RN - 14 October 2022

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Editor

Jack Courtez

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WELCOME

Editor Jack Courtez @JackCourtez

RN on twitter

After returning to my desk following six months in the Americas, I’ve spent the past week speaking to shop owners to find out what I’ve missed and the mood of the industry.

Stores were hardly upbeat about the UK’s prospects, but there was a great determination to face the problems posed. Those I spoke to had plans in place for cutting costs and protecting their store’s value proposition despite almost daily price rises. There were signs of optimism as well. Nearly all I spoke with had increased Christmas preorders year on year, and despite very different timings for the World Cup, there are hopes of a big event-led uplift.

While away, I’ve been avidly collecting tips and tricks from conveniences stores abroad. One of my favourites was a fantastic independent shop in Colombia that featured a WIGIG – when it’s gone, it’s gone – offer at the entrance with a sign not only highlighting the deal, but also the number of lines in stock and the number remaining. Another major change were shopfronts. While in the UK, the trend for clearer, less cluttered windows allowing shoppers to see in is well established, in Costa Rica, shops go one step further by removing walls and windows altogether and having open shopfronts, often using sales counters and food-to-go units at the front to encourage customers into stores.

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Even in Cuba, where independent outlets are little more than sparse kiosks run out of living rooms onto the street, there were tips to be had. ‘Alguno mas’ – any more? – was the ubiquitous response to every purchase, no matter the size, often successfully getting that little bit more out of every customer.

What I’ve learned most is how much I’ve taken the quality and convenience of local shops in the UK for granted. In many places, posting a parcel, buying a lottery ticket, picking up a newspaper, a grocery shop and topping up a phone requires a couple of hours and visiting five different businesses. As many local shops here look for ways to promote ‘value’ to customers, it’s worth remembering that value is measured in time as well as money.

HEADLINES

3 INDUSTRY NEWS

Trading standards warns of widespread Natasha’s Law failings in local stores

Wholesalers boycott Mars Wrigley products over retail margin squeeze

5 SYMBOLS & WHOLESALE

Tesco says Jack’s brand will help shops support budget customers

6 NEWS & MAGS

Publisher hopes for newspaper rollout in Aldi stores dashed

7 FED NEWS

Irish shops welcome new government energy grants

8 YOUR VIEWS

‘Even kids are feeling the costof-living squeeze’

INSIGHT

12 PRICEWATCH

How your rivals are pricing vape lines

14 WHOLESALE PRICEWATCH

Bag better crisp margins by comparing wholesaler prices

16 STORE ADVICE

Discover the seven premium categories unaffected by the cost-of-living crisis

19 GUEST COLUMNIST

Bryan Roberts on the battle for delivered grocery sales

22 CIGARS & CIGARILLOS

Find extra sales with the latest category advice

26 CHRISTMAS SOFT DRINKS

How to balance value and premium brands for strong seasonal sales the year

30 FROZEN FOODS

Retailers share their tips for basketbuilding with frozen goods

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10 PRODUCT NEWS

New plant-based nicotine pouch supplier promises free stock

33 THIS WEEK IN MAGAZINES

Why stores should stock this new kids’ title featuring a blockbuster brand

Wholesalers shun Mars Wrigley in margin row

by Alex Yau alex.yau@newtrade.co.uk

Major wholesalers are boycotting price-marked (PMP) treat bags from Mars Wrigley after the supplier was accused of squeezing margins.

A notice posted for re tailers in a United Whole sale depot last month, seen by RN, warned store own ers that the confectionery brand had increased the wholesale price on treat bags, but had not adjusted the PMP accordingly.

Although the notice was posted in a United Whole sale depot, senior sources close to the company confirmed that some of Unitas’s other wholesaler members had followed with this approach.

The sources did not con firm the companies, but the membership includes major delivered and cashand-carry firms Parfetts, AF Blakemore, Filshill, DeeBee, United Wholesale Grocers, Dhamecha and Time Wholesale.

The notice said: “We write to advise you that Mars Wrigley has imposed a price increase on their PMP treat bags, but are not

changing the PMP price, which will mean a reduc tion in retailers’ margins.

“This is clearly unaccep table, and we have rejected their price increase. As a result of this action, there may be a shortage of Mars Wrigley PMP treat bags available to you until the situation is resolved.

“Mars Wrigley straight packs are still available as an alternative or you can stock products from other suppliers who are not reducing your profit margins.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we hope that you support us in this matter as we believe it is unacceptable to expect our retailers to operate on reduced mar gins. We will update you as soon as the situation is resolved as we continue to negotiate with Mars Wrig ley not to reduce retailers’ margins.”

Sources declined to reveal what the margins had shrunk to within Unitas due to commercial sensitivities. However, the margin for £1 Peanut Chocolate M&Ms 82g from Booker was 16.1% (see box out for other examples).

Recent research from analyst TWC revealed that 62% of independent retail ers believe their custom ers would still buy PMPs, even with a slight price increase.

Commenting on its decision, a Mars Wrig ley spokesperson said: “At Mars, we have been absorbing the rising costs of raw materials and operations for some time, but the growing pressures we are facing means that more needs to be done.

“Our trade partner rela tionships are hugely im portant to us and increas ing the cost of some of our products is not a decision we take lightly.

“We are working in partnership with our cus tomers as we make these changes and thank them for their understanding during this process.

“We are unable to com ment on specific com mercial negotiations with individual customers, as they remain confidential.”

Mars Wrigley PMP treatbags delisted by Unitas*

• £1 Galaxy Minstrels 80g (19.1%)

• £1 Galaxy Counters 78g (19.1%)

• £1 M&M’s Crispy Milk Chocolate Bites 77g (19.1%)

• £1 M&M’s Mix 80g (19.1%)

• £1 M&M’s Peanut Chocolate 82g (16.1%)

• £1 M&M’s Brownie Bites 70g (19.1%)

• £1 Maltesers Milk Chocolate & Honeycomb Bites 68g (19.1%)

• £1 Maltesers Dark Chocolate 59g (23%)

• £1 Starburst Minis 125g (20.1%)

• £1 Starburst Original 141g (20.1%)

• £1 Starburst Fave Reds 141g (20.1%)

*Margins from Booker

DRS fees: retailer takes CSL to court

A Scottish retailer taking legal action against de posit return scheme (DRS) administrator Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL) claims he would lose over £60,000 a year if the com mission offered to stores isn’t increased.

DRS is set to be rolled out across Scotland next August. Earlier this year, CSL revealed the handling fees participating stores would receive.

Those operating a

Vape law confusion in shops

Local shops are refusing to stock legal nicotine-free disposable vaping products due to confusion over their legal status.

Stores told RN they were shunning 3,500 puff nicotine-free vaping de vices with tank capacities above 2ml. However, while disposable vaping products containing nicotine are limited to 2ml tank capac ity by the Tobacco and Re lated Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR), vaping in dustry association UKVIA confirmed to RN nicotinefree lines are exempt from the restriction.

The disposable vape boom in 2021 saw cash and carries and stores raided for selling non-compliant lines, causing a crackdown by shops. EPoS data from July obtained by RN shows for the first time there are no illegal lines in the top 10 most-sold disposable vapes in local stores.

Heineken packaging improved

Heineken has improved the sustainable packaging on its cans, in response to criticism from independ ent retailers.

manual scheme will receive a 2.69p handling fee per item returned, and those operating a reverse vending machine (RVM) will earn 3.55p for the first 8,000 items returned each week, with an extra 1.5p for each additional item.

Abdul Majid, owner of 2,500sq ft Nisa Local Bellshill, North Lanark shire, raised judicial review proceedings in the Court of Session against CSL last week, claiming

“the handling fees aren’t enough to cover the costs involved in operating the scheme”.

He told RN: “After calculating the costs involved to run a RVM in store, with the current commission, I’m stand ing to lose approximately £1,200 a week, equating to £62,000 a year.

“The way this has been sold to retailers is far too simple. These projections were done about four

years ago, and if you look at the current energy and inflation crisis, it is clearly going to cost more now.”

The move has been supported by the Scot tish Grocers’ Federation, which has already issued a pre-action letter to CSL, warning of similar challenges.

Majid added he believes the handling fee needs to be raised to 12.1p per container.

This year, the supplier’s ‘Green Grip’ packaging is being rolled out across mul ti-pack cans of Heineken, Birra Moretti, Strong bow and John Smiths. It replaces traditional plastic can rings.

Retailers and wholesal ers had criticised the sus tainable packaging across all brewers for being too fragile. Heineken UK head of sustainability Chelsey Wroe told RN the ‘Green Grip’ packaging had been made more robust due to this feedback.

Payment service delay

Retailers using card-ser vices provider Payment sense reported an anxious wait last week after a “technical issue” delayed payment of weekend card transactions.

One newsagent told RN: “We’re a small shop, so £2,500 is quite a miss. We’ve got over £7,000 going out tomorrow to Smiths [News] and Camelot – it’s going to be interesting. We’ve had missed payments before, but never over a weekend.”

A spokesperson for Paymentsense told RN the delay was due to “a techni cal issue with one of our payment partners’’.

