Retailers unite against Scotland’s large retailer levy plan | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Dozens of representatives from major retailers and key business organisations in Scotland have met to pledge their opposition to the Scottish Government’s proposed large retailer levy, warning it will endanger future job creation.

The first gathering of Competitive Scotland took place ahead of the Scottish Retail Consortium’s (SRC’s) Annual Parliamentary Reception. 

The retail sector is warning that the extra tax on stores with a rateable value of more than£750,000 could limit retail expansion in Scotland and harm employment prospects.

Large retailers already pay approximately a quarter of all business rates across Scotland, the highest proportion of any sector.

In 2009, the retail sector contributed around£24bn to the Scottish economy, accounting for 11% of the nation’s GDP. It employs nearly 250,000 people, equivalent to one in nine of the Scottish workforce. 

The big four supermarkets alone plan to open a total of around 20 new stores in Scotland over the next two years, resulting in approximately 8,000 new jobs. It has been estimated that the building of a major store provides work for up to 200 construction staff. 

Scottish Retail Consortium director, Fiona Moriarty, said:“To have so many major retailers and key business organisations brought around the table by a single issue is highly significant. 

“This reflects the level of concern about the proposed large retailer levy and the importance the whole sector places on halting it. Preventing this unfair tax on successful businesses is at the top of the retail sector’s agenda, and we aim to place it top of the Government’s agenda as well. 

“Opposition politicians are showing they understand the importance of the retail sector to the future success of the Scottish economy. It’s a shame the Scottish Government seems so determined to continue on a path that risks jeopardising jobs growth and investment.

“Retailers are demonstrating their commitment to Scotland by opening more stores and employing a growing number of local people. It would be terrible to see that growth slowed or halted as a result of the Scottish Government enacting a policy which will make the country a less welcoming place to do business. 

“During the next two weeks, ahead of the vote on the proposed levy, Scottish politicians and the Scottish public can expect to hear many key voices from the worlds of retail and business raised in opposition. Preventing this ill-conceived measure from going ahead will be crucial to Scotland’s economic security in the months and years ahead.”

Source: SRC

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Morrisons to snap up 16 Netto stores from Asda | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Morrisons has entered into a conditional agreement with Asda to acquire 120,000sq ft of additional selling space through the purchase of 16 former Netto UK stores at a cost of£28.1m.

The supermarket chain said the stores would“fit very well into our portfolio of 437 existing stores”.  The additional selling space is incremental to the 500,000 sq.ft target already outlined for 2011/12. 

Obtaining the stores is conditional upon the successful completion of Asda’s acquisition of Netto UK with final approval by the Office of Fair Trading.

The handover of the stores is expected to take place on a phased basis commencing in March, with completion of the conversion to the Morrisons format expected to take three months.

Dalton Philips, chief executive of Morrisons, said:“These additional stores are an important next step in Morrisons’ growth. We are building on our strategy to bring Morrisons’ unique offer of freshly prepared, affordable food to more people in Britain. 

“We look forward to welcoming the new colleagues employed at the Netto stores as they transfer to Morrisons under TUPE regulations.”

Source: Morrisons

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Value for money more important than low price, say shoppers | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

A survey of 2,210 UK consumers by Retail Eyes, the UK’s leading customer experience improvement agency, has found that less than one in five people (17%) intend to make purchasing decisions based on the lowest possible price.

With consumers counting every penny following the VAT rise, many retailers will be doing all they can to keep prices low to attract shoppers through aggressive promotions and discounting. While this does undoubtedly have its short term benefits, it will be unsustainable in the long run and ultimately leave customers feeling disappointed.

Tim Ogle, CEO of Retail Eyes, says that rock bottom pricing is not necessarily the best way to attract, and retain, customers.“Our research has shown that 83% of shoppers are looking for added value for their money. Obviously with their margins being squeezed by rising costs, retailers need to find cost effective ways to add value – one of which is through exceptional customer service.”

Customer service has historically been seen as an interaction to deal with a customer when something has gone wrong or simply serving the customer in a transactional manner. Retail Eyes believe that retailers should go a step further and expand customer service to customer experience placing the focus on creating an experience that customers remember and want to revisit.

Ogle said:“Customers are subconsciously running value equations throughout their entire experience and that includes more than just price; it includes the whole experience. People, especially front line staff, are the ones who can really make a retailer stand out from the crowd by committing to make every customer’s experience the very best.

“Get the overall customer experience right and retailers can expect to see the results positively impact at the tills.  Get it wrong however, and shop staff who see their job ‘as just a job’ can have a negative impact– destroying a retailer’s reputation just by simply ignoring customers.”

Retail Eyes helps retailers and other businesses understand the impact of customer experience and how different interactions and levels of service can affect customers’ purchasing decisions.

Source: Retail Eyes

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New campaign to highlight the benefits of organic products | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

The organic industry is launching a high profile three-year campaign that is set to deliver sales growth by increasing consumer demand for organic food in the UK. 

Match funded by the EU, the aim of the£2m‘Why I Love Organic’ campaign is to invite consumers to discover what organic means, by challenging their perceptions and discovering their own reason for loving it.

