduced, including a special 12-pack for Christmas and a 4-pack for smaller consumer usage occasions. With a Pilsner Urquell’s new progresunique flavour and sive brand unquestionable quality are identity and appreciated and a wider range sought after by of SKUs for experts and beer the off-trade, lovers all over the more conworld. sumers than ever will be discovering Tiger.

Brewed in Italy since 1963, Peroni Nastro Azzurro is the largest selling Italian premium beer brand. It brings a rejuvenating offering to the market with a stylish and attractive alternative to beers today. Many consumers are choosing to look elsewhere, at wines and spirits, to express their

Drinks - Beer

sense of fashion and style. Peroni answers this by being quintessentially Italian; it comes from the style capital of the world: its looks, communication and experiences will consistently convey style superiority to the rest of the category.

With an ABV of 5.1%, Peroni is an intensely crisp and lightly sparkling lager.

Brewed in Plzen in the Czech Republic since 1842, Pilsner Urquell was the first ‘golden beer’.

Until then, all beer was dark and cloudy. It has created a style of beer that now makes up over two thirds of the world’s beer consumption.

Pilsner Urquell translates literally as ‘pilsner from the original source’ Chimay, the world’s best and is still brewed today in its known Trappist ale, is now birthplace, Plzen, in Czech available a special glass gift Republic. Pilsner Urquell’s unique pack for the Festive Season. flavour and unquestionable quality are appreciated and sought after by experts and beer lovers all over the known Trappist ale, world. are now available in Pilsner Urquell’s unique taste 750ml champagne comes from using traditional brewcork format and ing methods and quality ingredients also glass gift including the world’s most delicate packs. Poland’s and expensive hop, Sazz Hop. top selling beers, Pilsner Urquell has a unique taste: Tyskie and Lech, intensely hoppy, with a balance of continue double subtle sweetness and velvety bitterdigit growth in ness, wrapped in a gloriously crisp the Irish offbody. trade. The Maisels Weisse range of beers Premier from Bavaria, International Beers Germany, has Premium beer is the fastest growing launched the sector in the beer category, and Dunkel and Premier International Beers will conAlkohol Frei tinue to promote its comprehensive range in Ireland, portfolio of premium beers over the and consumer Festive Season. They have some interactivity is availesting and unique gifting ideas: The Maisels Weisse able for the offDuvel, Belgium’s best known eccentric range of beers from trade. ale, and Chimay, the world’s best

Bavaria is now available in Ireland.

ENSURE YOU COMPLY WITH REGULATIONS JULY 2008 saw the introduction of comprehensive new regulations governing off-licences, the most obvious of which was the change to opening hours. Off licences may now only sell alcohol between 10.30am and 10pm on weekdays, and from 12.30pm till 10pm on Sundays.

The new law also gives the Gardaí greater powers to seize alcohol where they fear public disorder, and also

allows for test purchasing.

Retailers who sell alcohol to children will face tougher penalties and stores will be banned from using incentives such as loyalty card points to encourage consumer spending.

The new legislation also allows retailers to apply to the courts for a wine-only off-licence.

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Drinks - Cider

Easy Cider Cider is expected to be a strong seasonal seller this Christmas.

Bulmers is heavily involved in sponsorship, across a range of events. The Bulmers International Comedy Festival 2008 was bigger and better than ever before, with over 50 Irish and international comedy stars taking to the stage in over 16 venues across Dublin this September.

The Magners League is now in its third season and has firmly established itself as a highly competitive and seri, once the preserve of the ous rugby tournament with clubs, summer months, is now a strong yearmedia and fans alike. Aligned to TV, round performer, with a seasonal radio and website audiences, more fans upsurge in sales expected this Yuletide. than ever before are enjoying Magners Heavy advertising and promotional League rugby. spend by the big players has ensured In July, Bulmers sponsored the that cider remains top-of-mind with con‘Original Artists’ series of the Clonmel sumers, which should be good news for Junction Festival, which saw a host of the retail trade this Christmas. rock, folk, trad and world music acts take to the stage.

Bulmers This year was the 17th consecutive The new Bulmers winter advertising year of the Bulmers All Ireland Cups campaign is hitting our screens this and Shields golf competition, while the December. Entitled ‘Tingle’, the comBulmers Sports Tonight Quiz roadmercial is the fourth and last in the show, Ireland’s biggest ever table quiz, successful Seasons II series, and celewas a massive success throughout the brates the serene beauty of the orchard country for the fourth year in a row. during the magical winter season.

Bulmers Mid-Strength Pint Bottle Maurice Breen, Marketing, was launched in May 2008 across outlets Director, Bulmers Ltd, said, in Cork, Limerick and Kerry, and has “Beautifully shot, this commercial since been extended to outlets in Dublin, successfully contrasts the stillness Laois, Kilkenny, Waterford, Kildare and and coldness of the orchard at winter Louth. Bulmers Mid-Strength provides time with the banter and warmth of the same great taste and refreshment as friends at the local bar as they meet Bulmers Original but with half the alcoto share stories and enjoy a Pint hol content of 2.3% ABV. Bottle of Bulmers poured over ice.”

Bulmers Light has enjoyed excepNew outdoor advertising will also be tional success and growth in the Irish introduced to support this TV cammarket since it launched nearly five paign. years ago. 2008 saw the welcome return of the Bulmers Light balloon, which was seen flying high at a number of major events and festivals throughout the year. May saw the release of the Bulmers Mid-Strength Pint Bottle provides the same great eagerly anticipattaste and refreshment as Bulmers Original but with half ed Sex And The the alcohol content of 2.3% ABV.

Cider

44

City movie in Ireland and Bulmers Light hosted a private screening for a host of selected guests.

Another highlight for Bulmers Light this year was their strengthened association with The Limerick School of Art and Design Fashion Show, whereby Bulmers Light became title sponsors of 2008’s show.

Kopparberg Kopparberg Natural Swedish Cider has grown dramatically in both the on and off trade in the last few years.

Famous for its great tasting Swedish Pear Cider, Kopparberg claims brand leadership in fruit ciders. Kopparberg have launched Pear, Mixed Fruit and Apple in the Irish market, with Mixed Fruit sales now paralleling Pear. The secret to the great taste lies in the pristine soft water, sourced locally in Kopparberg, Sweden, which allows the natural fruit flavours to dominate its refreshing taste.

Kopparberg Natural Swedish Cider has grown dramatically in both the on and off trade in the last few years.

Kopparberg is gearing up for the Festive Season with plans to unveil a winter campaign. There are also a number of pack sizes to appeal to a wide range of occasions, including Pear, Mixed Fruit and Apple in 500ml Bottles and 500ml Cans, Pear fourpack in 500ml Cans and Pear Non Alcoholic in a 500ml Bottle.

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Drinks - Spirits

Spirits Soar at Christmas Spirits sales traditionally peak at the Christmas season and this year should be no exception.

should be passed onto the customer to compete with large supermarkets and where possible, sales can be maximised using Point of Sale and off-shelf displays.

• Stock, display and clearly price premium whiskey or brandy that can be bought as a gift or to celebrate over the Christmas period.

Seasonal packs also offer increased sales opportunities and should be displayed off-shelf to create interest and drive incremental sales.

FindlaterGrants

The

Festive Season is the peak selling period for spirits, as consumers across the country stock up on their favourite tipples for home-entertaining. The spirits market is growing, year-round, however, according to Euromonitor, who attribute much of this growth to immigration from Eastern Europe.

Total volume of spirit sales grew by 3% from 2006 to 23m litres in 2007, while value increased slightly to €1.4 billion. This is on the back of consistent annual growth between 2001 and 2006 of 3.5%.

Spirits offer higher cash margins than many other categories, as well as knock-on sales of soft drinks and snacks in the off-licence premises.

To maximise off licence spirits sales, owners and managers can follow a couple of simple steps: • Offer a range that covers all spirits segments, with leading brands at eye level.

• Allocate more space to leading brands: this will minimise the risk of empty shelves, which arise when the faster selling brands don’t have sufficient shelf space.

• Ensure every product is priced and all manufacturers’ promotions 46

Distributed in the Republic of Ireland

by FindlaterGrants, Russian Standard Vodka is Russia’s number

Russian Standard Vodka is Russia’s number one premium vodka and ranked 4th fastest growing spirits brand globally in 2007.

one premium vodka and ranked 4th fastest growing spirits brand globally in 2007 (Impact Magazine, Feb ’08).

Since the brand’s launch in Ireland in spring 2008, it has secured nationwide distribution.

Supported by a heavyweight advertising campaign, awareness for Russian Standard Vodka has risen to 41% of Irish Vodka drinkers (MillwardBrown IMS Research, July ’08). According to Ann Marie Finucane, Marketing Manager for Russian Standard Vodka, “The reason Russian Standard Vodka has become so popular is because of the brand’s authenticity and premium product quality, two elements which the discerning vodka consumer is searching for.”

With an outdoor campaign running from October, Russian Standard Vodka will be supporting its advertising campaign with special Christmas gift packs, display units and in-store promotions. Especially for the festive season, Russian Standard Original is available in a premium gift box. For those seeking the perfect gift, Russian Standard Platinum in an embossed silver metal tin is the ideal choice for the vodka connoisseur.

2008 has been hugely successful for Tullamore Dew, also distributed by FindlaterGrants. Tullamore Dew is the fastest growing Irish Whiskey and is now the number two bestseller in the world (IWRS 2007). It is the number one selling Irish whiskey brand in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the Czech Republic, and the leading overall whiskey brand in Bulgaria and Latvia, outselling Scotch by a significant margin.

In addition, the brand announced a 20% growth in the year to February 2008, making Tullamore Dew by far the most dynamic brand of Irish whiskey internationally.

This Christmas, FindlaterGrants is offering a variety of Tullamore Dew

Toast your sales with Russia’s No.1 Premium Vodka. . 41% of Irish vodka drinkers are now aware of Russian Standard vodka (MillwardBrown IMS Research, Jul ‘08)

. Fastest growing category in the Irish Spirits market +13%

(AC Nielsen Nov ’07 MAT)

. Russian Standard vodka ranked 4th fastest growing spirits brand globally in 2007 (Impact Magazine Feb ’08)

. €3 Million marketing investment 2008, massive pre-Christmas outdoor campaign commences October

For further information please contact: FindlaterGrants Customer Care Tel: 1850 200 569 or email us at customercare@candcgroup.ie

November08Christmas

Drinks - Spirits

Southern Comfort a smooth taste and a great ability to mix in cocktails.

Bacardi Superior Rum is a light, dry and subtly flavoured rum with a smooth mouth feel. Its perfectly balanced and delicate flavours allow it to complement rather than dominate when mixed long. It is this quality that inspired cocktail pioneers to use Bacardi as the main ingredient to some of the world’s most famous cocktails, including Ireland’s best loved cocktail – the Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old will Mojito. This Christmas, The Bacardi Glass Gift Pack contains be available in 70cl gift boxes Bacardi will be supportBacardi Superior Rum, two special Bacardi for the Festive Season. ing the Mojito with their Mojito glasses and tips on how to make the Bacardi Glass Gift Pack. perfect Original Mojito.

Containing Bacardi Superior gift packs including a 70cl gift A jewel case for a cognac of characRum, two special Bacardi Mojito box, a unique Tullamore Dew ter, the new decanter, called Exclusive glasses and tips on how to make Crock and a two glass gift Collection, encloses the elegant arothe perfect Original Mojito, it pack. In addition, mas of the Eaux-de-Vie. The complex is set to be a huge success Tullamore Dew 12 Year at parties this Old will be available in Festive Season.

70cl gift boxes.

This Christmas, Edward Dillon Hennessy pres& Co. Ltd ents the exquiSouthern Comfort consite Hennessy tinues to perform X.O Iridescence impressively in the from its Irish market, showing 2008/2009 strong year-on-year Exclusive growth. Engaging marCollection. The keting campaigns have mythical X.O communicated the herdecanter is itage of Southern adorned for fesComfort and grown the tive dinners, popularity of the brand decorated by with Irish consumers.

82 Swarovski Southern Comfort is crystals. The available in a new-look decanter is flip-top box this presented in a Christmas, a great fesgift box with tive gift at no extra gun-metal cost. grey metallic Created by barglints, embeltender M.W. Heron in lished with 1874 in New Orleans, Southern Comfort continues diamonds cut the unique combinato perform impressively in This Christmas, Hennessy presents the exquisite in ‘trompetion of whiskey, spice the Irish market, showing Hennessy X.O Iridescence from its 2008/2009 strong year-on-year growth. l’oeil’. and fruit flavours give Exclusive Collection.

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Drinks - Spirits

Grey Goose L’Orange and Le Citron.

Unlike other flavoured vodkas which can taste artificial, Grey Goose captures the true, authentic flavour of each carefully selected ingredient, whether it’s Floridian oranges in Grey Goose L'Orange or Menton lemons from France in Grey Goose Le Citron.

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

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard Irish Whiskey, at 41%, sell a higher percentage of sales at Christmas versus total Spirits at 36% (Source: ACNielsen Multiples O/N/D ROI 2007). Together, Jameson, Powers and Paddy represent 85% of Irish Whiskey

The distinctively packaged Absolut Masquerade should prove extremely popular this Christmas.

Every aspect of Grey Goose vodka is designed to ensure it stands alone as the world’s best tasting vodka, reflecting its Cognac origins.

chords of this unique cognac are successively revealed to the palate, making each tasting, whether neat or on ice, a fresh discovery.

As the true expression of elegance, Hennessy X.0 Iridescence stands out as the discerning choice and precious Christmas gift for those who appreciate the best in life. Hennessy X.O Iridescence is available from Edward Dillon & Co. at an RSP of €147.99.

Every aspect of Grey Goose vodka is designed to ensure it stands alone as the world’s best tasting vodka. The unique taste of Grey Goose reflects its Cognac origins. Each bottle is produced using the finest gastronomer traditions in France under the watchful eye of the Grey Goose cellar master, Francois Thibault. As well as the crisp original tasting vodka, Grey Goose also offers the tangy flavours of

Jameson continues to take the Irish whiskey market by storm.

sales at Christmas. (Source: ACNielsen Multiples ROI 2007).

According to the company, Jameson is the number one value and volume spirit at Christmas and claims 53% share of Irish Whiskey sales (Source: ACNielsen Multiples ROI 2007).

