Is GSCOP working for you? Action required – tell me all about it!

In the late 1990s, changes in EU and UK competition law demanded that suppliers stopped influencing or dictating retail pricing. When a buyer moaned about the margin on products, the supplier response changed to an awkward dialogue for a while: “Err I’m sure you’re not errr suggesting that I should express influence over your retail […]
Waitrose trials 'Pick Your Own Offers' scheme in bid to boost myWaitrose card

Waitrose is planning a bold makeover of its loyalty card scheme by allowing consumers to choose which products they receive promotional offers on. The ‘Pick Your Own Offers’ scheme, which is currently being trialled at five Waitrose stores, will give shoppers armed with a myWaitrose card a long list of branded and own-label products to select […]
Discounters – it's time fmcg suppliers got real. But they need help from retailers

OK, so are we are all agreed discounter share growth holds risks for UK consumers and suppliers as well as the obvious threat to retailers? Shoppers walk their way blindly into a world of low choice and suspect imports, while suppliers feel the knock-on effect of the price wars with a doubling of those in […]
David Sables Question To Alex Simpson – Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum Keynote Seminar

Our CEO David Sables attended the Westminter Food & Nutrition Forum Keynote Seminar and had the opportunity to speak with Alex Simpson. Transcript Lord Cameron of Dillington Yes, any questions from the floor. David Sables: Sentinel Management Consultants. We help suppliers to be some of the few who manage to cope under the pressure from […]
Adjudicator Christine Tacon issues second survey to nail 'notorious' buyers

Adjudicator Christine Tacon is to call on thousands of suppliers to help her root out “notorious” buyers who have been systematically breaching the Groceries Code. On Monday, Tacon will start contacting an estimated 8,000 suppliers asking them to take part in a YouGov survey on their relationship with retailers and urging them to point the […]
It's back to the all-powerful buyer. For better or for worse?

Analysts saying the supers must ‘drop their prices’ to compete is mildly irritating. Dalton Philips proved that retailers funding price cuts with the same operation reduces profit and compounds the problem. Too much stock tied up in extended ranges means that to compete with discounters this way they’d halve their ROI – shareholders will have […]
Tesco calls in consultants to oversee drastic range review

Decisions over the future of thousands of lines at Tesco are being left in the hands of management consultants, suppliers warned this week. The Grocer can reveal the UK’s biggest retailer has tasked Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to conduct a range review across 40 categories, with a view to reducing its SKU count by up […]
Panorama – Trouble at Tesco

Tesco is losing customers, its share price is down and its profits have taken a tumble. As it faces a criminal investigation over its accounting practices, Kamal Ahmed investigates what’s really gone wrong inside Tesco. Watch On iPlayer
Tesco accused of 'blunderbuss' approach in scrapping supplier fees

Tesco’s move to scrap supplier fees and instead focus on getting the lowest prices upfront has been greeted with scepticism by leading consultants who describe is as “old-fashioned” and taking a “blunderbuss approach”. Read More
Premier is following a well-established supermarket playbook

The real surprise about Premier Foods’ demands for payment from suppliers is not that the company is doing it, but that it’s suddenly in the spotlight. Newsnight covered it last night. The Daily Wail shrilled: “Mr Kipling’s exceedingly murky plot to blackmail suppliers.” And Radio 4’s Today programme saw John Humphrys debate the ethics with […]