Frances D.

Have you read our case study on Sainsbury’s digital transformation in employee relations? As one of the UK’s top retailers, Sainsbury’s has achieved impressive results. Using empower®, a digital guide that enhances managerial skills, Sainsbury’s has made it easier for line managers to handle low-risk conduct issues anytime. Self-service features have made managing employee relations simpler and faster, allowing HR to focus on complex cases and strategic tasks. This has reduced case durations, improved efficiency, and enhanced manager-employee relationships and overall employee experiences. Interested in how they did it? Read the full story here: https://hubs.la/Q02LGZvn0. #CaseStudy #SuccessStory #EmployeeRelations #HR #Transformation

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What happened in retail this week? 👇 - Asda pushed its debt burdens into the next decade after refinancing more than £3.2bn of debt. - Lidl GB announced £500m investment in the British pork industry as part of its commitment to sourcing from British producers. - Morrisons completed the £2.5bn MFG petrol forecourts sale. - Sainsbury's underlying pre-tax profits for the financial year were up 1.6% to £701m ahead of company expectations and grocery sales soared 9.4% over the period. - Aldi UK revealed that between 8am-9am and 7pm-10pm are the quietest times for customers to pick up their shopping ahead of the bank holiday. - Pets at Home opened two more stores on London high streets as it branches out from its typical retail park sites. - Co-op furthered its 100% free-range offer by introducing a white egg range to 2,400 stores. - Aldi UK launched a nationwide initiative to pinpoint prime locations for new store openings and has asked Brits to identify which areas across the UK need a new Aldi store, with suggestions to be submitted by 31 May. - Farmfoods is targetting 20-30 new stores as annual turnover passes £1bn. — — — — — — — I post the biggest stories from the UK’s biggest retailers each week. Connect with me to never miss a weekly update. #Retail #News #May 

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Lots of interesting content and commentary being shared following the publication this morning of Kingfisher plc Half Year Results for the six months ended 31 July 2024. Overall performance has been described by the business as 'In line with expectations', but below the surface there are some interesting facts:- - Total KF Sales £6.756m, -1.4% below last year (-2.4% like for like). - UK & Ireland -0.2%, despite the horrible garden season, so fairly resilient. - French performance and market still in a bad place -7.2% like for like decline. - Weak performance of Big Ticket - same message as Wickes last week. - Strong performance from TradePoint UK, with like for likes +7.1% and now 22% of overall B&Q Sales - 20% this time last year. - B&Q like for like Sales -1.0% and Screwfix Sales +1.2%. - Total Group e-commerce sales +8.4% driven by UK and Ireland. - E-commerce overall KF Group penetration now at 18.3%. - B&Q Marketplace now 41% of B&Q ecommerce sales in Q2. - As of 31 July, B&Q had a total of 309 stores in the UK & Ireland and Screwfix had 938. - Screwfix continues to plan for up to 40 new stores in the UK & Ireland in FY 24/25 Read more detail on Insight DIY here - https://lnkd.in/ey7NkhNQ Have fun flicking through the 47 page presentation below - you're very welcome! #results #retailnews #homeimprovement #retail #commerce

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Our annual Britvic plc Soft Drinks Review was released yesterday, and as a category it’s always so interesting to see the changing consumer behaviours that shape our brands. Our report found that: ·       Category sales in grocery and convenience stores have grown, demonstrating the dedication and ingenuity of manufacturers and retailers as well as the wide range of roles soft drinks are playing in people's lives. We have witnessed the soft drink category expand rapidly at forecourts, where sales have grown by 9.9% on volumes up 1.6%.  ·       There is a rise in people using forecourts for a wider range of purposes, like top-up shopping and on-the-go treats. All this presents significant opportunities for soft drinks, the channel’s bestselling food and drink category.  ·       Retailers increasingly recognise that the soft drinks they stock help determine people’s choice of store. As such, Britvic is a trusted manufacturer that aims to support retailers in meeting those needs, with launches of various flavours through our rotational Tango Editions series, offering various formats, and health-conscious options to help retailers offer their customers everything they need.  You can read more about how the category is continuing to accelerate on our website:  https://lnkd.in/eBaTNyPT