This September saw the launch of the new Jameson advertising campaign, ‘It’s a Jameson Thing’. The new campaign encapsulates the charismatic and confident personality of Jameson by evoking the inherent witty attitude of the Irish. The media placement is focused on outdoor, online, premium lifestyle print and leading national broadsheets.

Targeted outdoor media such as 3D special 48-sheets and new 'metropole' sites will be used to further enhance the campaign.

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Drinks - Spirits

Irish Distillers is also promoting Cork Dry Gin with the advertising ‘The Gin’ in print and Point of Sale. In the off-trade, consumers can avail of the Cork Dry Gin single bottle carton.

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard are promoting Malibu with their ‘Get Your Island On’ TV, online and outdoor campaign, which will be complemented in the ontrade with ‘Malibu and Cranberry’ in outlet promotions and high visibility point of sale.

Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium distribute a wide range of premium spirits. They include Teachers Scotch, Courvoisier Cognac, Rémy Martin Cognac, The Famous Grouse Finest Scotch Whisky, Jim Beam Bourbon, Vladivar Vodka and Boru Vodka.

Courvoisier have recently launched a series of very Powers single bottle carton always high end cognacs with one performs well at Christmas.

Courvoisier l’Esprit expected to retail for €5,000. Two The campaign is supported with a new additions to their ‘Mix It Up’ promotion in the on-trade, spirits range this while the off-trade campaign is supChristmas are Famous ported with window displays, which Grouse 10 Year Old and will be visible in off licenses around Pinky Vodka, “for the lady the country. Consumers can avail of who has it all”. the Jameson single bottle carton and Cocktails, champagne a gift pack featuring a Jameson Hip and shooters will be top Flask. of the bill this Christmas Powers advertising campaign and leading brand ‘Pure Gold’ will feature in both outnames within Barry door and print nationwide. The Fitzwilliam Maxxium advertising will be bought to life in are ready to cater for the on-trade in association with all, such as the VFI Rehab Quiz Night, Cointreau, Bols, while in the off-trade, conSourz and sumers can avail of the Jagermeister.

Powers single bottle carCointreau ton and a gift pack featuris the perfect ing two premium Powers partner for tumblers. cocktails, Paddy is available in renowned for single bottle carton and a livening up a gift pack featuring two Margarita, makPaddy glasses. ing a long drink In the vodka market, even longer with Irish Distillers is promoting 7UP or the styltwo distinctively packaged ish party bottles this Christmas, Cosmopolitan Absolut Masquerade and The ever-popular cocktail.

Wyborowa.

Courvoisier Cognac.

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Vladivar Vodka, one of the star performers from Barry Fitwilliam.

Bols Distilleries is one of the largest and oldest producers of fine spirits and liqueurs in the world, some dating back to the year 1575.

Many of the unique flavours of Bols liqueurs are made with fruit juices, thereby creating the ideal platform for some of the best cocktails around. The selection of flavours available from Bols is vast and includes Bols Blue, Grenadine, Advocaat, Crème de Cacao, Cherry Brandy, Amaretto and many more. Bols Vodka, which is a leading player on the Polish market, is now available here.

Sourz is proving to be a great success. It has a unique, dual sweet & sour flavour that is both refreshing and tangy. Sourz apple is a lowstrength (15%) shooter brand that is taking the clubs and style bars by

November08Christmas

storm. Look out for Sourz Cherry and Sourz Pineapple.

According to Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium, After Shock is the most innovative product in the Irish Shooter market. It’s available in five flavours – After Shock ‘Hot & Cool’ (red), Aftershock ‘Deep Cool’ (blue) and After Shock ‘Thermal Bite’ (green), as well as Aftershock Black and Aftershock Silver.

Jagermeister, the famous German schnapps, is a huge seller in the shooter market, particularly among student trend setters and is growing internationally. It is a half-bitter German schnapps with a unique blend of 56 herbs and spices. Sales are up over 50% from a large base.

“Christmas is very much a time for brown spirits,” says Michael Barry, Managing Director of Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium, who will be giving a lot of support to their range, which includes Rémy Martin, Courvoisier, Teachers, Famous Grouse, Whyte & Mackay and Jim Beam.

Cooley Distillery The Cooley Distillery, Ireland’s only Independent whiskey distillery, collection of Award winning whiskeys comes into its own during the Festive Season. Whiskey is a big favourite at Christmas time so rather than stocking the normal fare, Cooley's range of brands allow retailers to offer a unique range of Irish whiskeys that will help them

stand out from the crowd.

Cooley have a range of three whiskeys that are distinctly Irish but have their own subtle nuances in terms of character and flavour. Kilbeggan Irish whiskey is a high quality blend that is released for Christmas in a gold gift tube and special Irish coffee glass pack. Tyrconnell Single Malt, which is beautifully packaged in a distinctive gift tube, has been joined by a range of limited edition 10 Year Old Wood Finishes. Connemara Peated Single Malt is the only smoky Irish whiskey on the market and is a great offering for people who might normally trade up to a Scottish malt for Christmas. All Cooley brands are available through Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium.

Scion Spirits Company The world’s first super premium cream liqueur, Coole Swan, is adding a touch of class this Festive Season as distribution grows steadlily nationwide.

Coole Swan has recently launched its Christmas Gift Set, filled with a bottle of Coole Swan and two exclusive frosted martini glasses. Created from the highest quality, all natural, ingredients, Coole Swan Premium Cream Liqueur delivers an exquisite taste that is seriously delicious.

The Cooley Distillery collection of award winning whiskeys comes into its own during the Festive Season.

Drinks - Spirits

Coole Swan has recently launched its Christmas Gift Set, filled with a bottle of Coole Swan and two exclusive frosted martini glasses.

Since launching in March 2006, Coole Swan Liqueur is making quite a splash in the marketplace in both on and off-trade. The premium, sleek bottle can now be seen on the shelves of many of the country’s top hotels, restaurants and bars.

One of the key strategies of Coole Swan was to create a cool, refreshing liquid that would hold year round appeal for its consumer market. Both the flavour and the diversity of the liquid, created by using only ingredients of the highest quality, while ensuring no artificial flavourings or colourings are added, have been recognised widely with the food and beverage industry.

Coole Swan liqueur is available nationwide in all leading independent off-licences and fine food stores including The Celtic Whiskey Shop, Deveney’s (Dundrum), Coman’s (Rathgar), Redmond’s of Ranelagh, Donnybrook Fair, Holland’s of Bray, World Wide Wines, Waterford, The Wine Centre Kilkenny, O’Brien’s Off Licences, Molloy’s Liquor Stores, O’Donovan’s Off Licences, SuperValu, Superquinn and Tesco.

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Great Year for the Grape which makes it a popular choice for Irish consumers, particularly at Christmas. The range consists of a Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Pink and Merlot, and a new Pinot Noir Sparkling Rosé The Sparkling Rosé, launched this summer, is made from Pinot Noir grapes grown along the River Rhine, an area well known for the ripeness of its fruit. Its aromas of soft red fruits intermingled with biscuity notes give it extra complexity.

This Christmas sees the introduction of a new display unit for showcasing The Bend In The River Pinot wine market is Grigio and The Bend In The River bigger than ever before, with sales Pink, offering consumers two superb hitting 8.7m cases in 2007, a rise of wines for the Festive Season.

500,000 cases since 2006, and the One of the leading family wineries range and variety of wines on offer is in Australia is more extensive than ever. making huge Indeed, the market split for inroads to the Irish 2007 was Red at 51%, White at market with 44% and Rosé at 5%. Annual Wakefield Wines per capita wine consumption from the Clare in Ireland stood at 18.1 Valley, South litres in 2007, and is Australia. growing all the time.

Distributed by Ireland’s wine marFindlaterGrants, ket can now be classed Promised Land, as ‘mature’, with Wakefield Estate, knowledgeable conJaraman and St sumers who are Andrew’s are all now extremely passionate available to Irish conabout wine, and are sumers. key drivers and trend Each brand has setters in the market. won a host of accoEnsuring this new lades, including the breed of wine conrecent nomination as sumers is catered for in one of just three finalyour store will help to ists for the ensure a profitable International Red Wine Festive Season.

Maker of the year at the 2008 International Wine FindlaterGrants Show. This month, Distributed by FindlaterGrants, The This Christmas sees the introduction Wakefield wines of a new display unit for showcasing feature for the Bend In The River The Bend In The River Pinot Grigio first time on our range is famous for its and The Bend In The River Pink, classic design and con- offering consumers two superb wines TV screens, for the festive season. increasing brand temporary appearance,

Wine sales continue to grow throughout Ireland, with a bumper Festive Season forecast.

Ireland’s

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For Christmas, Wakefield Wines have an exciting range of display units and gift packs.

awareness and in turn increasing consumer demand and sales.

For Christmas, Wakefield has an exciting range of display units and gift packs. Display units are available both for the Promised Land Range and the Clare Valley Estate Range.

There are two and three bottle cardboard gift packs featuring Promised Land and this Christmas also sees the return of the phenomenally successful Wakefield Estate two bottle wooden gift pack.

From November this year, Arniston Bay will move to the very popular screw cap packaging, which over 85% of Irish wine drinkers have purchased in recent months. The majority of consumers find screw cap packaging easier to open and more convenient than traditional cork (Source: Red C June 2008). To coincide with this change, the current Arniston Bay label is evolving to reflect a more premium position and shelf stand-out. In addition, FindlaterGrants is introducing a new

November08Christmas

Drinks - Wine

launch the new Cono Sur Sparkling, which blends three grape varieties; Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir.

This perfect, sparkling combination for Christmas is available now in single units and in gift boxes. In addition, Cono Sur’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc will both be available this Christmas in unique tin gift packs. A new two-bottle cardboard gift box will feature Cono Sur’s Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, both big selling varietals, to drive sales during this key selling period.

Cono Sur will also be on TV during the key selling month of December, which will generate consumer awareness and drive sales.

Also from FindlaterGrants, Mateus Rosé - the iconic rosé brand and number one Portuguese wine, is a Arniston Bay has moved to the very firm favourite with Irish consumers popular screw cap packaging, while during the Festive Season. Sales durits label has evolved to reflect a more premium position and increased shelf ing this period increase by approxistand-out. mately 50%, as Mateus proves one of the most sought gift wines amongst Irish consumers. The brand is enjoyCabernet Merlot to replace the existing a popular resurgence in populariing Ruby Cabernet as Irish consumers ty with sales this year find this grape variety in double-digit growth, easier to identify. For recently propelled by its Christmas, national TV advertising FindlaterGrants is also campaign. introducing a triple pack For Christmas, designed to grow sales Mateus has just during this festive sealaunched the new son.

Mateus Rosé Sparkling FindlaterGrants has – a non-vintage brut introduced Cono Sur’s sparkling wine with a new sparkling wine from youthful, fresh and conaward-winning Chilean temporary style, and its wine maker Adolpho eye-catching packaging Hurtado. Cono Sur has a tremendous remains the fastest standout on-shelf. The growing major Chilean sparkling wine from the brand in Ireland and is Bairrada region has Chile’s first sparkling delicate aromas of wine to be launched in apple, pear and raspIreland (Source: berry, with a rich and ACNielsen, August creamy finish, and is 2008). sure to be with a big hit The Sparkling Brut with Irish consumers comes from the Bio-Bio this holiday season.

Valley, one of the most Montes, also from southern origins of the FindlaterGrants, is the world and an area number one Chilean known for the producpremium wine brand in tion of balanced and FindlaterGrants has introduced Cono Sur’s new Chile and this concentrated wines. sparkling wine from award- Christmas, Montes and Ireland is one of just winning Chilean wine maker FindlaterGrants are four countries to Adolpho Hurtado.

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Mateus Rosé, the iconic rosé brand and number one Portuguese wine, is a firm favourite with Irish consumers.

offering consumers the chance to win a skiing trip for two worth €5,000.

The consumer promotion will be supported in-store, where stands will feature the neck-collared bottles. The Montes Classic display unit will hold the popular Montes Classic Chardonnay and Montes Classic Merlot.

Also available in two special wooden gift boxes, Montes will be sure to impress this Christmas. The premium ‘Alpha Box’ will feature Montes Alpha Chardonnay and Alpha Cabernet

Available in two special wooden gift boxes, Montes will be sure to impress this Christmas.

November08Christmas

Sauvignon, and the ‘Classic Box’, will feature the Montes Classic Sauvignon Blanc and Montes Classic Merlot varieties.

Edward Dillon & Co. Ltd Rosemount’s distinctive style and quality has established it as a firm favourite with Irish wine drinkers for over 20 years. The collection of wines from Rosemount, distributed by Edward Dillon & Co. Ltd, reflects the riches of the Australian climate with a strong dedication to winemaking quality, innovation and style.

Rosemount’s popular Diamond Label Shiraz can be purchased in a diamond-shaped gift box, perfect for single bottle gifting.

Rosemount continues to innovate and now comes in a distinctive diamond-shaped bottle in screw cap, ensuring consumers can experience the fresh, fruity wines as the wine maker intended.

This Christmas, Rosemount introduces two exciting gift pack options which reflect the diamond-footed shaped bottle that has been warmly received by Irish consumers. The popular Diamond Label Chardonnay and Shiraz can be purchased in a diamond-shaped gift box perfect for single bottle gifting. For double the pleasure, there is the Rosemount Diamond Cellars twin pack, which contains Semillon Sauvignon and Grenache Shiraz.

Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium Michael Barry of Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium (BFM) claims that they now have probably the most successful prestigious French wines on the market, when you take account of the success of Michel Lynch, Michel Lynch Reserve and Guigals wine from the Cotes du Rhone. The Michel Lynch standard range will be available in wooden gift boxes for Christmas.

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

From Germany, Blue Nun is still an old favourite and will be heavily promoted for the Festive Season. Also available is new Blue Nun Pinot Grigio.

McGuigan wines from Australia continue to out-perform the market.

The Black Label range comprises of a Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé, as well as McGuigan Black Label Sparkling Chardonnay and Sparkling Rosé. The range will have strong above the line marketing support, particularly in national press and radio. New additions to the range are a Cabernet/Merlot blend and a Pinot Grigio.

