Aldi wins most awards for Own Label

Aldi’s own brands won more top prizes than any other retailer at this week’s Grocer Own Label Awards. . The discounter, which is experiencing a period of rapid growth, snapped up 16 Gold awards for products across a range of categories. The runner up was Tesco with 12 gold awards followed by Asda with 11. Lidl won four gold awards. “We are delighted with our incredible win at these awards, and they really show how Aldi is cooking on gas when it comes to own label brands,” said Tony Baines, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi. . “Customers are looking for quality products at everyday low prices – and we’re in a position to give UK shoppers just what they need.” NamNews - Thursday 30th May 2013

Tesco Launches First Dedicated Breakfast Sandwich Range

With growing numbers of Brits now eating their breakfast on the go, Tesco will this week become the first retailer to launch a dedicated breakfast sandwich range across the UK which will sit in their own fixture at the front of its stores. For many working people grabbing a BLT, egg and bacon or all day breakfast sarnie on the way into work or to eat at their desk has become a way of life. And this new lifestyle change has helped create a vast ‘out of home breakfast’ UK market worth a staggering £2.5bn which is growing annually at 6.6% according to consumer analysts Crest NPD. Furthermore, breakfast styled sarnies are the fastest growing area of the UK sandwich market with demand 10 times higher than that for regular everyday varieties. Tesco sandwich buyer Debbie Allwright said: “Grabbing a sandwich on the go in lieu of a sit down breakfast has become the norm for millions of working Brits. As a result one in every 10 sandwiches we sell nowadays is a breakfast sarnie. “We believe the British breakfast sandwich market has a massive potential and could be one of the biggest untapped food markets which is why we are launching this new range. We’ve spent the last year researching the market and without giving out too much information to our rivals we’ve found that sandwiches with breakfast fillings are popular right into the early afternoon. “Just five years ago you would have found one breakfast styled sandwich in the top 20 – now there are three in the top 10 which shows you just how popular they have become.” The range is aimed to satisfy breakfast cravings at different times of the morning from savoury flavours such as egg Florentine muffin and salami and Emmental croissant to sweeter delicacies such as Belgian chocolate brioche and honey and cinnamon brioche.   The full new Tesco breakfast sandwich range is as follows: Bacon Muffin – 115g - £2.00 Egg Florentine Muffin – 162g - £2.00 Sausage & Egg Muffin – 173g - £2.00 All Day Breakfast Muffin – 185g - £2.00 Strawberry Jam Croissant – 120g - £1.50 Salami & Emmental Croissant – 143g - £2.00 Ham & Emmental Croissant – 147g - £2.00 Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagel – 170g - £2.50 Belgium Chocolate Brioche – 105g - £1.50 Honey & Cinnamon Brioche – 120g - £1.50

Supermarket facts: cross category promotions

Retailers need to ensure they are offering promotions which are specific to a shopper's need and solution-driven rather than a scatter-gun approach.

Him! spotted this solution-driven promotion at Texas supermarket, HEB, which is rather funny but ticks a lot of boxes:

• Solution driven
• Meets a shopper need
• Aimed at women (who are more promotionally driven than men)
• Cross category - mixing associated products & encourages secondary sitings.
• AND it's a talking point, this photo has gone viral online already, so great PR for the brands and HEB!

Source: Him! 24.05.2013

Aldi And Waitrose Continue Strong Growth, Morrisons Showing Signs Of Improvement

An awesome growth chart

 

 

The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks ending 12 May confirmed the polarisation of the UK grocery market with strong performances from Aldi and Waitrose. Meanwhile, Morrisons showed some signs of improvement with its sales edging up slightly over the period.

Aldi posted an all-time record share of 3.5%, increasing from 2.8% last year. The retailer’s successes also continued, as it set its highest ever year-on-year growth, 31.5%, over the past 12 week period. Rival discounter Lidl also maintained its largest share of 3.0% and posted strong sales growth of 8.9%.

Waitrose held on to its record share of 4.9% reported last month, with growth of 12.0% − over three times the market average.

Tesco lost market share with growth remaining lacklustre at 1.7%, against 3.9% growth for the total grocery market. Meanwhile, whilst Morrisons continued to lose share, the struggling retailer returned to growth in 2013 and this upward trend continued in the latest period − growing 1.2%.