The company said: “All transfers expected on 3 October were paid on 4 Oc tober by 4pm. We under stand how important cash flow is to businesses. We’re continuing to work with our payments partners to ensure our customers’ Paymentsense service is as resilient as possible.”

Vale of Mowbray folds

Pork-pie supplier Vale of Mowbray entered admin istration last week, leav ing stores to find alterna tive brands.

Wholesalers recom mended alternative lines from companies including Higgidy, Dickinson & Mor ris and Pork Farms, all of which offer snack lines for food-to-go ranges.

Administrators for Vale of Mowbray, which counted most major supermarkets among its stockists, blamed “signifi cant financial challenges” including energy costs and recruitment problems for the company’s decline.

Natasha’s Law breaches rife in convenience stores

by Alex Yau alex.yau@newtrade.co.uk

Breaches of food-allergen legislation Natasha’s Law are rife in convenience stores, just a year on from its introduction, trading standards officers have warned.

The legislation, imple mented on 1 October 2021, requires UK businesses who sell fresh pre-packed food for direct sale to list all the ingredients and al lergens on the packaging.

This can include prod ucts such as sandwiches, wraps, salads, olives and pastries.

Businesses found in breach of Natasha’s Law will initially be issued with an enforcement notice. The most severe penalties for not following the enforcement notices can escalate to unlimited fines and a six-month prison sentence.

Despite the potential penalties, non-compli ance in food businesses was still common a year since Natasha’s Law was introduced.

One environmental health officer based in the south of England, who

asked not to be named, told RN: “We’ve visited takeaways and conveni ence stores who have to follow Natasha’s Law and compliance isn’t great.

“They don’t think they have to follow it, and a lot of the publicity has been around chains such as Greggs and Pret a Manger.

“Some businesses are consciously trying to get around the restrictions by not following the rules on packaging. Our compli ance officers do get the message out and we give advice to them on how to be compliant.

“We chase it up, but we can’t enforce it. We can only submit reports about non-compliance to trad ing standards.”

One environmental health manager from Medway Council added that the council had carried out 676 food hygiene inspections, and a further 239 inspections on new food businesses between October 2021 to October 2022.

They said: “Natasha’s Law should have been dis cussed at every inspection where it was relevant. Officers would then undertake a graduated enforcement approach – particularly with new legislation – with further actions ranging from verbal advice, to written advice, then potentially improvement notices or prosecution.”

Enforcement levels of

Natasha’s Law also varied across the UK.

Amit Puntambekar, of Ash’s Shop in Cam bridgeshire, told RN: “We’ve not had any enforcement officers visit, but I don’t know if that’s because customers aren’t reporting us.

“Our bakery sales seem to have benefited from the packaging having all the ingredients and allergens listed on them. Customers are more confident buying products from us.”

The restrictions were introduced following the death of Natasha EdnanLaperouse, after she had an allergic reaction to a sandwich purchased from fast-food chain Pret a Manger.

PO accepts late shortfall applications

The Post Office (PO) has confirmed it is now accepting late applica tion by postmasters to the Historical Shortfall Scheme, following gov ernment funding.

The scheme was initially launched in May 2020 to compensate those postmasters who had to cover financial shortfalls in their branch accounts caused by the Horizon IT system, but were not convicted.

Despite 82% of eligible claimants having now received an offer, and £52m distributed in total, individuals remain who were unable to apply for the scheme while it was open, due to illness or be ing abroad.

New postal affairs min ister Dean Russell said: “My priority is to ensure that all those affected by the Horizon scandal re ceive compensation fairly and quickly.

“By coming forward with additional funding, we are ensuring that in nocent postmasters who were unable to tap into the Historical Shortfall Scheme do not miss out on the compensation they deserve.”

PO confirmed it would be writing to all individu als who have contacted them about a late applica tion to inform them of the update.

The move comes four

months after the govern ment confirmed it would pay an interim £19.5m to the original 555 postmas ters who formed the His torical Shortfall Scheme.

At the time, previous small business minister Paul Scully explained: “These postmasters played a crucial role in uncovering the scandal, but, due to legal and funders’ costs, have re ceived less compensation than others.”

SYMBOL NEWS

Tesco: Jack’s to meet cost-of-living squeeze

by Alex Yau

alex.yau@newtrade.co.uk

Tesco has identified the Jack’s own-label range as a key area to help independent retailers support and maintain customers during the cost-of-living crisis.

Speaking during a presentation on the supermarket’s financial results for the six months ending 31 August, Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy referenced the challenges of the cost-ofliving on the retail sector.

Asked by RN how this would impact Booker stores, Murphy said: “Booker has performed exceptionally during the first half of the year and it will continue to do so. Our independent retail ers are brilliant because they’re true entrepreneurs so close to their com munities.

“They’re responsive to changes in customer needs and we’ll support them. That will sustain Booker’s performance in the market.

“Independent retailers were clear that they want ed an own-label proposi tion that is credible and strong in both value and

quality. The Jack’s brand does that for them – we’re very pleased with it and it will work well in the cur rent environment.”

During the period, Booker opened 195 Londis, Budgens and Premier stores. Commenting on the reason behind the growth in store numbers, Murphy added: “Independent retailers are switching to the Booker banners. They’re not new retailers in terms of opening new shops, but they’re new to the Booker franchise family.

“Retailers are seeing the quality of the Booker proposition and independ ents are attracted to it.”

In comparison, One Stop opened five stores during the period. Ex plaining the difference with Booker symbol store openings, Murphy said: “This is a net figure and as some One Stop stores mature, they will become big enough for the Tesco Express format.

“We’re really pleased with One Stop’s perfor mance and the unique job it does at the heart of local communities.”

In a separate pres entation with market analysts, Murphy said the wholesaler had opened “two retail hubs to absorb more of our retail trade and create space to grow

even further in catering”.

He added: “We feel really optimistic about the future for Booker. We think it’s going from strength to strength. We think people will still want to celebrate this Christmas and we know that Booker is probably the best-placed wholesaler to support the industry.”

The results revealed that total Booker sales during the six-month period reached £4.4bn, a 13.9% like-for-like an nual increase.

The wholesaler’s retail arm made up more than half of total sales at £2.4bn, a 2.2% like-forlike rise.

Nisa £5m price drop ‘not enough’

The wholesale pricing (WSP) across 1,000 Co-op lines in Nisa stores has resulted in a net reduction of nearly £250, despite the wholesaler investing £5m to improve costs.

Last month, newly appointed Nisa manag ing director Peter Batt pledged to retailers that the investment would help address ongoing disparities between pricing in Nisa

and Co-op stores. The £5m was used to reduce pricing on 1,014 lines, but Nisa stressed there would also be price increases on other products.

In analysis by RN of the affected lines, there was a total reduction of £1,083.55 in wholesale price.

The average difference in RRP between Nisa and Co-op stores was £115.96, with the multiple coming

out cheaper across all the lines, which included soft drinks, ambient, fresh pro duce, meat and desserts.

As a result of the reduc tions, the average margin across all products in creased from 27% to 33%.

Despite the drop in pricing, the total increase across 870 other lines was £837.07, equating to a net decrease of £246.48 as a result of the investment.

Commenting on the analysis, one Nisa retailer said: “This is not enough. There’s been a huge negative reaction to the investment from every retailer I’ve spoken to.”

A Nisa spokesperson said: “At a time when prices are going up every where, we are investing in Co-op own brand and bringing prices down for our retailers.”

Cyprofood expands range

Fresh food wholesaler Cy profood has expanded its range from 2,000 to 8,000 lines following the reloca tion of its cash and carry.

The company held the grand opening of its new site on the Brantwood Industrial Estate in Tottenham, north London, on 1 October. It is based on the same site as rival Bestway.

Cyprofood chairman Cetin Agcagul used the event to announce that the company would be expanding the range avail able to retailers.

He said: “Our main activity is around whole sale food activity. We are covering the whole of UK with logistics from our distribution centres.

“Cyprofood started its journey with fruit and vegetables. We have updated our portfolio from 2,000 to 8,000. The range includes fruit and veg, frozen foods, ambient products and groceries.”

Fresh new deal with DSL

SimplyFresh retailers can now offer custom ers electrical, gardening, petcare and DIY goods through a new partner ship with DSL Group.

Wholesaler DSL already supplies products to Sainsbury’s Co-op and several forecourt groups.

Commenting on the partnership, SimplyFresh chief operating officer Kash Khera said: “We have seen great per formance in sales and successful promotions since partnering with DSL Group. It takes the headache out of sourcing products.”

NEWS & MAGS Telegraph reruns late again

Reruns affecting the Telegraph again caused ex tremely late deliveries into wholesalers and independ ent retailers on the first weekend in October.

Stores in south-west and south-east England were the worst hit. Data seen by RN revealed 172 reruns took place, with almost 60,000 copies involved, affecting 3,280 retailers.

The news comes two weeks after the same title carried out 376 reruns, im pacting 7,612 retailers.

At the time, chair of The Fed’s news committee, Muntazir Dipoti, called for reform in the supply chain “to improve its ability to react in real time, so retailers can be updated”.

Problems continued last weekend, with industry data showing Saturday's Telegraph only hit sched uled arrival times in 43% of wholesale depots.