Also from Australia, the Tyrrell’s Moores Creek range is gathering momentum and the Old Winery range does extremely well in the premium category, while Brown Brothers wines have garnered a fantastic reputation from wine writers the world over and are very popular with the Irish consumer, particularly at Christmas.

The Glen Ellen Winery was founded in 1980 in Sonoma County, one of California’s premier grape growing regions. Glen Ellen has been credited with inspiring consumers to embrace varietal wines throughout the 1980s and 1990s by consistently crafting premium quality wines such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot. Today, Glen Ellen is distributed in most of the world’s largest wine importing countries and the brand produces approximately 3m cases annually.

BFM also handle Concannon and Bonny Doon, two of the most eclectic

Drinks - Wine

from California.

The company has enjoyed great local press reviews for the Hutton Ridge range of South African wine, particularly the Hutton Ridge Merlot, which have led to fantastic interest from the trade, particularly due to its price-quality ratio.

They also carry the Boschendal range, “one of South Africa’s iconic wineries, established in 1685 which makes it one of the oldest wineries in the world,” according to Michael Barry.

BFM have a new range from New Zealand, Maven, which includes a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay & Pinot Noir.

Mont Gras, a former “Chilean Producer of the Year”, continues to grow strongly. BFM will be offering fantastic value with the blends range, while at the top end, the Mont Gras Reservas trade extremely well during the Christmas period.

The Mont Gras Varietal range will be available in Gift Boxes for Christmas and MontGras Reservas will be available in wooden boxes. The range will be heavily supported by radio and a national press campaign.

The Soleus range of Organic Wine produced by Mont Gras is going from strength to strength.

The Michel Lynch range is a star performer in the Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium portfolio.

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From Spain, Beronia Rioja wines from Gonzalez Byass and Raimat from Penedes are two exceptional ranges which have developed a cult following here.

BFM also include Argentina’s Santa Julia/Zuccardi range in their portfolio. They are a family owned winery who produce excellent wines at all ends of the spectrum, and have a fantastic price quality ratio. At the top end, Zuccardi Zeta is on absolute ‘wow’, according to Michael Barry.

In the realm of Champagne, Charles Heidsieck is carefully blended and cellared and gives a general impression of a vivacious, well-balanced wine. Charles Heidsieck is the premium champagne from the Heidsieck house. The company also produces the fashionable and contemporary Piper Heidsieck Grande Marque Champagne. Charles Heidsieck won the NOffLA Champagne of the Year and the Decanter Magazine Champagne of the Year in 2006 and Piper Heidsieck Champagne won the Noffla Champagne of the Year 2007.

A new addition to BFM sparkling range this Christmas is Codorniu, which has a range of styles for every pocket.

BFM also have a very strong line up in the fortified wine sector for Christmas. The company represents Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry, Croft Original Sherry, Tio Pepe Sherry, Cockburns and Taylor’s Port. It is not overstating it when Michael Barry says “that they are very much the category captains of this sector”. The advertising campaign for Harvey’s will have its main emphasis on Harvey’s with a mixer an over ice.

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard From Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, Jacobs Creek Sparkling will be advertised on TV, print and outdoor in the run-up to Christmas, while consumers can once again avail of the Jacobs Creek and Jacobs Creek Sparkling gift packs.

From the same company, West Coast Cooler will be back on out screens with the ‘It’s Showtime’ campaign, which will be supported with an on-trade promotion, while off-trade 56

Jacobs Creek Sparkling Rosé is available in a gift pack for the Festive Season.

consumers can avail of a special West Coast Cooler twin-pack.

Febvre & Co. Ltd From Febvre & Co., Two Oceans, one of South Africa’s most widely distributed wine brands not only continues to swell sales in key markets but has come home with an A-grade report card from

one of the world’s most influential wine critics.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has praised Two Oceans Shiraz as being “amazing value: shames the international cast of inexpensive but miserable bottlings of Syrah that have flooded the marketplace in recent years”. He describes it as “soft, generously juicy, and surprisingly polished-textured” and “dominated by ripe black raspberry fruit, with notes of chocolate, black pepper”. The Two Oceans varietals are characterised by their concentrated fruit aromas on the nose and lively, mouth-filling The Two Oceans flavours: wines varietals are with charm and characterised by their concentrated fruit character that allow them to be aromas on the nose and lively, mouthenjoyed young filling flavours.

MOET & CHANDON ‘BE FABULOUS’ ISOTHERM BAG THE Moët & Chandon ‘Be Fabulous’ isotherm is the perfect gift this Christmas. Tastefully decorated with crystals, the isotherm bag comes complete with a bottle of Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial and will keep a chilled bottle at the ideal temperature for over an hour.

Over the centuries, Moët & Chandon has become synonymous with the luxury of champagne. Today, Moët & Chandon possesses the largest and most prestigious estate in Champagne, consisting almost exclusively of grand crus and premiers crus, classified vineyards officially recognised for the quality of their soil and the characteristic flavor of their wines.

The flagship of Moët & Chandon since 1989, Brut Imperial is the most accomplished and universal expression of the Moët & Chandon range. It reflects the diversity and complementary aspects of the three champagne grapes, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, and the richness of the region’s best vineyards to reveal the magic of the world’s most loved Champagne. Lively and generous, Brut Imperial distinguishes itself by a bright fruitiness, seductive palate and elegant maturity that continually seduce and delight.

The Moët & Chandon ‘Be Fabulous’ isotherm retails at €41.99 and is available from off-licences nationwide.

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Drinks - Wine

MOËT & CHANDON GRAND VINTAGE 2003 THE 2003 Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage truly is an extraordinary Champagne. Turning pre-conceived notions on their head, following an atypical harvest, Chef de Cave, Benoit Gouez, and his team employed an exceptional technique, lovingly coaxing the fabulous personality from one of the most complex vintages ever, transforming a catastrophe into a miracle, an unusual grape into an unforgettable wine.

According to Benoit Gouez, “Our wines of 2003 display an atypical balance, thanks to an alliance of force and firmness of character. The Pinot Meuniers are less affected by the extreme climactic conditions, and this makes them the high point of the year. They are seductive, fleshy, pulpy, and juicy. The Chardonnays, though limited in quantity, are rich, generous, lightly buttery, slightly vegetal – typically Burgundian. The Pinot Noirs are the wines most affected by the heat: they are full-bodied, with enormous, though varied, character. We will have to be particularly selective, but as a whole, thanks to its originality, the harvest offers some truly exciting assemblage possibilities. Exceptional conditions are the opportunity to create an equally exceptional Grand Vintage. A unique champagne, with a complex, mature, assertive personality.” Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage is available from selected outlets nationwide and retails at €57.19 and €59.99 for Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Rosé. but with the necessary structure to develop in the bottle.

From the same company, the Caliterra Reserva range is the result of a great combination of soil, climate and a new yield reduction programme in their Colchagua vineyards.

“Calidad” and “tierra” – quality and land – form a beautiful marriage in Caliterra wines. Gently crafted by winemaker, Sergio Cuadra, in a

The Caliterra Reserva range is the result of a great combination of soil, climate and a new yield reduction programme in their Colchagua vineyards.

unique gravity flow winery, these wines reflect the excellent soils and climates of Chile’s finest vineyards.

Caliterra is deeply committed to sustainable practices in the vineyard: “it’s not about making only high quality wine anymore. It’s about making it with a careful awareness to help

assure the natural resources for our grandsons and beyond,” says Sergio Cuadra.

Caliterra Reservas are available in the full range of varietals in 75cl and the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon are currently available in 187ml.

FORTIFIED WINES REVENUE clearance figures to August 2008 show that in the market for fortified wines (wines exceeding 15% abv) dropped by 4.9%, writes Jean Smullen. The market for these styles of wines have always had a difficult time. However, at this time of year, it is vital that the retailer make sure that he has an ample stock of these wine styles on the shelves, as the lion's share of sales take place at Christmas. This category is very much a seasonal one and these wine styles are very much in demand at this time of year.

These are classic winter wine styles, long associated with the Festive Season. They are warming and the perception is that they more suited to cold winter evenings than for summer drinking.

Fortified wines are wines to which extra alcohol has been added at some stage during their production. There are two different reasons for doing this and Port illustrates one, Sherry the other. In the case of Port, alcohol is added during fermentation while quite a lot of the grape sugar still remains in the juice. This dose of spirit kills the yeasts, stops the fermentation and so retains some of the natural sugar. The wine is sweet, tastes of spirit and needs a few years in oak barrels to soften and mature. This basic method is also used for Madeira.

With sherry, the juice is left to ferment until all the sugar is used up. Even sweet sherry starts out life bone dry. After fermentation is over, they add the spirit, using different measures for different types of sherry. If a sweet sherry is required, the dry base will be sweetened up with a fortified grape juice. The key to the sherry styles is that the wines are then aged in oak barrels using a very complex system called the ‘Solera’ system, a traditional method of gradual blending. The older wine is blended with the younger wine in a series of steps This means that when the wine is bottled they are only using a minimum amount of wines from the most mature barrels, which allows them retain a portion for future blending.

All Sherries have to be wood aged for a minimum of three years, but the finest are aged for much longer. The barrels are continuously filled using both older and newer wines, thus allowing continuous supply of the product.

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Drinks - Soft Drinks

The Soft Option Despite consumers’ changing concerns, the Irish soft drinks sector remains extremely dynamic and is expecting a bumper Christmas season.

The

Irish soft drinks market is one of the most dynamic in the entire grocery spectrum, with the Beverage Council of Ireland estimating that sales for 2007 were 3% up on the previous year’s figures.

However, according to the latest report into the sector by Euromonitor International, retail carbonates sales declined in volume and current value terms over the course of 2007. This was attributable to rising health-consciousness among consumers, which prompted retailers to allocate more shelf-space to bottled water, fruit/vegetable juice and smoothies. However, the main carbonates manufacturers are responding to this trend, with a host of new product launches actively targeting consumers’ health concerns, such as the high profile launch of Coke Zero, which is aimed primarily at health conscious male consumers.

With growing fears of overweight and obesity levels, and increasing con-

58

sumer awareness of the issue, soft drinks retailers and manufacturers have been reporting a trend towards more healthy products with ‘cleaner’ ingredients (i.e. free from artificial flavours, colourings and preservatives).

The trend towards a healthier lifestyle and demand for products that satisfy this requirement have led to increased sales of diet or low-calorie soft drinks.

While this begins to address one of the challenges that the soft-drink manufacturer faces, association with overweight/obesity, it raises the new challenge of successfully handling the use of intense sweeteners, which has stirred controversy and provoked criticism from some consumer groups around the world.

Aspartame in particular has been the subject of a certain amount of public controversy regarding its safety and the manner in which it was approved for use: those parties opposed to its use imply that there were conflicts of interest at the heart of its approval. However,

Aspartame has received endorsement from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which found that there is no reason to revise the previously established ADI for aspartame of 40 mg/kg bw.

Although this is a positive outcome for aspartame and intense sweeteners, there is no doubt that some consumers remain unconvinced. Soft drink manufacturers wanting to make the most of a market interested in healthy lifestyles and increasing consumption of diet drinks would do well to actively market the endorsements given to these ingredients by such institutions as the EFSA, according to Report Buyer in their recent report into challenges for soft drinks manufacturers.

The environmental debate is also an issue from which soft-drink companies cannot shy away, according to the same report. Soft drinks are perceived as creating a great deal of packaging that may not be disposed of by consumers, and companies themselves, in the most environmentally friendly and

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November08Christmas

Drinks - Soft Drinks

These drinks offer the opportunity to efficient way. Companies can be part of provide greater choice to consumers the solution by helping to educate conwith newer, less common ingredients sumers about recycling and by informto satisfy a variety of drink occasions. ing them what the company is doing to With all this said, however, the contribute positively to environmental same big brands continue to dominate considerations. the Irish soft drinks sector.

In addition to these With massive marketing factors, while acknowlplans for the Festive edging that the youth Season, retailers can expect market still remains a huge sales of consumers’ key target for softfavourite brands over the drink manufacturers coming weeks. and retailers, increasing importance will be placed on the adult Coca-Cola market with the develFor the third consecutive opment and marketing year, Coca-Cola is showing of more adult-oriented, positive growth and is getsophisticated soft ting ready for another drinks that offer great Christmas. Over refreshment and an €1.5m will be invested in alternative to alcohol the 2008 Christmas over the coming Marketing campaign and Coca-Cola is showing months and years. from November 17, Cocapositive growth and is Cola’s famous ‘Holidays Are getting ready for another great Coming’ soundChristmas. track will be broadcast on TV and radio across the country. The iconic ‘Holidays Are Coming’ music heralds the arrival of Christmas for parents and teens alike and is very much associated with the Christmas Festive feeling.

Coke are also running an extensive outdoor campaign which, on a selection of key sites, will feature innovative ‘sonic units’ playing the ‘Holidays Are Coming’ music, as well as fibre-optic lighting. Some bus shelters will be Bluetooth-enabled to allow customers to download the soundtrack as a ringtone on their mobile phone.

Over €1.5m will be invested in CocaCola’s 2008 Christmas marketing campaign and from November 17, Coca-Cola’s famous ‘Holidays Are Coming’ soundtrack will be broadcast on TV and radio across the country.

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Fanta In 2008, Fanta has managed to gain share and hold volume in a declining category, despite a

Fanta has managed to gain share and hold volume in a declining category, and now claims to be the number one orange brand on the island of Ireland.

significant reduction in media and no Halloween calendar slot.

Fanta has weathered well: it has grown share from 34.3% to 37%, and now claims to be the number one orange brand on the island of Ireland.

Sprite & Sprite Zero

Sprite and Sprite Zero both grew in 2008 with the introduction of a new ad campaign, where ‘JD Quench’ symbolises Sprite as the nemesis of thirst.

90% of 16-24’s “enjoyed watching” the new TV ads versus 77% norm.

A taste-driven strategy on Sprite Zero has driven brand trial this year and over 150,000 2540 females sampled Sprite Zero Sprite and Sprite Zero across the island of Ireland. both grew in 2008 with the introduction of a new 2009 will see a joint marketing ad campaign, where ‘JD strategy with Quench and the Quench’ symbolises Sprite Thirst gang back again. as the nemesis of thirst.

November08Christmas

Drinks - Bottled Water

Water Makes a Splash!

Bottled water is sure to prove popular with consumers rehydrating over the Festive Season.