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Strive to have the best data and it will make you look good. Best informed is almost always best full-stop. The data Uncrowd pumps out is that best in class and the pioneer retailers, and now investors and analysts subscribing to it are moving ahead of you and your peers. This empirical, objective, observed data we surface keep on calling it right, way ahead of everyone else. Reading this from Ryan, and I got to the F1 quote about and thought 'that is bang on the money, whoever wrote that is worth following'. Then realised, dear reader, it was me. #data #experienceanalytics #retail

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Which categories are driving UK symbol and independent convenience retail currently? Do you know how your category and brand is performing relative to the market? And my real question is, do you really know, or are you trusting aggregated market data that's based on a handful of stores and not telling you what's really going on? To the facts: - Tobacco still has the highest £ share of sales at 20%, but it's down 150 basis points on last year. - Picking up the pace are groceries, confectionery, chilled, alcohol, and soft drinks, all of which are growing their £ share of spend. - Groceries are the standout performer, growing share of spend by 70 basis points year on year. This just demonstrates the breadth of products that shoppers are looking for from their convenience stores. An opportunity for every brand in FMCG to sell more! Drop me a message if you'd like to base your convenience strategy and tactics on real EPOS from over 12,000 symbol and independent stores with Thumbprint #epos #sales #convenience

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I am noticing a lot of non-GS1 compliant images emerging on Tesco marketplace. This example is not best practice and let me explain why... The word "chicken" off pack fails contrast and the weight statement 350g also fails, (I mean who can read 350g off the pack?? - TRY ON YOUR MOBILE!) So sadly this image despite all the effort in breaking rules isnt legible or mobile ready. I honestly doubt the Mars Petcare team would have allowed this, so it must be a third party listing it perhaps? #UX #ACCESSIBILTY #mobileready #ShopperExperience #Content

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Our Commercial Competency framework is future-focussed, a future where Commercial Confidence is accessible for everyone!

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In Kantar’s GMS results (data to 14th April), Sainsbury’s grew sales by 6.8%, winning 0.4%pts till roll share. Reviewing Sainsbury’s 23/24 Preliminary Results, there are clear reasons for this strong performance, and steps to maintaining it. With primary and secondary shoppers recording +3.4% and 1.9% growth respectively, Sainsbury’s has outgrown their traditional big four competitors in expanding their shopper base. Sainsbury’s should now focus on converting these shoppers into main shop trips, through three key methods: [1] Volume growth through accessible price cuts/EDLPs With their highest value perception score in six years, and 95% of big baskets featuring Nectar prices and APM, shoppers have brought into Sainsbury’s with increasing frequency, enhancing their pack market share by 40bps. However, all retailers will increase their competitiveness for pack growth, as inflation softens to 3.2% (4w/e to 14th April Kantar).  Volume promotions contributed just 0.3% to market pack growth and 58% of shoppers are motivated to use a loyalty card for savings, as shoppers decrease the number of fascias they visit, opting for value-driven, full shop retailers. 16/47 packaged areas record a positive uplift from volume promotions. Focus on price cuts that wins the main shop mission, meaning products should be positioned to encourage scratch cooking, with strong messaging across fresh produce, dairy, and cooking ingredients, as shoppers complete habitual recipe cooking. ‘Struggling’ shoppers have grown their packs through volume-promotions (+7.2%). Sainsbury’s should look to utilise their strong position in Meat and their enhancing Frozen performance to win these shoppers, as Frozen Meat over-indexes with struggling shoppers. [2] Switching from non-grocers Sainsbury’s gains from the big six and premium retailers has been impressive, supported by strong Premium OL innovation and price competitiveness. Whilst, Sainsbury’s is not as vulnerable to the Bargain Stores as other competitors [Asda], Sainsbury’s next step is to win from these outlets as they capture shoppers. A price match campaign against Home Bargains, may prove unfruitful, as could be obtained from Asda’s attempt. ‘Four for three’ within household is a common promotion, however, this will likely result in a spike in behaviour but not a long term switch to loyalty. Strong messaging on Nectar, and continued collaboration with brands to drive innovation could succeed in winning household grocery consumption, and in this regard, Sainsbury’s has always delivered strong in-store media for HBP with their gondola ends. By ensuring strong messaging about occasions, Sainsbury’s can grow spend with their more premium packs, whilst also winning in packs for those everyday occasions. 

