Retail News April 2010

April 2010

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THE news that former Attorney General and European Commissioner, David Byrne has been named as facilitator in the development of a Code of Practice for Grocery Goods Undertakings is proof positive that such a Code is on the way, and it may have broad reaching effects on Ireland’s retail sector as we know it.

The Renewed Programme for Government contains a specific commitment to “implement a Code of Practice for doing business in the grocery goods sector to develop a fair trading relationship between retailers and their suppliers” and “to review progress of the Code and if necessary to put in place a mandatory code”.

The Government will include a provision in the legislation, currently being prepared to merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority, which will allow for the introduction of statutory Codes of Practice in areas such as the grocery sector. The legislation is scheduled for publication later this year.

In the meantime, the Government have committed to engage with all stakeholders to try to agree a voluntary Code of Practice, which would respect the interests of all parties, which would then form the basis of any subsequent statutory Code.

The proposed Code of Practice is the ongoing subject of fierce debate within the sector. The recent report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, calls for the implementation of such a Code to eliminate “serious irregularities” within the market, including “gross misconduct” and “bullying and intimidation” on the part of retailers in their dealings with suppliers. See our special news report on Page 4 and 5 for the full story and reaction from the trade.

Love it or loathe it, the Code of Practice is on the way. Now is the time for retailers and suppliers to engage with the Government and with facilitator, David Byrne, to ensure an equitable playing field for all.

Kathleen Belton,Editorial & Marketing Director

■ inside view

Managing Director: Fergus Farrell

Editorial & Marketing Director: Kathleen Belton, email: [email protected]

Editor: John Walshe [email protected]

Chief News Reporter: Pavel Barter Wine Correspondent: Jean Smullen

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“Over 53 years

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April10Contents

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Code of Practice Makes Perfect

Linwoods have entered into a purchasing contract with Emmett Co-op to supply all milk requirements for Linwoods customers in the Republic of Ireland. The Emmett Co-op comprises of 63 dairy farmers across countries Meath, Westmeath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. The registered dairy Co-op will supply its milk to Linwoods allowing the Linwoods brand to offer Southern customers milk that is farmed in the Republic of Ireland.

We are pleased to have concluded this agreement with The Emmett Co-op because we recognise and respect the loyalty which exists in the Republic of Ireland for Irish produce.

All Linwoods milk delivered into the Republic of Ireland will display the Emmett Co-op logo on its packaging. Consumers can easily recognise that Linwoods milk is farmed in the Republic of Ireland.

Linwoods will hold all the milk purchase from the Emmett Co-op in a separate designated tank on site in Armagh. This storage tank will be installed and commissioned by early April 2010. ROI milk sales will be independently audited bi-annually to verify that matching quantities have been purchased from the Emmett Co-op.

Linwoods range of fresh milk in the Republic of Ireland have experienced approximately 500% volume growth since March 2009. This significant growth is attributed to increased distribution across Independent Retail Trade, competitive pricing and growing consumer recognition of the Linwoods milk range for its great taste and fresh quality.

The range available include 2Ltr, 1Ltr and Pint variants of Whole, Low Fat and Just 1% Fat and Skimmed milk.

Contact UsFor more information contact your local van sales representative or call NI (0044) 2837 568 477 or ROI (01) 403 9592 or Email: [email protected]

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News4Retailers Accused of Gross Misconduct Against Suppliers.

5Code of Practice Facilitator Named.

6Superquinn Agree Partnership Deal with Trade Unions; Eurozone Retail Sales Decline Slows..

7REI Names Landlords who Must Engage on Rent; SuperValu Tidy Towns Competition Launched.

8Londis Release “Resilient Results”; Retailers React to Retail Insolvency Figures.

9Irish Drinks Market in 8.9% Decline; Gala Gael Star of the Year Award Details Announced.

On The Vine13Chile’s Wine Industry Gets Back on its Feet; Top 10 Portuguese Wines; Springtime Recipes from Gallo.

Shop Profile14Robert Byrne’s XL on O’Connell Avenue in Limerick City was a worthy winner of the inaugural XL Store of the Year competition.

Karen Meenan’s News Rack16Karen Meenan advises on the top-selling puzzle books and World Cup col-lections to boost your sales this summer.

Special Report24This month’s launch of Fruice Dilute Double Strength will help to grow the dilutes segment by driv-ing incremental sales in the category, thus providing retailers with increased cat-egory margin.

Snack Foods26The snack foods sector remains one of the most recession resilient catego-ries in your store. We exam-ine the main players and the latest products to hit the shelves.

New Product Development35Despite the current eco-nomic climate, innovation and NPD is the secret to avoiding “consumer palate fatigue”, according to new innovation agency, The Food Nursery.

Forecourt Focus46Brian King’s Gala fore-court store in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, boasts the lat-est Gala concept, which has been developed by the Group to position Gala at the forefront of grocery retailing in Ireland.

Shelf Life48All the latest news and gossip from the trade.

Regulars

10Industry News

Sectoral Reports

21Household Care

36Ice Cream

42Yellow Fats & Oils

3

ContentsApril 2010

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April10Contents

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RETAILERS have been engaging in “unfair practices” in their relationships with suppliers, according to a new report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which identifies serious irregularities within the market that the Government must act to eliminate.

The report ‘Supplier-Retailer Relationships in the Irish Grocery Market’ calls for the introduction of a Code of Practice in the retail sector to ensure transparency, fairness and equality.

“This report clearly highlights the disproportionate market power that large retailers retain in the Irish retail market and the disadvantages that this places suppliers and other retailers in, when seeking to conduct their business-es,” noted Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Willie Penrose, TD.

“It also clearly highlights that some of these large retailers are using their disproportionate share of market power to impose unfair conditions on suppli-ers. The various types of ‘hello money’ and the unwarranted payments they regularly require of suppliers and the ‘requests’ for sponsoring advertisements or charity events can be described as not only a misuse of their market power but as unethical. The accompanying possi-bility of delisting of products as a con-sequence of refusing these demands or declining these ‘requests’ is a constant reminder to many suppliers that they operate in a market where power is divided unevenly and where their con-tinued ability to access the consumer is often subject to arbitrary control and restriction by others.”

The report draws attention to asser-tions that some retailers engage in ‘gross misconduct’, ‘bullying and intimidation’ and even ‘illegal practices’ against sup-pliers. Many of the suppliers who took part in the report state that they had been subjected to practices by retail-ers that include unreasonable demands for financial ‘contributions’ being made with implied threats for non-compliance.

It is common practice for suppliers to be subjected to requests for ‘hello mon-ey’, in one form or another, and they are also frequently required to make pay-

ments and provide services that are con-sidered to be outside acceptable business practice, the report states. This practice of ‘hello money’ is often camouflaged by retailers under the title ‘marketing support’, while another unfair prac-tice is where suppliers pay for charity events held by retailers. Respondents believe that suppliers who decline such requests are at risk of being unilaterally de-listed by the retailer.

According to the report, there is a direct correlation between the size of the supplier and the likelihood of their being subjected to unfair practices by retailers. The smaller the supplier, the more likely this is to happen. The respondents believe that many of the unfair practices endured by suppliers are actually in breach of competition law and that the Competition Authority is aware of their occurrence. However, as the existence of such practices is not

documented and is difficult to prove, the Competition Authority is unable to take action against them.

The report makes a number of key recommendations to ensure that fair and competitive practices are adhered to within the industry. Among those recommendations are:• The introduction of a legislative

Code of Practice to ensure fairness and equality within the sector and a system for measuring compliance with this Code;

• Agreeing a method by which all relevant data pertaining to the market, including profit margins of suppliers and retailers, is put into the public domain;

• Establishing a cross-border advi-sory group to look for inequities within the retail market;

• Considering methods to facilitate suppliers and retailers in reporting incidences of unfair practice;

• Educating consumers about the importance of local food culture and supporting local business.

The report also states that Irish consumers are paying too high a price for grocery products, which it attributes in the main to retailers retaining profit margins three times greater in Ireland than in their operations elsewhere, a figure refuted by Torlach Denihan, Director, Retail Ireland.

“It’s easy to make unsubstantiated allegations,” Denihan told RETAIL NEWS. “If for some reason, food retailing in Ireland was disproportionately profit-able, every retailer of scale in Europe would come in here and set up business. Why haven’t we seen a queue of retail-ers coming in to soak up this three-fold profit?”

Indeed, Retail Ireland remain firm in their belief that the Code of Practice is unnecessary.

“Since those hearings on which the report is based took place last spring, food prices have fallen by 7.8%. We are absolutely convinced that had a Code of the sort being envisaged been in exist-ence back then, consumers wouldn’t have benefited by those price falls,” Denihan argued.

April10News

4

Retailers Accused of Gross Misconduct

Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and

Employment, Willie Penrose, TD.

Paul Kelly, Director of Food & Drink Industry Ireland.

April10News

But what about suppliers? Are the multiple retailers not squeezing them so hard that some of them will be forced to go out of business?

“Suppliers, just like every other busi-ness in Ireland, are in an extraordinarily difficult situation, but to suggest that the suppliers’ problems are due to the activi-ties of retailers is ridiculous,” Denihan said. “What suppliers are up against, just like retailers, is the fact that Ireland is an extraordinarily expensive place to run a business… If retailers were in an easy space, 30,000 jobs would not have been lost in the retail sector.”

Denihan ridiculed the suggestion “that retailers have suddenly turned into Draculas and they’re trying to suck the life out of suppliers. What they have had to do is respond to the recession and the fact that consumers have much less money to spend.”

While admitting that retailers have engaged suppliers in “robust price negotiations”, Denihan declared him-self unaware of any misconduct on the part of retailers, and he feels that exist-ing legislation is strong enough to deal with any such occurrences: “There are pretty onerous sanctions on companies who engage in uncompetitive practices and the Competition Authority is there as a vehicle for anyone who wishes to make a complaint. There is no incidence that I’m aware of where a retailer was convicted of any such anti-competitive behaviour.”

However, Paul Kelly, Director of Food & Drink Industry Ireland (FDII), which represents the interests of the food, drink and non-food grocery manufacturers and suppliers, has welcomed the report.

“It’s quite clear that the market-place is unbalanced – there is a degree of dysfunctionality out there – and there is a strong need for a framework to put in place a fair and level playing pitch between supplier and retailer, and the Code of Practice and Ombudsman will bring that about,” Kelly told RETAIL NEWS.

FDII remain strong advocates of a statutory Code of Practice, while they are also keen to stress that the role of Ombudsman should be one with real power.

“We want to see a proactive Ombudsman,” Kelly stated. “The prob-lem to date with existing competition legislation is that it requires people to make complaints. One of the side effects of the dysfunctional marketplace we have at the moment is that people are loathe to complain about the practices which go on.”

He cites the example of the UK, where “one of the shortcomings of their original Code of Practice was the unwillingness of people to step forward, so when they updated it, they saw it was necessary to bring in an Ombudsman, who would have a proactive role to deal with these issues.”

The FDII Director stresses that the move towards increased regulation of the supply chain is not confined to Ireland alone. “Right across Europe, we are seeing similar initiatives: there are a number of countries who are examining similar proposals or have existing Codes in place. Within the EU, there is a huge move to address unfair contractual and commercial practices at a community level, as well as a national level.”

While some retailers have dubbed such measures protectionism, Kelly argues that is not the case. “We have seen intensive consolidation amongst retailers in this country and right across Europe, which has led to hugely increased buying power for retailers in the food supply chain,” he said. “That has had a very detrimental impact on sup-pliers and producers. What is happening now is a proper and appropriate response to that. If a retailer is going about their business in a proper fashion, they have absolutely nothing to fear from these developments.”

Kelly admits, however, that we need to “ensure that there is a degree of com-mercial freedom” in the supplier-retailer framework.

“Suppliers and retailers need to work together because they do have a common business interest,” he said, “and they need to be able to respond to changes in the marketplace. But we would draw a distinction between normal, fair com-mercial practices and these unfair prac-tices where a supplier gets lumped with unexpected costs at short notice.”

Against Suppliers Code of Practice Facilitator NamedFORMER Attorney General and European Commissioner, David Byrne has been named as facilitator in the development of a Code of Practice for Grocery Goods Undertakings.

The facilitator’s role includes:

• Considering existing submissions made to the Tánaiste, following a public consultation in autumn 2009 on the matter, as well as the experience of voluntary Codes in other jurisdictions;

• Meeting with all stakeholders to discuss and ascertain their views on what explicit provisions should be included in any volun-tary Code of Practice, as well as what format they should take;

• Examining and evaluating all suggestions for such elements of such a Code, with a view to drawing-up a draft voluntary Code for consideration by the stakeholders;

• Ensuring the inclusion of specific provisions in any such voluntary Code relating to thresholds for applicability of any such Code, enforcement and dispute resolu-tion provisions and how any such enforcement would be funded;

• Ensuring that any voluntary Code will take into account the interests of consumers and ensuring that there is no impedi-ment to the passing-on of lower prices to consumers;

• Endeavouring to get agreement from all stakeholders for the provisions of the aforementioned draft voluntary Code.

It is anticipated that the facilita-tor will report back to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment by early summer, with any recom-mendations he wishes to make in the matter.

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SUPERQUINN and Mandate Trade Union have agreed a new, innovative partnership agreement which will see the organisations working more closely together to enhance the business as well as the lives of the 3,000-plus Superquinn employees countrywide.

The agreement, entitled ‘Working Through Partnership’ (WTP), which includes two other unions, SIPTU and BFAWU, is designed to nurture and protect a consultative approach to devel-opment and progress in the business and has been described by Mandate’s Assistant General Secretary, Gerry Light, as a model for how all retail com-panies should operate in Ireland.

“This progressive and innovative agreement shows how unions and busi-nesses can work together in order to create a mutually beneficial work envi-ronment,” Light noted. “Both parties agree that this ‘partnership of trust’ will enable Superquinn to have a more engaged workforce, giving them a com-petitive advantage over their rivals in the retail trade.

“Each of the stakeholders has their own goals, including, for the workers, security of employment, protection of earnings and an enhanced working environment. For the company, this includes Superquinn’s competitive-ness, sustained profitable growth and enhanced customer services. At the same time, both parties have mutual goals which can be achieved through the new framework.”

The Working Through Partnership agreement includes a series of initia-tives such as:• Hosting of monthly Store

Partnership Forums (SPF) and biannual Company Partnership Forum (CPF);

• Enhanced disciplinary and griev-ance procedures;

• Improved communications facili-ties, training and development opportunities for staff members.

An evaluation and monitoring proc-ess will be put in place to ensure that the new framework meets the agreed objectives.

“The partnership framework gives workers an opportunity to influence com-pany policy and operational structures through the monthly Store Partnership Forums and the biannual Company Partnership Forum,” said Gerry Light.

“For example, the Store Partnership Forums will be involved in reviewing the store’s performance as well as wider company performance, reviewing busi-ness plans and local industrial relations issues, as well as dealing with staff development and training programmes. The Store Partnership Forums will be chaired on a rotation system by a union Shop Steward and a Store Manager.”

