TalkingShop Mar/Apr 2024

The magazine for Premier retailers

Talking Shop

Walk on in!

Shoppers can't resist Premier Meden Vale's innovative new offer

PLUS

Crime fighting

New deals to help tackle crime

Say cheers

Premier's Wine Festival is back

A very warm welcome to your latest issue of Talking Shop as we begin to gear up for the critical summer sales period. At Premier we have plenty of plans in place to help you maximise the opportunities, not least because this year marks Premier’s historic 30th anniversary. We have a packed programme of activity in place to help you and your shoppers celebrate our 30th birthday including amazing promotions, a big charity giveaway and a spectacular set of deals where you will be able to buy a range of products at that the prices you would have paid 30 years ago!

With Easter on the near horizon, we have a cracking selection of deals available to help you make the most of this key seasonal event. You’ll also find inside some details on our forthcoming Premier Wine Festival, another great opportunity to drive excitement, generate fresh footfall and grow your sales and profits in an important category.

Make sure you check out our feature on coffee pods too, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the total coffee market. More people than ever are trying to replicate the coffee shop experience at home and pods are core to this experience. Best of all, it doesn’t require much shelf space or time to create a great pods section that will bring more shoppers to your door.

Finally, don’t miss our range of exclusive and discounted deals on a range of high-quality, effective crime-prevention solutions. Retail crime is a real challenge and Premier has developed relationships with key suppliers to give you discounted access to solutions that can help you clamp down on in-store crime.

I wish you all fantastic trading over the next few months – and make sure you join in on Premier’s 30th anniversary celebrations.

Martyn Parkinson, Sales Director – Booker Wholesale

9 New Fareham RDC

63

The

Booker’s new distribution centre will increase capacity and choice.

11 Community News

The latest round-up of community news from Premier stores.

13 Industry News

Convenience spend continues to grow.

15

New vape tax

A new tax will be introduced in October 2026.

19 GroceryAid Update

Get set for the return of Grocery Aid Day on Thursday 9 May.

53

The Jack's range has all you need to polish up sales.

22 Walk this way

A walk-through beer cave is just one of the innovations at Premier Meden Vale.

30

The high life

Sales are on the up at Premier Lowtown following an ambitious store refit.

40

Sales on tap

A former plumbing shop is enjoying a fresh new identity as Premier Kiln Road.

50

Premier is 30!

Premier is celebrating 30 years with a packed schedule of support.

53 Jack’s Update

Clean up with the Jack’s brand this spring.

56 Get cracking

Premier retailers still have a tasty opportunity lay strong Easter sales.

68 Meet The Team

Say hello to Booker’s Sustainability Manager Cath Marston

79 A stirring opportunity

Drink in bigger sales and profits with coffee pods.

83 Crime-fighting

Booker has launched a range of deals with leading security solution providers.

91 ACS Viewpoint

It’s time to stop talking tough on crime and act.

PremierNews

ACROSS PREMIER

Premier celebrates 30th anniversary in style

Premier is 30 years old in 2024 and is marking this milestone achievement with a packed programme of activity to help drive footfall, sales and profits for Premier retailers.

Premier, the UK’s biggest symbol group, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. A year-long celebrational programme will help reinforce to shoppers and retailers that the unique Premier offering remains just as relevant as it has always been.

A full calendar of activity will include an extensive marketing and PR campaign, a heavyweight social media programme, high profile support of local charity and community activity and a back-to-back series of promotional deals to help retailers grow their sales and profits throughout the year.

A highlight for Premier retailers is sure to be some unmissable deals that offer a range of branded products at wholesale prices from 30 years ago!

All Premier retailers are also being offered the chance to nominate a local charity or good cause to receive a £1,000 donation which will be handed over to the winning charities in your store.

£1K LOCAL CHARITY DONATIONS UP FOR GRABS

As part of the 30th celebrations, every Premier retailer is being offered the chance to nominate a local charity or good cause to receive a £1,000 charitable donation.

The winning chosen charities and good causes will be presented with a giant cheque at your store, helping to generate brilliant local PR and give you some fantastic content for your social media channels.

TO FIND OUT MORE, TURN TO P50.

INBRIEF

YEAR OF CELEBRATIONS!

With such an important and historic occasion to mark, Premier has already kicked off a year-long programme of activity to bring the 30th anniversary to life in-store and on social media to help you grow footfall, sales and profits:

MARKETING – EXTENSIVE CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES.

l PR - heavyweight PR campaign.

l Social Media - backto-back programme featuring shopper giveaways and prizes.

l Promotions – rolling set of fantastic promotions and incentives including Mega Deals and Hero deals.

l Recruitmentrecruitment drive to encourage more retailers to join the Premier family.

To find out more and to find out how you can maximise the benefits you gain from the 30th anniversary celebrations, speak to your RDM today.

New distribution centre adds choice, price and service

Booker has opened a new retail distribution centre in Fareham that creates a shared delivery network for the first time, allowing deliveries to all Booker customers from a single hub.

GROUP EXCLUSIVES –EXAMPLES:

l Kellogg’s Chocolate Corn Flakes PMP

l Corona Ligera

l Brewdog Cold Beer

l Strongbow Strawberry Cider

l Kopparberg Strawberry Variety Packs

Booker is continuing to focus on improving choice, price and service for all retailers by investing back into its supply chain with the launch of a new shared delivery hub in Fareham on the south coast.

The new retail distribution centre represents a key part of Booker’s strategy of continually investing back in its customers and offers increased delivered capacity and, for the first time, creates the opportunity for a shared delivery network for all Booker customers from a single hub.

As part of this, Booker has improved choice with expanded ranges and Premier retailers serviced by the new hub will have access to 35% more range.

The range available from the new hub has been tailored to specifically meet the needs of independent retailers in terms of breadth, depth and pack sizes. The range has also been created to maximise profits for independent retailers. For example, the range of tuna available has been slightly reduced to eliminate duplication but primarily to ensure that every product in the range now delivers a minimum of 30% POR as well as delivering everyday value to shoppers with price reductions

of over £1 on a number of products.

In line with other Booker business centres, the new hub will continue to stock bestsellers, but duplications have been removed and the space dedicated to declining categories such as Ales has been reduced while the space dedicated to growing categories such as World Beers and RTDs has been expanded.

This will all be supported by stronger promotions for both retailers and shoppers, along with offering more Group Exclusive products such as the Kellogg’s Chocolate Corn Flakes PMP launched in February and Corona Ligera, which will be available exclusively from Booker for six months over the summer.

Colm Johnson, Managing Director – Retail said: “Firstly, I would like to thank all our customers for their continued support. The changes we are making will benefit our customers as well as their shoppers. We will always ensure as a business that we continue to improve choice, price, and service for many years to come. Our ranges offer retailers breadth and quality, allowing them to grow their businesses and gain sales by taking advantage of the leading market trends.”

The changes we are making will benefit our customers as well as their shoppers and we will always ensure as a business that we continue to improve choice, price, and service for many years to come.

Colm Johnson, MD – Retail

Howzat for community support Lincolnshire! CommunityNews

A Premier store in Lincolnshire is helping a local young cricketer’s dream come true by sponsoring him for the forthcoming Lincolnshire Premier League season.

Harry is a product of the club’s junior section; he has worked his way up from U9s to U17s junior team, then onto men’s third and second teams, making his breakthrough last season into its first team.

The cricket club said: “A big thank you to Raj and Roshni from Weston Village Stores for their support.

Collecting for cats

Tregele Service Station & Convenience, in North Wales, has collected £54.19 for Anglesey & District Feline Support & Rescue.

The charity’s team of volunteers is committed to rescuing, housing and re-homing cats and kittens.

Julia Helen Oldfield, from the charity, said: “Thank you Stephanie for supporting ADFSR and counting up the donations.”

HEALTHY LIVING

Premier at Dundee University Students' Association has been working with the Scottish Grocers’ Federation’s Healthy Living Programme.

Moira Dean, Retail Services Manager at Dundee University Students' Association, said: “I’ve been working with the Healthy Living Programme for quite a few years now.

“We found that students are getting year-on-year more healthy and they want to see what’s in store for them in easy reach.

"So, I asked [HLP] to bring in some of the shelf stripping, tent cards and bus stops, because it’s bright, it’s vibrant, it’s fresh. I want people to see how working together can benefit us all.”

TALKING TACTICS

What are you doing in-store to stand out in your local market? Share it with us and your Premier retailer colleagues at talkingshop@booker.co.uk

Weston Village Stores, Lincolnshire, is sponsoring Spalding Town Cricket Club’s Harry Biehler-Birch for the upcoming English Cricket Board Lincolnshire Premier league season.

ENJOY TASTY SALES THIS RAMADAN

Convenience spend continues to grow as inflation eases IndustryNews

The latest monthly Barclays Consumer Spend Report shows that spend in independent stores continued to grow in February even though food inflation fell to its lowest level since April 2022.

The value of shopper card spend in independent stores continued to grow in February, up 2.7%, despite food inflation falling to 7% in the same month, its lowest level since April 2022, almost two years ago.

The effect of falling food inflation on the value of sales is reflected in the fact that the number of transactions actually grew by 7.3% in February in independent retailing. In other words, volumes grew substantially but the value of that growth was softened by falling food inflation.

Lower prices at the pump meant that fuel spend fell 12.2% in the period.

