Talking Shop June 2019

Talking Shop ISSUE 101 – JUNE 2019

The magazine for Premier retailers

PLUS

25th birthday!

Premier celebrates with a year of activity

Cash in on Coffee

Upgraded coffee solutions range

Joining forces!

A foodservice expert and a retail specialist join forces to create a food-to-go focused store in Devon.

Talking Shop | June 2019

Welcome

Talking Shop ISSUE xx – xx

A warm welcome to your latest

2019

The magazin

e for Premier

issue of Talking Shop, packed full of great ideas, advice, news and

retailers

PLU

25th birthday!S

more - all designed to help you

Premier cel with a year of ebrates activity

Cash in on Coffee

grow footfall, sales and profits. As

Upgraded cof fee solutions ran ge

you will all know by now, this year sees Premier celebrate its historic 25th birthday - and we’re doing it in style with a huge programme of activity, promotions, giveaways and initiatives that will help make this year extra special for Premier retailers and shoppers alike.

We’re already hearing that the Premier Scratch Card promotion is having a massive impact in-store with some retailers seeing incredible 100% increases in sales! The promotion offers over £1.2m worth of prizes, including the fantastic top prize of a brand new Mini Cooper.

The 25th celebrations will continue right through 2019 and will bring solid benefits to every Premier store.

In this issue we’re also taking a look at the opportunity presented by the large and growing vegan and vegetarian market, we’re bringing you up to speed on our updated coffee solutions offer and we’re taking an in-depth look at wine and cider as we get ready for our new Wine & Cider Festival in July and August.

Joining forces!

A foodservic specialist joine expert and a retail a food-to-go forces to create focused store Devon. in

COVER STORY New food-to-go focused store opens in Devon.

THE THREE BIG STORIES 28 Premier’s 25th birthday celebrations A huge programme of activity kicks off to celebrate Premier’s 25th.

33 Plant-based profits

Cashing in on demand for meat-free lines.

48 Get social

A retailer’s guide to using social media for profit.

You’ll find four fascinating profiles in this issue too including one retailer who quit a senior job at Apple to become a Premier retailer!

There’s also a hands-on guide to making more of social media, something we all need to do these days.

Martyn Parkinson, Brand Director Premier

4 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

Share your shop news

If you’ve got news, tips or feaure ideas, get in touch with Talking Shop. Just pick up the phone and call:

0141 22 22 100 or write to: Talking Shop c/o 55 North Ltd. Waterloo Chambers 19 Waterloo Street Glasgow, G2 6AY or email: talkingshop@55north.com DISCLAIMER: Prices are correct at time of going to press, but may be subject to change.

52 Cash in on coffee to go

28

48

Premier’s 25th birthday kicks off

Make more of social media

33 Vegan options grow

23

Food to go focus in Preston Sands

07 Premier ‘Shoppers Favourite’ once more Premier has again been named the shoppers’ favourite convenience store at the HIM Awards.

09 Happy birthday to us!

This year marks Premier’s historic 25th birthday.

11 Community news

22 Meeting of minds

Top tips on making social media

specialist join forces in Devon.

work harder for your business.

24 Fighting fire with fire

Premier offers three great coffee

forced a Wirrall retailer to fight back

solutions to help you profit.

with a refit and a new strategy.

28 Let’s get the party started!

Premier’s 25th birthday sees a year

amazing community work by

of fantastic initiatives unveiled.

15 “I left Apple for Premier!”

The Corby retailer who left a senior job with Apple to start his own chain of Premier stores.

18 Aiming high in Derbyshire Taking independent retailing to

52 Cash in with coffee

New competition on all sides

A roundup of some of the latest Premier retailers.

48 Social strategy

A foodservice expert and a retail

61 Guest column DRS to hit Scotland next year and there’s a lot to learn from it for the rest of the UK.

33 Plant-based profits The extensive range of vegan and vegetarian lines from Premier gives retailers the edge.

38 Win with wine How to give your wines sales a boost this summer.

45 Ones To Watch

the next level is the goal for two

There are lots of new lines to get

Derbyshire retailers.

excited about this summer.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

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PremierNews NEWS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPINIONS FROM ACROSS PREMIER

Premier named ‘Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer’ once more Premier scooped three top awards at this year’s HIM Awards including the ultimate ‘Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer’ award for the second year running.

ONE: Shoppers’ Favourite Symbol Group.

Premier, the UK’s number one symbol group, has won three awards at the HIM Awards 2019 including the coveted top accolade of ‘Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer.’ This followed Premier also picking up the awards for ‘Shoppers’ Favourite Symbol Group’ and ‘Shoppers’ Favourite Small Format Retailer.’

Martyn Parkinson, Brand Director for Premier, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is testament to the hard work and dedication of our Premier retailers and I’d like to say a big thank you to them. These awards are particularly special as they are voted for by shoppers and are a true measure of Premier retailer’s commitment to serving their communities every day.

“I am delighted to have won three awards which shows the value that shoppers hold for Premier stores nationwide. With our 25th Birthday celebrations just starting, our new TV advert and our plans to give £25,000 back to communities nationally, I am confident we will be able to build on this success and drive more footfall, sales and profits for our retailers.”

The Shoppers’ Favourite Symbol Group Retailer award is based on shopper satisfaction ratings including speed of service, value for money and

TWO: Shoppers’ Favourite Small Format Retailer.

friendliness of staff while the The Shoppers’ Favourite Small Format Retailer 2019 awards is centred around CTN category purchase penetration and satisfaction within small stores.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer 2019 however is based on shopper ratings across all aspects of the store, including availability, ease of shop, range of products and staff friendliness.

Val Kirillovs, Research & Insights Director at HIM, said: “With over 20,000 face-to-face shopper interviews conducted, there is no doubt that this recognises the very best from the thriving UK convenience sector.

Premier has scored consistently high across the board and thoroughly deserve to win this award for the second year running.”

“Differentiation is often highlighted as key to growing within convenience, however you cannot overlook the basics.

“Our research shows that Premier scored particularly well and higher than their competitors for range, value for money and availability.

“This highlights the importance of the getting the core fundamentals of the convenience channel right.”

THREE: Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer.

Premier’s successes at this year’s HIM Awards: • The Shoppers’ Favourite Symbol Group 2019 • The Shoppers’ Favourite Small Format Retailer 2019 • The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer 2019

Premier store scores on the core ratings most important to shoppers: • 9.57 out of 10 for staff friendliness and helpfulness • 9.37 out of 10 for speed of service • 9.11 out of 10 for product availability • 9.05 out of 10 for community involvement • 9.42 out of 10 for ease of shop • 9.39 out of 10 for cleanliness of store

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

7

News

INBRIEF Premier kicks off 25th DEBIT CARDS KING IN-STORE, BUT CASH STILL IMPORTANT New analysis of the billions of payments processed by Worldpay has revealed that

birthday with huge programme of activity

debit cards are the UK’s preferred payment method, representing 55% of in-store payments.

The report also confirmed however that cash is still popular in the wider retail industry when purchasing inperson at 22%.

Credit cards account for 15% of sales, eWallet for 5% and charge cards at just 2%.

The report said: “While the predictions of a cashless future won’t come true anytime soon, the use of cash is very much on the decline globally. It is predicted that by 2026 the use of cash will drop to 21%.”

BOOKER JOINS GROCERYAID FUNDRAISER Booker will be playing its part at this year’s GroceryAid Coast to Coast cycle challenge in Wales this July. Andrew Thompson, Commercial Director, will join a team of 70 riders take on the gruelling 358km route to raise over £100,000 for the charity.

The group faces 5,500m of punishing climbs, a combined figure which is higher than Everest Base Camp!

8 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

CE L E BR AT IN G

The UK’s biggest and best symbol group celebrates its 25th birthday this year and has unveiled a massive programme of activity to help ensure it’s a special year for retailers and shoppers alike.

Premier celebrates its historic 25th birthday this year and has revealed a massive and exciting programme of activity to make sure that the year is one to remember for Premier retailers and shoppers alike.

Founded back in 1994, Premier has gone on to become the largest symbol group in the UK and is currently enjoying its 17th consecutive year of growth with over 3,350 stores now benefitting from the unrivalled Premier offer.

Premier stores serve more than 16 million shoppers every week and the group was named The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer once again at the recent HIM Awards, as voted for by customers.

To mark the 25th anniversary, Premier has unveiled a fantastic programme of activity that will run throughout the summer and beyond and is certain to make this another year to remember for retailers.

Premier’s biggest ever Scratchcard campaign will see shoppers win over £1.2m in prizes with the top prize a Mini Copper worth £25,000. With a 1-in-4 chance to win, shoppers will be collecting over 700,000 instant win prizes including smart speakers, wireless headphones, 4K Smart TVs,

Fitbits, Sound Bars and Amazon fire tablets.

Premier Brand Director Martyn Parkinson also revealed the strongest ever set of Wow and Mega Deals featuring massive discounts including ‘better than half price’ deals on household brands such as Walkers, Carling, Pringles, Blossom Hill and Pepsi Max. An additional alcohol leaflet is also being launched which will run until the end of the year and will feature consumer link deals on multipacks of on trend products, delivering PORs of over 20% for retailers. The deals will see shoppers benefit from discounts of up to £8.50 per line.

A new Premier Wine & Cider Festival will help light up sales in July and August with amazing deals on a range of multipack ciders and leading wines while Premier has also committed to donating £25,000 to 100 local good causes.

Finally, Premier will be backing this year’s big summer of sport with retailer giveaways of Cricket World Cup and Ashes tickets as well as Premier League football tickets.

The activity will be supported with a national press advert in The Sun, reaching over 4.2 million readers, and a new Premier TV ad.

News

It’s Grocer Gold for Premier!

INBRIEF PLAIN PACKAGING FOR SWEETS, CRISPS AND SOFT DRINKS ON THE CARDS?

Premier has followed up its outstanding success at this year’s HIM Awards by being named Symbol of the Year at the highly prestigious Grocer Gold Awards.

An influential think tank has called for tobacco-style plain packaging legislation to cover confectionery, crisps and sugary drinks.

The government-funded Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is demanding a number of hard-hitting new measures to help protect public health.

Hot on the heels of picking up three major accolades at the HIM Awards 2019, Premier has added another highly prestigious title to its collection of awards: the Grocer Gold Symbol Of the Year award.

The judges highlighted Premier’s 16 years of consecutive growth as a remarkabale achievement and applauded Premier’s “comprehensive and well thought through strategy with a no-cost

model proving retailers with a genuine partnership approach”. Premier Brand Director Martyn Parkinson (pictured above), added: “It’s been a great year for Premier with success at both the HIM Awards and, now, the Grocer Gold Awards.

These accolades are a reflection of the fantastic progress we are making and I want to thank all Premier retailers for the huge part they have played in making these successes possible.”

The organisation says plain packaging for high fat and sugar categories would “level the playing field between confectionery products and fruit and vegetables”.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has dismissed the idea as “not an effective way to tackle obesity”,

Euro Shopper refresh highlights pricing

stating that food and drink

Euro Shopper, Booker’s leading value brand in convenience retail, has had a packaging refresh to add further prominence to the yellow price band.

Following extensive research with independent retailers, it became clear that the yellow price band was the most important element of the packaging.

As a result, over 80 products now feature even bolder yellow price bands to help highlight the outstanding everyday value Euro Shopper delivers.

The more prominent yellow bands also help improve standout on-shelf and will help drive footfall, sales and profits for retailers. The packaging refresh was specifically designed to

obesity.

companies are already well aware of their role in tackling The IPPR has also called for the smoking age to be 21.

TALKING TACTICS What are you doing in-store to stand out in your local market?

work well in the independent retailing environment where, when sited next to leading brands, Euro Shopper lines offer shoppers great value, high quality alternatives for a fraction of the price.

Share it with us and your Premier retailer colleagues at talkingshop@55north.com 0141 222 5380

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

9

WIN A TRIP TO NEW YORK WITH RED BULL OCTOBER 10 2019

Enter for your chance to win an action-packed trip to the iconic city of New York with Red Bull.

A AI R OF TIP C TO BE KETS WON RETUR N F AN LI

GH D ACC OMMO TS INCLU DATION DED

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE THE 1ST AUGUST 2019: Purchase (minimum) 1 case of our ‘Magnificent 7’ Red Bull Range in the month of June.