Kelsey & Morton to Seymour

Magazine distributor Seymour is to distribute Kelsey Media and Mortons print titles after gaining the publishers from rival Marketforce this month.

Kelsey Media has more than 80 multimedia brands, including a roster of automotive and hobby titles such as Coast, Fast Car and Outdoor Fitness.

Bookazine expert Mor tons’ range includes hobby, automotive and lifestyle magazines such as Fast Bikes, The Railway and Kitchen Garden.

Industry sources claimed rising cost pres sures in print, distribution and energy are encourag ing publishers to switch distributors.

Publishers fail to win back space in Aldi stores

by Jack Courtez jack.courtez@newtrade.co.uk

News publisher efforts to secure listings in nearly 1,000 Aldi sites in the UK were dashed last week when the discounter ended its in-store newspaper trials.

An Aldi spokesperson confirmed print titles had been removed from sale on 3 October. They told RN: “A short-term trial selling newspapers and magazines at a small number of our stores has come to an end.”

Selected Aldi sites began selling a lim ited range of six national newspapers in early 2021 in a trial spearheaded by the Daily Mail.

The trial came around 18 months after Aldi removed newspapers and magazines from its stores due to an alleged dispute with magazine merchandiser Fore.

One industry source claimed Aldi’s trial was being “watched closely” by rival supermarkets, with the end decision not to proceed with a rollout putting more pressure on the newspaper and magazine categories in other major grocers.

Another industry source told RN: “When you consider the value of the newspaper category in Aldi’s rival Lidl, you can see why Aldi’s decision is a major upset for publish ers, especially as, when the trial started, they thought a wider rollout was in the bag.”

Although publishers had claimed 40 Aldi stores were involved, RN under stands the final number stood at 20 sites spread mostly between Greater London, the south-east and East Midlands.

When the trial began, The Fed and independ ent retailers near to

participating Aldi stores expressed concerns over the impact on local shop sales, while those higher up the supply chain claimed it was good news “for everyone who ben efits from greater volumes in the supply chain”.

A newsagent less than a three-minute walk to one of the trial Aldi stores confirmed they had seen a slight uplift in sales early last week. “On Monday and Tuesday, we had nextto-no returns on the day’s papers,” they said.

The decision by Aldi to axe the category comes as grocery retailers look to streamline operations and

cut costs to pass on sav ings to consumers.

Towns with Aldi stores that News UK claimed were selling newspapers before last week were Alfreton, Alton, Anerley, Belper, Bingham, Boston, Brighton, Charlton, Clay Cross, Coulsdon, Dover, Ewell, Fareham, Gosport, Grantham, Gravesend, Heanor, Hucknall, Ilkes ton, Kidbrooke, Kingston upon Thames, Kirkby-inAshfield, Lewes, Lincoln, Mansfield, New Malden, Newark, Portsmouth, Sevenoaks, Skegness, Sleaford, Sutton-inAshfield, Thamesmead and Tooting.

The Fed and News Team join forces

Home news delivery (HND) company News Team Group and The Fed have agreed to work together to tackle some of the biggest issues facing newspaper delivery agents.

Discussing a meeting between the two parties last week, The Fed’s head of news, Brian Murphy, said areas of collaboration would include “helping

our members that do want to exit the home news delivery market to do so, our pro-print strategy of promoting the value of newspapers and magazines to con sumers and also a mutual support for sub-retailing”.

The dialogue was part of a The Fed meeting that also included Mail Newspapers, Paper Round and Papers Direct.

Murphy said the meet ing recognised “chang ing consumer shopping habits and their expecta tions”. He added propos als to improve home news delivery were put forward by publishers in attendance.

News Team Group operations director Paul Goddard said: “We’re looking forward to work ing with The Fed to sup

port and promote home news delivery. With the vast industry knowledge that News Team Group has within its ranks, I expect this to be a long and successful rela tionship.”

The meeting follows Mail Newspapers’ with drawal from Deliver MyNewspaper to focus on its standalone HND ser vice launched in August.

Retailers welcome gov’t energy support scheme

by Helena Drakakis

editorial@newtrade.co.uk

Irish Fed members have welcomed the govern ment's offer of up to €10,000 per month to help with energy bills, but fears remain stores may be forced to close.

Under the Temporary Business Energy Sup port Scheme, qualifying businesses will be able to claim up to 40% of the increase in their bills.

Announcing the scheme in the 2023 budget, tánaiste and minister for enterprise, trade and employment Leo Varadkar said: “Businesses are wor ried heading into the win ter. The cost of energy and of doing business is rising. Interest rates are going up. Consumer confidence is waning.

“This Budget is about putting more money in people’s pockets and reducing the bills that people and businesses have to pay.”

The scheme, which

National

is set to run to “at least February 2023”, will be operated by the Revenue Commissioner and back dated to September 2022.

While it is set to help small businesses, medium-sized and larger businesses can apply.

Republic of Ireland district president Martin Mulligan said the move was good news for many retailers. However, he feared that it would be too late for some, and that the qualification criteria may adversely affect others.

“We welcome help, but in order to qualify, you have to be 100% tax compliant. There will be many small traders who are struggling to keep up with their tax payments because of soaring costs and who are paying in in stalments, and the worry is that help may not be available for them. Those people are in urgent need of help,” he said.

Mulligan added that The Fed in Ireland would like to see the appointment of

an independent ombuds man to access claims.

“We’ve been calling for years for an ombudsman for independent busi nesses. So many people are just going to give up. The independent busi ness needs protection and retailers need a body they can turn to,” he said.

Peter Steemers, owner of Steemers-O’Leary’s newsagents in County Wexford, also welcomed the scheme.

“Any help for retailers is welcome. People are strug gling with bills that have doubled and tripled in cost as well as other trading expenses that have in creased, such as insurance and employment costs.”

As well as the support scheme, Businesses in Ire land are also set to benefit from an EU-wide windfall tax on energy producers.

It was agreed after a deal was hammered out between EU member states last week.

Ireland is expected to raise between €1bn and

€2bn from the tax. How ever, it is as yet unclear how that money will be spent.

In the same deal, EU ministers also agreed on a voluntary target to cut electricity use by 10% and a mandatory energy sav ings target of 5% during peak hours.

The approach contrasts with new UK prime min ister Liz Truss’s plans. To date, the UK government has rejected a levy on fos sil fuel producers’ profits, instead opting to borrow to fund a new Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

The scheme, announced last month, will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for non-domestic customers.

Stores in the UK cur rently signing new fixedpriced contracts (FPCs), those who signed FPCs on or after 1 April and those on variable, flexible pur chase or out-of-contract tariffs are all eligible for the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

PayPoint begins forum programme

PayPoint has begun a se ries of nationwide forums to help Fed members understand changes to its services and to improve its offer.

The company’s first fo rum was held in Westway Park in Havedock, where 12 Fed members were talked through changes PayPoint has introduced and how they can benefit from new transactions and revenue streams.

Members also had an opportunity to give feed

back and report problems.

PayPoint’s corporate af fairs and marketing direc tor, Steve O’Neill, said: “It was a great opportunity to get members in the northwest together to listen to their challenges and up date them on the massive changes our business has undergone.

“I would like to thank the participants for their honest, constructive feedback. We got lots out of the session to build into our plans.”

Harish Kanthasamy, who owns four shops in cluding a Premier store in College Street, St Helens, said: “These meetings are important for retailers to understand what PayPoint is doing to help us.”

Fed business develop ment manager Simon Winter added: “We con ducted a survey among those members who at tended the forum, and the feedback obtained from all attendees was overwhelm ingly positive, with all

respondents rating the session as ‘excellent’.”

O’Neill said he was looking forward to future meetings with members across the UK.

If any district wants to arrange a forum with PayPoint in the coming months, they can email simon.winter@ nfrn.org.uk.

PayPoint has also held a series of meetings with The Fed’s national executive team, which will be ongoing.

Stranger kindness celebrated

A Northern Ireland member is celebrating the kindness of strangers after receiving donations to help customers strug gling with bills.

Eugene Diamond, of Diamonds Newsagents in Ballymena, County Antrim, received a letter that included £20.

The note read: “Please put this behind the till and use it the next time an elderly man or woman needs to buy teabags or some heat.”

The letter arrived after Diamond tweeted about the impact of the cost-ofliving crisis on his custom ers. He said: “I’ve had a number of messages from people who want to help. I’ve pointed them in the direction of two local chari ties, but people have also come in and left money.

“As well as this letter, a man walked in and handed me £50 to put towards helping any customer who might need the support.”

Scotland

Trade day at Booker Makro

Fed members are invited to a Scottish trade day where they can meet with experts, suppliers and retailers, and enjoy a range of product deals.

The event, to take place at Booker’s Makro depot in Edinburgh on 19 October, will run from 9am to 5pm and will coincide with a Scottish district council meeting.

A Fed spokesperson said: “This is an opportunity to network with the experts, Fed members and suppli ers, and to enjoy exclusive offers and promotions.”

YOUR VIEWS

Cheap-rate paper promos are bad news

I am really frustrated with the Chronicle’s latest promotional o er, which gives readers the chance to buy the paper for £1 for eight weeks.

The number of publishers doing promotions like this have increased so much this year, and it hits us independent retailers hard.