Under the agreement, the Company Partnership Forum (CPF) will meet twice a year and participants will include the Company CEO, Senior Managers, Store Managers, Regional Managers, Union Officials and Shop Stewards. The agenda for the CPF will include a review of store performances and company performance, a review of current agreements and a review and plan for the ‘Working Through Partnership’ strategy.

Simon Burke, Executive Chairman of Superquinn, explained how “the principle aim of ‘Working Through Partnership’ is to work closely with all of our colleagues and the Trade Unions to build and grow Superquinn for the future. This consultative approach is particularly important during the ongo-ing challenging trading conditions. Superquinn is committed to maintain-ing this partnership approach as we move forward.”

Superquinn Agree Partnership Deal with Trade Unions

April10News

Pictured are (l-r): Gerry Light, Mandate Assistant General Secretary; Simon Burke, Superquinn Executive Chairman; and John Douglas,

Mandate General Secretary.

Eurozone Retail Sales Decline SlowsRETAIL sales continued to decline in March across the Eurozone’s three biggest economies, Germany, France and Italy, although the rate of con-traction eased since February, as signalled by a rise in the seasonally adjusted Eurozone Retail PMI® to 46.9, from February’s eleven-month low of 44.6. However, on a quarterly basis, the decline in sales in Q1 was the worst since Q1 2009.

In Germany, retail sales fell for the twenty-second month running, although the rate of contraction eased to a marginal pace that was the weak-est since August 2009. Germany also posted a slower decline in sales than France and Italy. In France, retail sales were down at the slowest rate of 2010 so far, while Italian retailers suf-fered the steepest drop since February 2009, and were the worst-performing overall in March.

R E T A I L E x c e l l e n c e Ireland (REI) have released the names of certain landlords who they claim need to work in clos-er co-operation with retailers on the issue of rent. REI is appealing to these land-lords to engage in meaningful discussions with their tenants.

C h i e f Executive, David Fitzsimons, said REI had decided to take the action of naming individual landlords on foot of retailer requests and in a bid to tackle the issue of rents which are significantly in excess of current market rates. Such excessive commercial rents have been cited as the cause of several high profile store closures recently.

“For months now, our members have been trying to negoti-ate rent with their landlords, not because they are looking to increase their profit margins but simply because they want to stay in business,” he said. “We appreciate that some landlords have been forthcoming in offering rent reductions to reflect the reality of the marketplace. Many of these are retailers themselves and appreciate the critical nature of the issue. However, a considerable number of landlords are refusing to engage with retailers on the issue of rent and some, incredibly, are proposing rent increases.”

Fitzsimons says that many retailers will be under increas-ing pressure to stay in business over the next few months

as rents are maintained at artificially high levels by banks transferring impaired property assets to NAMA.

“In the first two months of this year, there have been 38 insolvencies in the retail sector alone. This is on par with the services industry and is second only to construction,” he noted. “Individual retailers right across the country are being subjected to excessive and unrealistic rent demands because landlords, who are now increasingly controlled by their banks, are refusing to negotiate on rent, at least in advance of these assets being transferred to NAMA.

“The industry has so far this year witnessed several instances whereby businesses have proactively shut down in a desperate attempt to negotiate reduced rental terms, with many failing to re-open. In most cases, these stores are other-wise viable businesses but cannot afford to pay rent agreed at the peak of the boom.”

The landlords who have been requested by REI to work in a co-operative manner with tenants are:

Landlord Signature Retail Investment Allied Irish Banks Investment Multiple Retail InvestmentsManagers Alvonway Investments Ltd Wilton Shopping Centre, Cork Aviva London Liffey Valley Shopping

Centre, Dublin Ballymore Properties Multiple Retail Investments Canada Life Assurance Multiple Retail Investments Chartered Land Multiple Retail Investments Clancourt Management Crescent Shopping Centre, Limerick Eircom Superannuation Fund Multiple Retail Investments GVR Estates Management Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow Harcourt Developments Multiple Retail Investments Howard Euroscape Multiple Retail Investments Irish Life Assurance PLC Multiple Retail Investments Lexeme Retail Property Group Multiple Retail Investments Shipton Group Cork Multiple Retail Investments Treasury Holdings Multiple Retail Investments

THE 2010 National Tidy Towns Competition was launched recently in St Stephens Green, Dublin. The competition, which is sponsored by SuperValu, is one of the world’s long-est running environmental initiatives, is now in its 52nd year and the focus for 2010 is on volunteerism.

2010 marks the 19th year of SuperValu’s partnership with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government for these very special awards. Donal Horgan,

Managing Director of SuperValu, said, “At SuperValu we pride ourselves on being at the heart of local communities. Our local store owners are uniquely posi-tioned to build these areas into vibrant communities through active support of sponsorships such as Tidy Towns. We are proud to have supported Tidy Towns and the great work carried out by their committees across the country for the past 19 years. We look forward to the results this year’s competition will bring in communities nationwide.”

REI Names Landlords Who Must Engage on Rent

SuperValu Tidy Towns Competition Launched

7

April10News

Model Sarah McGovern waters her little plant Georgia Tobin aged 4 at the

launch of 2010 National Tidy Towns Competition, sponsored by SuperValu.

REI Chief Executive, David Fitzsimons.

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ADM Londis plc have released their annual results, for the year ended December 31, 2009. Profit before tax is reported at €2.4m, on a wholesale turn-over of €269m and group retailer sales of €560m.

Significant price deflation, lower consumer demand throughout the gro-cery retail industry, and a policy of investment in promotional and pricing support programmes for Londis retail-ers resulted in a 10% decline in like-for-like sales for the Group.

“2009 marked a continuation of the 2008 trend that has seen double digit declines in retail sales,” said Stephen O’Riordan, Chief Executive, ADM Londis plc. “Against this background, ADM Londis plc returned resilient results. Considered alongside our low debt profile and strong commercial ini-tiatives, Londis remains well positioned within the Irish symbol group market.”

Continuing, O’Riordan emphasised the importance of the completion of the cost savings programme initiated in 2008, which has delivered efficiencies in logistics and support services.

“None of us realised how deep the recession was going to cut, but we had the foresight to look at our cost base and our customer base, which we dealt with in late 2008 and early 2009,” O’Riordan

told RETAIL NEWS. “Obviously, it has had an impact on turnover, but long-term, it is the right decision. The costs we have taken out have underpinned the profit-ability of our business.”

Prudent financial management was an ongoing feature across Londis group operations during 2009 in an effort to mitigate credit risk as a result of the ongoing credit squeeze. “In practical terms, this resulted in the closure of credit lines to exposed stores and also reduced scope for store recruitment, which in turn impacted on Group turno-

ver,” O’Riordan admitted. “The comple-tion of this programme has culminated in a business with a strong financial platform, supported by a core group of proven Londis retailers, providing the Group with a strong and highly sustain-able platform for growth, once market conditions improve.”

O’Riordan, however, doesn’t expect radical improvements in Ireland’s retail market in 2010. “It has been a difficult start to 2010 for the economy,” he said. “But I hope that as we get towards the middle of the year, we will see the drop in consumer spending starting to bot-tom out, and that we can see some lev-elling off in the second half of the year and some modest growth in 2011. But I think 2010 is going to be a tight year for all indigenous businesses.”

His views were echoed by Leo McCauley, Chairman, ADM Londis plc: “Low consumer confidence, challenging employment forecasts and continuing tight credit conditions look set to prevail in the immediate future. Additionally, a sustained value motivation on behalf of consumers will continue to bring margin and profit pressure to bear on all opera-tors within the Irish grocery market.

“However, as a result of the process of very positive change by the Londis Group in recent years, through strategic alliances, strategic procurement, strong value-led marketing campaigns and cost management, the Group is well posi-tioned in the marketplace,” McCauley concluded.

Londis Release “Resilient Results”

April10News

Retailers React to Retail Insolvency FiguresRETAIL Ireland has said that new insolvency figures for the first quarter of 2010 confirm the extent of the crisis facing the retail sector.

“The largest annual drop ever in retail sales ever was in 2009 and retail-ers tried to save their businesses by cutting costs,” said Retail Ireland Director, Torlach Denihan. “The number of insolvencies in the retail sector in the first quarter of 2010 increased 171% by comparison with the same period last year. Many of these insolvencies are due to the fact that during 2009, retailers were not able to response to a fall in sales by reducing rents or commercial rates. While most other suppliers to the retail sector reduced their prices, many landlords used upward only rent review clauses to increase rents and most Local Authorities did not reduce commercial rates.”

Denihan highlighted the fact that 30,000 retail staff joined the Live Register in 2009 and argued that, in order to avoid a repetition in 2010, all landlords should play their part in saving employment in the retail sector by, “at a mini-mum, reversing on a voluntary basis rent increases implemented under the last rent review. This process should be overseen by Government,” he argued. “Every Local Authority should give a rebate on the 2010 commercial rates equivalent to a 10% reduction on the 2009 rates bill. Unless there is action along these lines, more bad news will follow.”

Pictured are Stephen O’Riordan, Chief Executive, and Leo McCauley, Chairman, ADM Londis plc.

THE drinks market in Ireland suffered a major 8.9% decline in 2009 as a result of falling consumption, driven by the historically weak national economic situation and ongoing cross-border purchasing of alcohol, according to the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland.

Speaking at the launch of ‘Drinks Market Performance 2009’, Chairman of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), Kieran Tobin said that our per capita consumption has fallen 21% since the peak of the economic boom in 2001, and that overall consumption is now back to the pre-Celtic Tiger levels of 1995/96.

“As predicted, 2009 turned out to be an even poorer year than 2008 for drinks sales and consumption in Ireland, meaning that it was the worst year for our industry in living memory,” Tobin noted. “The 8.9% decline came on top of a 5.9% fall in 2008. While some of this decline is attributable to the major increase in cross-border purchasing of alcohol that emerged in the last 18 months, even when this is factored-in, there is still a substantial consumption decline of over 7% in 2009.”

Describing the recent excise reduc-tion as “a crucial first step in building consumer confidence and repatriating revenue lost to Northern Ireland”, Tobin said that such pro-consumer measures

are fundamental to rebuilding confi-dence and halting the decline across the drinks trade, particularly in the employ-ment-intensive on-trade.

The report’s author, DCU econo-mist Anthony Foley, commented, “The declines recorded in this report are profound. Across all four drinks catego-ries, there were marked reductions in 2009. The lowest decline was cider at 5.9%; beer fell by 6.5%; wine by 6.9%; and spirits by 18.5%. Bar sales volumes

alone decreased by 11.1% in 2009, while off-sales fell 6%. As a result of this, the off-trade’s share of the drinks market is now in excess of 50% and growing, while the on-trade’s share continues to decline.

“Prospects for 2010 remain weak. DIGI estimates that alcohol volumes will continue to decrease this year by 5%, but that there will be larger proportionate declines in the on-trade, with a knock-on effect on jobs and employment.”

Irish Drinks Market in 8.9% Decline

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April10News

Gala Gael Star of the Year Award Details AnnouncedTHE Oireachtas Media Awards with Gala celebrate the TV and Radio presenters, actors, journalists and programme makers who have excelled in their contribution to the Irish language media sector in the past year. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park in Dublin on May 21. Together with Oireachtas na Gaeilge, Gala has developed a brand new award called Gala Gael Star of the Year, where readers of the Irish Independent and Foinse are invited to vote for their favourite Irish lan-guage media star.

“Gala’s sponsorship of the Oireachtas Media Awards with Gala is the first integral part of our ‘Gala Goes Gael’ cultural and marketing campaign, which we announced at the 2009 Gala conference,” said Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala. “Gala’s a 100% Irish-owned convenience retailer, operating in 200 communities nationwide, with some of our stores located in Gaeltacht areas. We’re proud of our Irish heritage and identity, and wanted to create an award that our shoppers and the public could engage with. We hope that this sponsorship is just the first step in Gala’s promotion of Irish communities and culture.”

DIGI Secretary, Donall O’Keeffe; report author, Tony Foley; and DIGI Chairman, Kieran Tobin, share a drink at the launch of DIGI’s ‘Drinks Market Performance

2009’ in the Bank Bar, Dame Street, Dublin.

Pictured are (l-r): Gary Desmond, CEO, Gala; Michelle Beamish, star of Seacht and the upcoming drama An Crisis on TG4; Liam

O Maoladha, Director of Oireachtas na Gaeilge; and Liam Peters, Chairman, Gala, announcing details of the 10th annual

Oireachtas Media Awards with Gala.

10

SuperValu Welcomes Summer IN anticipation of summer, SuperValu recently announced the sale of the first new season Irish strawberries. The company has announced that it will account for €4m worth of fresh strawberry sales in 2010. “At SuperValu, we are committed to supporting local Irish producers and growers and we are delighted to increase the amount of fresh Irish strawberries that are available to Irish consumers to 80% of our total sales,” commented Donal Horgan, Managing Director, SuperValu. “This commitment to investing in local produce guarantees top quality, fresh Irish fruit and vegetables for consumers. SuperValu’s commit-ment to Irish based growers and producers resulted in combined Irish retail sales of €1.2 billion of fresh Irish food in 2009.” Pictured enjoying some of SuperValu’s fresh strawberries are model Pippa O’Connor and Eabha Last (7) from Dublin.

PREMIER Foods Ireland have launched a comprehensive marketing and sponsorship campaign to help promote Ambrosia creamy Devon custard and rice pudding pots as a snacking and ‘complete my meal’ solution. The Goody Goody Yum Pots campaign, which has been created around the Ambrosia Cow, comprises sponsorship of the RTÉ Big Big’Mooovie, outdoor and radio advertising, in-store sampling and an online campaign run in conjunction with the popular consumer website Pigsback.com. Cathy Kelly, Senior Brand Manager, Ambrosia, said, “Sponsorship of RTÉ’s Big Big Moovie will bring the Ambrosia brand right into the living rooms of families across the country. The cartoon style Ambrosia Cow will not only entertain viewers, but will also deliver

big brand exposure, backed up with the radio and outdoor advertising and website.”

FSAI Launch Guide to Food LawTHE Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) have published a comprehensive guide to food law to assist artisan and small food pro-ducers who have started or are planning to start a new food business. The publica-tion of the ‘Guide to Food Law for Artisan/Small Food Producers Starting a New

Business’ is timely, given that the FSAI has witnessed a marked increase in interest in starting a new food busi-ness from members of the public. In 2009, there was a 50% increase on 2008, on the number of enquiries to the FSAI’s advice line asking for information on how to set up a new food business. The guide is free to download on the FSAI website www.fsai.ie. Pictured at the launch are (l-r): Helen Crowley, Information Executive and Dr Judith O’Connor, Technical Executive, Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

PICTURED are mini ‘Jedward’, Robert and Aaron Lynch, aged 8 from Castleknock, along with Robinsons Fruit Shoot Brand Manager, Christine Keohane of Britvic Ireland at the launch of Robinson’s search for the star of their next television ad. To be in with a chance of land-ing a role in the new advertisement, children were asked to showcase their skills at auditions held over the Easter holidays. See www.fruitshoot.com for more information.

