June 2009

The upcoming Charities Act 2009 will restrict the availability of Mass cards throughout the country (see news story on Page 4). While nobody condones any nefarious behaviour on behalf of distributors of some supposed Mass cards, where it is debatable whether any Mass is ever offered for the intentions of the purchaser, surely there is an easier way to clamp down on this sort of activ-ity, rather than wasting Dáil time introducing a new piece of legislation, which essentially makes it more difficult for retailers, and by extension, consumers, to get their hands on Mass cards.

Another point worth noting is that with vocations to the priesthood continuing to fall, we could conceivably see a situation in years to come where it is nigh on impossible to find a priest, let alone a signed Mass card, in vast swathes of the country. Surely this is a good opportunity for church leaders and religious orders to organise centrally signed and distributed Mass cards for the various dioceses throughout Ireland, thus cutting out these distributors of dubious Mass cards? A percentage of the proceeds could be donated to an appointed charity, with the rest distributed between the dif-ferent parishes in the diocese.

Elsewhere this issue, Tony Griffin, Head of IT Shared Services in Musgrave, explains how emerging technology is changing the face of retailing in Ireland (Page 38); former Dragon’s Den contestant Levi Roots talks us through the remarkable changes that took him from a market stall to owner of a successful sauces and condiments business (Page 20); and Karen Meenan reports on the wealth and quality of Irish magazines available on the market (Page 25) and why it makes good financial sense for you to stock them.

Kathleen Belton,Editorial & Marketing Director.

inside view

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T A R A

“Over 50 years

serving the Irish

grocery trade.”

June09Contents

1

Mass Card Exodus

SPAR Ireland invests2m in Price and

Value InitiativesSPAR Ireland has launched two new initiatives designed to highlight

the strong value and high quality available at SPAR stores across the

country. The Own-Brand and Euro Crunch campaigns will run for the

remainder of the year and represent an investment of over 2m by

SPAR Ireland.

From this month, retailers and consumers will have access to a wide

range of additional own-brand items covering product families such

as soft drinks, biscuits, snacks, pasta and health and beauty. 30 new

SPAR own-brand products will be on the shelves this month and

another 30 will be introduced before the end of the year.

SPAR is also extending its hugely successful Euro Crunch campaign

to incorporate additional products and has taken the opportunity

to launch a new TV ad campaign featuring animated caricatures

of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and pop impresario Louis Walsh.

Introduced in 2008 in direct response to consumer requirements,

Euro Crunch offers popular, every-day products for only 1. The

campaign is now being extended to incorporate additional products

on offer for 1, 2 and 3.

Both new initiatives are being supported by extensive advertising

campaigns, including heavyweight TV advertising.

June09Contents

News4Last Rites for Mass Cards: Retail Groups Eyeing Convenience Market?

5Tesco Suppliers Cry Foul; EU to Review Retail Sector; Consumer Loyalty Falling; Aldi Drops Prices.

6Consumer Confidence on the Rise.

7ABFI Rejects Youth Council Recommendations; Musgrave Group Annual Results.

8CSNA Rejects Deposit/Refund System for Drinks Containers.

Centra Quality Awards16368 Centra stores were recently rewarded with a Centra Quality Award for 2009.

Shop Profile18McGloin’s Gala super-market in Foxford, Co. Mayo, is a shining example of how a symbol group store can successfully compete with the major multiples.

Ethnic Foods – Levi Roots20Since appearing on the UK version of Dragon’s Den, Levi Roots has seen his home-produced sauces enjoy mainstream success in the UK. Now, the full range is available here.

Karen Meenan’s News Rack25Seen as affordable luxu-ries by consumers, maga-zine sales continue to buck the recession. With over

70 Irish magazines avail-able, there has never been a better time to stock home-grown titles.

On The Vine32Touchwine Ireland 2009; New Director at New Zealand Wine Growers; Best Wines at Concours Mondial 2009; Fair Wind Wine Celebrates; Torres Makes the ‘Green List’.

The Retail News Interview38Emerging technologies are impacting on every aspect of grocery retail-ing, but they must work in tandem with the expertise of local retailers, explains Tony Griffin, Head of IT Shared Services, Musgrave.

Forecourt Focus44The Londis/Texoil fore-court in Foxford, Co. Mayo,

is a perfect example of the partnership between the petroleum retailer and the symbol group.

Shelf Life48All the latest news and gossip from the trade.

Regulars10Industry News

31Drinks News

37What’s New

Sectoral Reports22Ethnic Foods

28Pet Food & Care

34Chilled Cabinet

40Retail Technology

46Organic Food

3

ContentsJune 2009

5

25

38

28

34

4

REGULATIONS regarding the sale of Mass cards are to be introduced later this year, a spokesperson for the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, has told RETAIL NEWS.As part of the Charities Act 2009, retail-ers will be obliged to sell Mass cards sourced from a “recognised” person: a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, a provincial or superior of an order of priests.

According to the Department’s spokesperson, Barra O’Nualláin, “The purpose is to ensure that people wishing to have Masses offered have confidence that, when they purchase Mass cards, Mass will be offered for the intentions concerned.”

Mass cards, pre-signed by a priest, can be a significant part of business for some retailers. “Some people, close to churches where removals take place, have a standard amount of stationery turnover,” Vincent Jennings, Chief Executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) told RETAIL NEWS. “For some people, it might be 40 per week, for others it could be a couple of hundred. It’s no different than any other product, insofar as it requires diligence in ensuring that the products are fit for purchase and usage.”

The CSNA kept a close eye on the Charities Act 2009 while it was passing through the Dail and engaged in dis-cussions with the Bishop’s Conference. “You certainly don’t want to have ill-feeling with anybody, be they the local clergy or the Consumer Authority,” said Jennings. “We have very serious concerns about some of the suppliers of Mass cards in this country who are pro-viding, on a commercial level, products

that are deemed to be Mass cards, but on closer investiga-tion, it’s dubious as to whether the money is going to the right place.”

Discussing Section 99 of the Charities Act 2009, Minister of State, John Curran TD, said: “There is no doubt that the pre-signed Mass cards are widely for sale in shops and this prac-tice has given rise to two big concerns. First, there are fears that these Mass cards are often being sold on a for-profit basis with perhaps only a small por-tion of the purchase price, if any, given to the benefit of the priest or church. Second, there is a worry that no Mass is ever offered in respect of the intention specified on the card.”

To the ire of the Catholic bishops, independent distributors have contin-ued to sell the cards, which retail at up to 5 each. According to the Church, these are commercial rather than spir-itual operations. The Bishop of Meath, Michael Smith, for example, highlighted the example of a set of Mass cards that contained the signature of an Italian priest based in Ecuador: however, the priest died two years ago.

Distributors like Longford-based Celtic Religious Cards, however, claim that “certain pressure groups may have influenced the framing of this section of the legislation”. Most of these groups claim to have used profits to build schools, churches, and help communities overseas. However, they say that if they reveal the source of their charity, the Church will prevent further funds from reaching their

destination. Thus, they fell silent while Section 99 was introduced.

Where does this leave retailers? “The laws are not effective as of yet and it may not be for some time,” says Jennings. “They’re free to continue to deal with the people they’re deal-ing with. The one trouble I have from that is you’re enriching, or potentially enriching, people who are engaged in very dubious practices. I honestly believe people just have to be careful. This is no different to any other prod-uct people are selling. Just because it’s a Mass card, it doesn’t mean that people buying it don’t have rights and responsibilities as well.”

O’Nualláin adds that there is no onus on the retailer to stop selling Mass cards: “The object of Section 99 is to put in place a mechanism whereby the practice of selling Mass cards is subject to control by way of the ‘arrangement’ required, not to prevent their legiti-mate sale.”

Last Rites for Mass Cards?

June09News

A RECENT Sunday Tribune report suggests that both Aldi and Lidl are considering opening convenience stores in Ireland, claiming that both discount groups have lobbied Dublin City Council to allow them to open smaller format stores. Neither Aldi nor Lidl had any comment to make about the report when approached by RETAIL NEWS.

Reaction in the grocery sector sug-gests that it is unlikely either group will actually go down this route, how-ever. “The model that Aldi and Lidl operate is not a convenience or neigh-borhood store,” RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley told RETAIL

NEWS. “Nobody does convenience like the independent retailer, and we don’t see Aldi or Lidl having the range of

products or range of services that you would expect to see in a neighborhood store.”

Meanwhile, Tesco are openly advertising for new Tesco Express store space around the country, via DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald, citing 3,000 square feet as the minimum foot-print required.

Retail Groups Eyeing Convenience Market?

CONSUMERS are adjusting to the harsh economic climate, an economist has told RETAIL NEWS. While the Irish consumer sentiment index is lower than in previous years, May saw an improved buying climate, suggesting consumers may be willing to start spending once again.

“We have found, over the last couple of months, that consumer spend senti-ment has been more resilient than we might have expected,” said KBC Bank Ireland’s Chief Economist, Austin Hughes. “It’s not that people have been oblivious to the problems they face in regard to job losses and lower after-tax incomes. But in trying to come up with why they might be a little more resilient, we have been looking at the spending climate and some issues such as their assessment of future household income.”

There are a number of reasons for a slight return to normality. Consumers who have kept their jobs have probably seen mortgage repayments dropping, energy prices reduced, and a fall in retail goods.

“The consumer sentiment survey has been on a downward spiral for just over three years,” said Hughes. “What that means is the consumer hasn’t been completely shocked by what’s happened

over the last while. Yes, the scale and intensity of it has come as a shock, but consumers were starting to save for a rainy day. Part of the reason they pulled back spending is as much about caution as being cash-strapped, to the extent that they find they are willing to spend on bargains or good value.”

According to Hughes, food prices are not only instrumental in the peaks of consumer confidence, but also in the troughs. In recent years, consumers saw widely higher prices and percentage increases in some of the basic shopping basket essentials.

“Similarly, now there is a palpa-ble sense of prices coming down. That includes the weekly shopping basket and the special offers right across the retail spectrum, right through to the luxuries like electrical goods,” he said.

Does the outlook of consumers in Ireland differ to other EU states? “It does in a couple of respects,” said Hughes. “The shock to Irish consum-ers has been greater: the turnaround in their circumstances from boom to bust, in terms of the scale and the speed, has been much more drastic. When you look at consumer sentiment measures for some of the continental countries, they have yet to adjust to the spectre of rising unemployment which I think will hap-pen in those economies. To that extent, they may have more bad news.

“The interesting contrast is with the UK, where there is more of a sense that the broader downturn in the economy isn’t quite as severe as perhaps they feared and there’s a greater willing-ness to respond to incentives, be that in the form of lower interest rates or lower retail prices, and maybe to adopt a slightly less cautious approach than their Irish counterparts. The Irish con-sumer is gripped by a sense of being cast out of heaven over the last while, where the UK consumer is probably more aware of the ups and downs of cycles.”

Economists like Hughes predict that further improvements in consumer con-fidence will hinge greatly on Ireland’s general retail strategy. According to Hughes, price reductions will not only bring consumers back out of hiding, but they will play a crucial role in ensuring the survival of retailers.

5

June09News

Consumer Confidence on the Rise

Austin Hughes, Chief Economist, KBC Bank Ireland.

Planning AheadTHE brakes have been put on a 40m retail and commercial development in Limerick City Centre. The devel-opment, mooted to create 600 job opportunities, was set to encompass 5,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. An Bord Pleanála, however, stopped the project after an objection was lodged.

6

CUSTOMER loyalty for retailers in Ireland is on the wane, a new report reveals. ‘What Lies Beneath - Ireland’s Grocery Market in 2009’, from research group TNS, reveals that people are becoming thriftier and shopping around to find bargains.

“If you look at why retailers suffer in terms of loyalty, it’s merely due to lack of availability in terms of the range of options and pric-ing,” Mark Thomson, Strategic Insight Director at TNS, told RETAIL NEWS .” It puts more emphasis on understand-ing how loyal buyers are to certain brands. In the UK, for example, Asda have rationalised their range - they’ve got about 47 types of olive oil.”

‘What Lies Beneath’, a presentation on key trends in the Irish grocery sector, also reveals figures such as the number of Irish consumers who crossed the bor-

der to shop in Sainsburys and Asda (239,000), and suggests Tesco’s hold on the Irish grocery market may not be as forceful as expected. “They’re not the number one retail-er in a lot of fresh food areas,” said Thomson. “In the UK, they’re very dominant in mar-ket share: by default, they are number one in

pretty much all markets. In Ireland, that’s very

different.”The presentation also analyses spe-

cific areas of cross border shopping, such as confectionery, how consumer attitudes are changing in the current economic environment and private label versus branded. “In a downturn, shop-pers just behave differently: you have to understand that to tap into those trends,” said Thomson.

For further information, email: mark.thomson@tns-global.com

ALDI has dropped the prices of many of its goods, in an apparent response to Tesco’s decision to drop prices in its border-region stores. Currently, the German discounter claims an estimat-ed 4.8% of the 14 billion Irish market, amounting to around 670m across its 67 stores. Neither is the retailer holding back the reins, having recently opened its second distribution centre - a 100mfacility in Mitchelstown, County Cork - with future plans to open 35 outlets over the next three years.

In an interview in the Irish Independent, Donald Mackay, Aldi Ireland’s Managing Director, said the company was not operating at an exces-sive profit. “You have to remember that our efficiencies are passed back to our customers in terms of lower prices,” he said. “But we pay our staff 30% more than the market average - we pay a very fair rate to our suppliers and we offer our groceries at cheap prices.”

Aldi claim to source 30% of all their products in Ireland, accounting for 40% of overall sales. “We have about 70 Irish suppliers. All our eggs come from Monaghan, for instance. We can’t source from every supplier,” said Mackay.

Tesco Suppliers Cry FoulSUPPLIERS are concerned that Tesco’s decision to source products from its parent company in the UK will damage their busi-ness. According to an online survey, 63% believed the change in trading and sourc-ing would threaten jobs in their company; the same percentage “strongly agreed” their overall business would be damaged.

As part of their survey, Irish International BBDO spoke to 27 Irish suppliers. Only 4% of those surveyed believed Tesco’s new policy was in the interests of the consumer, while 80% “strongly agreed” their shelf space had been reduced.

In 2009, Tesco expects to spend 650m of its 3 billion budget on Irish

goods. Tony Keohane, Tesco Ireland CEO, has said that “Irish suppliers will have to respond to internationally-sourced products”.

EU to Review Retail SectorTHE European Commission is set to undertake an EU-wide review of the retail sector by the end of the year. The Commission will also review anti-compet-itive practices in the food supply chain.

“Underlying the recent debate is the increasing concentration of retail power in the hands of a few large supermarket chains,” said Brendan Smith TD, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. “This is an international phenomenon which has fundamentally changed the balance of market negotiating power in the food chain. And this is one factor behind the declining share of retail prices that are passed back to producers.”

The Commission’s concerns include price volatility, which has affected pro-duced returns, and the need for competi-tion policy to balance the market power of the large multiples.

According to Smith, the Commission also wants retailers to “strike a reason-able balance between granting price reductions to consumers and giving a fair return to suppliers and producers. This should not be done at the expense of a viable European agri-food sector.”

June09News

Consumer Loyalty Falling

Aldi Drops Prices

Donald Mackay, Aldi Ireland’s Managing Director.

Mark Thomson, Strategic Insight Director at TNS.

7

THE Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland has rejected calls by the National Youth Council of Ireland to replace existing voluntary alcohol advertising codes.