I’ve spoken to other store owners, and I’m not the only one who feels like they are being treated badly.

Some even said they were tempted to cancel newspapers altogether because of these sorts of promotions.

I’ve found in these instances that they end up taking customers’ information and then eventually sell the newspapers to them far cheaper. Then, when the promotion has ended, they bombard them with further emails.

Whatever way you look at it, we are the ones who

are continuing to lose income as a result, and it’s getting harder. The thing is, whether it is just one customer who takes up an o er like this, or 100 customers, it a ects us.

I am fed up of these publishers continuing to bypass independents. I’m even more fed up that in the end they end up

INDEPENDENT STORES NEED POLICIES, NOT

retaining our customers.

Times are really tough at the moment, economically, and this just feels like a massive kick in the teeth when we really don’t need it.

Ali Awan H&H Convenience Store, Gateshead

A spokesperson for Reach failed to respond by the time RN went to press

VIEW FROM THE COUNTER with Julie and Joey Duhra

Get in touch

I [Julie] was due to run the London Marathon last weekend, but I sprained my ankle playing netball a few days before. I will be running next April, however, so I’m continuing to raise money. We are taking every month as it comes at the moment. We’ve noticed, due to price increases on certain products, that the buying habits of school and college kids have changed. They are buying cheaper items when they come in at lunchtime, which is unusual, as they rarely seemed to worry about how much they were spending before. We still get a lot of footfall from them, and it’s not a huge concern, but just something we’ve picked up on. Issues around availability seem to have eased a little in recent weeks, which is welcome. We are looking to start stocking Halloween lines soon, and impulse will be a focus for us. People who have forgotten to buy sweets often buy them from us at the last minute.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO

We are excited to attend RN’s Women in Convenience event in Birmingham next month. It will be great to get the opportunity to sit down with other females in the industry and hear about what affects them, and think of ways we can work together to improve the situation. This is a topic close to our hearts, and we look forward to making new connections.

SAY

They sell and promote their brand throughout the year – however, at this particular time, the promotional activity increases markedly and value for money is promised along with assurances and guarantees that you won’t be disappointed.

Yes, you guessed correctly – it is party conference season again.

Out they come, each party having their few days to impress and to reach out not just to

their paid-up membership, but beyond that to the country at large, trying to convince the public that they o er the best way forward. It can all get a bit confusing – it is information overload, but how much of it is actually meaningful?

For convenience retailers, it is not about soundbites, trending on social media or getting a standing ovation. At this moment, it is about business survival and being able to provide

the services and grocery o ering their customers and the communities they serve have come to rely on.

That is not easy when inflation is at its highest since the 1970s and interest rates are at levels not seen for 40 years or more, all while we are amid a cost-of-living crisis which is also hitting consumers in the pocket.

Business agility and entrepreneurship, the very things we need to stimulate economic recovery, will be critical going for-

ward. Our politicians and those tasked with making the key decisions need to recognise this.

The message was loud and clear from the Scottish Grocers’ Federation annual conference, which took place on 6-7 October, in Glasgow – convenience stores stimulate economic growth and build resilience into the communities which they serve. If that is to continue, the sector needs urgent, tangible support from government, not platitudes.

Have you already started preparing for the upcoming World Cup?

NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION

Are you happy Allwyn will be taking over from Camelot as Lottery operator?

chief

PRODUCT NEWS

Doritos launches Pepperoni flavour

PepsiCo has launched a Loaded Pepperoni Pizza variety of Doritos to drive sharing occasion sales. The HFSS-compliant flavour is made with more corn than other Doritos varieties, giving it more crunch. Sharing occasions are worth £2.5bn and Gen-Z, which the supplier is targeting with the launch, comprises 67% of sharing moments with friends. A marketing campaign supporting the launch is running this month.

Mars Wrigley’s Christmas range

Mars Wrigley has unveiled its Christmas 2022 range, with new launches joining returning popular sellers. This year's launches include M&M’s Santas, hollow chocolates fi lled with mini-M&M’s and wrapped in foil (RRP £2.99); Maltesers Mint Reindeers, available in self-eat bars and sharing bags (RRPs 65p and £1.29); Galaxy Tru es Assortment (RRP £4.99); and Maltesers Assorted Tru es (RRP £4.99).

Mayfair birthday competition

JTI UK is marking Mayfair’s 30th birthday by o ering retailers the chance to win a £50 or £100 Amazon voucher by entering into a competition on the supplier’s trade website, JTI Advance. Retailers can also gain an additional entry by submitting a short quote on the website about how Mayfair has brought them sales success in the past 30 years. Currently, Mayfair has an annual retail sales value of £442.7m. Enter at jtiadvance.co.uk/competition

Coca-Cola World Cup promo

Coca-Cola has launched its FIFA World Cup campaign, ‘Believing is magic’. As part of the campaign, from 17 October, shoppers buying promotional 500ml bottles and multipack cans of Coca-Cola Original Taste and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar will have the chance to win one of 10,000 limited-edition branded footballs. The campaign also spans TV, radio, outdoor, digital and social media, as well as the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola. On-pack spans Original Taste, Zero Sugar 500ml bottles and multipack cans

Heineken updates eco-packaging

Heineken UK has launched an updated version of its sustainable Green Grip packaging. The supplier has updated the 100% recyclable cardboard packaging, which initially replaced plastic can rings in August 2020 and has saved 336 tonnes of single-use plastic. As part of a £14m investment by the supplier, Green Grip now has a double layer of cardboard which is meant to be sturdier and easier for retailers and customers to handle.

Cadbury cuts plastic in packs

Mondelez International has updated the packaging of its Cadbury Dairy Milk and Mini Snowballs 110g sharing bars so it is made with 30% recycled plastic. The packaging will be certified by the Independent Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) and supplied in partnership with packaging developer Amcor. This marks part of Mondelez’s goal to reduce virgin plastic in its packaging by 5% by 2025.

New non-HFSS pork crackling

Manuka honey from New Zealand

New Zealand-based Taylor Pass Honey

launched its range of manuka honey

Plant-based choc orange launches

Plant-based chocolate brand

Visit the website

Nestlé cuts plastic packaging

by Jasper Hart jasper.hart@newtrade.co.uk

Nestlé Confectionery is updating the packaging of its Quality Street and KitKat brands to make them more sustainable.

Quality Street’s twistwrapped sweets will move to recyclable paper packaging, which the supplier says will remove more than two billion pieces of packaging material from its supply chain.

Nine of the 11 Quality Street sweets will move to paper packaging. Orange Crunch and Green Triangle will remain in foil, as they have traditionally not had cellulose wrappers.

The transition to paper packaging is under way, but the supplier says customers will find a mix

of old and new wrappers in Quality Street products this Christmas.

Meanwhile, KitKat will introduce wrappers made with 80% recycled plastic, which can be recycled at more than 5,000 supermarkets across the UK, as well as through household recycling in the Republic of Ireland.

The rollout will begin this month on KitKat’s two-finger products before being extended across the whole range by 2024.

The supplier claims the move will make KitKat the brand that uses the highest proportion of recycled food-grade plastic of any major UK and Ireland confectionery brand.

STG UK makes nicotine-pouch debut with Ström

Scandinavian Tobacco Group UK (STG UK) has entered the nicotinepouch category with the launch of Ström, which is also its first non-tobacco product.

Ström is a plant-based product, made with a resin-based formula, as opposed to many competitors, which are salt-based.

Its container is also made from 100% plantbased plastic made with pine oil extracted from pine leftovers.

Launching in Fresh Mint, Minty Orange and Juicy Berry varieties, Ström is initially available to retailers across Manchester for a six-month trial period between October and March, before

a wider expansion across the UK throughout 2023.

STG UK will be supporting the launch by sending members of its sales team to stores to explain how it is di erent from competitors and o er retailers free stock to sell.

Alastair Williams, STG UK’s country director, said: “Retailers would be

forgiven for thinking the nicotine-pouch category was already crowded, but we’re coming to the market with something more authentic, premium and sophisticated than what is already out there.”

The supplier will be supporting the trial with outdoor advertising in Manchester from October to December.

PRICEWATCH

Profit checker Vape devices

Behind the numbers

More than 600,000 new vapers have entered the category in the UK in the past year, according to Action on Smoking and Health. With a clear growth opportunity, where can retailers boost profits?

This week’s data shows retailers can capitalise on shoppers’ appetite for modern dispos-

Richard Inglis

TOP PRODUCTS

ables. Fifty-five per cent are charging up to £7.99 for IVG’s Rainbow Disposable, with 32% sticking to the most-common price of £5.

Similarly, 51% are also going as high as £7.99 on Geek Bar Blueberry Sour Raspberry, with 48% selling at the most-common price of £5.99.

Many retailers o er disposables on two-for-£10

Our customers have gone mad for Elf Bars – they’re the only devices we stock. Back in the day, we tried open systems and liquids, but people started buying them online and they were much cheaper. Elf Bars have been just insane for us. I’m ordering about £8,000-worth of stock per week, but it comes in, turns over and is out the door. It’s simple for our customers. I don’t want to stock a lot of di erent brands, I think most people are fairly lazy and Elf Bars work for vapers in the same way cigarettes do compared to roll-your-own for smokers.

deals, which possibly explains their willingness to price higher for singles.

