Waitrose & Partners’ Post

The battle is on between M&S and Waitrose for the spot of 7th biggest UK grocery retailer. I’m interested to observe what role omnichannel and experience will play…..   M&S certainly has momentum on the back of good numbers in 2023 including record-breaking festive figures. Value has complemented quality as a key pillar in its proposition and this would seem to be working. The true test will be whether they can carry the momentum well into 2024.   Analysis by Retail Week predicts that M&S will overtake Waitrose as the UK’s seventh-biggest retailer within two years. Waitrose has a solid reputation amongst middle-class shoppers and I’m sure its executive team will be working hard to reinforce its key points of differentiation to combat M&S’s threat.   Price is effective to a degree but how do we avoid a race to the bottom and weave in ‘experience’ effectively to the offering?    The attached was an interesting article in the UK’s The Telegraph a few weeks back. What are your thoughts on this? #fmcg #retailinsights #groceryretail #omnichannelmarketing

"During an interesting chat over coffee this morning with my 'table of knowledge' buddies in Grafton, it was mentioned that Fresh and Save is set to take over the Coles store in our major shopping center. Coles currently has three stores in Grafton, and this particular location has been a bit of a white elephant for almost the entire ten years I've lived here. It makes me wonder if Coles is shifting focus, letting go of a store they've been propping up to keep their hold on the market. I’m not too familiar with Fresh and Save, but if they do set up in the shopping center alongside Woolworths, it could bring a significant change to the retail landscape here. From my perspective, this seems like a prime opportunity for Fresh and Save to expand beyond their Queensland base. Does anyone know who supplies most of their groceries? Grafton could be in for some interesting times with two Coles, two Woolworths, and Aldi competing." As for Fresh and Save, they are a growing grocery chain that’s been expanding primarily in Queensland. They focus on providing competitive prices, especially in fresh produce, similar to Aldi but without the same strong private label presence. Fresh and Save operates with a model that includes bulk buying and direct sourcing from suppliers to offer discounts to consumers. While they haven't yet expanded much beyond Queensland, this could be a strategic move to test other markets. It will indeed be interesting to see how the competition plays out in Grafton! #retail#competition#freshfoods#discounts#bulkbuys

From Grocery Gazette, interesting to see another UK Grocer making the move to uninstall some of its self-serve checkouts in favour of tills run by humans (hurrah!) Stating that both staff and customers were "very satisfied with the change" it's great to see increasing the in-store experience and decreasing customer and staff frustration is still a key priority for retailers. I appreciate that there's often a balance to be struck somewhere between the two, but great to see Morrisons and Booths being quick to correct moves that may have moved too far in the wrong direction for customers. An area to watch. #customerexperience #humanconnection #retail #experienceiseverything

If you live in the southeast PA or tri-state area, Wawa, Inc. is not just a convenience store, it's an institution and lifestyle. A look back at the past decade shows a savvy retailer well ahead of its time who has continued to invest & adapt to stay true to their purpose and offering. 2002 - introduced touch screen ordering kiosks in all stores. 2010 - expanded its Built-to-Order food and beverage offering. 2015 - introduced App and Rewards program. 2017 - partnered with Tesla to install Tesla Supercharger stations. 2020 - rolled out delivery & curbside pickup nationwide. 2021 - launched dinner menu including the Wawa Burger & Wawa Pizza. In doing so, they have carved a niche and built a cult status among their loyal customer base (guilty!) Next year marks their 60th anniversary and they're marking the occasion by announcing plans to open over 70 new #stores. This includes expanding its footprint into Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina for the first time. Many retailers can learn a thing or two by studying their playbook. #retailing #ecommerce #digital #retailtech #retailnews #onlineshopping #commerce #retail #conveniencestores

If ever you need an anecdote that a substantial number of shoppers love treasure hunts, and even a small-format store can deliver retail theater, check out what Aldi does in its center aisle. It's a bit of retailing genius if you ask me. There's a dopamine hit triggered in our reptilian brains for successful treasure hunt excursions, especially if it requires some cunning planning and effort. While most retailers obsess over reducing friction, overcoming a little bit of friction is part of the hunter-gatherer reward system hardwired into our basic desires. The article also gives a nod to the paradox of choice. Worth a read.

Sainsbury's sold record numbers of pigs in blankets, mince pies and sparkling wine, over the festive period, it has said. Festive food sales helped to boost overall sales over Christmas, at the UK's second biggest supermarket chain. Grocery sales were up 8.6% over the six weeks to 6 January, offsetting sharp drops in its Argos and clothing sales. Sainsbury's said its food sales beat competitors over the period as it strives to take on discounters. It has been locked in a battle with German retailers Aldi and Lidl as it tries to entice cash-strapped customers through its doors. Sainsburys said many customers had used its Nectar loyalty card scheme for their festive shopping, saving £16 on an £80 Christmas shop by using Nectar cards. Supermarkets including Tesco have been pushing customers to use loyalty cards by offering promotions, but consumer group Which? warned last year that offers may not be the bargains they appear. People also treated themselves to products in Sainsbury's Taste the Difference premium own brand range, with sales growing ahead of the market. Read more ➡️ https://buff.ly/48M1mFt The Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network is here to support your business - reach out to share your views, concerns and opportunities. #SCCnews #businesssupport #businessnetwork #businessvoice #businessleader Sign up for the Scottish Chambers of Commerce enewsletter at https://buff.ly/3CpsQnu

