A reply to ‘Suppliers angry as retailers keep digging for old debts’
In reference to your article ‘Suppliers angry as retailers keep digging for old debts’ (9 August, p5), please add me to your huge list of cynics. Eight of our 10 large retailers have made voluntary commitments to time-limit forensic audits to two and a bit years. The fact that so many are blitzing the accounts […]
Don't skirt around the point – there really is no harm in asking!
We are constantly fed a myth-soup about selling and negotiation; like win-win and making buyers happy. Buyers don’t choose to go with your proposal because they like you. They choose to go with you because it is in their best interest to do so, and maybe they like you! You don’t have to be a […]
Why not just outlaw the obviously unfair trading practices?
I’m often accused of emotive language when discussing the Groceries Code Adjudicator. Well yes! Look, it’s not disputed that there are unfair practices afoot. Frankly, it’s a bit odd that more people are not emotional about it. Suppliers are very emotional and are beginning to report issues to me rather than risk anonymity lapses. Meanwhile, […]
Be careful what you share with customers – keep your advantage
Do retailers’ own brands get an advantage from the information we share? I researched this question before addressing policymakers and the OFT last week at the Retail Symposium. The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. More interesting, though, is the astonishing level of acceptance from suppliers. Private-label share varies of course, but they are often the […]
Here’s your chance to tell the Adjudicator what you’re thinking
Yes, I know, you could quote me saying the Grocery Code Adjudicator (GCA) has no real teeth. And yes, I’ve quoted suppliers who say: “invoke GSCOP? I might as well torch my factory”. Look, the code of practice is a move in the right direction and some successes are visible. But speaking yesterday with Adjudicator […]
Are major retailers easier to deal with than wounded animals?
We are witnessing a major shift in buying habits away from the big supers and into convenience formats. It’s probably the biggest change to your sales operation in working memory. The share shift into the multiples was much more gradual. The rise of the hard discounters is well documented, as is the success of Waitrose […]
Make it pay while the sun shines – strategic and sensible selling
How’s the weather been for your business recently? Blustery customer rhetoric, floods of delisting threats and tidal waves of year-end demands? It’s been a winter of discontent for most of the multiples, exacerbated by truly awful Christmas trading. They’ve had year-end pressures and you have felt the rain. But the days are getting lighter. We […]
Calamity can provide an excellent customer service opportunity
I’m writing this in Datchet, Berkshire, where I’m stranded at home due to the flooding. My mail will not get here today, nor will there be a collection. The roads in and out are blocked. Occasionally, the power comes on so I can boil the kettle, but I have no milk for my coffee as […]
The Big Four all had a Disastrous Christmas – Beware The Fallout
So how was Christmas for you? You were hoping for an iPad, and got a cookbook. Well, maybe you didn’t get what you wanted but still, look on the bright side, you could be Dalton Philips. The pressure facing Morison’s now is palpable. It’s not incredible that a lead retailer can underperform in the key […]
Stop Guaranteeing Retailer Margin! You don’t Decide the RSP
Right now, many suppliers will be arguing with customers over payments for the joint business plan. Commitments weren’t met, and results failed to generate the money you are being harassed to just pay anyway. Too many suppliers pay up because not to do so would affect the deal for the next year: a spiralling nightmare. […]
