nickshanagher

In my latest Retail Express column I write about the need for local retailers to have some sort of digital platform so that they can build a network of followers. The email that follows is from a shop called Alfred the Grape, which is in Marlow, a town about 10 or 12 miles from where I live. Except that I was already going to a birthday party - and the weather forecast was dreadful - this is a great email, selling the idea of fun things to do, not necessarily connected directly with buying stuff. Have a read and think about what you tell local customers - and what you could tell them. If you're at a loose end this Sunday, why not go to the Marlow Food Festival. Apparently it's free, fun and we're wines merchants  extraordinaire ! So to live up to this bill we'll have some fabulous bottles open for you to try (&, hopefully, buy if you like them enough). For the full blurb, see below.     Moving forward, I'm planning regular Friday evening in-stor...

I am uncertain who runs the M&S store at the service station near Benson in Oxfordshire but last night Ahmed upsold me two cans of Red Bull that I really didn't want. It was raining hard and I was quite tired when I pulled in to fill up the tank. 64 and a bit litres of diesel later I was delighted that the total on the pump was less than £100. As I looked at this I saw a sign that said buy two cans of promoted beverages and get 5p a litre off your fuel. Inside the shop, after a comfort break, I bought a bag of crisps and stood behind another customer at the till. I noticed by the door a second piece of point of sale with the offer on it. After she completed her purchase, I handed the crisps to Ahmed, the teller, and put my credit card next to the payment terminal. Are you interested in the soft drink offer, Ahmed asked, with a smile. I looked at him and as I did so his eyes flicked to the display of Red Bull behind me. As he was smiling I thought about it for a second and...

As you can see from this photograph of PR girl Suzi Price standing in front of the doors, the new fridge freezer (the rooms behind her) at Palmer and Harvey's new Hemel Hempstead distribution depot is very large. Along with a team of trade journalists, I visited the newly refurbished depot last week after a £6.5 million fit out. Julian Streeter, managing director of operations for P&H, explained that this depot was an investment in capacity for growth. Its two depots serving London and the south east of England were reaching capacity. The Hemel Hempstead location to the north west of London was a great fit with his existing network of 14 sites around the UK. Between them they make 48,000 deliveries a week to everyone from Tesco to the local independent c-store. What may concern independent operators in the south east is that Mr Streeter, pictured here in front of the ambient storage in the 168,000 sq ft depot, says that growth in the south east is being led by the multi...

Generally acknowledged to be doing well, there are three things in the latest Waitrose results to consider. First, like-for-like sales were up by 2.2 per cent, which shows the impact of its price matching branded goods sold by Tesco. Second, own brand ranges now account for more than 50 per cent of its sales mix, which suggests that its margin mix is being protected by these products. Third, the second half of the year is likely to see slower growth.

In the wake of Morrison's results announcement last week, The Lex column in the Financial Times provided a brief and pithy piece of analysis that is food for thought for businesspeople investing in local shops. Lex says there are two reasons for Morrisons to be wary. First, local shops mainly sell food and this means the margin mix is not as attractive as in a supermarket where you can sell more high margin goods. The Co-op, which I think is a good benchmark for independent retailers to compare themselves to, makes a 3 per cent operating margin in food. Lex contrasts this with Tesco's 5 per cent margin. Second, enthusiasm for the sector could be overdone. While the IGD predicts the local shop sector will grow by 5 per cent a year to 2017, Lex says consumers' love of the high street could be an "austerity-driven blip rather than a long-term trend". Indeed. However, the trend started before austerity and is based on the size of households and the age of the ...