UEFA Euro Final, Paris, Sunday 10th July – urgent appeal from Wales…!

Amidst mounting anticipation re this evening’s match, a Welsh NamNews reader who had bought tickets to the UEFA Euro Final in Paris on Sunday 10th July, has contacted us.

The problem is that his bride-to-be, appreciating his passion for football, agreed to avoid possible Saturday clashes by settling for a Sunday wedding.

However, he completely forgot that Sunday 10th is his wedding day as he bought the tickets a few months before agreeing to the wedding date.

So he wants to know if anyone is interested in getting married......?

HT to AB

Smartphone shopper-tracking, a privacy-value trade-off?

Presumably, smartphone tracking in the High Street will yield more information than 'standard' security cameras, albeit some inevitable under-counting because of opt-out moves by privacy-sensitive shoppers and non-phone citizens...?

According to The Daily Mail, retailers so far signed up to take part include Pret a Manger, Aldi, Oxfam, Pizza Hut, Superdrug, Thorntons, Dixons Carphone, Patisserie Valerie, Jack Wills, Tortilla, The Entertainer, Eurochange, Itsu, and Ed’s Easy Diner, via 1,000 sensors that will be placed in 81 towns and cities.

The issue for all stakeholders will be the nature of the additional insights harvested - other than names - via wifi linkage, and the use in terms of consumer benefits...

In other words, to escape labelling as 'another 'Big Brother' move, it is important that changes are made in shopper service levels are demonstrably related to the information gathered.

The question is whether the risk of negative reaction by post-Brexit savvy consumers and their representatives, is worth the trouble...

If you thought the Savvy Consumer was demanding in 2010, wait 'til Brexit kicks in...

Brexit for NAMs - Where Now?

In what will be seen to be one of the most fundamental and far-reaching developments affecting how we conduct the NAM Job, Brexit is sending a signal that the savvy consumer has added politics and trust to what defines being a stakeholder in today’s markets, bringing with it the realisation that politics is too important to be delegated  to the politicians.

...and we are all savvy consumers under the skin...

Business is still about reward for risk, fair share dealings, and above all, a need to build and maintain a consumer's trust that the contents will always exceed the description on the tin...

In this inevitable period of uncertainty, we need to revert to basic principles that in some cases can seem like cliches:

• If the numbers don't add up, they probably don't
• If I don't understand my business idea, what can I expect from a distracted buyer?
• If I cannot make the product for less than the consumer is prepared to pay, why bother?
• Continuous Satisfaction of consumer need has to be a fundamental driver, with trust an integral part of the equation...

Brexit, albeit a monumental leap in the dark, means the following:

•  A fall in the value of the pound, meaning that exports will be cheaper, i.e. If your company is UK owned, there will be a positive impact, an advantage vs. imported competitors
• However, brands that rely on imported ingredients will incur higher costs
• Given the inevitable period of uncertainty, many major investment decisions will be put on hold, at least while the numbers are re-run...
• Companies that set up in the UK to ensure 'easy' access to the EU will probably place relocation at the top of the agenda, although it is likely that a new UK government line-up will introduce lower corporation taxes by way of being an offer that few can refuse...
• Above all, running the numbers will become a way of life i.e. The ability to calculate real cost and demonstrate value to the buyer will become increasingly important amidst the uncertainty...
• A NAM's ability to calculate and factor in the risk associated will all business decisions will become a way of life... (even the ability to label ourselves, our company and the customer as risk-averse, risk-neutral or risk-seeking, and acting accordingly, will help...)

Given a reasonably open mind, Brexit will restore our faith in our common sense, and the use of that common sense as a criterion for making decisions.

In these unprecedented times, we the suppliers, retailers and consumers need to work together, using trust as our most valuable resource, keeping to the spirit rather than just the letter of the law or regulation, always aiming to deliver more than it says on the tin, recognising that opportunity lies available now for those that attempt to move forward using basic principles of acceptable reward for risk in business, while others await a return to normal…

Above all, using a slogan that worked well in other times, NAMs need to keep calm and carry on….

Maslow reality check....?

HT to Morten Overbye

When Big Sister knows better.....

What the future of the petrol station looks like

Given the fact that, according to The Economist, although combined petrol and diesel consumption has grown by over 75% since 1970, the number of petrol stations has fallen by nearly 80%, with oil companies first replacing independent operators, in turn oil firms were undercut by supermarkets, which sold petrol at near cost to attract shoppers to their out-of-town sites.

Now that consumers are shopping faster, smaller, closer and more often, another threat looms, in that shoppers are less willing to shop out of town...  These changes probably account for the fact that the petrol stations that remain are selling twice as much fuel.

However, the problem remains for forecourt owners of how to maximise revenue streams from forecourts.

And therein lies the opportunity for NAMs...

Selling more to existing users:  
Apart from the obvious fuel, including super-charging of electric cars, and motor requisites and services, 'feeding' the driver comes second, with goods and services for passengers next.

Then comes food-to-go and top-up shopping for drivers and foot-traffic, as required. And not forgetting Amazonian facilities like click & collect, where appropriate.

In fact, according to The Telegraph, Shell are part of a joint venture with Daimler and others to commercialise hydrogen gas for powering hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and have spent “quite a bit of money” since 2012 revamping 400 of its UK petrol stations – making them larger, adding parking spaces, installing DHL pick-up points – with plans to upgrade 50 more this year.

The company has two sites in Bangkok that sell only V-Power, Shell’s highest quality fuel, alongside a luxury cafe. Each customer gets two attendants – one to serve them and one to service their car. In Luxembourg, Shell operates the world’s largest petrol station, servicing up to 25,000 customers per day (Details and pics on The Telegraph site).

In other words, all possible ways of meeting all possible needs, to optimise the space...

However, one key limitation has been the flat-site heritage where the original (lateral?) thinking - in an era of plenty of low-rent space - decreed that petrol stations had to be single storey, drive-in/out locations.

What is now required is the application of some vertical thinking, in terms of a re-modelling of the site in terms of underground car-parks, and multi-storey buildings, thus allowing the unit to become a multi-service pod that really serves the local market...

So some short term, medium and long term opportunities for creative NAMs...that can combine the best bits of lateral and vertical thinking, without missing a beat...

Head Of Walmart China Taking Over at Asda

This morning's surprise news that Sean Clarke has been appointed CEO from 11 July, indicates a probable change in stance for Asda in its dealings with suppliers:

*   Sean started his retail career in 2001 with Asda where he served as Commercial Finance Director. He then served as Chief Financial Officer in Japan and Germany before moving to Walmart Canada, where he also worked in a CFO role
*   …any doubts about the importance of financed-based argument to the new CEO?
*   …and the rest of the team…?