Traditional vape kits are more expensive, explaining why these are more competitively priced. Blu’s Pro Starter Kit is sold by 76% of retailers at its most-common price of £17.99, although 21% are going as high as £22.50.

Sue Nithyanandan

STORE Costcutter

Epsom

Surrey

TOP PRODUCTS

I work with Aquavape for my range. Mordern disposables are doing well – my vape sales have more than doubled since we started selling them. We primarily sell Geek Bar, Smok Bar and Elf Bar. We do a limited range of kits as well, but there’s less demand for those, they’re anything from £25 while modern disposables are easier and cheaper. Modern disposables are also more discreet and smaller. We also do quite well on Iqos heated tobacco. Aquavape has partnered with them, so they are promoting the brand.

Elf Bar Watermelon

Bar Kiwi, Passionfruit & Guava

Bar Strawberry Ice

Wholesale checker PRICEWATCH

Crisps, snacks & nuts shoppers are spending an extra £100 in the category, a 14% year-on-year increase. Value is an important mission to cater to, and sharing bags will help achieve this, as well as to help capitalise on nights in. We compare pricing across five wholesalers to help you attain the best margins

Hula Hoops

Hoops

Walkers Cheese & Onion

Cheetos Twisted Flamin'

Walkers Monster Munch Roast

Walkers Quavers Cheese

Doritos

Doritos

Walkers Ready

Nik

Heatwave

Kesser Mahmood

had

get van sales

a bit hit and miss. I’m cur-

and the other week it was Doritos, but

increase, which explains it. It’s a crazy market at

trying to stick with popular brands.

STORE ADVICE

Premium opportunities

For convenience stores, upselling can come in two different formats. They can increase the overall size of the customer’s basket. Or they can encourage customers to purchase products with higher price tags

With t he ongoing cost-of-living crisis, that latter opportunity might seem fanciful to many, with cus tomers increasingly trading down rather than up. However, t here are still categories where retailers can retain and even attract customers with higher-value products

In some instances, this will be determined by the local customer demographic. Jonathan Cobb, from Miserden Stores & Post Office in Gloucestershire, has a customer

base that stretches from very low earners to multimillionaires, meaning that while value sales will always be important, there remains a place for premium options as well.

“We’ve got a diverse customer base and they buy what they’re going to buy,” he says. “People who’ve bought value options continue to do so and people who buy premium haven’t been put off.”

R av Garcha, who runs five stores in the West Midlands, believes that upselling is always possible. You just have to find the product they are willing to splurge on. “Our customers aren’t our customers, they’re everyone’s customer,” he says. “They can get their products from a range of places, so you can

increase basket spend by increasing your range.”

For example, if your store is offering the same cakes that customers can pick up for less at a multiple, you can either lower your own prices or find a better kind of cake that will justify – if not demand – that higher price and promote it as the better option. It’s about finding out what customers are not willing to compromise on, what products you can stock that they can’t get anywhere and how you can get them in front of the right people at the right time.

To see what other stores are doing, go to betterRetailing. com/advice

You can increase basket spend by increasing your range

RAV GARCHA

Amid national belt-tightening, the RN team finds out the categories where retailers can still achieve sales without price reductions, and where upselling opportunities still lie

Big nights in

Jeet Bansi has seen a definitive trend in his Londis Meon Vale store in Stratfordupon-Avon, Warwickshire, towards value across certain everyday lines. “We’ve seen sales of smaller loaves of bread increase, and I can’t keep my Euro Shopper beans on the shelf,” he says. “We’d normally go through a case a week, now we’re doing it every half week.” He is thinking of focusing on more budget lines when it comes to his Easter presales if current trends continue, especially with the increased cost of price-marked packs.

However, for now his cus tomers are retaining money to keep spending more on pricier products for nights in with guests. “When customers are having guests round and want to have a treat, we are seeing the opposite,” he says. “Rather than them buying own-brand tonic water, they buy Fever-Tree. We see sales of premium gins, vodkas and Belvoir pressé continuing.”

Corner a market

For Jonathan Cobb, from Miserden Store & Post Of fice in Gloucestershire, his mixed customer base has meant that there are always opportunities to create sales in premium products. In particular, the chilled section has always been an area that has only offered premium op tions, sourced locally.

“It’s always been local meats and delicatessen products,” he says. “We’ve never done anything lowerend in chilled. We found that the people who would be buying value chilled options would just go to the super market instead of us anyway. So we play to the higher end of customer, and they are continuing to sell well. It’s about knowing your local customer base.”

Cobb also enjoys sales in his range of higher-end cakes – including Italian treats such as cannoli. Additionally, he has value and premium op tions in wine and beers, with both attracting regular sales.

STORE ADVICE

People are particular about coffee

While Joe Williams, from The Village Shop in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, stocks a range of standard and value tea and coffee products, he finds there is still ample demand for premium coffee brands from his customers.

“The Starbucks or Costa effect means people are happy to pay £5.50 for a bag of ground coffee,” he says. “People here tend to trade up to that as well.”

After a supply issue with Taylors, Williams tried out a premium brand called Cornish Coffee and found that demand increased even further.

“We even had customers asking us not to get rid of it once we’d sorted out the supply issue because they really like it,” he says. “People will trade up for coffee and there are certainly other products where they want that specific brand – like Heinz Baked Beans – and if we haven’t got it, they go elsewhere.”

Global products

Rav Garcha runs five stores in the Midlands and has looked to social media to find out what products customers are willing to find the money to pay for. US candy, for example, is sold to people at two-to-three times the price of standard UK versions and people are still finding the money to pay for them.

“Nobody would have thought that we have customers who would spend £6 on a packet of crisps, but social media created that buzz,” he says. “People are prepared to pay that price for that perceived luxury –they’ve either got the money to do it or they’re finding it. These products are out there and those customers are out there as well.”

Garcha says beer is another category that is enjoying a growth in demand for premi um options, with mainstream standard lager sales dropping in favour of more expensive world beers and craft beers with diverse flavours. l

COLUMNIST

Bryan Roberts

Delivery drop-off

The growth of rapid delivery services is slowing post Covid-19, heralding a shift in city-centre convenience retailing

While the rapid-delivery grocery sector or ‘q-commerce’, or whatever you want to call it, saw bumper growth during the pandemic, there can be little doubt that momentum has dramatically decreased since then as evidenced by a slew of closures, withdrawals and downsizing by a number of the delivery-only operators around the world.

Compared with the Covid-19 era, when a number of these businesses were attracting huge valuations and were speculating about virtually unlimited growth, it appears the market for rapid delivery is very much finite, and will be a lot tougher than many of these operators had envisaged.

That said, there is still some ambition, with Tesco expanding its Whoosh capacity and the Co-op pledging to hike the number of stores that are serviced by partners such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats. There have also been some interesting recent endeavours by some of the pureplays to enhance the physicality of their proposition, such as Gorillas opening a

dark store crossed with a co ee bar on the Finchley Road earlier this year, and this month seeing the opening of the first physical location by Deliveroo Hop on New Oxford Street.

As well as operating as a dark store, this site enables shoppers to immediately buy groceries by using McDonald’s-style ordering kiosks. This echoes similar moves by Getir and GoPu , both of which operate walk-in dark stores in other markets around the world.

Of course, one motivation for this is getting round opposition from local authorities who are getting resentful about dark stores and the relentless moped tra c they can create by o ering a direct retail experience to shoppers, as it is expected authorities will be more amenable to this type of proposition.

Rapid-delivery grocery works on one level because time-poor and cash-rich shoppers are happy to pay a premium to avoid walking to convenience stores, instead enjoying delivery to their homes or o ces. What is less clear is if the same logic will apply to these

* HFSS has landed

+ IT WAS A long time coming, and there were doubts about it happening at all until the last minute, but the HFSS regulations landed this month. It was fascinating to watch the frenzied preparation from the multiples as they rejigged their stores, and this month will provide the first acid test as they try to negotiate Halloween without the usual hotspots for confectionery visibility. This year presents a real opportunity for independents to grab some seasonal market share.

physical stores where the premium pricing might be o -putting for customers who don’t have far to travel to encounter a Co-op, a Tesco Express or a Sainsbury’s Local.

I’m always a little cynical about the rapid grocery industry, as it seems to have been propped up by excessive vouchering and discounts as the operators have battled each other for recruitment of new shoppers. The cost-of-living crisis engulfing the industry will also act as a brake on growth, as paying £5 for a food delivery becomes a luxury rather than an a ordable indulgence.

There will be some customers for whom this isn’t an issue, and they will continue to use the services, but recent market-share data indicates discounters are winning new customers for whom low prices have become non-negotiable.

This opening shows that, despite the takeover-related suspended animation forced upon it by the CMA, Morrisons’ aspirations in terms of e-commerce, wholesale and convenience continue to expand, with the McColl’s acquisition on the way, as well as ongoing progress in franchising and its own e-commerce proposition.

