Unitas Wholesale has been rated number one by suppliers for the second year in succession in the Buying Groups and selected leading wholesalers’ category of the Advantage Benchmarking Report.
In addition, they were also ranked first in the Buying Group-only survey for the second year running.
The group saw particular improvements to their rankings from the previous survey in the areas of business relationships, personnel and organisation, and operational execution.
“it is our aspiration to be first choice business partner for suppliers, and therefore we are absolutely delighted to have been ranked number one, once again, in both reports," said John Kinney, MD of Unitas Wholesale. "Receiving the positive feedback that we have, on how well we collaborate with our partners and have progressed since the previous survey, is extremely pleasing in what has been a very challenging period for the wholesale channel. I would personally like to thank all those supplier partners that completed the survey and supported us to achieve this great position.
"We know that we can continue to build on our success with the Advantage Group data which is always beneficial in identifying areas that still require attention – the good news is that we are already developing plans with a variety of our key stakeholders including our board, members and supplier council to maintain our position as the suppliers' first choice business partner."
October’s footfall figures declined marginally as compared to last year, shows latest industry data, highlighting concerns for a policy environment that supports growth and investment.
According to data by British Retail Consortium (BRC), total UK footfall decreased by 1.1 per cent in October (YoY), down from +3.3 per cent in September. High Street footfall decreased by 3.6 per cent in October (YoY), down from +0.9 per cent in September.
Retail Park footfall increased by 4.8 per cent in October (YoY), down from +7.3 per cent in September. Shopping Centre footfall decreased by 1.6 per cent in October (YoY), down from +2.3 per cent in September.
Meanwhile, footfall increased year-on-year in three of the devolved nations, with Northern Ireland rising by 1.3 per cent, Scotland by 0.8 per cent, and Wales by 0.4 per cent, while England experienced a decline of 1.5 per cent.
Commenting on the figures, Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said, "October’s footfall figures showed a marginal decline compared to last year, primarily due to half-term moving out of the comparison. Despite the decline, retail parks continued to attract shoppers, as they saw positive footfall growth for the third consecutive month. Across England, the northern towns performed best, with Leeds and Liverpool seeing positive footfall last month.
"Retailers have seen footfall consistently fall since the pandemic. Thriving high streets and town centres are not only good for local economies but also form a key part of the social fabric of communities up and down the country. With 6,000 stores closing in the past five years, retailers now need a policy environment that supports growth and investment.”
Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, commented, "After the positive footfall performance we saw in September, October’s footfall dropped back into negative figures compared to the year before. While this will be disappointing for many retailers, who may have hoped the positive figures in September would spell the start of a more consistent uptick in store traffic, it perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise.
"We expect to see a bumpy recovery as a myriad of market conditions - from the cost of living to shaky consumer confidence around the Budget – continue to make footfall performance volatile. Retailers now need to look ahead and focus their efforts on the rest of the Golden Quarter, delivering compelling reasons to visit in order to drive ambient footfall and sales during the key Christmas trading period.”
Children at Ashton Primary School in Preston got into the spirit of Halloween with some spooktacular support from SPAR.
Thirty children in Reception class took part in a cookery session to concoct a healthy pumpkin and carrot soup with ingredients supplied by James Hall & Co. Ltd. SPAR recipe cards were also provided to children to take home alongside additional pumpkins, carrots, and onions, enabling them to recreate their bubbling broth together with their parents.
The cookery sessions were set up to promote healthier eating options and came to fruition with support from Preston City Council and the University of Central Lancashire’s Dietetics department. As part of the Halloween event, children in Reception were also joined by pupils from Years 1 and 2 to allow their imaginations to run wild by decorating a pumpkin in a carving competition.
Reception winner was Almirah with her clever upside-down bat design, while Wiktor won the Year 1 competition with his ‘Happy Halloween’ pumpkin.
Ella-Rose was named the winner of Year 2 competition with her larger ghost pumpkin eating a smaller orange pumpkin, with the design also illuminating through the inclusion of tea lights.
Bryony Readey, Reception teacher and Assistant Headteacher at Ashton Primary School, said: “We are so grateful to SPAR for supplying us with ingredients to promote our healthy eating agenda within school and the children had so much fun in the cookery session.
“We know that they also enjoyed some valuable parent and child time in creating their pumpkins for the competition, and we hope they will replicate that with the recipe cards and ingredients they are taking home.”
Aishah Ibrahim, Junior Fresh Trading Manager at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “This has been a fantastic piece of partnership work supporting Ashton Primary School. We were delighted to hear the children loved the cookery sessions and we were very impressed with the creativity that had gone into the pumpkin carving competition.
“It isn’t often in my role we get to support the community like our retail teams at SPAR stores do every day, but this project has enabled that, and we look forward to working with Ashton Primary School on other initiatives this academic year.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
Kepak Group has announced the acquisition of Summit Foods, a UK-based company specialising in chilled and frozen convenience foods. With annual revenues of £24 million and a team of 200 employees, Summit Foods is an established player in the UK’s convenience food sector. The acquisition, is part of Kepak’s strategic plan to further grow its food business organically and via acquisition.
“We are pleased to welcome Summit Foods to the Kepak Group," said Brian Farrell, CEO of Kepak Foods. "This acquisition aligns with our growth strategy, developing our presence in the UK convenience and out-of-home food channels. Summit's portfolio of fresher for longer sandwiches, chilled and frozen meals & snacks complements our existing micro snacking offerings and allows us to deepen our presence across these markets”.
Summit Foods will continue to operate from its current base in Preston, with no immediate changes to its operations, branding, or customer offerings. The leadership team from Summit will remain in place for a six-month transition period to facilitate a smooth transition.