Take a picture of The ‘Magnificent 7’ Range in your fridge merchandised the same as the below image.

3 Send the picture of the range to lizzie.trigg@redbull.com with your store name and contact details.

Sugarfree 250ml PM 1.25 (M235256)

Sugarfree 355ml PM 1.49 (M240426)

Sugarfree 473ml PM 1.85 (M240425)

Energy Drink 250ml PM 1.29 (M235257)

Energy Drink 355ml PM 1.59 (M235258)

Energy Drink 473ml PM1.99 (M130959)

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Energy Drink 4 Pack PM 4.89 (M235282)

CommunityNews OPINION, NEWS AND ACHIEVEMENTS FROM PREMIER RETAILERS

Marathon man raises INBRIEF £4.2k for Cancer Research Welsh retailer Llyr Thomas raised an amazing £4,274 for Cancer Research by running the London marathon and organising a series of events in his three Premier stores.

LINKTOWN LOCAL BACKS LOCAL HALF MARATHON

Community-minded Premier retailer Faraz Iqbal is supporting this year’s Kirkcaldy Parks Half Marathon by becoming the Official Water Sponsor of the event.

Taking place on August 25th, the event is a high point in the local community calendar with hundreds of runners descending on the area to take part.

Faraz will be providing

Welsh Premier retailer Llyr Thomas took on the London Marathon this year to help raise much needed funds for Cancer Research UK. He managed to raise a whopping £4,274.65 for the charity through sponsorship of his run and through activities he organised in his three Premier stores including a sponsored spin-a-thon

and a number of raffles across his stores to help raise money.

He told Talking Shop: “Raising money for good causes is part of what we do as true community retailers and I want to thank all my amazing shoppers for contributing so generously and making all the effort worthwhile.”

Singh’s Charity Cup scores for charity The eight annual Singh’s Charity Cup Premier event at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane stadium helped raise over £1,200 for Macmillan Cancer Research recently.

Organised by local retailers Premier Singh’s, the event was attended by almost 1,000 people with staff from all three of the Singh family’s stores there to help and support the match between Hillsborough Pumas Under-14s and

Brinsworth Whitehill Under-14s. The match ended in a 5-4 win to the Pumas.

Mandeep Singh commented: “The Singh’s Cup has become a big thing in the community over the last eight years and it raises vital money for charity.

“We get a big turn out every year and the community really gets behind it and everyone has an amazing day out.”

4,500 bottles of water at water stations for all the runners on the day.

He told Talking Shop: “We are delighted to be able to support a great event that encourages everyone to get out locally and enjoy Kirkcaldy!”

TALKING TACTICS What are you doing in-store to stand out in your local market?

Share it with us and your Premier retailer colleagues at talkingshop@55north.com 0141 222 5380

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

11

IndustryNews A DIGEST OF NEWS FROM THE INDEPENDENT RETAILING INDUSTRY

Convenience sector set “to grow by 3.5%” HIM’s latest research predicts that the convenience retailing sector is set to grow by 3.5% this year to £41.7bn.

New market analysis by retail research specialists HIM predicts that the growth rate in the convenience sector will accelerate in 2019, with overall turnover rising 3.5% to £41.7bn.

The growth rate had slowed down over the last few years thanks to competition from the discounters, rising business costs and declining tobacco sales but this year the sector is set for strong growth ahead of the grocery market average.

The figures were revealed in HIM’s latest Convenience Tracking Programme (CTP) which put the improved performance down to a combination of rising professionalism, better quality and range of offering, NPD and innovation, and premiumisation in the market.

Royton retailer and PDG member Justin Whittaker commented: “The independent retailing trade is a highly professional and innovative industry these days and it’s no surprise that shoppers love using their local Premier store.”

The report found that for the majority of c-stores

INBRIEF NEW LOOK FOR GROCERY AID BRANDING Independent retailing and grocery trade charity GroceryAid has refreshed the branding for many of its vital services and products.

The charity was founded in 1857 and currently looks after thousands of grocery and convenience retailing people.

This help ranges from financial support to practical assistance and is available to anyone from the industry.

GroceryAid aims to help

the most important driver to visit is their staff.

The CTP results also highlighted a concern in an apparent fall in the number of younger shoppers regularly using convenience stores. Only 28% of shoppers are aged 16-34 in the convenience market, significantly down from two years ago when they made up a third of all shoppers.

The report urged retailers to embrace this challenge by finding ways to engage with the new generation of shoppers with improved and more regular use of social media being one obvious method.

those in need across the whole of the grocery industry – from the largest factory to the smallest store.

The charity’s mission is: “Making life better for grocery people in need; from factory to store, we help everyone.”

Booker is a strong supporter of GroceryAid and Chief Executive Charles Wilson currently serves as the charity’s Vice Chairman.

Scotland confirms ‘all-in’ Deposit Return Scheme In a move that is likely to have repercussions for retailers across the rest of the UK, Scotland has confirmed that intends to introduce an ‘all-in’ Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

Scotland’s cabinet secretary for the environment, Roseanna Cunningham, said that the Scottish Government’s plans will include all PET plastic drinks bottles, aluminium and steel cans as well as glass bottles.

The Scottish Grocers’ Federation and the Association of Convenience Stores have long campaigned against the inclusion of glass on the grounds of practicality and safety.

The DRS plans will mean that all retailers selling drinks to shoppers will be legally obliged to collect drinks containers returned by those shoppers with a deposit level set at 20p per container.

HDPE milk bottles will not be included in the DRS, although could be added at a later date.

It is anticipated that the DRS will come into effect next year. The UK government has also announced its intentions to implement a DRS with retailers and manufacturers highlighting the need for the scheme to be harmonised with the Scottish scheme.

TALKING TACTICS What are you doing in-store to stand out in your local market?

Share it with us and your Premier retailer colleagues at talkingshop@55north.com 0141 222 5380

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

13

Corby | STORE PROFILE

I left Apple

5 0 % i

ncreas e sales s in ince refit

for Premier!

Very few retailers can claim to have left a high powered role at global tech giant Apple to open a Premier store, but Corby retailer Kathir Bala did just that - and has never looked back!

Store CV:

Name: Premier Old Village Neighbourhood Stores, Corby Retailer: Kathir Bala Number of stores: 3 Time as a retailer: 5 years Time with Premier: 5 years Size: 1,100 sq ft Staff: 6 Services: licensed, Lottery, PayPoint, Collect+, food to go, coffee, slush machine Nearest competition: Polish supermarket 100 yards; Asda and Tesco 2 miles away Trading hours: 5am to 9pm Mon – Fri; 7am to 9pm Sat and Sun

BIG PLANS: Kathir and wife Anna are rapidly building a chain of Premier stores.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

15

STORE PROFILE | Corby

T

here can’t be many retailers who have decided to leave secure jobs at global tech giant Apple to have a go at building a chain of Premier stores but Corby retailer Kathir Bala did just that. “I was a senior financial analyst with Apple for six years and have been in finance for 12 years but I was getting bored of doing the same thing and I fancied a new challenge,” says Kathir. “I wanted to do something different.”

That something different turned out to be opening a convenience store in Corby in 2014. “I’m not entirely sure why I decided on convenience retailing,” he laughs. “It’s not even as if I have any family in the trade or any experience of it. My parents in Sri Lanka ran a small chain of supermarkets but I was very young than and can’t really remember it.”

All those years of training at Apple, however, meant that before he made that leap, Kathir had spent a long, long time preparing for his new venture, dotting every ‘i’ and crossing every ‘t’.

“Apple is very process-driven and full of procedures and structures and protocols,” he explains. “I wanted to bring that very structured model of working into a convenience store environment. In the first instance, it meant I spent months scouring the south of England for sites that might offer me the potential I was after.”

After an exhaustive search in the M25 area – he wanted to stay within reach of family in London –

BEAN MACHINE: A new coffee machine is at the heart of the food to go offer.

GOOD TO GO: The food to go area features a Premier Deli.

NEW LOOK: The refurb saw the store gutted and fully rebuilt.

SETTING STANDARDS: Kathir’s high standards are in evidence throughout the store.

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JUNE 2019

SCRATCH SUCCESS: The Premier Scratchcard is popular!

BIRTHDAY BASH: The store is getting right behind the 25th birthday celebrations.

Kathir finally found what he was looking for in the town of Corby. An equally painstaking evaluation of the various symbol group offers led him to choose Premier as “the outstanding symbol group”.

So successful was that first store that he added a second in 2017 in nearby Kettering and has recently added his third store, again in Corby. Needless to say, all three are with Premier.

“The way I work is that I focus all of my time on one store so that I can implement all the procedures and structures I need so that the store will then be easily manageable by a good manager, then I move onto the next store to do it all over again,” he says. “So the first few years I spent sorting out the first Corby store, then

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

I spent a couple of years in the Kettering store and now I’m more or less full time in the new Corby store. It seems to be working.”

So much so in fact that Kathir lets slip that he might be “adding another couple of stores in the near future”.

A man steeped in the value of structure and process, Kathir says he has always worked extremely closely with Premier.

He comments: “It was clear to me from day one that Premier is very good at so many core things, so I just let them manage all of those things for me which frees me up to do all the added value things that I’m good at.”

In practice that means, for instance, that when it came to the new store he was happy to take much of Premier’s advice on ranging, merchandising and store layout. “They are experts at this, so why would I interfere with that side of the business?,” he asks. “The advice I get from the team at Premier has been fantastic so far, so I have no reason to doubt their judgment.”

One area where Kethir and Premier full agreed was that the store was in major need of a full refit. “It’s the only convenience store in the area but the previous owners had allowed to it run down,” he says. “It was not in good shape.”

Kathir and the Premier team then sprung into action, planning an all-new store that is, frankly, unrecognisable from the store it replaced. “We based a lot of the store on Premier’s Store of the Future model”, he says. “So we’ve brought in a lot of things that weren’t here before like food to go, coffee, a large fresh and chilled offer, the Premier promotional programme and Booker’s own brands.”

His obsession with planning and process is also clearly evident in how neat, tidy and efficient the store clearly is. The team instore all know exactly what needs done and when, and they obviously share Kathir’s passion for high standards and delivering a

spends but over time we’re starting to see more shoppers spending £20 or £30 at a time,” he notes.

The store relies heavily on local trade, particularly from the many thousands of workers in the local area, which also explains why he opens at 5am.

“Because of its convenient location for major motorways, Corby is a logistics hub for CASH IN: The Premier birthday promotions are driving sales growth. many big companies like Morrisons and Argos so there are thousands of shift workers in the local area.”

This in turn explains why there’s often a queue outside the door at 5am when the store opens as nightshift workers seek out a tasty breakfast like a sausage roll or a filled baguette!

That pool of potential new shoppers will receive another boost next year when another new logistics park opens with DRINK TO THAT: A refreshed alcohol offer another 5,000 employees due to has contributed to 50% sales growth. descend on Corby.

“We’re finding that when people come here for the first time, they’re very pleased and they come back again – so the big challenge is just bringing shoppers through the door for the first time,” says Kathir.

“Once they’re here, we have them! We basically want to convince our shoppers that there’s no need to go anywhere else.”

Despite only being in the MODERN FEEL: The new store looks bright, modern and airy. store for a short time, Kathir is already planning to develop it with a dessert bar high on his list of store that shoppers will want to return to.

The new store has only been fully priorities. “Premier have advised me to opened a matter of months but sales are look at adding one and the more I think already up 50% and indications are that about the idea, the more I like it,” he says. margins are also rising steadily. “The data “I’ve seen it in a few other Premier stores we got wasn’t great,” admits Kathir, “but and I think it could work in mine.”

When asked whether he has ever I’d confidently guess that our margins are far higher than they ever were before and regretted leaving the safety of his job at Apple, Kathir grins a broad grin and says they’re still growing.”

A good indication of this is the growing “Nope! Never. I don’t do regrets. I’m loving basket spend he’s seeing as more shoppers it just now. It’s a great industry and we’re become familiar with the store and starte growing fast and no two days are ever the using it more regularly. “At the outset we same. I was looking for something different were only getting small impulse-led basket and I definitely found it!”