Total shopper card spending in the UK grew by just 1.9% in the month, the lowest growth since September 2022.

The deceleration in food inflation has helped ease

concern about rising grocery prices although 84% of shoppers still cite this as an area of concern. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of shoppers are still looking for ways to get more value from, or to reduce the cost of, their weekly shop. To save money, two-fifths (42%) of this group have cut down on impulse buys, while a third (32%) are stocking up on essential products when they are on offer. A further quarter (25%) are sticking to basic ingredients or cupboard staples – such as pasta, rice and vegetables – to prepare simple, cheaper meals at home.

Consumers’ concerns about inflation and rising household bills also softened to 84%, the most positive figures for more than two years –indicating that easing inflationary pressures are having a positive impact on household finances.

SHOPPER FRUSTRATION OVER ONLINE HIDDEN CHARGES

As shoppers continue to pay close attention to their finances, over a third (36%) say they have noticed more examples of brands and retailers adding extra and hidden charges at the checkout when spending online, otherwise known as “drip pricing”.

This is most frequently spotted when paying for food delivery services (39%). In response, almost seven in 10 consumers (68%) welcome the Government’s plan to ban unavoidable hidden fees, requiring businesses to disclose all costs upfront, as part of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC).

Close to four in 10 (37%) say drip pricing is their biggest shopping frustration when paying online while 28% cite altered or surged prices in response to demand –also known as dynamic pricing – as a key gripe.

Vaping tax and ‘one-off’ tobacco duty increase confirmed in latest Budget

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his recent 2024 Budget that a new tax on vaping products will be introduced from October 2026.

BUDGET 2024: KEY POINTS

l New vaping tax in October 2026, accompanied by a “one-off” £2-per-100 cigarettes tobacco duty increase to maintain tax differentials

l National Insurance cut by 2p in the pound for employees and the selfemployed

l Freeze on alcohol duty until February 2025

l Fuel duty frozen again for another year from April

A new tax on vaping products is set to come into force in the UK in October 2026, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed in his recent Budget statement in March.

The rates, which are subject to consultation, are £1 per 10ml of nicotine-free liquids, £2 per 10ml on liquids containing up to 10.9mg per millilitre, and £3 per 10ml on liquids containing 11mg or more per millilitre.

To accompany the new tax, the Government will also introduce a “one-off” £2 per 100 cigarettes

increase in tobacco duty to maintain the tax differential between the products.

Hunt said: “To discourage non-smokers from taking up vaping, we’re confirming the introduction of an excise duty on vaping products and publishing a consultation on its design.

“Because vapes can also play a positive role in helping people quit smoking, we’ll introduce a one-off increase in tobacco duty at the same time to maintain a financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking.”

DISPOSABLES SET FOR BAN

The announcement of a new vaping tax came shortly after the Government confirmed in January that it is to introduce new powers that ban disposable vapes in the UK, restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging, and change how vapes are displayed in shops.

The new powers will restrict flavours which are specifically marketed at children and ensure manufacturers produce plainer, less visually appealing packaging. The powers will also allow government to change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them, like sweets.

Retailers report ‘more than 600 incidents of theft’ an hour

The latest Association of Convenience Stores’ Crime Report has highlighted an astonishing fivefold increase in shop theft in the last year.

Retailers across the UK reported a staggering 600 incidents of theft every hour in the last year with the total number of shop thefts rocketing from 1.1 million the previous year to 5.6 million.

These are among the findings of the Association of Convenience Stores’ (ACS) 2024 Crime Report which throws light on the enormity of the challenge that faces independent retailers.

Distressingly, the report also found that the number of violent incidents against retailers and their staff increased from 41,000 to 76,000.

While retailers are investing heavily to combat crime, with £339m spent in the last year, the total cost of crime and combatting it effectively equate to a 10p extra charge on every transaction, says the

report. This is up from 6p the previous year.

James Lowman, ACS Chief Executive, commented: “Retailers are facing an onslaught of crime committed against their businesses on a daily basis, with some losing tens of thousands of pounds per year to theft alone. This extended crimewave cannot be allowed to continue.

“Thieves are known to the community and to the police but they simply do not care, and continue on regardless, filling baskets and trolleys and walking out without fear of reproach.

“The figures in our report demonstrate that more needs to be done urgently. Nobody should have to come to work and face what retailers and their colleagues have faced over the last year.”

BRC: VIOLENCE AND ABUSE RISING

The findings of the ACS Crime Report 2024 are echoed in the findings of the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) latest crime survey.

The number of incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers soared to 1,300 per day in 2022/23, from almost 870 per day a year earlier.

The cost of theft to the wider retailing channel went up to £1.8bn from £953m the previous year, meaning the total cost of crime to retailers stood at £3.3bn – double the previous year.

In addition, dissatisfaction with the police increased, with 60% of respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

All ready for GroceryAid Day 2024?

GroceryAid Day takes place on Thursday 9 May and is the annual awareness day of our industry charity GroceryAid, offering the ideal opportunity to let your colleagues know about the free, confidential support that is available.

Thursday 9 May will see this year’s annual GroceryAid Day help elevate the awareness of the industry charity in stores and businesses across the UK – and GroceryAid wants your business to be one of them.

The special day offers you the chance to join hundreds of organisations in letting your colleagues know about the charity’s free and confidential financial, emotional and practical services available to them 24/7, 365 days a year.

give them immediate support or signpost them to another GroceryAid service that may help. More than 200 languages are also supported through the Helpline, on request.

May 2024

GroceryAid Day

Colleagues can access GroceryAid’s services and support from the first day of their employment. After just six months of continuous employment, if colleagues have experienced a drop in income, they may be eligible for a non-repayable financial grant.

If they need immediate emotional support, they can call GroceryAid’s FREE and confidential Helpline, which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 08088 021122. Their call will be answered by a trained counsellor who can either

Support and further advice are also available through the website, groceryaid.org.uk/gethelp. The website has an accessibility toolbar which translates the content into over 100 different languages, as well as text to speech in 60 languages. For regular updates about the help available and the latest on financial support such as the School Essentials Grant, follow the charity on Facebook @groceryaid or Instagram @groceryaid_uk.

All of GroceryAid’s services are completely free and confidential and support partners do not disclose any details back to the charity. Emotional and practical support is also available to spouses, partners and dependants.

GroceryAid Day is a great way to help you ensure that your colleagues can reach out to GroceryAid for support.

Order your free GroceryAid Day communications package now at groceryaid.org.uk.

From posters and leaflets to wallet cards and stickers, there’s everything you need to make all of your colleagues aware of the free and confidential financial, practical and emotional support that is available to them, should they need it.

Walk this way

With a walk-through beer cave among its many innovative features, Premier Meden Vale is enjoying a surge in footfall.

As is the case for many successful convenience stores, the post-pandemic years have heralded a new era of even stronger trading for Premier Meden Vale.

Owned by the Matthew’s family since 2001, the store became a veritable lifeline for local shoppers in the lockdown days – and loyalty, footfall and sales have remained rosy ever since.

As such, spring 2023 saw the family invest in a radical redevelopment designed to take Premier Meden Vale, not just to a new level –but to a whole new sphere.

Owner and head of the family John Matthews explains: “Meden Vale is a former mining village that benefits from lots of housing. There are some large grocery stores just outside the village, so a key aim of the development was to keep shoppers here, by offering them an exceptional new range, cutting-edge services and unmissable deals. Fortunately, we owned land next to the

PREMIER MEDEN VALE FEATURES A VAST AND

REVOLUTIONARY

‘WALK-THROUGH’ BEER CAVE.

old store which enabled us to plan a major extension – as well as a total refurbishment of the interior.”

“Major” is certainly the word, with more than £400,000 spent on extending the old store by 1,000sq ft over the winter of 2023 –taking it to a smidge under 3,000sq ft.

“The store had been performing very well but there were lots of new things that we wanted to offer, such as a Refresh bar and a beer cave, which we just didn’t have the space for before,” John’s son Ben adds.

“Some categories, such as frozen, fresh and chilled, were also showing strong growth and we were keen to extend them.”

The build took just over six months, with the store closing for two weeks in midJanuary while the fit-out took place.

Meden Vale Convenience Store reopened its swish new doors to shoppers

on 29 January 2024 in a move which sent shockwaves of excitement across the village and beyond.

“The reaction from shoppers has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Ben says. “People were stunned when they first saw what we’d done and we’ve been inundated with positive comments.”

It’s clear to see why.

Meden Vale Convenience Store’s cavernous new interior now plays host to numerous cutting-edge features, not least of which is a walkthrough beer cave. “Unlike other beer caves which tend to feature one door for shoppers to enter and exit by, ours is a whole chilled aisle, with doors at both ends, that shoppers can walk right through,” John explains.

“It’s huge in terms of linear space, measuring 7.5 metres down both sides and

with plenty of space for big promotional stacks all the way down the middle too.” The walk-through beer cave also includes a dedicated alcohol-free bay and is now home to the store’s existing range of PerfectDraft kegs – sales of which are already on the up now that they are available chilled.

In fact, sales of beers alone were up 103% in the store’s first week of trading!

The new store also incorporates six metres of space behind the counter for spirits –up from just over 1.5 metres previously, allowing John and Ben to offer a far wider range of flavours and formats.