The long-term battle for supremacy in terms of city-centre convenience retailing has a long way to go. What works in London will also work in Manchester or Birmingham, so it will be interesting to see what the coming years bring us in terms of the evolution of rapid delivery within convenience

Bryan Roberts is a leading grocery retail and shopping expert

It appears the market for rapid delivery is finite, and will be a lot tougher than many operators envisaged

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

MAYFAIR LEADING THE WAY

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Mayfair, one of JTI’s most iconic brands. Since its launch in 1992 Mayfair has continually developed to meet the changing demands of consumer markets and trends, and 2022 is no different.

30 years of heritage, quality and value have come together to create the latest addition to the range – MAYFAIR SILVER, which was launched earlier this year.

MAYFAIR SILVER is a new ULTRA VALUE alternative for value conscious consumers. Available in both KING SIZE and SUPERKINGS 20s at a recommended retailer price of £10.151 it’s our lowest price across the entire JTI portfolio of cigarette brands.

The ULTRA VALUE RMC category is now the fastest growing RMC segment2, catering for adult smokers seeking affordable options from trusted tobacco brands.

Steve Bassett Abbotsbury Road Post Office, Dorset

My JTI Business Adviser presented MAYFAIR SILVER to me when it was launched back in May, and I’ve been stocking it from the start. The ULTRA LOW PRICE is proving to be extremely popular with my customers and it’s already one of my top selling cigarette brands.

Mayfair Original has a loyal consumer base so I’m keeping this range available at its current price point so that it continues to deliver profitability.

So, stock Mayfair Original and Mayfair Silver at RRP1 to ensure your customers keep coming back and make the most of all the profit opportunities available to you.

CIGARS

The cigar sales opportunity

Charles Whitting finds out what makes a strong-selling range of cigars and how retailers can boost sales in this growing category

While cigarettes and nextgen nicotine might be the mainstream and the headline-grabbing new comers respectively, retailers would be wise to keep a strong range of cigars and cigarillos in their stores. Not only is the category in growth, it also offers a number of different selling opportu nities to retailers, from smaller, value options to flavoured innova tions, to treats and gifts, particularly at this time of year.

“While obviously not matching the sales volumes of cigarettes or roll-your-own tobacco, cigars are an important part of the tobacco category because they drive footfall in store and particularly as a driver of profit in tills, as they typically offer up to three times the margin that cigarettes do,” says Alastair Williams, country director at Scan dinavian Tobacco Group UK (STG UK). “Retailers should think about

their cigar and cigarillo offer all year round because it’s a high margin category and driver of footfall in store. However, certainly in the run-up to Christmas, we know cigar sales go up, so it’s important for retailers to get their range right so they can enjoy those extra sales and rewarding profit margins.”

A VALUE OPTION AND A SPECIAL TREAT

In the eyes of many people, a cigar is a premium product with a premium price tag. And in the case of hand-rolled Cuban cigars, which can sell for more than £20 a cigar, that is certainly true. But while convenience stores can and do sell these kinds of products to a dedicated customer base, the world of cigarillos also offers a range that appeals to both people looking to treat themselves and those looking to save some money.

“Because they’re available in

packs of 10 rather than in packs of 20, people who want something for under £5 will go for them,” says Dipak Shah, from H&R News in Camberley, Surrey. “Signature is our top seller, but it’s mostly oneoff purchases.”

This makes cigarillos an impor tant fixture within your tobacco section, particularly as the cost-ofliving crisis will impact people’s expenditure, and tobacco may well be a heavily affected category.

“There’s no doubt consumers are going to be increasingly price conscious as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite,” says STG UK’s Alastair Williams. “It’s sensible to assume that value products will only increase in importance across the store, and that will certainly include cigars.”

For all the price benefits to a cigarillo purchase, retailers should also recognise that cigars are also perceived by many as a treat, a longer smoke to savour, particu larly when it comes to hand-rolled Cubans, for example. And if there

the

category

In the run-up to Christmas, we know cigar sales go up

CIGARS

was a time for retailers to highlight the indulgence and gifting offers within the category, the lead-up to Christmas is it.

“Each year, cigar sales follow a very similar seasonal pattern, with a spike in volume in December,” says Gemma Bateson, sales director at JTI UK.

Mike Nijjer, from Costcutter Bull Street in Birmingham, has a wide range of brands and finds that while customers are brand loyal to his premium products sourced from Hunters & Frankau, at the lower end, the loyalty is to the price instead.

what’s on offer – Sterlings, Players, Signatures and the rest from the cheapest ones to products that are £20 a cigar,” says Nijjer. “We don’t sell massive quantities of the top end, but we sell a huge amount of the cheaper cigarillos. None of them get stuck really, they all sell. Having the variety gives customers that choice, and choice is what the indus try’s all about now. They’re not tak ing up room on a display. Give customers the choice and it engenders loyalty.”

£291m

The total value of the cigar market in the UK

“When people ask for cigarillos, we’ll ask which one they want, and after they’ve asked what we have, they’ll say they want the cheapest ones. That’s at the bottom end,” he says. “The higher you go in value the more brand comes into it.”

SELLING CIGARS SUCCESSFULLY

While cigars are exempt from plain packaging legislation, they are still under many of the same visual and promotional restrictions as other tobacco products, so retailers can’t really display or promote them in their store. This means retail ers need to rely on word of mouth, which derives from having a strong range and well-trained staff.

“We just keep the full range of

Training your staff about your cigars ensures customers won’t feel stranded at the till waiting for information and will instead feel looked after and well informed by helpful, confident and enthusiastic recommendations.

“Having up-to-date knowledge on the latest cigar and cigarillo prod ucts is key to offering a good level of customer service. To confidently talk about new products, retailers and their staff should use all the platforms available to them includ ing JTI UK’s trade retailer website, jtiadvance.co.uk,” says Bateson.

Nijjer adds: “Because we have a large footfall volume, staff try to let the customer know what we have in as little time as possible because there are lots of people waiting. They can’t see what we have. It’s im portant to let them know the range, and what we have and stock.” l

THREE

Alastair Williams

director, Scandinavian Tobacco Group UK

• Customers who buy cigars and cigarillos are quite varied. Some will be looking for value, so point them in the direction of a good-quality value brand such as Moments.

• Others will be looking for flavour, so a peppermint cigarillo like Signature Action is a good option.

• As we head towards Christmas, many adult smokers will be looking for a larger cigar, such as our Henri Wintermans Half Corona, to enjoy as part of their festive celebrations.

CHRISTMAS

Over the past two Christmases, Covid-19 put a dampener on Yuletide. This year, it is a cost-ofliving crisis that threatens to take some of the fi zz away from the festive period.

But despite all the economic doom and gloom, independent retailers remain optimistic that their customers will want to buy a ordable treats during the golden quarter.

With the FIFA World Cup in Qatar thrown in for good measure between 20 November and 18 December, there is every reason to be positive about sales opportunities this winter.

The focus for retailers will be about being able to o er the best value and deals possible to their customers, and to focus on the availability of must-have products that customers want to indulge in while watching the match or spending time with friends and family in the run-up to Christmas.

Adding pop to this Christmas

WHAT TO STOCK

So, what are the must-have soft drinks lines at Christmas? Retailers should look for big-brand favourites alongside festive limited-edition options. Additionally, the larger formats tend to be more in demand as people host family and friends.

For Dan Brown, managing director of Lothian Stores, which operates Pinkie Farm Convenience Store, in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Coca-Cola, lemonade and IrnBru are the strong sellers over Christmas, particularly in big bottles for sharing.

With the World Cup on at the same time, he expects that multipacks and cans will do well, too. And the shop brings in premium mixers just for Christmas as well.

Meanwhile, Nishi Patel, of Londis Bexley Park in Dartford, Kent, says: “We’re expecting a shift towards take-home and bigger-sized bottles and squashes and a variety of multipacks this year. Fever-Tree’s range of flavoured sodas always do well at

Christmas. We clear a bigger space for the six-packs. It is a shame they are not available all year round as I think they would sell well.”

Limited-edition Christmas Starbucks and Costa varieties, such as Costa gingerbread, and milkshakes always do well for him, too.

At Premier Linktown Local in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Faraq Iqbal is expecting customers to trade up as usual to more premium soft drinks. Premium cokes, lemonade, juices

‘Will soft drinks sales be sparkly this Christmas?’ is the million-dollar question this year. Anne Bruce finds out

We’re expecting a shift towards take-home and biggersized bottles

Introducing New Attached Caps

We’re proud to be leading the industry in Great Britain, introducing attached caps across our entire portfolio* making it easier to collect and recycle the whole package and ensure no cap gets left behind. The change is another step on Coca-Cola’s journey towards a World Without Waste, helping to reduce waste, prevent litter and support the creation of a circular economy for our PET packaging.

Keep cap attached & recycle together

To find out more email connect@ccep.com, call 0808 1 000 000 or visit my.ccep.com

*Including Coca-Cola Original Taste, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper and Lilt. Switch to attached caps across all formats completed by 2024. ©2022 The Coca-Cola Company. All rights reserved. All brand names are registered trade marks of their respective owner.

CHRISTMAS

and cordials do well at Christmas, and multipacks and take-home packs are the go-to format.