ROMA has recently benefited from a €1m investment in the brand with new packaging, new creative and a new digital strategy all being launched in the last few weeks. The cam-paign includes an extensive ATL campaign, led by an eye-catching outdoor campaign, which includes T-Sides, Super Sides, Luas posters and City Impacts. The creative depicts Italian characters with quirky catchphrases, while Roma also developed a dedicated new website at www.roma.ie, featuring video recipes and top tips from Roma Chefs Catherine Fulvio and Gianluca Pardini, as well as more basic help on under-standing Italian Food and competitions.

April10Industry News

Massive Ambrosia Marketing Campaign

Roma’s €1m Investment Robinson’s Seek New TV Talent

11

Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship

IRISH and Leinster rugby stars, Bernard Jackman, Sean O’Brien and Kevin McLoughlin lined out in Riverview, Clonskeagh to launch the Centra Rugby Summer Camps, 2010. The rugby stars were joined by 7-year-olds, Owen Murphy and Kevin Traynor, who got a valuable insight into the sort of advice and tips they can expect to pick up when they register to attend one of the Centra camps running throughout Leinster, Munster and Connacht this summer. This is the third year of Centra’s sponsorship of the provin-cial rugby camps, which offer young rugby fans an opportu-nity to improve their skills and techniques with a panel of top coaches who are all qualified at mini rugby level under the IRFU Coach Development Pathway.

BORD Bia, in partnership with UCD Smurfit School, have announced that 25 of Ireland’s sharpest minds will be offered an exciting opportunity to take part in the Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship. Successful candidates will be based full-time in overseas markets, working on commercial assignments on behalf of 100 Irish food and drink compa-nies, while also completing academic modules and ongoing assessments at UCD Smurfit School. Aidan Cotter, CEO Bord Bia; Brendan Smith TD, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Prof. Tom Begley, Dean of UCD Business Schools, are pictured with fellows from the inaugural Marketing Fellowship programme. Visit www.smurfitschool.ie/bordbia for more information.

THE Flora Women’s Mini Marathon, which takes place in Dublin on Bank Holiday Monday, June 7, is the hugely popular 10k run which attracts over

40,000 participants every year and raises thousands for charity. Flora is calling on ladies of all ages to register for the 2010 event and get involved as part of its campaign to support and encourage heart health awareness. This year, Flora is also looking for Ireland’s ‘Flora Heart Heroes’ to celebrate the inspiring efforts of the thousands of women who participate in the event each year to improve their own health and raise money for charity. Women can tell their own stories or nominate a friend at www.floraheartheroes.com. Pictured are (l-r): Niamh Lennon, Brand Manager with Flora Unilever; Betty Hand, Flora Women’s Mini Marathon veteran, having completed 27 Flora Women’s Mini Marathon’s to date; and Dr Patricia Heavy, Nutritionist. Those interested in registering for the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon can log onto www.florawomensminimarathon.ie.

FUJIFILM Ireland have announced a yearlong sponsorship deal with national radio station TodayFM. The deal, which is estimated to be worth over €300,000, will see FujiFilm Ireland sponsor all sports bulletins across the station from March 1, 2010, to March 1, 2011. TodayFM has a daily audience reach of over 500,000 and provides an excellent platform for FujiFilm to communicate and reach out to the brand’s large target audience. Pictured are (l-r): John Cassidy, Managing Director, FujiFilm Ireland, with Today FM star Ian Dempsey.

A NEW spread that combines honey and cream cheese created by UCC students was the winner of the UCC New Food Product Development Showcase. This Showcase is an annual exhibition of new food products developed by students from the BSc Food Science and BSc Food Business degree programmes at UCC as part of their final-year research projects. The winning product, ‘Mílóir’, incorporates the natural benefits of honey and the luxu-rious texture of cream cheese. Students Eve Mulcahy (Cahir, Co. Tipperary), Miriam Crowley (Bandon, Co. Cork), Aisling O’Connor (Macroom, Co. Cork), Sinead Hone (Templeogue, Co. Dublin), Grainne O’Donoghue (Mallow, Co. Cork) and Declan Coughlan (Bantry, Co. Cork) had been working on this project for the past five months. The tro-phy was present-ed by Chairman of the National Food Awards and judge on the evening, Artie Clifford.


Flora Women’s Mini Marathon

UCC Students Create New Food Products

Centra Summer Rugby Camps

FujiFilm Announce Today FM Sponsorship Deal

12

MoyP Hatches TV Return

SUPERVALU will account for €8.5m worth of Irish spring lamb this year, with new season spring Irish lamb now available across its network of 193 stores in the Republic of Ireland. SuperValu continues to be the largest seller of Irish lamb in the country and by extension, one of the biggest supporters of Irish sheep farmers. SuperValu launched Hill Lamb in September last year and was the first retailer to introduce Bord Bia Quality

Assured Lamb at the end of 2009. By sourcing and selling 100% Irish meat, SuperValu guarantees supe-rior quality as well as farm to fork traceability. Pictured are Margaret McCarthy, Sector Manager for Lamb at Bord Bia, and Ian Allen, Category Manager, SuperValu, who noted how “This year, SuperValu will account for €20m in lamb sales, showing that consum-ers are opting for top quality Irish food, which we believe is the best in the world.”

MOY Park Chicken has launched its marketing campaign for spring, with the return to our screens of the brand’s

streetwise ambassador – the rap-ping chicken, MoyP. MoyP rose to fame last year as he made his TV debut and toured Ireland, rapping with shoppers in key accounts. He has since returned to his starring role in the family-focused Moy Park Chicken TV advertis-ing campaign, which has been on air since Easter Sunday. Moy Park is sup-porting its return to TV with an integrated marketing campaign which includes press advertising, a dedicated PR programme, below the line activity and new, exciting executions for the ‘I Love Irish Chicken’ online campaign.

See www.moypark.ie or www.iloveirishchicken.ie for

more information.

MACE is back in the limelight with a significant new TV ad campaign, fronted by journalist and chat show host Brendan O’Connor. BWG Foods are investing €1.2m in the campaign, which also includes a wide range of other marketing initiatives. Brendan will front a series of three commercials, the first of which, ‘Smile’, plays on the notion that his persona is slightly grouchy, but that a positive and enjoyable shopping experience at his local MACE cannot prevent even ‘bad boy’ Brendan from smiling. “The advertising campaign is the first of a number of initiatives aimed at marking the fact that the MACE brand is celebrating 50 years in Irish retail this year,” noted Suzanne Weldon, Marketing & Communications Director at BWG. “We’re delighted to have Brendan O’Connor as the face of this campaign and we’re especially pleased that MACE seems to have brought out his softer side!”

TOM Dalton, Cormac O’Dwyer, head brewer, and Jen Uí Dhuibhir of Dungarvan Brewing Company are pictured serving Copper Coast from cask at ‘Easterfest’, the Irish Craft Beer Festival at The Franciscan Well in Cork. Ireland’s newest regional brewery’s bottle conditioned beers, Helvick Gold blonde ale, Copper Coast red ale and Black Rock stout, are being launched by Paul Flynn of The Tannery Restaurant and will be available in good beer houses, restaurants and off-licenses from May. See www.dungarvanbrewingcompany.com for more information.


New MACE Marketing and Advertising Campaign

Celebrating Irish Craft Beer

Lamb Sales Spring to Life at SuperValu

Springtime Recipes from GalloCASSIDY Wines now distribute of the entire Gallo port-folio in Ireland, including the Turning Leaf, Gallo Family Vineyards and Redwood Creek ranges. One of the best known names in the wine world, Gallo is also one of the top selling Californian brands on the Irish market.

As the spring season commences and fresh seasonal foods start to appear on the shelves, the Gallo group have made a couple of food and wine recommendations which you can pass onto your customers.

Spring sees the return of tasty and crunchy asparagus, a perfect ingredient for a light but filling dish of grilled salmon, crushed potatoes and asparagus a la Polonaise, a rich, creamy dish which can be complemented with the ripe melon flavours from the Chardonnay grape. Gallo have a wonderful range of affordable Chardonnay from their Family Vineyards range that will accompany this dish very well. 2009 Gallo Family Vineyards Chardonnay (RRP: €8.35) is a good wine to recommend to your customers.

Leeks are also available in abundance in shops at the moment, adding add great texture to stews and also gorgeous baked into a pastry base with blue cheese. Recommend Gallo’s Turning Leaf Shiraz Rose with this dish. It has lovely cherry fruit flavours and a little bit of residual sugar which will work well with the slightly salty flavour of the blue cheese. For more information about Gallo Wines in Ireland, contact Colin Clarke, Gallo Brand Manager at Cassidy Wines. Tel: (01) 466 8900. Email: [email protected].

Drop Stops Launched in IrelandTHE Merchandise Factory are based in Cork and work through their German partner, Kandinskey to offer a range of products for those wishing to ‘brand’ their wares. They can now supply the ‘Drop Stop’ in Ireland as well as a range of other products including t-shirts, key rings, glasses and bottles. To view their range of items, see www.merchandisefactory.eu or contact Killian O’Sullivan on (087) 974 4825.

THE devastating earth-quake which hit Chile on February 27 has impacted greatly on the whole coun-try. However, the news from the wine industry is better. Wines of Chile have advised that the total loss of wine is approximately 125m litres, including bulk, bottled, and aging wine. This figure is the equivalent of US$250m, which represents a loss of just 12.5% when compared with the 2009 vintage of 1.01 billion litres. The damage to infrastructure varies among the different wineries and has not, as yet, been fully measured.

Gilbeys Wines have advised us that Santa Rita and Sur Andino vineyards are back in production and the export businesses of con-trolling owner Grupo Claro are operating again. The photograph of the Santa Rita team managing the bottling lines, with the first bottle of Santa Rita produced since the earthquake, saying ‘We did it,!” says it all!

Terry Pennington, Commercial Director of Gilbeys, told RETAIL NEWS that the importance of a speedy recovery from the earthquake is essential as the wine industry enters the

height of the harvesting and bottling season in Chile.

The 2010 harvest has begun and volumes should not be affected by the earth-quake. In fact, the first con-tainers have already been dispatched, although the speed of transportation will depend upon the general

functioning of the country’s overall infrastructure, such as highways and ports. Most of the wineries are also focusing their efforts on attending to the morale and material needs of their employees.

For more information, see www.winesofchile.org.

13

April10On the Vine

Top 10 Portuguese WinesA TASTING of the top Portuguese wines was held recently in Porto, as part of Essencia do Vinho, one of Portugal’s top consumer shows. The tast-ing, which featured 25 of Europe’s top journalists, including the RETAIL NEWS wine columnist, tasted over 50 of the country’s top wines. The results were announced at Essencia do Vinho in March (www.essenciadovinho.com).

The winning wines (those available in Ireland have their importer listed) were:WHITE: 2008 Redoma Reserva (Importer: Wicklow Wine Co.)

RED: 2007 Quinta do Crasto Vinha Maria Teresa (Importer: Wines Direct)2007 Quinta dos Avidagos Grande Reserva 2007 Malhadinha Matilde (Importer: Grace Campbell Wines)2007 Quinta do Couquinho Grande Reserve 2007 Charme (Importer: James Nicholson Wine Merchants)2007 Scala Coeli 2007 Quinta da Touriga Cha2007 Quinta do Vale Meao2007 Warre’s Vintage Port (Importer: Febvre & Co.)

Chile’s Wine Industry Gets Back on its Feet

The changes to the XL brand introduced by BWG Foods last year continue apace, despite the doom and gloom of recession. Not only has the name been shortened from the old XL Stop & Shop brand, but the changes also include a complete upgrade of the store image, layout and offering.

The transformation of the brand also includes the intro-duction of an XL Store of the Year competition, with Robert Byrne’s XL on O’Connell Avenue in Limerick City being named the inaugural winner.

Robert and his wife Fiona took over control of the fami-ly-run shop in 2008, at a time when neither had any experi-ence in grocery retail. However, they had run the pub adja-cent to the shop and had a good working relationship with the local Value Centre Cash & Carry. Lacking retail experi-ence, they quickly arrived at the decision to partner with a symbol group and it wasn’t long before they decided on XL, thanks primarily to the enthusiasm and knowledge of XL Area Manager, Val O’Meara. “He is a fantastic ambassador for the XL brand,” Robert enthuses, “and he filled me in on everything that XL could offer me.”

While the Byrnes were keen to partner with a symbol group, autonomy was very high on their agenda, as Robert explains, “I wanted to remain very much in charge of the business. With XL, you get the best of both worlds, in terms of the support and expertise of a symbol group and the free-dom to run your business as you need to. There was a real sense of being offered advice and support, rather than being instructed in what you must do, and that flexibility is vital in the economic climate that we find ourselves.”

Stunning AchievementWith the backing of XL, Robert and Fiona have taken to grocery retail like ducks to water. Winning the inaugural XL Store of the Year competition is a stunning achievement and testament to their work ethic, the quality of their staff and the support they have received from the XL group.

Sporting the distinctive and attractive new XL livery, their shop opened its doors at the end of October 2008, just in time to experience the sharpest recession in Irish history. Timing is everything and the rebranding of XL is not just a

revamp of its image, but a top-to-bot-tom restructuring that puts a much greater emphasis on communication with shoppers in terms of value for money and special offers. It’s a focus that has become absolutely vital in today’s increasingly price conscious environment.

The recession has presented challenges to the new shop, but also opportunities. “Trading in a reces-sion has made us keep a very close eye on every part of the business,” Robert says. “Along with XL and my management team, we have looked

Robert Byrne’s XL on O’Connell Avenue in Limerick city was a worthy winner of the inaugural XL Store of the Year competition.

XL-lent Performance in Limerick

April10Shop Profile

14

Store owners Robert (right) and Fiona Byrne, are pictured receiving the inaugural XL Store of the Year Award from Val O’Meara, XL Area Manager.

15

for ways to add value to the business. We have a fully qualified chef working in the pub and we are able to utilise his talents in the deli of the shop. The range has proved very popular, especially the meals. Although customers are very price conscious, they are not necessarily purely focused on price and once the value for money is right, a product sells well.”

Indeed, it seems the Byrnes have got the product mix just right: “With the deli, the pre-prepared food, full off-licence and competitively priced grocery, we can offer all our customers what they need. The Family Value own brand range from Value Centre sells very well in the shop and of course, we can offer a great selection of special offers to customers to ensure a basket of goods in this shop offers customers good quality at good value,” Robert notes.

Worthy WinnersWhile the Byrnes are more than satisfied with their sym-bol group partner, XL is also extremely happy to be work-ing with enthusiastic retailers of their calibre, as Area Manager, Val O’Meara explains: “Robert and Fiona, along with managers Frank and Rita Gerrard and all their staff, are great people to work with. In particular, during the Store of the Year evaluation process, the shop was abso-lutely outstanding in terms of customer service. In terms of the day-to-day operation of the shop, the staff here are fantastic. The team has married that with an exceptionally friendly shopping experience, in combination with value for money, that has created an extremely loyal customer base in the local community.