Rosemary Garth, Director of ABFI, stated that she found the conclusions and recommendations of the report, entitled ‘Get ‘Em Young’ to be “quite simplistic and rather ignorant of the co-regulatory codes that have been devel-oped between Government and the drinks industry.”

Describing the National Youth Council’s recommendations as “imprac-tical and ineffective”, Garth argued that the co-regulatory approach between the drinks industry, Government, and other stakeholders is the best means of ensur-ing appropriate advertising of alcohol products.

Indeed, Garth stated that the data used in the report pre-dates the intro-duction of the current voluntary codes, arguing that “it is disingenuous in the extreme to claim that this type of self-regulation does not work, when the information available to back this up relates to a period before the codes came into existence.”

She went on to note how the recom-mendations “disregard the fact that

over 50% of television viewed by young people in this country is from non-Irish broadcasters, who would be beyond the remit of any legislation produced by the Oireachtas.”

Garth argued that the watersheds proposed by the Youth Council “ignore

the reality that many children watch TV after 9pm, while the NYCI seems unaware that online advertising is the biggest growth media and cannot be controlled by domestic legislation.”

The ABFI Director expressed the view that “the best method of ensur-ing responsible advertising is through targeted age-profiling of television pro-grammes and websites.”

The drinks industry firmly believes that agreeing such codes through part-nership with other stakeholders is a much better way of addressing issues around alcohol misuse, as opposed to the introduction of legislation that can often have unintended consequences and can very quickly become outdated, she argued.

“The drinks industry will continue to work with Government and other stakeholders as best we can to ensure the appropriate promotion of our prod-ucts. We will also continue to support initiatives such as www.drinkaware.ie that seek to change Irish attitudes to excessive consumption. Ultimately, this type of partnership approach through strong and effective self and co-regula-tion – rather than further restriction – is the best means of ensuring that this is achieved.”

ABFI Rejects Youth Council Recommendations

MUSGRAVE Group have announced sales of 4.8 billion, as part of their Group results for the year ended 31

December 2008. These sales would be up by 5% at a constant exchange rate, but are down by 1% at actual rates.

Profit before tax was 75.5m, down 20% on 2007’s figures, while profit after tax was 65.1m, down 8% (1.3% return on sales). The Group’s net debt was reduced from

95.6m to 86.2m. Retail sales by their retail partners were

7.1 billion, up 6% on a constant exchange rate basis (down 0.6% at actual rates).

“Given the reces-sion across all the

markets in which we operate and the fact that the Irish grocery market is con-tracting, this is a satisfactory perform-ance,” noted Chris Martin, Group Chief Executive. “I am pleased to report that our Irish retail brands outperformed the market again in 2008, driven by our investment in brand development over the past three years. Behind these sales, we have been investing in lower prices for consumers and have been support-ing our retail partners during these dif-ficult times. Increased margin and cash-flow support is helping them to compete and deliver lower prices, which has led to a 20% reduction in our profit. This ongoing support is our commitment to ensuring that we and our retailers are able to compete in an extremely chal-lenging market.”

Musgrave Group Annual Results

June09News

Rosemary Garth, Director, Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland.

Chris Martin, Musgrave Group Chief Executive, pictured with Group Finance Director Tim Kenny.

8

The potential implementation of a Deposit/Refund System for bev-erage containers in Ireland has been slammed by the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association. In a letter to Minister for the Environment, John Gormley TD, who is understood to be considering the implementation a DRS scheme, CSNA Chief Executive Officer, Vincent Jennings, argued that the CSNA will “reject any attempt to force a system upon us that will have limited effectiveness, increase costs, be a form of double taxation to us, be unsafe to our customers and staff, be laden with potentials for fraudulent usage and be an administrative burden.”

Jennings argued that the Irish mar-ket is substantially different to other countries that operate DRS, with a very substantial proportion of outlets that retail drinks of under 1,000 square feet. “Every square foot is utilised in attempt-ing to maximise retail space, with the consequence that there would be no place available to receive a varied mixture of glass, can and PET bottles,” Jennings pointed out. “As there are financial con-siderations (the deposit and the refunds) involved, the returned products could only be offered for refund at a cash point, caus-ing very considerable working difficulties for staff in counting/sorting/refunding and transporting to their respective bins. It is very difficult to consider that such a sub-stantial change in work practice would be readily acceptable to the employee, or their representatives.”

The CSNA Chief Executive argued that retailers already contribute via Repak to meet their obligations under the various Waste Packaging Regulations. “As the vast majority of drink products that we sell are sold to us by members of Repak, this sector (drinks) is already paying handsomely toward kerbside col-lection points,” Jennings noted, point-ing out that the de minimus catchment criteria was reduced from 25 tonnes to 10 tonnes in the past year, with addi-tional retailers becoming obligated as a result.

“There can be no justifica-tion for envisaging, let alone suggesting, that retailers should be part of a tax collec-tion scheme whilst they are already meeting their statu-tory obligations vis-à-vis WPR, unless the Minister were to be persuaded to off-set a considerable balance of burden by way of increas-ing the de minimus to the UK threshold of 50 tonnes,” Jennings argued.

Other issues raised include the problem of returns from products pur-chased in Northern Ireland, which account for 49% of all alcohol sold on the island of Ireland. “It would be galling to consider that a customer of a UK retailed product would be rewarded for their disloy-alty to an Irish store,” Jennings noted.

Jennings also highlighted potential “significant Health and Safety issues” to be considered, including the spread of diseases, the risk of accidents and liti-gation. He also argued that “the DRS is not suitable as an answer or panacea for any perceived litter reduction pro-gramme”.

The issue of cost is another thorny one for the CSNA. “Whether or not the DRS will be operated with equity in mind is, hopefully, open to negotiation, but in the absence of a profit incen-tive to cover our costs (staff time, bank charges, administration, loss of retail space), it can be safely concluded that the consumer will be expected to pay. Unfortunately, the proportionality of fixed costs versus return will ensure that our sector (the convenience and newsagents sector) will be adjudged by some to have profited or ‘scalped’ the consumer in attempting to recoup these costs,” Jennings noted, going on to point out how large out-of-town shop-ping centres have the ability to process returns in a different fashion, thus pro-

viding them with an unfair advantage over CSNA members.

He also pointed out that the imple-mentation of a reverse logistical opera-tion like DRS could involve changes in software to tills/back-office programmes and scanners, with a substantial cost to industry.

“For the Plastic Bag Levy, the oper-ation was very simple – it is a defined unit cost, separately charged to the consumer, based upon a PLU/EAN code universal to the store,” Jennings noted. “With DRS, we imagine the Minister will consider various changes based upon size/type of container. For that to operate properly, there will need to be universal updating of all barcodes (Tesco, Dunnes, own brand etc). How does the consultant consider this pro-gramme would be obtained, commis-sioned and paid for – by an industry that is suffering from our biggest eco-nomic challenge in history?”

Finally, the CSNA would welcome the opportunity to be part of any con-sultation process for the potential introduction of a DRS in Ireland.

CSNA Rejects Deposit/Refund System for Drinks Containers

CSNA Chief Executive Officer, Vincent Jennings.

June09News

Source: *ACNielsen MAT w/e 27.12.08

DISPLAY HOTLINE 01 866 7900

10

Tasty 10,000 Prize from WalkersCATHERINE Cooling, a Dublin woman living in Dunboyne, Co. Meath, is pictured receiving 10,000 from Donna Byrne, Assistant Brand Manager, Walkers, after voting for her favourite flavour in the Walkers ‘Do Us A Flavour’ campaign! As part of the campaign, Walkers ran a competi-tion in Ireland for one of the voters who chose the winning flavour to win a crisp 10,000. With the announcement of Builder’s Breakfast as the winning flavour, Catherine, whose husband works in the building industry, was selected randomly from the database of Irish voters in the campaign as the lucky winner of 10,000.

WESTLIFE’s Nicky Byrne took time out of his busy schedule to join Centra, and Childline to officially launch the annual Centra Childline Big BBQ. This is Centra’s second year involved in the initiative, which aims to raise funds for Childline throughout the summer months. Irish people are encouraged to get BBQing during June and July and raise money for a great cause. The Childline Big BBQ raised

408,000 for Childline in 2008 and Centra are asking people all over the country to register for their BBQ pack by texting CHILDLINE and their name and address to 51000, phone 1890 927 033, pick up a post-card in their local Centra store or log onto www.centra.ie for further information. Pictured are TV3’s Martin King; Tara Clifford and Margaret

O’Donoghue of Centra; Nicky Byrne; Sybil Mulcahy of TV3; and Centra’s Des O’Mahony, with BBQ fans, Sean Bowe (Dublin) and Louise Fitzgerald (Laois).

Topaz Scoops Marketing AwardPICTURED at the recent All Ireland Marketing Awards was the marketing and management team from Topaz, who came out on top in the Brand Campaign Award category (l-r): Frank Gleeson, Neil O’Leary, Triin Meijel, Eddie O’Brien, Ciara Sutton-Fitzpatrick, Oisin Masterson, Elaine Mellon, and Paul Candon. “We are extremely proud of this campaign,” noted Oisin Masterson, Marketing Manager. “An incredible amount of work went into the brand launch last February and it is so satisfying to see all that work recognised by this award.”

Centra Childline BBQ

MINISTER for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Brendan Smith TD officially opened a new 35m cheese packing facil-ity for the Irish Dairy Board at the Kerrygold Company in Leek. Minister Smith complimented the Dairy Board on “its impressive record in marketing cheese, which has grown by 50,000 tonnes since 2003.” This new state-of-the-art cheese packing facility will significantly enhance the IDB’s marketing effort in the UK, a leading market for Irish cheese, through greater scale, efficiency and service levels. Pictured are Dr Sean Brady, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Dairy Board, Michael Cronin, Chairman of the Irish Dairy Board, Brendan Smith TD, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Carl Ravenhall, Managing Director of Kerrygold Co (UK) Ltd.

Minister Opens Cheese Packing Facility

Irwin’s Bakery Sponsor GAA TeamDUBLIN’s St Oliver Plunkett’s GAA senior footballers will warm up in style for their AFL1 games this season in their new training gear courtesy of Irwin’s Bakery. Northern Ireland’s indigenous plant bakery Irwin’s, based in Portadown, is a long term supporter of sports development across Northern Ireland and the Republic, including essential primary grassroots sponsorship of the Nutty Krust Irish FA Summer Soccer Schools, the Nutty Krust Rugby Floodlit Tournament and St Gall’s GAA May Day 2009 Invitational Tournament. Pictured in their new training kit, sponsored by Irwin’s Bakery, are St Oliver Plunkett’s Senior Footballers Ross McConnell, Jason Sherlock and Gareth ‘Nesty’

Smith, with Dermot McGreal, MACRUS, and Colm Mathers, Business Development Executive, Irwin’s Bakery.

June09Industry News

12

Musgrave MarketPlace: A New Era in Cash & CarryMUSGRAVE have announced the relaunch of their 110,000 square feet cash and carry in Robinhood with an investment of

1.5m. The relaunch of Robinhood also marks the unveiling of Musgrave’s new cash & carry offering, Musgrave MarketPlace.

This new offering represents a key milestone in the development of Musgrave’s cash & carry operations and is the culmination of an extensive

brand development program which will see eight of their cash & carry branches rebranded as Musgrave MarketPlace, complete with a new brand identity.

Frank Coghlan, Managing Director, Musgrave Wholesale Partners, noted how the development of Musgrave MarketPlace “marks a new direction for our cash and carry’s. Our unwavering commitment to our customers has led us to

broaden the range of products and services we offer and to provide the best value in the market.”

The scope of this range development is evident in Robinhood, particularly in the 6,700 square feet dedicated to chilled and frozen food, which carries over 1,000 products and has its own cooking station to promote this increasingly popular segment. “Since introducing dedicated chilled and frozen foods sections in our cash & carry’s, we have seen very strong sales uptake in these ranges, so much so that we have had to expand these ranges and increase the space allocated in our branches to accommodate them,” Coghlan added.

The breadth of the new Musgrave MarketPlace

offering is underpinned with a commitment to offering customers the best in value in the market. This ‘First for Value’ commitment has seen Musgrave recently introduce over 1,500 price cuts as well as deep-cut monthly promotions and weekly ‘Killer Deals’. The exclusive Musgrave Excellence own label range of 250 products sells at 10-15% below comparative branded products, and Musgrave MarketPlace sells all fruit and veg at cost price. Musgrave have also extended the added value services they provide for their customers, which include store design & fit-out, promotional advice, merchandising assistance, certified training, menu development and cost control.

FUELLING Ireland’s biggest food, drink and forecourt event of the year, ‘Forecourt @ SHOP’ is back. The Irish Petrol Retailers Association has joined forces with Expo Events and Mercury Events – organisers of SHOP - to ensure that SHOP is the show for the 1250 forecourts across Ireland, north and south.

Taking place from September 28-30 at the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin 4, forecourt equipment retailers will have their own dedicated space at the show, sitting alongside Ireland’s premier food, drink and retail solutions companies.

The annual Product of the Show awards will also now include the Forecourt Equipment Award to ensure that all exhibitors at the show have the opportunity to enter the awards,

which offer extra kudos to the wining products over the three-day event.

“We are delighted to be associated with this premier event for the retail sector,” noted David Blevings, Media Spokesperson for the Irish Petrol Retailers Association. “The forecourt of the traditional filling station has changed dramatically over recent years with grocery/off licence and hot food-to-gonow commonplace. To ensure your customers’ retail experience is a positive one and to stay one step ahead of the competition, a visit to the SHOP Exhibition is a must.”

In addition to ‘Forecourt @ SHOP’, the International Cheese Awards

and National Sausage and Puddings Final will be taking place at the show. Other features include the Energy Management Pavilion and ‘Fresh @ SHOP’ – a showcase of fresh and healthy produce developed in response to changing customer buying habits.

To register your interest in SHOP, contact Expo Events on 01 295 8181 or log onto www.shopexhibition.com

Filling Up at SHOP 2009

Matt Lee, Store Manager, and Frank Coughlan MD feel the heat from the Teppanyaki grill as chef Ruel Tanyang fries

up some prawns in the new Musgrave MarketPlace.

Musgrave MarketPlace in Robinhood, a key milestone in the development of Musgrave’s cash & carry operations.

Pictured are (l-r): Killian Byrne from Mercury Events, and David Blevings, Media Spokesperson

for the Irish Petrol Retailers Association, launching Forecourt @ SHOP.

June09Industry News

14

SuperValu To Source 25m of Irish PotatoesSUPERVALU recently accepted delivery of the first new sea-son Irish potatoes at over 190 stores nationwide. SuperValu spent over 25m on Irish potatoes in 2008 and with volume up almost 12%, they expect to exceed this again in the coming year. Approximately 35,000 tonnes of potatoes are sourced from SuperValu’s group of dedicated growing partners and packed into the SuperValu branded bags. With primary pack-ers based in Dublin, Kilkenny and Cork, and product sourced from growers in Donegal, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Kildare, Dublin, Cork and Waterford, this truly is a nationwide enterprise. Patrick Battersby (K&K Pack,The Ward, Co. Dublin) with local growers Sean and Chris Fortune (Kilmore), Tony Pettit, and Bob and James Butler (Carne) are pictured with the new Carne potatoes at Butler’s Farm, Rosslare, Co. Wexford.