Christmas

tant in influencing purchasing habits over the coming months and years, according to the latest Euromonitor report. As more and more consumers adopt an eco-friendly attitude, bottled water manufacturers will begin to put recyclable or biodegradable packaging and ‘greener’ transportation methods high on their agendas.

Deep RiverRock Within the take home still water sector, Deep RiverRock has increased its share to 8.7% in volume and 7% in value (Source: ACNielsen MAT WE September 7, 2008). This year Deep RiverRock introduced its new 6x1.5L still water multi-pack. The 6x1.5L pack was designed to offer Deep RiverRock customers a new offering in the Take Home water market.

A recent TNS survey reported that customers are now buying greater volumes of water on each shopping trip (Source: TNS World Panel Ireland, Water Report July 2008). This new

is often a time of over-indulgence and drinking plenty of water is especially important to keep bodies healthy at this time of year.

Indeed, the move towards healthy soft drinks, including bottled water and flavoured water, has been gathering pace in recent years, due primarily to growing fears of overweight and obesity levels.

The trend towards a healthier lifestyle and demand for products that satisfy this requirement have led to increased sales of healthy or low-calorie soft drinks, with bottled water high on the agenda.

As one of the main beneficiaries of the health trend, bottled water maintained its positive development in 2007, according to Euromonitor. Rising health awareness not only attracted new consumers, but also encouraged existing drinkers to increase their bottled water consumption. Whilst Irish consumption levels still lag behind those of continental Europe, they are expected to continue rising as more consumers switch to bottled water as a healthy and convenient option.

The origins of bottled water products and the impact their production has on the environment are This year Deep RiverRock introduced its new 6x1.5L still water multi-pack. likely to prove increasingly impor62

Deep RiverRock Sparkling is enjoying considerable increases in both volume and value terms.

6x1.5L still pack will help keep customers hydrated throughout the Christmas period. At the top of the packs, clear panels have been introduced to provide purity cues and excellent product visibility. The dynamic splash and healthy active lifestyle imagery used also reflect the brand’s values. The new design is in the process of being rolled out consistently across all Deep RiverRock multi-packs.

In the take home sparkling water market, Deep RiverRock continues to sparkle ahead with significant increases in Volume (+51%) and Value (+28%), resulting in share increases to 10.1% Volume & 11.6% Value respectively (Source: ACNielsen MAT WE September 7, 2008). Deep RiverRock sparkling water is available in 2 litre and 2x2 litre Take Home packs which are a

November08Christmas

perfect offering at all Christmas party tables.

In the convenience sparkling impulse water market, Deep RiverRock has reversed the market trend by increasing its Volume share to 13.7% and Value share to 13.2% (Source: ACNielsen MAT WE September 7, 2008).

Deep RiverRock sparkling water is available in a stylish 500ml impulse bottle.

Evian

Drinks - Bottled Water

Newton. For every one litre of Volvic and Volvic Touch of Fruit sold in Ireland and the UK, Volvic and World Vision will generate ten litres of clean and safe drinking water in communities across Africa, through the provision of mechanised wells.

In February 2008, Thandie Newton visited Mali, where she personally witnessed the difference a well can make in a community and met with people who are directly benefiting from the Volvic 1L–for-10L programme.

Evian, from Danone, is the number one Natural Mineral Water in the world. Evian is purified through a natural filtration process that spans over 15 years, deep within the Evian is purified French Alps. Many people through a natural Ballygowan has responded to consumer say “you are what you eat”, Ballygowan filtration process that demand for value for money by offering but what you drink is just As budgets get spans over 15 years, deep consumers a bumper value multi-pack: buy two as important. Evian is tighter, consumers within the French Alps.

2L bottles of Ballygowan, get another two free. available in many different are shopping around formats such as 50cl, 75cl bottled water brand, is anticipating a to get the best value for & 1.5L, so there is a bottle size to suit big increase in demand for water over their money. This festive season, every consumer and the Christmas period, as the party Ballygowan has responded to conevery occasion. season gets into full swing. sumer demand for value for money by offering consumers a bumper value multi-pack: buy two 2L bottles of Volvic H2OH! Ballygowan, get another two free.

Also from Danone, With the party season kicking off, conBallygowan, Ireland’s number one Volvic’s 1L-for-10L sumers want to look their best and campaign, in what better way than with partnership H2OH! This lightly with World sparkling fruit flavoured Vision Ireland, water is perfect for those the internationwho want a sugar-free and al relief and no calorie refreshment development without losing any of the agency, taste. launched last With its modern, April and is colourful and ergonomicalstill on target ly designed bottle, H2OH! to deliver over will certainly accessorise 1.7 billion litres any outfit and for those in 2008 . wanting to combat the Backing excess of the season, this Volvic 1LH2OH! is perfect for topFor every one litre of for-10L proping up on a daily water Volvic and Volvic gramme is intake. With so many Touch of Fruit sold in leading choices on the shelves Ireland and the UK, British H2OH! makes it simple: Volvic and World Vision will generate actress and it’s the number two ten litres of clean BAFTA award flavoured water bought on With its modern, colourful and ergonomically and safe drinking winner, designed bottle, the H2OH! 1.5L bottle range is the impulse and its 1.5L bottle is water in communities Thandie the perfect take-home option. perfect take-home option. across Africa.

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Powerade’s Award Winning Campaign THE Powerade ‘Never Give Up’ (NGU) campaign is all about a Never Give Up spirit, helping and empowering normal sporting Irish people to be the best they can possibly be.

After Will Cullen learned to swim to compete in a triathlon in 2007, 2008 introduced the nation to ‘The Munchies’, Munterconnaught GAA junior football team, supporting them with Powerade product & branded items and with hands-on advice from nutritionists, trainers and sporting legends. They didn’t achieve their goal, but they did get to the quarter-finals of their championship. Latest feedback is that this is not the end for the ‘Munchies’ - the whole adventure has lifted their club, parish and united the entire community.

Along with other activations this year – a third flavour, in store promotions, the Powerade Pre-Hydration Tour sampling, the www.nevergiveup.ie website, the brand is connecting more than ever with its consumers.

Powerade total awareness is up to 84.5%, brand image is up and sales have rocketed. Between 2006 and October 2008, Powerade has sold a total of an incremental 3.05m 500ml serves, up from 6m in 2006 to almost 9.06m in 2008.

Not only that, the campaign has been internationally lauded, winning five awards, including two categories in the 2007 Coca-Cola Worldwide Marketing Excellence Award internally, and The 2008 Marketing Agencies Association Globes – Best Worldwide Digital Communications Campaign in Toronto this October. Other TCCC countries are already copying this Best in Class concept for their own markets.

NGU 2009 is already in motion: the Pre-hydration Tour will be back twice next year and the selection process for the ad campaign kicked off in November, looking for people to NGU ‘in the Alps’ – find out more in the New Year.

Pepsi

Burn Scorches Ahead!

BURN was launched Ireland-wide in early 2008, with phenomenal results exceeding all targets for the brand. It is fast becoming a big player in the energy market and the trade is immensely supportive. Look out for Burn through-out the Christmas season in all key nightclubs and grocery stores.

2008 has seen Pepsi increase its value share in a vibrant cola market.

Ireland’s number two cola brand saw a great reaction to its latest football campaign this year when it asked Pepsi lovers to take full creative control based on one simple prompt: “If you were given the tools and the players, what would you do?” They answered in their thousands to create a now iconic ad, featuring football stars Cesc Fabregas, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry.

Drinks - Soft Drinks

With its strong focus on digital this year, Pepsi has also provided exciting and interactive experiences on www.pepsiyouniverse.com.

Watch out for exciting news in 2009 as the brand continues to score hits with consumers.

7UP 7UP, Ireland’s favourite lemon and lime drink, is celebrating the Festive Season with a return to nature. 2008 saw the launch of the brand’s highly successful ‘Nature is Closer than you Think’ platform, which was the key driver for the brand this year, through an extensive integratThe hugely ed campaign across popular 7UP Free TV, outbrand. door and instore. Appreciation for its ‘100% Natural Flavours’ by consumers can also be seen right across the stable.

7UP is now bought by more households than any other soft drink and 7UP Free is continuing to grow in the better-foryou category. So whether it’s out singing Christmas Carols or making snowmen in the snow, 7UP proves that “Nature is Closer than you Think” and is sure to be a natural fit 2008 has seen Pepsi with the Max increase its value share in a Christmas dinvibrant cola market. ner this year.

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November08Wine

Training

Training the Key to Wine Growth Training your staff on the wine you stock is a key driver of business growth, according to Mike Finnegan, Director, Wine Board of Ireland.

Over

the last decade, strong wine market growth in Ireland was a given.

Total sales in 2007 hit 8.7m cases, which represented almost a three-fold increase in volume since 1997. Double digit annual growth increases were almost the norm. Indeed, it was said that the wine market in Ireland was a barometer of the economy and perhaps it still is. The harsh reality of the current global economic turmoil has impacted every sector of the market and wine is not immune, as the recent decline in revenue clearances has shown.

trend setters. Growing in numbers, their influence is disproportionate to their size. When they visit a wine store, they are going on a field trip with the expectation of finding new experiences and new information, as well as the familiar and the tried and tested. They are open to new ideas and are eager to share their passion and experiences with staff. To be successful in wine retailing today, especially in the current economic climate, it is essential to meet the needs and expectations of the new wine consumer.

To be successful in wine retailing today, especially in the current economic climate, it is essential to meet the needs and expectations of the new wine consumer.

cated, better travelled, have a keen interest in food and most important of all, have a greater level of wine knowledge. This is very evident in the Wine Board of Ireland, where over half of those attending wine courses, even courses designed for trade professionals, are consumers. They are passionate about wine, have a tremendous desire for knowledge and are prepared to invest in their own wine education.

These are the new wine consumers and they are key market drivers and

Human Resources – Your Most Valuable Asset In the retail sector, as with any business sector, training of staff is extremely important. However, while the importance of training is widely acknowledged, it is not always recognised when it comes to budget allocation. One of the key differentiating factors associated with very successful businesses is their training ethos and commitment to developing the skills of their staff. Human resources are the most valuable asset of any business and the best way to leverage that asset is through training and development.

As the Chairman of the Wine

Changing Wine Market However, the wine market today is considerably different to what it was 10 years ago. Yes, it is obviously bigger, but it is also far more developed and mature. The variety and range of wine on offer is more extensive and comprehensive than it used to be.

More information is available in stores, on labels and on the internet.

But the biggest difference of all is in wine consumers. Not only are they more discerning, they are better edu64

The Wine Board of Ireland is at the forefront of wine education and training in Ireland and has been since its foundation in 1977.

November08Wine

Board, John McCarthy, once remarked when a business owner said he didn’t want to train his staff because they might leave afterwards: “Well, what if you don’t train them and they stay?” Clearly, the prospect of untrained staff remaining in your business over the longterm is not something you would not want to contemplate and would serious impede the development of your business.

This is particularly true in wine retailing.

Training

develop a deeper understanding of wines and associated beverages. This qualification is suitable for employees who require a good level of product knowledge to underpin job skills and competencies.

WSET Advanced Certificate Course – Level 3

The Advanced Certificate explores the wines and spirits of the world in detail. This qualification is designed primarily The Wine Board offers a range of WSET (Wine & Spirit for employees working in a Education Trust) certificate courses, which are supervisory capacity or required Wine Board recognised worldwide by the drinks industry. to make informed selections of Committed to courses, which have greatly wines and spirits in a wide variety Training increased wine knowledge in the of situations.

The Wine Board of Ireland is at the trade and the wider community. forefront of wine education and trainAs the market has matured, the ing in Ireland and has been since its WSET Diploma in Wine Board has continued to focus on foundation in 1977. As a not for profit Wines & Spirits – providing the best internationally organisation established by the Wine Level 4 recognised training programmes and & Spirit Education Board (formerly The Diploma is designed to give spequalifications. By training your staff, the Wine & Spirit Association), the cialised knowledge, combined with you are equipping them with essential objective of the Wine Board is clear: to commercial factors and a thorough category knowledge and giving them promote wine and spirit education system for the professional evaluation the confidence to engage with cusand training to the trade and general of wines. The qualification will pretomers and leverage your product public in Ireland. pare those who are required to make portfolio.

Since its foundation, thousands managerial decisions, interpret inforThe Wine Board offers a range of of students, from general wine mation and have a thorough underWSET (Wine & Spirit Education enthusiasts to industry professionstanding of market trends and Trust) certificate courses, which are als, have attended Wine Board requirements. recognised worldwide by the drinks industry. These courses commence Training is Key with a one day Foundation Certificate Trained staff are better equipped to and progress all the way up to meet the needs of their customers.

Diploma level. A summary of the The knowledge they have gained will courses available is as follows: increase their confidence and improve their performance. They will also obtain more job satisfaction and be WSET Foundation more motivated to achieve business Certificate Course – targets, which impacts directly on the Level 1 bottom line. Training is a key busiThis course is designed to prepare a ness driver and represents a very person for their job in wine retailing good return on investment. and is an ideal introduction for new or When preparing your business inexperienced staff. The course proplan for 2009, think carefully about vides basic but essential product your training budget and how it can knowledge such as the main styles of drive growth. The wine market in wine, characteristics of major grape Ireland is large and mature and still varieties, tasting techniques, health presents many opportunities for and safety and matching food and retailers, even in these more challengwine. ing times.

To obtain further details on Wine WSET Intermediate Board courses go to Certificate Course – www.wineboard.ie or call the Wine Level 2 Board on (01) 475 7580. Courses are The Intermediate Certificate Course Mike Finnegan, Director, Wine Board of Ireland. available nationwide. is intended for those who need to 65

RN

November08On

The Vine

NOffLA Gold Star Award Winners Jean Smullen reflects on the big winners in this year’s NOffLA Gold Star Awards, which recognise the best wines available in Ireland at a variety of price points.

The

National Off Licence Association (NOffLA) have just announced the 2008 Gold Star Wine Collection at their annual Irish Wine Show. This year, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard swept the board, winning eight out of the 15 Gold Star Award categories, including the much coveted ‘White Wine of the Year 2008’ award and overall award winner, for Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis AC 2007, and the equally prestigious ‘Red Wine of the Year 2008’ for George Wyndham Shiraz 2005. The Gold Star Awards brochure, which includes tasting notes, will also provide shoppers with the confidence to try new wines that are selected and recommended by an expert tasting panel.