“Morale among staff is great and Robert and Fiona are very hands-on in their approach. Very quickly, they have become experienced grocery retailers and their success in winning our inaugural Store of the Year competition is well deserved.”

Driving Quality and StandardsAccording to Val, the group will use this competition to drive the quality and standards of the XL brand across their 158 shops nationwide. The group is growing all the time,

having opened 39 new stores during 2009, with another 35 new XL stores on the cards for 2010. “The recession has made trading conditions difficult, there’s no denying that, but we can offer retailers a top quality and flexible package that enables them to tailor their shop to the needs of their customers and react quickly to changing market condi-tions to help them grow their businesses as we grow the XL brand,” Val notes.

“The retail trade, like the rest of the economy, has been hit by the tough times we all find ourselves in,” summarises Robert. “But with the continuing support of XL, we will trade through the hard times and when the economy begins to improve, we will have an extremely efficient and success-ful business that will go from strength to strength.”

Robert and Fiona Byrne have not chosen the easiest time to open a shop. However, they have chosen very well with their symbol group partner. Their dedication along with the support and expertise of XL has helped them develop a successful busi-ness in the heart of Limerick City.

FACT FILEOwner:

Location:

Size: Number of

Staff:Opening

Hours:

Robert & Fiona Byrne 1-2 O’Connell Avenue, Limerick City.1,000 square feet

5 full time & 5 part time

07:00-22:00, Monday-Sunday.

April10Shop Profile

How much of your magazine stand is made up of women’s weekly titles? Half? More than half? Almost all?

If you are just focusing on women’s weekly titles, you are losing a huge opportunity to make money from the margins. In previous articles, I have focused on other categories and sub-categories in the newsagency which can make serious net profit when they are managed correctly. In the past, we have examined men’s titles, sport, lei-sure, music, film, gaming, comics and part-works.

This month, we are going to focus on two areas of your magazine stand which are usually ignored and in many cases delisted, without any awareness of the volume of sales which can be generated by embracing these two sub-categories – Puzzles and Collectables.

Puzzling Over Puzzle BooksPuzzle Books are often loathed by retailers: the common complaint I hear is that there are just too many of these titles and that they are all too similar. As a result, many puzzle books miss the recall notes and when they are sent back, the unsolds are often rejected and so money has been lost in the past. Puzzle Books are tricky to manage because in order to get the requisite amount of sales, you need to understand the titles and, more importantly, recognise the puzzle customer.

These are bought primarily by women aged 40+ and market research shows huge cross purchase between women’s weekly and TV and soap titles, so it makes sense to locate puzzle books below the TV and

soap titles for maximum sales opportunity. Sudoku and Logic puzzles are bought by both men and women, so merchandise these to the right of the stand, close to other men’s interest titles.

The puzzle market is bigger than you think – it is worth over UK£57million in retail sales value in the UK (no ROI comparable figures available) and the total mar-ket is increasing by 2% each year, which means it is out-performing the overall maga-zine market.

Two publishers dominate the puz-zle market: Puzzler Media and Bauer, with Puzzler Media enjoying nearly 60% market share.

Puzzle Books by CategoryThere are various types of puzzle books and this is why there is often much confusion. The covers appear to be very similar and the stand can become very cluttered very quickly if the puzzle books are allowed to ‘go forth and multiply’, which often happens when new puzzle are boxed out to the unsuspecting retailer.

These are the best sellers by RSV in each puzzle category:

Word Search - Q Wordsearch- Puzzler Wordsearch- Take a Break Word Searches- Family Wordsearch Jumbo

These titles are bought mainly by women 40+, and enjoy a high cross purchase with traditional weekly titles.

Logic- Q Logic Problems

Number Puzzles- Puzzler Sudoku- Take a Break Sudoku- Killer SudokuThese are bought by men and women.

Crosswords- Take a Crossword - Chat Crosswords- Puzzler Quick Crossword- Take a Break Quick Crosswords- Puzzler Crossword

Code Puzzles- Take a Break Code Breakers- Q Code Words- Puzzler Codewords

Arrowords- Take a Break Arrow-Words- Puzzler Arrowords- Chat Arrowords

16

April10Karen Meenan’s News Rack

Karen Meenan advises on the top-selling puzzle books and World Cup collections to boost your sales this summer.

Puzzles and World Cup Fever

Puzzler Collection, one of the top-selling puzzle books on the market.

THE MARKET LEADERSFor more information & to get your share of RSV contact: MARKETFORCE: +44 203 148 3543

SIMPLY THE BEST

18

Kriss Kross- Q Kriss Kross- Family Criss Cross- Puzzler Kriss Kross

Mixed Puzzles- Puzzler Collection- Take a Puzzle- Take a Break Puzzle Selection- Puzzler - Q Puzzle Compendium

Children’s Puzzle Books- Puzzler Quiz Kids- Q Junior Puzzles

As you can see from the list of titles (not exhaustive but a good selec-tion of best sellers), the market lead-ing Puzzler range dominates and the Q range is well represented in almost every category – there is always a large Q on the front cover, which makes this selection of titles easy to recognise and it has strong brand loyalty.

Brand LoyaltyThe most important thing to remember about this category is that while there is a very strong brand loyalty, there is very little cross-over, so if your customer is looking for Brain Training or Logic, they will not buy Crosswords or Kriss Kross instead – they will simply go to another store to get the puzzle

book they want. The secret, therefore, to good puzzle range management is to stock the top selling titles from each of the sectors to ensure maximum consumer choice.

There is a strong sea-sonal factor to this category too – most sales peak at holiday periods when people have more time to do puz-zles, so there will always be a seasonal peak at summer, Easter and as stocking-fillers at Christmas. You should remember to give extra facings at these peak times to encour-age extra sales.

Talking of extra facings, the Puzzler Pocket titles which sit in bespoke parasite units allow extra facings in the category without interfering with the main range and drive substantial extra RSV thanks to their handy size.

Collectables & StickersAnother area of the newsagency which is often ignored is Collectables or Stickers. The most popular (and for stickers you can include cards) are football stickers – Match Attax being the most successful launch for the last three years.

Football sticker collections always peak during a World Cup year and regardless of whether Ireland quali-fies or not, sales are always surpris-ingly high in Ireland.

The Panini World Cup collections are sold in over 100 countries world-wide: wherever football is strong, you will find Panini. The World Cup col-lection started in 1970 and has just launched its 11th collection in 2010. Many children who were hooked on the first collection are now collecting with their children, so there is always mass appeal, particularly during the World Cup – the aim is to have the book complete before the first match is played.

If you are only going to stock one World Cup Collection this year – make sure to stock Panini, which has 75% market share.

The most successful way to sell World Cup stickers is to use a free-standing display unit (FSDU) to show that you have a full range of stick-

ers and starter packs. The Panini World Cup 2010 is supported by TV advertising – Adrenalyn XL – starter packs retail at €4.50 and stickers are 65c per packet. The FSDU holds 10 starter packs and 400 cards (4 boxes x 100). If you don’t have room for a FSDU, you can get a counter unit which will hold 200 cards (2 x 100) and five starter packs.

Along with TV advertising, there will be free sticker albums given out in selected stores, which gets the album into the hands of children FOC – all they need to do is start collecting cards and complete the album before the first ball is kicked!

Most economists predict that the tide is turning and people are more optimistic about the future now then they were a year or 18 months ago – the World Cup is always a good time for a bit of escapism. The glory days of the World Cup were Italia ’90 and USA ’94 – who can ever forget those golden moments?

And in case you have forgotten, also on a World Cup theme, the Irish Independent has just launched the FIFA World Cup DVD collection 1930-2006. The first DVD was given out free of charge with every Irish Independent on March 20 – Germany 2006. You need to register with Newspread to participate in this pro-motion: 023 8863850 or email [email protected].


Sudoku and logic puzzles are bought by both men and women, and so should be

merchandised as such.

If you are only going to stock one World Cup Collection this year – make

sure to stock Panini, which has 75% market share.

>>>> experience the online album: www.fifa.com/stickeralbum <<<<

On Sale AprilStarter Packs £1.99 · Sticker Packets 50pStarter Packs £1.99 · Sticker Packets 50p

On Sale April

OFFICIAL LICENSED STICKER ALBUM

© The Offi cial Emblem and Offi cial Mascot of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and FIFA World Cup Trophy are copyrights and trademarks of FIFA. All rights reserved.

Manufactured under licence by

www.paninigroup.com

Each week, the clock goes back four years – DVD 2 Korea/Japan 2002 was available for €4.99 on March 27, with a cut-off date of April 23, so even if you are slow getting off the mark with this promotion you still have a chance to participate.

Please note that the cut-off date is the return date for DVD 2. Retailers who want to participate from DVD 3 on needed to register by Friday, March 27.

The most popular DVDs were USA 1994, on sale date April 10, and Italy 1990, on sale date April 17, with another flurry for England 1966, on sale on May 29. The last DVD in the series is DVD 15 – Uruguay 1930, Italy 1934, France 1938 and Brazil 1950 in a special compilation.

Each DVD relays the best moments of every World Cup, the magic of each icon, the rivalry of the classic teams and the goals that have made their own name in the history of football. Each DVD is the original one made by FIFA when each World Cup was over. Beside the main film of each DVD, FIFA has added some extra content to make every film a superb show.

The extra content includes two individual biographies, which ana-lyse the great names of football, Maradona, Pele, Zidane and Ronaldo. Top Goals is another extra feature, the best 150 goals of the World Cup.

Customers can redeem DVD 2 and subsequent DVDs in the collect-ing by submitting a token from the Irish Independent in store and pay-ing €4.99 for the DVD, in a manner similar to their highly successful book promotions.

1) Retailer should sell the Irish Independent in the normal way;

2) The customer should remove the token from the paper and give it to the retailer;

3) Retailer sells the DVD for €4.99 with a token found on page 2 of the Irish Independent;

4) The token submitted should be stored safely by the retailer and then returned with the unsold DVDs in a box.

Returns of DVDs will be handled through Newspread’s existing full copy unsolds service. Unsold DVDs

should be packed in a box with up to 10 DVDs and labelled with any Newspread recall note.

Cut off date for credit is 21 days – it is neces-sary to return any unsold copies of DVD 2 and sub-sequent DVDs before the 21-day period is up.

Important: if you don’t have a Full Copy Returns Service, contact Newspread for additional returns bags as you need to return the full DVD product with your normal Newspread returns.

If you are slow getting off the mark with this promotion or if your customer misses a DVD, you can order one for them using the back-order system. You can call 023 8863850 or email [email protected] and order the customer’s back issue. Alternatively, you can fax a back issue form to 1800 453532. The back issue will be delivered to your store within seven working days.

Make sure to get payment in full from your customer before you order the back issue as these back issues are firm sale – you cannot get your money back if you have missed the original recall date.

As with all orders for part works or kept magazines or kept newspa-pers – take the full name and mobile phone number of your customer and

take their money when they ask for the back issue. Send them a text as soon as the DVD arrives to your store, letting them know that the back issue has arrived. In this way, you won’t lose any money on this collection.

Keep an eye on the return dates – all unsolds must be returned before 21 days have elapsed, so don’t get caught out – watch recall notes like a hawk to ensure that you don’t lose any money on what promises to be a great promo-tion.

So as you stock up on World Cup stickers and World Cup DVDs and count the sales at the till point, we can only wonder what might have been if the hand of Thierry Henry hadn’t come between us and our dreams.

Roll on 2010 in Ukraine and Poland.


20

The Daily Profit – Helping

You to Manage Your NewsagencyTHE Daily Profit is a business that takes the pain and frustration out of managing the newsagency department. There are only two objectives at the core of its business model: Stop Losing Money; Make Some More.

The Daily Profit works very closely with retailers, wholesalers and publishers, troubleshooting and acting as a buffer between retailer and supplier. The Daily Profit becomes a third party that manages the standing order for the retailer, ensuring that the right supply and the right range of titles for that particular store is kept, so that the retailer can build sales, reduce losses and reduce wage costs.

Contact: Karen Meenan, The Daily Profit, 3 Warrenhouse Road, Baldoyle, Dublin 13. Tel: 086 6027711. Email: [email protected].

The Daily ProfitW h e re Re t a i l e rs Make More Profit

The Irish Independent’s FIFA World Cup DVD collection, 1930-2006, is proving extremely popular

with consumers.

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The Irish household care market is a valuable one, yet increasing price pressures have been driving the market down in value terms over the last couple of years, with the exception of the air care sector, which is growing, thanks to constant development and innovations.

Price promotions and extra fill packs are having an impact, particularly on the laundry care sector, while many consumers are also moving to cheaper own label products over their branded competitors. However, Irish consumers, for the most part, remain brand loyal – moreso than most of their European counterparts – with the result that the big brands still account for the lion’s share of sales.

According to a 2009 Euromonitor report into the house-hold care sector, the challenge for brands is to ensure that they continue to innovate and stay ahead of the game. It is no coincidence that the best-selling products across the household care spectrum are invariably the largest advertisers with the healthiest marketing budgets. This is because brands, just like private label, need to strive to cre-ate and then highlight effective points of difference between themselves and their competitors.

Euromonitor predict that own label products will con-tinue to gain market share, while category leaders are expected to trim back their product portfolios to focus on fewer products.

TrendsOne of the big trends in the market in recent years has been the ‘greening’ of the household care sector, with manufacturers, large and small, keen to promote their ethical and green credentials.

Another big trend is in the realm of New Product Development driven by scent and fragrance, and not just in the air care sector. In laundry care, for instance, there is not as much focus on actual washing capability as there

April10Household Care

The challenge for household care brands is to ensure that they innovate and stay ahead of the game.

Cleaning Up on House Care

DomestosDOMESTOS is Ireland’s number one bleach brand with 52.5% share (Source: ACNielsen, January 24, 2010). Used daily, Domestos 24 Hour bleach will kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. Bleach is also the only cleaning agent that will kill Norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug.

Research has shown that the thicker formulation in Domestos 24 Hour bleach will clean up to 50% more toilets than any other bleach, as communicated in the brand’s current television commercial.

In 2010, Domestos will continue to invest in TV, radio, press, online, and in-store promotions to help grow the category and educate consumers on the benefits of using Domestos in the household. For further information, see www.domestos.ie.

Research has shown that the thicker formulation in Domestos 24 Hour bleach will clean up to 50% more

toilets than any other bleach.

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is on locking in fragrance. Indeed, certain products use fragrance to focus on ethical issues, using phras-es and names to indicate ‘clean’, ‘natural’ and ‘green’, according to Euromonitor. It is an evolution from the natural/green movement with a true focus on the wellness trend: calming, nurturing ingredients that add value to products.

Behind the innovation and growth lies a number of trends that are moving the fragrant household care category from commodity to luxury. Where the demand was once pre-served for air fresheners designed to mask unpleasant odours, clever mar-keting has led to a complete change in consumer perception. Increasingly, scents are being launched to reflect a season or mood and consumers are responding. Manufacturers are marketing their goods not so much to cover odours but more to clean and leave a personal and aesthetic ambi-ence to one’s home.