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Shoutout to all emerging and small suppliers navigating the vast world of FMCG! This course could be exactly what you need to gain clear insights and a deeper understanding of the industry. Learn what's required to build a solid foundation for success in this exciting and dynamic industry.

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12 week kantar update. Similar theme as previous quarters…Tesco and Sainsbury’s lead the pack with a market share increases of 0.6% and 0.5% respectively. Interesting numbers for the shareholders as we head to the mid way point of many businesses financial year. No doubt both Tesco and Sainsbury’s are capitalising on the worrying decline at Asda. Another record low market share and on the back of scathing comments by Lord Rose. They are in desperate need of a captain to lead the rudderless ship. Is a CEO on the way? Discounters continue to accelerate with Lidl in pole position on terms of growth. Aldi slowing down but still in double digits and with the news they are launching instore bakeries that could drive some much needed footfall and volume.

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What happened in retail this week? 👇 - Morrisons strikes called off as workers win pension dispute. - Tesco installs anti-theft smoke machines at high-risk stores. - Lidl GB has made it 10 months in a row as the UK’s fastest-growing brick-and-mortar supermarket. - Tesco has achieved its highest market since February 2022, growing 0.6 percentage points to 27.7%. - Sainsbury's’s has agreed to sell most of its banking arm to Natwest Group and expects to complete the transaction in the first half of next year. - Morrisons is celebrating 125th birthday with ‘Basket Bonuses’ for its loyalty card holders - Asda’s market share has fallen by almost 1 percentage point in the past year, from 13.7% to 12.8% as sales continued to fall over the last 12 weeks. — — — — — — — I post the biggest stories from the UK’s biggest retailers each week. Connect with me to never miss a weekly update. #Retail #News #June

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#Food and #drink #startups and #scaleups...a quick survey to support Alex Brown's work, with Impact on Urban Health (do check them out!) on understanding the funding gap for startup and scaling food and drink brands, focused on health and wellness... The right finance is always key, and barriers to it can be the biggest hurdle scaling businesses face, finding equitable solutions is essential. links to the survey are in the post below.

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It was Christmas 2008 & I was buying one of Tesco’s largest categories, but I knew something had to change. I’d been buying for over 10 years & was now leading the Spirits category, which as well as being very big, is also one of the most seasonal in the Store.  So HUGE uplifts in the last 6 weeks of the year. We’d done it (again).  All the big plans executed, trade drivers landed, availability where it should be. But the thrill was gone.  It used to be doing the big deals that energised me, but increasingly it was now the plan, the analysis, the thinking, the strategy. The satisfaction of doing the work to properly understand: - what different consumers wanted - how the Shopper shopped - what was really driving category performance - and how it could be improved. Doing all that work and seeing it land in Store & deliver what we wanted it to do. Optima Retail wasn’t the plan at that stage – my first non-buying role was to project manage the Tesco Range Customer plan, working with Dunnhumby to improve ranging across the Store & launch Shelf Review. It was, however, the start. The moment which I can look back on which started the journey, which led to leaving Tesco 4 years later, and which ultimately is the reason I’m here doing this today, another 12 years on. Ever since I got my first lesson in category management, long before that moment in Tesco, I’ve been fascinated by how categories work.  How a good range is built, and the mistakes the bad ones make. By the levers you can pull to unlock new category growth. By the fact there are ALWAYS opportunities to improve… And by the art of taking all that data & insight & crafting it into simple, but compelling stories that inspire. So that’s what we now do. For me taking the best bits of Buying – which honestly at the time was probably less than a quarter of my week.  And now doing it full time, all week, all year.  Running a small business is not easy.   There’s been a lot of ups and downs. But ultimately the challenge isn’t you vs the market, its you vs you. There’s always a way through, always a solution. And when you are doing something you love, and you’re all in, I guess it just makes you push that little bit harder until you find it. #categorymanagement #Entrepreneurship #CareerJourney Tesco HQ Photo : Gordon Joly via Wikimedia Commons

