The inside scoop How three very different stores make winter ice cream work ANALYSIS Page 24 » RETAIL NEWS THAT MATTERS ● £2.40 ● 01.09.2017 Up 50% after investing in fresh ● Turnover rocketed at John Green's store after adding chilled, fresh and alcohol ● ‘I'm now regularly getting £15 baskets’ Page 6 » WHOLESALING LAUNCH PRICING Market consolidation: Empire Wholesale all the breaking news Classics: delivery ● Analysts question Tesco- high value fees on the Booker argument to CMA over discounter threat potential horizon? Page 4 » Bauer plans quality Vol 128 No 35 Expert’s warning to ● Costcutter service must quarterly to drive FOR TRADE USE ONLY retailers as Palmer & 35 improve in any merger, say newsstand sales Harvey ‘teeters on the retailers Page 10 » Page 11 » edge’ Page 5 » 2 1 September 2017 RN CONTENTS Shaping the future NEXT WEEK » of independent retail since 1889 ways to choose SPECIAL the right in- store bakery equipment Shopper Page 28 Editor Associate editor News editor Missions Chris Gamm Chris Rolfe Charlie Faulkner 8 @ChrisGammRN @ChrisRolfeRN @CharlieFaulkRN 020 7689 3378 020 7689 3362 020 7689 3357 Features editor Reporter Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski Jennifer Hardwick @TomGK_RN @JenniferH_RN 020 7689 3361 020 7689 3350 Reporter Senior designer Alex Yau Anne-Claire Pickard @AlexYau_RN 020 7689 3391 020 7689 3358 “Over recent weeks, it seems news wholesalers and publishers have Designer Sales executive Financial controller Emma Langschied Khi Johnson Parin Gohil been doing their utmost to create 020 7689 3380 020 7689 3366 020 7689 3375 Production Sales support Finance executive coordinator executive Abi Sylvane consternation and mayhem.” Alex Garton Teagan Abrahams 0207 689 3383 Paul Baxter Page 21 020 7689 3368 020 7689 3382 Finance administrator Account director Marketing manager Anubhuti Shah Will Hoad Tom Mulready 0207 689 3397 020 7689 3370 020 7689 3352 Managing director HEADLINES OPINION Nick Shanagher 07966 530 001 4 BREAKING NEWS 20 YOUR NEWS Booker and Tesco defend merger Tobacco prices dropped to retain sales in London newsagent If you do not receive your copy of RN please contact Tom Mulready 6 STORE LOOKBOOK on 020 7689 3352 or email [email protected] Convenience adds 50% turnover 21 COLUMNIST Printed by Southernprint, Poole, on 80gsm Galerie Fine Gloss paper for Premier retailer John Green Paul Baxter previews hot topics Distributor Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT at the NFRN national council Audit Bureau of Circulations 10 SYMBOL NEWS July 2015 to June 2016 average net circulation per issue 13,316 Costcutter deal on the cards? 22 YOUR VIEWS Your letters, tweets and views Annual Subscription 11 UK 1 year £150 Europe £302 NEWS & MAGS 2 years £237 Rest of world £354 Bauer launches quarterly 3 years £333 Empire Classics series To subscribe contact 020 7689 3384 12 PRODUCT TRENDS Newtrade Bread brands on the rise 11 Angel Gate, City Road, London EC1V 2SD Tel 020 7689 0600 14 BRAND SNAPSHOT email [email protected] News from nine big brands RN is published by Newtrade Publishing Limited, which is wholly owned by NFRN Holdings Ltd, which is wholly owned by the Benefits Fund of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents. 16 WHAT’S NEW RN is editorially independent of the NFRN and opinions, comments and reviews included are not necessarily those of the Federation and no warranty for goods or services described is implied. 11 unique products Part one of our three-part Reproduction or transmission in part or whole of any item from RN may only be undertaken with the prior written agreement of the Editor. series on how to increase 18 PRICEWATCH Contributions are welcomed and are included in part or whole at the sole discretion of the editor. water sales Newtrade accepts no responsibility for submitted material. Every possible Benchmark your rosé wine Page 15 care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information. For trade use only RN 1 September 2017 3 Follow RN Follow RN Email & Visit the TALK f on Facebook on twitter phone RN website facebook.com/ThisisRN @ThisisRN for expert advice to email [email protected] www.betterretailing.com/RN TO RN to have your say on the latest news help you grow your sales tel 020 7689 0600 extensive galleries and news WELCOME Independent retailers are in a great place and have far less to worry about from consolidation C-STORE “Over recent weeks, it seems news SWITCH HAS TRANSFORMED n November 2012, I asked Londis brand di- MY BUSINESS rector Martin Swadling, then of Premier, Page 6 what he thought the biggest change in sym- Ibol retailing in the next five years would be. “More change and consolidation against a background of continuing tough economic