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

17

STORE PROFILE | Staveley, Derbyshire

Fortune favours

the brave W

FRESH START: Tajinder and Daljit with their newbuild Premier store in Staveley.

After successfully growing sales in a small store by over 700%, a Derbyshire husband and wife retailing team have moved it up a gear by building a brand new 1,500sq ft store from scratch.

18 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

ON THE GO: Coffee and hot food are at the heart of the store’s offer.

hen you’ve already taken a small store that was turning over less than a thousand pounds a week and grown sales by 700%, the temptation to to test yourself with a much bigger challenge can be both exciting and daunting, as Staveley retailer Tajinder Singh and his wife have discovered.

He explains: “My wife Daljit and I first got into independent retailing 11 years ago when we bought a very small store that wasn’t in great shape. It was turning over only about £800 a week but we had a plan and we worked hard and we eventually got the weekly takings up to around £7,000.”

A remarkable achievement but then disaster struck when a supermarket moved in next door. “It was a real blow for us and it seemed like all that work had been for nothing,” says Tajinder, or Taj as he’s better known to his shoppers.

“So we went on holiday with family to relax and think it over. At the time my wife wanted to buy a new house and we had agreed to do that but on the holiday I got to thinking that, with all that we’d learned, we should start looking for a new business to buy instead.”

Long story short, Taj’s remarkably understanding wife agreed to postpone the plan for a new house so that they could look for a new business opportunity. “She even sat on the laptop on holiday helping source potential sites,” says Taj. “That’s when she came across a plot of land the local Council was selling off.”

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

Store CV:

Name: Premier Convenience Store Middlecroft, Staveley, Derbyshire Retailers: Tajinder Singh and Daljit Kaur Time as retailers: 11 years Time with Premier: 7 months Size: 1,500sq ft Staff: 7 Services: Licensed, Lottery, Paypoint, Hermes, ATM, hot and coold food to go, coffee, slush, kids zone Nearest competition: Morrisons and Co-op within 1/2 a mile Trading hours: 7am - 10pm

GOOD CHOICE: The food to go section has something for everyone.

GO LOCAL: Locally sourced products provide another point of difference.

One thing led to another and Taj and Daljit ended up buying the plot of land from the Council and building a brand new 1,500 sq ft convenience store and a house alongside.

“To this day I’m still not quite sure how we went from thinking about quitting the industry to buying some land and building a store and a house from scratch,” laughs Taj! “We had learned that you could squeeze a lot of turnover out of a very small space but with the old store we literally couldn’t fit any more range in,” he says. “So we believed that having a lot more space in a purpose-built store would allow us to have everything we wanted all in one place.”

The couple were courted by countless symbol groups but from his extensive research of the local area, Taj knew that he

ROOM TO GROW: The spacious new store is bright and inviting.

had to offer great value for money every day and there was only one group for him, as he explains: “There are about 1,000 properties within our catchment area and we both knew that value for money was going to be what brought people to the store and kept them coming back. Premier’s range and pricing was by far the best available and that decision has proven to be the correct one.”

Taj and Daljit worked tirelessly with Premier to build the range and layout of the store, always with one eye on value.

“We took a lot of advice from Premier, he says. “We didn’t agree on everything but we worked really well together and we built a great range that caters for just about every requirement. We incorporated a lot of price marked packs, big Euro Shopper and Happy

Shopper ranges and the Discover the Choice range. We also got right behind the Premier promotions because those drive huge sales spikes for us. The day after we circulate the Premier leaflets we always see big increases in sales. Our shoppers just love the value they deliver.”

The total project took nearly three years, but when completed late last year, it became an instant hit with the local community.

“Over those three years we learned that the community desperately wanted a new store so we were pretty confident, but we couldn’t have anticipated the success we’ve had,” he says. The store quickly reached the £15,000 a week mark then grew to well over £20,000 – and Taj is ultimately hoping to hit £30,000 a week.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

19

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What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

Core to that growth has been hot food and coffee, something that Premier encouraged Taj and Daljit to embrace. “Hot food became a priority for us because it delivers footfall, sales and margin – and gives us a major point of difference,” says Taj. “We have a comprehensive solution from Country Choice that has been really popular with shoppers and we also have Chicago Town pizzas which brings shoppers in during the school run and in the evening.”

Locally sourced bakery products also help to provide another point of difference for the store, helping reinforce its commitment to supporting the local area. A large kids zone draws in schoolchildren from two nearby schools.

With a lot more space available in the new store, Taj is also able to cater for more adult tastes with larger format chilled multipack beers which have helped increase basket spend and drive repeat purchase. Similarly, large floor stacks of cases of beer help attract attention and generate high value sales.

One challenge the pair have had in spite of – or perhaps because of – their success is staffing, as Taj explains: “It has taken us some time to get to grips with having a much bigger team. In the previous store it was just the two of us and one staff member. Now we have seven it’s a bit trickier to manage and we have had a few issues along the way.”

Nonetheless, the store continues to grow and an ‘official’ opening day in July provides a great opportunity to bring more potential shoppers to the store. “We wanted the store perfect before we did the launch party and we’ve got 5,000 leaflets going out so we’re hoping to have a great day and entice lots of new faces to visit the store and hopefully start shopping with us regularly,” he comments.

The couple have also been working hard at engaging with the local community running fortnightly raffles for local charities, something that has struck a chord with locals.

“I have to pinch myself sometimes when I think of what we’ve achieved with this store,” concludes Taj. “I never thought I was the sort of man who would take such a big risk in life but I have to say I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s difficult to believe we’ve come this far and it’s just so unbelievably satisfying to come into this store every day and see how busy it is and how much it means to the local community to have a store like this here for them. It’s our dream come true – and there’s more growth to come!”

STACK ATTACK: Floor stacks help attract attention and drive sales.

CHILDS PLAY: A Kids Zone attracts local shoolkids – and their parents.

BIG BASKETS: Chilled multipack beers help grow basket spend.

PROMOTION COMMOTION: The Premier promotions generate big sales uplifts.

MEAL SOLUTIONS: Pizzas help creat evening food to go sales.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

21

STORE PROFILE | Paignton, Devon

Meeting of minds Foodservice specialist Alan Grant and retail expert Andy Dursley have combined their skillsets to launch an outstanding Premier store in Paignton with a major focus on food to go.

HOT STUFF: Food to go is the store’s focal point.

OUTSIDE NOW: An external seating area drives footfall and dwell time.

NEW DEAL: Alan Grant and his new Premier store.

W

ith the continuing growth of food to go in independent retailing, what better team to shape a modern Premier store than a local businessmen with long experience in foodservice and a retail expert, also from the local area? That’s precisely

22 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

what Alan Grant and Andy Dursley were thinking when they first started mulling over the idea of a new Premier store in Paignton in Devon.

“I worked for Asda for 22 years as a store manager then left eight years ago to join Makro in Taunton,” explains Andy. “Alan runs a small store on a local holiday camp and also has a fish and chip shop. He happened

Store CV:

Name: Premier Preston Sands, Paignton, Devon Retailers: Alan Grant and Andy Dursley Time as retailers: 3 months Time with Premier: 3 months Size: 2,200sq ft Staff: 12 Services: PayPoint, Lottery, ATM, hot and chilled food to go, Costa coffee, F’Real milkshake, Whippee ice cream, American candy, snacks and drinks, poser bar, free wifi, outdoor seating area Nearest competition: Tesco 200 yds; McColls and Sainsbury’s ¼ mile Trading hours: 7am – 10pm

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

to be one of my customers for the last three or four years. For one reason or another we got to talking about buying a convenience store but with a real focus on food to go.”

Working for Makro, Andy was very familiar with the independent retailing market and was convinced that food to go was where the future would lie – and Alan agreed. Andy explains: “After we found a suitable site, we decided to go for it.”

That site was a former Morrisons Local which had closed when the chain went under. “On the face of it, it was a very good site,” says Andy.

“It had been well fitted out at one point but we knew we would have a lot of work ahead of us to turn it into the sort of store we were looking for.

And we both agreed from day one that it had to be a Premier. It was the only symbol group that could give us everything we needed all from one place. The foodservice offer is just fantastic and the retail offer is market-leading as far as we’re concerned.”

The pair bought the store in February and started work on a full-scale refit straight away. “We ended up having to replace virtually everything but we got there in the end with a lot of help from Premier who were fantastic.” The new store opened on the 19th of April and is performing in line with the forecasts that Andy and Alan had made, much to the pair’s relief!

“It was always our intention to have food to go as the fundamental heart of our offer,” he says. “With a supermarket almost next door, it didn’t make sense to try to compete directly with them head on so what we’ve done is build a destination

GIN TIME: A broad range of spirits sits where the tobacco gantry once was.

VAPING PROFITS: A dedicated vape station drives sales and profits.

FRESH APPROACH: Fresh fruit and veg is prominent in the store.

AMERICAN DREAM: The store stocks a big range of American candy and drinks.

store with lots and lots of products and services that shoppers won’t find elsewhere.”

The store is packed with fantastic food to go products including a Costa coffee machine, a F’real milkshake machine, a Whippee ice cream unit and a sandwich bar, all in addition to the main Premier Deli. The store also runs a curry night throughout the week to drive evening trade.

But it’s not all about food to go as the store offers a very strong range of traditional convenience categories and lines including a significant fresh and chilled offer and a great selection of spirits, particularly gins, behind the tillpoint to drive impulse high value sales.

“We’ve also added some features to help bring shoppers back more often and keep them here longer when they do come like an outdoor seating area and a poser bar inside with free wifi and plug sockets,” enthuses Andy. “We’ve

STAY A WHILE: A poser bar with charging point and free Wifi is popular.

brought in a big vaping range and a range of American candy and drinks too. We’re trying to add as many points of difference as we can.”

Sitting on the main road down to the beach, the store is seasonal but has a big enough catchment area to be busy year-round. “We’re hoping for a bit of sunshine this year which help bring in both the tourists and the locals,” says Andy. “And we’re hoping that after the locals have been in once they’ll keep coming back.”

It’s clearly still very early days but so far Andy and Alan’s strategy is paying off handsomely with food to go and alcohol performing best in the store.

“It’s been a really positive, if slightly nervewracking experience so far,” concludes Andy.

“The local community has really taken well to the store and I think they appreciate the fact that it’s a couple of local lads running a locallyowned convenience store for the benefit of the local community.

“It’s obviously been complicated by the fact that both Alan and I have full-time day jobs so we’ve had to work hard to build a good team in-store and we’ve recently appointed another local lad as manager. It’s all come together really nicely and Premier have played a massive part in helping that happen.

“We’re just really excited about the summer and we’re enjoying the ride!”

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

23

STORE PROFILE | Bebington, Wirral

4%

increase in margin since refit

Store CV:

Name: Premier Edwards of Bebington, Wirral Retailer: Paul Edwards Time as a retailer: 17 years Time with Premier: 14 years Number of stores: 3 Size: 1,600 sq ft Staff: 8 Services: licensed, main Post Office, Lottery, hot and cold food to go, coffee machine, Tango Ice Blast, F’real milkshakes, ATM, vape station Nearest competition: Co-op, Bargain Booze, Sainsbury’s all within 500 yards Trading hours: 7am – 10pm

Fighting

READY FOR ACTION: Paul Edwards (left) and his team have turned the store around.

fire with fire

When Wirral retailer Paul Edwards watched as a string of major retailers opened within 500 yards of his Premier store, he knew it was time to fight back – and that’s exactly what he’s done.

I

t’s the sort of nightmare scenario that all Premier retailers dread: a once thriving store sees sales and profits tumble as a Bargain Booze, a Co-op and a Sainsbury’s open within a stone’s throw of the store. That’s the situation that faced Wirral retailer Paul Edwards and he was left with a tough decision. “I really was thinking that I only had a couple of options,” he explains. “I could either decide to fold up the tent and call it a day, or I could roll up my sleeves and fight back. Now I’m not the sort of man to back down from a challenge so the

24 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

sleeves got rolled up and it was game on!”

Paul has owned the store in the Bebington area of the borough for eight years and it had been trading well until the arrival of his new retail neighbours. “We lost a lot of our turnover – as much as 30% – but I had a good look at what the new stores had to offer and I began to see an opportunity,” he says.”

That opportunity was food to go and while he was planning his new strategy another opportunity landed in his lap.

