The TTG Analysis
Seasonal sensation
Queen will have her Diamond Jubilee celebrated by a special creation by a small, independent high street bakery. Battersea Park will host baker
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Konditor & Cook’s very special cake, which will be shared with the public on Sunday June 3. But how has a tiny London high
street bakery managed to land a central part in such a huge national event? And what can independent travel agents learn from this successful independent business?
Changing with demand According to Konditor & Cook founder Gerhard Jenne, it is all about creating that illusive experience for customers, which sets you apart from your competitors – something which he believes should be possible for high street travel agencies.
et them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette is rumoured to have famously declared – and this year our very own
Konditor & Cook now has six outlets in the central London area and appeals just as much to students down the road from its Stamford Street branch at King’s College, as it does to stressed-out executives in the Gherkin, and tourists in Borough Market. “I opened the
first shop 18 years ago near to Waterloo,” says Jenne. “It was a bit of a downtrodden area then, but I realised the potential of the area. It was a densely populated area with a big workforce – bakeries are all about footfall as the average spend is just £6.50 per customer. The location was important,” says Jenne.
i Baking the Jubilee cake
Konditor & Cook will create a 100ft pixilated portrait of the Queen to mark the Diamond Jubilee weekend. This will be displayed in Battersea Park and shared with the public – allowing them to take away (and eat) their very own part of the celebrations. Made from 3,120 small cakes, each one
10 05.04.2012
represents a week of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. On June 3, 18 panels will be raised to a 60-degree angle so it is fully displayed. Baking such a huge creation is no easy task though, and will take place over a five-day period, with 1,000 eggs and several hundred kilograms of sugar used.
CREATIVERETAIL THINKING
As part of our ‘Backing our British high streets’ campaign TTG is looking at retailers in other industries that might inspire agents. This week Lucy Siebert talks to the team at baker Konditor & Cook
And the bakery itself has evolved hugely over the past two decades, from offering primarily savoury lunches and later hot meals, to today mostly selling cakes, brownies and seasonal goodies. “We have a big emphasis on seasonality, it’s what we try to do and
it keeps everything fresh.
Easter with a difference: Margot the chick and Tom the bunny
We make sure the shop is interesting,” Jenne says, adding that this is something that travel agencies can leverage in their own stores. “Our seasonal focus is all around the festivals [such as Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day]. Some things are bigger than others, but we are different from Pret which never really
Konditor & Cook’s branch on Stamford Street, and Laure Talbot (right) gets ready to greet customers
changes its look.” “In January it’s all about the bounceback [after Christmas] with offers to combat the retail lull straight after Christmas and New Year. Our special events includes ‘Back to the 1980s’ or ‘Back to the 1990s’. In our 17th year we had cakes on sale for £17 and in summer the emphasis is on wedding cakes and making the seasonal offers lighter,” he explains.
“I am thinking, why can’t travel agents have events where they offer things like a quick Thai massage to highlight holidays to Thailand? That sort of thing would be great,” says Jenne. And like travel agents, Konditor
& Cook also faces many of the same retail challenges, such as fierce competition from larger chains and high rents and rates.
Being individual “Chains do have a soulessness – their products are manufactured and
Backing our British high streets
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