Also new, is a bright and bold Refresh@ Premier bar offering Fwip gelato, Thick Fresh Shakes, two flavours of Tango Ice Blast, Hershey’s and Reese’s Freeze, and a new Costa Coffee machine offering a choice of hot and iced drinks. Coffee sales alone, in

February 2024 amounted to a hot £1,372.

Shoppers also benefit from a vast range of chilled choice thanks to 15 metres of new refrigeration for fresh and chilled produce. “We now have a huge new dairy section and our fruit and vegetable offer has tripled in size,” Ben adds.

Shoppers are clearly over the moon with the new range; fruit and vegetable sales in the first week of trading were up more than 200%.

Fruit and vegetable volumes for February 2024 were also up 77.45% on the same period last year,

The store’s grocery range has also tripled in size and now includes a three-metre bay for international foods.

“We’ve also invested heavily in frozen with a dedicated freezer zone featuring seven double doors, plus a large central island of chest freezers,” Ben says. “Frozen is in such strong growth at the moment so we were keen to offer shoppers even more choice.” Frozen sales in February 2024 were up 86.94% on the same period last year, as shoppers stocked up on iced delights. Confectionery sales were also up more than 50% thanks to a large new range and more US lines.

Up at the counter, a smart new chilled display cabinet features pies and sausage rolls from the local butcher, as well as local cakes.

“We didn’t have the space to offer anything like that before, so we’ve gone from selling nothing to £600 in the first week of trading,” John adds, “and all of those products offer a strong margin too. In

Shoppers can – and are – doing full weekly shops now, which is fantastic and exactly what we’d hoped for. It’s easy to fill a trolley here now.

John Matthews

fact, in the first week of trading alone we could already see that we had put 2% on our bottom line across the whole range.

“It's the same with flowers. We only offered a tiny range before but now we get two deliveries of fresh flowers a week from Booker and sales have been outstanding. We’ve gone from selling next to nothing, to just shy of £500 in the first week.”

The store redevelopment also allowed the family to make a number of major efficiency gains.

Eliminating the arduous task of manually cashing up each night are cutting-edge new tills which remove all need for cash handling.

Shoppers are still served by staff at the tills, but any shoppers who wish to pay in cash, do so by placing notes and coins directly into a machine at the till point, rather than handing it to staff.

“The tills offer us a huge efficiency saving,” John explains. “There’s no cashing up at all anymore. They also remove all fears about shrinkage and also counterfeit cash,

because they check every note and coin and spit any rogues back out.”

With store staff no longer required to handle cash at all, the new tills also help to allay fears over hygiene in the wake of the pandemic.

“The new tills aren’t cheap, but they are foolproof,” John adds.

“Some elderly shoppers were a little nervous of them at first, but the concept is actually very simple to understand and there have been no issues.”

M291777

The new tills also dispense cash for shoppers who want cash back, and they can pay bills too.

A spacious new ‘goods in’ area at the back of the store has also delivered further benefits, offering space for up to 10 pallets and leaving the shop floor clear.

The family has also invested in a new automated floor washer which gives the entire store a thorough scrubbing every night, while electronic shelf edge labels have also been fitted throughout.

“We also have a dedicated two-metre seasonal bay which right now is packed with Easter products; we’re certainly anticipating a very strong Easter for sales this year, not just from the confectionery side of things but right across the board.”

For now, the store is already enjoying very strong trading, drawing in new shoppers from further afield while existing shoppers visit more frequently and buy bigger baskets and even trolleys.

“Shoppers can – and are – doing full weekly shops now, which is fantastic and exactly what we’d hoped for,” John adds.

Living the high life

Premier Lowtown is hitting new highs thanks to an ambitious store development.

Kam Dhadda has always loved shops. In fact, one of her earliest memories is of playing hide and seek with her brother in the stockroom of their grandparent’s store.

Little surprise then, that years later, she and her husband Dalvir Dhadda would be the proud owners of one of Worksop’s most successful and locally loved convenience stores, Premier Lowtown.

The pair bought the store back in 2003 with the help and guidance of Dalvir’s brother, who knew the previous owners.

“My brother-in-law knew the store and he could see the opportunity that it would present us with. It’s a great location, right in the middle of a busy residential area and doesn’t have much other local competition,” Kam explains.

Tragically, Dalvir’s brother passed away just six months after the pair got the keys.

However, the devastating blow saw the family pull together and work

to build a store that he would no doubt have been incredibly proud of.

“We’ve worked so hard to make this into a true community store,” Kam says. “We pride ourselves on our local knowledge and the close bonds that we have created with so many of our local shoppers. Lots of them have become very close friends.”

That support was certainly on show back in late 2022 when the family decided to embark on an ambitious store development project designed to drive the business in a fresh new direction.

“We’d already invested in a big refit back in 2014 but the time was right for us to take it up a whole other level,” Kam says.

“My brother-in-law’s children also work in the store and this latest development was driven as much by their dreams as ours.

“They shared our vision of making Premier Lowtown into a concept store with all the innovative new features such as a Refresh@Premier bar, a beer cave and more.”

The store was closed for three weeks while work to gut its interior

This store now delivers everything that shoppers want; it’s bright, clean, professional and above all, it’s so wellranged. The range that we offer now is second to none.

Kam Dhadda

and open up the shopfloor was carried out ahead of a full refit.

“We were fortunate to be able to trade out of the next-door unit while the store was closed which meant we didn’t lose much trade and were able to keep on supporting our shoppers,” Kam adds.

The highly prized store re-opened in November 2022 – an event which saw shoppers queue “for nearly a mile” just to get a glimpse of its flash new interior.

“We were initially a bit dubious about spending so much money on a refit but we’re so glad we did, because the results have been more than worth it,” Kam says.

“This store now delivers everything that shoppers want, it’s bright, clean, professional

and above all, it’s so well-ranged. The range that we offer now is second to none.”

Daylight now floods in from the store’s large clear windows, maximising the newfound sense of space.

In that space now proudly stands a footfallgenerating Refresh@Premier bar, offering Tango Ice Blast, Fwip Gelato, Hershey’s and Reese’s Freeze and coffee.

“The old store had nothing like this before, so Refresh has been a real gamechanger, Kam adds.

The store also boasts a dedicated beer cave – packed to the rafters with perfectly chilled beers, ciders, wines, RTDs and Premier’s market-leading promotions.

“The beer cave was our dream,” Kam says.

“The boys really pushed for that and I’m so glad they did. It has created such a big point of difference and a nice experience for our shoppers. We play great music in there and it looks so smart. The beer cave really is the place to be – especially in the summer!”

The redevelopment also saw the store introduce a full 7.5 metres of fresh and chilled produce. “We sold hardly any fresh and chilled before, so Premier’s guidance when it came to ranging has been invaluable,” Kam adds.

The fresh and chilled range includes a number of products from Booker’s greatvalue and quality Jack’s brand.

“Jack’s is doing really well, especially on chilled ready meals and fresh fruit and vegetables,” says Kam. “The Tesco messaging

makes a huge difference. Shoppers trust it and are always very complimentary about the quality and the price points, especially the ‘Fresh 4’. Jack’s is a big asset for us and a great point of difference.

“Thanks to Premier’s advice, we now have exactly the right range to meet local needs and it’s amazing how our sales have grown.”

In addition to bestselling Jack’s and branded products, Premier Lowtown’s chilled offer also includes a number of lines from local butcher Whitwell Butchers.

“The local ranges are fantastic, and shoppers really appreciate the fact that

we are supporting other local businesses and helping them to do so too. The range sells well all year round but in the summer we also do local BBQ packs which fly out the door.”

Other local products, such as pies and cakes, can also be found in a chilled display cabinet at the front of the store.

The store also features eight doors of frozen, almost triple what was there before.

“We’ve also introduced our own home delivery service called the Lowtown Drop, offering local shoppers home delivery in 30 minutes, which has been a phenomenal success so far,” Kam adds.

Customer service is at the heart of everything we do. When it comes to supporting our customers we always try to go the extra mile. It’s all part of being a true community store.

Kam Dhadda

“We manage it all ourselves and are pushing the marketing heavily in this area. Home delivery is becoming a must-have service for convenience stores nowadays.”

It’s far from the only helpful service that the store offers.

“Customer service is at the heart of everything we do,” Kam explains. “When it comes to supporting our customers we always try to go the extra mile. It’s all part of being a true community store.”

try to go the extra mile. It’s all part of being a

The store is an avid supporter of the local football team Worksop FC and even displays a large poster, created by Kam and Dalvir’s son in homage to the team.

Elderly and vulnerable shoppers receive high levels of care and consideration. “We always take the time to chat with them, help them with shopping and drop any heavy shopping back for them. We have good links with the local nursing home and regularly drop things in to them too,” says Kam.

That kind of service has helped the store to build a large and very loyal customer base with an “overwhelmingly positive” reaction from local shoppers to the revamp.

“We left no corner untouched with this development. Everything is new. Our shoppers can see how much we have put in to creating this fabulous new store and they are so grateful to us for it,” Kam says.

“Sales immediately soared following the development and are still on the up. Even now, more than a year on, we still get comments all the time about how great the store is, it’s fantastic.

“We really have been blessed with this shop and the fantastic support that we have had from shoppers, from Premier and – of course – our family and staff. It has been, and will continue to be, a real team effort and we are all incredibly proud.”

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Sales on tap

A former plumbing shop in Essex is enjoying a fresh new identity as a Premier convenience store.