Commenting on the figures, Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “The success of Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose are clear examples of how shopping habits are divided across the country. For many consumers, the discounters are increasingly becoming part of the weekly shop – supplementing trips to the big four retailers and offering a convenient and cheaper option. We expect this growth to continue, particularly as store expansion plans open up the discounters to a wider number of customers.

“This market polarisation also continues to pile the pressure on the big four grocers, with only Sainsbury’s beating the market and growing its market share this period”.

By its own measures, Kantar Worldpanel said that grocery inflation stood at 3.9% for the 12 week period. This now matches the market growth, suggesting that the pressure on households to trade down has lessened.

These findings are based on Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 weeks to 12 May 2013. Kantar Worldpanel monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 30,000 demographically representative households in Great Britain. All data discussed in the above announcement is based on the value of items being bought by these consumers.

NamNews - Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Upmarket Supermarket Shoppers Heading To Budget Chains To Top Up

A recent survey reveals that nearly two thirds of consumers who use upmarket stores such as Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Booths and Whole Foods Market top up their weekly shop at budget supermarkets. The research by conducted by vouchercloud.com showed that people are stocking up on every day essentials such as canned goods, fruit vegetables and toiletries at upmarket stores then heading to budget supermarkets for the premium ‘can’t live without’ goods such as wine and champagne. Of the 2000 surveyed 64% admitted to using budget supermarkets as well as upmarket stores. And of those who use upmarket and budget supermarkets at least once a month, more than two thirds (68%) use budget supermarkets more often than they did a year ago. Greg Le Tocq, MD, vouchercloud said: “We may have less money in our pockets these days but this survey shows we won’t go without life’s little luxuries. This is also evident when you look at the most common searches on vouchercloud.com. Restaurant and dining out deals are consistently in the top five. Consumers are shopping smarter not harder to ensure they don’t go without the finer things.” Looking at the results region by region, Marks & Spencer come out top in the upmarket stakes with between 59% (Wales) and 86% (Scotland) choosing to shop at the high street favourite, with Waitrose coming a close second. When asked which budget supermarkets they favoured, Aldi takes this crown with 53% (East and West Midlands) choosing to shop here weekly, followed by Lidl. 69% of respondents also said they use budget supermarkets more often than one year ago. NamNews - Tuesday 21st May 2013

Warburtons Makes Acquisition

Warburtons has announced the acquisition of Giles Foods, a manufacturer of garlic bread, dough balls, Danish pastries and other international breads for supermarkets, restaurants and pubs. The deal is said to be worth more than £10m and is part of Warburtons strategy to diversify outside the traditional bread market.

Giles Food, which is majority owned by David and Shirley Rixon, makes a range of branded and unbranded artisan and international breads. Its biggest customer is Morrisons and the company, which employs more than 300 staff in two manufacturing sites in Milton Keynes and Warminster, has annual revenues of more than £25m. It operates under the Artisan Bakers brand.

Jonathan Warburton, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Warburtons, said: “Innovation in bakery is going to be the lifeblood of the future. To do that in our present bakeries would be challenging.”

Warburton said that Giles Foods would offer the company a “short cut” to innovation and establish Warburton as a “bakery brand rather than a bread”.

The acquisition means the Warburtons name could eventually appear on garlic bread products in supermarkets. “In the long-term we will be delighted if what is Giles Foods now is full of Warburtons products, but it is not a prerequisite,” Warburton added.

“To me, this [deal] is natural progress for a successful, well-invested business. We are not going to go and diversify into weird and wonderful things. We are going to build on our core strengths.”

Giles Foods will initially be run as a separate business within Warburtons with the existing management team remaining in place. Rixon, who is the Managing Director, said: “There was an enormous amount of interest from a broad range of potential partners, but Warburtons, its heritage and values, ultimately made the decision very straightforward.”

 

Source: http://www.kamcity.com/namnews/asp/newsarticle.asp?newsid=70327

Convenience Market Set To Grow 30% To £46.2m By 2018

The food and grocery convenience market in the UK is set to be worth £46.2bn by 2018, increasing by nearly a third (29.8%) from its current value of £35.6bn. It will grow by an annual average rate of 5.3% over the next five years, according to the latest research from IGD.

