20|Retail News|June 2019|www.retailnews.ie
Nielsen State of the Nation
Nielsen Takes Retail Temperature Nielsen's recent State of the Nation event in Dublin painted a daunting picture of the Irish retail landscape in 2019, as we face the challenges ahead. WE’VE come a long way to get here. This was the message at a recent Nielsen state of the nation event in Dublin where retailers, analysts, and brand-owners assessed the retail landscape in 2019 and beyond. In order to learn about the future, it is worth reflecting on the journey we have been on, Claire Cullen, Nielsen’s Head of Client Delivery, told the audience. A decade ago, smartphones were in their infancy and discounters only shared 5.5% of the value of the marketplace. Today most shoppers have pocket computers and discounters command a staggering one-fifth of the marketplace: a 5% rise over the last year. Lidl has added six stores this year to its existing 160; Aldi has added seven to its 137. According to Cullen, 78% of market growth has been driven by brands in discounters and 70% of shoppers believe that discounters offer the lowest prices. “It’s no surprise to see the discounters winning in this kind of environment and scenario,” she said. But don't discount the convenience sector, which has risen to €2.6 billion in value. According to Nielsen stats, soft drinks are the number one driver of growth, followed by ice cream: good news for Unilever Ireland's Declan Livingstone, one of the panellists at the event. “We are a massive ice cream manufacturer,” he said. “We want to deseasonalise the category. We've linked
Claire Cullen, Head of Client Delivery, Nielsen. up with Kinder, an iconic brand, which is already the largest performer in its frozen category and the summer hasn't even kicked off yet.” Surviving a Perfect Political Storm Attendees were of the opinion that 2019’s retailers are operating in a fast-
paced, dynamic, industry and world. Jim Power, a leading Irish economist, was first on the stage to talk about Ireland's position in a global context. “Last year, I would have been describing 2017 as a great year,” said Power. “But as 2018 progressed, dark clouds started to appear. It’s all about politics rather than
Pictured are (l-r): Declan Livingstone, Customer Business Manager, Unilever; Ruairi Twomey, Chief Marketing Officer, Tesco Ireland; Karen Mooney, Ireland Leader, Nielsen; Sandra Alvarez, MD, Spark Foundry; Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business and Insight, Nielsen.