The Beer Cave really sets Premier Kiln Road apart from other stores in the local area. As soon as we opened, it became a major talking point and we’ve been inundated with fantastic comments about it.

Kajendran Kandasamy

As a former plumbers’ merchant, 17 Kiln Road was certainly no stranger to fluid sales. However, thanks to its fresh new guise as a Premier concept store, footfall and sales at number 17 are now in full flow – with plenty of opportunities still to come further down the pipeline.

Two of the store's five directors, Kathirvel Jegatharan and Kajendran Kandasamy, explain: “We used to work as concession managers but four years ago we decided to embark on our own adventure and establish our own stores.”

Fast-forward to March 2024 and the group now operate four successful Premier stores in and around the south-east of England.

Located on the outskirts of Benfleet in Essex, Premier Kiln Road is their newest store to open.

“The unit was located on the main street with only one Co-op and one other small convenience store nearby, so we could see a good opportunity to bring Premier’s new concept store offer to the area,” Kajendran says.

“As the site was previously a plumbing shop, we knew that it would be a big change for the local community, but we were confident that it would be well received.”

With plans for a bright and bold Refresh@Premier bar and a striking beer cave, the directors were also confident that their brand-new Premier store would plug a number of holes that were previously missing in the local offer.

Keys in hand, a significant refit of the old plumbing shop began in November 2023 with Premier Kiln Road opening for business just in time for Christmas.

“The store opened just two days before Christmas, so as you can imagine, it made for an incredibly busy start!” Kajendran adds.

“Because it was so close to Christmas, we didn’t plan a big Grand Opening ceremony, but we did invest in local leaflet drops ahead of opening and on pushing the store on social media – both of which have really helped to raise awareness of the store and drive footfall.”

What shoppers now find upon entering 17 Kiln Road is a top-notch convenience offering, cleverly arranged over a bright and impeccably merchandised 1,100sq ft of space.

Store profile

Name: Name: Premier Kiln Road, Benfleet, Essex

Retailers: Kathirvel Jegatharan, Kajendran Kandasamy, Size: 1,100sq ft

Services: Payzone, InPost, Refresh@Premier, beer cave

Staff: 5

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 7am-11pm, Sun 8am-10pm

TOP FIVE: Premier Kiln Road is operated by five directors: Kajendran Kandasamy, Kathirvel Jegatharan, Niranjan Sahayaratnarajah, Subatharsan Sivagnanasuntharam and Thusyanthan Thiyagarajah.

Offering value for money and added-value bonuses is so important these days and the loyalty scheme is really helping us to meet that need – as are all the fantastic Booker promotions including Mega Deals.

Given its location and proximity to a large further education college, the store boasts a prominent Refresh@ Premier bar, featuring Hershey’s and Reese’s Freeze, Think Fresh Shakes and – coming soon – Jolly Rancher slush. A hot drinks offer from My Coffee Station completes the mix.

“The store is surrounded by residential housing but thanks to the large college we also knew there would be a very good opportunity for food and drinks to go,” Kajendran says.

The store’s bank of three 2.5 metre chillers includes a successful mix of chilled food-to-go products, from sandwiches and wraps to salads and snacks, as well as the new Premier Meal Deal, which Kajendran says is very popular with the students.

“The store is busy throughout the day but especially so between 11am and 4pm on college days when the students pop down for drinks, meals and snacks,” he adds.

The store also enjoys a solid night-time trade, between the hours of 10pm and 11pm when other local stores are closed.

“Initially we did think about closing the store at 10pm but we quickly realised that staying open that extra hour helped to fill an important gap. From shoppers looking for late-night party drinks and snacks, to parents who have run out of nappies, many shoppers are grateful to us for being open than extra hour, so we’ll definitely keep it up.”

A 150sq ft beer cave adds even more interest to the store’s offer.

“The beer cave really sets Premier Kiln Road apart from

other stores in the local area,” Kathirvel adds.

“As soon as we opened, the beer cave became a major talking point locally and we’ve been inundated with fantastic comments about it.

“We also have a five-door freezer which features a great range of frozen meal solutions and the Premier frozen meal deal which is a big seller.

“With frozen sales on the up, frozen foods are becoming an increasingly important category for the convenience industry to get right.”

The store has also introduced a raft of helpful services including parcel collection via InPost which is also proving to be a big footfall driver.

“We are also planning to launch a home delivery service in partnership with Deliveroo in the summer, once the store has bedded in a bit more,” Kajendran adds.

The store has also signed up to the ‘My DD Points’ digital loyalty scheme which offers app users the chance to earn points, take advantage

of exclusive deals and access special member-only low prices.

“Offering value for money and added-value bonuses is so important these days and the loyalty scheme is really helping us to meet that need – as are all the fantastic Booker promotions including Mega Deals,” says Kathirvel.

“At the moment, beer, wine, vapes and food and drinks to go are leading sales and profits.”

Confectionery is also a key category for the store, especially hanging bags and American sweets and snacks, which are both big sellers with its student demographic.

“The Jack’s and Euroshopper brands are also being very well received by local residents too,” Kathirvel adds.

“Despite starting from scratch, the store has already built up a strong residential trade and local shoppers are really happy to have this new offer on their doorstep.”

Premier Kiln Road’s aesthetic is also helping it to win a bigger slice of local trade.

“We also get a lot of positive reaction about the way the store looks. Shoppers love the Premier branding and internal graphics and signage. It really stands out from the crowd. They are also very complimentary about how clean and professional the whole store looks,” Kajendran says.

“Thankfully we have a fantastic team who help us to maintain those high standards and all pull together to keep things looking and working at their best.

“It’s still early days but we are very encouraged by the store’s performance so far and we’re confident that there is plenty more to come,” he concludes.

Shoppers love the Premier branding and internal graphics and signage. It really stands out from the crowd. They are also very complimentary about how clean and professional the whole store looks.

Kajendran Kandasamy

FLAVOUR, SALES

Premier marks 30th birthday with a year of celebration!

Premier is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with a full calendar of promotions, activities and more to help retailers make the most of this historic milestone year.

CHEERS TO 30 YEARS!

Premier will be heavily supporting the 30th anniversary celebrations with a back-to-back programme of activity on key social media platforms throughout 2024. This includes a heavyweight ‘Cheers to 30 years’ campaign through to Promotional Period 7:

l The campaign features actors –wearing gold and purple, of course – celebrating Premier’s 30th anniversary, complete with balloons and confetti, in the same influencer style as Premier’s new digital content.

l The content features tables full of gold and purple party products including Mini Rolls, Jack’s Pizzas, Nik Naks Rib’n’Saucy and cases of Strongbow Dark Fruit.

l One of the alcoholic products on the table will be offered as a giveaway to viewers.

It may be hard to believe it, but Premier is celebrating its milestone 30th anniversary this year! It has been an exciting and profitable journey over those three decades and it’s clear that the unique Premier offering remains just as relevant today to both retailers and shoppers as it has always been. There’s a reason why Premier is the biggest symbol group in the UK – and there’s a reason why it continues to grow at pace.

WHAT A YEAR

With such an historic occasion to mark, Premier has already begun a year-long programme of activity to bring the 30th anniversary to life both in-store and on social media.

MARKETING

An extensive marketing calendar of activities running until the end of August will ensure that Premier’s 30th birthday is unmissable for shoppers – and retailers.

PR

A heavyweight PR campaign will back the marketing activity and includes press ‘takeovers’ as well as supporting extensive charity and community events across the country.

SOCIAL MEDIA

A back-to-back programme of activity on key social media platforms will be activated throughout 2024 to raise awareness of Premier’s 30th anniversary. The campaign will feature shopper giveaways and prizes.

CHARITY

In addition to supporting charity events throughout the year, premier will also be orchestrating a special charity donation programme from March until August that will help premier retailers donate to charities of their choice.

PROMOTIONS

To help Premier retailers cash in on the 30th birthday celebrations, 2024 will feature a selection of fantastic promotions and incentives to help them grow profits, sales and footfalls including Mega Deals and Hero deals.

RECRUITMENT

As part of the celebrations, Premier will also be running a recruitment drive to encourage more retailers to join the Premier family and start benefitting from the unique proposition that only Premier offers to independent retailers.

What are your views? Email

CASH IN

The 30th anniversary presents a great opportunity for Premier retailers to leverage the excitement of the celebrations to grow their footfall, sales and profits.

To help them do that, Premier’s promotional programme for 2024 will deliver a steady stream of fantastic opportunities to drive extra profits, from Mega Deals and Anniversary Promotions to Hero deals, Jack’s deals and some unmissable deals that offer a range of branded products at prices from 30 years ago!

It’s set to be another fantastic year for Premier and it’s the ideal opportunity to reach out to your shoppers to further cement your place at the heart of the community you serve so well.

COMMUNITY HERO DONATIONS

As part of the year-long 30th celebrations, Premier will be offering a great opportunity for you to nominate a local charity or cause to receive a £1,000 charitable donation.

To make nominations, all you have to do is speak to your RDM. Nominations should be put forward for local charities or causes that, like your Premier store, are at the heart of local communities and have made a significant contribution to your local area.

The winning chosen charities and good causes will be presented with a giant cheque at your store, helping to drive local PR opportunities as well as providing you with great content for your social media channels.

Nominations will be accepted through to the end of Promotional Period 5.

£1,000 available!