The 2008 Gold Star Awards Winning Wines were:

Charles Searson, Searson’s Wine Merchants, at the NOffLA Gold Star Awards.

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Reggie Walsh from NOffLA and Kieran Tobin, Director of Communications & Corporate Affairs, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, who won eight of the 15 awards at the NOffLA Gold Star Awards, with Jim McCabe, NOffLA Chairman.

Old World White Wines Under €8: 2007 La Lanterne Sauvignon Blanc (Galvins Wines & Spirits) Under €14: 2007 Chateau Rauzan Despagne (Searsons Wine Merchants) Under €20: 2007 Domain Long Depaquit Chablis AC (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard) New World White Wines Under €8: 2007 Frontera Sauvingnon Blanc, Chile (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard) Under €14: 2007 Jacobs Creek Reserve Riesling (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard) Under €20: 2007 Montana Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard)

Rosé Wines Under €15: 2007 Chateau Rauzan Desmpagne Rosé (Searsons Wine Merchants) Old World Red Wines Under €8: 2006 Fortant Merlot (Irish Distilllers Pernod Ricard) Under €14: 2004 Vina Hermenia Crianza (Galvins Wines & Spirits) Under €20: 2001 Campo Viejo Gran Reserva (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard) New World Red Wines Under €8: 2007 Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard) Under €14: 2007 Babich Pinot Noir (Ampersand) Under €20: 2005 George Wyndham

November08On

The Vine

The winning wines were awarded on the basis of appearance, smell, taste and value for money. Each of the 15 award winners is available in NOffLA’s 350+ independent off licences around the country and will be clearly identifiable on-shelf.

Essential Guide to Great Wine According to NOffLA Chairman, Jim McCabe, the Gold Star Awards play a key role in communicating the variety of excellent wines available in Ireland, at different price points: Stephen Murphy, Carlos Varela, Gilbeys Wines, with Colm Denham, McCabes Off “The awards are categorised by Licence, at the NOffLA Gold Star Awards. price, so have gained a reputation over the past eight years for being the essential guide for selecting Sparkling Under €50: Champagne Shiraz (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard) great wines at any price. There is Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV Sparkling Wines & Champagne sometimes a misconception that the (Searsons Wine Merchants) Sparkling Under €25: Codorniu higher the price, the better the Raventos NV (Barry Fitzwilliam quality of wine. But, four of Maxxium) NOffLA’s Gold Star winners retail at under €8, so we are Wine Board Tastings confident that consumers will be THE opportunity to taste some of able to pick up some superb the finest wines in the world, in the wines, whether they want to company of an expert, is one not to spend €7.99 or €49.99. be missed. The Wine Board of “The Gold Star Awards Ireland is providing, not one but, brochure, which includes tasting five such opportunities on Friday notes, will also provide shoppers evenings up to December 5, from 7with the confidence to try new 9pm. Each tasting will focus on a wines that are selected and recdifferent region or wine style, ommended by an expert tasting exploring it in-depth and revealing Chris Darby, Sheil’s off Licence, and Javier panel.” the essential characteristics that Gleeson at the NOffLA Gold Star Awards. make it so special.

The events are all being organised by the Wine Board of Ireland.

Founded in 1977, the Wine Board is a ‘not for profit’ organisation dedicated to wine education and training. Since its foundation, thousands of students have attended Wine Board courses, which have set the standard for wine education in Ireland.

Judging by past events, demand is likely to be high so book early to avoid disappointment. To book a place email colleen@wineboard.ie or phone Colleen on (01) 475 7593.

All tastings will be held in the Wine Board, 14 Whitefriars, Peter’s Row, Aungier Street, Dublin 2, and the price is €65 per person.

Ruth Deveney, NOffLA, and Richard Brickley, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard.

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November08OTC

Medicines

The Best Medicine Sales of over-the-counter medicines and vitamin and mineral supplements could add serious profit potential to your store.

The

market for OTC medicines and vitamin/mineral supplements is vast, and is growing all the time as manufacturers develop innovative new products for the treatment of colds, coughs, allergies, digestive remedies etc.

The Irish consumer has less time to indulge in winter illnesses and summer allergies, and as a result, sales in products treating these ailments have continued to see strong growth in 2007. There is continued pressure among employees to reduce their sick leave. Workers increasingly take shorter periods to recover and this often results in a prolonged cough that would be easily avoided with longer sick leave. This trend is boosting decongestants – particularly nasal sprays and medicated confectionery.

According to the latest figures from Euromonitor, the market for cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies rose by 6% in 2007 to reach a value of €71m. Specific treatments drive overall sector growth, including the growth of nasal sprays, which grew by 10% in value terms over the course of 2007. Other notable events 68

included Lemsip’s move into cough remedies with a cough syrup launched in late 2007, while Benylin increased its lead to hold a 16% value share in 2007. Indeed, cough, cold and allergies (hay fever) remedies are expected to grow by a forecast CAGR of 2% to 2012.

The digestive remedies sector was worth €21m in 2007, showing value growth of 3% over the 2006 figures, and is expected to reach €22m by 2012.

Medicated skin care sales grew by 4% in current value terms to reach €37m in 2007, where the growth of beauty skin care products stole market share from classic medicated acne treatments. Topical germicidals/antiseptics achieved value growth of 13%, thanks to the November 2006 launch of Vicks First Defence Protective Hand Foam.

In 2007, overall current value sales of vitamins and dietary supplements grew by 11%, a slight decrease from the growth rate of 12% in 2006.

Fish oils boost sales of vitamins and dietary supplements, with 17% value growth in 2007. Promotions have an extremely strong influence in driving sales of vitamins and dietary supple-

ments products. In most cases, customers select pack sizes based on value – selecting larger pack sizes when there are no sales incentives on smaller pack sizes.

Current value sales of wound treatments in Ireland grew by 3% in 2007, reaching €4m. Several factors benefited the sector. Sport and DIY activities created a demand for wound treatment products, with both activities increasing the likelihood of minor injuries. Children under five and the elderly are also two consumer groups that have strong demand for sticking plaster products.

Furthermore, consumers had the tendency to stockpile these products for occasions when they are on holiday away from home, or for the first aid box. Growth in other wound treatments was primarily driven by the launch of two spray-on plaster products in 2006. This range grew by 4%, ahead of sticking plasters sales which grew by 2% in 2006/2007.

In 2007, sales of calming and sleeping products in Ireland reached €3m, growing at 8% from the previous year. As the everyday life of the Irish consumer becomes more busy and stressful, with more demands on

November08OTC

Medicines

time and longer working hours, more and more people are turning to calming and sleeping products to help them relax and to get a good night’s sleep. The growth rate was consistently high over the review period, as stress levels and the number of people suffering from insomnia continue to increase.

Herbal products continue to appeal to Irish consumers, who are keen to use natural products to help them sleep. Herbal calming and sleeping products have steadily risen, and accounted for 43% of value sales in 2007. The non-addictive properties of these herbal products appeal to consumers looking for relief from their stressful lives.

inform people that when they are sick with the flu, it is as important to rest to recover as it is to take a flu remedy.

The campaign, which commenced this month, includes TV, radio, consumer and trade press, outdoor press, Tsides, public relations and a www.takeabenylinday.ie website. The website has been developed as a ‘get well’ repository, filled with tips and advice on managing flu symptoms.

Features on the website include ‘responsible sick leave’ and online games such as ‘Germ Invaders’.

Benylin is Ireland’s number one cough brand (Source: Combined IMS & ACNielsen MAT data) and has the widest range of cough and cold products for both adults and children in Ireland.

Benylin 75% of Irish employees would prefer their sick colleagues to recover at home rather than risk spreading infection in the workplace (Source: TNS mrbi PhoneBus consumer research into employers and employees attitudes to taking sick leave, Aug-Sept 2008). This view is supported by 86% of Irish managers who believe that their employees would be more productive after taking a rest day and recovering. The research was unveiled recently at the launch of ‘Take a Benylin Day’, a campaign to

‘Take a Benylin Day’ is a new campaign to inform people that when they are sick with the flu, it is as important to rest to recover as it is to take a flu remedy.

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ParaPlus Capsules from Anadin has performed extremely well in Ireland.

Anadin The Anadin range from Wyeth Consumer Healthcare is one of the longest established and most well known brands in the Irish OTC market and as such is a ‘must stock’ range, particularly in the convenience sector where consumers want to find the product they are looking for quickly.

Following the successful launch of ParaPlus Capsules from Anadin, there are now four Anadin formulations available in grocery channels.

The other three formulations are Anadin Tablets, Paracetamol Tablets from the makers of Anadin, and Anadin Maximum Strength Capsules.

Research amongst consumers indicates that they use different products from the Anadin range, depending on the particular complaint from which they are suffering, e.g.

headache, backache, period pain or symptoms of colds and flu etc. Thus, for retailers, it is important that they offer consumers a full choice by stocking the complete Anadin range.

Rennie Rennie gives fast and effective relief from indigestion and heartburn.

Unlike some antacids, Rennie works at the source of the problem, by turning excess stomach acid into water, bringing your stomach back to its natural balance, so you can get on with your day.

Rennie offers a wide choice of great tasting tablets, Peppermint, Spearmint & Fruit. They also have Rennie Sugar Free. Rennie Deflatine works fast to relief trapped wind, bloating and fullness after food.

Rennie offers a wide choice of products, providing consumers with fast and effective relief from indigestion and heartburn.

ALWAYS READ THE LABEL

November08OTC

Medicines

Beeline Slimmers, a leading product in the area of weight management, will be promoted in-store through the key months of January and February, with a range of POS material available.

Beeline Beeline Healthcare is the number two brand in dietary supplements in the Irish market (Source: ACNielsen, August 2008). Beeline has continued to increase its market share via a market-led focus on product development, which has led to the ongoing launch of new products fuelling the growth in the VMS (Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements) category Irish-owned Beeline is market leader in several fast-growing product categories in the VMS market such as Ginseng (energy) Vitamin C, Echinacea (cold & flu) and folic acid (prenatal care) and this year celebrates 21 years of successful trading nationally and internationally.

The opportunity for growth is substantial in the Irish market with usage of VMS lagging behind usage rates in developed markets such as the USA and the United Kingdom.

Beeline Healthcare has forged a strong niche in this highly competitive sector through strong distribution, impactful dedicated merchandising units, targeted trade promotions, extensive consumer marketing sup72

port and through high quality innovative products with strong graphic design creating on-shelf standout and impact.

Kick-starting 2009 is Beeline Slimmers, a leading product in the area of weight management.

Slimmers works by helping to prevent fat accumulating in fat cells in the body, stimulating the breakdown of stored body fat, helping the body to burn fat, promoting fat loss and maintaining lean tissue.

Worldwide, 400m adults are overweight (World Health Organisation) and in Ireland 39% of adults are overweight and 18% are obese (National Taskforce on Obesity).

Clinical studies have shown that Slimmers CLA helps to reduce body fast mass in overweight and obese people. These studies have also demonstrated that Slimmers CLA reduced body fat in normal weight and exercising people. For best results, Slimmers should be taken for at least three months and preferably whilst also taking regular exercise and having a balanced diet.

Slimmers will be promoted instore through the key months of January and February and to ensure maximum visibility, a range of eyecatching POS material is available to retailers. Slimmers will be strongly supported by a heavyweight campaign running through this key period.

Irish-owned Beeline is market leader in several fast growing product categories in the VMS market, with potential for further growth.

New Active 55 Projoint Liquid provides high levels of glucosamine (1500mg) and Omega 3 in an easy-toswallow orange syrup to help relieve joint aches and pains.

Seven Seas The vitamins market in grocery is valued at just over €14m and is growing at 11% YOY. Seven Seas remains the number one vitamin brand, with a 52% share of the market (Source: ACNielsen, MAT, September 2008).

Seven Seas is a tried and trusted brand with strong heritage.

Seven Seas Active 55 claims brand leadership of the joint health category, one of the fastest growing categories in VMS. This year sees the launch of Active 55 Projoint Liquid, a new breakthrough product which provides high levels of glucosamine (1500mg) and Omega 3 in an easy-to-swallow orange syrup to help relieve joint aches and pains. The launch is being supported with heavyweight advertising, including radio, press and outdoor, as well as public relations activities.

The multivitamins sector is growing strongly at 33% (Source: AC Nielsen, MAT, September 2008).

Multibionta has a unique 3-in-1 formula of vitamins, minerals and probiotics, which protects those with busy, hectic lifestyles from common illness.

Multibionta’s unique formula works together to unlock the body’s defence system. The Multibionta range also includes Multibionta Activate and Multibionta Immune.

November08OTC

Medicines

REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE SALE OF MEDICINAL PRODUCTS THE Irish Medicines Board (IMB) is the regulatory body responsible for the regulation of medicines, medical devices and healthcare products available in Ireland.

There is legislation governing the sale of medicines that specifically applies to retail outlets. Retailers should make themselves and their staff aware of the restrictions for sale to ensure compliance with the law.

The IMB would like to provide retailers with the following guidelines for maintaining compliance with legislative requirements governing the distribution and sale of medicinal products, ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of these products and preventing counterfeit product from entering the distribution chain.

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All medicinal products should be sourced from suppliers that provide a Wholesaler’s or Manufacturer’s Authorisation that is issued by the Regulatory Authority for medicinal products.

All medicinal products on sale in the Irish market must be authorised to ensure that they meet appropriate standards of quality, safety and efficacy. Medicinal products that are authorised carry a product authorisation number on the outer-packaging. In the case of medicinal products classified as general sale, a ‘PA Number’ will be present on the outer-packaging.

Ensure that the products supplied and/or received are classified as general sale and carry a ‘PA number’ as appropriate. For assistance, a listing of medicinal products classified as general sale, which are authorised in Ireland is currently available on the IMB website at www.imb.ie.

Strictly control retail sales of medicinal products containing paracetamol. No more than one pack of

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a medicinal product containing paracetamol should be sold in the course of any one retail transaction (See separate panel).

Medicinal products should be stored apart from other products in a controlled environment and in a place that doesn’t vary in temperature.

Failure to provide the required storage conditions may affect the quality of a medicinal product and ultimately, may compromise its effectiveness.

