Michael Josephson MBE

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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🚀 Another Successful Webinar! 🚀 It was fantastic catching up with Paul James Harvey this morning for our 2nd Buyer <> Seller Q&A Webinar. A huge thank you 🙏 to everyone who joined and for the brilliant feedback you gave us: 💬 What attendees found most valuable: ↳  “The information on how Suppliers can capture the interest of Buyers” ↳  “Real life examples and how to tackle them” ↳  “very clear breakdowns” ↳  “The experience and knowledge of both” ↳  “Just listening to the experiences from being in those positions” ↳  “Loved the slide on how to grow category” ↳  “The diagram of levers to drive category sales was really easy to digest” ↳  “Good insight from experienced professionals” 🎥 The recording is now in post-production & we’ll share the link soon! 🔜 What’s next?   We have exciting plans going forward for future webinars as well as more detailed commercial & category training... ... so if you’d like to attend a future session please **Like this post or DM/follow us** to be the first to know when new dates drop. 💡 Your input matters!  If there are any specific topics you’d like us to cover in future sessions, please also let us know in the comments below. And finally, as mentioned on the call, you can also book Paul & myself for a Power Hour call to work through your burning business questions & issues, so if this is of interest please do get in touch. Until next time,   Simon & Paul #Training #CategoryManagement #Sales #FMCG #CPG #RetailerEngagement #GoToMarketStrategy #CategoryGrowth

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FLOURISH RETAIL CONSULTANCY: made to measure for your product business ❤️ Did you know, our consultancy services give you direct support from one of our specialist merchandisers so you can grow your business with confidence 🙌 Together, we’ll look at what can be done to help your business work more efficiently, drive sales and generate more profit. Rather than giving you generic advice, consultancy lets you and your business benefit from our decades of experience working with big retailers. We’ll apply everything we know to make things work brilliantly for you 🫵 ☎️ Book a FREE discovery call today! https://lnkd.in/eUeZFs6k Could merchandising be a key area that could help you grow your product business? #consultancy #retailconsultancy #merchandiser #merchandising #smallbusiness #flourishretail #fashionmerchandising #growyourbiz #growyourbusiness #profit #boostyourprofit #thesmallbusinesshandbook #discoverycall #freecall

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Thorough research has been carried out on the timing of purchasing decisions at retail fixtures with FMCG products needing on average 3-6 seconds for a decision to be made, emphasising the importance of fixture layout. Poor performance of the fixture layout may result in lost sales opportunities, dissatisfied customers, and diminish the value of previous investments in stocking the product. A practical approach to improve decision-making at the shelf involves aligning the consumer decision tree (CDT) with the shelf layout, referred to as the merchandising blueprint. Consumers frequently adjust their purchasing decisions, underscoring the need to proactively update the CDT with the merchandising blueprint. Moreover, the shelf or fixture layout can also influence buying behaviour, providing opportunity to assess different blueprint strategies. Space planning should be forward-thinking rather than reactive and should not be delayed until the latter stages of in-store implementation. Proactively usings tools like Retail Shelf Planner offers the ability to visually present the CDT blueprint, analyse different scenarios, and accurately predict the value returns of new shelf layouts. If you are new to space planning or face time or resource constraints to be more proactive in this area, feel free to reach out to us for assistance. https://lnkd.in/eN-HA6fE #spaceplanning #planogram #categorymanagement #retail #categorymanager Erwin Bergsma, Gerry Byrne, Fu Ying Chi, Randy Armstrong, Aaron Simmons, Daniel Sampietro, Raphael Figueira Costa, Marina Lindström, Heini Kumpusalo, Salvatore Bitonto, Daryl Barry, Stef Dhondt

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Today, we announced Asda’s trading update for the first quarter of this year, with total revenues increased by 6.6% to £5.3bn (excl. fuel) and like-for-like sales up 1.4%. We’re pleased to see continued growth across our food and non-food businesses during the quarter, which clearly demonstrates our underlying strength as a business. In the first quarter, our focus has remained on delivering uncompromising value for customers. We became the first supermarket to price match both Aldi and Lidl, have continued to cut prices on hundreds of products, and have seen our Asda Rewards loyalty scheme continue to resonate with shoppers. George at Asda has also led the way in outperforming the fashion and homewares markets, as customers continue to respond positively to the investments made in the brand. We are proud to have become the highest paying traditional supermarket with a record £150m investment in retail pay this quarter, as we continue to invest in our hard-working colleagues. Net leverage as a multiple of proforma EBITDA after rent reduced from 4.1x at Q1 2023 to 3.0x at the end of Q1 2024 – and earlier this month, we successfully refinanced more than £3.0bn of debt, extending our debt obligations into the next decade. This further strengthens our capital structure, enabling us to continue investing in our business and deliver our ambitious long-term growth plans. You can find the full results here:

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4 reasons to update your exterior signage? 🩹Your sign is damaged 📅Your information is outdated 🏪You’ve changed your branding/logo ➕You want to attract new business At Signs Express Reading, we have solutions for businesses in all industries. Just get in touch to discuss your options today. 📱 0118 462 0744 ✉️[email protected] #ExteriorSignage #BusinessSigns #SignsExpressReading #SignageSolutions

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Running a successful retail store can feel like a juggling act. You’re keeping the displays full, managing your employees, dealing with customer relations and doing everything you can to boost your sales. The last thing you need is to juggle additional balls in the form of planning a refurb or carrying out repairs. That's why we offer a range of services that are crafted to take these jobs off your hands, leaving you free to keep everything else moving. Want to find out a bit more about what we do and how we can help? Then check out the blog in the comments.