Premier’s promotional programme for 2024 includes some unmissable deals that offer a range of branded products at wholesale prices from 30 years ago!

Clean up with Jack’s

The arrival of spring-cleaning season presents retailers with a sparkling opportunity to scrub up their homecare sales.

SHINE UP YOUR SHELVES

Merchandising is also key when it comes to polishing up your cleaning sales.

l A good idea is to merchandise the category by format, room, and then specific tasks.

l The Jack’s range includes a variety of products for different rooms and tasks including laundry care, bathroom and toilet cleaning, kitchen disinfectants, surface polishing, and window cleaning.

l Make sure that all products are correctly faced up with price marks showing.

The days are getting longer, temperatures are climbing, and buds are breaking into bloom – it can only mean one thing: spring is most certainly in the air.

So too is the fresh scent of soap and the snap of rubber gloves, as shoppers across the country arm themselves with mops, buckets and cloths and prepare to take on spring-cleaning season.

And with Easter just around the corner, the pressure is now well and truly on for those shoppers looking to get their homes ship-shape in time for celebratory occasions.

Nearly half of UK consumers spend two to four hours per week cleaning.

RETAILER VIEW

(Mintel)

“Our store is located in a nice area with lots of residential housing, so household products do quite well for us. The Jack’s brand gives us a great way to offer shoppers real value for money in this category and shoppers are buying into it.”

RAKESH ODEDRA Thurmaston Stores, Leicester

As such, retailers have a clear opportunity to set their homecare and cleaning sales shining.

However, with value for money remaining front of mind, many shoppers will also be looking for ways to clean up their acts, without breaking the bank.

Mintel says that value for money is driving increasing competition between branded and private labels with 27% of shoppers saying they have switched to lower-priced household care products in the past year.

27% of consumers say they have switched to lower-priced household care products in the last year.

(Mintel Cleaning in the home report 2023)

And that’s where Booker’s great value Jack’s brand comes in to play.

From window care to polish, disinfectants and more, the Jack’s cleaning range includes a sparkling mix of price-marked products to help shoppers take on all manner of jobs.

With most products in the range priced at under £1.45 and many products featuring the amazing value RSP of just £1 – the Jack’s brand really hits the value for money mark.

Like all products in the Jack’s range, Jack’s-branded cleaning and homecare products also offer retailers polished PORs.

Most items in the Jack’s range boast PORs of more than 36.2%, with a number of items, such as Jack’s Toilet Gel Citrus and Pine, offering PORs of 48.8%.

At just 700sq ft, Premier Kaneera in Beddington, near London, offers local shoppers a small, yet mighty range of homecare and cleaning products to help shoppers get their clean on.

Prominently sited on an aisle end, the store’s range includes a number of Jack’s products, such as Window Cleaning Spray, Bathroom Spray, Kitchen Towels and Bin Liners – all of which offer shoppers a great value proposition.

“Shoppers trust the Jack’s brand to deliver not just great quality but also great value for money and it definitely delivers on both those fronts,” store owner Theepan Poopalachandran says. And of course, it’s important to remember than cleaning isn’t just a spring fling.

In fact, thanks to the growing popularity of so called ‘cleanfluencers’ – cleaning has never been so cool, with clever cleaning hacks and tips from leading cleanfluencers such as Sophie Hinchliffe (AKA Mrs Hinch) taking social media by storm.

In addition, a One Poll survey commissioned by cleaning brand Dr Beckman back in November 2023, revealed that 58% of shoppers named cleaning products, such as air fresheners, stain removers and microfibre cloths, as their most desired gift items – ahead of technology and clothing!

So, with all that said and done, there’s clearly never been a better time for retailers to get in on the cleaning act and brush up those all-important sales and profits.

KEY JACK’S CLEANING LINES

How to crack Easter

Premier is helping retailers to make the most of the eggstremely valuable Easter opportunity.

84% of shoppers celebrated Easter in 2023 (Kantar)

Easter grew by 21% in independent and symbol stores in 2023 (Nielsen)

74% of shoppers buy Easter confectionery from a secondary location. (Lumina)

Seasonal convenience confectionery shoppers have a £12.50 higher spend per visit (Mondelez)

RETAILER VIEW

As one of the biggest seasonal opportunities of the year, Easter has always helped retailers add some much-appreciated bounce to their sales.

Easter 2023 was a record breaker according to Kantar data, with 38 million chocolate eggs and treats bought in the week running up to Easter Sunday – that’s a cracking five million more than the same period in 2022.

In fact, on average, households spent nearly £14 on Easter chocolate over the four weeks to 16 April 2023.

With figures like that, it’s little surprise that retailers across the country will be hoping for an equally, if not even better, performance in 2024.

However, with Easter Sunday falling on 31 March this year, the season is over a week earlier than last year, leaving retailers with less time to focus on driving those allimportant sales.

Fortunately, Premier is here to help, with an egg-cellent range, attention-grabbing promotions and showstopping POS packages to support them in doing just that!

INNOVATIVE IDEAS

New products remain a powerful way to drive growth within the season and Premier has certainly delivered this year, with a raft of new products and Group Exclusives designed

“We’ve always enjoyed strong Easter sales and this year is already proving very encouraging. Sales of novelty items, self-treats and small bags have already been selling strongly throughout February and we expect that to continue gaining pace. Sales of larger shell eggs typically pick up in the last couple of weeks ahead of Easter and we’ll be ready for them. Thanks to our recent store development we now have a dedicated two metre seasonal bay which has real impact. We’re also anticipating stronger sales across categories such as fresh, chilled, grocery, BWS and snacks.”

to help sales bloom.

New for 2024 and available to Premier retailers now, is the Cadbury Creme Egg Tablet. Perfect for sharing and self-treat occasions, the new tablet form of one of the UK’s favourite Easter SKUs is sure to achieve big buy-in from shoppers right across the country.

The Cadbury Creme Egg tablet comes in a case size of 16x123g and is available on a consumer deal at ‘Any 2 for £3’ offering retailers a POR of 21.1%.

In addition to new products, the return of old and much-loved favourites, such as the Malteser Bunny and the classic Cadbury Creme Egg, will also help retailers to get those all-important Easter sales clucking.

Small, self-treat and novelty items such as these are perfect for driving unplanned impulse purchases throughout the season, especially when backed with unmissable multi-buy deals.

From Kit Kat Bunnies to Milkybar Eggs, this Easter Premier retailers have access to a raft of small seasonal treats available on ‘2 for £3’ and ‘3 for £2’ deals.

As the end of the Easter season approaches, the gifting trend comes into its own, prompting shell egg sales to shine.

As such, Cadbury advises retailers to gear up for a ‘gifting finish’ for the last three weeks before Easter Sunday with a wide range of shell eggs and other gifting formats.

THE THREE PHASES OF EASTER

Mondelez International recommends that retailers split Easter into three phases:

l Getting off to a fast start (January to Valentine’s Day).

l Building momentum (from Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day)

l Gearing up for a ‘gifting finish’ for the last three weeks as the period reaches its finale.

BEN MATTHEWS

Premier Medan Vale

Traditional medium-sized eggs remain a firm favourite with shoppers and Premier retailers can offer them all that their hearts and baskets desire with its cracking range of top-selling eggs from big-name brands –some of which, such as the Kit Kat Chunky Medium Egg and the Maltesers Medium Egg are available on an incredible ‘2 for £4’ deal.

And while traditional medium-sized eggs remain the heartland for seasonal shell egg sales, giant eggs are the fastest-growing Easter egg segment across the total market, with sales up just under 60% year on year, according to Nielsen.

From in-demand US offerings, such as the Reese’s XL Shell Egg, to indulgent and innovative brand mashups, such as the KitKat Biscoff XL shell egg, Premier has a fantastic range of large and XL easter eggs to help retailers make the most of the supersized trend.

Also riding high on the gifting wave are boxed chocolates and cartons, perfect for

treating others and sharing among friends and family. Premier’s range of boxed delights includes 110g Maltesers Boxes which are available on a ‘2 for £4’ deal, large cartons of Cadbury Roses and Heroes on offer for £4.50 and 360g boxes of Cadbury Milk Tray on offer for £6.00. There’s also the Lindor Assorted Carton, which has a promotional RSP of £4.75, offering retailers a POR of 25%.

GROUP EXCLUSIVE!

KITKAT BISCOFF XL SHELL EGG

Case Size: 4x233g

Promo WSP: £14.65

Promo RSP: £6.00

POR: 26.8%

LARGE AND XL SHELL EGGS

HOME BAKING

With their sweet gooey centres, crispy crunchy exteriors and novel colours and shapes, many Easter confectionery items also double up as ideal toppers for indulgent seasonal desserts and beautiful bakes.

In fact, Mondelez says that it is increasingly seeing shoppers use its products to whip up baked goods over the Easter season.

Products such as the classic Cadbury Creme Egg and Cadbury Mini Eggs are perfect for topping traybakes and cakes or mixing into brownies. In fact, Cadbury Mini Eggs grew by 19% in 2023 according to Mondelez, as shoppers snapped up the Easter staples to munch alone, and use within bakes and desserts.

If space allows, why not consider dual siting certain seasonal products, such as Cadbury Mini Eggs, within your home baking aisles? Just over 70% of shoppers buy Easter confectionery from a secondary location, so multi-citing clearly does pay!