“There was a standalone Post Office along the road but it was in real trouble so I

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Food to go and coffee have driven the new success of the store.

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

DINE OUT: Premier Meal Deals help drive spend and profit throughout the day.

STANDING OUT: The store now offers lots of compelling reasons for shoppers to visit.

COOL MARGINS: A large fresh and chilled range drive profits in the store.

managed to acquire the post office service on a temporary basis,” comments Paul.

“While I was doing that, I applied to get the Post Office full time and was told it would take six months so that gave me the time to get my plans organised and also to undertake a major refit.”

The refit gave Paul the opportunity to properly incorporate the post office into his 1,600sq ft store, but it also presented him with the perfect chance to rework the rest of the store too.

“By then I absolutely know that food to go was going to be the key to unlock growth and take the store back to where it had been before,” he says. “So I got to work with Premier and we laid out plans for a completely new store that had lots of products and services built in that would give shoppers reasons to bypass the other three retailers and come to me.”

The store re-opened eight weeks ago but Paul is still bringing in new footfall and profit-driving products and services every week. “We have two secondary schools and a primary school nearby so that also influenced my thinking,” explains Paul.

A new food to go area takes pride of place in the store complete with an array of food and drink on the go solutions such as a coffee machine, a F’real milkshake machine and a Tango Ice Blast unit. He

HOT STUFF: The new hot food range is a huge hit.

IMPULSE BUY: The reworked counter offers lots of tempting reasons to buy for shoppers.

has also added a pizza solution that helps pull in food to go shoppers in the evening and a new Bon bakery solution is due to be installed in the coming weeks.

“Independent retail is a lot more about theatre and experience these days,” he says.

“Shoppers are coming in to have a great experience and all of these differentiated products and services help deliver that. Just as important, they all deliver much better margins for me too!”

To illustrate his point, Paul points to the fact that since the refit, his margins have rocketed from around 20% to 24% - and he reckons there’s still more growth to come.

“My sales are also back where they used to be, but that’s not my main concern these days,” states Paul. “Profit is my main concern and we’re winning that battle.”

Which is remarkable, given that his store is

TRIGGER POINT: The opportunity to add a Post Office triggered the full refit.

now surrounded by serious competitors. “It is remarkable,” he agrees, “but it just goes to show that there’s growth to be had if you look for it in the right places, even with all the competition we all face these days.”

So focused on margin is Paul, in fact, that he now has a rule of thumb that says ‘if it doesn’t make 25% minimum, it doesn’t get listed’.

Paul has also been careful to choose solutions that don’t significantly add to his staff’s workload. He explains: “Food to go can be quite labour intensive so I’ve tried to take advantage of as many self-contained solutions as I can. The F’real unit, for instance, is self-cleaning and requires a minimum of input from my team.”

Shoppers have taken to the new store like ducks to water and Paul is seeing new faces through the door every day and he hopes that trend continues with the arrival of the Bon bakery.

“I’ll be honest and say it was quite a scary time before the refit,” concludes Paul. “The store wasn’t doing well and we knew we needed to do things differently. You’re never completely confident that your fantastic new ideas will actually work in-store – so I can’t tell you how pleased I am at the results and I really think there’s a lot more growth still to come. Here’s hoping for a decent summer to help that along!”

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

25

SMOKERS ARE .*

YOUR SALES AND PROFITS.

HEETS IS THE SMOKE-FREE TOBACCO T H A T G I V E S Y O U 9 % ** P O R . S T O C K U P N O W AT Y O U R C A S H A N D C A R R Y . *This communication is for the information of tobacco traders only IQOS.COM **All on-shelf prices are selected by the retailer alone and margin may therefore be affected THIS PRODUCT IS NOT RISK-FREE. FOR ADULT USE ONLY

TO STOCK HEETS.

For use only with IQOS

FEATURE | Premier’s 25th Birthday

Let’s get

C ELEBR AT I NG

the party started!

Premier celebrates its historic 25th birthday this year and is marking the anniversary with a massive programme of activity that will make this a year to remember for retailers and shoppers.

28 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

F

or the UK’s biggest and best symbol group 2019 is a very special year, marking as it does Premier’s historic 25th birthday. The now iconic group started life in 1994 and quickly established itself as the largest symbol group in the UK with more than 3,350 stores now benefitting from the unrivalled Premier package.

Did you know that Premier now has a wholesale turnover of more than £1bn and Premier stores serve over 16 million customers every week? What’s more, Premier is currently enjoying its 17th consecutive year of growth – an outstanding achievement and one that every Premier retailer can be proud of.

It’s no surprise then that Premier was once again named The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer at the recent HIM Awards and was named Symbol of the Year at the Grocer Gold Awards.

To help mark this 25th birthday, Premier has unveiled a massive and hugely exciting programme of activity to make sure that this special year is one to remember for both Premier retailers and shoppers.

Using social media a great way to let your shoppers know about all this year’s activity and how they can benefit!

BIGGEST EVER SCRATCHCARD GIVEAWAY WITH £12M IN PRIZES! A core element of the 25th birthday celebrations is the launch of Premier’s biggest ever Scratchcard campaign which will see shoppers win over £1.2m in prizes with RETAILER VIEW the top prize a Mini Cooper RAMSEY HASABALLA worth £25,000.

Premier Speke With a 1-in-4 chance to win, shoppers will be collecting over 700,000 instant win prizes including smart speakers, wireless headphones, 4K Smart TVs, Fitbits, Sound Bars and Amazon fire tablets. That means that there will be an average of 200 prizes per Premier store!

Town Lane, Liverpool

“The Scratchcard promotion has been absolutely phenomenal for us in the store. The Scratchcards have driven up sales by 100% even though today is only the first day! We haven’t even begun highlighting the promotion on social media so to see this level of sales uplifts is simply amazing!

We’re also supporting the 25h birthday celebrations by doing 25 social media giveaways this month to celebrate.”

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

29

% off

ce

FEATURE | Premier’s 25th Birthday CELEBR AT I NG

Over 25% off

Over 25% off

Over 30% off

ADDITIONAL ALCOHOL LEAFLET An additional alcohol leaflet is being launched which will run until the end of the year and will feature deals on multipacks of on-trend products.

STRONGEST EVER WOW AND MEGA DEAL The deals will see shoppers benefit from PACKAGE discounts of up to £8.50 per line while Premier Better than Half Price retailers will enjoy PORs of more Premier has also revealed the than 20%. strongest ever set of Wow ar end of the ye run until the To • and Mega Deals featuring The leaflet will focus on big and massive discounts on a huge d products • On trencategories growing such as gin, range of household name vodka and swhisky with special • Multi pack brand products. deals planned for brands like

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l leaf o h o c l A l a n o i Addit

The deals cover brands such as Walkers, Carling, Pringles, Blossom Hill and Pepsi Max and include everything from 25% off to ‘better than half price’, all guaranteed to drive footfall, sales and profits in Premier stores.

PREMIER WINE & CIDER FESTIVAL July and August will see the launch of a new Premier Wine & Cider Festival which will help light up summer sales with amazing deals on a range of multipack ciders and leading wines.

Featured deals include 6 x 10pack ciders for just £10, including Strongbow Dark Fruits which was added in direct response to demand from Premier retailers.

Other deals include Magners 18-packs for just £10.99, saving shoppers £4, and Dino Prosecco for just £7. Country Manor 3l will be available for £5.49 while Echo Falls Fruit Fusion will be just £3.99. Again, Premier retailers will receive free POS to advertise the Festival and drive footfall, sales and profits throughout July and August.

30 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

deals

link • Consumer Smirnoff, Famous Grouse, aflets S & leTanqueray, PO ee fr Gordon’s, Whitley Neil, e iv ce • Retailers re Bombay Sapphireerand POR % Jack n earn ov 20 • Retailers ca Daniels. le

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can sa Retailers • Shopperswill receive free POS and leaflets to help them cash in on a massive series of opportunities to drive alcohol sales all year.

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

£25,000 CHARITY GIVEAWAY Recognising the importance of community engagement and local charity work, Premier has committed to donating a whopping £25,000 to local good causes.

The donations will take the form of £250 donations to 100 local good causes. Speak to your RDM to find out how your store can get involved.

SUMMER OF SPORT

O F F I C I A L

W I N E

P A R T N E R

WIN

Premier will be backing this year’s big summer of sport with a mountain of retailer giveaways that will see Premier retailers win tickets to some of the highest profile sporting events of the summer. For cricket fans, Premier is working with wine brand Wolf Blass and Coca-Cola to hand out tickets to the Cricket World Cup and the Ashes while signed cricket bats will also be are up for grabs. To have a chance of winning, all that retailers have to do is purchase specific products from Booker and they will be STOCK UP ENERGISE YOUR TODAY FOR A SALES WITH CHANCE TO automatically entered into a free COCA-COLA WIN ENERGY prize draw. For football fans, Premier will be offering 25 pairs of tickets to Premier League matches.

PRIZE 1

2 TICKETS TO ENGLAND vs SRI LANKA 21ST JUNE, HEADINGLEY, LEEDS

PRIZE 2

2 TICKETS TO BANGLADE SH vs INDIA 2ND JULY, EDGBASTON, BIRMINGHAM

PRIZE 3

A SIGNED CRICKET BAT SIGNED BY ENGLAND ALL-ROUNDER CHRIS WOAKES

Buy one case each of Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon between 3rd April 2019 and 7th May 2019 to be automatically entered in a prize draw for a chance to win one of these fabulous prizes* Wolf Blass Yellow Label is the No.1 Australian Wine above £7 *

Limited edition cricket labels in market May–July The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 had a total viewership of 1.5 billion**

*Terms and Conditions Apply

Booker Wolf Blass Cricket ad A4

* Nielsen Scantrack, Australian Wine, average price £7+, MAT Value Sales, data up to 05.01.19. **International Cricket Council official statistics

Landscape final.indd 1

19/03/2019 14:17

PREMIER IN STATS… £1bn Value of wholesale business 16 million Premier shoppers served every week 3,350 Premier stores, the largest group in the UK

NEW

2 HOSPITALITY TICKETS TO THE CRICKET * WORLD CUP

best To Enter: Email 1 photo of your Energy display featuring both Coca-Cola 250ml and Coca-Cola Energy No Sugar activated. with consumer point of sale

17 Years of consecutive growth

.co.uk Send your entry to retailer@booker Entries to be received between 1st May – 14th May.

all Premier and Family 2 pairs per region. Open to *16 Pairs of tickets available, your 9 digit Booker per store. Email the photo with Shopper customers, one entry line.

Customer number in the subject are available by visiting itionTandCs For full terms and conditions g/advertmenu.aspx?pg=Compet https://www.booker.co.uk/catalo Promoter: Booker Group PLC. High caffeine - see pack.

All Rights Reserved. ©2019 The Coca-Cola Company.

RETAILER VIEW KATHIR BALLA Premier Old Village Nighbourhood Stores, Corby “The 25th birthday celebrations package has gone down really well with my shoppers, particularly the Scratch Card promotion.

It’s been really effective in encouraging shoppers to spend a little more to make sure they get their Scratch Card which is helped with everything: footfall, sales and profits. I’m looking forward to the Wine & Cider Festival too. I think that will definitely drive extra profits.”

MARKETING SUPPORT

17/04/2019 14:29

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The entire 25th anniversary activity packageSu will n receive e h T in heavyweight marketing support from Premier with a national press advert in The Sun, reaching over 4.2 million readers, and a brand new Premier TV ad.

day 12 rs every JUNE 2019 TalkingShop 31 e d a e r r 4.2m

TOUGH ON THE TOUGHEST MESSES

COMING SOON IN PMP’S M248548

• 42% of UK households buy dishwasher tablets in a year: 35% of them buy at least one Fairy product.* *Source: Kantar Worldpanel - Total Auto Dish category - Great Britain, past 52 weeks ending on Oct 7th 2018

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

Wow! 35.79% POR!

Plantbased profits!

The latest HIM research shows that healthy eating is now important to 20 million Brits with demand for plant-based foods set to spearhead the growth – so are you ready for to cater for vegan and vegetarian shoppers?

