Retailers should rethink their National Lottery communications
Suppliers always need to ensure a ‘triple win’: the shopper, the retailer and, of course, the supplier themselves. They all need to see a benefit or no worthwhile business happens. Not so when it comes to the National Lottery. Here, it’s actually a quadruple win. The additional participant is not the prize winner, but the good […]
Suppliers Struggling To Get CPI Requests Approved
Supermarket buyers have been using avoidance tactics or flat-out refusing to engage over requests for cost price increases from suppliers. This is according to a YouGov report commissioned by Groceries Code Adjudicator Mark White, which was released at this week’s GCA conference in London. Analysis of the report by trade publication The Grocer suggests retailers […]
Defra is doing the right thing wrong on EPR
If you have not yet written to government on EPR packaging tax, now is the time. Following the August estimates backlash, Defra published revisions this week. Whilst bringing down the levels a tad, this review changes nothing. The government needs to rethink the process, especially the timing, urgently –or accept this will immediately drive inflation. It is vital […]
Grocery Code ‘It’s making a difference here in New Zealand’
Working with clients in New Zealand this week it has been amazing to see sales teams & buyers already embracing and using the ComCom Grocery Code of conduct. For those ‘out of towners’, the code here came into effect late last year with main focus to protect consumers from rising prices & suppliers receiving ‘beyond’ […]
With deals on the rise, how are bulk buying and discounters reshaping the medicines aisle? And where does that leave brands?
From shopping in charity shops to embracing DIY, Brits increasingly love a bargain. And in today’s cost-conscious climate, the hunt for a deal is extending into more unusual areas – like the medicines aisle. Sales of winter remedies on promotion have risen by 61.6% over the past year [Kantar 52 w/e 9 June 2024] – […]
International buying groups are a threat to UK grocery values
Fmcg leaders across mainland Europe have long had to work with international buying groups (IBGs). They’ve had wrestle to generate commercial benefits from the tough annual agreements demanded by entities like Epic, AgeCore, Coopernic, AMS, and EMD. Since these groups first emerged back in the mid-1990s, they have typically extracted between 200 and 600 basis […]
Why I’m one of the thousands ditching Pret A Manger over its £30 a month loyalty wheeze
September last year, it introduced a 20 pc discount on food for subscribers to its Club Pret loyalty scheme. In return for paying a handsome £30 a month, members get up to five coffees a day at no extra cost — as well as the discount on food.
How supermarket shoppers became part of a £2bn goldrush
Grocers follow in the footsteps of Amazon in pursuit of retail’s ‘holy grail’. In the final weeks of the year, social media becomes awash with posts from Spotify subscribers sharing their most listened-to songs, artists and music genres.
An open letter to the CMA: your profiteering accusations are damaging
In this week’s column, I would like to write an open letter to CMA CEO Sarah Cardell. I write in relation to the three investigations you are overseeing in relation to retail pricing during the cost of living crisis. The first two reports, which investigated the role of retailers in inflated fuel and food prices, […]
I’ve witnessed misogyny in fmcg negotiations and it needs to stop
Prompted by the allegations behind the recent resignation of Tesco chairman John Allan, I believe it’s a good time to highlight what I consider unacceptable personal abuse frequently witnessed in fmcg. We all know buyers use pressure tactics to make suppliers feel uncomfortable, because it often results in concessions. So, classics such as “the other […]