Loads in the press recently regarding Asda. Not much of it is positive. However, there are some incredible people in my network that have joined, or remained in, the business - these people have incredible track records in driving and delivering exceptional technological, operational and people oriented change that is capable of propelling the business forwards. It’s worth noting that Asda have absolutely lost some incredible talent of late. Some really key people to the business… But they have also done some great work regarding talent acquisition and talent retention. What I think is KEY to Asda’s future success is the appointment of an inspirational, transformation and turnaround focussed leader, who can build cohesion between the executive leadership team(s), and an effective and consistent communication channel that inspires and informs the wider business - from top to bottom. As well as building a strategy that sees the customer being of paramount importance. The core, central strategic cog. A short-term leader is great, who can initiate change and foster motivation and a sense of togetherness internally. But a longer term leader who has successfully lead similar transformation and turnaround efforts is critical. A new strategic direction, and a clear roadmap is also essential! The technology transformation, that’s come off the back of the separation from Walmart, needs to be turned around and sped up - but the talent is absolutely there to deliver this, so long as there is a clear strategic vision and consistent, inspiring communication from top down, with open ears to ideas and current feelings from bottom up. Some modernisation is needed across areas like clothing, home and household - sure. But getting to grips with pricing, loyalty and promotions across the grocery business should help with driving footfall and traffic to the brand, across their various channels and store-types, to increase profits and revenues, closer to those of past times. This is a perfect case of transforming the business with the customer being the priority. Modernised technology solutions will help, but not for technologies sake. A strong strategy and direction needs to be devised, with internal customers buy-in being key. Technology will be a strong enabler to create the customer journey and experience, and to improve the experience of the internal customers, but people and processes are more important - especially in this case! Massively exciting to watch from the outside, and I really hope Asda can turn this around!

Grocery Buying is tough, negotiations are hard & the competition is ruthless. More data & KPIs to worry about than I don't know what, and daily if not hourly urgent issues & demands on your time. So you need a plan - a good category strategy that is going to help guide you through the day to day noise. And Suppliers who can help you execute that plan well, and share their insights & expertise to help you continue to refine & improve the strategy. As Paul says we did have some very challenging negotiations, and sometimes the deal was beyond both of our red lines. But more often than not we found a way, and it benefitted both of our businesses. Through that we built a relationship that continues today, and we'd love to share some of our learnings on what it takes to win in Grocery. Join us on Monday 15th for a free Q&A webinar - the link is in Paul's post below...

The Grocery Multiple arena is just different Gravy! When I first took on customers in the multiple grocer channel, I admit, that looking back I was somewhat out of my depth. I was in my twenties and was given the then-Safeway business to manage for Nestle pet care. I was super eager to prove my tender age wasn't a barrier. Despite having already managed wholesalers', cash and carry, and independent groups, stepping up into the grocery channel required sharper skills. Sure I made mistakes, but I learned quickly how to navigate the complex world of retail buyers. ✅ Like proposing all promotions with accurate costings to 4! decimal places ✅ Making sure stock was in shelf-ready packaging if possible ✅ Understanding what my business was doing to amplify our brand messages to help drive customers to the category ✅ Understanding what role our range played in the category ✅ Understanding what the retailer's ambitions were and how my brand could help I progressed to more senior roles, managing all of the UK Big 4 grocery accounts at one point or another in my career for a variety of businesses, in a variety of categories. During my time in the spirits category for William Grants, Simon Dunn was my buyer at Tesco. We had a great couple of years, doing what was right for both the category and our respective businesses. We had some tough negotiations sure, but nothing that damaged our relationship. We had customer and category-focused business plans that improved signage and education for malt whisky and drove strong growth and a wider customer choice. All these years later, Simon and I have reconnected as it dawned on us that we are in a pretty unique position to help those businesses that may want to explore getting distribution into the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, and Morrisons. What better training than from a buyer and seller who sat across from each other and, drove category success? As a taster, please join our Free lunch and learn webinar at 12pm on Monday 15th July by clicking the link below. We believe we can help you understand the things you don't even know you don't know in this section of the market. The UK grocery multiple channel is arguably one of the most dynamic commercial environments in the world. We want to help you understand how to navigate it better. See you on the 15th and share with any others who may want to join. https://lnkd.in/eKd9bqzG

A recent article from CNN about Aldi and how this center of store bargain aisle is drawing customers was quite interesting. I admit that I don't shop there (too far from me) so I quickly jumped into the Catalytics ad tracking database and saw some amazing deals. As you can see these advertised deals really draw traffic! #cpg #categorymanagement #cpgsales #shopperinsights https://lnkd.in/e_vprBCG