Killeen Grabs AttentionKILLEEN Colour Grab sheets were the laundry success story of 2009. Killeen Colour Grab sheets offer 20% more sheets per pack and a lower RRP than their nearest rivals, while maintaining great retailer margins.

Supported by a high profile and memorable TV advertising campaign called ‘The Sneaky Red Sock’, Killeen Colour Grab sheets in 24-pack, 40-pack and unique long-lasting product, have outstanding on-shelf presence.

2010 will see an extensive promotional programme incorporating 33% extra fill, price promotions, sampling and demonstrations. These initiatives will be supported by

eye-catching motor-ised in-store POS (with images from the TV ad), ensuring high levels of product sell-through.

Killeen Colour Grab sheets provide a high quality, value offering to the con-sumer with the full backing of Killeen’s first class sales force and a track record in increasing your profits.

Contact your Killeen sales rep for more informa-tion or call Killeen Household Products

on 041-9870300.

Killeen Colour Grab sheets in 24-pack, 40-pack and unique long-lasting product, have outstanding on-shelf presence.

Killeen Colour Grab sheets offer 20% more sheets per pack and

a lower RRP than their nearest rivals, while maintaining great

retailer margins.

Cif PowercreamCIF, one of Ireland’s favourite brands in surface cleaning, has relaunched its Cif Powercream trigger range with the added benefit of Active Shield Technology. The new and improved Cif Powercream creamy formula removes the most stubborn stains in the bathroom and the kitchen plus now, thanks to the Active Shield Technology, it also helps prevent further dirt from sticking to surfaces. This will make further cleaning easier. The relaunch of Cif Powercream triggers with active shield technology will be supported by TV advertising, radio, press, sampling and in-store promotions.

Cif has relaunched its Cif Powercream trigger range with the added benefit of Active Shield

Technology.

The FutureWhile the economic situation has undoubtedly impacted on the sector, Irish consumers continue to spend on household care. More and more Irish consumers are staying at home to cook, dine, entertain and relax, and thus will continue to be keen on creating a soothing atmosphere through the use of scented products, especially when times are tough outside the home and people associate home with comfort. Entertaining indoors, especially over special festivities, has enabled development in air care in particular.

The final major factor that will continue to affect house-hold care in Ireland is that people are working longer and harder than ever before. In spite of the many job losses, many consumers remain busy, time-strapped and living and working on-the-go. The average householder is doing less housework. Shortcuts, such as fragrant cleaners, could help make a house appear clean and also facilitate the cleaner feel with scent. Time pressure and the increasing importance of leisure commitments have and will continue to erode the traditional values that used to put housekeeping as a top priority. This shift in lifestyles has seen a departure from housekeeping and the loss of skills to keep a house clean and fresh. As such, there will be a demand for products that allow consumers to tidy up with minimum effort.


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Killeen Have Refuse CoveredKILLEEN refuse sacks have cemented their place as the largest refuse sack brand in the marketplace following the latest ACNielsen results. Killeen how claims a 38% market share, having grown an incredible eight percentage points in the last year alone.

The range is extensive and includes standard, recy-cled, pedal, swing, refuse and wheelie bin lines. Their drawtight products are extremely tough and durable, preventing spills in the kitchen.

Killeen also provide an environmentally friendly option through their Aware range, which includes bio-degradable and compostable bags. Killeen’s compostable bags are suitable for use in all local authority brown bins – not all of the alternatives are.

Contact your Killeen sales rep for more information or call Killeen Household Products on 041-9870300.

Killeen refuse sacks have cemented their place as the largest refuse sack brand in the marketplace following

the latest ACNielsen results.

Coca-Cola Hellenic currently provides an offering within each of the NARTD segments of the market apart from the growing dilutes category. In the ROI market, Dilutes account for 19.6m unit cases and 14.1% of NARTD market volume (Source: Canadean 2009). Indeed, dilutes is the third largest sub category within the NARTD market and is the only category currently experiencing growth.

Coca-Cola Hellenic have the opportunity to offer the first branded 750ml Double Strength range which will bring greater scope, choice and competition to the marketplace. In April 2010, Coca Cola Hellenic will launch the Fruice Dilute Double Strength range, available in Orange, Blackcurrant and Orange & Pineapple with no added sugar, no artifi-cial colours or flavours. These three core flavours will be launched in grocery, with an additional fourth flavour for the licensed and wholesale channel, Lime.

Through the launch of the Fruice Dilute Double Strength range, Coca-Cola Hellenic will help to grow the dilutes seg-ment by driving incremental litres to the category and thus providing retailers with an increased category margin.

What is a Dilute?Dilute, Squash, Cordial, Dilute to Taste are all concentrated juices which need to be diluted with water in order to be consumed.

What is Double Strength?Standard dilute products are all in single strength: i.e. to dilute, you need 1 part dilute to 4 parts water (5 parts in total). However for a Double Strength product you need 1 part dilute to 9 parts water (10 parts), therefore making twice as much as a single strength. A 1Ltr single strength dilute will give the customer 20 serves per bottle versus 30 serves of a 750ml Fruice Dilute Double Strength.

Fruice Dilute Launches in Ireland

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This month’s launch of Fruice Dilute Double Strength in four great flavours will help to grow the dilutes segment by driving incremental sales in the category, thus providing retailers with increased category margin.

Why the Flavour Choice?The flavours being launched are the top three performing flavours in the market, and com-bined, they account for 62% of the market (Source: ACNielsen ROI Multiples Scantrack MAT Oct 2009 Vs py). These three flavours are also in growth: therefore, Coca-Cola Helenic are giving consumers exactly what they want. Most importantly, consumers have endorsed the flavour line-up and in taste tests, the range was positively received.

Why Use the Fruice Brand Name?The Fruice brand has a proven track record within the marketplace and is in growth ver-sus prior year at +2.1%. Fruice is currently the number one impulse juice in ROI, despite the impulse market being in decline. The impulse market is in decline across all categories, with impulse juice being hardest hit of all at -16.6%. Yet despite the market decline, Fruice is still holding its number one position (Source: ACNielsen Convenience Market Track Units Sold YTD Dec 2009).

Since its introduction in the early ’90s, Fruice has continued to grow from strength to strength as a premium brand which offers high quality juice credentials. Also, both consumers and retailers alike are familiar with and trust the Fruice brand and recognise it as a premium juice that always delivers on quality and value.

Research FeedbackIn focus groups, consumers endorsed the launch by Fruice of the Fruice Dilute Double Strength range. They believed Fruice will enhance the category and lend credibility to dilutables since it’s a proven and trusted brand with quality juice credentials. Consumers also acknowledged the value proposition represented by Double Strength and recognised the benefits of the compact packaging in terms of storage and recycling. All flavours were very well received in sam-pling taste tastes and the range was perceived to be high quality that consumers would be happy to pay a premium price for.

The Perfect Convenience PartnerFruice Dilute Double Strength represents a great opportunity for the convenience channel. The smaller pack format will appeal to the lighter/top up shop of the convenience shopper. Fruice Dilute will deliver incremental volume to stores because it will appeal to consumers who may have been deterred from buying weightier, heavier 2-litre bottles. The range will create healthy competition in convenience and other trade channels by offering retailers better utilisation of shelf space and an increase in their category margin. By offering the top three selling flavours in a compact 750ml format, Fruice Dilute is the perfect convenience purchase.

What is the Fruice Dilute USP v Category? Fruice Dilute will challenge market leaders with a proposi-tion which offers a unique selling point – a double strength formulation which means it will make twice as much ready to drink juice as standard dilutables – but without costing twice as much. The 750ml pack carries eco-credentials with recycled PET and less packaging wastage and its compact size makes it easy to pour and store. Fruice Dilute Double Strength is the only branded Double Strength 750ml player in the market. There will be three ‘No Added Sugar’ flavours on offer: Orange, Blackcurrant and Orange & Pineapple – all of which have tested positively with consumers. An addition-al Lime flavour will be made available for licensed/wholesale.

Who is the Target Consumer?The target consumer for Fruice Dilute is primarily parents with children aged 3 to 12 years old. Parents have a positive perception of dilutes in the context of helping to increase kids’ water consumption and encouraging healthy living (no added sugar).

How Will the Launch Be Supported?The Fruice Dilute Double Strength range launches in April 2010 and is being supported with an ongoing sustained consumer promotional plan. Investment will include ATL activity to include TV, outdoor campaign, press and sampling. Below the Line activity will include a range of promotions, pricing offers and an ongoing extensive POP suite. The range will be packaged in a 12x750ml shelf ready packaging, which will reinforce the double strength message.

Fruice Dilute will no doubt bring excitement to the category! Please contact your Coca-Cola Hellenic business developer for further details.

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It’s been well documented that Irish consumers have been tightening their belts over the course of the last year, and are more focused on value than ever before in the history of the grocery sector. However, as a nation, we still enjoy our little indulgences, and the snack food category is a prime example.

The crisp and snack category remains one of the most profitable FMCG categories for retailers to focus on within their stores and is valued at an estimated €195m (Source: ACNielsen, Markettrack, Value, February 21, 2010). While in value terms, the market has witnessed a decline of 6.8% in the past year, it remains one of the most resilient cat-

egories in the overall FMCG market. The category has changed dramati-cally over the past number of years due to exciting new product launches and innovative, integrated marketing campaigns designed to grab consum-ers’ attention.

Of course, these days, snack foods encompass far more than crisps, with strong consumer interest in cereal bars, instant noodles and other snacks.

The move towards healthy eating has impacted on the snack food sec-tor, with healthy snacking choices accounting for 54% of snacking occa-sions throughout the day, according to data from Kellogg’s.

A host of snack foods manufac-turers continue to respond to health

issues by reducing salt and fat content in their foods through the introduction of ‘light’ and low-fat variants, while emphasis has been placed on the use of more ‘natural’ ingredients.

Consumers tend to view snack foods as affordable treats. Even at the premium end of the market, products are cheap in comparison to other treats, such as premium chocolate. In many ways, the recession has helped demand for upmarket products, as there has been an increase in consum-ers staying in rather than going out and replacing luxuries such as eating out in restaurants with eating snack foods at home. This has also led to retailers giving more shelf space to snack foods, particularly large sharing packs.

Largo FoodsIrish owned Largo Foods, based in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, is the largest snack food company in Ireland and is very proud of its contribution to the economy through its sourcing of 35,000 tonnes of potatoes from Irish farmers annually, which equates to over 10% of the nation’s annual potato crop and its direct employment of over 500 people. Largo Foods represents some of Ireland’s most iconic snack-food brands, including Tayto, Hunky Dorys, King, Perri and Sam Spudz. Together, these five brands account

April10Snack Foods

The snack foods sector remains one of the most recession resilient categories in your store.

Snack to the Future

Tayto, King and Hunky Dorys: three of Ireland’s most popular crisp brands from the Largo Foods portfolio.

Snack Facts• The Irish crisp and snack category is valued at an estimated €195m

(Source: ACNielsen, Markettrack, Value, February 21, 2010).

• While the market declined by 6.8% in value terms over the past year, it remains one of the most resilient categories in the overall FMCG market.

• New product launches and innovative, integrated marketing campaigns continue to grab consumers’ attention.

• Consumers are looking for a wider ‘choice’ of snacking products, fuelled by both indulgence and health.

• Consumers’ snacking needs are different at different times of the day. Before 12pm, healthier snacking products are the preferred option (Source: Kellogg Snacking Opportunity in Impulse Research, July ’09).

For a nation of crisp eaters.It’s a fact, we Irish love crisps and combined Tayto, Hunky Dorys and King are the ones we love most. So give the nation what they wantand watch your sales grow. Thank you for all your support in 2009.

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for 49.2% share of the category and collectively were the only brands that recorded year-on-year share growth in 2009 (All figures sourced from ACNielsen, Markettrack, Value, February 21, 2010).

As Ireland’s number one brand in the category, Tayto, ‘The Original Irish Crisp’, remains the undisputed number one crisp among consumers, claiming a market share of 23.3%, almost 10 share points larger than the number two brand. Through a series of strong promotions throughout the year, coupled with an extensive programme of product development, which included Toobz, Occasions Bacon Fries and Party Mix and the return of LFCs, the Tayto brand recorded share growth of 4.3% over the past 12 months.

Tayto LFCs were relaunched in January 2010 as a result of consumer demand to bring back the brand that was so popular in the latter part of the 1990s. They are the original, crinkle-cut, lower fat crisp with over 30% less fat than normal crisps. The product currently comes in six-pack and sin-gle bag formats and initial consumer response to its return has been very encouraging.

At the end of 2009, Tayto embarked upon a highly innovative campaign for the brand with the launch of Mr Tayto’s Autobiography: The Man Inside the Jacket. The auto-biography campaign included televi-sion, cinema and outdoor advertising,

in-store promotions, store signings, the MrTayto.ie website and Twitter and Facebook updates. With sales of 60,000 copies, the book achieved the number one bestseller status in Ireland for six weeks and held the cov-eted number one spot for Christmas.

Hunky Dorys remains Ireland’s number one crinkle-cut crisp and claiming a crisp category share of 15.4%, outsells its nearest competitor by more than five times. 2009 saw the brand continue to grow from strength to strength and the introduction of

an adult sharing 150g range has seen consumers engage in new usage opportunities with the brand. Hunky Dorys affiliation with sporting activi-ties, such as the sponsorship of boxing in recent years, will be continued into 2010 with some new exciting sporting links on the horizon.

King Crisps, affectionately known as ‘The Crisp Lover’s Crisp’, have also performed well within the past year, with a national market share in crisps of 11.5%. With the brand’s her-itage firmly rooted in Dublin, it is not surprising that it claims the number two spot in the best-selling crisps in the capital. The brand, valued at over €13m, consists of two flavours, Cheese & Onion and Salt & Vinegar, in the core range and Cheese & Onion in the King Lites range, which con-tains only 119 calories.

One of Ireland’s oldest and most loved snack brands Perri, which includes Perri Hot Lips, Perri Banshee Bones and the ever popular Perri Onion Rings, was relaunched in 2009, which included an update of the entire brand identity and packaging. There are also new great value offer-ings available for retailers, including assorted 12-pack snacks. Sam Spudz is another brand in the Largo portfolio and along with Perri is an ideal addi-tion to a retailer’s stock list as they both offer great value to consumers in these challenging times.

WalkersWalkers has released figures that show the brand is driving category growth by outperforming the 1% overall category growth and delivering an outstanding 5% growth (Source: ACNielsen RMS, Value Sales, 09 vs 08). This growth is across the brand portfolio, with core crisps up by 14%, Doritos up by 32%, Snack-a-Jacks up by 66%, while Walkers Snacks, including Monster Munch, Quavers and Wotsits, are up by over 100% each.

“Despite the environment, the space dedicated to crisps and snacks is delivering profits to retailers with an increase in sales from this time last year,” Walkers Category Manager, James O’Rourke, told RETAIL NEWS.

April10Snack Foods

The hugely popular Tayto Velvet Crunch brand.

One of Ireland’s oldest and most loved snack brands, Perri, including the

ever popular Perri Onion Rings, was relaunched in 2009.