Symbol operators currently account for just over 40% of convenience sales, significantly more than the other segments. Convenience multiples were the fastest growing segment in the 12 months to April 2013:

	Convenience sales 2013 £m	Sales change 2012 – April 2013%
Symbol groups	14,782	8.4
Non-affiliated independents	6,531	-0.5
Convenience multiples	6,257	11.1
Convenience forecourts	3,983	-3.7
Co-operatives	4,031	2.3
Total	35,586	4.9

Source: IGD Retail Analysis

Non-affiliated independents still have the highest number of convenience stores. While the number owned by the multiples has grown the fastest, they currently represent less than 10% of the sector.

Symbol groups have also shown strong growth in store numbers, up 3.2% in the year to April:

	Number of stores 2013	Stores change 2012 – April 2013%
Non-affiliated independents	18,826	-2.1
Symbol groups	16,889	3.2
Convenience forecourts	7,537	-5.2
Convenience multiples	3,318	9.6
Co-operatives	2,637	2.9
Total	49,207	0.1%

Source: IGD Retail Analysis and William Reed Business Media

Commenting on the research, Joanne Denney-Finch, Chief Executive at IGD, said: “The convenience sector goes from strength to strength – we are forecasting £11bn in extra annual sales between now and 2018. The increasing quality of the stores and shopping experience is helping to broaden the sector’s appeal. Rather than offering the same thing to everybody, convenience operators are increasingly tailoring their stores and products depending on local demographics and shopper missions.

“Convenience stores are also making the most of their convenient locations with some differentiating themselves by offering Amazon lockers, for example, while others are providing pick-up locations for parcel deliveries. This provides busy shoppers the chance to use the large convenience store network to make their everyday tasks easier to manage.

“Symbol groups offer independent store owners the chance to join a growing part of the market, providing advantages such as group marketing and collective purchasing power.

“And with different types of retailers placing such an emphasis on the convenience sector, there’s never been a more exciting time for the channel.”

Source: http://www.kamcity.com/namnews/asp/newsarticle.asp?newsid=70312

Cathedral City Introduces Chedds Single Pack Format

Cathedral City is set to introduce a new format for its Chedds Cheese & Toasties line in June, aimed at the convenience sector. The single pack will feature six slices of mild Cathedral City Cheddar and six pieces of Melba toast. The company said the new format will give the snacking brand broader appeal, specifically targeting the convenience shopper. Cathedral City noted: “Chedds has already added value to the kid’s cheese snacking category by attracting new shoppers and by encouraging existing shoppers to spend more. We want to help the convenience sector share more of this success by launching a format that is more relevant to the convenience shopper’s missions and basket size”   Source: http://www.kamcity.com/namnews/asp/newsarticle.asp?newsid=70306

Supermarket facts: shopper trust after the horse meat scandal

Supermarkets are successfully earning back trust with shoppers.

When asked "Which supermarkets do you trust to sell food that is safe?", shoppers said:

Retailer	March '13	April '13
Marks & Spencer	51%	53%
Sainsbury's	46%	46%
Morrisons	41%	43%
Asda	40%	42%
Waitrose	39%	43%
Tesco	38%	41%
Co-op	32%	35%
Aldi	25%	27%
Iceland	25%	26%
Lidl	22%	21%
Farmfoods	18%	17%
Other	4%	4%

Source: Him! 17.05.2013

Booker to Roll out new C-store format

Booker is set to roll out a new discount c-store format called ‘Family Shopper’ for its Premier symbol group business.

The format has been on trial at a 2,100 sq. ft. store in the West Midlands since November. The wholesaler hopes the format will help it compete better with the likes of Aldi and Lidl with three-quarters of goods on permanent promotion, including £1 lines, price-marked packs and ‘two for’ deals. The range of products has also been reduced from 11,000 SKUs in an average Premier store, to just 3,000.

Steve Fox, Sales Director for retail at Booker, said: “I believe there’s a real opportunity in this sector to do discount.”

It is not yet known how many stores it will open under the new fascia, although further details are expected to be released in the coming weeks.