Consumers vigilant on food labelling

Despite the increased consumption of ethnic food products in Ireland, many Irish consumers view these products as relatively unhealthy and are increasingly checking labels and packing for information on artificial colours, flavourings and preservative content.
A new survey has shown that seven out of every ten Irish consumers class themselves as fans of ethnic food, with food of Indian and Chinese origin (either from restaurants/takeaways and made at home) now increasingly popular.
However the survey also showed that 61% of consumers are not confident over the content of many ethnic food products, with consumers now increasingly vigilant when it comes to checking labels for fat, flavouring and preservative content.
In particular, the Uncle Bens-commissioned research showed that many consumers feel that jarred sauces are unhealthy, while in relation to Chinese food; concerns regarding MSG content are still quite common.
Nutritionist Aveen Bannon said that despite an increased focus on checking labels (and the provision of more information on packets and jars), many Irish consumers had a ‘blurred perception’ around ‘nutrition, ethnic and convenient foods’.
However she said that with many brands now being much more up-front about ingredients and product content, the perception that ethnic foods were unhealthy was not necessarily true.
“Over the years consumers have been bombarded with messages regarding nutrition and ingredients and it’s easy to see why the topic has become confusing. With many food manufacturers, such as Uncle Ben’s, leading the way in selling foods with no artificials and including guideline daily amounts on packs, consumers can start to feel more reassured about enjoying ethnic foods at home as part of an every day healthy diet,” she said.

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New BWG Wholesale site to combine Value Centre and Foodservice

BWG is to open a new facility which will combine its two wholesale arms – Value Centre and BWG Foodservices – in the same building for the first time.
The new 52,000 sq ft facility, based on the North Road in Dublin 11, is designed to deliver maximum synergies for the two BWG wholesale business, and will offer both walk-in and delivered capabilities.
The Value Centre aspect of the business will replace the existing Egan’s cash and carry on the North Circular Road, while BWG Foodservices’ Naas Road business will also be relocated to the North Road site.
BWG said yesterday that the new facility, which represents an investment of €15 million, would open ahead of schedule in September.
BWG Foods Wholesale managing director John Moane said that there were ‘obvious synergies’ in bringing the two businesses together in one central building. The new centre would not only provide an enhanced Value Centre offering to that of Egans, but would also offer an East Coast logistics solution for the Foodservice arm, he said.
BWG Wholesale last year said that it had allocated €30 million to expand and upgrade its wholesale operation, with refurbs planned for a number of its current Value Centre sites in addition to the major North Road build.

Supermarkets not passing on euro/sterling savings to customers

Irish consumers have little or no confidence that savings being made by retailers as a result of the weaker sterling/euro exchange rate are being passed on, a new survey has shown. The latest Consumer Intelligence report from Empathy Research shows that over 90% of respondents feel that cost savings being made by the retailers are not being passed on at the checkout. Respondents to the survey also felt that retailers should be obliged to pass on cost savings made in this respect, with 91% saying that it was the obligation of the retail chains to reduce prices in their stores if they had achieved cost savings due to the weakened sterling rate. This survey follows last week’s NCA survey, which showed a 31% difference between a basket of branded goods in Dunnes in the Republic and Northern Ireland. A 28% price difference existed between a (branded) basket purchased in Tesco, the NCA said, with smaller yet significant differences between baskets of private-label goods purchased in Tesco, Dunnes, and Lidl. To see the findings of the research, click on the link below :

Are supermarkets passing on sterling savings?

Source: Checkout Magazine

Spar Ireland sales up 15.7% in 2007

Despite a downturn in the economy, sales at the three Spar retail formats rose by over 15% in 2007, with the overall Spar brand growing at over twice the market average.
Sales across the three brands – Spar, Eurospar and Spar Express – climbed to €1.67 billion in 2007. This sales figure, an increase of 15.7% on 2006, represents a growth rate of over double that of the total grocery market, which expanded by an estimated 7% in 2007.
While Spar said that like-for-like sales were strong, new store additions provided the platform for growth, with 52 new stores added to the network during the year. The majority of these, 28, were in the Spar convenience format, with five new Eurospar stores. 19 new Spar Express stores were added, including an international flagship store in Spawell in Dublin. This store, Spar said, now had one of the highest footfalls of any forecourt of its size in Ireland.
Spar managing director Peter Kealy said that the group was on track to add 40 new stores to the network this year. 16 new stores had already opened so far, he said, with a ‘strong pipeline’ of new stores coming on stream.
Kealy said while the slowdown in the economy had affected some retailers, innovation in food-to-go concepts was helping in this respect. In addition, negotiations between Spar and its suppliers regarding euro/sterling price reductions were now feeding through at retail level, he said, with retailers now able to pass these on to the consumer.
Meanwhile, Spar Ireland’s growth in 2007 means that it is now in the top five Spar territories worldwide – up two places from 2006. In total, Spar had global retail sales of over €27 billion last year from 13,604 stores in 33 countries.