The Monster Munch brand is performing extremely well, with

massive sales growth in the Irish market.

“However, Walkers is growing at a pace that is five times faster than the category as a whole, making Walkers products a very valuable product to stock.”

Walkers has continued to inno-vate, as in previous years, with the launch of Red Sky, and this has also contributed to the faster than sector growth.

A full marketing and support plan is in place for 2010 across the brand portfolio, with a major focus on Doritos. Doritos claims top spot in the Sharing Bag Snack sector and is grow-

ing at a fast pace (Source: ACNielsen RMS, Value Sales, 09 vs 08).

The latest Doritos promotion is ‘King of Ads’, where Doritos is look-ing for budding Oscar winners and calling on all retailers to aid its nationwide quest. Launching ‘King of Ads’, its biggest, most ambitious and exciting campaign ever, Doritos is asking retailers to stock up on its new promotional packs, which offer customers the opportunity to win ‘30 seconds of fame’ and a top prize of up to €220,000, whilst delivering impres-sive profits.

As part of this promotion, consum-ers will create their own 30 second ads and submit these for review by a specially selected celebrity panel. The

short-listed ads will air on Channel 4 in three minute exclusive shows dur-ing June.

The top three ads, selected by the panel of celebs and advertising experts, will then be voted on by the public at doritos.ie, with the winner airing on national TV through June and July.

Off screen, retailers can build on the public’s enthusiasm for the on-pack promotion by creating in-store theatre with a range of engaging POS materials, including secondary dis-plays in high traffic areas with linked purchase categories such as beers, wines and spirits, to reinforce the promotion and further drive impulse sales.

“The Doritos Campaign is just one example of how Walkers brings real added value to consumers and retail-ers,” noted James O’Rourke, Walkers Category Manager. “We look forward to another great year.”

Kellogg’sWhen it comes to on-the-go eating, consumers’ needs have changed dramatically over the past number of years. This has been down to two key drivers; a significant shift towards a more hectic lifestyle, with increased opportunities for eating out of home; and an ever-increasing consumer awareness of nutrition and health issues.

Consumers, as a result, are look-ing for a wider ‘choice’ of snacking products. There is no doubt that consumers still want indulgence. However, indulgence only accounts for 46% of snacking occasions through-out the day, with healthier snacking choices accounting for the remaining 54%, according to Kellogg’s.

Consumers’ snacking needs are also different at different times of the day. Before 12pm, indulgent snacks are not the first choice – healthier snacking products are the preferred option for consumers at this time of the day (Source: Kellogg Snacking Opportunity in Impulse Research, July ’09).

The nature of the snacking need means that consumers must have the right options available at the point

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Doritos claims top spot in the Sharing Bag Snack sector and is growing at a

fast pace.

The latest Doritos promotion is ‘King of Ads’, its biggest, most ambitious

and exciting campaign ever, offering customers the opportunity to win ‘30

seconds of fame’ and a top prize of up to €220,000.

Kellogg’s offers indulgent “tasty treat” options to consumers through the Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Squares range.

The perennially popular Walkers Cheese & Onion brand.

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of purchase. Retailers that stock healthy snacks on the impulse coun-ter are taking advantage of a significant oppor-tunity to drive incremental sales and profit within the confectionery category.

Kellogg’s offers a range of snacks that meet health require-ments in the morning, including Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain and Kellogg’s Elevenses. Kellogg’s also offers more indulgent “tasty treat” options that are relevant to consumers in the latter part of the day through the Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Squares range. Kellogg’s Special K snacks meet a very specific consumer need for weight management at all times of the day, which are often not catered for on the counter.

Kellogg’s can help retailers to work their impulse counter harder to meet changing consumer needs with right display of the Kellogg’s cereal snacks range at the point of purchase. Contact the Kellogg’s account team today on (01) 8429100 to find out how.

Stafford LynchKettle Chips, from Stafford Lynch, are the original hand-cooked, gourmet potato chip. Every bag of Kettle Chips is hand-cooked, using the best potatoes to create a naturally crunchy and delicious chip.

The potatoes used are specially grown for their size and bold flavour, giving the crisps their distinctive crunch and taste. The best of these potatoes are then thickly sliced directly into pure sunflower oil that enhances the flavour of the potatoes. The crisps are then carefully stirred by hand, a batch at a time, until they are cooked to golden perfection. Kettle Chips are seasoned with 100% natu-ral ingredients – no preservatives, additives, artificial flavourings or colouring.

Kettle Chips are distributed in Ireland by Stafford Lynch Ltd and are available in both 40g and 150g bags. The range of flavours include - Lightly Salted, Sweet Chilli, Balsamic Vinegar & Sea Salt, Sour Cream & Chive and Sea Salt with Crushed Black Peppercorns. Kettle Chips are ideal for those who appreciate health-ier, natural products but without sac-rificing quality and taste.

For more information, contact Stafford Lynch Ltd on +353-1-8023100 or log onto www.stafford-lynch.ie

Koka NoodlesKoka Noodles, from Boyne Valley Group, are available in a range of taste-tempting flavours, including Beef, Chicken, Curry, Mushroom, Vegetable and Stir Fry. These delicious snack foods all come in 85g single serve packs, handy five-packs and are also available in the best selling and extremely convenient 70g pots.

April10Snack Foods

Kettle Chips, from Stafford Lynch, are the original hand-cooked, gourmet potato chip.

Snap, Heat and Eat with Heinz HEINZ Snap Pots are ideal for consumers who seek an even quicker way to enjoy Heinz delicious and iconic Baked Beanz and Spaghetti Hoops.Both Heinz Baked Beanz and Spaghetti Hoops are available in the truly innovative Snap Pot format. Each Snap Pot pack offers four individual 200g

portions that are ready from the microwave in just one minute, making them ideal for busy families and lunch and snack occasions, both at home and at work. In addition, because Heinz Snap Pots can be popped directly into the microwave, there is no the need to hover by the hob or add to the washing-up!

Heinz Baked Beanz and Spaghetti Hoops are available in the truly innovative Snap Pot format.

Kellogg’s Special K snacks meet a very specific consumer need for weight

management at all times of the day.

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Koka Noodles are extremely popu-lar with students and busy profession-als as the ultimate convenience snack food - just add water to the noodles and they are ready in 2-3 minutes.

The brand will be supported with a heavyweight promotion in the coming months, along with stand-out store dis-plays and Point of Sale material.

FreshwaysTo celebrate the arrival of longer days, Freshways are introducing a

new choice of salads and a healthy fruit treat.

Consumers can choose between Fusilli Pasta with Pineapple & Ham, finished with a poppy seeds and mayon-

naise dressing, or a delicious Ham & Honey Mustard pasta salad. Both are burst-ing with flavour, and contain a convenient “spork” for lunch-time in the park!

Their Fruit Surprise contains nothing but fresh melon, pineapple,

apple and grapes, cut into bite-sized chunks.

In addition Freshways have recently launched their new Healthy Ways range. The range consists of four sandwiches, one wrap and one salad. All these great lunch options are

either low fat or reduced fat, thanks to lean recipes that maxim-ise flavour, whilst no longer using but-ter in the range.

Like all products in the Freshways range, their on-the-go snacks and Healthy Ways range are handmade in Ireland, guaran-teeing the best in freshness every time.

Flahavan’s Flahavan’s have relaunched their oaty flapjack range with two new varieties, Original and Cranberry and a new improved Choc Chip recipe. Deliciously light and golden with an irresistible crumbly

texture, these oaty snacks with melt in the mouth Belgian choc chips, juicy

cranberry fruit or original, are made with the distinctive natural goodness and taste of Flahavan’s oat flakes. Made with over 40% wholegrain oats, each flapjack provides 7% of consumers’ daily fibre intake, that can help fill the energy gap between meals.

Each variety box contains six indi-vidually wrapped flapjacks for fresh-ness. The convenient handy box for-mat, together with an energetic and fun packaging design for increased shelf visibility, is equally appealing to parents, young adults and kids. Flahavan’s brand and quality ingredi-ent association are easily recognis-able, with dual branding on the front and back of each variety for easier shelf stacking.

Robert RobertsThe KP brand is valued at €24m according to the latest ACNielsen data. The KP umbrella includes popular consumer brands Hula Hoops, Skips, Rancheros and Meanies.

Hula Hoops is Ireland’s leading snack brand, according to Robert Roberts. Hula Hoops are made with 100% sunflower oil and contain no artificial colours, flavours or MSG. A fun snack for the whole family, Hula Hoops are available in four flavours, Original, Salt & Vinegar, Cheese & Onion, and BBQ Beef, and in impulse, multipack and sharing packs.

April10Snack Foods

Koka Noodles are available in a range of taste-tempting flavours, including Beef, Chicken, Curry, Mushroom,

Vegetable and Stir Fry.

Freshways are introducing a new choice of salads and a healthy fruit treat to tempt your customers with

healthy snacks.

Flahavan’s have relaunched their oaty flapjack range with two new varieties, Original and Cranberry and a new improved Choc

Chip recipe.

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Hula Hoops recently created a hula hooping world record for the most people hooping simultaneously for two whole minutes. Irish partici-pants joined forces in Spencer Dock and helped set the new hooping world record at the Dublin Hula Hoops Hoopathon on March 21.

Hula Hoops are proud to be the Official Snacks sponsor for the Special Olympics in Ireland this year, donat-ing €10,000 to this very worthy cause, with further support advertising the Games through Point of Sale in the run up to the Games in June.

Also available from KP are The Real McCoys. The McCoys brand is enjoying strong success and has an exciting consumer campaign planned for June, with a World Cup themed consumer on pack promotion to win trips to World Cup destinations.

Popular brands Skips, Rancheros and Meanies are all produced in Ireland by Robert Roberts in Tallaght. Watch out for exciting promotions on Skips and Rancheros and some news

too, continuing to bring excitement to the snacks category. Skips and Rancheros are available in impulse, multipack and sharing formats. The Meanies brand, including Meanies and Mega Meanies, is worth just over €3m and is a firm favourite with

young consumers. Meanies are avail-able in handipack and value multi-packs too.

Adult sharing crisps and snacks continue to grow by 3%, according to Robert Roberts, who advise retailers to make sure they are getting their share of this growing market segment

by stocking the McCoys and Phileas Fogg range. McCoys sharing includes three distinctive and delicious recipes, while the Phileas Fogg range com-prises five exotic and delicious shar-ing crisps and tortillas. All KP brands are distributed in Ireland by Robert Roberts Ltd.

April10Snack Foods

Share the Goal Celebrations with Pringles PRINGLES is celebrating the summer of Football with the exciting ‘Pringoooals’ campaign. ‘Pringooals’ is all about sharing goal celebrations. Available exclusively to convenience independent channel customers, playful football inspired artwork will feature Peter Crouch, the Pringoooals campaign ambassador.

From the pack instructions, consumers will be directed to www.Pringles.com and the Pringles Facebook page to ‘celebrate goals with Pringles’ through state of the art technology. Options will allow consumers to view a 3D digit-al Peter Crouch celebrating goals in their chosen style, join the Pringles football debate, download an exclusive iPhone application and have the chance to win signed Peter Crouch merchandise.

“By reinforcing Pringles’ strong heritage of supporting football and footballing events, we are hoping to boost snacks sales for retailers nationwide this summer with the Pringoooals campaign,” Paul Lettice, Trade Communications Manager at Procter & Gamble commented.

‘Pringoooals’ will be supported by a multi-million pound investment and media campaign, including TV and print advertising, targeted PR using celebrity ambassador Peter Crouch, a digital campaign and an extensive range of POS materials. Special packs are available from April 5 until the campaign finishes on July 4.

Hula Hoops are made with 100% sunflower oil and contain no artificial

colours, flavours or MSG.

Hula Hoops recently created a hula hooping world record for the most people hooping simultaneously for two whole minutes at Dublin’s Spencer Dock.

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“You can’t stop innovation and you never should”. Such is the message from Greg Wixted, Head of Culinary Thinkers at The Food Nursery, the food & drink innovation agency, who recently set up an Irish operation.

While admitting that New Product Development can get “shelved or moth-balled for a time in a recession”, Wixted feels that without innovation, consumers become tired of certain products and fed up of living thrifty, which he describes as “consumer pal-ate fatigue”. Consumers, he argues, want more choice from the brands they love and if they stop getting that choice, they stop being loyal to that brand.

Irish-born Wixted established The Food Nursery initially in the UK, along with his partner, Scotsman Calum Watson, Head of Innovators, a top class chef who worked for almost a decade the legendary Marco Pierre-White. The company specialises in “evolving good food ideas for the food and drink industry”, putting together panels of food experts, chefs and mar-keters to work with clients on innova-tion. Their Irish operation, based at City West, Dublin, opened early this year.

“For the last couple of years, NPD has been on the back-burner,” Calum

Watson admits. “But now companies are going to have to push forward with it. You can get a chef that’s very good at what he does, who wants to approach brands and manufacturers about developing new products, but you need people who will understand the process of how to get it to market. It’s easy to come up with a dream but to turn it into a reality is very dif-ferent. You have to understand the brand and the market you’re entering into.”

As Wixted explains, “It’s all about either taking somebody with a ‘eure-ka’ idea or helping them to create that ‘eureka’ idea, and then turning that into a product, right down to a test product.”

Improving the OddsThe FMCG market has a severely high rate of failure for new products, with only an estimated 10% of new product ideas actually making it to market. How do they hope to improve the odds? By “lessening the hit-and-miss nature of the business and increasing your hit rate”, according to Wixted.

“We have developed a six-week innovation cycle, which includes help-ing clients to distil their ideas down to ones that fit both the brief and the market, based on current research

in that category, and then develop-ing the product, including packaging concept, positioning and overall prod-uct proposition,” he explains. “Then, we start testing the product. At that point, we know whether the product has legs or not. If the research is positive and the product is something that consumers are interested in, we will re-tweak it, using the analysis from the research, and re-test for a final OK.”

Changing Consumer TastesThe Food Nursery see strong growth coming in categories like side-dishes for ready meals (“because people want that restaurant-esque experience in their homes”) and in ethical products. Indeed, Wixted claims that “2010 is the year of the big idea, especially in food”.

“Consumer tastes have changed: they’ve travelled more in recent years, they’re coming out of reces-sion and they want a feel-good fac-tor, especially in food,” he concludes. “The Irish food sector is a €19 billion industry and €10 billion of that is exported. You’re not just creating product for your own consumer mar-ket, but you have to innovate product that meets the needs of European, American and world consumers.”

April10New Product Development

Innovation the Key to GrowthDespite the current economic climate, innovation and NPD are the secrets to avoiding “consumer palate fatigue”, according to new innovation agency, The Food Nursery. Pictured are (l-r): Greg Wixted, Head of Culinary Thinkers, and Calum

Watson, Head of Innovators, The Food Nursery. Photo: Feargal Ward.

The Irish ice cream market is valued at approx €118.7m (excl. Dunnes Stores) and can be broken down into two main categories: out-of-home impulse singles is worth €62m, and take-home ice cream is worth €56m (Source: ACNielsen, Total Market excl. Dunnes Stores, Value, MAT Dec 27 2009).

