A good example of a local shop building followers on line

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-store tasting
events and will keep you updated. But, to give you a sneak preview
we'll start with some new wave German Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris &
Pinot Noir on Friday 28th. The following Friday, 5 October, join me
in a fun-filled 'Call My Bluff' event. I'm offering tickets for this,
at £9.99, as I'm limiting numbers to 12 only.
See you soon.
Richard

Alfred The Grape - Wine merchants extraordinaire!

MARLOW FOOD FESTIVAL 2012

Food and family fun and it's all free

Sunday 23rd September 2012

MACDONALD COMPLEAT ANGLER HOTEL

Marlow Bridge, Marlow, Buckinghamshire. SL7 1RG

11am – 4pm

This year's Marlow Food Festival will be held on Sunday, September 23rd at the award winning Macdonald Compleat Angler Hotel and it promises to be a feast of fun for all the family.

Chefs from some of the county's top restaurants will be demonstrating their skills, while food suppliers and restaurants will have stalls where visitors can sample their produce or cooking.

The Oxford Cheese Company, The Irish Cake Collection and The Garlic Farm are just a few of the names who'll be displaying and sharing their products.

Others include Anila's Authentic Sauces Limited, Jamie at Home Cookware, No2 Pound Street and the very knowledgeable team from Alfred the Grape, wine merchants extraordinaire.

Digital disruption in the UK wholesale space

“Twenty years ago I was driving boxes to the post office in my Chevy Blazer and dreaming of a forklift,” says Jeff Bezos in his most recent letter to shareholders. A blink later and he points out that the company has grown from 30,000 employees in 2010 to 230,000 now. But his ambition is the same. “We want to be a large company that’s also an invention machine. We want to combine the extraordinary customer-serving capabilities that are enabled by size with the speed of movement, nimbleness and risk-acceptance mentality that is normally associated with entrepreneurial start-ups.” Amazon is great at disruption because of its customers focus and the fact that the internet means it needs none (or very few) people between its warehouses and the shopper. The threat of Prime, its membership service, is the biggest challenge facing the UK retail market and the wholesale market by extension. It is both a direct threat and an indirect threat in that is inspiring countless numbers of othe...

New look: big copy small?

The owners of B&Q are talking up how they have cut the price of a store refit from £2.5m to £1m by using wood-effect vinyl instead of wood and painted MDF backboards for displays. Managers are learning to live with grey shelving instead of a warmer-looking cream. Shoppers notice the produce, not the fixtures, suggests one executive. Up to a point! Most local retailers will extract the maximum possible life from their fixtures, sometimes taking too long to change equipment that has become tired. As in all business, it is getting the balance right. Shops need to be refreshed and with a purpose.

What do shoppers see

I read a good post (http://www.newsagencyblog.com.au/2009/08/28/what-do-newsagents-charge-for-faxing.html) asking what price local shops charge for providing a fax service. The blogger had attached a photograph of his sign with his prices on it. What struck me was the message on the sign. "You drop, we fax," it said. "Pressed for time, drop your documents with us and we'll do it for you at no extra charge." That is a message that will persuade most shoppers that you want to give them good value, even if they stay to do the copying or faxing themselves.

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