Retailers must not sell medicinal products that have passed the stated shelf life. To do so is a specific breach of legislation.

Retailers should operate a system to ensure rotation of the stock, the ‘First-in First Out’ (FIFO) principle. Regular checks should be made on stocks of products to ensure that any stocks with short or exceeded shelf life are removed from sale.

Checks should also be performed on the condition of the stock to ensure that medicinal products with broken seals or damaged packaging are removed and not sold onwards.

Keep the storage areas for medicinal products clean, orderly and secure.

Be vigilant for suspicious approaches concerning the offering and sale of medicinal products. Report your suspicions to the Compliance Department of IMB. Tel: (01) 6764971.

Train staff on the requirements for storage, distribution and sale of medicinal products.

Maintain documented records of receipt and supply and ensure a system of traceability.

Follow instruction on a recall action in accordance with the recall letter or notification issued by the IMB or the manufacturer.

SALE OF MEDICINAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING PARACETAMOL LEGAL restrictions apply to the general (non-pharmacy) retail sale of medicinal products containing paracetamol.

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Products containing only paracetamol as the painrelieving substance may be retailed in this way.

Any product containing a second pain-relieving substance is confined to pharmacy only or prescription availability.

There are restrictions on the type, strength and pack size of products that may be retailed in this way. Only one paracetamol-containing product may be sold at one time.

For tablet and capsule type products which contain

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500mg of paracetamol, a customer cannot purchase more than a single pack of any product containing 12 capsules or tablets on any one occasion.

For products in powder form, which contain 600mg of paracetamol, only a single pack of any product containing 10 sachets may be purchased on any one occasion.

For higher strength products, containing 1000mg of paracetamol, only a single pack of any product containing six sachets may be purchased on any one occasion.

For liquid dose products, no more than one 60ml bottle may be purchased on any one occasion.

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November08Batteries

New Battery Regulations Come Into Force As the battery market approaches its busiest period, retailers should be aware of new legislation requiring them to accept used batteries from consumers for recycling.

21st

century households are now said to have up to 29 battery powered devices in the household at any one time. With devices ranging from toys and remote control cars to MP3 players, digital cameras and CD players – that’s a huge number of batteries.

The use of high-drain and hightech devices is still on the increase, not just in Europe but world-wide.

This trend is set to build and build and therefore the importance of the right batteries to power these devices is more crucial than ever, with the main players in the market launching new batteries specifically for highdrain appliances such as digital cameras, MP3 players etc.

One of the biggest changes to the Irish battery sector, however, has nothing to do with product launches, but is the EU Waste Battery

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Directive. Since September 26, retailers must accept back batteries and accumulators from private households free of charge as long as the batteries and accumulators are of equivalent type available to purchase from the premises.

There is no requirement for a purchase to be made. Retailers may limit any one consumer to 5kgs of battery returns at any one time and may refuse to accept any waste battery leaking any of its constituent materials.

Customers and staff place waste batteries into the Retailers also have an WEEE Ireland battery box. Once the battery box is obligation to display a spe- full, there are a number of collection options open to cific A4 poster on batretailers. tery/WEEE take-back to options open to retailers: be located within 1m of the Point of Sale, or display of EEE and batteries.

- You can deliver the full box free Copies of this poster are contained in of charge to your local Civic the WEEE Ireland Battery Recycling Amenity Site on appointment.

Pack or can be downloaded from Visit www.weeeireland.ie for a www.weeeireland.ie. full list of locations.

WEEE Ireland has developed a portable battery recycling pack for - You can keep full boxes in a dry, retailers to aid in compliance with covered location in your storage the Waste Battery Regulations. The area and when a reasonable pack contains: number of full boxes are available, refer to www.weeeireland.ie - consumer information leaflets on for details on drop-off points and WEEE and battery recycling; collection services.

- window and display stickers to highlight battery collection If you are part of a retail chain, points; talk to your head office about reverse - public information posters for logistics of full boxes to a central display within 1m of Point of point for collection by a compliance Sale or display of batteries scheme. and/or EEE. The EU Waste Battery Directive was brought home to a massive teleCustomers and staff place waste vision audience recently on TV3’s batteries into the WEEE Ireland bat‘The Apprentice’, where candidates tery box. Once the battery box is full, vying to impress Bill Cullen with there are a number of collection

November08Batteries

their management abilities, were put to the test involving the collection of WEEE and batteries.

“This directive represents an important step forward for the retailers and consumers of Ireland,” IBEC’s Director for Retail Ireland, Torlach Denihan said. “There is strong consensus in support of promoting a culture of recycling in Ireland and we are confident that this can be achieved through ongoing collaboration and cooperation among manufacturers, retailers and the general public. All our members will apply the regulations which will contribute greatly towards meeting the target of recycling 25% of all batteries placed on the market by 2012 and 45% by 2016. We believe it is possible to make this happen through our collective efforts.”

In simple terms, the Directive requires any retailer to accept for recycling any battery of a similar type to that which they sell. The local newsagent who sells batteries for portable electronic equipment should be able to accept any used AA, AAA or 9V products. Such a business does not have to accept a used car battery, for example, but a garage forecourt which sells car batteries as well as operating a convenience store would have to ready itself to accept back each of the very different types of batteries it offers for sale.

Energizer

Energizer Ultimate Lithium: a top performer in high drain, high tech devices.

up to an extra 18 hours.

For the latest gadgets, the superlatives continue. A Wii controller powered by Energizer Ultimate Lithium takes gaming to a whole new level with an extra 25 hours play time.

But it’s not just the performance figures that are outstanding.

Boasting an outstanding 15-year shelf life, Ultimate Lithium is ideal for both the retailer and the consumer in offering perfect performance out of the pack for years to come. Its incredible technology also results in a battery that is 33% lighter than conventional alkaline batteries.

Where extreme performance is

Energizer Ultimate Lithium, launched by Energizer in 2005, is still by far and away the world’s longest lasting battery in high drain, high tech devices, according to the company.

In one of the most popular high drain devices of the last decade, the digital camera, Ultimate Lithium boasts an incredible 7x longer performance than alkaline batteries (based upon ordinary alkaline in proposed industry testing in digital cameras). Where standard alkaline batteries would typically take just only 90 photos, Ultimate Lithium goes on to take an incredible 630 photos. And in an MP3 player, Ultimate Lithium will typically Energizer Ultimate Lithium boasts an allow consumers to play their incredible 7x longer performance than alkaline favorite tracks 5.5 times more, or batteries in digital cameras.

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vital, Energizer Ultimate Lithium offers outstanding performance in the most extreme of conditions. Where other batteries would have long since failed, Ultimate Lithium goes on performing from a low of -40°C up to +60°C. The recently introduced new packaging boasts a new super premium design that is clearly in tune with the higher drain modern devices it is designed to power for longer.

The packaging is aimed to appeal to the growing trend of ‘high tech families’ that are in tune with the need for the best batteries that they require for their gadgets and devices.

To ensure that consumers never have to worry about flat batteries and toys running out of power just when you need them most, the new value

Energizer’s new Value Charger is designed to take both AA and AAA batteries, and is neat, compact and great value for money.

charger from Energizer is the perfect solution. Designed to take both AA and AAA batteries, the charger is perfect for all household devices.

Neat, compact and great value for money, it can be tucked away in the corner and left to get on with charging your batteries so they are ready for whenever you need them.

With LED charging lights, which operate when either two or four batteries are inserted, and a modern look, the new value charger from Energizer is the perfect first charger for any busy home wanting to cut down on buying batteries.

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November08Batteries

With a price point of only €17.99 which includes 4 x 1300mAh batteries, the value charger is economical and allows consumers to charge batteries hundreds of times over.

The new value charger from Energizer, along with the other chargers in the Energizer rechargeables range, is perfect for all types of household devices such as toys, cameras, and CD players.

Panasonic Panasonic continues its tradition of innovation with the launch of the world’s top long-lasting AA alkaline battery. Outperforming competitors on the most common industry tests (based on tests using an AA-size alkaline battery and an average of discharge times measured against ANSI, IEC and JIS standards, as of 15 January 2008), the new battery EVOIA has entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s number one long-lasting AA alkaline battery, and is the first battery to receive the prestigious official Guinness World Record recognition.

To demonstrate the endurance of the new batteries, Panasonic challenged a 17cm robot to scale a 530m rope at the Grand Canyon. Powered only by a pair of the AA batteries, Panasonic’s robot climbed the rope in

less than seven hours. The new batteries will deliver a longer service life than other alkaline batteries and have a seven-year shelf life.

New EVOIA is available in four sizes, AA, AAA, C and D, and will deliver excellent performance in a wide range of appliances from lowdrain applications such as TV remote controls to high-drain applications like digital cameras. Whilst AA and AAA batteries, which are more commonly used in high drain appliances will feature the new world record breaking technology, C and D size batteries will use the company’s proven existing alkaline technology.

This increased performance is the result of revolutionary new design features, materials and production methods. The new thin sealing technology, which maximises the battery’s interior volume and allows additional space for more active materials, and the use of highly purified and densely packed manganese dioxide and finely granulated zinc, all improve the performance of the battery.

The newly designed gasket is also much stronger than its predecessors, introducing a new nylon resin material which prevents cracking during long-term storage. Though it is markedly thinner, the new gasket is highly durable, exceeding current norms both in terms of safety and capacity.

Panasonic’s new battery continues to set standards for battery performance and endurance and represents the ongoing development that is at the heart of the Panasonic brand.

Other Panasonic Battery ranges cater for all consumer needs, and include: - Panasonic Zinc Chloride batteries - for low power products; Panasonic Alkaline Power batteries - for medium to high power products; Panasonic Xtreme Power batteries - for high power products; Panasonic’s INFINIUM rechargeable battery and chargers.

Duracell Panasonic’s new EVOIA battery delivers excellent performance in a wide range of appliances, from low-drain to high-drain applications.

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Duracell is bringing its biggest innovation for 10 years to market.

The new technology sees an innovative technological reformulation

that will deliver improvements in both power and performance.

The twin elements of the revised portfolio include Duracell Plus, the core line, and Duracell Ultra, the longest lasting Duracell alkaline ever.

Duracell Plus now has an advanced longer life, whilst Duracell Ultra has been significantly improved with an upgrade so that no other alkaline battery lasts longer (based on the average testing for devices used most, according to the company). To complement this innovation in technology and power delivery, the Duracell range has also received a packaging makeover to highlight the upgrade.

The eye-catching new planet design is highly engaging for consumers and ensures simple communication of the products, the benefits and brand presence of Duracell.

Over the past 40 years, Duracell has built a reputation for manufacturing and supplying outstanding batteries that consistently lead the market in performance, quality and innovation. Duracell recognises that different devices demand different levels of power and offers a range of products to ensure consumers can select the right battery for the right device. This latest range revision is no exception, as Duracell is also

Duracell’s new technology sees an innovative technological reformulation that will deliver improvements in both power and performance, giving Duracell Plus an advanced longer life.

November08Batteries

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launching some innovative new portable and rechargeable power solutions.

Duracell is also famous for the legendary Duracell Bunny, the iconic face of the brand for millions of consumers worldwide.

The Duracell Bunny will once again be the face of the new campaign to bring the new products to the attention of consumers, as part of a high profile multimedia campaign including TV and print advertising, The Duracell Pocket Charger provides DM and PR. power to many well known devices Paul Lettice, and has one charger to meet Duracell, Trade consumers’ mobile needs.

Communications Manager, at P&G comments: “P&G is committed to driving the battery category forward through product innovations that make a genuine difference to customers’ everyday lives. We have waited a long time to see some genuinely significant innovation in the battery category. This launch is the biggest news for Duracell in 10 years, clearly demonstrating that the Duracell brand leads the way through technology, marketing and consumer understanding.”

Duracell has also relaunched its rechargeable portfolio and is also launching three innovative products: Pocket Charger, Instant Charger and Active Charge Cells.

Using a new generation of Duracell technology, Duracell Active Charge cells not only come pre-charged for use straight out of the pack like traditional cells, but can also be fully recharged for energy efficient, long-lasting power. The Active Charge cells stay charged for longer holding up to 75% of power for up to a year when not in use, and need recharging less.

The Duracell Pocket Charger provides power to many well known devices and has one charger to meet consumers’ mobile phone needs. The Pocket Charger has one cable for iPods, one cable for Blackberry devices, and one cable for all mobile phones with a mini USB power port. It charges two rechargeable batteries at one time, fitting both AA and AAA cells. The Duracell Instant Charger is a high capacity lithium battery that can be recharged hundreds of times through any standard laptop or USB outlet. The instant charger is sleek, compact and extremely lightweight.

Duracell’s rechargeable range also includes: Duracell Rechargeable – ideal for everyday use; and Duracell Rechargeable Supreme – longer lasting in high tech and digital devices.

RESERVED EXCLUSIVELY FOR PROFESSIONALS

79

RN November08Poultry ●

Poultry Flying High Ireland’s poultry market continues to prosper.

However, calls for Country of Origin labelling on poultry products continue amid the influx of imported products passed off as Irish under current labelling regulations.

The

poultry market was worth €140m at farm-gate value in 2007.

Total poultry supplies amounted to approximately 73 million birds, a fall of 2.6% on 2006. (Source: Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food).

Imports continue to exert pressure on the indigenous Irish poultry industry.

They are valued at €265 million and amounted to 75,500 tns in 2007, up 2% on 2006. They are mainly destined for the foodservice sector.

Consumption of poultry products in Ireland stood at 29.9kg per person per annum in 2006, which is one of the highest in the EU. Indeed, poultry meat consumption accounts for 29% of total meat consumed in Ireland, compared to 37% pigmeat, 20% beef and 4% sheep (Source: DAFF). Retail sales account for approx 70% of poultry con80

sumption with the remainder going to the foodservice sector.

The production breakdown of poultry is as follows: Chickens 94,000t Turkeys 39,000t Hens 7,000t Ducks 5,000t (Bord Bia estimates)

65% 27% 5% 3%

Ireland is a net importer of chicken and a net exporter of turkey and duck.