Ireland has the third highest ice cream consumption per capita in Europe, third only to Sweden and Finland.

UnileverUnilever claims the lion’s share of both out-of-home impulse singles and take-home ice cream, with 80.5% and 68% value share respectively. Indeed, HB is Ireland’s number one ice cream brand, claiming 74.6% value and 77.6% volume share (MAT). Indeed, HB claim clear market leadership, representing the top 10 impulse ice cream brands in Ireland.

Innovation plays a key role in keeping consumers excited about the ice cream category. 2010 looks set to one of HB’s best years yet, with an extremely strong range of NPD to tan-talise everyone’s taste buds.

MAGNUM ice cream is the number one adult indulgent ice cream brand in the impulse sector and is Ireland’s favourite indulgent ice cream, known for its indulgent and high quality ingredients. It is a strong market leader, maintaining its mar-ket leading position year after year with 54.4% market share (Source: ACNielsen Market Track Impulse ‘MAT 8WE Feb 21 2010).

For 2010, MAGNUM is continuing to drive value within the ice cream category by launching its first gold ice

cream on a stick, MAGNUM GOLD?!, with its biggest and most exciting campaign yet.

MAGNUM GOLD?! boasts divine cracking golden dipped milk chocolate, covering smooth Madagascan Vanilla ice cream with a swirl of delicious caramel. This new product highlights the brand’s indulgence and chocolate cre-dentials, while further posi-tioning MAGNUM GOLD?! as the “World Pleasure Authority”.

For the launch, MAGNUM GOLD?! has teamed up with the Academy Award and Golden Globe winning actor, Benicio Del Toro, to deliver an impressive 360° campaign, including TV and outdoor advertising, PR, in-store and on-pack promotions, based around one integrated idea – “The heist - New MAGNUM GOLD?! As Good as Gold”. 2010 is guaranteed to be a show stopping year for the ice cream brand synonymous with indul-gent pleasure.

“MAGNUM GOLD?! is like no ice cream I’ve ever had before. It’s a completely new taste and really does have the wow factor,” says Benicio Del Toro.

“NPD is essential for the growth of the ice cream category as it keeps consumers coming back to the freezer aisle,” notes Colette Coughlan, Ireland’s MAGNUM GOLD?! Brand Manager. “2010, with the launch of MAGNUM GOLD?!, is set to be a

huge year for the brand. We have teamed up with an A-list Hollywood actor and a world renowned film director to create a first class campaign. Glittering, precious, cold and highly desir-able, MAGNUM GOLD?! shares many character-istics with the real thing and MAGNUM GOLD?! is renowned for its innova-tive and exciting NPDs and MAGNUM GOLD?! is set to maintain momen-tum in 2010.”

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April10Ice Cream

As the third largest consumers in Europe per capita, Ireland’s love affair with ice cream shows no signs of abating, with innovative new products fuelling consumer desire.

Cold Comforts

New MAGNUM GOLD?! boasts divine cracking golden dipped milk chocolate covering smooth Madagascan Vanilla ice cream with a swirl of

delicious caramel.

New MAGNUM MINI Mint is a multipack, containing Mini Mint, Classic and Dark MAGNUMs.

MAGNUM GOLD?! is available in a multi-pack of three, which has an RRP of €3.49, and the single hand-held, with an RRP of €1.85.

In a massive on-pack MAGNUM GOLD?! promotion, consumers will have the chance to win a Golf Sony Vaio laptop. Once consumers find the unique 10 digit code on promotional products, they can text the code to the number on the pack or enter online. Throughout the promotion, a ‘Winning Moment’ is randomly generated – the person who enters their code closest to this ‘Winning Moment’ wins a gold Sony Vaio P-series. See www.Magnum Gold.ie for more information.

MAGNUM MINIS are a real suc-cess story with consumers and for MAGNUM, having brought the brand into double digit growth over the past two years. In 2009, MAGNUM Minis grew by 42% in value and 28.1% in volume (Source: ACNielsen, 52 week MAT, December 2, 2009 ). The propo-sition is bringing new consumers into the ice cream category and driving sales year-on-year.

This year sees a new addition to the MAGNUM MINIS range. Building on the trend for traditional, main-stream flavours, the new addition, MAGNUM MINI MINT will continue to offer consumers the perfect way

to indulge in ‘me time’ pleasure in a mini format. New MAGNUM MINI MINT is a multipack, con-taining Mini Mint, Classic and Dark MAGNUMS. The MAGNUM MINI MINT has an RRP of €4.49.

Also new to the HB range this year is an excit-ing addition to the Cornetto range: Cornetto Enigma, delicious cones

with no boring bits. The new additions give consumers a truly unique experi-ence as the first product in the market to offer a core of rich sauce and tasty inclusions from the top to bottom of the cone.

Available for the impulse sector is delicious Cornetto Enigma Vanilla & Raspberry, which boasts deli-cious vanilla ice cream with a dark chocolate and raspberry sauce in a chocolate wafer cone and topped with Raspberry flavour covered pieces. The impulse comes in 110ml and will be retailing at €1.50.

Ben & Jerry’s are Nuts About FairtradeBEN and Jerry’s, from Unilever, claim leadership of the luxury sector, with a 64% market share of the super premium ice cream market, thanks to iconic flavours such as Phish Food, Cookie Dough and Caramel Chew Chew.

New to the range is Ben & Jerry’s Fairly Nuts, a truly delicious caramel ice cream with chunky praline almond clusters and caramels swirls. Some of the best loved Ben & Jerry’s flavours, such as Cookie Dough, were suggested by fans, and Fairly Nuts was the brainchild of Toni Gunnison, the supreme winner of their “Do the world a flavour” contest in 2009. Toni’s winning flavour beat off 100,000 other hopefuls, including Ireland’s Amanda Johnson, from Buttervant, Co. Cork, whose Coco Copbana was just pipped to the post. However, Amanda, along with 14 other finalists, did get to travel to the Dominician Republic to make and enjoy her own ice cream.

Fairly Nuts combines Fairtrade sugar, vanilla & almonds with sustainably pro-duced dairy. Indeed, Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company in the world to use Fairtrade-certified ingredients back in 2005 and the company has since announced its commitment to go fully Fairtrade across its entire global flavour portfolio. By the end of May 2010, 60% of Ben & Jerry’s flavours in Ireland will be Fairtrade, with the total balance converted by the end of 2011.

Fairly Nuts is available in stores nationwide, retailing at €4.99, and will be sup-ported by a strong 2010 marketing campaign “Nuts about Fairtrade”.

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April10Ice Cream

New Cornetto Enigma Vanilla & Raspberry boasts delicious vanilla

ice cream with a dark chocolate and raspberry sauce in a chocolate wafer

cone and topped with Raspberry flavour covered pieces.

Pictured are Colette Coughlan, Brand Manager, Impulse Singles & MPKs, HB Ice Cream; Finbarr May and Terry

Woods, Baxter Storey; Maura O’Callaghan, Strategy Manager, Out of Home, Unilever Ireland; with

Aaron Lynch, Jahrea O’Hara and Robert Lynch at the launch of HB That A-Way and two new HB Ice Cream parlours at Dublin Zoo.

New Ben & Jerry’s Fairly Nuts, a truly delicious caramel ice cream

with chunky praline almond clusters and caramels swirls.

Superb

Products

Dale Farm Ireland Ltd., c/o Cold Move Galway Ltd., Glenascaul Industrial Park, Oranmore, Co. Galway

, contact Sean Conacur on

Also in the multipack range, HB have two delicious new variants: Vanilla & Chocolate and Vanilla & Raspberry. Cornetto Enigma Vanilla and Chocolate offers Madagascan vanilla ice cream with an almond and chocolate sauce centre, while Cornetto Enigma Vanilla and Raspberry boasts vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate and raspberry sauce centre. The prod-ucts are available in 4x90ml multi-packs and have an RSP of €3.49.

2010 also sees some exciting new additions to the HB kids range. New HB That A-Way is a delicious Strawberry, Orange and lime flavour ice pop with the added fun value for kids with its finger pointed shape and has the added bonus for parents that it contains no artificial colours or flavours. Consumers visiting Dublin Zoo this year will see lots of fun inter-active “That A-Way” activity all over the zoo. To mark the launch of the new ice pop and the recent opening of the Dublin Zoo HB ice cream par-lours, a free ‘HB That A-Way Dublin Zoo Wildlife Kit’ will be available to customers who visit the new ice cream parlours from now until the end of August 2010.

New to the ever popular Calippo range is Calippo Strawberry & Tropical, made with real fruit juices and no artificial col-ours and flavours.

HB also has lots to offer for the family freezer this year with great innovation in its multipack range. Twister & Co. is a mixed box of ice cream treats, contain-ing eight ice creams: two Mini Twister, two Mini Twister Choc, two Funny Foot and two fruit ices, retail-ing for just €3.29. Happy Mix offers everyone’s favourite products in a handy take home format, giving an ice cream treat for all members of the family. Each pack contains 10 por-tions of HB leading brands, including MAGNUM GOLD?! Mini, Cornetto, Mini Milk, Capri and Twister.

Another fantastic new addition to the range is Milk Time Fizzy Cone multipack. Milk Time Fizzy Cones are delicious vanilla and chocolate flavour milk ices, enriched with calcium, in a

wafer cone with chocolate flavour

coating, topped with white and milk chocolate coated popping candy. The range has the potential for great suc-cess. Multipacks consist of 4x75ml cones and retail at €3.69.

Following the success of Solero Berry Berry in impulse format, it is great to have it available in multi-pack format. Made with real delicious fruit pieces, with 50% fruit and fruit juice content, and only 99kcals per serving, this is a real guilt-free treat. Each multipack contains three 90ml sticks and retails at €3.59.

Enjoyed since 1926, HB Hazelbrook Farm is Ireland’s favour-ite ice cream, claiming 76% market share. 2010 sees fantastic innova-tion to further drive growth within the standard sector, with the launch of Choc Ice into the range, made up of delicious vanilla ice cream with pieces of chocolate spread through-out. This new exciting addition is bringing a well known Irish favour-ite impulse line into two different formats, available in 568ml blocks and 1 litre tubs. Another new prod-uct to the 2010 range is new HB Hazelbrook Farm Caramel, available in a 1 litre tub.

Hazelbrook Farm are also launch-ing new look packaging, which will increase visibility in-store and create differentiation across the Hazelbrook Farm range. Consumers can choose from a selection of traditional fla-vours in the block range, from Raspberry Ripple to tangy banana, or fun favourites, Brunch, Iceberger and Choc Ice.

April10Ice Cream

40

New to the HB Hazelbrook Farm range comes HB Hazelbrook Farm Choc

Ice in 568ml blocks and 1 litre tubs, and HB Hazelbrook Farm Caramel,

available in a 1 litre tub.

Ice Cream Facts • The Irish ice cream market is valued at approx €118.7m (excl. Dunnes

Stores).

• The ice cream sector can be broken down into two main categories: out-of-home impulse singles (€62m), and take-home ice cream (€56m).

• Ice cream has been scientifically proven to make you happy. In a survey by the Institute of Psychiatry, London, 64% of European participants showed a look of happiness when they ate ice cream.

HB has lots to offer for the family freezer this year with great innovation in its multipack range, including Twister & Co. and Solero Berry Berry multi-pack.

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Dale FarmDale Farm Ice Cream is constantly refreshing its portfolio to further meet consumer expectations. It continues to drive the market by expanding its product range within the adult impulse sector, with a superb collection of new products.

Its range of luxury Rapture products, such as last year’s well-received Honeycomb Cone, are set to be complemented by a fantastic new ice cream sandwich bar, Ice Break, a Spelga Frozen Yogurt, and a switch back to the classic Milk Choc Ice.

New Ice Break sees the finest qual-ity real dairy vanilla ice cream sand-wiched between chocolate flavoured biscuits. It will be very competitively priced, with a 99c RSP, offering great value – especially with a 110ml prod-uct. Commenting on the latest addition to the Dale Farm ice cream portfolio, Patrick Morgan, Commercial Manager, stated, “This is a great new product, as

it offers excellent product taste, with real dairy ice cream. We are confident that the attractive retail price will

offer great value to consumers, and also an excellent sales opportunity for our customers.”

The second new addition to the range will be the Milk Choc Ice, which offers a classic vanilla choc

ice covered in delicious real Belgian milk chocolate. It will also be priced at 99c RSP, and is sure to appeal to consumers with its highly impactful new red packaging.

The new Spelga Frozen yogurt is a brand extension of the popular Spelga yogurt. “We are really excited about this new addition as it will appeal to a broad range of consum-ers, with a high fruit content, excel-lent rich strawberry taste, and a low fat content of 2%,” noted Patrick Morgan. “We also feel that this prop-osition will tempt new consumers into the ice cream category”.

To complement the impulse range, Dale Farm are also launch-

ing a great new variety pack of lol-lies, Cool Crew, to drive incremental sales in the take-home sector. This pack will fit in with the growing demand for take-home products that offer a distinct point-of-difference.

“It offers both shop-pers and consumers the convenience of a variety pack that also offers five great lollies in a single pack,” explains Patrick Morgan. The Cool Crew 10-pack brings together two each of Sukie, Polly Pineapple, Pear Picking Porky, Choc Pop and Mr Frostie lollies. “Our multipacks have experi-enced great growth over the past few years, and we are very optimistic that the new Cool Crew will delight retailers and shoppers alike,” conclud-ed Patrick.

April10Ice Cream

The Irish Cone & Wafer Co. THE Irish Cone & Wafer Co. is a long standing Irish supplier of premium cone and wafer products. The company, established since 1944, underwent a full packaging re-brand last year, creating a fresh and up-to-date new look for the Irish Cone & Wafer Co. brand.

The Irish Cone & Wafer Co. underwent a full packaging re-brand in 2009, creating a fresh and up-to-date look for the brand.

Dale Farm’s Milk Choc Ice offers a classic vanilla choc ice covered in delicious real Belgian milk chocolate, priced at 99c RSP.

New Dale Farm Ice Break sees the finest quality real dairy vanilla ice cream sandwiched between chocolate flavoured biscuits, with an RSP of just 99c.

According to the latest figures from the National Dairy Council, the total volume of butter and spreads grew marginally over the course of 2009. Sales of butter declined 2% but returned to a positive position by the end of the year – by contrast, the sales value of branded health spreads fell by 11%, reflecting increased promotional and reduced price activity.

The consumer focus shifted to value – such as larger pack formats or extra filled promotional packs. Growth of private label (PL) overall was a trend in the food/grocery sector in 2009, with total private label share within multiples reaching 19% by the end of the year. In the dairy retail market, private label grew in volume in multiples from 24.9% to 27.5%.

“The ‘flight to value’ by consumer did rebalance as the year progressed and we believe consumers have large-ly adjusted their shopping patterns at this stage. The small increase in con-sumer confidence in the second half of 2009 gives us a glimmer of optimism,” said Helen Brophy, Chief Executive of the NDC. “It is clear that the bottom line is not always price. Consumers here are actively looking to buy local and environmentally friendly prod-ucts, with 25% willing to pay more for them and trends increasing as 2009 progressed.”

