In this months issue

January 2010

While many firms spend mountains of time and money onproduct development, Zed Candy’s founders have a uniquestrategy for conjuring up ideas.

The Barry Group is proving to be one of the most innovativeretail groups operating in the market right now. With twoexpansion projects in the works, the group is paving the wayfor a profitable new year.

2 NEWS

8 ZEDS SWEET SUCCESS

14 COVER STORY - CARRY OUT TO CARRY ON

32 NEWS FEATURE - EXPORT GROWTH SET TO RESUMEA sustained decline in the value of sterling combined with theeconomic downturn and severe difficulties in the global dairymarket created unprecedented challenges for Irish food anddrink exporters in 2009, according to Bord Bia’s ExportPerformance and Prospects recent report.

M.D/Editor: Frank MaddenDeputy Editor: Ruth TimminsBsn. Dev. Managers: Niall P. Madden

Sarah GriffinContributors: Emma Maguire

Tomas O’BrianCirculation: Margaret CorryDesign: 90% Proof

Todays Grocery Magazine Tel 2809466 (6 lines)The Mews email: info@todaysgrocery.comEden Road Upper editorial@todaysgrocery.comDun LaoghaireCo. Dublin www.todaysgrocery.com

Small PrintTodays Grocery Magazine is circulated to all proprietors, directors and managers of allrelevant manufacturers and distributors, to every cash and carry, every multiplesupermarket, group head office and wholesaler, all group affiliated shops and Londis outletsin addition to over 6,300 unaffiliated independent retailers and the country’s leading off-licence outlets. All articles are copyright of Todays Grocery Magazine and cannot bereprinted without the written permission of the editor. All letters to the editor of thismagazine will be treated as having been submitted for publication. The magazine reservesthe right to edit and abridge them.Disclaimer While every effort has been taken to ensure that all information is accurate atthe time of going to press, neither TGM Ltd or Todays Grocery Magazine acceptresponsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions. Please note that the opinions expressed inthe articles are strictly those of the authors.

The next time you seek comfort from financial woes in a bar ofchocolate or packet of sweets, you could be doing your bit forIrish companies that are quietly holding their own during thedownturn.

It has been a happy hallmark of the Celtic tiger years that anumber of Irish business people have risked their capitaltrying to inject new life into Irish brands which mightotherwise have died a slow death due to competition fromforeign-owned brands with greater financial muscle.

52 REVITALISING GREAT IRISH BRANDS10 NEWS

18 NEWS FEATURE - COMFORT EATING

20 NEWS

38 - BREAD- DAIRY SPREADS- FROZEN- HEALTH & BEAUTY

N E W S

2 TGm

The 2009 ExportAwards which took placerecently was a hugesuccess, despite theunprecedented fall ineconomic activityworldwide

E Flahavan andSons Ltd took homethe Irish ExportersAssociation’s overallExporter of the YearAward. The Award,sponsored by IDAIreland, recognisesthe exceptionalperformance ofmultinationalcompanies incontributing toIreland’s impressiveexport performanceThe winner wasDiageo Ireland, St.James’ Gate, Dublin.

Diageo is theproducer of Guinness,which is now aspopular in Ireland asabroad, with 50% of whatis produced in Irelandexported overseas. Themain markets are the UK,USA, continental Europe,Australia and Africa.Exports are sold in 120countries.

According to the judgingpanel, “Ireland’s most iconicbrand continues to showthat after 25 years it canstill out-perform on globalmarkets, despite changingtastes and the shrinkinginternational beer market.”

Guinness export salesfrom Ireland over the pastyear showed an impressivegrowth to reach €622million. The judgesattributed this to thefantastic people in theGuinness export for theirdrive, capability andingenuity with a clear focuson customer service.

The Emerging Markets

Exporter Award recognisesexceptional performanceby small Irish businesses indeveloping export activity.

The award was sponsoredby the County and CityEnterprise Boards and thewinner was Garryvoe FoodsLtd.

Garryvoe Foods Ltd wasestablished in 2001supplying a range of high-quality fresh organic soups,sauces and ready meals.The market positioningstrategy was aimed atappealing to the increasingnumber of health-consciousconsumers in Ireland andEurope. Selling under thename of Organic HarvestFoods, the company isexporting to France with itsrange of fresh organic soup.The products are free ofGMO, gluten, nuts andwheat and all artificialcolours and flavourings. Thecompany also sells itsproducts in eco-friendlypackaging.

