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Editor GILLIAN HAMILL (01) 294 7776 gillian.hamill@mediateam.ie

Staff journalist JULIA O’REILLY (01) 294 7709 julia.oreilly@mediateam.ie

Contributors CAROLINE REIDY FIONNUALA CAROLAN BARRY WHELAN COLIN GORDON

Head of business IAN MULVANEY (01) 294 7766 ian.mulvaney@mediateam.ie

Account manager MARK MORGAN (01) 294 7767 mark.morgan@mediateam.ie

Circulation subs@mediateam.ie

Publisher JOHN McDONALD (01) 294 7744 john.mcdonald@mediateam.ie

Printing W & G Baird Ltd

ShelfLife is a controlled circulation magazine, available to selected individuals with interests in the retail and wholesale grocery trade, who fall within the publisher’s terms of control. For those outside these terms, annual subscription is €98.00 including postage & packing.

Is Cop26 a cop out?

Sustainability is now a huge focus for our industry, with eco-conscious shoppers quite prepared to vote with their feet; refusing to spend their hard-earned cash on brands not making enough effort to ‘green up’ their operations.

As such, many in our industry will no doubt be keeping a keen eye on what emerges from the Cop26 summit in Glasgow. As ShelfLifeheaded to print, the final negotiations on the global response to climate change were ongoing. However, as a good indicator of what your shoppers who are Gen Z eco-conscious consumers are likely to believe, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has already decried the climate summit as a “failure”.

“It should be obvious that we cannot solve a crisis with the same methods that got us into it in the first place,” she said. “We need immediate drastic annual emission cuts unlike anything the world has ever seen.”

Thunberg’s views are no surprise given her previous exhortations on the need for urgent change. It’s interesting to reflect on her choice of words though. Thunberg described the UN climate change summit as a “two-week long celebration of business as usual and blah, blah, blah” to “maintain business as usual” and “create loopholes to benefit themselves”.

Of course, “business as usual” in our industry is perceived as a positive, rather than the grisly affair Thunberg depicts. What this sentiment does indicate, however, is that businesses who make only surface-levels changes instead of carrying out meaningful reform are increasingly likely to invoke this type of ire in the coming years. The time for change is well and truly upon us.

Gillian Hamill, editor, ShelfLifemagazine

Contents November

32 22 24 28

Managing Director JOHN McDONALD; Sales Director PAUL BYRNE Operations Director BILLY HUGGARD

Published monthly by Mediateam Ltd., 55 Spruce Avenue, Sandyford, Dublin 18. A94 RP22 Telephone (01) 294 7776 Fax (01) 294 7799 ISSN: 1393 0753

Circulation audited by Audit Bureau of Circulations.

COVER STORY

32 Deck the halls A comprehensive guide to all the best-selling brands and new innovations to stock up on this Christmas

NEWS&ANALYSIS

4 News grid 6 Seen and heard 10 CSNA news 55 Appointments 64 NOffLA news FEATURES&REPORTS

14 Dan White looks at the fact that despite household savings being at an all-time high, retailers without a strong online presence have not benefitted from the excess disposable income available

18 Reflecting on the past four decades: A special tribute to mark the retirement of JTI Ireland sales director Derek Mooney following 42 years working in our industry 22 Chain reaction: The global supply chain is under severe pressure. Fionnuala Carolan looks at how prepared Irish retailers are for the festive period ahead 24 Centra store profile: Gillian

Hamill speaks to Galway retailer Declan Mahon about his store’s extensive renovations

28 Nearby store profile: Retailer Mark Malone incorporates his vast Superquinn experience into his store in South Dublin

ADVISOR

12 Recruitment 30 Marketing 66 HR

MARKETING& CATEGORY FOCUS

32 Christmas essentials 44 Christmas drinks 56 Soft drinks 60 Home baking 62 Soups 70 Market movers