SWEET TREATS AND PORs

Costa Coffee RTD has added more value to the RTD category than any other RTD brand* Nation’s

Costa Coffee RTD is up 41% and growing nearly 3x faster than the RTD coffee segment*

To find out more email connect@ccep.com, call 0808 1 000 000 or visit my.ccep.com.

Premier retailers can offer their shoppers a fantastic deal on 80g bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs and Cadbury Mini Eggs Orange, both of which are currently available on a ‘Any 2 for £3’ deal offering them a POR of 20%.

And of course, sweet treats aren’t the only categories to shine over Easter. Last year saw the number of hot cross bun packs sold rise by 5% in the four weeks to 16 April 2023, according to Kantar data.

Premier retailers can offer their shoppers a great deal on Jack's Hot Crossed buns for £1.25 offering them a POR of 20.8%.

As with last year, the continued squeeze on household spending is also likely to prompt many families to celebrate the long Easter weekend with meals and sharing occasions at home.

And, with more shoppers choosing to buy from their local convenience stores, retailers will have a meaty opportunity to rack up strong sales across other key categories such as fresh, chilled, savoury snacks, BWS and more.

Thankfully the Premier range offers an outstanding array of choice, quality and value across all of these and more.

From stock cubes to stuffing and not forgetting Jack’s Yorkshire Puddings, Premier has everything that a shopper might need to accompany a rip-roaring roast.

Jack’s new Fresh 4 promotion also has their veggie needs covered, with White Potatoes, Broccoli, Onions and Carrots all on offer at amazing value price points.

So with all that said and it’s clear that Premier retailers have all they need to give the Easter Bunny a run for his money and get their Easter sales hopping.

Cracking POS

Premier retailers can add some bounce to their Easter displays with an array of engaging POS materials featuring the Easter bunny.

The cheery bundle includes bunting, posters, shelf edge strips, barker ears, window stickers and fun bunny footprint floor stickers to lead shoppers to Easter displays.

For more details, speak to your Premier RDM.

PEPPERMINT LARGE SHELL EGG

Case Size: 4x186g

Promo WSP: £9.95

Promo RSP: £4.00

POR: 25.4%

‘ANY 3 FOR £2’

New Products

Nozeco Spumante

Rose Alcohol

Free

Case size: 6x75cl

WSP: £13.95

RSP: £3.49

POR: 20.1%

Staropramen

Case size: 6x4x440ml

WSP: £25.49

RSP: £6.99

POR: 27.1%

Roundel: Group Exclusive! Corona Ligera

Case size: 4x6x330ml

WSP: £18.99

RSP: £7.50

Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc

Case size: 6x4x330ml

WSP: £22.99

RSP: £7.00

POR: 24%

Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind

Case size: 6x70cl

WSP: £82.99

RSP: £20.99

POR: 20.9%

POR: 34.3%

Brewdog Wingman

Case size: 6x4x330ml

WSP: £28.99

RSP: £7.49

POR: 22.6%

New Products

Foster’s Shandy

Case size: 2x10x400ml

WSP: £12.99

RSP: £9.99

POR: 22.9%

Strongbow Zest

Case size: 6x4x400ml

WSP: £24.99

RSP: £6.29

POR: 20.5%

Old Mout Cider

Case size: 10x330ml

WSP: £8.99

RSP: £13.99

POR: 22.9%

Birra Moretti Sale Di Mare

Case size: 12x600ml

WSP: £22.49

I Heart Shiraz & Chardonnay

Case size: 6x75cl

WSP: £27.99

RSP: £3.89

POR: 42.2%

RSP: £7.49

POR: 25.3%

About Cath

Cath Marston is Head of Sustainability and has been with Booker for 37 years. Her career began as a secretary in the Buying department –back in the days before computers – before she progressed to become a PA for the Commercial Director. In this role she supported the Trading team for more than 22 years before moving to the newly created role of Sustainability Manager in 2008.

Cath leapt at the chance to take on her “dream job” and has never looked back. Her efforts and achievements over the last 16 years have made a hugely positive impact on the business in terms of both driving efficiencies and improving our planet credentials.

Meet The Team: Cath Marston

In this issue, we catch up with Sustainability

Lead Cath Marston to hear more about how she and her team continue to drive remarkable progress on Booker’s commitment to the environment and the planet.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF…

I’m Cath Marston and I’m Head of Sustainability for Booker, a role I have held for 16 years – although I’ve actually been with Booker for more than 37 years. I live in rural Northamptonshire with my husband (who also works for Booker) along with three alpacas and two rescued cats.

I love being out in nature, meditating, yoga and even chanting !

HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN PASSIONATE ABOUT THE PLANET?

Completely! I’m not ashamed to say I’ve always been a tree-hugging hippie. Even in my early days with Booker as a secretary I started recycling programmes at Equity House, Booker’s Head Office. I constantly encouraged ‘switch off’ awareness and was often badgering buyers about responsible sourcing of our products. So, when the new role of Sustainability Manager came up, I leapt at it. It was a big change for me to move from being PA and leave the Trading team to join the Distribution team and set up a brandnew department, but thank goodness I took that leap. I have loved making such a positive impact on the business and customers in terms of both driving efficiencies and improving our planet credentials.

HOW EASY WAS IT TO CREATE AN ENTIRELY NEW SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT?

To be fair, I got lots of support from day one and Booker were clearly committed to making progress fast. It was my role to find out how we could do that. In the very early days it was largely about quick and simple wins: improvements across the business that drove efficiencies and cut carbon. But it progressed quickly and we were soon making very significant changes to how the business was run. These days sustainability or the Planet is an official Group purpose which means literally every one of Booker’s 14,000 colleagues has sustainability built into their job role.

AND YOU’VE ACHIEVED SOME AMAZING SUCCESS…

Yes, working with our colleagues we have made some very significant improvements. A good example would be food waste: since 2012 we have donated more than 24 million meals to families in need through our charity partners Fareshare and OLIO. In 2023 alone we redistributed six million meals and fed 15,260 families through OLIO and supported 727 Fareshare charities. In addition, we have supported our independent retail customers to reduce food waste within their own premises, helping 674 businesses redistribute over 151 tonnes of food through Too Good To Go.

WHAT OTHER AREAS DO YOU FOCUS ON?

To ‘End Waste’ is just one of five core pillars that sit at the heart of our industry-leading ‘Better Trolley For A Better Planet’ series of hugely progressive commitments that we made in 2022 to provide a strategic structure for ensuring that we serve customer, communities and the planet a little better every day. Better Trolley also commits us to tackling Sustainable Consumption, Human Rights, Climate Change and Product. These pillars translate into real-world actions that ensure that Better Trolley informs and drives literally every aspect of what we do at Booker.

GIVE US A FLAVOUR OF THOSE ‘REAL-WORLD ACTIONS’…

Better Trolley has changed enormously how we operate, across every aspect of the business. We’ve installed LED lights in all Booker sites; we’re trialling electric delivery vehicles; we’ve ensured that all palm oil and soy in our supply chain is 100%

sustainable; we’ve made sure that 100% of our eggs are cage free; we’ve moved to make sure that 100% of our own-brand paper is deforestation free and FSC certified; we’ve expanded our plant-based range; we’ve ensured that all high-risk products and ingredients like tea, coffee, bananas and cocoa are ethically sourced through Fairtrade or the Rainforest Alliance; we’ve removed non-recyclable plastics from all own-brand packaging; we recycle over 10 million litres of used cooking oil a year… I could go on and on and on!

SO IT REALLY IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE?

Absolutely, and a huge difference at that! Take the core Jack’s own-brand range: it is now 100% ethically sourced, and recyclable packaging. Similarly, on food waste we now donate on average over 90% of edible food.

YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE 2008?

It’s unbelievable really. But the support we’ve had from Booker and the wider

group along the way has been phenomenal. Achieving shifts of this magnitude in a business the size of Booker is not a simple thing to do, but everyone at the business has played their part. On a sustainability front, I think we can all be proud of what we have achieved in the last 16 years.

BUT THERE’S MORE TO DO?

There’s lots more to do. Delivering our Better Trolley commitments means we have a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s a challenge that I relish, as you might imagine it all helps our precious Planet. It also helps that Booker has invested in the Sustainability Team and we now have four full-time members of the team: Maria Clark leads on deforestation and handles analytics and reporting, Jess Clouder supports the entire team and leads on food waste, Andy Duffy supports the branches on waste & recycling, and me. The bigger team obviously means we can accelerate the progress we’re making and keep serving our customers, communities and the planet a little better every day.

HOW CAN YOUR CUSTOMERS HELP?

If I could ask one thing of our customers, it would simply be that they do what they can to help embed sustainability within their businesses. Booker has put in place an entire support network and infrastructure to help them across vital areas like energy usage, waste and recycling. Often there are Groupexclusive discounted deals that they can take advantage of and by tackling these areas they can often reduce their own costs. It’s a real win-win. Additionally, by support Booker own brand products our customers can be sure the products are sourced responsibly and protect human rights across the supply chain. Consumers are more conscious than ever of sustainability issues so making moves to progress on sustainability can also make for great PR both in-store and on social media. We all have to step up and face into this difficult challenge but, working together, we can achieve unbelievable things and build on the amazing achievements we’ve already made together.

HIVE MIND: Booker has even installed its own bee hives to help drive natural diversity.

Uncork additional sales and profits with the Premier Wine Festival

The Premier Wine Festival is back with a barrel-load of opportunities for retailers to enjoy grape sales this summer.

