STORE REVIEW: V ENERGY CONCEPT STORE

METRO BRINGS THE ENERGY

Frucor Suntory and Metro Petroleum have partnered to create Australia’s first V Energy Concept store in Greenacre.

Featuring a vibrant green exterior, synonymous with V Energy cans, Australia’s first ever V Energy Concept store at David Street, Greenacre is hard to miss.

In a first-of-its-kind partnership, Frucor Suntory has teamed up with Metro Petroleum to create the impressive new store, featuring prominent V Energy branding both inside and out.

Once customers have passed through the vivid forecourt, they’re greeted with dynamic digital signage, which is exclusive to V Energy products, that wraps around the perimeter and advertises the different varieties and promotional offers available across the V Energy range.

V Energy branding is visible as soon as customers pull into the forecourt of Metro Greenacre.

Deborah Cooper, Head of P&C at Frucor Suntory, said the idea came about following a collaborative planning session with Metro at the start of their three-year partnership.

“The Metro team were opening a new store, so it was an opportunity for us to partner with a new store opening in an area where we sell a high volume of V Energy.”

Currently within P&C, energy drinks make up 35 per cent of beverage sales*, with that number expected to increase to 40 per cent by 2026, which makes it an attractive category for retailers.

Chris Burgon and David Fullerton, Frucor Suntory.

“From a P&C perspective, we know beverages are really important to retailers. So when you think about what’s driving growth in petrol and convenience, beverage is one of the key categories.”

Cooper explains that since the opening of the store, initial month sales are up in both energy and beverages as a whole.

As the energy category continues to grow and expand within the petrol and convenience sector, Metro Petroleum is proud to be partnering with Frucor Suntory on a first of its kind concept store for both businesses.”

- John Dib, Managing Director, Metro Petroleum

“Metro would be really pleased with that. There’s really great momentum behind the beverage category and of course energy where we’re continuing to find growth. It’s great to see different ways we can partner with our customers in this area and the early signs are proving to be really successful.”

Green tick of approval

The thought process behind the store is also impressive, recognising the strong performance of beverages in the channel and tapping into that consumer demand.

Energy continues to lead total beverage growth and has experienced 12.3 per cent growth in the latest MAT, with V Energy performing even better than the category average with growth of 14.4 per cent.

The Frucor Suntory and Metro Petroleum teams officially opening the Metro Greenacre site.

This growth has been fuelled by a rise in energy drink consumption among consumers, boosted by the launch of new product lines including V Energy’s low-calorie, sugarfree V Refresh line.

V Refresh has achieved the highest level of trial of any energy drink NPD during the past 12 months since its launch in August and has demonstrated to be 30 per cent incremental to the overall energy category.

John Dib, Managing Director of Metro Petroleum, said he cannot wait to see how their customers connect and embrace with the V Energy experiential execution.

Chris Burgon and David Fullerton, Frucor Suntory with Lola Dib, Metro Petroleum.

“As the energy category continues to grow and expand within the petrol and convenience sector, Metro Petroleum is proud to be partnering with Frucor Suntory on a first of its kind concept store for both businesses.”

Speaking at the opening of the store, Chris Burgon, Sales Manager – Australia, Frucor Suntory Oceania, said it’s an exciting time to put their vision of a concept store into reality.

“The V Concept store is a testament to the strong relationship and shared values that Frucor Suntory has with Metro Petroleum.”

Chris Burgon, Frucor Suntory with Elie Dib, Metro Petroleum.

Cooper agrees with Burgon on the success of the collaborative partnership with Metro and said that they will continue to explore opportunities together.

“From having an idea in a meeting room to seeing it come to life probably about three months later is a great success story of two businesses working really closely together.”