Interview with distribution Cost-effectiveness and ecology in Crai’s shopping cart

LET'S HAVE A TALK WITH PL MAGAZINE AND PIETRO POLTRONIERI, PL MANAGER OF THE CRAI GROUP.

Cost-effectiveness and ecology in Crai

shopping cart

With its 6.2 billion turnover in 2021, the group is absolute proof that innovation, cost-effectiveness and sustainability can be combined to give great visibility to one’s own brands.

Last February, Crai launched the ‘Salva spesa’ (Safe the shopping) initiative on a basket of almost 400 PL references. In a moment where prices of fuels and raw materials are increasingly rising and threaten the purchasing power of consumers, this is a very interesting launch. There’s Pietro Poltronieri, PL Manager of the Group, to talk with PL Magazine.

How did ‘Salva spesa’ initiative come about? For more than one year and a half, in other words, since right after the first lockdown, we’ve been working on containing the price of about 150 frequently bought products, on a threemonth rotation. In the last weeks, we have decided to relaunch the activities expanding the basket in terms of number of references while renewing our commitment through a new way of communicating with the consumer. Our aim is to communicate Crai’s great attention to its customers' needs. In fact, it is thanks to the great value-for-money of its PL, which boasts a cross-category presence, that Crai manages to meet all their needs. Finally, this initiative hasn’t come about overnight, but it has already been tested and it will take into account, with regular updates, the seasonality of the demand. This strategy is actually working and has been an opportunity to show our customers our commitment to cost-effectiveness as well as to improve the commercial performance of PL in the categories concerned. The result? An increase in PL share and higher customer loyalty.

Turnover

6.200 (million euros) of estimated turnover in 2021

PL incidence on sales : 18% Lcc

GRUPPO CRAI Date of Birth 1973

Sales points in total: 3.100

(1.500 food and 1.600 drug/toiletries)

Total number of partners 11 Ce.Di.

Number of PL references: over 2.000

(food channel) 12 Ce.Di.

(drugstore channel)

What does Premium represent for Crai? To us, above all, premium means ‘Piaceri’ (Pleasures), our line that includes traditional made-in-Italy food products and that was completely relaunched last year, strengthening and completing the assortment - with 80 new references, to reach a total of 300 in total -. But the restyling of the packaging, of the brand and of the communication helped a lot. And I must say that our clients’ feedback was extremely positive.

Let’s talk about your brands and their positioning... Crai brand represents the mainstream, the heart of the supply, while ‘Piaceri’ is for the premium segment. We also have a specific segmentation with lines dedicated to organic, healthy products under the ‘In armonia’ brand (In harmony) and frequently bought products. In addition to that, we have several basic versions, such as in food preparation, ‘Cuciniamo Crai’ for desserts, and ‘Crai Farma’ for the parapharmaceutical world. Even though there’s no ‘Crai’ wine yet and, therefore, we can’t sell directly, we work on a limited selection of labels in collaboration with our suppliers, which brings us to have about 70 products, combined according to the territory.

To which extent do your labels impact sales? For about 18% on sales, considering the whole packaged large-scale consumption. In some areas we also reach more than 25% of share. However, if we consider only the controlled categories, the figure increases by two points.

In what direction are your launches going? For two years, we’ve been working on the innovation of our specialized and premium lines, partly because the mainstream has been consolidated for quite some time and requires, more than anything else, control, management and periodic fine-tuning. Niches, instead, deserve real entry operations. In fact, in the last year, we have worked a lot on our ‘Piaceri’ line to complete the supply. In the future our focus will be sustainability. After all, we already have ‘Crai eco’, which embodies all home and personal care products with a strong green connotation. However, we want to approach other segments and launch new references, in line with the current needs of the market.

Sustainability, I guess, will involve a lot of extra work for you and your suppliers... Sure. And this work concerns, besides formulas, especially packaging, due to our sustainable choice and use of recycled materials. We’ve already replaced - for about 200 products - packaging made from virgin plastic, with recycled plastic. When possible, we’re trying to shift towards more sustainable materials. In the past, the main focus with our partners was the finished product, now, instead, packaging is always a key aspect to address. So, during the discussion, there are not only the suppliers-partners, but also packaging producers. By sharing its know-how, Crai often wants to bring together all the players involved, while encouraging the exchange of expertise, to identify sustainable solutions, suitable for the different types of products.l

Luca Salomone Professional Journalist specialized in Consumer Goods, Distribution, Shopping Centres and Finance.