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Latest grocery market share data showing grocery price inflation continuing to ease and growth of 3.3%, almost in line with the inflation number of +3.2%. My take is that the rubber is really going to hit the road now as growth will need to be found by driving sales (underlying volumes) rather than relying on price. The continued increase of sales on promotion reflects shoppers seeking value and managing their budgets. Do you have the right category growth strategies in place to drive sales through the right value to the shopper? Also interesting to see that Aldi growth of +2.8% is behind the market, in contrast to the +9.1% growth of Lidl. Following a sustained period where both hard discounters were aligned in high growth we are now seeing a divergence in performance - does this give us an insight to any kind of shopper preference for one discounter offer over the other?

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Tesco Aiming For Extra £1bn In Sales From Premium Range The CEO of Tesco has revealed that the retailer is targeting an extra £1bn in sales for its Finest own-label range to meet growing demand for premium food & drink and challenge the likes of Waitrose and M&S. Finest currently has annual sales of £2bn. Speaking to the Financial Times, Ken Murphy said: “We haven’t yet set our stall out to say ‘what would it take to get to £3bn’, but we’re very conscious it is playing an increasingly important role.” He added: “We genuinely believe . . . that our intrinsic [food] qualities are every bit as good as anything you would get at Sainsbury’s and increasingly out of Waitrose … M&S, we probably still have a bit of work to do.” The report notes that in the face of higher living costs, shoppers are shunning restaurants and becoming more adventurous with their cooking at home. Data from Kantar shows that spending on premium own-label lines in the leading UK supermarkets rose 12% in the year to 9 June even as inflation eased. The figure was also nearly double the 6.9% growth in all brands owned by the grocers, including their budget ranges. The FT highlighted that Tesco’s Finest products account for only over 3% of the group’s £61.4bn sales, although this is equivalent to about a quarter of Waitrose’s total sales and M&S’s food sales, respectively. However, it has taken Tesco about a decade to reach the £2bn level from £1.4bn in sales in 2013. Murphy did not reveal whether there was a target date set for getting sales to £3bn, but Clive Black, a retail analyst at Shore Capital, told the FT that it would not be earlier than “the medium and long term before that number is reached” given that the industry’s annual growth is relatively modest. NamNews Implications: * ‘Shoppers are shunning restaurants and becoming more adventurous with their cooking at home…’ * …heightening consumer awareness of the difference made by quality ingredients… * …and the home-cost of ingredients vs the price paid in hospitality. * All potential threats to ‘eating out’ long term. * Apart from increased savviness re branded equivalents in store. One to watch… #OwnLabel #Hospitality