The award forManufacturing Exporter

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE

2009 was presented inrecognition of theachievements ofmanufacturing companies insecuring and building newexport markets. EnterpriseIreland sponsored thisyear’s award which was wonby Irish Dog Foods Ltd.

Irish Dog Foods Ltd wasestablished in Arklow in1986 and now operates outof two state-of-the-artfacilities in Naas andKilkenny. The companyprovides an extensive rangeof pet food and treatproducts under multiplebranded and private labeloptions.

Since the year 2000 thecompany has built itsexport sales from zero tosome €16m this year. Thecompany currently employssome 90 people with aturnover in excess of €90mper annum.

The company hasrecently invested in a newmeat treat facility in Naasto produce added-value,high-meat content linessuch as sausages, burgersand meat sticks. Thecompany sells in Britainand recently has achievedmajor contracts in

Germany, France, Italy,Poland, Spain, Portugal,Iceland, Belgium andHolland. More recently ithas finalised contracts tosupply clients in the USAand South Africa.

Sponsored by Bord Biathe Food and Drink ExportAward 2009 was won by EFlahavan and Sons Ltd.

Over the past 12months Flahavans hasembarked upon its largeststrategic investment plan,committing €1.6m incapital investment in moreenergy efficient dryers,which are capable of fasterdrying, as well as newstorage units specifically fororganic oats with capacityfor 4,000 tonnes.

Flahavan’s has beenoperating in Kilmacthomasfor over 200 years and hasbeen a source of localemployment for sixgenerations. It is one ofIreland’s longest family-runbusinesses and is now thecountry’s only remainingoat mill. It sources all theingredients from the localfarming community and is aleading promoter of organicfoods.

TGM

January 2010 3

4 TGm

Dunnes Stores has losta High Court challengeaimed at halting itsprosecution over allegedlyfailing to supply the CentralStatistics Office (CSO) withstatistical information onthe supermarket chain’strade.

The CSO has sought theinformation under lawsallowing the State tocompile statistics onnational trade, financial andbalance of paymentsinformation. Dunneschallenged the validity ofthe information requestsand claimed providing suchinformation was undulyburdensome and coulddamage its business.

Mr. Justice IarfhlaithO’Neill dismissed Dunne’sjudicial review challenge tothe lawfulness of a direction

from the director general ofthe CSO requiring it toprovide information on aquarterly basis in relationto its group activities for2006 and 2007.

The CSO sought theinformation under theStatistics (Balance ofPayments and FinancialAccounts) Order 2005,made by the Minister forState at the Department ofthe Taoiseach on February6th,

Dunnes was served withsix summonses in October2007 for (Balance ofPayments and FinancialAccounts) Orders 2005,but those proceedings havestood adjourned pendingthe High Court case.

The CSO had requestedDunnes to complete twostatistical forms on a

quarterly basis relating toits group activities for 2006and 2007 - a balance ofpayments survey ofmanufacturing and non-financial service companies,and a balance of paymentssurvey of trade in serviceand royalties.

Dunnes claimed itcompletes its accounts onan annual basis and it wasan excessive burden tosubmit statistical returns ona quarterly basis. As aprivate company, it claimedthe release of confidentialinformation could be highlydamaging to its business.

It alleged theinformation wasunnecessary and in excessof the powers of the CSO.

The CSO claimed theinformation was essential tooverall information on the

economy and was requiredto comply with the countrysinternational obligations onprovision of trade data.

Mr. Justice O’Neill saidthe Statistics Act 1993made a clear distinctionbetween the roles of theTaoiseach/Minister of Stateand that of the directorgeneral. The latter wasresponsible for the runningof the CSO, and thefunction of theTaoiseach/Minister of Statewas to exercise asupervisory role and makerelevant regulations.

He ruled the 1993 Actempowers the Minister ofstate to prescribe by orderthe frequency with whichinformation is to beprovided to the directorgeneral.

Dunnes Stores loses challenge

N E W S

January 2010 5

It had looked like thebest news in years, but thesuggestion by a leadingSpanish wine maker thatclimate change could makeIreland an ideal location forfuture operations has beenquestioned by an Irishproducer.

Miguel Torres of Torreswines had said climatechange was already forcingcompanies like his to buyland up in the Pyrenees“just in case”.“Temperatures have alreadyrisen by one degree; if theyincrease by five, southernEurope will be full of aridsteppes and we could seecommercial grapeproduction in countries asfar afield as Ireland,” hesaid.

A grower and a scientisthowever have left ussucking grapes of wrath.Michael O’Callaghan,Ireland’s most successfulwine grower, said hethought it would be a verylong time before the climatehere would allow forextensive wine production.

