"Putpockets" give Londoners a Little Extra Cash

Aware that people are suffering in the economic crisis, 20 former pickpockets have turned over a new leaf and are now trawling London's tourist sites slipping money back into unsuspecting pockets
Anything from £5 to £20 is being surreptitiously deposited in unguarded pockets or open handbags in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and other busy spots.
Following a trial run in London ending this weekend, a national roll-out of the £100,000 giveaway will start next week …..Presumably, some of the budget is being set aside to rescue those 'not-quite-reformed' donors who get caught 'un-picking' the wrong pocket!

Hopefully, this injection of funds will not only stimulate shopping activity over the weekend, but will also compensate somewhat for the money being picked from the other pocket by those real experts, the bankers and the tax-man…

Have a long, wallet-held weekend, from the Namnews Team!

LEGO stop-motion 8-bit music video (1500 man-hours in prep, 870,000 visits)

A level of brand-engagement some of us can only dream about…

OFT to investigate online pricing and advertising, but...

The OFT intention to study online advertising and pricing already represents several advantages, including long overdue 'tidying up' and updating of sector definitions such as:

- 'Drip' pricing tactics, where consumers only see an element of price upfront but price increments 'drip' through during the buying process.
- 'Baiting' sales which entice consumers with promises of discounts but then have very few items on offer at the sale price.
- Reference prices, that is, price promotions which create a relatively high reference price compared to sale price, such as 'was £50, now £20', half price, 50% off, or £20 compared to a recommended retail price of £50.
- Time limited offers such as sales which finish at the end of the month or special prices which are available for one day only.
- Complex pricing where it is difficult for consumers to assess unit price, for example three for two or 'non-inclusive' prices where lots of separate (often necessary) components are needed to generate a final price.

These will all be subject to analysis, but unfortunately they may also look at the use of personal information in advertising and pricing — in particular, where information from a consumer's online activity is used to target the internet advertising he or she receives.

In other words, a potential undermining of one of the greatest breakthroughs in 20/21 Century advertising, the use of consumer-need as a basis for targeted advertising messages, a means of reducing SPAM and other info-overload.

Two steps forward, and one step back…come back self-regulation, done properly…!

Tesco's BOGOF ATM

News that a Tesco cash dispenser had suddenly begun to issue double the money requested, was widely regarded as a one-off accident….

However, suppose that this was part of a much bigger Tesco banking agenda, a trial of a new idea in grocery-banking - BOGOF cash dispensing to announce Tesco's upping of the ante in the banking category?

'Obviously' an exaggeration (?), but having taken the creative leap via a 'daft' first step, how about Tesco programming their ATM network to randomly dispense a cash-bogof to lucky ATM customers around the country in order to drive traffic to their machines, and promote their 'no-brainer' escalation of their banking activities (think 25% share, fast, with government encouragement, Darling; banks still not aware of the scale of their recent 'own goals', and a public determined to 'get even' )

Sure, the banks could copy the BOGOF-promo idea, (or complain to their MPs about abuse of public trust !) but with nothing like the same impact, since we don't trust 'regular' banks anymore, do we?

Have a Tesco-weekend, from the Namnews Team!

One we missed: 99p store drives out Poundland

It gets worse…
In January, not only did a penny make enough difference to close a Poundland branch when a 99p store opened opposite and caused Poundland sales to fall 70%, it all happened in the Poole, Dorset. (For those not normally immersed in the property pages, Poole/Sandbanks boasts some of the most expensive real estate in the country…) More

And in case you think this is a one off, a shopping centre that opened in Poole four years ago, still has 75% unlet spaces…

Times are now so unusual that there have to be business opportunities available for those that face up to the new realities, before their bank manager does it for them…

Something for the weekend?

For those KAMs planning to marry 'later in the year', our congratulations…For those who cannot afford to wait any longer, why not meet both needs by fixing it for 9/9/09?

99¢ Only Stores® invites* all brides and grooms-to-be, to get married for 99 cents on 9/9/09 ‘The Luckiest Day of the Century, at the Luckiest Store for Bargain Lovers’ for only 99 cents. If you suddenly get cold feet, don’t worry! they sell a pair of socks for only 99.99 cents! (…apologies…)

Have a hyper-romantic weekend, trying to explain the joke, from the Namnews Team!
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Have you been hit by Project Impact?

In the US, Wal-Mart's battle plan for the recession has been to dramatically change its housekeeping rules, cutting the number of its product lines by as much as 15%, according to some estimates. Wal-Mart is effectively devoting more shelf space to best-selling products and reducing, or even removing, those that don't shift as fast.

According to The Observer Wal-Mart's Supercentres initially stocked more than 100,000 products. But research found that customers spent just 20 minutes in store, so the firm analysed sales data to come up with the "optimal" product selection. That has shifted the balance in favour of the largest consumer goods companies that are already major Wal-Mart suppliers: it accounts for 15% of Procter & Gamble's sales, and 20% and 34% of Kellogg's and Del Monte's business respectively.