For more on this story see the June issue of Checkout – out next week.

Consumers ‘must force competition’

Consumers must shop around for weekly groceries so that they force major retailers like Dunnes Stores and Tesco to compete with each other on prices, a watchdog has said.

National Consumer Agency chief Ann Fitzgerald also said that families who have the time to spend part of their household budget in discount stores such as Aldi and Lidl “could save an awful lot of money”.

Ms Fitzgerald was speaking on the issue of competition in the grocery market to the Enterprise, Trade & Employment Committee sitting at Leinster House.

Tesco seeks price reduction from suppliers

Tesco Ireland has told its suppliers in the UK that it expects them to cut their prices to reflect the recent surge in value of the euro against sterling. Ireland’s biggest grocery retailer yesterday confirmed to The Irish Times that it held a meeting with its UK suppliers about two months ago seeking the price cuts. Since then a number of individual meetings have been held and about half of the suppliers have agreed to adjust their prices while other reductions are in the pipeline. About 1,250 prices have been reduced at Tesco’s 105 stores in the Republic over the past six weeks as a result of this move, the British retailer said. “We are dependent on suppliers to pass on the sterling differential for the benefit of our customers,” said Dermot Breen, Tesco Ireland’s director of corporate affairs and communications. “So far about half of them have agreed to pass on the sterling difference. About half of our suppliers haven’t passed them on.” Mr Breen declined to identify the suppliers who have or have not passed on the currency differential.

Retail Growth figures show Irish recession

Economists believe Ireland may already be in recession or at the very least expect it will slip into one this year, although they predict it will be a brief, shallow technicality rather than a severe downturn.

Of 10 economists asked if Ireland’s economy experienced a second successive quarter-on-quarter contraction in the first three months of this year, one said that it had, three saw it as probable and four considered it possible.

“The signs have been indicating since the start of the year that it would be difficult for the Irish economy to avoid a certain period of negative growth,” said Dermot O’Leary, Chief Economist at Goodbody Stockbrokers

Full story here

Poor inventory control costing Retail Businesses huge percentage losses

According to Patrick McDermott, Managing Director of Stocktaking.ie, retail businesses are enduring losses of up to 10% due to poor inventory control. Speaking at the launch of the new Retail Stocktaking division of Stocktaking.ie, he said “Retail businesses often don’t undertake regular inventories with the result that losses due to theft, spoilage or under-deliveries can often go unnoticed until the year end”.

“For stores with multi-million euro turnovers, this can mean losses in the hundreds of thousands of euros and often the difference between profit and loss at the year end.” He added that in light of the current economic climate it is essential that profit margins are protected in order to ensure the sustainability of jobs and ultimately the future of the business.

The retail sector in Ireland employs more than 220,000 people and accounts for more than 11% of state employment so is a hugely important sector in the Irish economy and each business must protect its assets and workers with prudent management control.

In the past, lack of suitable technology or available providers of a dedicated retail inventory service prevented the undertaking of regular high quality stocktaking; In fact, some retail businesses have been flying in teams of stocktakers from the UK at considerable cost to provide this service, however the new retail division of Stocktaking.ie has closed that gap by utilizing the most advanced barcode scanning equipment and proprietary software to deliver a same day inventory result for retail businesses from pharmacies to large symbol supermarkets.

“Retail businesses should be reviewing overall inventory reports quarterly at a minimum” McDermott added “and making informed decisions about their business at each stage. We have seen retail businesses go under due to lack of management control and so we have always recommended regularly analysing your inventory losses in order to prevent the business getting to this stage of unprofitability”

Introducing the future of Retail Stocktaking in Ireland

Stocktaking.ie, established in 2004 and until now focused on Food & Beverage Stocktaking, have launched a Retail Stocktaking division to meet the growing demand for quality inventory services across the retail sector.

Stocktaking.ie’s Retail Stocktaking Division will service Symbol Franchise Stores, Large Chains, Pharmacies, Forecourts and any retail outlet looking for accurate results on site.

Stocktaking.ie utilise the latest barcode scanning technology which has been developed for the company and can tailor reports to any format required by a store.

For further information contact director Patrick McDermott on 087 1389813 or patrick@stocktaking.ie

visit http://www.stocktaking.ie