THE IMPORTANCE OF VALUE

The cost-of-living crisis has hit hard in Lingdale, North Yorkshire, and Asin Hussain, of Family Mart Premier, reports that customers are struggling to keep up the credit on their fuel meters. However, he is expecting sales of soft drinks to go up at Christmas, especially of big bottles, but he thinks price will be prioritised over brands.

“Own-label drinks do well with us,” he says. “Happy Shopper drinks are the go-to for many customers, with branded sales trading down. Cheap milkshakes are popular, and we also have branded cold co ees

from Starbucks. We will be running promotions over Christmas – whatever is on at Booker.”

Anticipating your customers’ priorities will be the key to success as retailers prepare for Christmas. Suppliers suggest that price-marked packs (PMPs) will help boost sales over Christmas. A spokesperson for Red Bull says: “Red Bull recommends stocking PMPs across bestsellers at all times, to demonstrate range and o er customers a transparent choice while driving sales and profit for operators.”

Stocking PMPs provides a sense of reassurance when it comes to price, Red Bull adds.

THE IMPACT OF THE WORLD CUP Patel’s store is always flat out at Christmas and, with the World Cup being on at the same time, assessing the possible impact on sales is tricky. He is confident that sales will soar if England get past the group stages, though.

Faraq Iqbal says that he is not sure there will be the usual amount of extra trade that the World Cup brings, as it is in the run-up to Christmas. Hussain also worries that with all that is going on with rising costs and the run-up to Christmas, customers might not be able to sit down and enjoy the World Cup.

All eyes are on soft drinks suppliers to support retailers at Christmas. Amy Burgess, senior trade communications manager

LAUNCHES

The Ribena Sparkling range launched a new look in September to help the drinks to stand out on shelf, to encourage trial and drive additional purchases, according to Sarah Fleetwood, head of Ribena at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I (SBF GB&I). The new packs showcase reduced-price price-marked bottles to help retailers drive value in their range at a time when consumers are price-sensitive.

SBF GB&I has also launched Ribena Sparkling Zero Sugar to help retailers meet growing demand for zero-sugar choices within the flavoured carbonates category, she says. Ribena Sparkling Zero Sugar will be available in 500ml and 2l bottles meeting shopper needs for both ‘drink now’ and ‘drink later’ formats. The updates from Ribena Sparkling will be supported by outdoor, PR, social media and in-store marketing across the country.

Chilled milk drinks brand Shaken Udder is working on a rebrand that should hit shelves by the end of this year. “As we’ve seen phenomenal growth, it made sense to evolve our branding and take it to the next level, with a design that reflects the superior taste and premium nature of our milkshakes,” says Paras Arora, Shaken Udder’s senior brand manager.

at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, says: “We’ve got a host of activities planned to build excitement this Christmas, which will include activations in stores.”

SHARING FORMATS

In terms of formats, suppliers suggest that sharing is the way to go in the festive season.

Burgess says: “Colas, mixers, lemonade and adult soft drinks overtrade over the festive period in comparison with the rest of the year, so that’s why it’s important for stores to make sure they are well stocked with sharing packs of bestselling soft drinks.

“We expect nights in will continue to be a key opportunity for retailers over Christmas and in the new year, particularly as shoppers continue to manage through challenging economic conditions.”

Including larger-format and multipack soft drinks in meal deals will o er the choice and value shoppers are looking for, Shaken Udder’s trade marketing manager, Alex Makin, says. Shaken Udder has a range of 750ml milkshakes for big nights in.

IMPACT OF HFSS

The new high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) location restrictions present

a new challenge this Christmas, although smaller retailers will not be a ected as they fall outside the strictures of the legislation.

But for those that must comply and keep HFSS products away from prominent spots in the shop, there is an opportunity to promote the soft drinks category.

Over recent years, the soft drinks category has invested heavily to reduce sugar content due to the sugar tax.

As a result, many products will not be a ected by the new HFSS restrictions. Almost three-quarters (73%) of soft drinks value sales come from HFSS-compliant products.

“That means soft drinks have a key role to play at the heart of festive front-of-store displays or aisle ends, creating in-store theatre and helping to drive sales,” says Burgess.

It seems that every cloud has a silver lining if you know where to look. By the same token, despite warnings from research company Retail Economics that Christmas will see UK consumers reducing their non-essential Christmas and Black Friday spending by £4.4bn this year as the cost-ofliving crisis bites, everyone is hoping that Christmas purchases of soft drinks in small shops will be cutback-proof.

●

RETAILER VIEWPOINTS

Faqaz Iqbal, Premier Linktown

Local, Kirkcaldy, Fife: Shoppers may be keen to treat themselves on small items and buy more as they are not going out so much, but on the other hand, regular customers may buy less as they are under financial pressure.

Dan Brown, Lothian Stores, Musselburgh, East Lothian: There will be more pressure to be competitively priced at Christmas this year, but I think it will be a big opportunity across the board as people will want to treat themselves even if they are struggling.

Nishi Patel, Londis Bexley Park, Dartford, Kent: It is difficult to see what Christmas will be like this year, possibly people just want to get themselves to the end of the year and worry about the debts next year. We will be doing as many offers as possible.

Nights in will continue to be a key opportunity for retailers

FROZEN FOOD

No freeze on sales

Before t he cost-of-living crisis began to bite this year, shoppers were already turning towards the frozen category in search of better value and to make their money go further.

“The frozen category has undergone a resurgence over the past few years,” says Joss Bamber, head of convenience at Birds Eye. “By the end of last year, the category had grown by 11% during the two years from 2019. Shoppers enjoyed more meals at home as the working-from-home culture and nights in were a more common occurrence.

“Despite a dip in frozen sales in the convenience channel over the past 12 weeks, driven by lapping the strong sales during lockdown, it’s clear t hat consumption of frozen food has risen over the past few years, with people no longer just filling their freezers to have ‘emergency’ options to hand.”

While restrictions on dining out seem unlikely to return from a legal standpoint, they are now a likelihood for many individuals thanks to the pressure on people’s finances, with shoppers trying for more nights in.

“As we move out of lockdowns and into a period where consumers face cost-of-living challenges, the decisions that consumers are making at the start of their shopping journey,

such as ‘where to eat’ and ‘where to shop’, are where we see the greatest change to consumers’ shopping habits and the greatest impact on the frozen category,” says Bamber. “We now anticipate a drop in the number of out-of-home eating occasions, such as trips to restaurants and takeaways, as shoppers choose to eat at home to save money.”

Nishi Patel, of Londis Bexley Park in Dartford, Kent, has recently finished a significant investment into his frozen o ering. “We’ve spent £15,000-16,000 getting Pastorfrigor machines in,” he says.

“It’s made a big di erence – we’re probably doing about £1,000 a week more than last year and we’ve only added a few multipack ice creams to the overall range.

“The freezers are taller, tidier and have better lighting, so they’re able to advertise the products better. They’re also energy e cient.”

There is naturally tension at the moment between the cost of running freezers and chillers compared to the return they can bring you, but Patel believes his range wouldn’t have increased sales without the requisite investment.

He has also seen evidence of people buying with longer-term finances in mind across his ice cream section.

Jasper Hart looks at how retailers are growing their frozen sales thanks to the cost-of-living crisis

“Multipacks and tubs have gone really well this year, especially with the summer we’ve had. Lollies have died a death now, but ice cream tubs will continue to sell,” he says.

Bamber says helping shoppers stretch their money has always been key to the category’s appeal.

“Frozen food has always played an important role in helping shoppers get more for their money, o ering consumers longer shelf life and greater portion control, which helps reduce food waste and therefore allows budgets to stretch further,” he says.

“The extended life of frozen products also allows for larger formats, which often come with monetary savings as price per kilo reduces.”

WHAT TO STOCK

For many of the occasions for which the frozen category provides – think easy meals in and desserts – brands are a key component.

“In times of uncertainty, the frozen category has historically performed well as shoppers turn to brands within the channel that they know and trust,” says Bamber. “Brands make up 93% of the retail sales value of the frozen savoury im-

pulse channel, so there is real value in providing consumers with brands they are familiar with and which provide comfort to them.”

Brands are also important for the retailers making steps into the growing meat-alternatives segment.

With almost 50% of the UK population buying meat-free products, providing meat-free alternatives from established suppliers can serve as a good starting point for consumers taking the plunge.

“We’ve given two sections to meat-free and vegetarian products,” says Paresh Vyas, of Limehurst Mini Market in Astonunder-Lyne, Greater Manchester. “Birds Eye Green Cuisine, Pukka Pies and Quorn are strong sellers.”

On the flipside, customers are also looking for the best deals available, which is why some retailers have found a mixture of branded and own-label products works best.

“When it comes to pizzas, it’s got to be Chicago Town – we do a range of seven,” says Patel. “We do a £5 meal deal, which o ers two pizzas and an ice cream.

“In a downturn, that o er is great and is a good treat. It also works well on Snappy Shopper.

“When it comes to vegetables and chips, we’ve moved to Jack’s from Birds Eye and Aunt Bessie’s. The margins we’re getting are a lot better. Brands are putting the price up and we’re getting less margin.”

That said, having a robust freezer o ering, even with low-margin branded products, can help boost overall basket spend, with frozen shoppers generally buying more.