conditions,” he replied. Four years and nine Editor months later, he was pretty spot on. Market INSIGHT Chris Gamm consolidation has been in the news for months, @ChrisGammRN and four fresh stories broke last week. 15 WATER 020 7689 3378 First, Booker and Tesco bosses defended their Lucozade aims to refresh sales tie-up in a letter to the CMA. Then Costcutter’s for three Kent stores owner Sir Michael Bibby hinted at its own take- 24 WINTER ICE CREAM over deal. Amazon bought US retailer Whole Foods and slashed Tips for year-round sales fresh prices, before a story broke on Sunday about Imperial and from three retailers JTI creating a new rescue plan for Palmer & Harvey. Market consolidation links all four deals, as Tesco and Booker 26 CATEGORY ADVICE have caused the industry to think about the future and solu- Danone on eye-catching tions for delivering growth. yoghurt displays But what does this mean for your store? With the pressure on 28 BAKERY EQUIPMENT multiples increasing, one industry insider told me this week Catch the boom in freshly independent retailers are in a great place and have far less to baked products ‘Rosé has definitely worry about from consolidation. 30 TEST THE TOOLS You’re running stores that are making you money and whole- increased in popularity salers – and now grocers – want your business, he said. Mondelez shares its web wisdom – I’ve got everyone However, the future of P&H could have an impact on your from young couples to store. In this issue, consultant David Gilroy asks what would 33 THIS WEEK IN workmen buying it.’ happen to P&H’s 90,000 customers if the wholesaler went under. MAGAZINES Martin Swadling showed five years ago that change is long 11 opportunities for the Pricewatch overdue. No one yet knows what will happen next. But RN will week ahead Page 18 keep asking the questions to keep you at the front of any change. 4 1 September 2017 RN BREAKING NEWS New Pass Display innovation My Parcel day ‘great success’ Display innovation was on show returns at McBride’s 24hr Lakeside store in Enniskillen last week when addition craft beer makers Hillstown Parcel delivery company Brewery were one of several Pass My Parcel has teamed suppliers who set up for a sam- up with returns provider pling day. Coca-Cola and liqueur ReBound in a bid to provide brand Coole Swan were just customers with more con- some of the companies present, venient returns and drive but the Antrim-based brewers sales for retailers as a drew in customers with beers result. perched upon a vintage tractor. Vijay Patel, of the Paper “We wanted to put ourselves Shop in Bloomsbury, Lon- on the map, and the day was a don, who ofers the Pass My great success,” said manager Parcel service, welcomed Daryl Moohan. the news. “Anything that makes it more convenient can only be a good thing,” he said. Industry analyst questions discounters claim ‘Areas where it will be anti-competitive’ Pass My Parcel head of marketing Freda Cronk said: “Retailers who don’t ofer free returns, or who Analysts: Tesco-Booker restrict customers to one return method, will soon find they lose out to their rivals in this multi-chan- nel world.” merger defence ‘a tactic’ Graham Best, chief by Helena Drakakis retailers across the sector see the food retail industry to make a point, but if they executive of ReBound, said: [email protected] “have experienced signifi- is really challenged by the want new franchises on “It’s all about making the cant losses in customers to discounters and Tesco- board then it’s likely they process as convenient as A retail analyst has called the discounters”. Booker know the CMA is will be able to ofer a better possible – which can then Tesco and Booker’s defence “Aldi and Lidl are also more likely to look kindly deal,” she said. drive up sales for retailers.” of its proposed merger, adapting their ofers to on this deal if they bring in Also commenting on which cites discounters compete more directly the idea of existent retail- the ongoing inquiry, Aldi and Lidl as its largest with players in the con- ers being able to defend John Ibbotson, analyst at Help phase threat, “a tactic”. venience segment,” they themselves.” Retail Vision, said while he Grocery analyst Molly added. Ms Johnson-Jones believed the deal would go out the Johnson-Jones commented However, Ms Johnson- warned that while she be- through, it would do so in a following the publication Jones, senior food and lieved Tesco-Booker would diluted form. old round of a joint submission by the grocery analyst at Global initially resist dropping “The CMA has to under- companies to the Competi- Data, maintains the deal is prices, this would inevita- take a detailed postcode pound tion and Market’s Authori- anti-competitive in its cur- bly happen.