“I have not been able tomake wine since the greatsummer of 2006,” said theCorkman who supplies hiswine to Longueville Housein Mallow. “I have had tomove into apple productionand now make Calvados,the apple brandy calledEden, which is a commercialsuccess,” he said.

He said the mainproblem in growing grapesfor wine in Ireland was thetemperature needed for theblossom to set fruit was 19degrees. “That is difficult toachieve and I think it will bequite some time before youwill see the countrysidecovered in vineyards.

“A few others who usedto grow vines here have

stopped,” he said.His view was shared by

Teagasc head of researchFrank O’Mara.

“It is unlikely to happen

in my lifetime,” he said. “Weare very unsure what thepattern will be like, but Ifind it difficult to envisagewidescale wine productionhere because of climatechange.”

Irish wine industry wither on vine

TGM

In line withexpectationsSales for the first half of

Fiscal Year 2009/10 atPernod Richard, (ending31/12/2009) have been inline with expectations, witha circa 3% net salesorganic* decline. Thisresulted from an improvedsecond quarter with a 2%decline, after a 4% declineover the first quarter, on astill challenging comparisonbasis.

Asia showed a good

performance with confirmeddynamism in China andIndia and first signs ofrecovery in South Koreaand in Duty Free markets.

Business remaineddifficult in Europe, withhowever a good resistancein France and an improvingtrend in Eastern Europe.

In the Americas sales inthe US have not yetbenefited from theeconomic recovery whilesales remained globally welloriented in the othercountries of the region.* on a like-for-like basis

6 TGm

N E W S

The drinks industry issuffering a €30m hangoverafter the government’sdecision to reduce exciseduty on alcohol in thebudget.

Wholesalers and off-licences that bought theirChristmas stock before thebudget have been told theywill not be able to claim arebate from the RevenueCommissioners followingthe reductions. The move islikely to cost the drinksindustry between €25mand €30m, according togovernment estimates.

The drinks industrydescribed the situation as“devastating” and said itwould result in significant

job losses in the sector.Drinks firms reduced the

price of alcohol in line withthe measures announced inthe budget, on theassumption they would beentitled to a refund.However, the state hasruled out any rebate.

Pat Cooney owner of theM&J Gleeson Group, one ofthe country’s largest drinksdistributors, said that themove would “decimate thetrade”. He estimated itwould cost his business atleast €1 million.

“This will basically cost

us €2 on every case ofbeer,” said Cooney. “Thereare a lot of guys out therestruggling - this might killthem off altogether.”

Cooney said thegovernment should issueimmediate refunds. “We putdown the prices in goodfaith, and that good faithhas to be honoured by thegovernment,” he said.

Jim Barry, managingdirector of the Barry Group,the Cork wholesaler, saidthe industry welcomed thedecision to reduce exciseduty, but described thedecision not to allow a claw-back on excise already paidas “ill-conceived and ill-thought out”.

“Something needs to bedone. Everyone has stockedup on the old prices and weare selling at the newprices. There is a 10 percent gap and the industry iscaught for it,” said Barry.

However, thegovernment is unlikely tochange policy. Governmentsources said that theindustry has benefited fromprevious excise hikes bybuying stock in advance ofthe budget, and the sectornow had to deal with thereverse situation.

Excise cut - €30 loss

Losses at Molloy group

A bitter pill to swallow

The Molloy pub and off-licence group made a €22million loss last year, aftertaking a significant hit onits investment portfolio.

The group lost almost€800,000 on the sale ofquoted investments, andalso provided for a furtherloss of €950,00 on thevalue of other investments,according to new-filedaccounts for the year to theend of January 2009

Turnover fell from€33.4 million to €31.6mduring the year. It was thesecond year in a row thatMolloy Holdings had goneinto the red. The company

lost €826,000 the previousyear.

Despite the losses, thegroup has retained profitsof €23.7m after manyyears of solid revenues.

Molloy Holdingsoperates ten Molloy’sLiquor Store off-licencesand two Dublin pubs. In2006, it sold the SwissCottage in Santry and theGreyhound Bar inBlanchardstown, resultingin a profit of €9.5m for theyear. The company stillowns two Dublin pubs, theFoxes Covert in Tallaght andthe Gallops inLeopardstown.

Amid the outbreak ofnational mourning thatgreeted Cadbury’s dramaticdecision to surrender 186years of independence,there were the usual criesthat“somethingmust bedone”.

