Tide Turning on Plain Packaging

20.02.2015 ABCs GUIDE INSIDE Are you stocking the star performers? MAGAZINES Page 38 » Doing mags differently ‘I’m targeting a £25 average basket spend’ Page 28 » NEWS l CONVENIENCE l PROFIT www.betterretailing.com l £2.20 Tide turning on SYMBOLS plain packaging £10m new l 99% of consultation respondents say no to the measure. business l Rumours of cabinet split ahead of parliamentary vote. bonanza l ‘This is winnable’, says BAT’s Ron Ridderbeekx. Page 5 » for Nisa NEWSSTAND Recruitment drive picks up 17 i margin Costcutter stores in beats Sun Northern Ireland. and Star Page 6 » Pro-rata terms on ADVERTISING 10p price increase welcomed by Suppliers retailers. Page 4 » planning ICE CREAM covered ‘We’ve got gantry ads Display ban it licked’ offers marketing Unilever targeting opportunity, say 68% growth with retailers. Page 4 » summer launch blitz. Page 11 » Vol 126 No 8 FOR TRADE USE ONLY Plain packs rebels? 08 Seven great ideas to Are these the rebels supporting your cause? RN has identified these five mem- make money in 2015 bers of the cabinet, seven other ministers and three senior Conservatives have all Page 30 shown concern at the government’s plans for plain packs. Page 5 » » Pepsi, Pepsi MAX and the Pepsi Globe are registered trademarks of PepsiCo Inc. Source: *Nielsen RMS Total Coverage Value Sales – MAT 27.12.14 vs YA **Nielsen RMS Total Impulse ROS ACV Weighted – MAT 27.12.14 vs YA BRV300376_15 Retail Newsagent 20 February 2015 3 Last Wednesday, wearing a white t-shirt and ‘plain’ plastic mask, I marched with 100 retailers through Westminster to tell the government why introducing plain packaging would be a disasterous deci- sion. It was the day at the heart of the week when the tide turned on plain packaging and the vote result was blown wide open. RETAIL NEWSAGENT NEWS ● CONVENIENCE ● PROFIT Opening the rally, Nick de Bois MP spoke of the disquiet on all lev- els of government on the matter. Foreign secretary Philip Hammond Lobby your MP, tell wants evidence to support policy, he said, and there are two compel- ling pieces in this week’s RN. Both 99% of respondents to last sum- them what impact mer’s consultation and the general public firmly say no to plain packs. plain packaging will Meanwhile, RN this week identifies a number of cabinet members have on your business and key individuals whose support for plain packaging is in huge and give them doubt. something to fight This includes a government whip, an MP who now works for the Department of Health and another who advises government on law. with With the expected impact on tax revenue and the illicit trade, home secretary Theresa May and chancellor George Osborne also have every reason to vote against plain packaging in the next few weeks. At the rally, Gerry Sutcliffe MP told me he knows of 111 colleagues also planning to defy their parties when it comes to voting. Whether they are true to their word and vote for their principles or their careers remains to be seen. CHRIS GAMM Either way, be clear: the vote is winnable, but you need to work to- Editor @ChrisGammRN gether to achieve it. Lobby your MP, tell them what impact plain packaging will have on your business and give them something to fight with. 26 NEXT WEEK CONTENTS 48 21 LETTERS NEWS Londis praised FEATURES 43 INDUSTRY PROFILE for £2.3m investment 28 PLAIN PACKAGING Alan Foley, below, left, 4 INDUSTRY NEWS Unilever in improving store reveals gantry shutter standards As the fight Abra Wholesale retail promo plans 22 YOUR STOCK, YOUR SAY against development manager 6 BUSINESS NEWS Nisa gains How retailers are plain packaging 44 PRICEMARKING £10m of business since preparing customers for picks up pace Customers love them September the tobacco display ban RN reports from but how do the prices DISPATCH FROM THE 8 NEWSTRADE SUB-CONTINENT Kids’ titles 23 COLUMNIST Make sure Australia to find compare to those in are top performers for your employees are safe out what effect it the big supermarkets Five lessons UK retail- Immediate Media at work, writes legal had on retailers 48 PREVIEW Prizes on ers can learn from the 10 PRODUCTS Cuddly expert Michelle Di Gioia there 38 offer from Kettle Chips; Indian c-store market promotion for McVitie’s 24 PRICEWATCH 38 MAGAZINE ABCs There Walkers make sharing new campaign fun with MixUps 16 NFRN NATIONAL COUNCIL UK chocolate prices; 43 are still sales oppor- All the stories from the RN’s profile of tunities in a THIS WEEK London meeting Costco co-founder declining market, IN MAGAZINES COMMENT & Jim Sinegal through growing 49 ROUND-UP Blind-bagging 26 RETAILER PROFILE established of collectables captures ANALYSIS The retailer whose favourites and kids’ imaginations WAKEY WAKEY! 