Mega Deals!

The Premier Wine Festival will include Mega Deals on the top-selling McGuigan and Secretary Bird brands.

SECRETARY BIRD

WSP: £27.49

RSP: £6.49

POR: 15.3%

In vino veritas: ‘In wine there is truth’ –or so the old Latin saying tells us.

MCGUIGAN

BLACK LABEL

WSP: £25.45

RSP: £5.99

POR: 15.0%

And of course, the bottling of truth is not wine’s only superpower. As a category, wine is also a powerful driver of footfall, sales and profits – especially at this time of year, as shoppers look forward to the return of warmer weather and stellar Premier Wine Festival.

Running from 24 April to 21 May, the Premier Wine Festival will once again provide retailers with a corking opportunity to boost basket spend with an array of showstopping promotions.

SWEET SUCCESS

Group Exclusive Products

BAREFOOT RIESLING

RSP: £6.49

POR: 23%

NOBILO NEW ZEALAND SAUVIGNON BLANC

RSP: £9.49

POR: 23%

GRAHAM NORTON'S OWN MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC

RSP: £8.49

POR: 20.7%

This year’s serving of special offers has been carefully designed around key brands and trends including wines with sweeter taste profiles and fruity flavours such as Hardys Bin 161’s Jammy Rich Red.

Packed with flavours of blackberry, plum and a touch of spice, the sweet South African offering is sure to go down a treat with shoppers this Wine Festival – especially when they take note of the fantastic ‘2 for £12’ deal.

Did you know that Hardys is the biggest master brand in Impulse, with the highest penetration and second-highest percentage of repeat buyers of the top 10 Still Wine brands in Impulse?

Deals are on offer across every price bracket, including value, mid and premiumpriced products, allowing Premier retailers to

One

PREMIER WINE FESTIVAL 2024

TREND WATCH

In terms of flavour trends, wines with sweeter taste profiles continue to lead the pack.

This trend lends itself to Australian and South African wines so it’s a good idea for retailers to have a good core Australian and South African offering across each of the price brackets.

meet the needs of a wide variety of different shoppers and social occasions.

Amazing value deals include Shy Pig for an RSP of just £4.99 and offering retailers a POR of 21.0%.

ADD SOME SPARKLE

With demand for sparkling options remaining high, especially as we approach the summer, this year’s Premier Wine Festival also includes a number of fantastic deals on sparkling products to suit all budgets.

Key deals for shoppers include 75cl bottles of Canti Prosecco and Canti Prosecco Rosé on offer for just £8.49 – offering retailers a POR of 17.6%.

Shoppers who want to enjoy their bubbles without the ABV will also not be disappointed, with the Premier Wine Festival also including deals on fantastic low- and no-alcohol wine brands. Deals include sparkling options such as Nozeco Spumante 75cl which has an RSP of just £3.49 – offering retailers a POR of 20.1%.

Deals are also available across a range of formats, including cans, helping retailers to add further interest to their ranges.

What are your views? Email

NEW AND NOW

This year’s Wine Festival also stars a number of new products, including the first-to-market launch of Echo Falls’ brand-new Watermelon & Kiwi Fruit Fusion variant.

First to market to Booker customers, the new Watermelon & Kiwi flavour features an ABV of 9% – offering shoppers a sweet option and refreshing alternative to RTD cocktails or fruit ciders.

Newness to shout about!

GREASY FINGERS LUSCIOUS RED & BIG BUTTERY CHARDONNAY

WSP: £37.49, RSP: £9.49, POR: 21%.

JAM SHED BLACK FOREST MESS & RHUBARB AND STRAWBERRY SMASH

WSP: £25.49, RSP £6.49, POR: 21.4%.

BEEFSTAKE MALBEC

WSP: £31.59, RSP: £7.99, POR: 20.9%

ALAMOS CITY ARGENTINIAN MALBEC & YEALANDS MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC

WSP: £35.95, RSP: £8.99, POR: 20%.

GAVI LA LUCIANA

WSP: £39.95, RSP: £9.99, POR: 20%.

ECHO FALLS WATERMELON & KIWI

WSP: £21.49 RSP: £5.49 POR: 21.7%

MARVELLOUS MERCHANDISING

HAVE AT LEAST TWO OR THREE FACINGS OF YOUR BEST-SELLING WINES.

SUPPORT PROMOTIONS WITH DISPLAYS IN PROMINENT SITES IN YOUR STORE LIKE GONDOLA ENDS. CHILL ALL WHITE AND ROSÉ WINES WHERE POSSIBLE.

MAKE USE OF ALL THE WINE FESTIVAL POS AVAILABLE.

WINE: TOP TIPS

l Having the right range will drive more sales than simply having a big range.

l Delist lines that aren’t working to make space for big sellers.

l Focus on the brands that sell.

l Offer a solid range across the key price points.

l Follow the RSPs.

l Sweeter wines are on trend, so try to reflect this in your range. Australian wines are a great option.

Festival Fizz Specials

CANTI PROSECCO/PROSECCO ROSÉ BRUT

WSP: £34.99, RSP: £8.49, POR: 17.6%

PLAZA CENTRO PROSECCO/PROSECCO ROSE BRUT

WSP: £31.79, RSP: £7.49, POR: 15.1%

FREIXENET PROSECCO / ITALIAN SPARKLING BRUT

WSP: £43.95, RSP: £10.99, POR: 20.0%

19 CRIMES SPARKLING

WSP: £38.99, RSP: £9.99, POR: 21.9%

CANTI PROSECCO/PROSECCO ROSÉ 20CL, SINGLE SERVE

WSP: £21.99, RSP: Any 2 for £5

Unlock the power of pods

Coffee pods account for nearly 20% of the coffee category in the UK – but only 8.5% in the independent retailing sector – representing a huge opportunity to grow sales, footfall and profit.

Once a niche market, coffee pods have gone mainstream in recent years. Today, pods account for nearly 20% of the UK retail coffee category and are worth a whopping £253m.

This success is reflected in supermarket sales where around 20% of coffee sales come through pods. In the independent convenience retailing channel, only 8.5% of coffee sales are pods, meaning the channel hugely undertrades on pods. Sales of pods in convenience, however, have been growing twice as fast the total market over the last five years. The scale of this opportunity is enormous for all Premier retailers.

To help leverage that opportunity to the hilt, Premier offers a wide range of pods and has implemented an Every Day Low Pricing promotional calendar with market-leading deals. These deals will alternate between Tassimo and Dolce Gusto pods and will offer shopper deals at just £2.99 a pack, delivering PORs of 26% for retailers.

READY MARKET

Recent data suggests more than half of all homes (52%) now own a coffee machine and a further 27% of people say they intend to own one in the near future. In other words, there will be around seven million homes with a coffee machine in the next couple of years.

TOP OF THE PODS

l Pods account for 20% of retail coffee sales.

l Pods represent huge opportunity for convenience retailers.

l Premier retailers can now access smaller Tassimo packs.

l Retailers will soon have access to new Dolce Gusto £3.99 PMPs.

l Market leading shopper promotions from NP2.

In the early days of pod machines like Nespresso, pods were often bought online direct from the manufacturer – but that trend has shifted enormously. In fact, by 2021 Euromonitor was able to report that 90% of coffee was bought in-store, rather than online. IRI data from October 2022 showed that an overwhelming 85.1% of households buy coffee.

The lifestyle and workplace practices brought about by the pandemic – like hybrid working or working from home – have only served to sustain and accelerate this trend and drive sales of pods.

Trips to coffee shops are on the wane –down 53% in 2023 alone according to JDE – and that is certain to drive growth in the athome consumption market. Pods remain an affordable treat and a credible alternative to the coffee shop experience.

QUICK FIX

Unusually for big opportunities like this, the solution for retailers is relatively simple. Trials in other convenience chains have shown that when space and effort is dedicated to the pod category, sales can quickly reach that magical 20% figure – so it has been proven that convenience can win with pods.

What’s required to emulate that success?

The answer is equally simple: create fixture space for pods, offer a range that covers the key machine types, provide a core range of bestsellers for machine type and offer a mix of black and white cup options for the Dolce Gusto and Tassimo machine types.

WHY PODS?

According to Nestlé research, the main reason why shopper choose pods is to “create a coffee shop experience at home”.

Mini merchandising masterclass

Nestlé offers the following three-step merchandising advice to help grow your sales of pods:

l Merchandise left to right, like a book, from value to premium.

l Pods should go on the top left of the shelf.

l Merchandise the coffee fixture from value at the bottom through to premium at the top.

WHY DO SHOPPERS LOVE PODS?

According to Nielsen data, the key reasons why shoppers choose pods are as follows:

l 76% – Taste

l 70%

l

Quality

Nielsen data from 2023 confirms this, with 76% of shoppers choosing pods because of the taste they deliver, 70% because of the quality and 45% because of the value for money that pods offer.

Nestlé, the company behind Nespresso and Dolce Gusto brands, says pods is forecast to be the fastest-growing coffee segment (after Core Instant) by 2028, up 5.6%, growing the category by £103m. Pods will grow share by 1.2% by 2027, the biggest growth share of any coffee sub-category.

PMP KEY

In a premium category like pods, pricemarked-packs (PMPs) can be invaluable in reassuring shoppers that they’re getting value for money, especially in the current economic climate.

vital to ensure that they command enough space in your store to catch the eye of your shoppers.