One far-flung memberof thefoundingCadbury family describedthe Kraft takeover as “ahorror story”. The USconglomerate “won’tunderstand the history andquality of the company”said Felicity Loudon, greatgranddaughter of GeorgeCadbury.

The 186-year-old Britishconfectionery groupCadbury has accepted animproved €13.3 billiontakeover bid from KraftFoods.

The Britishconglomerate justified itsdecision to sell out to theUS food group as the priceof globalisation. “The realityis we are part of a global

business,” Cadburychairman Roger Carr saidafter recommending thatshareholders accept thehigher Kraft offer, valuingCadbury at 850p per share.

The dealwill create theworld’s largestconfectioner,displacingprivately heldMars. Thetakeover

created a company withabout €35 billion in annualsales.

Cadbury investors willget 840p a share, including500p in cash and the restin stock, Kraft said.Cadbury will also pay itsholders an additional 10pdividend once the offer isunconditional.

For Todd Stitzer,Cadbury’s chief executive,the blow of Kraft’s victorywill be softened by thecollection of a large cheque.His shareholding in thegroup is now worthsomewhere in the region ofStg£7 million.

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8 TGm

While many firms spendmountains of time and money onproduct development, BrendanRoantree and Donal Kavanagh havea unique strategy for conjuring upideas.

There are no focus groups, noexternal consultants, no extravagantmarket research. Instead, the twoowners of Zed Candy sink some pintsand pizza and let the creative juicesflow.

“We get help from two friends,Mr. Carlsberg and Mr. Domino’sPizza,” said Roantree, Zed Candy’smanaging director. “We will have acouple of beers and a pizza, and weend up writing on a paper tablecloth.That is an ideas session”.

There approach may be unusual,but it has proved highly productive.From a standing start in 1998, ZedCandy now manufactures almost 500types of confectionery products, mostof them dreamed up by thecompany’s two founders, both intheir 40s.

Their output has includedeverything from Jumbo Jawbreakersto Mint Fireballs, from Terror Eyesbubble gum to Snot Shots candy.Nothing is off-limits - at the lastsession, Roantree and Kavanaghdevised a liquid filled bubble gum,which they intend to market as a ‘PusBall’.

However, in recent times theirsessions have become increasinglydifficult to schedule. With Zed Candyin the midst of a major internationalexpansion, the two men are rarely inthe same country at the onetime.”We have been more on Skypethan we have been in the one room,”said Roantree. “Much of our businessis overseas, so that’s where we haveto be.”

Recently, the company hasfinalised deals to distribute itsproducts in Argentina, Bolivia andSaudi Arabia. At last count, ZedCandy is exporting to more than 40countries.

In addition to building new

markets, the pair have also beenbusy building a new manufacturingplant. Two years ago, they decided totransfer the firm’s mainmanufacturing facility from CoKildare to a new 120,000 sq ftpremises in the Chinese city ofDongguan. The move requires eitherKavanagh or roantree to be on site atall times.

“We have been doing a tag teameffort over and back to China,” saidKavanagh.

“Moving to a new house down throad is very stressful. Moving afactory of that scale to the other sideof the world was a massiveundertaking. One of us had to bethere.”

In theory, Roantree is the firm’smanaging director, while Kavanagh isin charge of sales and marketing. Inreality, the two business partnerssimply do whatever job is necessary.

“There is 48 hours worth of workto be done in the business each day,and one person can only do 24.Fortunately, there are two of us. Weroll our sleeves up, and do what wehave to do,” said Kavanagh.

In 2007, they bought OatfieldConfectionery, the Co Donegalcompany that manufactures a rangeof traditional sweets, such asEmerald Toffees, Eskimo Mints andglucose barley.

The company was established in1927 and is Ireland’s oldest sweetmanufacturer. Roantree andKavanagh are now determined togive the Oatfield business amakeover.

“We are in the confectionerybusiness, and when we heardOatfield was for sale, we werechamping at the bit. It is a specialiconic Irish brand” Kavanagh said.“But it was also a very old, very tiredbrand. Nothing had really been donewith it in a long time.It needed to berebranded and that is what we arenow doing.”

As part of the rebrandingprocess, Zed Candy has modernised

Oatfield’s distribution model andupdated its packaging. The companyis also investing €250,000 in a tvadvertising campaign.

Oatfield brand sales haveincreased by a third since theproduct redesign, and Roantreeexpects the tv promotion to lift salesby a further 15 to 20 per cent.

“We are trying to get themarketing wheel going, whereadvertising feeds revenue andrevenue feeds advertising,” saidRoantree.