20 YOUR ISSUE Friday 13th store is a haven for launches. We 50 FOR YOUR SHELVES Muscle Get your breakfast offer proves unlucky for independent look at the & Fitness Special, free right with our guide lottery retailers magazines latest ABCs gift with Scootering WHEN THE OPPOSITION IS SO MASSIVE WHAT POSSESSES THE GOVERNMENT TO SAY ‘YES, LET’S CRACK ON’ – RON RIDDERBEEKX, BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO HEAD OF CORPORATE AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS ON PLAIN PACKAGING. Page 5 » 4 20 February 2015 Retail Newsagent Follow Retail Newsagent on Twitter @RetailNewsagent for expert advice to help you grow your sales Our Charlie i’s 10p pro-rata price hike welcomed Hebdo Independents have wel- February. The 25% margin buy the i would not be Judging by the people who comed a 10p price increase means retailers will fazed by the change in I sell it to, it will still sell.” ‘nightmare’ on the i, as pro-rata terms collect 10p per copy on price, as it was still one of Mark Dudden, of Albany A newsagent has described means it now ofers better weekdays. the more afordable papers News in Cardif, added: “I the aftermath of a visit from returns than both the Sun Bill Harrison, of Har- to ofer “more serious news have already mentioned police seeking information and Star. risons Newsagent in content”. it to a couple of customers about who they had sold The Monday to Friday Hyde, said he was “all for “The people who buy it, and they were like: ‘Cool, French satirical magazine paper will sell for 40p anything that puts a little like it,” he said. no problem’. Charlie Hebdo to as a “night- starting Monday and extra in the newsagents’ “It has its own reader- “In terms of margins, I’d mare”. the Saturday edition will pocket”. ship who buy it because rather support the i than Ofcers from Dyfed- be 50p from Saturday 28 He said customers who it’s a certain kind of paper. other publications.” Powys police in Wales visited Winnie’s Newsagent in Presteigne, Powys, to talk Unilever reveals its gantry shutter promo plans ‘Manufacturers should work together’ to the owners, husband and wife team Paul and Deborah Merrett, about who had bought the publication from Retailers urge co-operation their store in the wake of the terror attacks in France. The high street store hit the headlines in the UK – to gain gantry advertising and around the world – after the incident. by Steven Lambert troduction of the country’s space for advertising and if Chunky, which helped Mrs Merrett said: “When tobacco display ban in we can get PoS for counter drive sales.” the police first came in, I Retailers are urging tobacco 2009. items, like spirits or con- However, Jeremy Black- thought they were here to and non-tobacco manufac- Mr Clarke said the com- fectionery, then I think it burn, head of communica- check for illegal tobacco. turers to work together to pany had advertised its ice could increase sales.” tions at JTI, warned retail- “After the visit we had incorporate advertising so- cream products on gantry Aiden Roche, owner of ers they cannot advertise TV wanting to broadcast lutions on covered gantries doors, which had led to a Valley Newsagents in Dub- on its gantry doors without live from the shop, we had following the upcoming sales uplift of up to 17% on lin, said advertising on his “specific permission” from ABC in New York on and had display ban. its products in stores. tobacco gantry has helped the company. phone calls from places like The call comes as Uni- Harj Dhasee, owner of him pick up impulse sales. He said: “JTI supports Poland and Barbados.” lever revealed it is looking Nisa Mickleton Village “Our gantry space is used selected retailers by loan- into promoting its products Stores in Gloucestershire, for various brand advertising them merchandising on gantry shutters once the said a similar move in the ing, which is put up by a equipment, including retail Crime in the legislation comes into force UK would be welcomed by third party contractor for display ban compliant on 6 April. retailers. JTI, who in turn have a doors. All that equipment spotlight Unilever brand director “I think manufacturers contract with me,” he said. remains JTI property and The NFRN has spelt out Noel Clarke told RN it had should be working together “Last weekend they came the loan is subject to the the real impact of crime on been working with retailers on something like this. and put up a Vodaphone ad. terms of JTI’s merchandis- independent retailers at an in Ireland following the in- The gantry spot is a prime They also advertised KitKat ing loan agreements.” informal evidence session held by the House of Com- mons Justice Committee.

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