nickshanagher

When disruption to the newspaper market caused by the closure of the News of the World was making headlines last week, a few managing directors were saying to me that we should all be worrying about the financial crisis gripping the Eurozone. They may have a point but they are wrong if they think that the closure of the NotW is not an important moment for local shops. Newspapers are a major footfall driver for independent shops. Whether it is customers that you deliver to or ones who come to your shop, you need to hold on to them. It is obvious why retaining customers is so important. But shopkeepers also need to note that most are likely to have less money to spend that they did a year ago. The Asda income tracker shows the average family has £9 a week less money to spend than it did a year ago.  What is causing this? Higher taxes and higher energy prices. How long will disposable incomes fall? For at least another year, most analysts say. "The outlook for the UK remains po...

There are many sources of grocery market data compiled in different ways. Kantar Worldpanel uses till roll receipts from 25,000 households, chosen to reflect the demographic make up of the UK. It also measures the prices of 75,000 products to form a view of grocery inflation. It publishes numbers every month and the latest figures for the 12 week to 10 July show that the market is picking up - which contrasts with many market views. However, it also says that grocery inflation has risen, from 4.6 per cent to 4.8 per cent. It now says it is likely this will reach 5 per cent this year. A month ago, it was not of this opinion. The reason for this change of view is that a small number of categories are seeing very high price rises. "This is putting extra pressure on shoppers' budgets," it says. "We expect the market to slow in the coming months." Kantar Worldpanel points out that Aldi and Lidl are growing and Waitrose is growing. The growth, it says, is coming...

On 20 June Paul Cheema told me how sales were: two good weeks, one OK week and one bad week. On Monday this week, Dalton Philips, chief executive of Morrisons, briefed journalists that this was a national trend, with grocery shopping being pushed towards the beginning of the month. What is Morrisions doing? It is concentrating its marketing on the period between the 27th of the month and the end of the month. What is Morrisons seeing? Big sales in week one and lower sales in weeks two, three and four. Shoppers are fillng their pantries and then trying to last the month. Mr Philips said the trend was evident everywhere outside London. The average household budget is £100 lighter each month due to higher VAT, fuel and other utility costs. Shoppers are looking for value Local shops need to watch for two things. One, the timing of supplier promotions. Two, if shoppers are going once a month to the superstore, can they win them for more top up purchases. Think about your buying patt...

When we received the press release from James Murdoch's corporte affairs team my first thought was that it must be a hoax - the News of the World is to close after Sunday. What will replace it? Something must. We shall see. However it is worthwhile recording some of James Murdoch's words: "When I tell people why I am proud to be part of News Corporation, I say that our commitment to journalism and a free press is one of the things that sets us apart." "The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself." "The News of the World is 168 years old...it is read by more people than any other English language newspaper...it has a proud history of fighting crime, exposing wrong-doing and regularly setting the news agenda for the nation." I don't know James Murdoch and I did not hear him speak these words but they are fine words and add to the dramatic intesity of this moment. Printed ne...

I was asked by Emma Spencer to draw retailers attention to the Newsagents' Helper page on Facebook and I am happy to do so. The page is open to UK news retailers and is strong on humour and sharing frustrations about the behaviour of shoppers and the failings of suppliers. Amid the general chatter there are some very strong items about issues, such as a post about how an epos system was sold or a post about a spate of armed robberies. What I like are the posts about when something great happens, such as when a customer switches his Saturday newspaper order to the i but insists on being charged what he was charged before because he does not want the retailer to lose out. Where I think retailers have to be careful is when they blog about frustrations. There is a danger that you can fall into the trap of sharing your frustrations on line and projecting a negative world view. While it may be frustrating that your shoppers go to Tesco, it is also a fact of life. The solution is to...

Barry Gardiner MP turned out to support his constituent Mahendra Jadeja at a north London business seminar this week and told retailers they were on the right track. "To get the nation going again we need business to talk to business," he said. "Think, create and innovate is the model for business. Think what your offer is, produce it and work to that pattern. "Never think you have got the model. Constantly refine. The product that you were proud to present yesterday and last year should not be today's. Today's has to be better." This is all good stuff but it is what you want to hear from a consultant and not from your MP. What you need your MP to do is listen. Instead Mr Gardiner rushed off and missed the next speaker, from Philip Morris, who spelled out the regulatory risks threatening local shopkeepers. Interestingly, Eoin Dardis started off by accepting that regulation was appropriate. "tobacco is a dangerous, addictive substance that need...

Walmart will be playing catch-up to the lifestyle dynamics of today and tomorrow, versus creating them, Jimmy Wright, a former senior executive, told the FT this week. After two years of falling sales, the paper ran a feature questioning if the era of the superstore was coming to an end. Its US stores have reached their potential. Shoppers are buying smaller quantities and expect promotions. The price of petrol means shoppers don't want to drive so far. Smaller stores in more accessible locations are winning sales. The story should be familiar to UK local shop owners. Flipped around, the story is one of opportunity for independent shops, especially those working in partnership with switched-on wholesale suppliers. But the real significance of the FT story is that in the board rooms of major packaged goods companies they will be reading that the day of big box retailers may be drawing to a close. They will be reviewing their strategies and hopefully working out how they c...