DCS Group has recently added impartial advice and features for 2024 to help retailers, wholesalers and cash and carry businesses grow their sales and profit in its earlier-launched free to use online website.
The UK’s leading distributor of household, health, beauty, baby, pet care and healthier snacking brands, launched the site in early 2023 and it saw a phenomenal success over the last 12 months.
www.CoreRange.com is an impartial category advice website that is free to use and is designed specifically to help convenience retailers navigate their way through the personal care, babycare, healthcare and medicines, laundry and household, healthier snacking and pet care categories.
The website has seen usage increase significantly in recent months, with traffic last month (February 2024) having trebled in comparison to three months prior, with retailers and wholesalers using the website to help set up their stores for success.
One wholesaler that DCS Group has been working closely with, to help make sure their retailers are stocking the right range in store, is Parfetts. Head of Retail at Parfetts, Steve Moore, said, “We use www.CoreRange.com alongside Unitas Plan for Profit to help define the right range for new stores, giving our retailers the confidence that they can attract loyal shoppers and maximise their sales and profit.”
Key improvements for 2024 include larger ‘XL’ planograms, helping retailers who have more shelf space to stock a core and extended product range in order to maximises their sales. New category advice pages and planograms for the healthier snacking and pet care categories are also now available, broadening the information freely available to retailers.
The refreshed www.CoreRange.com website lists all the latest category and product insights on the website for free, making is easily accessible for busy store owners.
Product range recommendations are impartial and are based on the latest market data and shopper insights. They will be stocked at supplying wholesalers who can also use the recommendations to make sure they have all the best-selling products listed in depot and online.
Matt Stanton, Head of Insight at DCS Group, said: “We have been delighted with the response to www.CoreRange.com. We have built our business on the importance of data and our aim was to make our insight more accessible to convenience store owners and wholesalers so they too can make well-informed decisions to capture lost shopper sales.
“As a convenience retailer, stocking the right products for a store’s customer base is crucial to growing sales. But with so many choices, picking the right SKUs isn’t always easy.
“We originally launched www.CoreRange.com because we wanted to help all UK convenience retailers stock the right range to help grow their sales. In the first 12 months, we have been blown away by the response to the website, proving when insight and data is easily accessible, retailers can grow their business.
“This helped us make the decision to improve and update our advice for 2024. The website now offers insights in more categories and provides a wider range of planograms. As the experts in the sector, we are well positioned to give retailers all the information they need to select a best-selling, efficient core range that is right for their store.
“The seven categories we champion are important and contain essential, high-value products that convenience stores should stock. They drive shoppers into stores, both for planned top-up shops and distress missions.
“When it comes to offering the right mix on shelf, brands are particularly important, as is own label in some categories. What we are doing, is interpreting the insight to help busy store owners make informed decisions.”
Included on www.CoreRange.com is all the information a retailer needs to select a best-selling, efficient and profitable household, pet, health and beauty product range:
Category insights covering household, health & beauty, baby care, healthier snacking and pet care
Shopper behaviour insights relevant to all categories across the whole of the convenience channel
Planograms for small, medium, large and XL stores
Lists of best-selling and must-stocks SKUs
www.CoreRange.com is optimised for use on mobile devices and tablets, which retailers can carry around and use easily whilst they are in their store. It also looks great on full-size desktop and laptop screens.
www.CoreRange.com supplements the existing DCS Group website, www.dcsgroup.com.
JTI has announced the appointment of Stephane Berset as UK General Manager.
Stephane will head up the UK division and has taken over the position from Tom Osborne. Having been with the business for 24 years, Stephane has developed vast experience across multiple functions and continents.
He joined JTI in 2001 and has extensive knowledge of the company having worked in various JTI marketing and commercial roles worldwide in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Turkey, Austria, Greece, Italy, Czechia and the United Kingdom.
His previous role was as General Manager for JTI Czech Republic, Hungary & Slovakia, from 2021 to 2024. Before that, Stephane held the position of Marketing Vice President at JTI UK from 2017 to 2021.
