Bay Bashir, Lifestyle Express, Bellvue Convenience Store, Middlesborough
Shop size: 800 sq. ft.
Location: housing estate

“My customers want the best brands at the cheapest price so I try and stock as many big brands as I can, as long as I can get them at a good price. I’ve got a lot of local competition so have to try and provide the best deals, but I don’t pay as much attention to this category as I should. We’ve managed to ward off any threat from our local Tesco Express by investing lots of money in the store and improving our offering, but my grocery section is still not up to scratch. Hot drinks sell steadily but I know I’ve not got the ranging and layout quite right. Getting help from Hannah and her team has come at the right time and hopefully I’ll learn a lot from the process.”

Hannah’s thoughts…

“Our key recommendations in Bay’s shop are going to involve a complete range overhaul, ensuring that Bay caters for premium and value ranges across the different segments of the hot drinks category. Attracting his customers to the new offering is the key to getting them off the shelves and into their baskets, so I want to work with Bay on agreeing a new layout that will hopefully draw the eye in.”

Key actions…

High strength teas

Hannah notices that Bay only offers one type of strong blend tea, Tetley Extra Strong and it becomes apparent when talking to Bay that it doesn’t sell well. She replaces it with Yorkshire Tea 40s and 80s to offer customers a choice in pack size, while capitalising in the popularity of the Yorkshire Tea brand in the area. “I used to sell Yorkshire Tea years ago but back then it didn’t sell that well. I’m happy to try it again because trends do change, and there are some good price marked deals on it,” says Bay.

De-caffeinated options

We all know that consumers are becoming more health conscious, and it’s important to tap into that when considering your ranging decisions. Bay doesn’t offer his customers any decaf options which means he’s missing out on a huge trend. “Bay has agreed to let us introduce Kenco decaf refill packs which are ideal for the convenience shopper, and Tetley Decaf 80s, which should sell well with the passing trade as well as his regulars who might be looking for healthier alternatives” says Hannah.

Hot chocolate

Bay only offers a full fat hot chocolate variant which isn’t making the most of the trend towards health, as well as not offering his customers any choice. Bay explains, “I’m aware that there are other hot chocolates on the market that sell really well across the board, I’ve just never thought that introducing them myself would make much of a difference, until now.” Hannah replaces his Wispa hot chocolate with Cadbury Highlights and Options sachets in various flavours.

Other changes…

• The top selling speciality teas and ground coffee lines are added to the fixture to increase awareness and interest.
• Bay is encouraged to run link deals across his biscuits and tea ranges as they are already situated next to each other, perfect to generate incremental sales.

Next steps…

In the August 27 issue of Retail Express we’ll see how Serge and Bay’s sales figures have fared following the implementation of Taylors of Harrogate’s recommended changes.

Over recent weeks, we’ve been tackling the often-neglected category of hot drinks. Working with Taylors of Harrogate and their expertise, we want to increase sales of hot drinks for independent retailers by making some simple tweaks to your fixture. In our last issue you had a sneak peek at the retailers involved with this project, so now it’s time to introduce you properly and see exactly what happened when Retail Express’ Caroline Cronin and Taylors of Harrogate’s category executive Hannah Barnes went in store.

Serge Notay
Notay Stores (Nisa), Heckmondwike
Shop size: 1600 sq. ft.
Location: main road

“None of my customers are brand loyal when it comes to their tea and coffee needs; they usually go for whatever is on offer. That’s why I stock mostly price-marked products and bespoke ‘on request’ items. Frequency of purchase is fairly high with the majority of my customers coming in because they’ve run out or forgotten to buy their tea bags during their weekly shop. I’ve put all our hot drinks at the front of the shop to avoid shoplifters stealing the high value coffee products, so it’s a very visible category in my shop. I want to talk to Hannah about giving it a boost so that I can attract new customers with some new products, and increase volumes with my existing customers.”

Hannah’s thoughts…

“Serge’s fixture already looks very good, dedicating a lot of space to hot drinks and putting it in a good position in-store. There are some opportunities for him to introduce some missing sub-categories like herbal teas and refill coffee packs by delisting some slow sellers and decreasing facings on others. Our strategy will be to boost his profits by broadening his range and encouraging his customers to buy two things, when before they may have bought just one.”

Key actions…

Speciality teas

Serge has recently started selling price marked Tetley Green tea which is going well, so Hannah questions why he hasn’t explored other herbal tea options. “There is a 60% increase in herbal tea sales YOY so it’s a huge opportunity given that Serge already has interest from his customers, as long as its the right price point for him,” explains Hannah. Twinings Peppermint and English Breakfast are added to Serge’s fixture.

Refill pack formats

Roast & ground coffee is becoming increasingly popular, with consumers looking for that premium taste with minimum fuss. “Serge offers a value brand of ground coffee that isn’t selling well for him. Consumers look for brands when they want a more luxurious product, so that’s what he needs to introduce,” Hannah comments. Taylors Rich Italian is the number one selling roast & ground coffee, so this is added to his fixture. Three variants of Kenco refill packs are also introduced, offering a lightweight and Eco-friendly option which is ideal for a top-up shopper.

Other changes…

• Yorkshire Gold 80s are introduced to cater for customers looking for a premium tea bag.
• Products are grouped into shopping ‘missions’ to create more opportunities for mini mid-week shops.
• Horlicks sachets replace Ovaltine tubs as they offer a more attractive price point.

Next steps…

In the August 27 issue of Retail Express we’ll see how Serge and Bay’s sales figures have fared following the implementation of Taylors of Harrogate’s recommended changes.