Healthy Sales Seminar Inside Business
FUTURE PLANS
FOR THE SGF HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAMME Increase participation Develop sustainable POS Meal Deal for school kids Regional workshops for retailers Community food initiative Increased supplier involvement
Government will increase funding in this area and help indigenous Scottish businesses to grow. After all, a two week campaign in Lidl saw a 23% uplift in products deemed ‘healthier’.
THE SCOTMID SITUATION
As one of the biggest grocery chains in Scotland with a turnover of £420m and hundreds of stores, Scotmid is a major player in the local retailing market and Chief Operating Officer Colin McLean was on hand to talk about why the company was focusing on its fresh and chilled offering for growth. He said: “We want to work with more local suppliers who can help us achieve our goal of being Scotland’s preferred convenience retailer.”
The company is making availability the number one priority, finding a balance between improved availability and an acceptable wastage level. One company familiar with this challenge is fruit and veg distributor Total Produce, which works from a 350,000 sq ft centre in Sighthill, Edinburgh. Commercial Manager Wilson Neal said his company too was looking to buy more Scottish products to offer to convenience retailers. “The SGF Healthy Living Programme has been a huge success for us,” he said. “Before it came along there were stores that simply didn’t sell fruit and veg and that now do well from it. When the stands are presented well you just can’t walk by them and not buy something. We sell live products that look attractive – and that’s a major advantage.”
One example Neal gives about the power of using fresh produce around special promotions is a deal, now
WWW.55NORTH.COM
famous in the convenience sector, where Spar Scotland sold 400 cases of Chinese Ya Pears in a weekend by putting them on at 99p for four. “On top of that, we offer a mixed six pack for 99p, which is a great thing for retailers,” says Neal.
That Spar Scotland has had success in this area is no surprise, CJ Lang being a founding partner of the Healthy Living Programme. 130 of the company’s stores participated in the Programme’s winter event this year and Business Development Controller Philippe Rondepierre saw it as a golden opportunity for suppliers to become more directly involved in this area as much of the scheme’s success was down to private-label products. “It feels better to promote healthier products,” he said. “We need to collaborate because there is no plan B. Whether as a retailer, supplier or the Government, we simply must get involved.” The message is clear: healthier products are no longer optional for a modern c-store, they are critical. A vitally important message from the seminar, however, is that healthier, fresh products are just as critical to the future success of your business as they are to the future health of our nation. Let’s hope the SGF Healthy Living Programme secures the additional funding it seeks. Local retailing is the beating heart of Scottish communities and it’s more important than ever for that heartbeat to be healthy.
“THE INDUSTRY NEEDS TO COLLABORATE BECAUSE THERE IS
NO PLAN B.” PHILIPPE RONDEPIERRE, CJ LANG
WHAT’S ON A LABEL?
Public Health Minister Michael Matheson says the Scottish Government is in talks with Westminster, to encourage the UK Government to re-examine the information provided on food packaging. Claiming there are too many systems, he says: “It’s not good for consumers, retailers or manufacturers. We need one clear system that makes it easier for consumers to make decisions on what they buy.”
He revealed the Scottish Government is requesting a consultation with a view to creating a system that will aid the country’s fight against obesity.
SGF Chief Executive John Drummond said: “We welcome any moves to try and find a clear system, but it will be difficult to find consensus.”
JUNE 2012 | SLR
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