Kepak plans to leverage its existing distribution network and market expertise to support future growth for Summit Foods. This acquisition strengthens Kepak’s position in the UK’s growing Food To Go and micro-snacking market, valued at £6.8 billion.
Kepak remains focused on delivering business as usual for Summit’s customers and employees, the acquisition provides opportunities for long-term growth. For the immediate future, the two companies will work closely to align operations and explore potential synergies, particularly in the areas of product development and distribution.
Managing Director of Mangrove Global and outspoken industry commentator, Nick Gillett, has provided his reaction to the Labour Government’s Autumn Budget. With doom and gloom forecast by the media well in advance of the Budget’s publication – the new fiscal regime was never expected to be "good for business". That said, there will be many in the hospitality and spirits industries wondering exactly how they’ll manage when the bulk of changes take effect in April next year. Nick says it’s an age-old tale of the government introducing more costs and offering no assistance:
“Prior to the Budget being announced, I said the best we could hope for as an industry was to be left well alone. But sadly, that was a pipe dream.
“And whilst the unprofessional trailing of details hinted it was going to be a lot worse than it was – it’s still nothing to shout about. A vast increase in employment costs, rises to alcohol duty for spirits, and a lessening of the rates relief currently available to the hospitality sector, means that more businesses are bound go under.
“Since Covid and Brexit, many companies have never fully recovered, continuing to operate on the slightest of margins – and these added costs and lessening of support will be the final nail in the coffin for many.”
Since Covid, the Hospitality, Retail, and Leisure sectors have received significant business rates relief to help bolster the struggling sector – in the last few years the relief has remained at 75 per cent. This was hard fought for by industry lobbyists such as UKHospitality, in an attempt to protect businesses and employees alike. In the last Autumn Statement the Conservative Government extended the relief by another year, and still 50 venue closures a month were reported in the first six months of 2024. The latest Budget marks the end of the current relief, with a reduction to 40 per cent confirmed for April 2025.
He added: “To fully understand how damaging this is for hospitality, you need to go way back. The sector was first struck by Covid and the lockdowns. It was hit by increasing costs in alcohol, thanks to increased duty and bureaucracy. Cost of living continues to reduce disposable income and custom. And Brexit has forced out swathes of the workforce that was the lifeblood of the industry.
“Now, the Government continues to pile on costs – and we’ll need to wait and see if any of this actually increases the public’s spending power by putting more money in their pockets. One thing that is for sure – the only way businesses will survive is by increasing prices. And that will have an added effect on inflation.”
The Autumn Budget also detailed a mixed bag of changes that will affect spirits producers - including alcohol duty. Whilst duty on alcoholic drinks served on "draught" will reduce by 1.7 per cent, wine, spirits, bottled beers, and cider will see duty rise by retail price inflation. Both the lower and higher rates of the soft drink levy will also increase to £1.94 and £2.59 per ten litres respectively. Not only will this push up the price of tipple for great British drinkers, but it will also stifle growth.
“Previous, recent rises in alcohol duty have shown that the rise is passed onto consumers, leading to fewer sales, and less money raised for the treasury. So, to confirm another rise seems illogical," Nick continued.
“But let’s get this straight. The hospitality and spirits industries are bursting with talented, creative, and entrepreneurial people. Where these businesses thrive, local economies succeed.
“As much as the Government’s Budget hasn’t gifted us any giveaways, I have no doubt the industry will pull together, weather the storm, and come out the other side. All off the back of the exceptional people behind it.
“And when that happens – the UK economy will once again reap the benefits our success, as it always does.”
The retail technology company Jisp is set to launch its “Jispmas” seasonal campaign to drive additional sales for its brand and retailer partners, and special savings on a range of products for its shoppers.
Jisp introduced its Jispmas campaign two years ago and it proved a huge success for retailers, creating added opportunities for engagement and incremental sales. The campaign has grown in success each year since launch.
Redemptions of the Jispmas promotions through the Scan & Save app jumped by 877 per cent in 2023 versus its inaugural year (2022), with retail sales for the campaign also jumping a massive 807 per cent year-on-year.
The Jispmas campaign in 2023 performed 95 per cent better than a standard promotional period* in terms of retail sales value, demonstrating the impact the campaign has in driving sales for brands and retailers.
The Jispmas campaign provides two opportunities to promote a different special deal daily for a period of 12 days in both November and December** and this year features brands such as Brewdog, Asahi, KP Snacks, Pladis and Hovis.
KP Snacks, Asahi and Hovis all ranked in the top five most popular brand deals in 2023’s promotion, and their return in 2024 is further recognition of the power of Jispmas as a sales driver.
Alex Rimmer
“Jispmas has performed extremely well for us over the last two years providing added theatre and increasing the opportunities for brands to get their products in front of customers with a tantalising discount to aid purchase,” said Jisp’s marketing and communications director, Alex Rimmer.
“The campaign has delivered improved results each year and has been proven to secure an uplift in sales across the promoted products for both brands and retailers, with retailers enjoying the added benefit of increased incremental sales in store.”
The deals are communicated through Jisp’s omni-channel retail media platform, comprising targeted emails, push notifications, in-app pushes, digital advertising, social media and more.
Jisp’s Scan & Save still runs promotions through the entirety of these three-week promotional periods (20/11/24 - 10/12/24 & 11/12/24 - 31/12/24), ensuring no one misses out, but the special Jispmas deals receive additional daily promotion providing added value for brands.
*Comparison is between the two three-week promotional periods prior to the two three-week promotional periods of Jispmas.
**Jispmas campaign runs from 20/11/24 to 01/12/24 and then from 11/12/24 to 22/12/24