Legislation All retailers must comply with the agreed national standard IS 341, which covers temperature, storage and handling of food products, including poultry. This standard is set by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and complies with EC Regulation on Food Hygiene 852/2004. See: http://www.nsai.ie/index.cfm/area/pag e/information/foodstandard IS 341 relates to hygiene in food retailing and wholesaling, providing guidance on registration of a food business; food traceability, recall and labelling; maintenance of the cold chain, which includes storage and temperature control of chilled and frozen foods and food hygiene requirements (for example: training, water

supply and pest control). All food businesses are required to apply the principles of HACCP to control hazards in the food operations. Guidance is given in IS 340 and IS 341 on how food businesses should comply with this requirement.

Bord Bia & Quality Poultry Bord Bia’s PPQAS (Poultry Products Quality Assurance Scheme) was first proposed in 2007 and went into full operation in June 2008 at both producer and processor levels. At the September INAB (Irish National Accreditation Board) Board meeting, the Producer scheme was fully accredited to EN45011, meaning all meat and egg schemes at all levels are now accredited.

PPQAS Processor Standard The processor standard is designed to emulate the existing Bord Bia meat standards in terminology, structure and layout. The requirements of the standard are designed specifically for the poultry sector (chicken, duck and turkey) and parameters unique to each have been defined. The Standard also incorporates all the most recent relevant regulations, especially in relation to HACCP, microbiological testing, water quality, and medical screening of employees.

RN November08Poultry ●

Significant new requirements have been introduced on traceability and reconciliation. These were supported with implementation guidelines and training. In addition, Bord Bia has undertaken to create a system to assist the processor to report its own reconciliation findings to Bord Bia as required.

Finally, a key difference in the revised scheme is that the processor is now required to take direct responsibility for aspects at producer level that are decided by the processor.

This new feature has been welcomed by the participants.

PPQAS Producer Standard The Producer Standard was developed based on the existing chicken, duck and turkey standards. All the requirements relating to the three sectors have been consolidated into this new Standard. The PPQAS Standard also includes specific requirements relating to the most recent regulatory requirements relating to issues such as bird space, ventilation rates, daily management of the flock, water quality, etc.

Although the Producer still bears primary responsibility for the operation and management of the unit, the introduction of requirements that are specific to the Processor, which are under its direct control, is new. The Processor now bears responsibility for those requirements relating to sourcing and testing of the chicks, bird placement numbers, health control policies, sourcing of feedstuffs (Bord Bia approved sources only), transport, bird density, and site visits by a qualified field officer.

Broiler: The following are the key players:

-

Republic of Ireland: Cartons (Cavan) 500,000 birds/week Western Brand (Mayo) 300,000 birds/week Cappoquinn (Waterford) 280,000 birds/week Cootehill (Cavan) 80,000 birds/week Shannonvale (Cork) 80,000 birds/week

-

Northern Ireland: Moy Park (Armagh) 1.3 million birds/week O’Kane Poultry (Antrim) 500,000 birds/week

There are seven plants in the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme, five in the Republic of Ireland and two in Northern Ireland.

Bord Bia estimates that 98% of chicken produced on the island of Ireland is Quality Assured.

Silver Hill Duck recently travelled with Bord Bia to Paris to participate at SIAL, the world’s largest food and drink trade fair. Pictured are (l-r): Chef Gary McDowell; James Pearson, Silver Hill Duck; Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, and Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia.

Turkey: The main turkey producers include Grove Turkeys (Monaghan), Hogans (Meath), and IGWT (Monaghan). Grove Turkeys & IGWT are currently being audited for membership of the Quality Assurance Scheme

Ducks: Ireland has one key duck producer: Silver Hill, Monaghan, a member of the Quality Assurance Scheme.

PRODUCING FOR TOMORROW’S MARKET BORD Bia recently organised a Poultry and Egg Conference, entitled ‘Producing for Tomorrow’s Market’, which provided a forum for the industry to discuss some of the issues it currently faces and to identify emerging challenges.

The conference included a number of high profile Irish and international speakers with key topical Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and items on the agenda, including reguFood, Brendan Smith TD, pictured at latory environment and welfare the recent Poultry and Egg Conference issues; feed costs for the year ahead in Monaghan. and marketing trends. Speakers included Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia; Ronan Hughes, Managing Director of R & H Hall Ltd; Andrew Joret, Chairman of the British Egg Association and Dr. Andrea Gavinelli, Deputy Head of Unit Animal Welfare and Feed, European Commission.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD provided the closing address, where he reiterated the call for ‘Country Of Origin’ labelling for poultry products. “Not alone do consumers want country-of-origin information in relation to poultry, but they deserve and are entitled to it,” the Minister argued, noting that he and his Department were “acutely conscious of the problem of misleading and deficient labelling”. In fact, he stated that, in relation to a new wide-ranging proposal from the European Commission to consolidate and upgrade the whole area of food labelling legislation, he would “prefer to see an unequivocal provision in the new legislation requiring the country of origin to be indicated on food”.

The Minister confirmed that he intended to reconvene the Poultry Expert Group, which had been established to review the important issues facing the sector and to identify what steps could be taken to ensure the successful future of the industry.

81

November08Money

Matters

Setting Up Shop Carmel Linnane advises on the necessity of a shareholders’ agreement for the formation of all new companies with more than one owner.

“A shareholders’ agreement sets down the rules, plans and responsibilities of the shareholders. It forms the essential ground rules and becomes the bible for the business in times of strife.”

82

Setting

the foundations for a successful business takes more than finding the perfect premises, sourcing good suppliers and outlining a killer marketing plan. Having a well thought out legal structure is equally as important and will become the bedrock upon which the business is laid.

Forming a company is not a complicated task in itself but the structure of your rules of engagement and disengagement with shareholders should be thought out very carefully. If you are a one man band and do not foresee the inclusion of other shareholders in your business, then you will obviously survive without a shareholders’ agreement. But once there is more than one owner, rules need to be clearly defined to anticipate all future eventualities.

Legalities To set up your company, you will need a memorandum of association and articles of association. In accordance with company law, the memorandum contains such basic information as the name of the company and the reason it is being set up, while articles of association deal with the relationship between the company and its members. Where there is more than one shareholder, it is advisable to add another layer to protect your future

interests - a shareholders’ agreement.

This document will define additional rights to those provided in the articles of association.

Shareholders’ Agreement A shareholders’ agreement is a vital document for any company and particularly for small private companies who do not have an in-house pool of legal eagles to turn to. This contract sets down the rules, plans and responsibilities of the shareholders. It forms the essential ground rules and becomes the bible for the business in times of strife.

Disagreements may erupt among shareholders in any company and the way to resolve an intractable situation should be contained in the shareholders’ agreement. In the event that no resolution can be found, then the agreement will outline the way to dissolve the company.

Shares Share ownership is the first item to be hashed out as shares carry weight. You need to set down the share distribution and note how much money, time or expertise is contributed by the participants. Take the time also to seek advice on the most tax efficient way of

November08Money

structuring the shareholdings, as this may save you a lot of money later.

Put as much detail as possible into the shareholders’ agreement and try to cover as many future outcomes as possible. Do not let the euphoria of starting a new business cloud your mind when it comes to outlining the rules of engagement for all shareholders.

Omissions could result in a bitter legal dispute later if not addressed sufficiently before you consider setting up shop together.

Disputes The big D’s must also be anticipated – death and divorce. Should a company shareholder die, what is your policy regarding the spouse? As they are likely to inherit the deceased’s shares?

Does that give them the right to take their departed spouse’s place? This must be addressed. It is also advisable to include a provision by which the other shareholders have first right of refusal to purchase the deceased’s shares if they are being sold.

Similarly in the event of a shareholder getting divorced, the company needs to set out rules to protect itself against hostile former spouses. In a similar vein, it would be a good idea to thrash out rules relating to family and relations. Ideally family members should neither be enfranchised or disenfranchised automatically into the company. Set the guidelines for family members’ entry to, and exit from, the business so there are no disputes and no dead weight to be carried later.

Selling Shares The shareholders’ agreement also deals with the selling of shares. A common provision when one member chooses to sell shares is to give the other shareholders a right of first refusal. This means that if a shareholder receives an offer for his shares from an outside entity, the shares have to be offered under the same terms to the existing shareholders for a specified period.

This gives the existing shareholders the opportunity to buy the shares at the established price and ensure that outsiders cannot just wander into the company to the chagrin of the existing shareholders.

Containment

Matters

A shareholders’ agreement should be updated on a regular basis. Without such an agreement, you leave yourself open to all kinds of problems. There is nothing stopping your fellow shareholders from agreeing a contract on behalf of the company without discussion with the other members. However, if you have an agreement in place, this cannot happen or it will not be binding on the company.

holder to get out, usually on favourable terms. If you are that minority shareholder, this is a very important clause to include in your agreement.

A drag clause does the opposite. It ensures that a shareholder who wants to sell his shares can force other shareholders to sell their shares on the same terms. A drag clause allows a shareholder who wishes to exit to drag another shareholder along, sometimes against his wishes.

Features

Deadlock

There are many common themes or features used in shareholders’ agreements and here are a few of the terms. ‘Tags and drags’ are the names of clauses used in many shareholder agreements.

A tag clause is a covenant or agreement by one shareholder which states that if, say, the majority shareholder, decides to leave the company, he will obtain the same deal for the minority shareholder.

This means that the buyer of the exiting shareholder’s stock will also offer to buy the minority shareholders’ shares at the same price and on the same conditions. This allows the minority share-

A deadlock is another useful clause, which deals with irreconcilable differences within the company. It is a form of exit clause and is commonly used in joint ventures. If there is a fundamental disagreement between the shareholders that cannot be resolved, then the deadlock clause can be evoked. It means that one shareholder states a price for his shares and agrees to buy the other shareholder’s shares at that price or will sell his own shares to his partner at that price.

This provision can save a lot of cost and trouble and is a very useful clause to include in the shareholders’ agreement. An alternative usually provided in a deadlock clause is that, if the parties cannot agree to resolve their differences, a liquidator will be appointed with a view to winding up the company voluntarily.

The shareholders’ agreement can be tweaked and changed as a company evolves, so do not expect to cover everything from the word go. A good solicitor, specialising in this area, would have a fair idea on how to structure and what to include in a shareholders’ agreement. When it comes to share dealings, it is advisable to get tax advice from your accountant. These are costs you may not have initially budgeted for but they will pay off manifold in the future.

No matter how well you and your partner are getting on as you plan to set up the business, circumstances do change over time. Whether it is the untimely death of a partner or perhaps an acrimonious divorce or whether you disagree on the direction the business is taking, a shareholders’ agreement may come between you and some costly legal disputes in the future.

“Do not let the euphoria of starting a new business cloud your mind when it comes to outlining the rules of engagement for all shareholders.

Omissions could result in a bitter legal dispute later.”

83

RN November08Tobacco Products ●

Burning Issues Increased excise duty levels and the impact of smuggling are having an adverse effect on cigarette sales in Ireland, while new legislation, due next July, will change the way tobacco is sold in Ireland.

Ireland’s

€1.9 billion cigarette market is changing considerably, with new legislation, which comes into force next July, forever altering the way cigarettes and tobacco are sold in Ireland (see separate panel on page 86).

The new laws are not the only issues at the heart of Ireland’s tobacco market, however, with the recent hike in excise duty and the increased prevalence of smuggled cigarettes high on the industry’s agenda.

The Irish Tobacco Manufacturers' Advisory Committee (ITMAC) has criticised the Government’s budgetary increase on the level of excise duty paid on cigarettes by 50 cent per packet of 20.

“This above-inflation increase on cigarettes will cost the Government in excess of €350m per annum due to lost taxation through increased smuggling of illegal cigarettes,” commented a 84

in December 2006, a substantial 1,300 seizures a month.

It is believed that the 50m cigarettes seized in 2006 had the potential to cost the Exchequer €15m in lost revenue. Retailers also suffer from smuggling in terms of lost sales and revenues instore. While there are no statistics available on the total number of cigarettes smuggled into Ireland, Gallaher estimates that it is somewhere in the region of 500m cigarettes, That is the equivalent of 25m packs of 20 cigarettes per year and a loss of 68,000 shopper visits every day.

In 2007, a cigarette smoker spent on average €12 on each store visit, so this loss of shopper visits equates to a loss of €816,000 in retail sales per day.

spokesperson for ITMAC. Ireland has the highest cigarette price in the EU, according to ITMAC, John Player & Sons making the country a smuggler’s paraThe John Player & Sons (JPS) portfolio dise. They went on to maintain that includes Ireland’s number one tobacco one in five cigarettes smoked in Ireland brand, John Player King Size, John comes from the illegal market and Player Bright Blue, the Superkings claim that this figure will rise due to range and the world famous Marlboro the increased excise levels. brand.

The last 12 months have been diffiIn Ireland’s €1.9 billion cigarette cult, with the market down 3.1%, market, JPS market share has grown according to figures from John Player to 37.9% (all market share figures & Sons. High duty increases have drivsourced from ACNielsen, Convenience / en more sales into the non-duty paid Multiple / Forecourt Scantrack, (Vol) market. With so many visits to foreign September 2008), while they also claim cities by Irish people plus eastern to be the only tobacco company in European product coming in, it is estimated that 20-25% of tobacco consumed in Ireland is non Irish duty paid product.

Ireland has witnessed a phenomenon in the volume of non duty-paid cigarettes in the period since 2004, according to Gallaher. Figures compiled by Irish Customs have shown that the number of cigarette seizures has The contemporary new John Player King Size and increased by a massive 290% John Player Bright Blue packs, enjoying strong from 3,969 in 2004 to 15,497 sales throughout the country.

RN November08Tobacco Products ●

It grew at over 4% and currently accounts for 11.5% of the market. Gold is particularly strong with 9.3% share and Red at 1.7%. In 2007, Marlboro Menthol was launched and has been a big success, particularly with Ireland’s Eastern European population, with whom menthol is a big favourite. The range was further enhanced in 2008 Launched in Ireland in 1984, Superkings continues with the introduction of to dominate the longer length sector.

Marlboro Silver, offering the consumer more choice. growth at 1.6%. JPS share of groups The value segment is growing but stands at 40.1%, Multiples 34.7% and small, at 4.5% of the overall market.

Forecourts at 35.7%.