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Retail is changing, and companies are desperately looking for ways to survive. In 2019, Dame Sharon White was appointed Chair of the John Lewis Partnership. She will not be renewing her contract in 2025. An excellent leader and civil servant, she had no retail experience. From the beginning, she announced that the Partnership would undergo changes and explore other possibilities/businesses, such as rental and financial services. To cut a long story short, the Partnership is still struggling. At the same time Marks and Spencer, their main competitor, charged ahead under the leadership of the current CEO, Stuart Machin. Machin joined the retail management program at Sainsbury's when he was 18 and has stayed in retail since. Two principles on which retail, especially high-end retail (my area of expertise), was built are location and distribution. Neither is relevant any longer. The location is now the Internet, and desirable brands are leased. Unfortunately, because business was good for many years, no one thought about a vision (just collecting good brands and securing some exclusive distribution was enough). To have a vision is good- it's simple: if you have one, you can match it with a customer who has the same vision. A question for people who work in fashion brands wholesale and travel to stores: If the floor of a leading department store (or multi-unit specialty store) is extracted (with merchandise) and put in an empty room, how many stores would you recognize? I would probably recognize only Beams (170 doors), maybe Webster (but it's more like a big boutique). When you have an image that is not well-defined, it becomes an issue in the current retail environment. Logically, companies are looking for additional business models (John Lewis). With the growth of the "marketplace" concept (which is more of an online "rental" business than retail), we are witnessing a new stage. Here is the reason I'm writing this - a famous American department store is converting one of its flagships into a "physical marketplace" - essentially a mall. There are a few successful malls in the US, usually a combination of location, the vision of the owners (like Bal Harbour), and the employment of experienced retail agents. Many would say that this model has been working for stores like Le Galleries Lafayette or the majority of department stores in Japan for years. However, the American retail landscape is a little different. Mall culture is the strongest here, and "experience" is one of the main reasons to visit. Contrary to mall management, American retailers are merchants. It will be interesting to watch the "physical marketplace" concept. Will merchants be able to adapt? Many questions still need to be answered. #wwd #bof #fashionretail

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Drive traffic and increase sales with expert Marketing from HZ Marketing! 🚀📈 Learn more about how our strategies can boost your business. Contact us today! ✨ 🌐 https://hzmarketing.co.uk/ 📱 07933491012 📩 [email protected] #HZMarketing #IncreaseSales #DriveTraffic #DigitalMarketing #BusinessGrowth #OnlineMarketing #MarketingSuccess #LeadGeneration #BoostYourBusiness #GrowWithUs #SalesGrowth #MarketingStrategies #LearnMore #ContactUs

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If you’re interested in the Howdens half year results that were published last week, you might find their investor presentation a valuable read. Here’s my post and analysis of their results - https://lnkd.in/ePnJBbv6 The presentation is 84 pages long, all of which you can flick through below! #retailnews #commerce #kitchens #homeimprovement

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Kingfisher plc has today published their Q1 Trading Results for the period ending 30 April 2024. Key points - Q1 sales of £3.3bn; total sales +0.3% (constant currency) and -0.3% (reported) - LFL -0.9% including a +1.9% calendar impact (of which +1.1% relates to the leap year)(1) Thierry Garnier, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Trading in the first quarter has been in line with our expectations. We have seen continued resilience in our core categories, although ‘big-ticket’ sales have been weak reflecting the broader market as expected. In the UK, we have gained considerable share across our banners. Our trade proposition continues to resonate with customers, driving positive LFL sales at Screwfix and strong LFL sales growth of 8.5% at TradePoint. In France, while slightly improved on Q4, trading reflects the weak overall retail market. And in Poland, we are seeing encouraging sales trends as the consumer environment improves. More on Insight DIY here - https://lnkd.in/e2bBBeCi #retail #retailnews #homeimprovement #trading

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Obviously the very proactive GCA is all over this, concerning GSCOP Rule number 10... 10. Compensation for forecasting errors (1) A Retailer must fully compensate a Supplier for any cost incurred by that Supplier as a result of any forecasting error in relation to Grocery products and attributable to that Retailer unless: (a) that Retailer has prepared those forecasts in good faith and with due care, and following consultation with the Supplier; or (b) the Supply Agreement includes an express and unambiguous provision that full compensation is not appropriate. (2) A Retailer must ensure that the basis on which it prepares any forecast has been communicated to the Supplier. #GSCOP #GCA #Retail #Sainsburys

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