Amazon ruins GSCOP’s reputation. Why is the GCA allowing it?
Mark White took over as Groceries Code Adjudicator in October 2020. As measured by the YouGov GCA annual survey, the percentage of suppliers experiencing GSCOP-related issues was 29% at the time, having declined consistently year on year from 79% in 2014. Since then, the issues have risen to 35%, 36% and then 33% in the 2024 survey. This doesn’t […]
Big four must differentiate to avoid further job cuts
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons have announced job losses in the thousands, citing various reasons. Morrisons outright blamed the government’s budget and Sainsbury’s indirectly blamed it, saying it will need to work with suppliers to keep prices down. The budget has put a burden of millions on retail, and it’s very difficult to see how the government is pro-business as it ploughs ahead with further […]
Fmcg innovation is worse than ever. Here’s why
Just over 1% of product launches in the UK are ‘distinctive innovation’. So concluded the innovation report commissioned by the British Brands Group last year, which identified only 77 products that met the criteria in 2021. The remaining 5,423 were only ‘everyday innovation’, found the study, published in The Grocer in May. This is a […]
As Business’s Globally are asking their staff to return back to the office, should Government’s really get involved in this process ?
Government is planning to allow all UK employees to request a flexible working arrangement from their first day at a new employer. If this goes any ahead, it could be another blunder that makes life more difficult for employers. I have top-level contacts in many organisations, and to understand their needs and challenges I regularly meet […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
CMA should investigate Aldi Price Match rather than loyalty
Loyalty cards work. They are here to stay, and their sophistication can only be good news for shoppers.
Tesco has predicted retail media will be bigger than TV advertising by the end of 2025. How can brands make the most of the ‘triple win’ it offers?
Retail media is huge. Some 46 metres across and 10 metres high, in the case of PepsiCo and Tesco’s ‘wrap’ at the supermarket’s Wembley Extra store in the run-up to the Champions League final earlier this month. But the true value of the retail media market towers even higher. Spend globally is poised to grow a […]