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Keep your eyes on Tesco Marketplace Those of us who have been around a while will remember Tesco Direct, the catalogue based non-food business that Tesco launched in 2006. That business was closed in 2018, killed off by competition from Amazon (and others) who could offer a broader range, cheaper prices, free delivery and without having huge amounts of capital tied up in stock sat across various stores and warehouses. This week though, more than 10,000 products have gone live on the new Tesco Marketplace. What makes this different? The listed products are sold by 3rd parties. For a while Tesco Direct was a good concept, rivalling Argos and effectively killing off Index. By pivoting the proposition to a 3rd party marketplace Tesco effectively capitalise on their huge online traffic while removing the fundamental weaknesses of their previous catalogue business, namely breadth of range and capital tied up in stock. Following the successes of marketplace offerings from Amazon, Walmart, Carrefour, Decathlon, B&Q, BestBuy, Kroger and Macy’s it really is no surprise that Tesco’s have launched their own. The fact that they are later to the game than others is irrelevant. Their website traffic is so significant that adoption will soon be comparable and then exceeding much longer established platforms. The range is limited for now, but I doubt their is anyone who doesn’t expect it to grow, and quickly. Launch categories include Garden&DIY, Home and Kitchenware, Toys, Furniture, Sport & Leisure and Baby & Toddler. I would expect that clothing, small electrical and gifting will be added shortly, and some broader food categories within the next year-eighteen months. What’s worth keeping an eye on though are the Spirits and Pet categories. These are product categories that are easily transferable into store. In the past products from new and niche suppliers would have been trialed in a limited number of physical stores, with distribution increased should sales warrant it. Now, I believe, new products from these categories will be trialled 3rd party via the Marketplace, with products that sell well then being selected to be distributed instore. With greater access to pricing, promotions, media, sponsored search and a level playing field in terms of search & content optimisation, I wonder how long it will be before some of the best selling 3rd party products find their way onto the physical shelf? With space on the physical shelf limited, another product will have to be delisted to make way. That makes me wonder how long it will be before some ‘established’ brands start to disappear from our physical shelves? Time to watch Tesco #digitalcommerce #ecommerce #marketplaces #cpg #cpgindustry #fmcg #fmcgindustry #digital #foodanddrink #drink https://lnkd.in/ec-EQS-x

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Younger consumers are driving the demand for flavour profiles (driven by social media) in the crisps, nuts and bagged category But with inflation and HFSS legislation, brands need to balance flavour innovation with core ranges and activation strategies to combat the growth of Own Label

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Warmer Weather Boosts Supermarket Sales But Asda Continues To Struggle 21st August 2024 Total Till data from NIQ shows that sales in UK supermarkets grew 5.5% over the four weeks to 10 August, up from a 3.6% rise in the previous month and the strongest growth so far this year. Sales were boosted by the short heatwave in the week to 3 August, when growth hit 6.6%. Moreover, as Euro 2024 ended, retailers continued to entice shoppers by offering more price cuts and maintaining promotional spend at 25% of sales purchased. Waning food price inflation also helped lift demand, falling to 2.3% The NIQ data also showed that the online channel performed well last month, with sales up 6.8%, outpacing in-store growth of 3.8%. Online’s share of FMCG spend grew to 12.8% – up from 12.5% this time last year. Across all supermarkets, visits to stores increased by 2.7% and online occasions (orders) jumped by 10.5%. Sales in the convenience channel also picked up after a poor 2024 so far, with 4.8% growth. With the return of warmer weather leading to alfresco dining, the value sales of Produce improved 11.8% (unit growth +6.5%), while Soft Drinks were the fastest growing supercategory at 14.3% (unit growth +10.4%). Sales of BWS also recovered with value growth of 5.4% (unit growth +4.7%). In terms of retailer performance over the 12 weeks to 10 August, M&S (+10.7%) and Ocado (+14.3%) were still the fastest-growing grocery retailers. Both also experienced significant growth over the last four weeks as households shopped more often for summer indulgences. Sainsbury’s and Tesco continued their strong runs, whilst it was another disappointing period for Asda, with sales sliding 6.4%. Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK Head of Retailer and Business Insight, said: “Retailers will be pleased to have maintained shopper spend beyond Euro 2024, with the warm summer weather adding a boost to sales. However, with almost 1 in 3 household`s (29%) top concern still being inflation and shoppers still looking for value, it’s clear that loyalty and membership schemes remain key to encourage spend.” He added: “As summer draws to a close, retailers will be under pressure to maintain sales growth in the next six weeks. This is especially true with the lack of seasonal events and the back-to-school period as shoppers settle into new routines. We can also expect more comparative price advertising by retailers as they reinforce price credentials ahead of the all-important Q4 sales build.” NamNews Implications * Curious there is no emphasising of the stalling of the Discounters? * i.e. Aldi continue to lose and Lidl only picking up what they have lost * Meanwhile the upmarket players - M&S, Waitrose & Ocado - are recovering * Yet 29% of households are shopping-around for value * While the Mults are pushing hard on Loyalty/promos * Unprecedented times indeed    #Discounters #Value #Loyalty

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