Nestlé says 15-20% of coffee shoppers leave the fixture empty handed due to merchandising issues like not being able to find product quickly enough, the product they want not being listed and difficult fixture navigation.

The key to avoiding these sales losses is again relatively simple: ensuring impulsive segments are at eyeline and trading shoppers up vertically and horizontally will drive value.

In practical terms, this means merchandise left to right, like a book, from value to premium. Pods should go on the top left of the shelf and the fixture should be merchandised with value at bottom through to premium at the top.

Core range

According to Nestlé data, PMPs grew their share of the pod market from 32% to 46% in 2023 alone.

By value, the PMP pod market increased by 41.9% in 2023 which equates to £9.3m. It’s clear that PMPs offer shoppers a single, guaranteed and affordable price point ensuring no price fluctuation.

MERCHANDISING

One of the many attractions of pods is that they don’t require much space, although it’s

If you sell pods in your store it's also really important to tell shoppers. Make sure your pods range is well signposted. Why not shout about it on social media too?

POD PROFITS

The opportunity is clear and, just as importantly, the solution is simple. Creating some space on your fixture, ranging and merchandising the fixture in line with the advice above and clearly telling shoppers that you sell pod, is all that’s required.

THE UK’S NO.1 CHILLED COFFEE*

BetterService

IDEAS TO GIVE YOUR BUSINESS THE

Exclusive deals to help you fight retail crime

Booker has put together a range of exclusively discounted deals with leading security solution providers to help Premier retailers combat the rising wave of crime they are facing.

Many Premier retailers will undoubtedly be aware of the alarming growth of retail crime over the last few years and the impact this has on both the business itself and the people working there.

This trend is borne out in the latest Association of Convenience Stores’ (ACS) Crime Report which shows that the theft index, which measures shoplifting in-store, has reached record levels and is higher than it has ever been.

In England and Wales in the 12 months to September 2023 there was a huge 32% increase in shoplifting. The Report also found that 63% of all shop theft is committed by

ACS CRIME REPORT 2024

Key findings from the Association of Convenience Stores’ Crime Report 2024 include:

l 63% of shop theft is committed by repeat offenders.

l 79% of retailers believe that the cost-of-living crisis has led to an increase in theft.

l 87% of colleagues working in convenience stores have experienced verbal abuse over the last year.

l Retailers estimate that just 16% of crimes against their business are reported to the police.

l £228m was invested by convenience retailers in crime prevention measures over the last year.

repeat offenders.

The Report estimates that there were over 1.1m incidents of theft reported last year yet also estimates that only 16% of crimes are reported to the police.

The most commonly stolen items as reported by retailers are meat, alcohol and confectionery – typically high-value items that can then be sold on by those with a drug or alcohol addiction, or who are part of wider organised crime groups.

Just as alarming is the finding that the vast majority of convenience store colleagues –89% – have experienced verbal abuse over the last year.

The reasons behind the increase in theft and abuse are likely linked to the effects of the

Body Cameras

RELIANCE PROTECT

l This deal is the result of a partnership with Reliance Protect, the existing supplier to Booker.

l The exclusive offer provides Premier retailers with access to the VT100 body camera at discounted rates.

l The VT100 body camera has a 2-hour record time with the footage stored directly to the cloud through a wi-fi connection.

l The system features HD video and audio recording.

l The VT100 is very user friendly and features two buttons on rear of device: one to start recording and another to stop recording.

l Body cameras have been proven to act as a visual deterrent to any potential offender, reducing incidences of theft and abuse.

92% of colleagues feel “more valued” when provided with body worn cameras.

Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. Indeed, the Report discovered that 79% of retailers believe that the cost-of-living crisis is the key driver behind the increase in theft. ACS has called on police forces and the Government to do more to take retail crime seriously and support local businesses. They have issued a five-point plan, including a demand that the Treasury incentivises retailers to invest in crime prevention measures, technology and data sharing, which have been proven to help combat retail crime.

EXCLUSIVE BOOKER DEALS

To help Premier retailers battle this crime epidemic, however, Booker has negotiated a number of attractive deals with leading security solutions providers. These deals offer Premier retailers exclusive discounts on some highly effective technological solutions that have been proven to reduce crime, including theft and in-store abuse of colleagues. These heavily discounted solutions include facial recognition software and hardware, CCTV monitoring software that detects suspicious gestures and body worn cameras.

VT100 EXCLUSIVE BOOKER PRICING

Facial Recognition

FACEWATCH

l Booker has partnered with Facewatch to offer Premier retailers a 10% discount on this service.

l Facewatch detects the biometrics of individuals that enter a store. Retailers record and categorise the individual in the event of an incident.

l Any individual entering a store that has been previously categorised will set off a discrete alert to the retailer or staff. The retailer or staff will then be able to take appropriate action in dealing with the individual.

l Facewatch provide their own CCTV camera. The footage from this camera is fed through their image recognition software and the alerts and footage are accessible through a web portal and an iPhone provided as part of the package.

FACEWATCH EXCLUSIVE BOOKER PRICING

l Installation, cabling and switches

l 1 x camera, AI processor, SD video 7-day storage

l Mobile router, high gain aerial, SIM

l iPhone + SIM

l Ceiling Mount & Camera Painting (if required)

l £295 per month – 10% off

Gesture Recognition

VEESION

10%

Facewatch has been proven to reduce theft by 35%. Veesion

l Veesion supplies gesture recognition software that simply plugs into existing CCTV cameras and monitors the images recorded.

l Veesion’s software detects any gesture that would be considered suspicious. For example: an individual placing an item in a bag or pocket.

l Each gesture is categorised into five categories, ranging from low suspicion to highly suspicious.

l Retailers using Veesion are alerted to the suspicious gestures and can choose which level of category they wish to be alerted to.

GREAT NEWS

Starting today, all applicable* Premier, Londis, Budgens, and Family Shopper locations across the UK will be eligible for a new rate of 0.8% for American Express Card transactions.

There’s no better time to accept.

If you are already set up to accept American Express® Cards and would like to have this rate applied to your business, please call our Servicing team at 0800 032 7216 to get this updated.

Did you know?

AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARDMEMBERS SPEND 3.8X MORE ANNUALLY COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE UK CREDIT AND CHARGE CARDMEMBERS?1

Otherwise, if you are not set up to accept American Express and would like to take advantage of this rate, all you need to do is send an email to wthuk@aexp.com including your name and phone number and our team will call out to you to complete the set up or follow the QR code for a digital form.

Once you receive your American Express Merchant Number(s), simply contact your payment provider who will program your terminal(s) to accept American Express Cards.

James Lowman says it's time to start delivering against plans to tackle retail crime.

Calling time on crime

As the ACS publishes its Crime Report 2024, James Lowman says it’s time to stop talking tough on crime and take action.

This ACS recently launched its Crime Report 2024. Titled, “Working Together to Tackle Britain’s Retail Crime Crisis,” the report had two objectives: to quantify the cost and distress that convenience retailers are facing every day due to rising retail crime, and to identify what retailers, the police, the courts system and the government can all do to address this problem.

Let’s start with the figures: depressing, shocking yet unsurprising and very much in line with recent reports from the Co-op, the BRC and others, and consistent with what we hear from retailers literally every day.

The cost of crime has increased to £245m with more than that (£339m) being spent on crime prevention, adding up to a total cost equal to a 10p “crime tax” on every single basket.

In an ongoing cost of living crisis, that adds up to a big impact on families and of course retailers who in reality have to absorb some of that cost.

The statistic that captured media headlines was the five-fold increase in incidents of shop theft. We looked hard at this vast increase… but it still only amounts to two incidents per week per store and I think it’s an underestimate of the frequency of shop theft. Theft is also being better detected (though we also found that only 42% of incidents were being reported to the police). Our shop theft index – the balance of retailers saying theft is rising versus those saying it’s declining – is also at record levels.

The report also confirms the link between shop theft and violence. Shop theft is the biggest single trigger for the 76,000 (also almost certainly an underestimate) violent incidents that happen in convenience

stores every year.

You can read all the statistics in the report, but I want to talk about how we can work to reduce these figures in future ACS Crime Reports. I see this as links in the chain and the first link is the retailer themselves: if we don’t report crime, we cannot expect it to be dealt with. A growing number of police forces are introducing user-friendly reporting platforms to help this to happen more quickly and effectively.

Then it’s up to the police to investigate these incidents, in particular to identify the handful of people who blight communities by stealing and committing other offences, usually to fund a drug habit. Retailers tell us that half of thieves are repeat offenders and that their number one motivation is to feed an addiction. These prolific repeat offenders are sometimes being exploited by dealers or other organised criminals and are often in a heightened state when stealing, so can turn violent if challenged. Of course, when there’s any violent incident, the police’s primary role is responding quickly and apprehending the offender.

The final link in the chain is the courts system. Yes, we need tougher sentencing and more options for the courts to punish those who victimise retailers and colleagues, which is why a standalone offence for assaulting retail workers would be a step forward. It’s also about making sure cases get to court in the first place, and that the penalties imposed break the cycle of reoffending, whether that’s custodial sentences, suspended sentences, rehabilitation orders or other community sentences.

I think the Retail Crime Action Plan launched last autumn and the best practice we see from some Police & Crime Commissioners set the right agenda. It’s now about delivering against that. The data describing the problem, the plan and the intent is the easy bit.