“Frozen food continues to represent a strong sales driver for retailers, with frozen-food shoppers putting 75% more items in their basket per shop than the average convenience shopper, and spending 134% more than average,” says Bamber. “With families continuing to consume more meals at home, shoppers are focused on purchasing those bestselling products to enjoy at mealtimes.”

Meal deals may not be financially viable for some retailers, particularly those with the support of a symbol, but cross-merchandising can still be a viable means of increasing spend. “We sometimes buy kebab meat and put frozen pizza bread next to it,” says Vyas. “Putting these products alongside each other pushes the basket spend up a bit.”

Placing relevant categories like desserts, snacks or drinks alongside any combos or deals can push it further. “Cross-merchandising ice cream with alcohol or other sharingsize snacks can often interrupt shoppers,” says Jose Alves, marketing manager for ice cream at General Mills. “This presents an opportunity to upsell a big night in.” ●

Frozen-food shoppers put 75% more items in their basket per shop than the average convenience shopper

Opportunity of the week

PIXAR ADVENTURES

WITH…

Disney magazines editor Monica Labrosse reveals why this new launch is likely to be a sure winner on newsstands

How is Pixar Adventures

With… diff erent from other titles in its segment?

What’s the idea behind the magazine?

Pixar Adventures With… magazine was launched by Immediate Media Co on 5 October and alternates between Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear and Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story every four weeks.

Pixar Adventures With… Lightyear ties in with the Disney and Pixar Lightyear movie and invites readers to join Captain Buzz Lightyear on his adventures.

Pixar Adventures with… Toy Story reflects Disney and Pixar Toy Story’s themes of friendship and fun.

Which customers is the title aimed towards? Lightyear is for Buzz Lightyear fans aged six and older who love adventure. Buzz Lightyear will be immersed in imaginative play and the activities.

Pixar Adventures With… Toy Story is for fans aged four and older, and explores the world of Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story.

Pixar Adventures with… Lightyear is the only title to feature Buzz Lightyear as the star, along with his crew, friends and Zurg.

Pixar Adventures with… Toy Story features the Disney and Pixar Toy Story friends. Readers will fi nd out more about Woody, Buzz, Forky and the gang through stories, puzzles, quizzes, colouring, posters to keep, makes and games.

What's in the fi rst issue?

Pixar Adventures With… Lightyear is the fi rst issue, and it includes puzzles, quizzes, colouring, drawing, two posters and a door hanger make, plus missions for readers.

There is an interactive movie story, a codecracking activity with Sox and five mini-missions for the reader to complete.

Why should independent retailers stock it?

It’s a unique launch that alternates between two Pixar brands. Lightyear focuses on the space explorer who inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy in Toy Story, while Toy Story features Woody,

Jessie and friends. Both titles include stickers, colouring, puzzles and quizzes, and each issue comes with a gift.

How will you be driving youngsters into local shops to buy each edition?

The launch will feature digital and o ine marketing, including video advertising across YouTube, video ondemand platforms and in WHSmith travel stores.

There will be an interactive mini-game on kids’ apps and sites; mission boxes will be sent out to a selection of influencers; and we will carry out print advertising across our portfolio, including in Disney Stars, Pokémon and MEGA magazines.

GUEST COLUMNIST

Joe Little, managing editor, Majesty

PUT A BIT OF MAJESTY IN YOUR MAGAZINE SALES

Majesty fi rst appeared on newsstands in May 1980 with the Prince of Wales, and now flash forward King Charles III, on the cover. More than 40 years later, it continues to report on all the activities of royal families around the world.

During those four decades, Majesty celebrated weddings, babies and three jubilees, but also had to bid farewell to Diana Princess of Wales, the Queen Mother, Prince Philip and, most recently, Queen Elizabeth II, all of which were significant milestones in UK royal history.

Majesty is currently achieving doubledigits-plus year on year, including on issues published to celebrate the Queen’s historic Platinum Jubilee.

Our November issue, a second collector’s edition following the death of the Queen, will feature a profi le of the new King to mark his 74th birthday, and further tributes to our late monarch.

The independent sector is extremely key for us as it accounts for nearly half of all Majesty sales. Overall sales are up 4.6% year on year with an additional 314 retailers receiving copies from targeted penetration exercises.

Majesty maintains an a ordable cover price of £3.95, which appeals to customers who shop in the independents.

Copies can be ordered from wholesalers nationwide. It’s important to note that issues covering the Platinum Jubilee period were supported with merchandising in central London.

SALE

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™

Sticker Collection

Monica Labrosse

HELLO! – A TRIBUTE TO HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II

● This commemorative issue pays tribute to the late Queen’s life and legacy.

● This high-quality special edition is likely to stand out on newsstands and appeal to royalists, and will bag stockists £2.50 profit per copy sold.

On

ADVENTURES WITH GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE

● This magazine is based on DreamWorks Animation’s popular Netfl ix TV series and toy brand

Master, and comes with a playset.

The title supports learning through stories, puzzles, colouring, crafts, cooking

On

KINDRED SPIRIT

● This magazine combines ancient wisdom with advice from modern teachers since 1987, and is the UK’s leading guide to mind, body and soul.

It includes a special feature

mood using colour,

oracle

a

how to boost

tarot

RAILWAY MODELLER

● Railway Modeller remains Britain’s most popular railway title, having published 800 issues since it was launched.

● The latest issue looks at the new range of Hornby TT-120, and previews this year’s upcoming Warley NEC show.

On sale 13 October Frequency monthly

Marketforce

with British Railway

CLASSIC POP PRESENTS

What’s it about?

buys it?

Bestsellers

● This collection consists of a total of 670 stickers, plus 50 special edition ones.

NewsPro anticipates quick sales growth during the build-up to the November event.

WHAT’S ON TV

DeAgostini

Hachette

The

Daily

Sun

Panini Partworks

F1

Rossi

Panini

Baby Shark My First Sticker

Disney Frozen

Sticker Collection

Disney Princess

Sticker Collection

Disney Pixar Luca Movie Sticker Collection 3.99

FIFA Road to the World Cup

Official 3.99

Fortnite Official Trading Card Collection Series Two 8.99 2.70

Harry Potter Anthology Sticker Collection 3.99 0.90

Puppies and Me! Sticker Collection 3.99 0.90 Minecraft Treasure Sticker Album 3.99 0.90

Pixar Fest Sticker Collection 3.99 0.90

Premier League 2022 Sticker Collection 3.99 0.70

Premier League Adrenalyn XL 5.99 1.00

Turning Red Sticker Collection 4.99 0.90

Creative Toys Company

SoccerStarz Foil Bag 2.99 SoccerStarz Blister Pack 3.99

Magic Box

Zomlings Series 6 0.50

Star Monsters 1.00

SuperZings Series 2 5.00

Topps

Cricket Attax The Hundred 10.00 1.00

F1 Turbo Attax 2021 5.99 1.00

I Love Bunnies

Figurines 2.50

I Love Koalas Figurines 2.79

I Love Panda Figurines 6.50 2.50

WWE Slam Attax 1.75

UEFA Champions League

of the Best 3.00

Match Attax Xtra 5.00 1.00

Match Attax Xtra 21/22 1.00

UEFA Nations League Stkrs 4.99 1.00

WWE Sticker Collection 5.00 1.00

DeAgostini

Magiki Princesses 2.50

Magiki Unicorns 2.99

Sharks & Co 3.50

Intermedia

Squishy 2.99

Pokémon Pokémon Battle Style 3.99

Pokémon Chilling Reign 3.99

Pokémon Darkness

Ablaze 3.99

Pokémon Evolving Skies 3.99

Pokémon Fusion Street 3.99

Saturday newspapers

Sun £1.10 23.1p 21%

Mirror £1.80 34.2p 19%

Mirror (Scotland) £1.80 34.2p 19%

Daily Record £1.60 32.3p 19%

Daily Star £1.20 22.8p 19%

Daily Mail £1.30 27.3p 21%

Express £1.65 31.35p 19%

Express (Scotland) £1 20.6p 20.6%

Telegraph £3.50 70p 20%

Times £3 52.5p 21%

FT £4.50 94.5p 21%

Guardian £3.50 77p 22%

iWeekend £1.30 27.95p 21.5%

Racing Post £4.50 90p 20%

Herald (Scotland) £1.95 42.9p 22%

Scotsman £2.40 54p 22.5%

Sunday newspapers

Sun £1.40 29.4p 21%

Sunday Mirror £2.10 40.95p 19.5%

People £2.10 40.95p 19.5%

Star Sunday £1.50 26p 19%

Sunday Sport £1.50 36.45p 24.3%

Mail on Sunday £1.90 39.9p 21%

Sunday Mail £2.30 44.85p 19.5%

Sunday Telegraph £2.50 51.25p 20.5%

Sunday Times £3.50 63p 21%

Observer £3.50 85.7p 24.5%

Scotland on Sunday £2.50 55p 22%

Racing Post £4.20 84p 20%

SundayHerald(Scotland) £2 42p 21%

Sunday Express £2.10 39.9p 19%

Sunday Post £2.30 46p 20%

Scale of third-party advertising insert payments

Why cereal bars deserve more space in your store

Get your store ready for

Day’

festive

for