I’m pleased to re-join the exceptional JTI UK team after my time in Europe," said Berset. "My priorities are to maintain JTI’s leading market share in the UK, grow our presence in Reduced Risk Products and adapt our business to any new regulation in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The measures contained within the Bill pose significant challenges for both JTI UK and the retail sector, and it will give the already rampant illicit trade yet another boost.
"JTI UK remains committed to working with and supporting our retail partners to ensure that together we can continue to thrive, meet the evolving needs of our UK consumers and stamp out illegal activity.
"At this time, it is more important than ever for the voice of the local retailer to be heard. We encourage retailers to continue to speak with trade bodies and contact local MPs to share their views on the challenges and negative impacts of this legislation.”
Tom Osborne has moved to a new role as Regional President North Asia at JTI and is now based in Japan.
Authorities have seized more than £30,000 worth of suspected counterfeit and unfit-for-sale vapes and cigarettes from a shop in Rotherham last week following a joint operation by South Yorkshire Police and trading standards officers.
As informed by South Yorkshire Police on Wednesday (19), the raid on Feb 13 was launched in response to intelligence from residents and local businesses, who had raised concerns about anti-social behaviour linked to the store.
The store has not been identified by the authorities.
During the inspection, officers uncovered £28,000 worth of counterfeit vapes, vape liquids, and cartridges, along with over 150 packs of illegal cigarettes valued at approximately £1,400. The operation forms part of an ongoing crackdown on the sale of illicit tobacco and vape products in the region.
Rotherham South NPT Inspector Darren Birley said, “Not only do these vapes undercut legitimate businesses, but they also pose a serious risk to people’s health. It isn’t uncommon for these counterfeit products to find their way into the hands of children.
“This is a great piece of work which continues to highlight how important our ongoing work with Rotherham Council is to ensure the safety of our local communities."
Rotherham Council’s Assistant Director of Community Safety and Street Scene, Sam Barstow said, "We are committed to keeping people safe from harm across the borough. This operation is another example of the close partnership working between Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police.
"Joint operations of this nature to tackle illegal tobacco and vape products have resulted in over £639,000 worth of illicit items being removed from sale.”
Earlier this month, almost 10,000 counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes and other tobacco and nicotine-based products have been seized from multiple stores in Oxfordshire.
As reported by Oxfordshire County Council, the raids, carried out on Jan 21, were part of Operation CeCe, a national initiative to tackle the sale and supply of illegal tobacco products.
Premises involved included off-licences, convenience stores, food retailers and barbers in Banbury, Kidlington and Oxford, the council stated.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 9,340 illegal cigarettes, 700g of counterfeit hand rolling tobacco, 180 unit packs of non-compliant nicotine pouches and 42 disposable electronic cigarettes, or vapes, with a capacity of nicotine containing liquid nine times the maximum allowed.
Keep ReadingShow less
bp launches first dedicated EV charging, convenience hub
Marking a major shift in its retail strategy, bp has launched its first dedicated EV charging and convenience hub at Cromwell Road on the A4 in Hammersmith, London.
As announced by bp today (20), the site has been completely transformed, with fuel removed and five ultra-fast BP Pulse 300kW chargers installed, each capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously under newly designed canopies.
Inside, a redesigned convenience store features an upgraded Wild Bean Café and an expanded M&S Food range, tailored to meet the needs of EV drivers and customers on the go.
This combined food, drink and convenience offer reflects the increase in drivers’ expectations of services they want to access while their car is charging.
The instore and outside design, with its contemporary new look, enhances the customer experience by optimising the layout with an open and inviting environment and product offerings, targeting customers who want food-for-now, states bp.
Richard Bartlett, SVP for bp pulse and mobility & convenience, Europe at bp, said, “The launch of our Cromwell Road EV convenience hub is a significant milestone in how we are evolving to meet the needs of a new generation of EV drivers in the capital and beyond.
“This new format site is not just about providing fast, reliable charging where drivers need it but also delivering an outstanding retail experience, in a strategic location connecting central London with Heathrow and the west of England.
“Whether you’re looking for EV charging, traditional fuel, or just a great place to rest and recharge, bp is ready to become first choice for customers on the roadside.”
This all-electric charging hub at bp Cromwell Road is part of the company’s broader strategy to evolve its mobility and convenience network across the UK meeting customers’ needs wherever they are on the energy transition.