The trends in the butter and spreads sector in 2009 throw an interesting light on consumer behav-iour and priorities, according to the NDC. While volume grew marginally in overall terms, there was a 5.8% decrease in the value of sales. The major casualties were the health spreads, which fell by €4.3m or 11% in 2009. In contrast, sales of butter recorded a decline of just 2% or less than €0.5 million and returned to a positive position in the final quarter of

the year. The private label butter cat-egory grew by 2% over the year.

According to the NDC, health spreads account for 34% of the retail market for butter and spreads, with dairy and taste spreads accounting for 31%, butter 30%, and the remain-ing 5% spread between cooking fats (4%) and white fats (1%) (Source: ACNielsen, January 2010).

KerrygoldWith the multiplicity of blends and competing connotations in the yellow fats sector, one brand has retained its clear, uncomplicated message, Kerrygold: 100% pure Irish butter.

Unquestionably a household name in Ireland, the Kerrygold brand is owned by the Irish Dairy Board, a commercial dairy cooperative, which exports and markets Irish dairy products to over 90 markets around the world.

Today, the Kerrygold brand has loyal consumers in over 50 countries around the world, stretching from North America to Australia, Russia to South Africa and throughout Europe. Kerrygold

is the number one butter brand in Germany and the top imported butter brand in the USA.

Kerrygold’s success is clear-cut. It is ‘real’ food, 100% natural, with no additives beyond salt for flavour. In Ireland, Kerrygold’s holds approxi-mately 43% market share and is sup-ported by TV advertising and in-store promotions.

Connacht GoldConnacht Gold continues to grow, driving value and volume sales, up by 7.2% in value and 11% in volume

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April10Yellow Fats/Oils

Despite a tough 2009, the outlook for butter and spreads in 2010 is bright, according to the latest figures from the National Dairy Council.

Fats of the Land

Kerrygold’s success is clear-cut. It is ‘real’ food, 100% natural, with no additives beyond salt for flavour.

Connacht Gold’s recent investment in new packaging on its Low Fat Butter is attracting new consumers into the

category.

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(Source: ACNielsen, Scantrack, November 29, 2009, MAT) in the yellow fats category, ahead of total category performance (-5.8% value, -1% volume).

Connacht Gold’s recent investment in new packaging on its Low Fat Butter and Softer Butter products is attracting new consum-ers into these product offerings.

In late 2009, Connacht Gold launched an exciting new range of Chocolate Spreads in 150g tubs. These deli-

cious new spreads are available in Chocolate & Honey and White Chocolate & Honey varieties, and are ideal for snacks and treats for all age groups

at any time of the day, while they can

also be used as a top-ping on birthday cakes.

An intensive below-the-line marketing campaign will run throughout 2010 to drive sales of this delicious new range of chocolate spreads

from Connacht Gold.

Also new in 2010 from Connacht Gold is Connacht Gold Spreadable. Made with Connacht Gold butter and vegetable oil, this exciting new prod-uct is expected to further drive butter category sales.

April10Yellow Fats/Oils

Connacht Gold Spreadable: very popular with Irish consumers.

DON Carlos remains Ireland’s number one olive oil, claiming a 35.1% share of the market (Source: ACNielsen, February 2010), and outselling the number two brand by a ratio of three to one.

Don Carlos also celebrates 20 years in the Irish mar-ket in 2010, and has been bringing a taste of Spain to Ireland since 1990. While consumers have always loved Don Carlos Olive Oils for their great taste and excellent health properties, there are even more reasons for retail-ers to stock our products: - IDEA effectiveness award winning pack design, which

allows great stand-out on-shelf.

- 50% extra fill promotions on all standard 500ml packs.

- A TV and online camaign beginning this summer.

Their innovative and hard wearing Bottle Stands.The hugely popular Don Carlos

range.

The highly original and eye-catching bottle-

shaped display stand from Don Carlos.

Connacht Gold Softer Butter is performing extremely well on the Irish market.

Don Carlos Olive Oil

Yellow Facts• The total volume of butter and

spreads grew marginally over the course of 2009.

• Sales of butter declined 2% but returned to a positive position by the end of the year.

• Sales value of branded health spreads fell by 11%, reflecting increased promotional and reduced price activity.

• Consumer focus shifted to value – such as larger pack formats or extra filled promotional packs.

• Health spreads account for 34% of the retail market for butter and spreads, with dairy and taste spreads accounting for 31%, butter 30%, and the remaining 5% spread between cooking fats (4%) and white fats (1%) (Source: ACNielsen, January 2010).

.. .

Open since just January of this year, Brian King’s Gala Gala store and Gulf Oil fore-court in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, have already proved extremely popular with both local and passing trade.

Brian’s business background is in the home heating oil sector, which forms a key offering in the Ashbourne site. So when it came to enter-ing the grocery retail arena, he knew he needed the support of a strong symbol group partner. Having researched a number of groups, he found that Gala offered him the best package and he invested significantly in the Ashbourne site, which formerly housed a Maxol service station.

The level of the investment is immediately apparent to visitors to the shop. The strong branding of the Gala store and Gulf forecourt complement one another perfectly and the qual-ity of the Gala store is evident in every detail. The shop is large for a forecourt and offers a wide selection of ambient grocery, as well as fresh food. This is in addition to the home heat-ing oil offering and service that Brian provides. There is strong signage throughout, promoting special offers, while every shelf-end presents great value offers to price con-scious customers.

Top Customer ServiceGala’s new corporate identity is extremely modern, bright and attractive. Not only that, King’s Gala marries its cut-ting edge looks with traditional values. The forecourt is fully staffed, which means that customers’ cars are filled with petrol and their lights washed by staff, who also take care of the messy business of bringing coal, briquettes and awkward bottled gas canisters to the customer’s car.

Immediately upon entering, visitors are presented with the delicious offerings from Gala’s ‘Baker’s Corner’ range of fresh bakery products. Tasty fresh baked treats are pre-sented alongside freshly baked bread. Brian has gone a step further with his fresh bread offering, working in conjunc-tion with local French chef Fred Cordonnier: ‘Fred’s Breads’ are freshly baked breads that have become a firm favourite with regular customers.

The coffee dock has been developed with a seating area, so that customers can sit in with their deli lunch. Another area of the shop where the investment if obvious is the deli, which is extremely impressive, offering a fantastic array of freshly prepared sandwiches and meals to hungry customers.

Brian King’s Gala forecourt store in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, boasts the latest Gala concept, which has been developed by the Group to position Gala at the forefront of grocery retailing in Ireland.

Where Cutting Edge Meets Tradition

April10Forecourt Focus

46

Store owner Brian King is pictured with all his staff at the official store opening of his Gala/Gulf Oil forecourt in Ashbourne,

performed by Mary Wallace TD.

47

“The grocery retail sector is extremely competitive, even more so in the current economic climate,” Brian explains. “Everything we do in this shop is designed to differentiate it from the competition, offering top quality produce and serv-ice at prices that provide great value for money. We have positioned ourselves as a local shop at the heart of the com-munity with quality that cannot be beaten.

“There was a lot of goodwill from local people when we set up the shop because we were redeveloping a business that has existed on the site for over 50 years,” he continues. “We were also creating over 20 jobs and all the staff are from the local community. However, that goodwill would have disappeared very quickly had we offered poor quality products or poor value for money.”

Ideal LocationThe shop is ideally located to service locals in Ratoath and Ashbourne and also to take advantage of the significant levels of commuter traffic in the area. The great look of the new Gala image is backed up with top quality customer service and great value for money, all to make sure that once a customer visits King’s Gala once, they will make it

their forecourt of choice.

“You can’t cut any corners in grocery retail,” Brian stresses. “Every aspect of the shop and forecourt has to perform to the highest levels to create the best possible impression on new and repeat customers. We cannot afford to let our stand-ards slip at any time. Working with Gala helps us to do that.

The group has invested a great deal of time and expertise in designing its latest stores. As a novice in grocery retail, there is no way I could have created a shop of the quality we have, without the support and expertise of Gala Retail Services, nor would I have been able to learn how to run it as effectively as I have, without the constant support and advice from the Group.”

Benchmark StoreTony Cluskey, Marketing and Promotions Manger with Gala, notes how the Gala Group recognises Brian’s sig-nificant investment in the new store and forecourt. “This shop sets a benchmark for where the Gala Group is looking to position itself going forward,” he explains. “The qual-ity of a store such as this contributes to the strength of the Gala Group, creating a fantastic impression of what Gala can offer in the minds of customers. It is a top qual-ity shop, with great customer service and produce on offer that combines excellence with value for money. It delivers on the ‘Great Value at Gala’ message and promise that we as a Group stand behind. The coming months will see Gala increase its range of own label product within ambient and chilled, allowing our retailers to offer an even greater selec-tion of top quality products at competitive prices.”

In closing, Brian says, “Working with Gala has allowed me to create a forecourt and shop that not only looks fan-tastic but functions efficiently, ensuring that I can offer my customers a shopping experience that is second to none and to realise my objective of creating a local shop that is a credit to the community.”

With fresh food, food-to-go, ambient grocery, coffee dock, top quality produce, value for money, home heating solu-tions, an ATM and more, King’s Gala gives customers every reason to call in. Once they do, the friendly, professional staff give customers a shopping experience to remember. Between them, Gala and Brian King have created a recipe for success.

FACT FILEOwner:

Location:

Size: Number of

Staff:Opening

Hours:

Brian KingRatoath Road, Ashbourne, Co. Meath2,600 square feet

23 full time & part time

24 hours, Monday-Sunday

April10Forecourt Focus

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BUSHMILLS Irish Whiskey swept the board at the prestigious 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. As well as winning Best Irish Whiskey in the World, the Bushmills range picked up two double gold and four gold acco-lades, making Bushmills one of the few international spirits brands ever to scoop 100% gold in the global competition. This comes hot on the heels of the range winning three World Whiskies Awards in London earlier this year.

THE Evening Herald is now distribut-ing The Dubliner magazine free every Thursday in a ground-breaking partner-ship deal, which sees The Dubliner, part of the VIP Magazine Group, move from a monthly paid-for glossy to free weekly cir-culation, increasing its audience reach to almost 290,000 readers (Evening Herald JNRS 2009). Pictured at The Evening Herald’s launch of The New Dubliner Magazine at The Guinness Gravity Bar are (l-r): Stephen Rae, Editor of the Evening Herald, with Michael O’Doherty, Publisher of VIP Magazine Group.

TOPAZ and Bewley’s have agreed a two year deal which will see the coffee company supply Fairtrade coffee to Topaz service stations over the next two years. Under the terms of the €1.8m contract, Bewley’s will supply over 100 Topaz owned sites nationwide. Bewley’s will also pro-vide equipment, handle promotions and provide training for Topaz staff. Pictured are Paul Candon, Marketing & Corporate Services Director at Topaz, and Amanda Roche Kelly, Bewley’s Account Manager for Topaz.

GALA has just been announced as the first-ever spon-sor of RTÉ’s regional magazine programme, Nationwide. The 30 minute programme, airing at 7pm, will be topped and tailed with Gala stings for the next 12 months. The six figure sponsorship deal will see the Gala brand being viewed by over 400,000 viewers, three-times a week. “With our sponsorship of RTÉ Nationwide, we’re hoping to elevate awareness of the Gala brand, whilst ensuring that consumers understand what the Gala brand stands for,” says Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala, pictured with Geraldine O’Leary, Commercial Director at RTE.

Shelf Life

SUPERQUINN has listed KookyDough in its Blackrock, Knocklyon, Lucan, and Swords stores, the first supermarket listing for the brand new, innovative Irish company. Founded

and run by friends Sophie Morris and Graham Clarke, KookyDough is a new company producing Irish handmade cookie dough rolls that are ready to slice and bake, making deli-cious cookies in just a few minutes. The company is committed to using only the highest quality, Irish ingredients, including free range eggs, and no artificial flavours or preservatives.

April10Shelf Life

A new initiative aimed at making County Kilkenny the food capital of Ireland has been launched. The Taste of Kilkenny Food Trail showcases the best of local produce and culinary businesses in the city and county. 38 local food producers and busi-nesses are participating in the initiative, which will see them throw open their doors and invite food lovers to enjoy the wonder-ful food culture in the area. Participants include award winning Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese, Highbank Organic Farm, Goatsbridge Trout Farm and Lavistown Gourmet Sausages, as well as renowned Kilkenny restaurants, Campagne and Zuni, and a host of bakeries and cafes.

IRELAND looks set to be represented in South Africa this summer after all, since Ireland’s adopted seafarer, Captain Morgan officially launched the search for an Irish captain and three crew members to represent their country in the Captain’s Cup finals in South Africa this July. The Captain’s Cup will see 10 countries battle it out through a series of challenges to be bestowed with the coveted title. See www.facebook.com/captainmorganireland for more.

CONGRATULATIONS to the winner of the RETAIL NEWS/Dundrum House Hotel weekend away: Richard McCulloch, SPAR, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

THE Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, has appointed Jackie Cahill, ICMSA, and Frank Hayes, Kerry Group, to the board of An Bord Bia for a further term. The Minister has also paid tribute to outgo-ing member Brid Rogers for her valuable contribution to the work of Bord Bia, both as a member of the Board and as Chair of the Quality Assurance Committee.

Our Commitment to Milk Supply in the Republic of IrelandAll Linwoods milk delivered into Republic of Ireland will display the Emmett Co-op logo on its packaging.

Consumers can easily recognise that Linwoods milk is farmed in the Republic of Ireland.

Nourishing your Milk SalesLinwoods range of fresh milk in the Republic of Ireland has experienced approximately

across Independent Retail Trade, competitive pricing and growing consumer recognition of the Linwoods milk range for its great taste and fresh quality.

Range Available2 Litre, 1 Litre and Pint variants of Whole, Low Fat, Just 1% and Skimmed.

Stock up on Linwoods’ range of fresh milk today. For more information contact your local van sales representative or call NI: (0044) 28 3756 8477 ROI: 01 4039592

E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.linwoods.co.uk

Linwoods have entered into a purchasing contract with Emmett Co-op to supply all the milk requirements for Linwoods customers in the Republic of Ireland.

The Emmett Co-op is comprised of 63 dairy farmers across counties Meath, Westmeath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. The registered dairy Co-op will supply its milk to Linwoods allowing the

Linwoods brand to offer Southern customers milk that is farmed in the Republic of Ireland.

Fresh News From

MACE is the longest established convenience shopping brand in Ireland.We’ve been making people’s lives easy since 1960. Now is a great time tomove to MACE. Get unrivalled support from the MACE team, benefit fromour nationwide advertising and local in store support. Add our unbeatablebuying power, exclusive access to the competitively priced MACE own brandrange and you’ll always have that crucial competitive edge.

Be a part of the MACE success story – it all adds up to more profit for you.

Call Seumas Robinson on 086-1744520 or Kevin Cronin on 086-1731023.

www.mace.ie

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Retail News April 2010

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