DISCOVER THE CHOICE MEAT-FREE OPTIONS Talking Shop recommends the new Discover the Choice vegan and vegetarian ready meals as great ways of growing footfall, sales and profits in a fast-growing sector of the market:

VEGAN Discover the Choice Chickpea & Cauliflower Curry & Rice

WSP: £1.90 RSP: £2.99PM / 2 for £5 POR: 36.45% Discover the Choice Five Bean Chilli & Rice

WSP: £1.90 RSP: £2.99PM / 2 for £5 POR: 36.45%

VEGETARIAN Discover the Choice Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagne PMP2.99 / 2 for £5

WSP: £1.90 RSP: £2.99PM / 2 for £5 POR: 36.45%

H

ealthier eating has arguably never been more important to UK shoppers with the latest HIM research revealing that healthier eating is ‘highly important’ to a massive 20 million British shoppers. For many of those shoppers, adopting a fully or partially plant-based diet is at the heart of their drive to eat and live better.

Not surprisingly, the HIM research suggests that demand for vegan and vegetarian products is set to massively intensify in 2019.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

33

FEATURE | Vegan & Vegetarian

FOCUS ON: DISCOVER THE CHOICE VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN READY MEAL RANGE WHY? Booker has responded to the massive growth in interest in vegan and vegetarian diets with the launch of a new range of fantastic quality Discover the Choice vegan and vegetarian ready meals. The three new lines are all price-marked in line with other Discover the Choice ready meals at £2.99 or 2 for £5 and offer retailers outstanding PORs of 37.79%. The three new lines are Chickpea Curry & Rice, Five Bean Chilli & Rice and Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagne, offering something for every taste.

WHO? With more shoppers than ever choosing to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, these new lines will appeal to many different shoppers and help broaden the appeal of the Discover the Choice range even further. They will also help bring new shoppers to your store, delivering the great quality and value that they have come to expect from the Discover the Choice range.

WHERE TO STOCK? The new lines should be stocked within the chilled ready meals section alongside your existing Discover the Choice range and will help bring new shoppers to the fixture as well as encourage those who already love the range to try out the tasty new options.

VEGAN DISCOVER THE CHOICE CHICKPEA CURRY & RICE PMP2.99 / 2 FOR £5

With the number of vegans in the UK growing fourfold in the past four years from 150,000 to 600,000, (according to the Vegan Society,) Booker is helping retailers get ahead of that curve with a huge range of vegan and vegetarian lines available. These include three new vegan and vegetarian Discover the Choice ready meals. The fantastic quality Discover the Choice vegan and vegetarian range includes Chickpea

& Cauliflower Curry & Rice, Five Bean Chilli & Rice and Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagne, offering something for every taste.

The range is price-marked in line with other Discover the Choice ready meals at £2.99 or 2 for £5 and offers retailers outstanding PORs of 36.45%.

Around one in eight Britons are now vegetarian or vegan, according to a report on food shopping that underlines

Case Size: 6 x 450g WSP: £11.49 RSP: £2.99PM / 2 for £5 POR: 35.79% DISCOVER THE CHOICE FIVE BEAN CHILLI & RICE

DIPS AND SALA

DS

2 for £5 POR: 35.79%

Talking Shop recommends retailers stock range of vege a strong tarian dips an d salad lines shoppers keen to attract to reduce the ir meat consum DTC Coleslaw ption:

VEGETARIAN

DTC Potato Sa lad

PMP2.99 / 2 FOR £5 Case Size: 6 x 400g WSP: £11.49 RSP: £2.99PM /

WSP: £0.55 RS

P: £0.79PM PO

DISCOVER THE CHOICE MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLE LASAGNE PMP2.99 / 2 FOR £5 Case Size: 6 x 450g WSP: £11.49 RSP: £2.99PM / 2 for £5 POR: 35.79%

R: 30.38%

WSP: £0.55 RS

P:

£0.79 POR: 30 .38% Delphi Black & Green Olive s Pitted WSP: £1.25 RSP: £1.79

POR:

30.17% Delphi Cousco us Chargrille d Veg WSP : £1.15 RSP: £1

.59 POR: 27.67

%

Delphi Houm ous Dip

WSP: £0.70 RS

P: £1.00 POR:

30.00%

P: £1.00 POR:

30.00%

P: £1.59 POR:

27.67%

P: £1.19 POR:

25.21%

Delphi Taramo

WSP: £0.70 RS

Delphi Three

salata Dip

Bean Salad

WSP: £1.15 RS

Delphi Tzatziki

WSP: £0.89 RS

Dip

34 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

FEATURE | Vegan & Vegetarian

READY TO GO! Talking Shop recommends stock vegetarian ready meals and pizzas to cater for a range of meal occasions: DTC Macaroni Cheese PM2/500 WSP: £1.90 RSP: £2.99/2 for £5 POR: 36.45%

RETAILER VIEW JUSTIN WHITTAKER MJ’s Premier Shop, Royton

DTC Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta WSP: £1.90 RSP: £2.99/2 for £5 POR: 36.45%

“Veganism and vegetarianism is becoming big business these days and it certainly looks like more and more shoppers are trying to cut out meat, or at least reduce the amount they consume.

“I know we have quite a few shoppers that don’t eat meat and a few vegans too, so it’s important that we are able to cater for them.

“The new Discover the Choice ready meal range is brilliant because it offers us a point of difference and gives our shoppers more reasons to come here.”

DTC 3 Cheese Pizza WSP: £1.99 RSP: £2.99/2 for £5 POR: 33.44%

SANDWICHES

& WRAPS

A good range of vegetarian sandwiches he up footfall, sa lps drive les and profits: Snax on the Go Cheese & Onion Sandwi ch WSP: £1.11

RSP: £1.59PM PO

a revolution in the UK’s eating habits. A further 21% claim to be flexitarian, where a largely vegetable-based diet is supplemented occasionally with meat, which means a third of UK consumers have deliberately reduced the amount of meat they eat or removed it from their diet entirely.

Based on research among shoppers in all British supermarket chains, the report highlights a huge opportunity for Premier retailers.

The new Discover the Choice vegan and vegetarian ready meal range will thus appeal to many different shoppers and help broaden the appeal of the Discover the Choice range even further.

The lines will also help bring new healthconscious shoppers to Premier stores, delivering the great quality and great value that they have come to expect from Discover the Choice.

But it’s not all about specialist vegan and

vegetarian lines. Key to maximising spend among shoppers avoiding meat is offering a strong core range that offers vegan and vegetarian options across all key categories like hot and chilled food to go.

That could be anything from serving vegan sausage rolls or cheese and onion pasties as part of your hot food offer to remembering to include a selection of vegetarian meal solutions such as macaroni cheese or five bean chilli ready meals, vegetarian wraps or sandwiches, three cheese pizzas or filled tortelloni parcels.

Stocking vegetarian sides like potato salad or coleslaw can also help drive up basket spend by helping shoppers round off a delicious, nutritious and healthy meal.

The Discover the Choice range provides a wealth of options for retailers to meet this new and growing demand. A strong fresh fruit and veg range is vital too, offering all shoppers healthy, tasty options whatever

R: 30.19% Snax on the Go Chunky Eg g Mayo Sand wi

WSP: £0.73 RS

P: £1.00 POR:

ch

27.00% Snax on the Go Mexcian Mixed Bean Wr

WSP: £1.26 RS

P: £1.69 POR:

25.0% Snax on the Go Triple Chee se Toasty WSP: £1.05 RSP: £1.50

ap

POR: 30.00%

shopper mission they happen to be on when they visit your store.

One important final point: don’t forget to communicate the fact that you stock vegan and vegetarian lines to your shoppers, particularly if you’ve only recently added the new Discover the Choice ready meals, for instance.

In-store POS can help attract attention and drive up sales and Facebook is a great way of sharing that message even more widely. With the vegan and vegetarian market growing so rapidly, it’s an opportunity not to miss out on – and Premier has everything you need to meet the demand.

RETAILER VIEW

ON THE GO SNACKS Talking Shop recommends the following meat-free snacks as a great way of targeting vegetarian shoppers: DTC 4 Vegetable Samosa

WSP: £1.53 RSP: £2.19PM POR: 30.14% DTC 8 Onion Bhaji

WSP: £1.53 RSP: £2.19PM POR: 30.14% Gaz Grab & Go Vegetable Samosa

WSP: £0.81 RSP: £1.19 POR: 31.93%

36 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

FAHIM ASHIQ Premier Cupar “Even in a semi-rural location like ours we are seeing more and more shoppers asking if we stock vegan and vegetarian lines. I thought it might have been a bit of a fad but it seems to be developing into a real shift in consumption patterns. That’s why it’s vital that we have access to the range that Booker can offer us so that we can bring in interesting vegan and vegetarian lines that will help us attract those shoppers to our stores and keep them coming back. The Discover the Choice range is great for that and I know my shoppers appreciate it.”

M235675 M235675 M235675 -- 192 192 - ml 192 ml ml

M235676 M235676 M235676 -- 192 192 - ml 192 ml ml

• FASTEST GROWING COFFEE SEGMENT • FASTEST GROWING COFFEE SEGMENT • WORTH OVER £90M • OVER £90M • +53% OFWORTH CATEGORY GROWTH BY NITRO* • +53% OF CATEGORY GROWTH BY NITRO** • MULTI-MILLION POUND INVESTMENT • MULTI-MILLION POUND INVESTMENT

Stock up now Stock up now

® Reg. Trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. ®

IRI 52 weeks ending 29Decof 2018 - value *in symbolsNestlé and independents Reg. Trademark Société des Produits S.A. Reg. Trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.

FEATURE | Wine

Win with wine this summer!

With the new Premier Wine Festival on the horizon, there is a huge opportunity this summer to grow footfall, sales and profits with a strong wine offering and great promotions.

T

his summer is set bring a whole host of opportunities for Premier retailers to grow their footfall, sales and profits in the vital wine category. The warmer summer months will hopefully lead to increasing demand for wines as it does most years, but Premier is unlocking yet more opportunities to cash in with the launch of a fantastic new Premier Wine Festival.

PREMIER WINE FESTIVAL

PREMIER WINE FESTIVAL – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW! Premier’s new Wine Festival will run throughout July and August and gives retailers the opportunity to focus on wine throughout the key summer months. Here’s the lowdown… l 12 different offers across different wine ranges covering Good, Better and Best. l Period 5 Mega Deal - Blossom Hill @ £5.49 (Price will continue into P6). l Period 6 Wow Deal - Hardys Stamp @ £4.99 (Will be featured at same price offer in festival from P5). l All POS (Leaflets, shelf cards and posters) will feature the Wine Festival logo. l Added value will include free Hardys branded chill bottle bags.

38 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

The Festival will run throughout July and August and will coincide with the Premier Cider Festival, guaranteeing a busy and profitable summer for retailers. The Wine Festival will equip you with everything you need to grow your sales and will include no fewer than 12 different offers across a selection of wine ranges in all price bands.

In other words, Premier retailers will have a fantastic promotion to suit every budget.

There’s even a discounted range of sparkling wines with amazing deals on everything from Freixenet Prosecco to Moet Champagne.

The Premier Wine Festival will also see several wine ranges featured as Mega Deals and Wow Deals. In Period 5, for instance, the Blossom Hill will be on a Mega Deal to shoppers at just £5.49 while Period 6 will see the Hardys Stamp range available at just £4.99 as a Wow Deal.

New Zealand’s Most Awarded Winery

Proudly presenting the UK’s No.1 New Zealand wine brand* Have you got it in stock?

Third most admired wine brand in the world** Highest awareness to conversion rate of the New Zealand wine category***

*UK’s No.1 New Zealand wine brand by volume & value. Source AC Nielsen MAT to 05.01.19. **Source Drinks International 03.2019. ***Source Wine Intelligence 10.12.18.

FEATURE | Wine

FESTIVAL FIZZ SPECIALS The Premier Wine Festival will feature some amazing deals on sparkling wines, including: Freixenet Prosecco DOC CONSUMER DEAL: £9.49 STANDARD RSP: £11.99 POR: 15.8% Moet Brut Imperial NV Gift Pack CONSUMER DEAL: £29.99 STANDARD RSP: £38.99 POR: 12.0% Dino Prosecco DOC CONSUMER DEAL: £7.00 STANDARD RSP: £8.75 POR: 10.0%

BLOSSOM HILL MEGA DEALS! The summer will see some amazing deals on the award-winning Blossom Hill range of wines at Premier. All of these wines will be on offer in Periods 5 and 6 but will be featured as the MEGA DEAL in Period 5.