AS part of Gala’s nationwide pledge to raise 250,000 for the Jack and Jill Foundation, Gala ladies took to the streets of Dublin, taking part in the Flora Mini Marathon. Over 25 women from Gala ran the mini marathon in aid of the charity. The group, made up of Gala store owners, employees, and head office staff, completed the course and were very pleased that the funds

raised will help Jack and Jill’s specialist nurses across the country provide respite care for the hundreds of families they visit weekly. Gala would like to warmly thank those who supported both the Gala ladies marathon run and their ongo-ing campaign to raise funds for Jack and Jill.

MACE Stores Excel in National Awards A number of MACE stores from around the country have been recognised for achieving high standards in retailing at the annual MACE Excellence Awards. At the presentation, Willie O’Byrne, MACE Ireland Managing Director,noted, “This is my first year being involved with the MACE Excellence Awards and I’m encouraged to see so many of our retailers match or better the rigorous criteria set in the programme. Our retailers have shown they are committed to achieving high standards in hygiene, regulatory compliance and overall store look and feel. Not only does this scheme encourage healthy competition between peers but more importantly, it demonstrates to customers that MACE retailers are motivated to raise the bar in terms of standards and service year on year.” Willie is pictured (left) with Ann and Liam Ross of MACE Ballyduff, Co. Kerry, who received a MACE Excellence Award for the fifth year in a row, and Alex Banahan, MACE Sales Director.

Gala Race Funds for Jack and Jill

PICTURED during a visit to Nature’s Best in Drogheda are (l-r): Jim Mulcahy, Manager of Prepared Consumer Foods, Enterprise Ireland; Des Ferris, Managing Director of Nature’s Best; Frank Ryan, CEO of Enterprise Ireland; and Paddy Callaghan, Founder Director, Nature’s Best. The company, Ireland’s largest supplier of private label pre-packaged salads, is investing in a significant develop-ment programme, with support from Enterprise Ireland, that will see a range of innovative new products being produced at its factory in Drogheda, Co. Louth. Entitled ‘Turning Over a New Leaf’, the new programme will lead to a new range of innovative products on-shelf under the Nature’s Best brand name later this year.

A New Leaf Captain Morgan Pumps Up the PartyTHE legendary Captain Morgan arrived in Galway to pump up the party in the city over the June Bank Holiday week-end. As Galway was transformed into a maritime town over

the course of the Volvo Ocean Race visit, The Captain certainly added a lot of colour to the proceedings. Renowned for travelling all over the globe in search of the best par-ties, Captain Morgan was checking out the festivities in Galway and as part of his festival celebrations, he created a unique and exclusive cock-tail, the Captain G, which was only available in Galway over the course of the weekend. Captain Morgan is pictured in Galway with ‘The Morganettes’.

June09Industry News

‘Since I joined Daybreak my store has gone from strength to strength. The support I receive from the Musgrave team is second to none.’

Stephen Clayton, Daybreak Kilcullen

Are you looking to improve the profi tability of your store? If so, then Daybreak is the smart choice. Here are fi ve good reasons to choose Daybreak:

Real Value for MoneyAs part of the Musgrave Group, we will enhance your sales and your margins with our competitive pricing and deep cut promotions.

A fresh look at ‘Food to go’Our new food solutions will drive your profi tability.

Our vibrant new imageWe’ve invested substantially to create a fresh new look.

Saving you moneyOur development costs are much more competitive than other symbols.

Our teamAn experienced and responsive team are always at your disposal.

‘Open up to better profi ts’

For more information call us on

086 771 4666

16

No fewer than 368 Centra stores were presented with a Centra Quality Award for 2009, which is independ-ently audited by the Excellence Ireland Quality Association, the high-est number of Awards given to any single organisation in the country.

Additionally, a further 20 Centra stores received the Supreme Hygiene Award, which rewards retailers that have performed to a consistently high level over a three-year period.

This commitment to excellence, which is at the core of Centra’s market leading performance, was also rec-ognised by Excellence Ireland, when they awarded Kilmartin’s N6 Centra, Athlone, the title of Ireland’s Cleanest Foodstore for the second year in a row.

“The Hygiene Mark indicates that a business complies with the highest standards of hygiene and food safety within their given industry,” noted Irene Collins, Managing Director of Excellence Ireland Quality Association. “The food retail market currently leads the field in terms of hygiene and quali-ty compliance within the Irish food sec-tor and Centra is certainly one of our leading lights within that sector. What impresses me most about Centra, is the way they continue to raise the bar every year, with their approach to hygiene and quality not just an add-on

to what they do, but very much a part of their everyday routine.”

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Donal Horgan, Centra Managing Director, re-affirmed the company’s commitment to invest in excess of 2m in Centra’s continuing hygiene programme. This investment, together with the record number of awards, demon-strates Centra’s ongoing commit-ment to rigorous quality measures and the highest of standards.

Horgan said that a customer-focused retail sector benefits eve-rybody in the food industry, from the producer right through to the final consumer. “At Musgrave, we are incredibly proud of the work we

do together with our retail partners in Centra,” noted Donal Horgan. ”We don’t believe there is a more entrepre-neurial and innovative collection of like-minded people anywhere across the retail market. This commitment to excellence is no better demonstrat-ed than in the dedication our retail partners show to their customers, their employees, their local communi-ties and in the performance of their stores year in and year out – even in these difficult times, Centra continues to out-perform the market.”

Indeed, Horgan predicted a fur-ther 35 new Centra stores and the refurbishment of 56 more in 2009, representing an investment of 44mand creating a further 1,000 jobs.

368 Centra stores were recentlyrewarded with a Centra Quality Award for 2009.

June09Centra Quality Awards

Centra Stores Rewarded For Excellence

Damien & Rachel Kilmartin, Kilmartins N6 Centra, Dublin Road, Athlone receive their Quality and Hygiene Award from Michael Morgan, Centra Sales

Director. Also included are Eugene Baker, Head of Sales and Marketing, Pat the Baker, Awards sponsors, Martin Roper, Technical Director, Excellence Ireland

Quality Association and Ray Bowe, Head of Quality, Centra.

Pictured are Liam and Marie O’Connell, O’Connell’s Centra,

Templemore, and Barry and Dervla Lynch, Lynch’s Centra, Gort Rd, Ennis,

enjoying the Centra Quality Awards.

Kathleen Devin and Sheila McSweeney, Devin’s Centra, Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry, are

presented with the Centra Quality Award by Michael Morgan, Centra Sales Director. Also

included in the picture are Eugene Baker, Head of Sales and Marketing, Pat the Baker;

Martin Roper, Technical Director, EIQA; and Ray Bowe, Head of Quality, Centra.

McGloin’s Gala store on Main Street, Foxford, Co. Mayo, is taking on the multiples… and win-ning. With over 4,600 square feet of retail space, this shop is competing directly with multiple retailers, and thanks to the support of Gala, the buying power of Stonehouse and the hard work of the McGloin family, they have been doing it very successfully.

John McGloin studied in DIT in Dublin and went on to get valuable experience in grocery retailing with Dunnes Stores. The plan had always been for him to return to Foxford and help run the family business. In 2002, he did just that. A new generation of the family at the helm wasn’t the only change at McGloin’s that year, however, as John explains.

“The shop was fully independent in 2002 and the way the market was going, I felt we needed a partner. I approached all the groups but it was Gala that appealed more than any other. Gala places a lot of emphasis on the independence of the individual retailer. It’s an indigenous company and while the group was young at that time, it had great people and was growing quickly. Partnership also brought with it the benefit of the Homestead brand and Tuffy’s of Ballina had long been my wholesaler.”

In 2002, the economy was extremely strong. Trade start-ed very well with Gala, the shop size was doubled to over 2000 square feet and the Gala image introduced. Using the buying power of the Group and the selection of promotional offers available, John was extremely aggressive on price, particularly during holiday periods, which was unusual at

the time. The tactic paid dividends and trade surged. By 2007, John realised that he could no longer grow the busi-ness effectively without further increasing the size of the shop. At that time, Gala was also very far advanced in the development of its new Gala corporate identity.

Massive DevelopmentOn January 12, 2008, work commenced on the shop. Every contractor on the project was local and the project saw the shop size double for a second time. With so many local peo-ple directly involved, it caused a lot of interest around the town. The shop was forced to close for only three weeks dur-ing the course of works and remained trading throughout the rest of the development. On June 3 last year, the new shop opened for business, proudly displaying the contempo-rary new Gala ‘G’ logo throughout the store.

The latest Gala concept sees changes to absolutely every aspect of the old look. The design team has taken the ‘G’ of Gala and used it to create a strong and consistent branding element across the interior of the shop. A stunning colour scheme uses an attractive palette of shades and colours to

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Olivia, Bríd and John McGloin, pictured with the stunning new Gala livery at the Foxford store.

McGloin’s Gala supermarket in Foxford, Co. Mayo, is a shining example of how a symbol group store can successfully compete with the major multiples.

Gala Performance for McGloin’s

June09Shop Profile

19

subtly delineate different areas in-store. The deli has been completely redesigned with its own individual fresh and vibrant colour scheme. The concept also includes the intro-duction of a competitively priced Gala own brand range, including milk, bread and scones, which perfectly comple-ments the Homestead range.

The redevelopment was a significant investment for the McGloin family but they are “absolutely delighted” with the outcome. “The new shop is not only bigger but better,” enthuses John. “The staff love the new shop, the customers love it and quite a few retailers have called in to see the new Gala offering as well: to be honest, I really enjoy show-ing the place off.”

According to Denise Lord, Customer Service Manager, Gala, “Because of the size of this shop, it incorporates eve-rything the new Gala concept has to offer. Obviously retail-ers with smaller shops might not be able to incorporate all the elements, but by visiting this shop, they can get a feel for everything on offer and decide the elements that would best suit their own store.”

Impressive Trading RecordMcGloin’s Gala doesn’t just look impressive: its trading record is similarly notable. “Trade in the shop is up and that’s pretty gratifying in the middle of a recession,” John notes. “Any retailer that is doing the job right should be able to survive this recession with a lot of hard work. You must listen to your customers and react to the changing market. It is challenging, but you can do it. This shop is at the heart of the community: we employ local people, work with local contractors and local suppliers. With so many job

losses around the country, my customers know how impor-tant that is.”

When John says hard work, he means it. Not only is he constantly monitoring every aspect of the business, he is involved in the Foxford Development Association, supports the local football club with fundraising events, the Jack & Jill charity, and is a member of the Gala Retail Council.

“I am kept pretty busy,” John admits, “but as a local business person, you have to get involved with the local community. The Gala Retail Council does take up some of my time but it is incredibly useful. As a retailer, I am always listening to what my customers need, and the Retail Council lets Gala owners get together to pool information and feed it back to the group, so that they are aware of our changing needs.”

The passion and work ethic of retailers of the calibre of John McGloin and the expertise and dedication of Gala are proof that even in the midst of a recession, the right invest-ment will generate growth and that local Irish enterprise can not only sur-vive challeng-ing times but expand and gen-erate new employ-ment in their com-munities.

FACT FILEManager:Location:

Size:Number of

Staff:Opening

hours:

John McGloinMain Street, Foxford, Co Mayo4,600 square feet retail space

11 full time & part time

08:00-22:00, Monday-Saturday; 09:00-20:00, Sunday.

June09Shop Profile

20

Levi Roots is something of an inspiration in these challenging economic times. The Brixton-based musician turned food guru was selling his home-produced sauce range on a market stall when he appeared on the Dragon’s Den TV programme, convincing the hard-nosed entrepreneurs to invest in his Caribbean condiments range.

Levi’s original Reggae Reggae Sauce is a jerk barbecue sauce, made from his grandmother’s “secret recipe”, which he had been using on his family’s food stall at the annual Notting Hill Carnival since 1991. Following the investment secured on Dragon’s Den, Levi took the secret recipe to a factory in Wales.

The Levi Roots brand has since gone from strength to strength, initially gaining distribution for his Reggae Reggae Sauce through Sainsbury’s before taking the entire UK sauce market by storm. Now, the Levi Roots range is available in Ireland, from BR Foods.

A truly unique entrepreneur, Roots penned a special song, ‘Proper Tings (The Reggae Reggae Sauce Song)’ to complement his original sauce, which he later released for Comic Relief, with the video featur-ing a cameo appearance by one of the

‘Dragons’ from the TV show, Peter Jones. He has since released the Reggae Reggae Cookbook and has had his famous Reggae Reggae Sauce used by high street sandwich chain Subway in its UK outlets.

How has your life changed since appearing on Dragon’s Den?It has certainly become a lot more colourful! I have always enjoyed being actively involved in all aspects of my business, before I got the Dragon’s investment I would be physically making my sauce in my

kitchen, then be on a stall selling it or taking it round to different outlets to stock it, so I am more than accustomed to juggling a busy schedule. The difference is that nowadays I may be giving a talk to young students about having the courage to pursue their dreams one minute, then rubbing shoulders with the nation’s leaders at the House of Commons the next, before finding myself in a studio cooking one of my popular recipes on national TV. It’s all very exciting: no two days are ever the same!

Since appearing on the UK version of Dragon’s Den, Levi Roots has seen his home-produced sauces enjoy mainstream success in the supermarketaisles. Now, the full range is available here.

A Taste of the Caribbean

June09Ethnic Foods

21

June09Ethnic Foods

How difficult was the transition from home kitchen to commercial production and TV Star?Thanks to the expertise of a great mentor like Peter Jones and a strong team around me, the transition has been fairly smooth. It really helps to have the support of the people. Also, I get such amazing comments through the website and on the street when people see me. It feels great to know that people enjoy my sauces and that they are happy to see me succeed at what I do. I think it also reinforces the reality for them that if I can make it as a man from Brixton, starting out selling sauce on a stall at Carnival, then they could be anything they want too!

As for the ‘star’ aspect, I’d like to think that there was a little bit of that about me hailing from my other career as a musician, which led to me being nominated for a MOBO award and appearing on stage alongside legends like James Brown. I think that’s what Peter Jones may have spotted in me when I appeared on Dragon’s Den with my ‘Reggae Reggae Sauce’ song!

How important was the Sainsbury’s deal to your success?There is no doubt that it was pivotal! Sainsbury’s were outstanding from the get-go: they took a real leap of faith with me and my sauce, stocking it within weeks of my appearance on Dragon’s Den, and I am glad for everyone’s sake that their faith has been rewarded with mainstream commercial success.

Your sauces range has since expanded, as has its reach, with the full range now available in Ireland. How did you decide to work with BR Foods for the Irish market?BR Foods have a very strong business model and have taken other brands to

great success in Ireland so I thought it would be the perfect match for the vision and goals we have for Reggae Reggae Sauce and the other sauces in the Levi Roots brand.

Do you think Irish consumers will embrace the taste of the Carribbean?The Irish are known for their warmth and charm so I have no doubt they will welcome the spices and flavours of the Caribbean into their palates with open arms!

What do you think your range can bring to Irish dinner tables?I think the range will bring some Caribbean sunshine and a little music to everyone’s food!

How do you think your new Reggae Reggae Tomato Ketchup will compete with the established players on the Irish market?Reggae Reggae Sauce actually outsold Heinz Tomato Ketchup in 2007 when we were first stocked at Sainsbury’s – not bad for a little Jamaican sauce!

The Caribbean range has already been launched in Ireland and we are about to launch my condiment range, Love Apple Tomato Ketchup, Fiery Guava Dipping Sauce and a new Squeezy Tomato Ketchup.

