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 […]
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 […]
GSCOP compliance is not under control within our system
The Tesco debacle has really brought supplier treatment to the top of the agenda. Me, I’ve always helped suppliers learn how to deal with it in a savvy yet strategically sound way rather than grumble. If you want to play where the big rewards are then learn how to do it and don’t moan if […]
How to Sell – Help the big four to reduce their stock and create differentiation
Coverage of the Tesco scandal has oscillated between accounting misdemeanour and supplier treatment. Either way, this story is of great interest and distaste to the British public. A public whose spending loyalties the retailers compete for – and now a public with another reason to turn away from big retailers. As well as being uncompetitive, […]
Discounter copycats are a threat to brands and consumers
Imagine you’ve been out of the country for five years and now you are walking around an Aldi or Lidl. You’d be taken aback, not by the food quality or the outstanding retail strategy, more by the number of suppliers who have allowed their brands to be ripped off. When own label producers started this […]
Help to put the ‘joint’ part back into Tesco’s joint business plans
So much has been written regarding the demise of Philip Clarke and the new David Lewis era at Tesco that you may be tired of it by now. However, do not underestimate just how seismic a shift this is for a business that still commands about £1 in every £8 spent on all UK retail […]
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, […]