MEGA DEALS BLOSSOM HILL SAUVIGNON BLANC BLOSSOM HILL GRENACHE ROSE BLOSSOM HILL USA PINOT GRIGIO BLOSSOM HILL CAB SAUV BLOSSOM HILL CHARDONNAY BLOSSOM HILL WHITE ZINFANDEL BLOSSOM HILL MERLOT BLOSSOM HILL PALE ROSE CONSUMER DEAL: £5.49 STANDARD RSP: £6.99 POR: 15.2%

HARDYS WOW DEALS! Also driving sales this summer will be a selection of great deals on the Hardys Stamp range. These wines will be on offer in Periods 5 and 6 but will be featured as the WOW DEAL in Period 6.

Premier retailers will receive free POS to use throughout the Festival and all materials will prominently feature the Premier Wine Festival branding and logo.

As if all of that wasn’t enough to get excited about, Premier will also be adding value with a selection of items like Hardys branded chill bottle bags.

WOW DEALS

WINNING WINES

HARDYS STAMP CABERNET/MERLOT HARDYS STAMP SEMILLON CHARDONNAY HARDYS STAMP SEMILLON SAUVIGNON HARDYS STAMP SHIRAZ CAB SAUVIGNON CONSUMER DEAL: £4.99 STANDARD RSP: £7.25 POR: 10.0%

40 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

Demonstrating that Booker delivers both value and quality, many of the wines available this summer to Premier retailers continue to win award after award.

A great example is the Booker exclusive Hardys Bin 161 range: the Hardys Bin 161 Sauvignon Blanc has just added to its awards collection by collecting a commended medal at the recent International Wine and Spirits Competition.

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

Hardys is the number one wine brand in the UK and is sold across the globe. Not only is Hardys the UK’s most frequently bought wine brand [Nielsen, Mar 2019] and loved by more than 4.3 million households, but the Bin 161 range is seeing growth of more than 17.4%.

It’s clearly a wine that Premier retailers should stock prominently this summer and is available with peelable price marks of £5.75 exclusively from Booker.

Another surefire winner for the summer is the Isla Negra range, the Chilean best seller. Did you know that a bottle of Isla Negra is bought every two seconds in the UK? Isla Negra wines are regular medal winners in international wine competitions with recent successes including a Bronze Medal at the prestigious International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2019 for Isla Negra Chardonnay Pedro Ximinez.

Again, the Isla Negra price marked pack is available exclusively to Booker customers and is one of the best-selling wine brands in the UK. It comes with a competitively priced peelable £5.75 price label.

PROFIT WITH JACOB’S CREEK July and August will see top deals on the Jacob’s Creek range that will drive footfall and sales, as well as delivering amazing 16.6% PORs for retailers.

JACOBS CREEK SAUVIGNON BLANC JACOBS CREEK PINOT GRIGIO JACOBS CREEK CHARDONNAY JACOBS CREEK SHIRAZ ROSE JACOBS CREEK CABERNET SAUVIGNON JACOBS CREEK MERLOT JACOBS CREEK SHIRAZ

DRIVE SALES WITH ECHO FALLS AND BAREFOOT! The Premier Wine Festival will see superb deals on the popular Echo Falls and Barefoot ranges, all delivering 15% POR. ECHO FALLS RED FRUIT FUSION* ECHO FALLS WHITE FRUIT FUSION* ECHO FALLS ROSE FRUIT FUSION* CONSUMER DEAL: £3.99 STANDARD RSP: £4.99 POR: 15.0% BAREFOOT PINOT GRIGIO BAREFOOT WHITE ZINFANDEL BAREFOOT SHIRAZ BAREFOOT SAUVIGNON BLANC BAREFOOT MERLOT BAREFOOT CABERNET SAUVIGNON BAREFOOT PINK MOSCATO BAREFOOT MALBEC BAREFOOT CHARDONNAY BAREFOOT PINK PINOT GRIGIO CONSUMER DEAL: £5.99 STANDARD RSP: £7.99 POR: 15.0%

CONSUMER DEAL: £5.99 STANDARD RSP: £7.49 POR: 16.6%

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

41

What are your views? Call 0141 222 5380 or email talkingshop@55north.com

AND THERE’S MORE… In addition to the many promotions featured in the Premier Wine Festival, there will also be a selection of amazing deals on some very popular wines from brands including 19 Crimes, Mud House, Trivento and Wolf Blass.

19 CRIMES RED CONSUMER DEAL: £6.99 STANDARD RSP: £8.99 POR: 15.6% WOLF BLASS YELLOW LABEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON WOLF BLASS YELLOW LABEL CHARDONNAY CONSUMER DEAL: £6.99 STANDARD RSP: £8.49 POR: 15.6% MUD HOUSE SAUVIGNON BLANC CONSUMER DEAL: £7.49 STANDARD RSP: £8.99 POR: 15.0% TRIVENTO ARGENTINA MALBEC CONSUMER DEAL: £7.49 STANDARD RSP: £7.99 POR: 21.3% *ENGLAND AND WALES ONLY DUE TO LICENSING LAWS.

PREMIUM OPTION If your shopper base includes some customers who are looking for a premium wine this summer, a great option is Oyster Bay Marlborough Chardonnay.

New Zealand’s Oyster Bay is the number one over £8 premium Chardonnay in the world, regardless of country of origin and is set to capitalise on a growth of both New Zealand Wines in general and the total Chardonnay category which is growing at 8.4%.

The Oyster Bay Marlborough Chardonnay offers a great way to attract new shoppers to your store and to drive bigger basket spends over the next couple of months.

WINE AND GIN FUSION Combining two of the biggest growing categories – rose wine and gin – in a single product

might just be innovation that comes to define the summer this year. Echo Falls have done just that with the launch of new Echo Falls Rosé Wine and Gin Fusion.

The launch follows the incredible success of the brand’s Echo Falls Fruit Fusion wine range and is made by blending Echo Falls’ most popular Fruit Fusion flavour, Summer Berries, with a rosé wine and Gin infusion.

Available from mid-July, this exciting new style creates a brand new consumer offering in time for summer and also capitalises on the booming gin category which is currently growing at 43% [Nielsen, Mar 2019].

Not only does Echo Falls Rosé Wine and Gin Fusion enhance the existing Echo Falls Fruit range, but it offers a new drinking occasion and more choice to those shoppers who also enjoy gin.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

43

BBQ BEEF BIG HOOPS FASTEST SELLING £1PMP!*

VAT FREE!

UK'S NO.1 RIDGE CUT CRISP!*

UK'S NO.1 POPCORN BRAND!*

NEW! COMING SOON! 5TH FASTEST SELLING £1 PMP!*

WHEN MEXICAN FLAVOUR CALLS!

KP’S £PMPS GROWING

+43% YEAR ON YEAR!*

*AC Nielsen Data Impulse Market MAT 18.05.19.

THE UK’S NO.1 NUT BRAND!*

10TH FASTEST SELLING IMPULSE BRAND!*

COMING SOON!

To purchase these products now, visit www.booker.co.uk

Ones to

watch

A selection of key products that will deliver for you in-store

Profits on the go WHAT? SNAX ON THE GO SANDWICHES AND WRAPS WHEN? AVAILABLE NOW WHY? With food to go continuing to grow and more and more shoppers looking to grab something quick and tasty to eat while they go about their day, Booker has responded with the launch of a new and improved range of Snax on the Go sandwiches and wraps. The fantastic value range delivers the usual combination of top-quality product and fantastic pricing while also delivering up to 25% POR for retailers too. The range also includes a number of vegetarian options to meet the growing demand for meat-free products.

WRAPS

WHO? The comprehensive range includes two different wraps and four different sandwiches featuring some of the most popular fillings including Tuna Mayo, Ham & Cheese and Chicken Bacon Mayo. The wraps are price-marked at £1.69 while the sandwiches carry a £1.59 price-mark. Importantly, the sandwich lines now feature 33% more filling to guarantee a satisfying snack for hungry shoppers.

Snax on the Go Mixed Bean Wrap (vegetarian) / Snax on the Go Chicken Caesar Wrap Case size: 6 x 210g WSP: £1.26 RSP: £1.69 POR: 25% SANDWICHES Snax on the Go Chicken Bacon Mayo Sandwich

WHERE TO STOCK? The Snax on the Go range should ideally be situated within a dedicated food to go section if possible, sited alongside soft drinks, crisps and confectionery to help drive impulse sales and increase basket spend. Remember to stay in stock all day long and not just at breakfast and lunchtimes in order to maximise sales.

33% Extra Fill / Snax on the Go Tuna Mayo Sandwich 33% Extra Fill / Snax on the Go Double Cheese & Onion Sandwich Filler 33% Extra Fill (Vegetarian) / Snax on the Go Ham & Cheese Sandwich 33% Extra Fill Case size: 6 x 175g WSP: £1.11 RSP: £1.59 POR: 30%

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

45

To purchase these products now, visit www.booker.co.uk

Put some fizz in your sales!

WHAT? DINO PROSECCO SPUMANTE DOC WHEN? AVAILABLE NOW WHY? With Premier’s exciting new wine and cider festival coming soon, Booker is helping retailers cash in on the huge demand for premium fizzy wines with a specially discounted WSP deal on the popular Dino Prosecco Spumante DOC wine. The deal will feature heavily during promotional periods 5 and 6 (10th July to 3rd September) and will see the price to the shopper slashed to £7 per bottle which is certain to drive footfall and sales and deliver profits for retailers with a POR of 10% during the promotional periods and 20% otherwise.

WHO? Prosecco remains a massively important category in independent retailing, particularly among female shoppers. The Dino Prosecco promotion will help bring shoppers to your store and drive sales in a valuable category.

WHERE TO STOCK? Dino Prosecco Spumante DOC should be sited prominently within the chiller using the POS provided during the Premier wine and cider festival to drive sales and profits.

DINO PROSECCO SPUMANTE DOC Case size: 6 x75cl WSP: £31.49 (standard WSP £34.99) RSP: £7 (standard £8.75) POR: 10% (standard 20%)

Time to milk it WHAT? EURO SHOPPER MILK RANGE WHEN? AVAILABLE NOW WHY? Booker is refreshing and improving its Euro Shopper milk range to help deliver market-leading pricing and fantastic increased PORs for retailers in a vital category in independent retailing. The Euro Shopper range is being moved to new 1.136ltr formats that deliver enhanced PORs of 35.6% for retailers, up from 30% on the 1.5ltr format bottles.

WHO? The two new lines – Whole Milk and Semi Skimmed Milk – now feature prominent 79p price marks which deliver market-leading value for shoppers and will be key in driving footfall to Premier stores. With milk a core product for many shoppers, the new better value lines represent a huge opportunity for Premier retailers to bring more shoppers to their stores.

WHERE TO STOCK? The two price-marked lines should be stocked within the milk chiller where the market leading prices will help drive footfall, sales and profits for retailers.

EURO SHOPPER WHOLE MILK / EURO SHOPPER SEMI SKIMMED MILK Case size: 10 x 1.136 litre WSP: £5.09 RSP: 79p POR: 35.6%

46 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

To purchase these products now, visit www.booker.co.uk

Watermelon boost from Lucozade WHAT? LUCOZADE ENERGY WATERMELON & STRAWBERRY COOLER PM £1.09 / 2 FOR £2 WHEN? AVAILABLE NOW WHY? With watermelon being a popular flavour at the moment, Lucozade Energy has launched new Watermelon & Strawberry Cooler. The latest IRI data shows that the Lucozade Energy Flavours range is growing at 33% by value year on year and is now worth over £50m. The launch is being supported by a £2m marketing campaign.

WHO? According to Lucozade research, one in two adults said they would buy this product with purchase intent highest in 16-35yr olds.

WHERE TO STOCK? The new line should be stocked next to Lucozade Orange and Original Lucozade Energy in the energy section of the soft drinks chiller. The bright, eye-catching packaging will help drive trial.

LUCOZADE ENERGY WATERMELON & STRAWBERRY COOLER PM£1.09 OR 2 FOR £2 Case size: 12x380ml WSP: £6.99 RSP: £1.09 POR: 35.9%

Into the blue

Oh Brother!