Reggae Reggae Tomato Ketchup is unique: it still has the fulsome fla-vour of a good tomato ketchup – we have just spiced it up with a little extra heat and imagination. It adds a fantastic dimension to favourite meals like chips or bangers and mash. I have no doubt that it will make an impact in the Irish market. I am look-ing forward to all the feedback on my website from my Irish supporters with their favourite Reggae Reggae Tomato Ketchup recipes!

Your family seem to be a big part of your success. Are they still involved now that you are bigFMCG supplier?Absolutely, I am building my business up in order to create a future for my family. They helped me in the early days when we were a tiny operation and they are still a great support to me now. A couple of my children help to run my take-away eaterie ‘Papine Jerk’ in Battersea, South London. I am just grateful to have this opportunity to be able to provide for them and make available a strong business foundation for them to draw upon.

- Levi Roots’ second cookbook ‘Caribbean Food Made Easy’ willbe released in the UK on August 3 (publisher Mitchell Beazley) and will tie in to the BBC TV series of the same name also out in August this year. Further information on Levi is available at www.reggae-reggae.co.uk orwww.papinejerk.com.

Embracing the Caribbean LAST year, Levi Roots’ hot and spicy Reggae Reggae sauce spiced-up Irish mealtimes. Five new exciting cooking sauces and two new condiments have now been added to the range including Caribbean Curry Sauce, Jamaican Brown Stew, Reggae Reggae Cooking Sauce, Coconut RunDown Sauce, Twangy Escoveitch Sauce, Love Apple Ketchup and Fiery Guava Dipping Sauce.

According to William Rochford of BR Foods who distributes these innovative products, Irish shop-pers have already asked for more Reggae Reggae products in their local supermarkets: “It’s unique to have customer demand for a product before it has even reached the shelves, and we know that some Irish consumers have already bought Reggae Reggae Sauce. The taste is totally unique, and there’s big demand now for ethnic sauces and spicy food in Ireland, so we’re predicting great success.”

“The Irish are known for their warmth and charm so I have no doubt they will welcome the spices and flavours of the

Caribbean into their palates with open arms!”

Ethnic foods are now being eaten with increasing frequency across Europe, with Ireland no excep-tion. Growth within the sector is in many cases outpacing that for the overall food and drink market. With consumer tastes becoming more cosmopolitan, demand for a wider range of ethnic cuisines has grown, especially amongst younger sections of the population, as Irish consumers embrace the tastes of Chinese, Indian, Mexican, African, Middle Eastern and even Carribbean foods.

Indeed, it is estimated that ethnic food sales are rising at 14% a year across Europe. There is a strong transmission mechanism between minority consumers and main-stream consumers in terms of driving tastes for ethnic food and drink, as can be seen by compar-ing ethnic food and drink con-sumption with demographic data, with foreign nationals resident in Ireland helping to drive both the sales and variety of ethnic foods on the market.

AmoyThe oriental market is one of the fastest growing areas within the Irish grocery industry and with its striking and distinctive new look packaging across the range,

the Amoy brand, from HJ Heinz, is very much on trend, offering consum-ers healthy, tasty and convenient food through its range of Stir Fry Sauces, Soy Sauces, Noodles and Ingredients.

Consumers are constantly looking for ways to experiment with different food types but in a way that does not demand too much of their free-time,

especially during the week. The Stir Fry Sensations range from Amoy offers an extensive range of varieties - from traditional Aromatic Sweet and Sour through to Thai Green Curry, Roasted Peanut Satay and Succulent Szechwan Tomato - that help consum-ers to create tasty meals in minutes.

The Amoy ‘Straight to Wok’ Noodle range provides a helping hand to create delicious stir fries in minutes. There are four tempting varieties to chose from, Fine/Thread, Medium Traditional, Thick/Udon and spice infused Singapore Noodles, all of which are the perfect accompaniment to Amoy Stir-Fry Sensations sauces and vegetables.

The Amoy Soy Sauce range offers much by way of choice, including Reduced Salt and Light Soy varieties, in addition to Dark Soy and a variety infused with Chilli.

Amoy also offers an extensive range of stir-fry ingredients includ-ing Chinese Stir-Fry Vegetables, Thai Stir-Fry Vegetables, Beansprouts, Baby Corn Cobs and Coconut Milk.

Blue DragonProducers of high-quality pan-oriental products, the Blue Dragon brand from BR Foods is enjoying strong growth rates across Ireland. A large part of Blue Dragon’s portfolio is its Chinese

and Thai range, which offers authentic tasting products such as stir-fry sauces, dipping sauces and coconut milk. Blue Dragon’s Chinese and Thai ranges are dedicated to providing consumers with genuine oriental products, allowing them to recreate authen-tic flavours in their own homes.

Blue Dragon has grown its presence in the stir-fry category through successful promotional activity on the well-established 120g sachets, as well as attract-ing new buyers with innova-tive new ranges in the form of standard and premium sachets

and premium stir-fry glass jar ranges.

22

MoreadventurousIrish consumer tastes ensure the continued growth of the ethnic foods sector.

The Stir Fry Sensations range from Amoy offers an extensive range

of varieties that help consumers to create tasty meals in minutes, including Roasted Peanut Satay.

The Amoy ‘Straight to Wok’ Noodle range provides a helping hand to create delicious stir fries in minutes.

June09Ethnic Foods

Taste the Exotic

Blue Dragon is also helping to grow the oriental dipping sauce sec-tor, with Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce Original proving particularly popular. In the UK, the brand was recently voted ‘Britain’s Best Tasting’ dipping sauce.

Blue Dragon is also a strong con-

tender in the Coconut Milk and Cream market, where its products deliver on taste and consistency, which leads to repeat pur-chase.

Levi RootsCaribbean food entrepreneur Levi Roots has launched a range of cook-ing sauces to the Irish market, from BR Foods. The range includes three variants: Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae, Caribbean Curry and Jamaican Brown Stew cooking sauces.

The former Dragon’s Den con-testant has enjoyed massive suc-cess in the UK with the range, with Caribbean food enjoying 52% value growth in the last five years. Over the past 12 months, Levi Roots has been a key contributor to the sales and awareness of this cuisine, with Reggae Reggae Sauce now the second biggest selling sku in the UK’s Hot and BBQ sauces category. Levi Roots is set to capitalise on its strong posi-tion with the launch of its cooking sauces - driving incremental sales across the brand portfolio.

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June09Ethnic Foods

Blue Dragon has grown its presence in the stir-fry category through successful promotional activity on the well-established 120g sachets,

like the Shanghai Style Sweet Soy & Roasted Red Chilli.

Blue Dragon is helping to grow the oriental dipping sauce sector, with Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli Dipping

Sauce proving particularly popular.

La Perdiz Rice from Kerins FoodsKERINS Foods, based in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, distribute their ambient food and confectionery to both the retail and catering trades and the company offers the choice of branded and private label products to their customers.

An important part of their mix is the introduction of the La Perdiz (Partridge) rice brand from the Arcesa Group. Grown in the Albufera Natural Park areaof Valencia, Arcesa rice is well known worldwide and is the rice that is used in the famous Spanish paella dish. The long grain rice has an elongated slender ker-nel that is noted for its very high quality and the consistency of the grain. More importantly, when cooked, the grains remain separate and become light and fluffy, not sticky.

At its production facility in Oliva, south of Valencia, rigorous electronic colour sorting removes all kinds of impurities prior to full sterilisation and ensures thatArcesa rice is of the highest quality. It has all the International Quality Accreditations, including the IFS ISO9000 and the BRC Grade 1.

Initially, a 1kg retail bag is being introduced into the market, which is avail-able nationwide in Musgrave Cash and Carries at a competitive price of 21.25for a pack of 10. The packaging is clear and bright and comes in three languages: English, French and German.

Shops can also buy direct from Kerins Foods in Wicklow and recent stockists for the rice are McCambridges in Galway and Tomas’ in Foxrock.

Arcesa Grade A 1kg bag long grain rice available in Musgrave Cash

and Carries nationwide.

24

Reggae Reggae Cooking Sauce is the original Reggae Reggae taste, with scotch bonnet chillies and allspice, more tomatoes and onions, giving this sauce a thick, delicious texture. Caribbean Curry Sauce is a delicate Caribbean style curry with onions, garlic and herbs. Jamaican Brown Stew is a favourite in its home coun-try, and is rich and spicy with tomatoes and spring onions - the term, ‘Brown’ refers to frying or browning of meat.

Sharwood’sSharwood’s, the experts in the premium ethnic foods market, continue to lead the way with an exciting and innovative selection of sauces and accompa-niments, distributed by Premier Foods Ireland. The brand claims a 14% share of

the oriental wet sauces market and a 9% share of the Indian wet sauces market (Source: ACNielsen, April 2009).

Sharwood’s offers a full range of sauces, naan breads, puppodums, noodles and prawn crackers. Their range of Microwavable Noodles were recently introduced to the market are available in five great flavours, Plain, Sweet Chilli, Sweet & Sour, Soy & Sesame and Lemongrass.

June09Ethnic Foods

Sharwood’s range of Microwavable Noodles were recently introduced to the market and are available in five great flavours, Plain, Sweet Chilli, Sweet & Sour, Soy & Sesame and

Lemongrass.

Levi Roots has launched a range of cooking sauces to the Irish market, including Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae, Caribbean Curry and Jamaican Brown

Stew cooking sauces.

How many Irish magazine titles are on your magazine stand? Five? 10? More? You can probably guess the old reliables, RTE Guide, Ireland’s Own and Woman’s Way, but did you know that there are over 70 titles researched, written, produced and developed in Ireland and all looking for shelf space in your store?

So what makes Irish magazine titles special and why should you stock at least some of them? One word comes to mind: relevance. Irish brides want to be able to book a wedding band to play in a location near where they live, Irish gardeners want to be able to visit gardens locally and Irish teenage girls want to see style makeovers of Irish kids photographed on Irish streets. In short, Irish magazines have gained popularity

because people want to read about what is relevant and local to them.

Many Irish titles are the best sellers in their entire sub-category, like Easy Health and its sister title, Easy Food. Irish fashion is well represented with leading titles Image, U, Irish Tatler and Social and Personal; Ireland’s Own is the favourite of the mature market; while RTE Guide and TV Now are the two best-selling TV listings titles in Ireland.

Planned PurchaseMagazines are a weekly planned purchase – music to the ears of Irish retailers, particularly in this climate. They’re not recession proof, but they are proving to be more recession resistant than most categories in your store.

There is a term which is relatively new in offices nationwide, ‘fridge space’, which describes the phenomenon of people bringing lunches to work. To save money, more and more workers are making sandwiches at home and bringing yoghurts, drinks and snacks into work.

This is bad news for retailers, particularly convenience retailers who have built a steady high-margin business over the last decade providing lunch solutions to busy workers. Food to Go, Smoothie and Juice Bars and Tea/Coffee sales have all tanked in recent months – magazine sales, however, are proving very buoyant.

In a recent study of 60 Irish shops, the magazine department was the only department showing consistent sales growth without having to discount against this time last year. This was helped recently with the blanket coverage of the Jade Goody story, which helped to boost sales, but the main point about the Jade Goody coverage is that retailers actually started to focus on the magazine department as an area to win much needed sales. Retailers started to notice when OK magazine sold out or if Star Celebrity Weekly was left short on the delivery – often, these discrepancies go unnoticed. So now that the attention is back on the magazine stand, what trends are worth noticing?

Some categories are performing better than others, but all magazines

25

Seen as affordableluxuries by consumers,magazine sales continue to buck the recession. With over 70 Irish magazines available, there has never been a better time to stock home-grown titles.

Grow Your Irish Magazine Sales

Business Plus, a winner with SME’s: sells best when placed beside The

Economist.

The RTE Guide continues to be Ireland’s best-selling magazine title.

June09Karen Meenan’s News Rack

are selling well at the moment. Customers are tired of constant reports of doom and gloom and are actively seeking some escapism from this day-to-day reality. Cinema audiences were the highest on record in the first quarter of 2009 and magazine sales are up – two relatively cheap treats when so many other treats are simply not affordable anymore.

Kids & Teen TitlesThe recession has not affected kids or teenagers in the same way it has affected adults, so comics are still selling in great numbers – particularly during mid-term and holiday breaks when other ‘treats’ are knocked on the head. During the summer months, make sure to stock up on comics – merchandise them according to age and be sure to offer a sub-category with lots of cross purchase to create lots of impulse purchases. Comics are particularly good sellers in bad weather – often bought as a cheap alternative when picnics and trips to the playground are cancelled if rain stops play.

There are no Irish comics on the market but one teenage title which sells very well is Kiss. This should be merchandised on the shelf between the pre-teen titles (Hannah Montana, High School Musical) and the late teenage fashion titles such as Look and More. Too often in shops, however, the teenage title, Kiss, written specially for Irish teenagers, is not there, and this

sub-category is dominated by UK titles Sugar, Bliss, Shout and Mizz.

Women’s InterestsWomen’s interests are well served by Irish titles RSVP, VIP, Prudence, and previously mentioned Image, U, Irish Tatler and Social & Personal – but very often the women’s weekly titles on the magazine stands are dominated by UK titles. The Model Agent was a very successful recent TV show on RTE 2 which featured Model Agent, Ellis, and top model Erin O’Connor. The winner of this talent scout was awarded a contract with Independent Models, which boasts names such as Lizzy Jagger, Erin O’Connor,

Iman and Helena Christensen. More importantly, the winner will be featured on the front cover of Image Magazine – a first for this magazine ever!

Food and Wine and Easy Food are Irish titles which feature foods and wines sourced in Irish shops: Easy Food even has a regular feature called Home Ec. Helper, which is taken from the school curriculum and usually answers a typical Junior or Leaving Certificate question such as ‘Prepare a three-course meal for a pregnant or nursing mother and give the nutrition values of each course’.

Easy Food is not the only title working with schools to find a younger audience. The RTE Guide recently ran two CD cover-mounts, Quiz as Gaeilge and Myths & Legends. Prior to the sale of the issue, schools and colleges were given an opportunity to buy multiple copies of each issue at a reduced rate for use in the classroom: in some cases, schools bought individually for each pupil. As well as a great sales result, these promotions create the opportunity to introduce the RTÉ Guide to new audiences. Both issues sold well in retail stores and there was a continuing positive response from schools and third level colleges.

Cross PurchasingHot spot units, or A4 perspex holders for magazines, are a very useful way of selling cross purchase titles – they bring colour and an extra dimension to the stand and are good at highlighting best sellers on the unit. The titles promoted can change frequently to maximise the sales potential by being cross merchandised with a daily purchase – a newspaper. The best titles to display on a quad unit or newspaper tower are other news related titles such as Business Plus, Business & Finance, Phoenix, Village and Magill.

Research shows evidence of cross purchase between broadsheets such as The Irish Times and Golf Ireland and The Irish Garden, so this is a very useful way to sell more stock. This can become a vibrant fresh stock focus in the centre of your store, particularly if the range of magazines displayed in hot spot or quad units is refreshed on a

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June09Karen Meenan’s News Rack

Social & Personal, one of the leading Irish fashion titles on the market.

Easy Health and its sister title, Easy Food: both proving massively popular in Ireland.

June09Karen Meenan’s News Rack

daily basis. Daily newspapers by their very nature are fresh every morning – so too are magazines. 80% of the sales of every title in your store are made within the first 48 hours of that bundle arriving to your door.

Quality and RangeAt last year’s SHOP Exhibition in the RDS, a virtual shop was laid out with particular emphasis on Irish products. In this virtual store, only Irish titles were on exhibit, and visitors were amazed at the range and quality of the Irish magazine titles available.