Launching in January 2011 under the banner‘There are lots of reasons to love organic – discover yours’, the campaign consists of press advertising, PR and digital marketing and aims to democratise organic by using everyday people to talk about their reasons for buying and loving organic.

Chairman of the Organic Trade Board, Huw Bowles said:“We know that people want to eat natural and great tasting food which is exactly what organic is. Research has shown that when it comes to buying food, issues such as naturalness and restricted use of pesticides are important to consumers however they don’t always realise that this is exactly what they would get if they were to buy organic.

“The term organic is widely misunderstood and through this campaign, we want to help consumers to discover exactly what it means and why it’s worth it, with the ultimate aim of driving sales.”

Press adverts will run across a number of national magazines over a nine-month period (in each of the three years of the programme.)  The ad creative will challenge perceptions by featuring everyday individuals who would not normally be associated with buying organic, each giving their reason for why they love organic, highlighting the benefits of organic food.

The PR activity will help to raise awareness and focus on seasonal news stories, real life case studies, competitions, celebrity endorsement and tasty organic recipe ideas.

A new website (www.whyiloveorganic.co.uk) has also been created that will showcase the benefits of organic food, feature up to date news and recipe suggestions. 

Source: Organic Trade Board

 

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Morrisons report slow Christmas sales | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

In the six weeks to 2 January like-for-like sales at Morrisons grew just 1.0% (4.0% including fuel), building on the“industry-leading” growth reported over the past four years.

Morrisons served an average of two million more customers each week over the Christmas period than five years ago, and in that time has grown total sales excluding fuel by 47%.

Morrisons said the combination of“high quality food at fantastic prices” was seen throughout the store, with a range of deals being supplemented by its Christmas collector card. This proved popular with over one million customers, who will continue to benefit from the scheme into the New Year.

The board’s expectations for the full year remain unchanged.  Looking ahead, Morrisons remain well positioned to make progress whilst recognising that in 2011 the economic background for the UK consumer will be challenging with disposable incomes coming under increasing pressure, through a combination ofthe recent VAT increase and public service spending cuts.

Commenting on Morrisons Christmas trading, chief executive officer Dalton Philips said:“This has been another good performance in a tough market.  At Christmas, when customers are even more focused on great quality food at outstanding value, the Morrisons differences really stand out.

“I’m very pleased with the way the whole business has risen to the twin challenges of a difficult consumer environment and a prolonged spell of adverse weather and really want to thank all our 130,000 colleagues for going above and beyond the call of duty again this year, to ensure we served ourcustomers well during this critical time.”

Source: Morrisons

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Palmer and Harvey named Supplier of the Year | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Palmer and Harvey (P&H), the UK’s largest delivered wholesaler, has been named Supplier of the Year by one of the largest independent forecourt groups, Park Garage Group.

P& H, which supplies the group with FMCG products, was up against other branded blue chip manufacturers as well as Esso, BP and Total at the group’s annual awards recognising individuals and companies that have contributed to Park Garage Group’s success over the last year.

The accolade was awarded at a dinner at Croydon’s Hilton Hotel, attended by 300 industry guests and Park Garage Group employers.

The award acknowledges the growth in the four-year relationship between P&H and the Park Garage Group during the past year from a presence in 15 service stations to full supply of Park Garage Group’s 92 outlets. The business now generates a turnover in excess of £21.5m for P&H.

The Park Garage Group owns 92 forecourt outlets throughout the country, with a particular presence in the south-east of England, under its Park and Shop brand.

Sunil Tandon, director of Park Garage Group, said:“P&H has really helped drive our business forward over the last year, particularly helping us to develop our brand and our POS presence. We have built a great relationship and we wanted to recognise that with this award.”

Paul Hagon, managing director of sales, Palmer and Harvey, said:“We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service and working in true partnership with our customers. We are very proud to be named Park Garage Group’s Supplier of the Year and look forward to building our relationship.”

Source: Palmer and Harvey (P&H)

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All Sainsbury’s tuna to move to 100% pole and line caught | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Sainsbury’s has announced that all tuna used as an ingredient in its food will be caught using the pole and line method by the end of this month. This move ensures that 100% of Sainsbury’s tuna across all products is responsibly sourced. Sainsbury’s fresh, frozen and canned tuna is already line caught.

All of Sainsbury’s ready meals, sandwiches, pate, dips, salads, sandwich and potato fillers and sushi containing tuna will now be sourced using the more selective fishing method which practically eliminates bycatch of other species.

Sainsbury’s moved all its own-label canned tuna to pole and line caught in 2009, and as a result, was rated No.1 by Greenpeace for responsible sourcing.

Tuna is the third biggest-selling fish in Sainsbury’s and the move will now see 1,500 tonnes of fish move to the more sustainable catch method every year.

Ally Dingwall, Aquaculture& Fisheries manager, Sainsbury’s said:“We’re proud to be able to offer our customers pole and line caught skipjack tuna across all products from tins to sandwiches to ready meals. 

“As the UK’s largest retailer of MSC and Freedom Food fish, we continue to source food as responsibly as possible. This means our 20 million customers have peace of mind that what they’re buying is as sustainable as it can be.”

Source: Sainsbury’s

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