WHAT? BROTHERS CIDER LINES

WHAT? MONSTER ENERGY ULTRA BLUE PM £1.25 WHEN? AVAILABLE NOW WHY? US energy giant Monster has added Monster Energy Ultra Blue to its range in a £1.25 price-marked 500ml can. The variant features citrus and berry flavours and will help retailers to maximise on the demand for low calorie flavoured energy drinks, which are in 59% value growth [IRI] and the represent the fastest growing segment in the energy drink category.

WHO? The Monster Energy Ultra range contributes 88% value sales to the flavoured low-calorie energy segment [IRI] so the new line is expected to be popular with both existing Monster fans and those looking to try a low calorie option for the first time.

WHERE TO STOCK? The line should be sited within the main energy drinks fixture alongside other Monster Energy Ultra variants.

WHEN? PROMOTIONAL PERIODS 5 AND 6 WHY? As part of Premier’s upcoming wine and cider festival, Brother’s Cider will be making two lines available to Premier retailers at special introductory offer WSPs of just £8.29 during promotional periods 5 and 6. Brothers Rhubarb & Custard and Brothers Parma Violets offer shoppers exciting new takes on flavoured ciders and will help drive footfall and sales.

WHO? The Premier wine and cider festival will help generate significant interest and excitement in the categories and these two English ciders are likely to be popular with a broad audience of adult shoppers looking to try something new and unusual.

WHERE TO STOCK? Site the lines prominently within the existing flavoured cider fixture in the chiller.

MONSTER ENERGY ULTRA BLUE PM £1.25 Case size: 12x500ml WSP: £7.29 RSP: £1.25

BROTHERS RHUBARB & CUSTARD / BROTHERS PARMA VIOLETS

POR: 41.6%

Case size: 8 x 500ml WSP: £8.29 (standard WSP £10.99) RSP: £2.49 POR: 17.1% (standard POR 33.8%) JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

47

BetterService IDEAS TO GIVE YOUR BUSINESS THE EDGE

How to make social media work harder for you!

Social media can be a fantastic tool for retailers but using it to best effect requires learning a few tricks of the trade. Talking Shop discovers those tricks from Premier retailers who have taken their social media game to the next level.

S

ocial media has the power to help Premier retailers transform the way they communicate with their shoppers and with potential new shoppers – but learning how to use it effectively in a way that generates real benefits for your store can be a tricky process.

Used well, social media sites like Facebook can help retailers get their message out to a much wider audience

48 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

and can actively help drive footfall, sales and profits. With over 32 million users in the UK, Facebook provides free access for retailers to a huge percentage of the population and offers a fantastic way to engage with shoppers.

The days of simply posting promotions onto Facebook once or twice a week are nearing an end. The key these days is to create engaging, impactful content that your shoppers find interesting and entertaining.

Yes, it takes a little more time to build a more involved strategy like this, but having a plan in place will help you get much more out of social media.

To help you build and develop a successful social media strategy, Talking Shop spoke to some Premier retailers that have taken their Facebook presence to the next level. Read on to find out their top tips for making social media work harder for your store‌

Ă‚ MORE

BBQ BEEF BIG HOOPS FASTEST SELLING £1PMP!*

VAT FREE!

UK'S NO.1 RIDGE CUT CRISP!*

UK'S NO.1 POPCORN BRAND!*

NEW! COMING SOON! 5TH FASTEST SELLING £1 PMP!*

WHEN MEXICAN FLAVOUR CALLS!

KP’S £PMPS GROWING

+43% YEAR ON YEAR!*

*AC Nielsen Data Impulse Market MAT 18.05.19.

THE UK’S NO.1 NUT BRAND!*

10TH FASTEST SELLING IMPULSE BRAND!*

COMING SOON!

Tone

1. DON’T BE AFRAID TO HAVE FUN! Mandeep Singh, Singh’s Premier, Sheffield: “Rule number one when using Facebook is don’t be afraid to have a little fun! Shoppers use Facebook for all sorts of reasons but they like to have fun when they’re on there.

Adding some light-hearted posts is a great way of getting shoppers to engage with your page and build a deeper relationship with them.”

Style

2. LIKE AND SHARE TO GROW YOUR FOLLOWING Faraz Iqbal, Premier Linktown Local, Kirkcaldy: “One of the best ways of growing the number of followers your page has is by doing ‘like and share’ style posts. The post could be a simple competition to win a prize but ‘like and share’ posts help grow your total number of followers and your audience.”

Content

3.YOU DON’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE SELLING Dan Cock, Premier Whitstone Stores, Cornwall “One of the most effective ways of building trust with your Facebook followers is by adding posts that aren’t try to sell products to them. You could post about local community events, charity initiatives or roadworks in the area – anything that will give your followers useful, relevant information. Community engagement posts help show shoppers that you take your role in the community seriously.”

5. BE AVAILABLE

4. KEEP BUSY!

Dennis Williams, Premier Broadway Convenience Store, Edinburgh “We’ve found that it’s important to post regularly – ideally at least a few times a day. It doesn’t take long if you plan ahead but that way you can start building your profile on Facebook and you’ll start to see more and more engagement from shoppers as you learn what they will respond to.”

Frequen

cy

50 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

Dialogu

Paul Edwards, Premier Edwards at Bebington, Wirral “You wouldn’t ignore a shopper in-store if they asked a question or even had a complaint, so don’t do it social media. Make sure you check your page regularly and respond quickly.”

6. TRY VIDEO

Engage

ment

Ranj Hayer, Hayers Premier, Weston Super Mare “Video is getting more important these days and video posts will often generate a lot more feedback, likes and shares. Any decent smartphone can shoot good quality video now.”

e

BetterService IDEAS TO GIVE YOUR BUSINESS THE EDGE

ENTRY

LEVEL

Vitedsasy:e10-20 er POR:

Cups p

65%

Coffee is king!

A great coffee offer is a must for all Premier retailers and it’s never been easier to take your coffee offer to the next level thanks to Booker’s range of three great solutions for retailers looking to add a coffee machine for the first time, or upgrade their existing machine with a minimum of fuss and cost.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO ORDER, CALL 0800 585 084 52 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

ÂŽ

ROBINSONS and the Robinsons Arch device are registered trademarks of Britvic Soft Drinks Limited. Sources: 1. Kantar Worldpanel Usage, In home and carried out consumption, MAT to 02.12.18. 2. Nielsen Scantrack, Total Coverage, Value Sales, MAT to 22.12.18. 3. POTY: Winner of the Soft Drinks Category. Survey of 10,399 people by Kantar TNS. 4. Nielsen Scantrack, Total Coverage, Value Sales, MAT to 30.12.17

Time to

COFFEE MACHINE DEALS VITESSE COFFEE MACHINE DEALS

1000 1000

BREWI Includes

s ks ludrein FInrece D a k Pac ge rinks Free D k c Pa age

l Granulated milk l Douwe Egberts

BARISTA ONE

1000 1000

PO P%O % R R

l Mid Range 20-35 cups per day l £4695 or £35.95 per week l Size (w)338mm Mid Range 20-35(d)510mm cups per (h)700mm day 10 drinkorselections l £4695 £35.95 per week Granulated milk (d)510mm (h)700mm l Size (w)338mm Douwe l 10 drinkEgberts selections

PO P%O % R R

BREWI

l Granulated milk l Douwe Egberts

65 65

s ks ludrein FInrece D a k c a P ge rinks Free D Package

l Entry Level 10-20 cups per day l £2995 or £24.95 per week Size (w)310mm (d)430mm l Entry Level 10-20 cups per (h)625mm day 8 drink or selections l £2995 £24.95 per week Tank (w)310mm or mains water supply(h)625mm l Size (d)430mm l milk 8Granulated drink selections Douwe l Tank or Egberts mains water supply

54 54

4000 4000

VITESSE Includes

l Advanced 35+ cups per day BARISTA l £6495 or £49.95 per week Includes ONE

• On all machines • 1 year on site parts and labour warrantty included. 3 years available for £8 per week • Installation and plumbing

PO P%O % R R

l 80 drinks available l Fresh milk option

60 60

s ks ludrein FInrece D Package rinks Free D Package

l Size (w)595mm (d)560mm Advanced 35+ cups per day(h)815mm 7" touch l £6495 or screen £49.95 per week 80 drinks available l Size (w)595mm (d)560mm (h)815mm Fresh milkscreen option l 7" touch

• On all machines • 1 year on site parts and labour warrantty included. 3 years available for £8 per week • Installation and plumbing

92821 Coffee Machine Deals A4 Flyer.indd 1

19/06/2019 15:07

MID-RANGE

92821 Coffee Machine Deals A4 Flyer.indd 1

19/06/2019 15:07

Brewi

Cups per day: 20-35 POR:

VITESSE ADDS CHOICE

The new Vitesse entry level machine offers a top quality bean-to-cup solution for stores that can sell 10 to 20 cups or more a day With a POR of 65% at the RSP of £1.00 a cup, the machine will help deliver thousands of pounds of additional profit every year.

54%

RETAILER VIEW RICKY SINGH BANDHAWA Porth Street Store, Rhondda Cynon Taff “We’ve only installed a coffee machine for the first time earlier this year and and it’s already making a huge difference in terms of bringing new shoppers to the store. I think it’s one of those categories that shoppers just expect to find in a store these days and they also expect to be able to get a decent quality coffee too.”

54 TalkingShop

JUNE 2019

F

ood to go is now a core element of the Premier offer and at the heart of that offer is coffee. No longer a ‘nice to have’, coffee is an absolutely must with shoppers now fully expecting to find a great quality coffee at their local Premier store.

To help retailers meet that demand Booker has recently added a new coffee solution to its range of self-service coffee machine options. The updated range means there is a now a highly profitable machine available for all Premier stores.

OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE The Vitesse joins the existing range of solutions that includes the mid-level Brewi machine delivering 54% POR and the allsinging, all-dancing Douwe Egberts Barista One model. All machines come with free POS including pavement stands, accessory racks and merchandiser units.

A great coffee offer has never been more achievable. Call 0800 585 084 for information.

RETAILER VIEW COLIN SMITH Prospect Lane Convenience Store, Solihull “We have a growing food to go operation and our coffee offer sits right at the heart of it. Coffee is just like any other core category these days. I think it’s something that every Premier store should be offering, regardless of size or location.

“Shoppers just expect to be able to buy a coffee wherever they go now and if you disappoint them you risk never seeing them again. They’re also getting used to being able to buy good quality coffee so my advice would be to invest in a machine that gives shoppers the quality of coffee they’re looking for.”

ADVANCED COFFEE MACHINE DEALS

Douwe VITESSE Egberts Barista 0 0 40 One Cups per day: 35+ POR:

60%

PO % R

rinks Free D k c a P age

l Entry Level 10-20 cups per day l £2995 or £24.95 per week l Size (w)310mm (d)430mm (h)625mm l 8 drink selections l Tank or mains water supply l Granulated milk l Douwe Egberts

65

Includes

BREWI

PO % R

rinks Free D k c Pa age

l Mid Range 20-35 cups per day l £4695 or £35.95 per week l Size (w)338mm (d)510mm (h)700mm l 10 drink selections l Granulated milk l Douwe Egberts

54

1000 Includes

BARISTA ONE

PO % R

rinks Free D Package

l Advanced 35+ cups per day l £6495 or £49.95 per week l Size (w)595mm (d)560mm (h)815mm l 7" touch screen l 80 drinks available l Fresh milk option

60

1000 Includes

• On all machines • 1 year on site parts and labour warrantty included. 3 years available for £8 per week • Installation and plumbing

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO ORDER, CALL 0800 585 084 92821 Coffee Machine Deals A4 Flyer.indd 1

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

19/06/2019 15:07

55

LaunchReview FEEDBACK ON THE LATEST BOOKER PRODUCTS

NEW 200g size

Larger format bar delivers sales and margins

The best bar none!

The new larger format Euro Shopper Milk Chocolate 200g Block has been a massive hit with shoppers and Premier retailers alike.

The Euro Shopper chocolate range has long been massively popular with both shoppers and Premier retailers and this popularity has grown even further with the addition of a Euro Shopper 200g Milk Chocolate Block price-marked at just £1. The £1 block market is now a major feature on all confectionery fixtures and this great value 200g product has been driving sales, footfall and profits.