Well known titles such as IT, Image and U have long been part of the staple diet of fashion conscious Irish women – the main reason being that all titles offer relevance to the consumer. It makes sense to the would-be shopper to know that the items modelled within the covers of the glossy monthly are available in leading stores throughout Ireland and all prices are in euro – no

quick calculations and trips to London necessary.

It also makes sense to anyone considering home improvements to invest in an Irish title such as Image Interiors, The White Book or House and Home. These days, home titles are successfully showing consumers how to give a house a makeover on a budget. Some newer launches are linked to TV programmes, such as Showhouse and WOW – Women Out Working.

Recent Irish launches such as Prudence, The Gloss and Women Mean Business have a fierce cult following and have found their own niche on the magazine stand. Household names such as Hot Press have been gathering new customers every year through careful target marketing on university campuses. Click is another new Irish launch, targeted at film and gaming.

What bride-to-be with a year to plan her perfect day would not invest in many, if not all, Irish bridal magazines to see where she can get the perfect dress, shoes, stationery, and cake all available locally and all prices in euro? With the average wedding costing around 30,000, it is well worth her while doing all her research in a shop near her – and with wedding titles having a price ticket of around 5, 25% of that is good news for any retailer. Check if you have leading titles Confetti, Irish Brides & Homes and Irish Wedding Journal on your shelves – pay particular attention to this category in January when this sub-category peaks.

The bottom line is that Irish consumers love magazines, and Irish magazines in particular. This

is extremely good news for retailers. After all, magazines don’t need to be heated, frozen, cooked, cooled, baked or temperature checked. They don’t require energy costs and they don’t require maintenance contracts in case a compressor goes! They do, however, require a little care and attention to ensure that you are stocking the biggest titles in each sector.

Auto TraderBusiness & FinanceBusiness PlusBuy & SellConfettiDiarmuid Gavin’s Garden DesignEasy Food Easy Health Food & WineHot Press

House and Home ImageImage Interiors Ireland’s OwnIrish BridesIrish TatlerIrish Wedding DiaryKissPrudenceRTE Guide

Social & PersonalThe Gloss The Irish Garden The Phoenix TV Now! U MagazineVIP Magazine WMB MagazineWoman’s WayYou & Your Money

PPAI Changes Name to Magazines IrelandTHE Periodical Publishers Association of Ireland has changed its name to Magazines Ireland. The name may have changed but the Association’s mission remains the same, to represent the interests of Irish magazine publishers. Magazines Ireland currently has a membership of 52 publishers who publish over 200 magazines, both consumer and business to business titles.

Top 30 Irish Titles

You & Your Money: making a huge impact with Irish consumers.

The Irish Garden, packed with tips and advice on garden know-how.

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2008 was a great year for the pet food market, with value growth out-stripping volume increases, as consumers traded up to premium products and increased manufactur-ing costs began to filter through to unit prices, according to the latest report from Euromonitor.

2008 witnessed more human food trends crossing over to pet food, with products being increasingly marketed using language designed to appeal to owners. Buzz words like ‘natural ingredients’, ‘low-fat’ and ‘improved dental hygiene’, coupled with brands tailored to suit the different life stages of pets, proved popular with consumers who were looking for prod-ucts which catered towards their pets’ dietary requirements. The fact that many pet food ranges carry veterinary endorsements and guidance has also helped to increase their popularity. In addition, the life-stage element of pet food brands has helped to increase customer loyalty, with pet owners now often using one particu-lar brand throughout the lifetime of an animal.

Premium products are projected to experience strong growth as an increasing number of consumers become disenchanted with the qual-ity of cheaper brands. Brands which are positioned as natural, organic or human grade are expected to experi-ence the strongest growth rates.

Indeed, Ireland’s pet food and

pet care market is valued at around 199.7m, with strong growth expect-

ed over the next two years.

Mackle PetfoodsBased in Co. Armagh and established in 1972, Mackle Petfoods operates two state-of-the-art production facili-ties for wet and dry pet food and has a product portfolio which includes Brandy, Brandy Complete, McGrath, Cat Club, Cat Club Complete and Jessie.

Brandy continues to maintain its position as the number one Irish dog food brand and the second largest branded dog food in the Irish market, according to a company spokesperson.

A new departure for Brandy in 2009 is the launch of Brandy Meal Times, which sees Brandy move from a loaf product to chunks in gravy. Brandy Meal Times is an all natural product which gives dogs all the good-

ness of a high protein diet, combined with vitamins and nutrients from specially selected garden vegetables, all blended in rich gravy. Made from 100% real meat chunks, Brandy Meal Times contains no artificial flavours or preservatives. Brandy Meal Times is avail-able as a variety three-pack, offering three flavours, Chicken, Beef

and Ocean Fish, in one handy pack. Brandy Meal Times is supported by a TV advertising campaign, running from June 15-30.

Brandy is available in a range of varieties and pack sizes, 400g, three-pack, six-pack and 12-pack, to suit the ever changing needs of consumers. During 2009, Brandy three-pack will be promoted with a special price-marked pack at 1.99, while Brandy Variety Six-Pack will run a ‘6 for 5, 1 can free’ promotion pack during June and July, offering consumers great value for money and retailers strong margins.

Brandy Complete offers a high quality, tasty nutritious dried option for dogs, which complements the Brandy canned range. Brandy Complete is available in two varie-ties, Brandy Complete Original and Brandy Complete with Chicken & Rice, and is available in a choice of bag sizes: 2.5kg, 9kg and 15kg.

Mackle Petfoods will also be run-ning strong promotional activity on their Cat Club cat food range dur-ing 2009, with a special offer price marked pack of 2.29 for Cat Club three-pack and a ‘6 for 5’ and ‘12 for 10’ on their larger Cat Club Variety multi-packs, while their Cat Club Complete 400g bags will have a spe-cial offer price of 99c.

Mackle Petfoods premium dog food, McGrath, will also feature a strong promotional pack offer of ‘3 for 2, 1 can free’, on the McGrath

28

Irish pet owners aren’t afraid to splash out on premium products for their four-legged friends.

Mackle Petfoods’ premium dog food, McGrath, will feature a strong promotional pack offer of ‘3 for 2’on

the three-pack range.

Mackle Petfoods will be running strong promotional activity on their Cat Club range

during 2009, including ‘6 cans for the price of 5’ on the six-pack.

June09Pet Food & Care

Animal Crackers

Dogs love the taste, you’ll love the profits!

New!

Variety 3 Pack with Chicken, Beef and Ocean Fish

100% Real Meat Chunks with Garden Vegetables in Rich Gravy

Mackle Petfoods40 Corrigan Hill Road, Moy, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, BT71 6SL Tel: 048 87784641 Fax: 048 87784955 Web: www.macklepetfoods.com

three-pack range, which is available in three unique recipes: Irish Stew – with lamb, carrots, and barley; Beef Casserole – with beef, carrots and haricot beans in onion gravy; Mediterranean Chicken – with chick-en, green beans and pasta in a tomato sauce. McGrath conveys the message of human style recipes: “meals that look like you prepared them yourself”.

The Jessie range of cat and dog food has been tried and trusted for generations. Jessie offers a choice of single and multi-pack products, deliv-ering affordable, high quality pet food to a demanding volume market. Jessie Pet Food is available in two tempting flavours: Jessie Dog Food comes in Original and Chicken, while Jessie Cat Food is available in Chicken and Rabbit. All varieties are available as 400g single serving cans, while both Jessie Cat and Dog are also available as a convenient chicken four-pack.

Nestlé Purina PetcareIn the current economic slowdown, consumers are actively shopping around and looking for better value, with many switching spend into pri-vate label products. As many as 37% of shoppers in other categories said they would be purchasing less brand-ed products in the next 12 months. Evidence shows that this is, however, not the case for pet food, with only 10% of consumers outlining that they would buy less branded pet food in the year ahead (Source: Buckingham Research). Consumers are not buying any less pet food but 34% of dog own-ers and 27% of cat owners now admit to looking out for more promotions within their favourite brands (Source: Millward Brown).

Nestlé Purina Petcare’s key brands continue to experience strong growth levels, with Bakers Complete Dry Dog Food growing +9% in the

latest year, Gourmet +3.5% and Felix As Good As It Looks +68%. Go Cat Complete claims market leadership within the complete dry cat sector with 53.6% share (Source: ACNielsen, MAT, April 19, 2009). Nestlé Purina Petcare will continue to invest heavily in these brands in 2009 with TV and press campaigns across Bakers, Go Cat, Purina ONE, Felix and Gourmet luxury cat food.

Mars PetcareMars Ireland is committed to the health and well-being of their custom-ers’ pets, and maintains leadership of the Irish petcare sector, claiming a 58% share (Source: ACNielsen April 2009).

Pedigree’s continued success is down to the quality range that caters for every dog, from puppy through to old age. The extensive Pedigree Complete range drives growth in the dry dog food market. Pedigree is also driving growth within the premium Pouch and Snacks & Treats segments. The Snacks & Treats range includes DentaStix, which is the fastest grow-ing functional treat, catering for the daily dental care needs of all size dogs. JointCare+ is another functional offering, designed to ease joint stiffness and keep dogs’ joints healthy when fed daily.

The Whiskas range includes high quality prod-ucts across the pouch, dry complete, can and Snacks & Treats segments. Cat pouch is one of the fastest growing segments within the cat food sector. Whiskas is driving growth in the premium plus segment of single serve with the Whiskas ‘Oh So’ range. The entire Whiskas wet

and dry ranges have recently been upgraded and relaunched. New pack-aging now highlights to the consumer the nutritional benefits of feeding their cat Whiskas. This re-launch is being heavily supported with new TV, outdoor and press advertising.

Mars Ireland’s brands also include Cesar, Sheba, Pal, Kitekat, Catsan and Frolic. The company is driv-ing growth in the market through continuous innovation, heavyweight advertising support and strong in-store promotions.

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June09Pet Food & Care

PetEx Comes to IrelandIRELAND’S first trade pet event is set to harness one of Ireland’s high growth industries when PetEx 2009 comes to the RDS, Dublin, on September 6 and 7. See www.petex.com for more information.

Nestlé Purina Petcare will continue to invest heavily during 2009, with TV and press campaigns across Bakers, Go Cat, Purina ONE,

Felix and Gourmet luxury cat food.

Pedigree’s continued success is down to the quality range that caters for every dog, from puppy through to old age.

The Whiskas range includes high quality products across the pouch, dry complete, can

and Snacks & Treats segments.

31

Guinness Hurling Supporters NightsGUINNESS, official sponsor of the GAA All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, are giving fans the chance to get closer to their hurling heroes at the Guinness Hurling Supporters Nights, which will take place around the country with eight events in local pubs during June and July. 250 fans at each Supporters Night will be able to celebrate hurling with a unique insider’s perspective on the hurling issues facing their own county. Alongside a panel of experts made up of former hurling stars, fans will also be in a position to pose questions to the current manager and players, under the eagle eye of MC Paul Collins. Pictured at the launch of the Guinness Supporters Nights are hurlers Joe Canning, Henry Shefflin, Shane McGrath and Ollie Moran.

Bushmills Wins E-Marketing AwardBUSHMILLS Irish Whiskey emerged as the winner of the best E-marketing campaign at the recent All-Ireland Marketing Awards for The Bushmills Trek campaign. The Bushmills Trek, which was jointly developed by Wilson Hartnell Public Relations and Cybercom, involved an eight month, sustained digital and PR campaign, with a core mechanic offering four lucky consumers the chance to take part in an authentic, original experi-ence visiting three continents over three months, on a trip of a lifetime. Pictured is Sian Gray, Marketing Manager, Nokia, presenting the award to Orla Flanagan, Senior Brand Manager, Bushmills Irish Whiskey.

Cassidy Wines Adds Market Leader to its PortfolioCASSIDY Wines is pleased to announce that Marqués de Cáceres is the latest addition to its comprehensive portfolio. One of Rioja’s best known producers, Marqués de Cáceres is also ranked in the top three Spanish brands on the Irish market. Neil Cassidy, Managing Director, is confident that despite the difficult economic climate, now is the right time to build on the great loyalty for the brand that already exists in Ireland: “As a family run company, Marqués de Cáceres is the perfect fit for Cassidy Wines and we’re proud to add another prestigious name to our portfolio.”

June09Drinks News

Barry & Fitzwilliam Adds to PortfolioBARRY & Fitzwilliam is to take over the distribution of the extensive portfolio formerly held by Allied Drinks Distributors (Dublin), commencing on August 1, 2009. “This move confirms Barry & Fitzwilliam’s position as a market leader in the Irish drinks distribution industry,” noted Michael Barry, Managing Director at Barry & Fitzwilliam (pictured). “The addition of thesebrands to our portfolio will further enhance our reputation as a key player in the industry.” The new brands include: Hardys, Robert Mondavi, Echo Falls, Nobilo, Stowells, Errazuriz, Villa Maria, Blackthorn Cider and Tauntons Cider.

Hennessy X.O Literary AwardsONE of Ireland’s most prominent and best selling authors, Dublin born Hugo Hamilton was inducted into the Hennessy X.O Literary Awards Hall of Fame recently. Hugo was presented with the esteemed award as part of the Hennessy X.O Literary Awards at a special ceremony at Dublin’s Four Seasons Hotel. David Mohan from Dublin won the 2008 Hennessy X.O New Irish Writer Award in association with The Sunday Tribune and Four Seasons Hotel, while the Best First Fiction Writer prize went to Tipperary-born Eimear Ryan and Best Emerging Fiction Award to Dublin-born Kevin Power.Pictured are Caroline Sleiman, Market Development Manager, Hennessy, and Marc Boissonnet, Hennessy Brand Ambassador, at the Hennessy X.O Literary Awards.

32

New Director at New Zealand Wine GrowersDAVID Cox, former Managing Director of Brown Forman for over 14 years, will be the new director of New Zealand Winegrowers (NZWG) in London. NZWG are responsible for the generic promotion of New Zealand wines on both the UK and Irish markets. For more information about New Zealand Winegrowers in Ireland, contact jean@jeansmullen.com.

Torres Makes the ‘Green List’ BODEGAS Torres is the first winery to make the ‘Green List’, a ranking of the 50 entities who stand out for their contribution to environmental issues, published by the prestigious English magazine, The Drinks Business. The list highlights the environmental practices of Torres, particularly their projects to reduce CO2 emissions, as well as environmental awareness-raising campaigns aimed at consumers in the more than 140 countries that import Torres wine.

As one of the top 10 wine brands in Ireland, Torres wines are a popular choice with the Irish consumer. The Torres family surname has been associated with wine for more than three centuries and the winery continues to produce high quality wines at reasonable prices. For more information about Torres wines in Ireland, contact The Findlater Wine & Spirit Company.

Fair Wind Wine Celebrates THIS year’s second consignment of Fair Wind Wine, shipped to Ireland in a sustainable eco-friendly way, received an enthusiastic reception at the Dublin Docklands Maritime Festival. Among the welcoming guests, when the schooner ‘Kathleen & May’ docked in the heart of the city-centre after its voyage from France, was the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Eibhlin Byrne, who is pictured with Frederic Albert, CEO of Fair Wine Wine. Over 148,000 people visited the tall-ships over the four-day festival, held over the June Bank Holiday, when the Kathleen & May was open to festival–goers to sample wines from the Longuedoc Rousillon region.