In the UK, Asda has been operating its own version of Project Impact, actually called "Less is More", with a 30% reduction in product lines, and, according to some reports, contributions to advertising based upon a percentage of the product's sales.

Fundamental issue for suppliers:

• If your brand is not selling enough to hit Asda hurdle-rates, in a place where its shelf price is probably lowest, then giving it extra support to qualify for retention, and thereby being allowed to contribute a percentage of sales to Asda advertising, is probably not a recipe long term success…
• Better to anticipate the inevitable and re-audit (see Buying Mix Analysis) the brand, before the other recession-mults do it on your behalf…?

Cross-Border Shopping, Threats and Opportunities?

Recent market data suggests that the trend of cross-border shopping from the Republic to Northern Ireland may be abating, but will this trend carry over to the supply/wholesale sector? Irish retail analyst, John Ruddy, reports.

As the only EU territory with a land border with the UK, the Republic of Ireland has long been accustomed to the impact of changing exchange rates. Even before Ireland converted to the Euro, there has been an established trend of crossing the border to get the best value, with shoppers from both sides taking advantage of the geographic proximity to buy consumer goods at lower prices.

As has been widely reported, however, this stream has moved from a trickle to a torrent in the past 18 months. The combination of a weak sterling (against the Euro) and a sudden economic downturn has led to a huge upturn in shoppers from the Republic travelling North to Asda and Sainsbury’s, with the big two NI retailers at one stage commanding almost 3% of the ROI grocery market.

What was once seen as an inexorable rise, however, is now beginning to tail off. This is a result of exchange rate shifts (the Euro is 8% weaker relative to sterling than it was in August 2008, making Asda/Sainsbury’s prices still attractive, but not quite as attractive as before), but primarily because of a heavy bout of price competition between the retailers in the Republic.

Who wins?

More on the KamLibrary

KamQuip of the week:

"Government management of the economy:
If it moves, tax it. If it continues to move, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it".

- Ronald Reagan

Buyers are what we make them?

….over 200 retailers analised* to discover…

A chance typo today in an email from a researcher pal of mine raises the thought that perhaps a supplier’s treatment of buyers over the years has caused them to regress to a more primative stage in their negotiation behaviour?....

…or perhaps not?

* Anal: a stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is concentrated on the anal region; fixation at this stage is said to result in orderliness, meanness, stubbornness, compulsiveness, etc.

Irish Government Propose New Grocery Code of Practice

The Irish Times today publishes details of a Code of Practice that would
- prohibit listing or promotions/displays fees
- require written agreement on retailer marketing costs or shrinkage allowances
- appoint a grocery-funded ombudsman
- allow public consultations response by the end of September!

Issue of statutory or voluntary left open for now, but given the fact that so many backs are closer to the wall than in the UK, coupled with the political pressures arising from a post-Celtic Tiger environment, means that it is highly likely that this code will be implemented on a statutory basis, with an Ombudsman to ensure that the Code's teeth are used.

A pointer for the UK?

Full copy of new draft Code of Practice here

The Inevitable Ombudsman - a way forward to Fair-Share relationships?

Fair-share negotiation is normally the final output of a mutually-beneficial supplier-retailer relationship.
Perhaps this could be a good place for the Ombudsman to start?
See Fair-share Negotiation Video
If you agree, why not pass on the link?

A Healthier, Tougher Phoenix Arising From The High Street Ashes?

Opportunities abound, but not an easy ride…

Firstly, for those still with us, it can be useful for a supplier check its appetite for the coming High Street challenges by updating its own risk-profile based upon 18 months experience of the recession. This means checking whether the company and team are risk-seeking (taking carefully calculated chances), risk-neutral (some risk-taking) or risk-averse (avoiding all possible danger of being successful).

Secondly, the retailers should be assessed vs. likely future and much tougher competition such as national hard and soft discounters and the major grocery multiples, as these players continue to re-populate vacant retail space in the High Street, in a variety of offerings and formats such as non-foods, financial services, home entertainment, food-to-go, and even food-service, with the blessing of local government.

For branded suppliers these developments are particularly threatening in that hard discounters with their surrogate labels at rock-bottom prices, coupled with major multiples using recessionary pressures as an opportunity to grow their own label offering, will change the traditional 50/50 brand/own-label balance in the process.

For these reasons, it is crucial for suppliers to re-assess their competitive appeal vs. available competition from the point-of-view of the new savvy consumer shopping in the High Street. This ‘new consumer’ may be older, less mobile, but given the emergence of the multiples in the High Street, the new consumer-shopper will be worked upon by retail experts and cannot be taken for granted again, ever….