More than 50 per cent of bp’s customers in the UK visit its retail sites purely to shop.
As bp delivers the next stage of its convenience retail offer, it will test, adapt and learn from live sites and customer feedback to ensure it is continuing to give customers what they want, when and where they want it.
The opening of Cromwell Road adds the fifth charging hub to bp pulse’s west London charging corridor along the A4 to Heathrow. bp pulse's existing network now includes almost 3,500 rapid and ultra-fast charge points, including at over 225 bp retail sites.
bp has been transforming food on the forecourt to meet evolving customer needs. Last year, it brought in Hannah Munns as UK convenience trading director.
With over two decades of experience with retailers such as M&S, Sainsburys, Morrisons and ASDA, Munns came with an extensive knowledge and a passion for food to bp’s UK retail business.
Nan from Del Monte: Honoring Britain’s Baking Traditions
Canned fruit brand Del Monte has crowned Pauline Crosby, a 74-year-old grandmother from Norfolk, as the first-ever “Nan from Del Monte.” This campaign revives the iconic “Man from Del Monte” concept with a fresh, modern approach aimed at celebrating and preserving Britain’s baking traditions.
Pauline, a former military policewoman, was selected following a nationwide competition and public vote to identify a figurehead who embodies the spirit of intergenerational cooking and baking. Nominated by her granddaughter, Poppie, Pauline was praised for her role in creating lasting family memories through her recipes. She is also a proud member of the Women’s Institute, a testament to her commitment to the culinary community.
The “Nan from Del Monte” campaign was born from consumer research conducted by Del Monte, revealing that:
39% of Brits view their grandmothers as key culinary influences.
41% recall their fondest baking memories with a grandparent.
74% worry about the loss of family recipes.
Pauline will serve as an ambassador for traditional baking, sharing her treasured recipes and endorsing new Del Monte creations. Her innovative trifle recipe, featuring Del Monte mandarin slices, will be highlighted on the brand’s website, providing inspiration for families to reconnect in the kitchen. Pauline will also receive a year’s supply of Del Monte products and a NutriBullet blender.
“To win the title of ‘Nan from Del Monte’ is such a privilege,” said Crosby. “I think many of us remember the ‘Man from Del Monte’ adverts, which still make me smile. Now, the ‘Nan from Del Monte’ says yes! Baking has always been at the heart of my family, and I feel so proud to know that my recipes and traditions are being celebrated in this way by such an iconic brand. It’s a joy to see the next generation enjoy the dishes I’ve passed down, and I hope this recognition inspires others to keep these precious family traditions alive.”
Thierry Montange, Marketing Director for Europe and Africa at Del Monte, added: “We are thrilled to announce Pauline as our first-ever ‘Nan from Del Monte.’ This campaign was designed to reignite the nation’s passion for traditional baking and ensure cherished family recipes are preserved for future generations. Pauline truly embodies the spirit of this initiative, and her story reminds us of the invaluable role grandparents play in shaping our culinary culture. We hope her win inspires families everywhere to revive their baking heritage and continue creating lasting memories together.”
Simon Kerry Appointed MD of Molson Coors Western Europe
Simon Kerry has been appointed Managing Director of Molson Coors Beverage Company’s Western Europe division, effective from 24 February.
Kerry takes over from Phil Whitehead, who became President and Chief Executive Officer of the international brewer’s EMEA & APAC division last month.
Kerry, who has been at Molson Coors for 13 years, was formerly Finance Director for the UK and Ireland before becoming Molson Coors’ EMEA & APAC Chief Finance Officer in 2019.
“Simon knows our local and international business very well and has been an instrumental part of our company’s performance over a number of years. He has the drive and vision required for the next stage of our journey and the continued evolution of our brand portfolio.
“A great leader and passionate ambassador for our wider beer and hospitality industry, I can think of no one better to take us forward from here.”
Simon Kerry said: “What this business has achieved over the past few years, particularly coming out of the pandemic and rebuilding in a very volatile economic environment, is a testament to the passion and commitment of our people and the strength of our brands. I feel privileged to take on this role and to have the opportunity to lead this business through its next chapter.”