June09On the Vine

The ‘Best Wines’ of the Concours Mondial 2009THE 16th Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, dubbed the ‘World Wine Championship’, took place in Valencia, Spain, recent-ly, with 6289 wines and spirits from 54 producing countries competing, setting a new record. 250 professional tasters, representing 41 nationalities, took part in the tasting: Ireland was represented this year by RETAIL NEWS wine columnist Jean Smullen.

European wines dominated, with Italy (2), Spain, France and Portugal sharing the prestigious ‘Best Wine’ trophy of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2009, awarded to wines obtaining ‘absolute best’ in their categories. The winners were:

Best Sparkling: Champagne Bourgeois Cuvée du Dernier Siècle, Brut millésimé 2002 (France)

Best Sweet: Nes, Passito di Pantelleria 2007 (Italy)

Best Red: Protos Crianza, Ribera del Duero 2006 (Spain)

Best White: Adega Vila Real Grande Reserva, Douro 2005 (Portugal)

Best Rosé: Chiaretto Giovanni Avanzi, Garda Classico 2008 (Italy)

For more information and for a list of the Great Gold, Gold and Silver medal winners, go to www.concoursmondial.eu.

Touchwine Ireland 2009TOUCHWINE Ireland 2009 took place in May at the Pembroke Cricket Club/Monkstown Rugby Club. Nine teams from the Irish wine trade took part, including Wine Australia, Tourism Australia, Febvre & Co, Allied Drinks/Constellation Ireland, The Wild Goose Grill, Liberty Wines, Straffan Wine Merchants, The Organic Wines and event winners Ely Wine Bars. The two charities who benefited from the Irish event were Focus Ireland and the Victorian Bushfires Appeal in Australia. Australia Ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Anne Plunkett was also there to oversee the matches. Wine scribes, John Wilson (Irish Times) and Martin Moran MW (Newstalk & Evening Herald) presented their top 15 wines and were on hand to pour the wines (pictured). Well done to all involved!

Avonmore Super Milk is now available in new Whole Super Milk as well as original Low Fat - enjoy all the goodness of Super Milk with the creamy taste of Whole Milk.

Our June launch will be supported with an extensive national marketing campaign, which includes TV, outdoor, press, consumer promotions and PR.

Avonmore Super Milk has a 93% value share of the fortified milk sector, andachieved a very high growth rate of 15% in 2008. (AC Nielson)

Avonmore Super Milk - stock the whole range and watch your profits grow!

Let the sunshine - and profits - in every day.

NEW Whole Super Milk.

Your chilled cabinet is a vital part of your store, including every-thing from fresh dairy products to meats, fresh pizzas to soft drinks. Shoppers expect to see a well-man-aged range of fresh and chilled foods on display in every store, from large supermarkets to smaller convenience stores.

Key areas include food-to-go products, such as pre-prepared sand-wiches, which enjoy traditionally high margins. Promotions and meal deals can play a big part in maximising sales in the chilled category, particu-larly now, as consumers embrace the value proposition more than ever.

Keeping the range simple and uncluttered is important, with indus-try experts advising retailers to vertically block categories in order to enable customers to scan the fixture easily and make their purchase. Shelf availability is vital, ensuring that the customer gets the product and brand they want, and also to max-imise visual impact. Allocating a fair share of space by brand and category, and ensuring short-life products are regularly rotated by date may sound obvious, but if performed incorrectly, valuable sales will be lost.

Ensuring you’re stocking and dis-playing the right range is essential, but the wealth of back-office informa-tion at your disposal should help to ascertain the correct product mix for your customer base. Stocking locally produced goods, particularly chilled and fresh produce, could create a strong point of difference, making

your chilled cabinet a vital cog in creating a destination store for your consumers.

Connacht GoldConnacht Gold butter products con-tinue to gain market share in the yellow fats category (Source: Market-track December 2008) at a growth rate of 12.7% in value terms and 1.8% in volume terms year-on-year. New innovations from Connacht Gold in 2009 will see the launch of an excit-ing new chocolate spread in both dark and white chocolate variants. An ideal treat or snack for both adults and kids, these product offerings are packed in a convenient 120g reseal-able tub in a shelf ready outer display carton.

Connacht Gold will continue to invest across all its branded offerings in 2009 and deliver best in class in product and service.

GlanbiaTo celebrate its 43rd year as an iconic Dublin brand, Premier Milk has recently relaunched with a brand new pack design which features one of Dublin’s most loved landmarks – the Ha’Penny Bridge. The new packaging runs across the brand’s entire range and also includes a fantastic new ‘Rediscover Dublin’ on-pack promo-

tion. The promotion allows consumers to collect tokens from Premier Milk packs and redeem them for 2-for-1 passes to many of Dublin’s great attractions and days out, saving up to 40.The promotion runs until August and will be supported heavily by outdoor, press and radio.

Locations taking part in the promotion include: Viking Splash; GAA Museum; Dublin Zoo; The Fry Railway;

James Joyce Museum; Christchurch; Dublinia; Malahide Castle; Airfield Farm; Shaw Birthplace and Liffey Cruises.

Tokens for this promotion will be available on Premier Fresh Milk and Low Fat Milk 1 litre cartons and Premier Fresh Milk and Low Fat Milk 2 litre plastic cartons. This promotion, combined with the recent price reduc-

34

Managedcorrectly, your chilled cabinet can be a big profit-earner.

Connacht Gold have introduced an exciting new chocolate spread in both dark and white chocolate

variants, packed in a convenient 120g resealable tub in a shelf-ready outer display carton.

Premier Milk has recently relaunched with a brand new pack design which features one of Dublin’s most loved landmarks – the Ha’Penny Bridge.

June09Chilled Cabinet

License To Chill

tion on Premier 2 litres, makes the brand a must stock this summer.

KerrygoldWith the multiplicity of blends and competing connotations in the yellow fats sector, one brand has retained its clear, uncomplicated message, Kerrygold: 100% pure Irish butter.

Unquestionably a household name in Ireland, the Kerrygold brand is owned by the Irish Dairy Board, a commercial dairy cooperative, which exports and markets Irish dairy prod-ucts abroad. Today, Kerrygold has loyal consumers in over 60 countries around the world, stretching from

North America to Australia, Russia to South Africa and throughout Europe. In Germany, Kerrygold is the number one butter brand.

Kerrygold’s success is clear-cut. It is ‘real’ food, 100% natural, with no additives beyond salt for flavour. In Ireland, Kerrygold claims a market share of over 46% and is supported by TV advertising and in-store promo-tions.

Kraft FoodsPhiladelphia, from Kraft Foods, continually strives to bring you the best possible product offering to your chilled shelf: the brand claims leader-ship of Ireland’s soft white cheese cat-egory with 85% value share (Source: ACNielsen, Total Scantrack to April

22). Therefore, 2009 sees the introduc-tion of a new design and pack format across the Philadelphia brand. This new format departs from the existing rectangular shape to an exciting new oval pack.

The launch will bring an impact-ful and modern look for Philadelphia, meaning the brand will work harder in-store through increased impact on-shelf. Functional benefits are appar-ent too, with new oval pack improv-ing the Philadelphia experience by locking in longer-lasting freshness. This launch is supported by strong through-the-line activity, including a heavyweight TV brand campaign.

36

June09Chilled Cabinet

Energy ManagementYOUR chilled and frozen display units are some of the biggest energy users in-store, but there are ways to reduce energy bills without having to buy a new refrigeration unit. Sometimes, you just need to make sure your existing unit is working as efficiently as possible. Here are some ways to reduce the energy-cost of your existing refrig-eration units/systems: PVC curtains: If a cold-store door is in constant use, plastic curtains can be used to keep cold air in and warm air out. This can reduce run-ning costs by up to 30%. Electronic expansion valves: These regulate the flow of refriger-ant to the cycle, only using the nec-essary amount.Liquid pressure amplification: Ensures the refrigeration system’s pressure matches the air surround-ing it. This will reduce the energy required by the compressor and save you money. Heat recovery: Captures and re-uses the heat from your compressors and condensers. This can reduce the energy consumption of the refrigera-tion process by up to 30%, and also provide hot water for the building. Adiabatic cooling: A sensor detects when the air temperature surrounding the condenser gets too warm. The system will then start spraying water into this area in order to cool down the air tempera-ture. This can save up to 10% of your refrigeration costs during summer.

Buying a New Refrigeration SystemONCE in a while, you will need to buy a new refrigeration system. New products generally cost more to buy than second-hand ones, but they are also more energy efficient and will have lower running costs. If you have to buy used equipment, then make sure is in good condition and has been well maintained.

The most important thing to remember when buying a new refrigeration system is that it’s not only about the purchase price: it’s also about running costs. The cost of running a refrigeration system over its lifetime is usually several times its initial purchase price, so compare how much energy different units/systems will use before making a decision.

Kerrygold claims a market share of over 46% and is supported by TV advertising and in-store promotions.

Philadelphia has introduced a new design and pack format across the

range, which departs from the existing rectangular shape to an exciting new oval

pack.

37

Murphy’s ‘Official’ Ad. Campaign MURPHY’S Stout has unveiled its latest advertising campaign, entitled ‘Official’. The print, outdoor and online campaign, which was developed by Heineken Ireland and Cawley Nea, Dublin, will run across a number of titles including The Examiner, Evening Echo, Cork Independent, Southern Star, and The Corkman, alongside online sites such as examiner.ie, independent.ie, munsterexpress.ie, gumtree.ie, breakingnews.ie and ticketmaster.ie. “In demonstrating that nobody knows Cork like Murphy’s knows Cork, this campaign plays not only on strong local knowledge of key landmarks, and on the pride and colloquialisms of the Cork people, but also on the special status that Murphy’s enjoys as the stout of choice in this area,” explained Thomas Brady, Brand Manager, Stouts, Heineken Ireland.

Sacla’s Fiery Chilli PestoSACLA’, the pesto pioneer, is turning up the heat this sum-mer with the launch of its first ever Fiery Chilli Pesto. This vibrant, fiery pesto with Italian red chilli pepper, almonds, garlic and parsley, will excite and enthuse pasta and pesto lovers who like to spice things up a little in the kitchen. Created in Italy, it is ideal for stirring into pasta for a quick arrabbiata, add-ing a kick to dressings and marinades, spicing up the humble burger and adding a zing to fajitas. Sacla’ Italian Chilli Pesto is a combination of spicy peperoncino, adored by the Southern Italians, with a traditional pesto tex-ture.

Extra Gets Sweet with Chocolate EXTRA Fusion Drops are the latest innovative addition to the Extra range from The Wrigley Company. Extra Fusion Drops are candy sweets with a sugarfree chocolate filled centre and will be available in two delicious flavours, Extra Fusion Drops, Caramel Chocolate and Extra Fusion Drops, Mint Chocolate. The first candy sweets to contain sugar-free chocolate, a landmark innovation in sugar confectionery, both variants of Extra Fusion Drops come in a handy box containing 13 sweets, and are available in stores from June with an RRP of 1.30.

Superquinn Own Label WinesSUPERQUINN has launched its first ever range of wines featuring the Superquinn name under the Classic Collection brand, with prices from 7 to 12. The five new French wines were selected as part of a wider review of Superquinn’s French wine range. Over 1,700 wines were tasted and five from the best known wine-producing areas in France were chosen to bear the Superquinn Classic Collection label: Chablis, Red Bordeaux, White Burgundy, Red Burgundy and Cotes du Rhone. The Superquinn Classic Collection brand is also being extended into New World wines with ranges from Australia and Chile to be launched in the coming months.

Bisto Children’s Book Of The Year AwardsSIOBHAN Dowd’s ‘Bog Child’ was named Bisto Children’s Book of the Year ‘08/’09 recently. Siobhan, aged 47, sadly passed away in August 2007 after a long illness. The Bisto Book of the Year Trophy and a cheque for 10,000 was accepted on her behalf by her sister Oona Emerson (pictured). The prize money will be donated to The Siobhan Dowd Trust which was established by Siobhan before she died to help disadvantaged children to improve their reading skills and experience the joy of reading. This is Bisto’s 19th year sponsoring these prestigious awards, which recognise excellence in the field of children’s literature by Irish authors, illustrators and publishers.

Erin’s Soup OperaFOUR fiery vixens, gossip, intrigue and devious plots are spicing up supermarket shelves across the country as Erin Condensed Soup launches Ireland’s first soup opera, ‘Thrills & Spoons’. Each of the eight comic strip style episodes launched this month can be found on the back of Erin Condensed Soup cans and online at www.thrillsandspoons.ie. Based in Erinsville, the soup opera revolves around four female char-acters created exclusively for Erin and who reside in the leafy cul-de-sac of Souperia Park. Each character has four episodes dedicated to them, made up of tantalising storylines printed on the back of Erin Condensed Soup cans.

June09What’s New

38

The business of grocery retail-ing is one of constant change. It is not just new product lines or developing consumer tastes that alter the sector, however. While it may not be as obvi-ous to the consumer, technological developments also play a big part in the grocery market, in terms of creat-ing a streamlined supply chain that ensures the right products are on the shelf when consumers want them.

Nobody is better placed to assess the impact of changing technology on the grocery and FMCG sectors than Tony Griffin, Head of IT Shared Services at Musgrave, who is respon-sible for implementing technological advancements across arguably the largest retail network in the country. So what then, are the emerging tech-nologies that most impact the sector?

“Obviously, the big areas are advances in EPoS technology, mobile computing, telecommunications, sup-ply chain, next generation bar-coding, online loyalty schemes, electronic shelf-edge labels, RFID and payment solutions,” explains Tony. “These have

all seen pretty significant changes, brought about by the introduction of new technology. Technology is help-ing to change retailing, but it must be cost-effective and it must be solution-driven. Technology for technology’s sake is not going to help anybody.”

The biggest issue for any new retail technology, however, is reliabil-ity. “When these emerging technolo-gies are rolled out in front of consum-ers, they have to be absolutely proven and they have to be reliable,” Tony warns. “Retailers need to be sure that any new technology adds to the shop-ping experience and in no way compli-cates or frustrates it.”

Business IntelligenceSome of the major developments, however, are not visible to the public at all. One of the biggest advantages of computer and web-based technology has been the availability of first class business intelligence.

“Whether it’s sales, margin or stock balance reporting, or combina-tions thereof, the level of business

intelligence now available is having a huge effect on retailing, thanks to the development of effective back-office technology,” Tony notes. “The timeliness, availability and accuracy of data are making a massive dif-ference to the ‘Rights of Retailing: right product, right place, right time’! Decisions are now being made based on extremely accurate information. These types of technologies may not be visible to the consumer but the end result, the Holy Grail that is on-shelf availability of the right product, is driven by slick processes and accu-rate information.”

This business intelligence can also help the retailer to have an accurate and up-to-date picture of the business and its costs, whether it’s pay-roll, staff rosters, time-sheets or other financial data. Technology doesn’t provide all the answers, but combined with the retailer’s own knowledge and the expertise and experience of a sym-bol group partner, it can give retail-ers the tools to keep costs down and ensure profit margins are maintained.

Emerging technologies are impacting on every aspect of grocery retailing, but they must work in tandem with the knowledge and expertise of local retailers, according to Tony Griffin, Head of IT Shared Services, Musgrave.

Technology – Driving the Retail Industry

June09Interview - Retail Technology

Supply Chain ManagementTechnology, used correctly, has benefits not just for individual retailers, however, but for the entire group. Effective supply chain management is crucial for any business, nowhere moreso than the FMCG market, and this is another area where technology and human expertise work hand-in-hand.