This increase is due to high duty John Player King Size is the compaincreases in the last few budgets. L&B ny’s flagship brand and has been was relaunched last year into a modern Ireland’s top selling cigarette for many more dynamic pack and has grown conyears. It continues to retain this posisistently over the last couple of years. tion, claiming a market share of 19.4%, As market leader in Northern Ireland, growing at 0.7%. Along with Marlboro, L&B is a key seller in outlets in the it is the only big brand in growth. The northern half of the country, and also in brand family also includes John Player outlets who attract UK tourists as it is Bright Blue, offering the consumer a the number one brand in the UK. smoother choice, and John Player 100’s, The Department of Health have offering some extra value to the conjust triggered the minimum price up to sumer. ‘Blue’ has consistently shown its €7.15 from €6.79 in September, which strength as a brand favourite since it is the RSP of Lambert & Butler, but was launched over 32 years ago in with the recent 50c duty increase, sales 1976, becoming one of those rare in the ‘value’ sector will creep towards brands that have become an Irish icon.

5% again.

The brand was added to in John Player & Sons dominate the September with the launch of a Twin roll-your-own sector with over 64% Pack. This pack of 20 has 2x10-packs, market share, growing at 13.6%. Drum offering the consumer more convenis the number one brand at over 33% ience and an aid to help them control and Golden Virginia is a strong numconsumption. The product is unique to ber two, at 31% and growing at 8.6%. the Irish market with non-crushable Currently Golden Virginia has 1 in hard packs of 10 and is proving a real winner with consumers. It has consistently sold double the amount of packs than its nearest rival in this sector of twins.

Launched in Ireland in 1984, Superkings continues to dominate the longer length sector with over 60% share, while its overall market share is 6.1%. The family includes Superkings Blue and Superkings Menthol, which is growing at 20% year on year, with a share of the Menthol sector at 35%, making it the number one brand in the menthol sector.

Marlboro, another high profile The new Golden Virginia convenient brand in the John Player range, is the Combi pack, with Rizla papers included, biggest selling cigarette in the world. is proving extremely popular.

4 of all RYO consumers with the 25g variant, so now with the convenient 12.5g pouch and the introduction of the new convenient Combi pack, with Rizla papers included, the brand is growing strongly.

John Player & Sons sold 1 in 3 cigars sold in the Irish market last year and is up 3.8% in a sector down over 4%. In the last three months, JPS had a share of nearly 35%.The Henri Wintermans range is up 5.1% versus last year. The range, includes Henri Wintermans Half Corona and the Café Crème range, which is growing significantly at over 5.5%. Classic Cigars complete the company’s cigar portfolio.

Currently, Rizla has a market share of nearly 80% and growing at nearly 20% on 2007. Rizla Green with Cut corners is the top-selling sku, with 37% of the market, with Rizla Red at number two with 25%. With 62% for these two lines alone, it demonstrates the massive appeal of this international brand, which is the number one brand for papers around the world. Indeed, Rizla will sell over 35 billion leaves of paper in 2007 worldwide. JPS will be consistently supporting this brand in the trade through dealer loaders, which will significantly boost already high trade margins. There will also be support with trade gifts and full POS support.

Gallaher With sales of €1.9 billion, tobacco continues to be a major driver of footfall into, and cash revenue for, the retail sector, according to Gallaher, who now account for almost 50% of the cigarette market.

Cigarettes continue to be large sellers, particularly in convenience stores, where sales of tobacco in 2007 accounted for over 60% of the market.

Cigarettes also continue to be the biggest footfall drivers of any category both in terms of brand value and brand volume.

“The Benson & Hedges House is the highest earning and most popular cigarette brand in the category,” says Gallaher Ireland Managing Director, Paul Williams. “Our share of the cigarette market continues to strengthen, with innovative new products and a strong portfolio of brands, most notably Camel, with demand for 85

RN November08Tobacco Products ●

Benson & Hedges Gold, one of the most popular cigarette brands in Ireland.

Camel Blue up 19.6% and Camel Filter up 27.2% in the first two months of 2008.

“Benson & Hedges Silver also has an impressive sell out since its launch, while significant growth for

Mayfair, our leading quality brand, continues in the Irish Market with volume up 82%.”

In the RYO and cigar sectors, Gallaher is enjoying strong growth.

The Amber Leaf product range has driven demand in the RYO sector, with sales growth of a massive 67% in 2007.

In the cigar sector, the demand for the Gallaher product is dynamic, with every second cigar smoked in Ireland a Hamlet. Gallaher’s range within the Hamlet brand includes Hamlet Filters, Hamlet Fine Aroma, Hamlet Miniatures, Hamlet Smooth and caters for every consumer taste.

On the legislative front, Gallaher MD, Paul Williams says that Gallaher totally supports all practical measures to eliminate underage smoking.

The company urges retailers to: • Display your “NO ID NO SALE “ sign

Demand for Camel Blue is growing all the time.

• Make sure your staff know not to sell to anyone under the age of 18 • Always ask for photographic ID for proof of age • When in doubt, refuse the sale.

NEW TOBACCO LEGISLATION FROM JULY 2009 THE Government recently announced major changes to legislation governing the sale of tobacco products. These amendments to the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004 come into force on July 1 2009: The key provisions being commenced are: • A ban on all in-store/point-of-sale advertising of tobacco products; • A ban on the display of tobacco products in retail premises; • The introduction of a closed container / dispenser provision; • Tighter controls on the location and operation of tobacco vending machines; • The introduction of a retail register for tobacco retailers.

Ban on Point of Sale Advertising No in-store advertising or promotional material for tobacco products will be permitted. This includes gantries change mats, mouse pads, till covers, decals etc.

Advertisement includes every form of recommendation of the product to the public and in particular a statement of: • the name of a manufacturer, importer or brand of tobacco product; • any trade description, designation, display or other publication of a trademark, emblem, marketing image or logo, (this includes the use of colour); • the properties of the product on a label, container, wrapper or package used for the product or in a leaflet, circular, pamphlet or brochure issued to the public or given to a purchaser of the product.

No display of tobacco products will be permitted.

86

Retail Register The Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) will be responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the Retail Register.

Anyone who wishes to sell tobacco products must register with the OTC. Each applicant must pay a registration fee of €50. New retailers must register before they can sell tobacco products, while existing retailers must register within three months of commencement (i.e. by 01/10/09).

Provision of Product Information On request, retailers may show: the member of the public one packet only of each tobacco product sold, or • a menu board with one image (no greater than the size of the packet concerned) of each tobacco product sold, with the mandatory health warnings on each image.

• Separate menu boards for roll your own tobacco, cigars and vending machine stock are permitted.

• A menu board may be provided to the customer if required, it cannot be on display.

•

Closed Container •

• •

All tobacco products must be out of view and stored within a closed container or dispenser, only accessible by the retailer.

The location of the container is a matter for the retailer.

The container is not required to be under the counter, it is the tobacco product rather than the container itself that has to be out of sight.

Enforcement The legislation will be enforced by the Environmental Health Officers of the Health Service Executive.

November08Update

Keelings Strawberry Car Giveaway KEELINGS celebrated their status as Ireland’s largest soft fruit growers by giving away a Keelings Strawberry Mini Cooper Car in a massive promotion. This year, Keelings built their new 50,508-square-metre state-of-the-art strawberry glasshouse in North County Dublin, resulting in the ability to produce over 100m Irish strawberries for the Irish market. Pictured are (l-r): Caroline Keeling, Keelings Group Managing Director; Seamus Banim, Tesco Communications Manager; and winner of the Keelings Strawberry Mini Cooper Car, Natasha Robinson.

Superquinn Lift Six Awards SUPERQUINN celebrates the first birthday of its ‘Superior Quality’ SQ range this month, and what better way to celebrate than by winning six new awards at the recent Blas na hEireann National Irish Food Awards. Launched in October 2007, the SQ range now boasts 140 products and over 90% of the range is produced in Ireland. Indeed, Superquinn was the only supermarket to receive awards for its own brand products: Gold for SQ Blackcurrant Yoghurt in the Yoghurts/Smoothies category; Silver for SQ Mango Sorbet in the Ice-cream category; Silver for SQ Leek & Black Pepper sausages in the Sausages category; Bronze for SQ Vintage Cheddar in the Cheese category; Bronze for SQ Sliced White Pudding in the Black & White Puddings category; and Bronze for SQ Irish Leaf Salad in the Newcomer category.

Mobile Solutions for Londis ADM Londis plc has rolled out a revolutionary mobile solution which will benefit Group operational efficiency and increase store responsiveness to changing consumer demands. The solution, designed in-house by the Londis Retail IT team, resides on HP iPAQ pocket PCs, and utilises O2’s mobile broadband network. It has been rolled out across the Regional Management team within Londis and allows them to handle merchandising and record specific details of store visits electronically, resulting in significant retailer cost savings and productivity benefits. Pictured are (l-r): Ronan Whelan Corporate Sales & Business Services Manager, O2 Ireland, and Chris Donnelly, Retail IT Manager, ADM Londis.

Persil Irish Fashion Awards

Potatoes As They Used to Be

IRISH fashion designer Peter O’Brien (pictured) and stylist Catherine Condell, together with Carmel Breheny from Marks & Spencer, were unveiled as the new judges for The Persil Irish Fashion Awards 2009. Currently in its tenth year, the hotly contested award is the largest fashion design competition in Europe. It is a once-in-alifetime opportunity for young fashion design students hoping to make their mark in today’s competitive market, and with a first prize of €10,000, is a great boost to their budding fashion careers.

CREAM Of The Crop, the potato grower and packaging company owned by north county Dublin family Peter Keogh & Sons, is launching limited edition 'Highland Burgundy' Red potatoes as part of their ‘International Year of the Potato’ celebrations. The unique Highland Burgundy variety is expected to be very popular over the Christmas season, as it adds a fantastic festive colour to meals. The company is also bringing back the much sought after Blue Potato, which was first launched in February, as part of its plans to reintroduce long forgotten ‘Heritage’ varieties to Irish taste buds.

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November08Shelf

Life

Shelf Life THE Cadbury Gorilla and the McLaren Formula One car were seen in Monaghan recently, for the official opening of the new Londis/Texoil store on the Dublin Road, Monaghan Town.

LUCOZADE Sport and Munster Rugby announced a threeyear extension of their current sponsorship. Under the terms of the new agreement, Lucozade Sport will extend its sponsorship of Munster rugby until 2011, and will provide financial support and sports nutrition product, as well as access to a sports expert who will offer nutritional and sports science advice to management and players. Pictured at the announcement in Curaheen, Cork are Munster players Frankie Sheahan, Denis Hurley and Doug Howlett, with Ronan McClafferty, Lucozade Sport.

CONGRATULATIONS to the lucky winners of the RETAIL NEWS / FloGas Superser competition, Vincent Murray from Ashford, Co. Limerick, and Betty Valentine, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, who are guaranteed a warm winter thanks to FloGas and RETAIL NEWS.

MANAGING Director, Alan Hempton (left) and Health and Safety Manager, Stephen Edwards (right), of Allied Bakeries Ireland (ABI) show off the prestigious Occupational Health and Safety Management certificate which was awarded to the bakery from independent body, Lloyd’s Register of Quality Assurance. ABI, which produces well known household brands Kingsmill, Sunblest, Allinson and Burgen, has become the first bakery in the UK and Ireland to be awarded with the internationally recognised certificate (OHSAS 18001: 1999), following an in-depth process which saw the implementation of a new Health and Safety Management System.

CUISINE de France is introducing the new face of its delicious ‘Bake at Home’ Range. ‘Bake at Home’ allows consumers to turn their kitchen into a boulangerie and enjoy the aroma of freshly baking breads and pastries. The Cuisine de France ‘Bake at Home’ range includes French bread, Italian ciabattas, bagels and pastries and is available nationwide.

WAKEFIELD Wines feature on Irish TV screens for the first time this month as FindlaterGrants continues to increase consumer demand and drive sales. The TV campaign is part of an ongoing strategy, specifically developed for the Irish market, which has seen the Australian wine brand go from strength to strength.

The 20-second ad sees the three seahorses of the company insignia sketched on screen, before a bottle of Wakefield Estate Shiraz is revealed.

Meanwhile, FindlaterGrants was recently acquired by DCC. Commenting on the acquisition, Tom Gray, MD of Robert Roberts, said, “The combination of FindlaterGrants and Woodford Bourne will create a powerful independent force in wine and spirits distribution in Ireland.”

COOLEY Distillery has embarked on a rebranding process to mark the company’s 21st birthday. Existing bottle label designs are being remodeled and the new Cooley logo will be introduced over a period of time. The multi-award-winning Connemara Peated Single Malt Whiskey will be the first product to include the new branding.

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A RECENT survey conducted by Lidl Ireland has shown that awareness of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is low among the Irish public, with only 2% of those questioned having heard of the MSC and its work. Lidl hope to help change this figure and boost awareness of the great work the MSC does to preserve fish stocks and protect the livelihoods of fishing communities with its range of MSCaccredited fish products. The range is easily recognised by the blue MSC eco label on packs, and includes Ocean Trader Alaska Pollock Fish Fingers, Salmon Fillets in Puff Pastry, Gourmet Alaska Pollock Fish Fillets and Chunky Hake Fillets in Crumb/Batter and Trawlic Alaska Pollock.

‘CRISIS Communication: Practical PR Strategies for Reputation Management and Company Survival’ is the title of a new book that takes a comprehensive look at the management of crisis communication and showcases two Irish communications campaigns. It includes details of the strategies adopted by Superquinn when it was hit by accidental fires at two of its premises. The book was written by senior communications experts from IPREX, the worldwide corporation of independent PR firms, and includes contributions from one of Ireland’s most experienced PR professionals, Jim Walsh, Managing Director of Walsh Public Relations and current IPREX Worldwide President.

RETAIL NEWS would like to clarify an error which appeared in our October issue. The Discovery Foods range is distributed in Ireland by Allegro Ltd.

Reap the rewards of a trusted brand Real Food, Real People. That’s what we do and the essence of who we are. At SuperValu, we don’t just sell; we inspire our customers to share our passion for great food by providing a level of service, quality of product and a unique shopping experience simply not found amongst our competitors.

Join the SuperValu brand and you will benefit from a state of the art distribution system, Musgrave Group purchasing power and the full support of our expert Sales, Marketing, IT, Finance and Store Design teams.

If you are an entrepreneurial retailer and you’ve got what it takes to add to our character then take a step forward today and give us a call.

For more information Contact Willie Lyons, Business Development Director on 021 480 3000.