The prominent price mark and the fantastic value 200g format delivers the same great combination of quality, price and value that shoppers have come to expect from the Euro Shopper range and is a must-stock line for all Premier retailers. It also delivers over 30% POR for retailers.

Wow! 30.3% POR!

EURO SHOPPER MILK CHOCOLATE 200G BLOCK PMP £1

CASE SIZE: 16 X 200G WSP: £9.29 RSP: £1 PM POR: 30.3%

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

57

shopper’s view…

Ellen McDade, Clitheroe I like a little indulgent treat as much as anyone else but I’m not keen on paying over the odds for a bar of chocolate because some of them are so expensive these days and the pack sizes seem to be getting smaller all the time. So the Euro Shopper 200g bar is perfect because you know you’re getting real value for money. At just £1, it’s a little affordable luxury and because it’s that much bigger than most £1 bars, it means it lasts me a lot longer - unless my husband gets to it first! The quality of the chocolate is exceptional and there’s nothing I like more than a square or two with a cup of coffee at lunch time. It’s the small pleasures in life that matter!

IN SUMMARY

1

Renowned for amazing value and brilliant quality, the Euro Shopper range is a huge seller in Premier stores and this new line is no different.

2

The 200g larger format pack delivers even greater value for money for shoppers at just £1 per bar - perfect for sharing.

3

The Euro Shopper 200g block delivers over 30% POR making it just as popular with Premier retailers as it is with shoppers.

4

Prominently price-marked at just £1 for an extra-large 200g bar, the product will help drive footfall, sales and profits.

RETAILER VIEW KETHAN ADARSH Premier Hinkler Road, Southampton “The Euro Shopper range has long been an important part of our offering at the store because shoppers just love the fact that they know they’re getting great quality products but they’re not overpaying for them.

“The new Euro Shopper Milk Chocolate 200g Block has been a hit since the very first day we started stocking at because it delivers against that Euro Shopper promise: quality and value.

“The £1 chocolate market is a busy one these days but the Euro Shopper bar delivers because it delivers more for your money.”

RETAILER VIEW KATHIR BALA Premier Old Village Neighbourhood Store, Corby “Shoppers are so demanding these days because they want everything - value, price and quality. But that’s where Premier retailers and Booker customers have the edge because the Euro Shopper range is built to meet all of those demands time and again.

“The new 200g Milk Chocolate block is a great example because it’s targeted at a very popular category - £1 block chocolate bars - but it’s taken it up a gear by delivering a fantastic value 200g pack. Shoppers are getting more great chcolate for the same price. They love it!”

RETAILER VIEW JIMMY PATEL Premier Jimmy’s, Northampton “With so much emphasis on margins these days, we need to remember that Euro Shopper and Happy Shopper lines have always delivered fantastic PORs for Premier retailers.

“This new Euro Shopper block is just the latest brilliant product that first and foremost delivers the PORs we need - in this case, over 30% - while also delivering brilliant products that our shoppers want to buy.

“That’s a winning combination and it’s what makes Euro Shopper such an important range for us.”

RETAILER VIEW DENNIS WILLIAMS Premier Broadway Convenience Store, Edinburgh “With so much competition around at the moment, Premier retailers need all the help they can get to run profitable, successful businesses and products like the new Euro Shopper Milk Chocolate 200g block demonstrate quite clearly how well Booker understands both the needs of its retailers and the needs of shoppers.

“Value is still massively important to shoppers so a 200g bar of great quality chocolate for just £1 is perfect - and retailers make 30.3% into the bargain. It’s a real win-win in my book.”

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

59

Deposit Return Scheme | GUEST COLUMN

John Lee, Scottish Grocers’ Federation Head of Policy and Public Affairs, offers an insight into the forthcoming Deposit Return Scheme.

What can we learn from the DRS pilot in Scotland?

ON TRAIL: Premier Broadway in Edinburgh was one of three DRS trial stores.

As Scotland edges towards the introduction of a new Deposit Return Scheme, the rest of the UK is set to follow – so what can Premier retailers learn from the experiences up north?

I

t’s not only in TV show Game Of Thrones that the scariest and most challenging things come from the north, beyond the wall. In the independent retailing sector, many of the biggest legislative challenges of recent years have started life up north, thanks to the Scottish Government’s desire to “lead the way” on policy initiatives in areas like alcohol, tobacco and diet that directly affect retailers.

Last year, for instance, Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol – a policy that is likely to come to the rest of the UK. The latest intimidating challenge for retailers set to make its way from north to south is the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

It’s absolutely clear now that Scotland will go ahead and implement a scheme between now and early 2021. It’s also absolutely clear that this will fall like a hammer blow on retailers.

Convenience stores will be forced to take back drinks containers either through an automated option using a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) or through a manual over-

the-counter option. Both options come with real challenges about space, storage, cost, staff time, hygiene and affordability.

Despite these challenges, however, we believe it can work. The Scottish Grocers’ Federation has undertaken trial projects on DRS using RVMs in three stores, one of them Dennis and Linda Williams’ Premier Broadway store in Edinburgh.

The volume of returned containers over the three-month trial was high – more than 57,000 aluminium cans and plastic bottles, representing over 500kg of material.

Additionally, the quality of the recycled materials was very high with 99.7% officially classed as ‘high quality’, which basically means it can be recycled as foodgrade packaging rather than ‘downcycled’ into non-food-grade containers.

Community engagement was a vital part of the projects with each of the stores choosing a local charity partner, such as the local primary school. Shoppers returning containers had the option of taking their deposit back as a voucher to spend in the store or donating it to charity. This proved to be a highly effective way of ensuring

customer participation and over 42% of deposits were donated to the local charities.

For us this really points to the way forward.

One of the ways we can make DRS work is for retailers to see it as a service they are offering their community, which will help boost recycling, reduce litter and improve the quality of place and space. Getting local groups on board is vital, particularly local schools.

We want to lock the community in and ensure local people bring their containers back to the local store rather than going elsewhere. This will increase footfall, basket spend and boost the benefit retailers get from handling fees.

This will still be a big challenge. The support of symbol groups will also be absolutely vital to making DRS a success for convenience stores. It is highly likely that the Westminster government will implement a DRS over the next few years. By then the Scottish experience and the lessons we will learn from it will help our colleagues throughout the UK ensure that DRS actually benefits their businesses.

My advice? Keep looking north.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

61

Regular (300ml)* Slush Cup Scoop Total Cost Sell VAT Gross Profit

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|

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CALL TODAY 0330 053 6132 VIEW FULL RANGE snowshock.com Same price to call as 01 or 02 landlines - including from mobiles

T’s & C’s Apply

ACS Viewpoint | Retail Crime

James Lowman ACS’s biggest campaigning priority is to change the way the system deals with retail crime.

ACS’s top campaigning priority is changing the way that the system deals with retail crime - and it wants to hear from retailers about their experiences for the #AlwaysReportAbuse campaign.

I

t’s sobering to consider that most of you will have experienced first-hand abuse, crime, and in many cases violence, in the course of doing your job. There are some of you who will have experienced, or seen your colleagues experience, life-changing incidents which have left an indelible physical or psychological mark. I don’t think anyone would disagree that this is unacceptable, but a combination of squeezed policing resources and priorities, the court system, political decisions, and of course wider societal problems, mean that we’re now facing an increase in the frequency and severity of these incidents. That’s why our biggest campaigning priority is to change the way the system deals with these crimes.

The first part of this campaign is to gather the hard evidence about crime in our sector, and our 2019 Crime Report does just this, giving an insight into the frequency and cost of crime against our sector.

But it’s the people behind the statistics, that matters most. Those affected by crime will know that the impact is not limited to when the incident takes place. We have heard accounts from colleagues who have said

that these incidents have left them feeling them understand the extent of the problem. frightened not only at work, but on their I think the words “government consultation” can sound like an administrative process, the journey to and from their shifts.

We have been working with the Home sort of thing that organisations like ACS take Office to deliver a campaign which highlights part in, but not really something for retailers the human impact of crime and encourages think about. In this case, it’s absolutely vital retailers and staff to report any incident that that you take part.

The government needs to hear not occurs. The message at the heart just the statistics, but the stories. of the #AlwaysReportAbuse We’ve been going to trade campaign reminds retailers IF YOU shows and around stores that it is not part of the WOULD LIKE TO filming on our phones job. There are materials GET INVOLVED IN THE retailers talking about that you can use in your POLITICAL WORK OF ACS the impact of violence, store to make sure that ....................... CALL ...................... and you can do the staff are reporting 01252 515 001 same. Just a short clip crime but also to make ............. OR LOG ON TO ........... of you, or a colleague, it clear to customers talking about the impact that violent and abusive www.acs.org.uk of crime can have a huge behaviour will not be impact, and if we can get tolerated. To receive posters hundreds of these accounts, we for your store, please email can put pressure on the government to take chris.noice@acs.org.uk.

This campaign is running alongside a call real action, rather than paying lip-service to for evidence about the extent and nature the problems you face every day.

This is an opportunity for you to tell your of violence in retail, and this is where we need you to focus your efforts now. The story. Get in touch and let us help you to do consultation asks for organisations and this. Together we can make an impact, and individuals to contribute in order to help now is the time to act.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

63

Kenco is in 4.8 million households! **

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MI127242

MI127239

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*Price is at the sole discretion of the retailer **Kantar WPO – Total Market, Total Buyers (000s) Kenco Freeze Dried, 52 w/e 21.04.19

YOURSHOUT GOT A QUESTION? Want to post a question or raise an issue with the Premier Team?

Get in touch by email at talking shop@55north.com or call 0141 222 5380.

YourShout WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? RETAILERS PUT THEIR QUESTIONS TO PREMIER

The social media challenge

Is coffee core in-store?

We’re all aware that coffee is a massive opportunity for us and it’s something we should all be embracing. But with today’s shoppers so used to high quality coffee, do you believe bean-to-cup is the way to go?

KATHIR BALA, PREMIER OLD VILLAGE NEIGHBOURHOOD STORE, CORBY

MARTYN PARKINSON, BRAND DIRECTOR – PREMIER SAID: There’s no doubt that coffee is a massive opportunity for Premier retailers. Shoppers simply expect to be able to buy a cup of coffee when they visit a Premier store these days - and more than that, they increasingly expect to be able to buy a great quality cup of

coffee. As you point out, they are so used to having access to high quality coffee that their standards and expectations are higher than ever. That’s exactly why we’ve recently updated our coffee solutions range to extend it to four different machines and packages so that there’s a great quality solution to meet the needs of every Premier store [see page 54].

What is DRS? And is it coming?

I’ve been hearing more and more about Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) and what they might mean for retailers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. I know that Scotland is likely to have one as early as next year - but what exactly will it mean for us, and is it definitely coming this way in future?

PAUL EDWARDS, PREMIER EDWARDS CONVENIENCE STORE, BEBINGTON

MARTYN PARKINSON, BRAND DIRECTOR – PREMIER SAID: DRS is designed to increase recycling rates and requires all retailers who sell drinks to accept the containers back from shoppers. Shoppers pay a deposit when they buy the drink then reclaim it once they return the bottle or can. It is set to go live in Scotland next year and it is likely that the UK government will subsequently launch its own DRS but no details have been published yet.

Having recently opened my first Premier store, I’m keen to make as much use as I can of social media so I’m lookinng for ideas on how to do that without resorting to simply posting promotions. Can you help?

ALAN GRANT, PREMIER PRESTON SANDS, PAIGNTON MARTYN PARKINSON, BRAND DIRECTOR – PREMIER SAID: Social media can be an exceptionally powerful tool and I know many Premier retailers who have developed an increasingly sophisticated social media strategy. In this issue, for example [See page 48], we have worked with two retailers who really make social media work hard for them: Mandeep Singh and Faraz Iqbal.

They have both succeeded in moving beyond simple, static posts by gradually evolving strong engagement strategies that help drive ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ and ultimately grow their stores’ follower numbers.

There are a number of easyto-copy techniques you can borrow from them and I would advise simply folowing them yourself to see first-hand how they do it.

JUNE 2019 TalkingShop

65

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Talking Shop

Issue 101 June 2019