“As an organisation, the Musgrave supply chain, as well as being people dependent, is absolutely technol-ogy dependent,” notes Tony, “so the technology has to be robust, because it supports and drives our business processes. Our pick rates and pick accuracy wouldn’t be anything like as impressive as they are without the use of technology, with voice-directed picking being rolled out across our warehouse network.

“As well as improving productiv-ity, technology like this enables us to introduce additional checks and balances, which is driving accuracy all the time, so our retail partners in the SuperValu and Centra stores get exactly what they ordered, when they need it.”

However, technology alone won’t create a successful grocery business, as Griffin is the first to admit. “There is no substitute for the knowledge of the local shop owner to make their ordering decision, albeit armed with sales history, price and margin infor-mation from the technology at their disposal,” he avows. “It is a meeting of capabilities, between the knowledge of the SuperValu or Centra retailer, who knows their customers intimately, and the technology which arms them with accurate information.”

Electronic Data InterchangeOne of the biggest advances in efficient management of the supply chain has been the advent of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the paper-less sharing of information between all supply chain partners. Essentially, it speeds up the entire process, while simultaneously improving accuracy.

“It’s a significant enabling tech-nology for an efficient supply chain,” explains Griffin. “We have been

engaging in paperless trade with all of our suppliers for a number of years: all the purchase orders are placed via EDI and all the invoices received via EDI. However, we have gone a step further and have introduced elec-tronic invoice matching: matching the goods received note to the electronic invoice via EDI.”

Indeed, the impact of EDI has been so dramatic that Ireland’s big-gest retail groups, Musgrave includ-ed, rely heavily on the technology for the effective running of their supply chain. “If you consider our chilled distribution, for example, all of the orders are placed by our retail partners in SuperValu and Centra stores, consolidated, split-up by sup-plier and sent to the various suppli-ers via EDI,” Tony explains. “The timeliness of that is key, so that the goods, in some instances, are deliv-ered to our warehouse for immediate onward delivery to satisfy the needs of consumers. It is a very efficient supply chain.”

Improved EfficiencyImproving productivity and efficiency in the supply chain is an ongoing process, however, and Tony and his team work very closely with their suppliers on the sharing of information. Combining the already tried-and-trusted EDI methodology with web-based technology, for example, is leading to further improvements.

“Web Purchase Ordering allows suppliers to download our purchase order from a secure website, giving them access to our requirements and our ordering patterns, very early in the process,” Griffin explains. “We also engage in ‘Web Advance Shipping Notice’ with a number of our ‘green lane’ or trusted supplier partners, which serves to speed up the goods-in process at our end. This sort of technology is all about collaboratively sharing information in a timely man-ner.”

Another area of rapid advance-ment is telecommunications, which has developed to the level where it can provide the platform for business-critical applications to be run cost-effectively.

“At Musgrave, we are big users

of mobile technology,” Tony explains. “Most of our SuperValu and Centra stores use WiFi devices in-store for their ordering, which enables the retailer to make an order decision at the shelf-edge.”

Musgrave Simplifies RetailingMusgrave is currently rolling out its ‘MSR - Musgrave Simplifies Retailing’ solution to the entire network of SuperValu and Centra retailers. “The MSR concept includes improved processes for the back-office. It’s utilising new technologies, web-based applications and shared applications,” Tony notes. “It recognises that we share a lot of information with our retail partners.

“While some of the technologies aren’t brand new, it is how we have packaged them and our use of them is very advanced,” Tony concludes. “We’re currently rolling out a loy-alty solution, ‘Real Rewards’, to our SuperValu network. There might not be anything new in the concept of a card-based loyalty solution, but our use of the technology is quite novel, in that there is flexibility in the solution for the retailer in terms of ‘wallets’: the consumer cannot only amass loyalty points for national pro-motions, but also for promotions lim-ited to an individual store or a group of stores. For example, if one of our retail partners is running a promo-tion with a local sports club, consum-ers can place their loyalty points in those ‘wallets’. While it is a tried and tested technology, we are evolving it to reflect our relationship with our retail partners and their relationship with consumers.”

Technological advancements are certainly changing every aspect of modern grocery retailing, from the supply chain through to shelf-edge labels in-store, and new technology is working together with the local knowledge and expertise of retailers themselves to ensure the continued development of Ireland’s first class retail sector.

Musgrave is always ahead of the curve, but it is an ever changing pro-gramme and the challenge, as always, is to stay on top of the latest develop-ments and ahead of the game.

39

June09Interview - Retail Technology

In these challenging times for retail-ers, the key is to consolidate sales and reduce costs. This, of course, sounds very simple in theory but is much more dif-ficult to achieve in practice.

There are many ways to better use and invest in your EPoS system to help you manage your business more effec-tively to secure its future. It may be a good idea to engage with your EPoS sales representative and ask them to review with you how you use the system to see if there are functions you could be using that you are not using now. Alternatively, your business will benefit from sending your manager or key staff on one of the scheduled training pro-grams offered by your EPoS provider.

It is worth taking the time to revisit the functionality your system offers and go through the various upgrades provided within the past year to ensure you are using them and getting the most from your system.

CBE is Ireland’s leading EPoS pro-vider with over 30 years experience in retail technology innovation. Dominic Feeney, Systems Director, offers some tips that may be helpful to you at this time, as follows:

Manage Your Margins List the 200 top selling items for the last week, month and quarter. Ensure that you are getting an appropriate balance between margin and volume. Compare this list over various periods to establish sales trends and optimum stock levels.

Optimise Staffing LevelsYour EpoS system should provide valuable information on customer traffic and queue analysis by ter-minal throughout the day. This will allow you to better manage staffing levels so that you have additional coverage at busy times and less coverage at quieter times.

Offer Self-CheckoutFurther improve your customer service, build stronger customer loyalty, and offer greater customer choice through an enhanced shop-ping experience with Self Checkout, one of the most progressive retail technologies now available to inde-pendent retailers. The benefits are numerous and results are extraor-dinary, providing a very compelling business rationale.

Improve Deli Sales & EfficiencyThe accuracy achieved through link-ing weighing systems with EPoS is a proven method of increasing prof-its. Leading edge weighing systems now offer much more functionality in relation to ingredients and label-ling, which create a significant point of differentiation for the store. The features also provide many tactical opportunities for advertising and up-selling.

Increase Forecourt EfficiencyWith greater pressure on fuel price and razor-thin margins, it is essen-tial to maximise forecourt profitabil-ity. A security link which synchro-nizes CCTV cameras with the EPoS system will help to dramatically reduce drive-offs. By integrating fuel cards to EPoS, customer transac-tions will be processed faster and standalone systems removed. These and other measures, such as car wash link and outdoor payment ter-minals, enable staff to better moni-tor and control forecourt activity.

Minimise Stock ShrinkageA powerful integrated security/EPoS system will provide back office syn-chronisation between till activity and security monitor display, listing items on screen as they are being scanned. Also, by integrating bill pay and phone top-ups through EPoS, these low mar-gin items can be better controlled and internal misuse reduced.

Reduce Bank ChargesIntegrate your credit card transactions through your EPoS system and reduce your bank charges, as well as provid-ing greater accuracy, control and fast-er transactions for your customers.

Eliminate Exceptional ItemsA simple report on exceptional items can be very revealing. The search capability of a good EpoS system ena-bles forensic analysis and offers vari-ous live journals for better control.

Optimise Shelf SpaceList off your 200 worst selling items. Assess each product and evaluate if you need to keep or discontinue this product. There may be a valid reason, due to out-of-stock items or poor shelf placement.

Stimulate Your CustomersEngage with your customers at the point of sale and at key points in store. Till advertising (i.e. advertising using a customer facing monitor at the point

40

EPoS provider CBE offers 10 tips for using EPoS more effectively to grow profits. Dominic Feeney,

Systems Director, CBE.

June09Retail Technology

Making Technology Work For You

of sale) helps to promote offers and deals at a key engagement point. It is particularly successful in the con-venience and forecourt sector, where

impulse buying at the point of sale is more common.

If you would like additional infor-mation on any of the items included

above or to request a demonstration by a CBE representative, please call John Henry, Sales Director, on 1890 373 000, or email johnhenry@cbe.ie.

42

June09Retail Technology

ADM Londis plc has unveiled a 200,000 investment in the implementation of a Customer Relationship Management system (ASSIST) for its Group Support Office in Johnstown, Co Kildare.

Outlining the rationale for the CRM investment, Claude Tonna Barthet, Customer Operations Director, ADM Londis, said, “The power of this system is how success-fully it is facilitating greater team working within the organisation to deliver improved customer service. The greater visibility and account-ability for customer queries means that everyone feels empowered to resolve queries quicker; which in turn, leads to happier customers.”

Entitled ASSIST (Accountability,

Synergy, Service, Interaction, Supreme Care and Teamwork), the name was developed to embody the values the Group wishes its employ-ees to display whilst interacting with Londis retailers. The integrated IT platform, developed in partnership

with iSite Solutions and Microsoft, enables faster response times and higher levels of service, as the retail-er is placed at the centre of the CRM model. Information capture is sig-nificantly increased with telephones, PDA’s and Web Portal devices all captured into a single application.

Concluding, Claude Tonna Barthet said, “By capturing data on how successfully ADM is responding to customer queries, the CRM platform provides great insight into both our retailers’ needs and also how well ADM Londis respond to these. The capture of this information is critical to the growth of the Group, allowing Londis to move quickly to respond to the ever changing needs of both Londis retailers and the marketplace.”

FORECOURT Systems (Tokheim Ireland) has unveiled its latest inno-vations for the forecourt, which help increase wet-stock margins by up to

25,000 per year. Two components, the TQM ‘Non Drift’ Meter and the latest Standard Temperature Accounting (STA) solution, available in all new Tokheim pumps, dramati-cally reduce fuel loss.

The ‘non drift’ TQM Meter ensures service station owners won’t endure future fuel loss, and the reduced recal-ibration costs and faster fuel through-put help serve more customers in less time. For example, a service station that sells 3,500,000 litres of fuel per annum will save 7,000 litres a year through improved accuracy.

The Standard Temperature Accounting (STA) is something that the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) having been calling out for, for years. The feature ensures that the temperature of fuel flowing through the meter is adjusted to the permit-ted 15°C. It ensures that the custom-er gets a fairer delivery at the pump

and that the retailer is not at a loss through ‘hot deliveries’. Peter Barlow of the PRA says that the Tokheim technology “provides a level of integ-rity for the measurement system, [and that] it will improve retailer’s stock reconciliation”.

This technology is based on the fact that the temperature co-efficient of fuel is around 0.1% per °C of tem-perature change. In other words, for every 1°C increase in temperature of the fuel, the retailer will save 0.1% in their fuel distribution. With the aver-age annual temperature in Dublin being 9.4°C, a retailer will save around 0.55% of their annual fuel output per year. For example, STA would help a petrol station that sells 3,500,000 litres of fuel per annum to increase its margins by a massive

19,250 per annum.Paul Farren, General Manager of

Forecourt Systems, said “Petrol sta-tion owners often look for the cheap-est option in terms of dispensers. I don’t think many forecourt owners understand that instead of saving

money by purchasing reconditioned or cheap pumps, they will actually end up losing money within months. The Tokheim pumps with ‘non drift’ meters, and STA technology provide payback within a year of purchase. Tokheim have been installing this equipment for three years, and since its launch in the UK and Ireland, we have been inundated with new orders for the equipment.”

More information can be found at their new website www.forecourtsystems.com.

Paul Farren, General Manager, Forecourt Systems.

Breege McTigue, Customer Relations Manager, ADM Londis

plc, pictured with Fergal Geraghty, Business Development Manager,

I-Site Solutions.

New Petrol Dispensers Save 25,000 Per Year

ADM Londis ASSISTS Retailers with 200,000 CRM Investment

T: 01 461 9800 W: forecourtsystems.com (new!) E: hello@forecourtsystems.com

WHEN A PUMP IS NOT ‘JUST A PUMP’

Pay@Pump

The only Fuel Dispenser with approved outdoor payment for AIB, Barclay’s, VISA & Mastercard. Reduce Drive-offs and increase throughput with pre-pay options.

E.g. Reduce drive-offs losses by 70% per annum - Save €15,000

TQM ‘Non Drift’ Meter

costs and faster fuel throughput help you serve more customers in less time.

E.g. Save up to 7,000 litres of fuel a year if you dispense 3.500,000

Standard Temperature Accounting (STA)

Fully approved technology allows you to dispense your fuel at 15°c. The

‘hot’ deliveries.

E.g. If you dispense 3,500,000 litres per annum you could save €19,250

Ms Áine Brady TD, Minister of State with responsibility forOlder People and Health Promotion, wishes to adviseretailers of the revised weighted average price for thethree categories of cigarettes below. Cigarettes cannot besold below 97% of the weighted average price for eachcategory. These prices will take effect by 20 July 2009.

1. All plain unfiltered cigarettes:Weighted Average Price per 20 cigarettes €8.1597% of Weighted Average Price per 20 cigarettes €7.91

2. Filter cigarettes of less than 80 mm in overall length:Weighted Average Price per 20 cigarettes €8.0597% of Weighted Average Price per 20 cigarettes €7.81

3. Filter cigarettes of 80 mm and over in overall length:Weighted Average Price per 20 cigarettes €7.9997% of Weighted Average Price per 20 cigarettes €7.75

Tobacco Products: Determination of Weighted Average Prices

Summer barbeque is a key event for the Blue Dragon condiment range,

which adds flavour and gives a twist to the traditional BBQ meal.

Mainstream consumers are becoming increasingly familiar with the

flavours of Eastern cuisine and want to be able to experiment by adding

the classic Oriental tastes they enjoy most to their favourite Western

dishes such as BBQ. Sweet Chilli Sauce over Sausages or Satay Chicken

will prove very popular with consumers during this year’s BBQ season.

Blue Dragon recently extended its condiments offering with the intro-

duction of four new variants - Blue Dragon Thai Sweet Chilli (Hot),

Malaysian Satay, Chinese BBQ and Chinese Sweet & Sour, joining the

already popular Thai Sweet Chilli variant. These new variants combine

an easy-to-use shatterproof format with popular take-away flavours.

Designed to be enjoyed at home - indoors and outdoors - this new

authentic-tasting range has spearheaded the move of Oriental flavours

into the mainstream condiments aisle.

The Blue Dragon condiments range increases variety and convenience

and allows those bored with ketchup and mayonnaise to add a little of

the Orient to their burgers and bangers. See www.bluedragon.com for

more information.

Blue Dragon – BBQ TimeBlue Dragon – BBQ Time

Foxford in County Mayo has long been a renowned fishing destination, with a strong tourist trade. During the boom, the town experienced significant growth and the good news is that the new houses are not empty estates waiting for banks to foreclose on the developer. In Foxford, the houses are mostly full and pupil numbers at the local national school have doubled in just a few short years.

Texoil Ltd is Ireland’s largest Texaco home heating oil distributor. It has distribution depots and forecourts around the country, including one in Foxford. The company is introducing a new presence on its sites in partnership with Londis, a deal that will see the new Londis branded concept stores rolled out across all the company’s forecourt locations, and one that could potentially create up to 300 new jobs nationwide.

“About two years ago the company decided to introduce a retail element on its network of depots and forecourts

around the country,” explains Billy Massey, Head of Operations with Texoil. “Even if you are not involved in the trade, it would be hard not to notice the change in retail at forecourts in the past decade. We had fore-court sites but no grocery presence on them. We started off very small at first, trading out of prefab structures.”

Working TogetherRecognising the need for a symbol group partner to realise the potential of their sites, Texoil found the perfect solution in ADM Londis. “The standards of grocery retail-ing are extremely high in this country and Texoil as a company had little grocery retail experience to draw on,” Billy admits. “When we began speaking to the various groups, Londis were just launching their latest store design concept. We were given a spectacular virtual tour of what the new Londis shops

The Londis/Texoil forecourt store in Foxford, Co. Mayo, is a stunning example of the partnership between the petroleum retailer and the symbol group.

The Perfect Partnership

44

Pictured outside Londis Texoil Foxford are (l-r): Shane Hopkins, Retail Development Manager, ADM Londis; Billy Massey, Operations Manager, Texoil; and Jerome Coleman,

Londis Texoil Foxford Store Manager.

June09Forecourt Focus

45

would look like. We also spoke in detail about our plan for the company as a whole and what we would need from a symbol group partner.”

Londis and Texoil got to work quickly and the first of the new look Londis concept stores was launched in the Texoil-owned site in Monaghan. The second site to be devel-oped was Londis Foxford.

“This site was a very big development,” explains Billy. “We levelled the existing forecourt and replaced the under-ground tanks, then built everything up from scratch. That did leave us free to choose any footprint we needed for the building and work on the layout and floor-plan before we laid a brick. That is one of the areas where our partnership with Londis has worked so well for us. They had advice for us on absolutely every aspect of planning and design. They were also extremely enthusiastic to get their new concept stores set up properly.”

Attention To DetailTo the untrained eye, the new Londis concept stores look amazing: to those who know what they are looking for, the attention to detail is everywhere. The stores enjoy a fresh and vibrant colour scheme, flattered by intricate lighting sys-tems at ceiling height and lower level lighting, such as along the base of the deli, to set precisely the right tone across the shop. There is new signage for the deli, new wall graphics and the addition of an impressive wrap-around unit for fruit, pre-pack sandwiches, drinks and other high convenience products, centrally placed to drive sales. The wood finish on the wine display is yet another detail in a very long list.

Londis’ expertise in category management is also clearly evident. The Foxford forecourt is a high convenience business. Ambient and frozen grocery offerings are kept to an absolute minimum. Only the best selling brands of the highest volume products are on the shelves.

Londis’ many years of experience are clear in another innovative aspect of the new concept, the Plantation Coffee brand. Londis operates the Plantation Coffee brand itself, with complete control of everything from sourcing the beans to the cups. This allows Londis to control both quality and cost, meaning better margins are possible on coffee sales.

Excellent IT PackageAnother area where Londis excel is in terms of IT. “The Retail Solutions system we are running is absolutely vital to the way Texoil is approaching this business plan,” explains Billy. “We will own and operate all shops, through a system of managers. That means that unlike many symbol group shops, the actual owners will not always be present at the store. With the IT system we are running, Texoil can monitor absolutely every aspect of every shop’s performance at the click of a button. As Head of Operations, I can ‘visit’ every single shop in an hour to check stock levels, sales figures and sales volume by brand. Without the IT package from Londis, I couldn’t do my job to anywhere near the level of efficiency that I am currently able to.”

According to Billy, “all the work and effort by Texoil and Londis is already paying off and we are looking forward to continuing the roll-out of Londis branded Texoil forecourts over the coming months and years.”

The Londis concept stores and the group’s support systems have made a valuable ally in Texoil. The two successful indigenous companies are set to create hundreds of new jobs in this extremely competitive sector and set standards even higher along the way. While there is no doubt that grocery retail-ing is experiencing challenging times, Londis and Texoil are proving that the right attitude and skills can turn challenging times into times of oppor-tunity.

Retailer:Location:

Size: Numberof Staff:Opening

hours:

Texoil LtdBallina Rd, Foxford, Co Mayo1,200 square feet

13 (4 full -time, 9 part-time)Opening Hours: 07:00 – 23:00 Monday - Sunday

FACT FILE

June09Forecourt Focus

Irish organic food sales continue to grow strongly, despite the reces-sion, with recent Bord Bia figures pointing to an 11% year-on-year growth. Indeed, organic food has the greatest recognition of all ‘ethical’ food labels, and organic food is purchased by 52% of all adult grocery shoppers in Ireland.

The retail market for organic food in Ireland is still growing and is now worth 104m per year, with a mas-sive 82% growth in just two years. Market growth is expected to con-tinue, albeit at a slower rate than in recent years. Some areas where there have been huge gains include organic yogurts, sales of which have grown by 25% over the last year alone, and oat products, with Flahavan’s noting how 15% of their business is now organic.

A new organic milk producers group was recently set up to cater for small to medium size organic dairy enterprises. “The aim of the group is to process locally, have small outlets and give employment locally,” said Pat Mulrooney, spokesman for the group and one of Ireland’s long stand-

ing organic dairy farmers. The group will initially produce liquid milk, fol-lowed by cheese at a later date.

According to figures from the Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association (IOFGA), a recent survey shows that two thirds of consumers who purchase organic food stated that their organic purchases would stay at the same level or grow this year, despite the downturn.

“Organic food sales continue to grow as people look for quality pro-duce, even when money is tight,” argues Kate Carmody Chairperson of IOFGA. “It confirms that the organic message of support for the highest standards of animal welfare, pesticides free farming, supporting biodiversity and sustainable farm-ing is increasingly important to Irish consumers, even in difficult economic times.”

However, IOFGA also reported recently that some supermarket groups are demanding price reduc-tions of up to 40% from their organic suppliers, warning that such cuts may put organic producers out of business.

In the longer term, however, the outlook for organic food is extremely good, with consumer concerns about eating ethically translating into food

which is produced according to sustainability principles, neat-ly dovetailing with the organic movement.

Roma OrganicsRoma Organics re-enforces Roma’s commitment to pro-viding high quality organic products. The products are manufactured by certified organic farmers who rely on biological systems to produce high quality food and reduce the environmental impact. Soil must be prepared for years, making it suitable for organic cultivation. No fertilisers, pes-ticides, or any chemical plant protection products of any kind are permitted in the process. This method results in the pro-

duction of the most natural of Roma products.

Consumers can be confident of Roma Organics’ authenticity and origin as each organic supplier is rigorously tested, and their proc-esses monitored continuously under Europe-wide organic regulations.

Roma Organics gives the modern consumer the opportunity to have a natural product which doesn’t com-promise on taste.

The new look Roma Organics range consists of 11 different prod-ucts and includes: Penne, Conchigile, Fusilli, Spaghetti, Lasagne, Napoletana,Whole-Peeled Tomatoes, Chopped Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Passata, and Olive Oil.

Boyne Valley Organic Acacia HoneyBoyne Valley Honey, Ireland’s favour-ite brand of honey, has specially selected a range of varietal honeys from around the world. Boyne Valley Organic Acacia Honey has a deli-ciously mellow flavour with natural ‘vanilla’ notes. Organic beekeepers sustain the natural life cycle of bees by safeguarding their natural habi-tat and nourishing them as nature

46

Ireland’s organicfood market continues to enjoy strong growth rates as consumers embrace its environmentaland health benefits.

The new look Roma Organics range consists of 11 different products and gives consumers the

opportunity to have a natural product which doesn’t compromise on taste.

June09Organic Food

Green Winners

intended. It is available in 10 x 350g squeezy jars.

Marine Harvest IrelandMarine Harvest Ireland have been bringing the finest quality Irish Salmon to discerning customers across the globe since 1979. The expertise of their staff and the unique nature of their exposed sites along Ireland’s westerly coastline ensures Marine Harvest Ireland can offer a fantastic product.

As pioneers of organic salmon, the company have established a reputa-tion for bringing customers all the

assurance of organically certi-fied Irish salmon, as well as a consistently great tasting prod-uct. The excellent taste of their Organic Salmon was recognised by the The Irish Food Writers Guild in January of this year, when Marine Harvest Ireland received one of only three pres-tigious food awards.

Their Organic Salmon is available under The Organic Salmon Co. brand, which was launched early this year at the Biofach exhibition in Germany. The brand was researched extensively with Irish organic consumers and the response was very positive to both the brand and the product offer-ing, with consumers getting a clear sense of an authentic organic prod-uct from a local trusted source. The Organic Salmon Co. range includes a two portion pack of natural darnes (280g), with a range of gourmet com-plements which the consumer can prepare in the comfort of their own home.

Marine Harvest Ireland’s main organic sea farm at Clare Island was the first in the world to achieve organic certification and is regarded as one of the most challenging sites in the world. The company have selected two additional sea sites to allow them to produce organic salm-on to meet the strict organic stand-ards, as well as meeting customers’ need for consistent supply.

Green & Black’s Green & Black’s, from Cadbury Ireland, have recently introduced two new flavours to the Irish market; Creamy Milk and Butterscotch. With a smooth, melt-in-the-mouth texture and creamy, sweeter taste, Creamy Milk is sure to delight chocolate lov-ers across Ireland. Like the rest of the range, Creamy Milk is made from only the finest, quality organic ingredients and includes Madagascan vanilla and decadent, organic cream for that extra smooth taste. Alsolaunching in Ireland for the first time is Green & Black’s Butterscotch flavour, which boasts crisp, crunchy pieces of organic butterscotch sub-merged in a wonderfully cocoa-y darker shade of milk chocolate.

47

June09Organic Food

The Organic Salmon Co. brand, from Marine Harvest Ireland, includes a two portion pack of natural salmon darnes (280g).

Organic Choices

What kind of organic products are shoppers buying?

Product Percentage of organic buyers purchasing this product

Vegetables 91%Dairy Products 70%Fruits 70%Meat 66%Cereals/Bakery 30%Drinks 18%Confectionery 10%Other Products 35%

(Source: Bord Bia)

Green & Black’s Creamy Milk and Butterscotch, the latest additions to their organic chocolate portfolio.

Boyne Valley Organic Acacia honey has a deliciously mellow flavour with

natural ‘vanilla’ notes.

48

FOOD and Wine lovers from across the country made the journey to Ireland’s top foodie destination, Ballymaloe House, to enjoy a weekend of good food, good wine and a large helping of advice on how to put the two together at the Moët Hennessy Wines Food and Wine Weekend recently. The weekend included five interactive seminars, which cov-ered iconic food pairings and allowed each guest to sample each coupling as the lectures unfolded. Eager attendees sampled the famous Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle, Domaine Chandon, Terrazas and Cheval des Andes with food freshly prepared by the expert staff at Ballymaloe House. Pictured at the event are Matt Steele, Domaine Chandon/Green Point, Robert Mann, Cape Mentelle, Gustavo Urbano, Terrazas, Sioban Harnett, Cloudy Bay and Nicolas Audebert, Cheval des Andes.

NORTHERN Ireland’s top selling batch bread, Irwin’s Nutty Krust, is going on sale in the Republic of Ireland for the first time thanks to a ‘batch’ of important new supply contracts secured by Irwin’s Bakery with leading Irish retailers.In separate deals representing a combined 300,000 additional Nutty Krust loaves each year at a potential retail value of some 500,000, Irwin’s has achieved listings for the top-sell-ing batch bread with Tesco Ireland, Dunnes Stores, and the Musgrave Group. It is supported by an investment of 100,000 by Irwin’s in production upscale, supply chain and marketing costs. Pictured

welcoming Irwin’s Nutty Krust to Ireland for the first time is Karolina Kobylanska from Tesco Ireland, with Brendan Lappin, Irwin’s Business Development Manager.

MASTER Butcher Tim Sheahan from Glenbeigh, Co. Kerry, recently became a National Champion and won four gold medals at the ‘2009 Craftbutcher Barbeque Products’ compe-tition. Judged by the esteemed Irish Guild of Food Writers, the National Champion status was awarded for Tim Sheahan’s “Lamb Pitchforks”; a tasty cut of lamb rib eye which was cooked in spring thyme and rosemary. The competition was designed by the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland in order to evaluate the range of products available in butchers’ shops; and the idea is to highlight their campaign to ‘Eat out at home’. With three overall categories in the competition, Tim Sheahan also won gold medals for his Smokey Jokeys Burger, Mid Summer Pork and Lollipop Chops.

SUPERQUINN has introduced a brand new Irish Strawberry Jam Pack for summer 2009, which is perfect for shoppers who are cook-ing at home, making jam or cakes. Containing the freshest Irish grown fruit, each jam pack can be used to make approximately three jars of jam. Containing strawberries of mixed shapes and sizes, all of which are Irish grown, it is also ideal for mak-ing sauces, coulis, and smoothies. Priced at 3, the 500g Superquinn Strawberry Jam Pack is available in all Superquinn stores now.

WALKERS Sensations’ sponsorship of the TV Now Awards has been announced as a final-ist in the Best Use of Sponsorship category at this year’s PR Awards for Excellence. The campaign was headed by Walkers’ Marketing Manager, Nicola Wells, and managed by Walkers’ PR Agency, life Communications, directed by Agency Head, Darlene McCormick. A programme of sensational PR activities, including an NCAD competition to design a sensational gown for the evening and in-store point of sale, was developed. The sponsor-ship generated almost

1m of branded press coverage and increased consumer awareness and preference for the brand.

ADM Londis has signed up to WIN | WIN’s Hotel Super Breaks to reward loyal custom-ers. The Londis Hotel Super Breaks Collector Card will allow Londis customers to collect stamps and enjoy hotel breaks all over Ireland at discounted price. WIN | WIN will oper-ate this programme for ADM Londis. This means WIN | WIN will contract the hotels, arrange the hotel deal, run the call centre, and ensure the smooth running of the promo-tion. See www.winwin.ie for more information.

Shelf Life

RADOX Shower Smoothies made an impact during May on national bus shelters. “The summer flavour of the creative particularly lended itself to an outdoor campaign,” said John Gallagher, Director, GT Media, pictured (right) with Dave Costello, Sales Manager, Clear Channel, and Miriam Buckley, Category Manager, Sara Lee.

June09Shelf Life

From 1 July 2009, changes in legislation

will affect all those who sell tobacco

products to the public.

On 1 July, further provisions of the Public Health (Tobacco)

Acts will be commenced.

• No advertising or display of tobacco products

will be permitted in a retail premises that sells

tobacco products.

• Retailers must ensure that their tobacco

products are stored out of view, within a

closed container or dispenser only accessible

by the retailer and retail staff.

• The retailer may use a pictorial list (in

accordance with Regulations) to inform a

member of the public aged 18 years and older

who intends to purchase a tobacco product as

to the products that are available.

• Retailers must display a prescribed sign at

their premises informing the public that

tobacco products may be sold at those

premises to those over 18 years of age.

• Self-service vending machines are prohibited

except in licensed premises and registered

clubs and must be operated in accordance

with Regulations.

Retailer Register

• All those who sell or intend to sell tobacco products by retail, whether over the counter

or from a self-service vending machine, must register with the Office of Tobacco Control

(OTC).

• A person who prior to 1 July 2009, carries on the business of selling tobacco products by

retail must apply to register with the OTC between 1 July and 1 October 2009.

• A person who proposes to commence the business of selling tobacco products by retail

from 1 July 2009 must register with the OTC before they can sell tobacco products.

• Register online from 1 July 2009 via www.tobaccoregister.ie

Download “Guidance for those selling Tobacco Products”

and a printable version of the prescribed sign on www.otc.ie

Lo-call Information Line – 1890 333 100

What does this mean for Retailers?

RSP €7.15

Internationally

Successful Value Brand

Substantial Trade

& POS Support

Strong Brand Heritage