“Everyone knows Oatfield and itsbrands and everyone has a favourite.But if you ask them the last time theybought the product, it could be tenyears. We bought Oatfield becausewe believe in the brand. If you have agood brand, you have potential.”

The Oatfield acquisition was notwithout its difficulties, however. Thecollapse of sterling against the euroover the past year has had asignificant impact on the factory’sbusiness, with the cost of exporting

Zed’s sweet success

Brendan Roantree and Donal Kavan

Z E D S S W E E T S U C C E S S

into its main markets sky-rocketing.For the first six weeks of this year,

sales practically dried up. “Thefactory took a kicking and we werehurt very, very badly,” said Kavanagh.

“Unfortunately, we were in Chinaat the time. But we are back now andwe are going to make it happen upthere. We love that factory and welove those brands.”

Kavanagh and Roantree insistthat the firm is not planning to moveOatfield’s Letterkenny-based factoryto China.

Instead, they intend to increasethe company’s 60-strong workforceover the coming year to cope withthe projected increase in sales.

“We are in the middle ofrenegotiating the lease on the factoryup there. Hand on heart, we want tokeep that factory open,” saidKavanagh.

“Our lifestyle and our families arein Ireland and that is where we wantto be.”

Kavanagh and Roantree said the

decision to relocatefrom Kildare to Chinatwo years ago wasmade from necessity,rather than profit.Although it resulted inthe loss of 150 jobs,the two owners said itsecured the long-termviability of the company

They had beenfinding it increasinglydifficult to keep costsunder control inIreland, with labourcosts rising at 8 percent each year. Thecompany looked atbuilding another plantin Ireland, but Roantreesaid the finances simplydid not stack up. Themove to China hadallowed the company todevelop itsinternational reach.

“Moving to Chinawas as much abouttargeting new marketsas it was about the costof building the factory.If you manufacture in

Europe, you pay European sugarprices,” he said.

“When we were leaving Kilcock,that was about $900 a tonne whenthe rest of the world was paying$250 a tonne. This prevented usfrom going into Asia or the US,because we could not sellcompetitively to those market. Thishas changed now.”

The move was also prompted by aparticular set of circumstances. TheZed Candy manufacturing facility wason a five-acre site at Kilcock in CoKildare. The land had just be rezonedfor residential use, and its valuesoared.

Roantree and Kavanagh wouldnot comment on the value of thedeal, but it was widely reported thatthe developer Sean Dunne paid morethan €18 million for the site. Themoney funded the plant in China, theacquisition of Oatfield and thebuyout of the other investors in ZedCandy, including a number of privateventure capitalists.

“The other guys wanted to cash intheir chips and take their money out.Brendan and myself wanted to stayin. We have put all our cash on red,”said Kavanagh.

Roantree and Kavanaghestablished the company in 1998,but have long histories inconfectionery. Roantree had workedas marketing director for LeafIreland, the confectionery company,while Kavanagh was also involved inthe sweet business.

The pair secured outside funding,and developed the company’s firstproduct, Zed Bubble Gum. Threeyears later, they bought out Leaf,which had been suffering a decline inbusiness, according to Roantree.Within a year Zed had returned Leafto profitability.

It was the first in a number ofacquisitions. In 2001, Zed boughtTilley’s, the British sweetmanufacturer behind Rosey Apples,bull’s eyes and sherbet lemons.

Tilley’s currently employs 42people and produces 50 tonnes ofsweets a week. The firm alsoacquired a company in China, whichhas since been amalgamated into theDongguan factory. That companynow employs more than 200 peoplein China.

“We are an acquisitive company. Ifa brand we like comes up, we willmove for it. Likewise, we are notafraid to sell brands. We sold MrFreeze when we moved to China,”said Kavanagh.

“We were always looking to grow,and grow internationally. We alwaysknew that the bubble gum market isa small market in any one country, soyou have to sell into a mixture ofmarkets if you want to make a largebusiness.”

According to its owners, thecompany’s expansion has not beenbadly affected by the recession. Corerevenues are growing at around 20per cent, while the company isprofitable.

“Obviously things are tough, butpeople still buy sweets,” Kavanaghsaid. “sterling was a big issue. We arepassionate about this business. Welove this business. We wouldn’t wantto be anywhere else.”

January 2010 9

nagh, founders of Zed Candy

TGM

10 TGm

The government shouldcut excise duty on wine by20 per cent, according tothe Irish Wine Association,which claims that 25 percent of people in the sectorhave lost their jobs.

Philip Robinson,chairman of the association,said wine sales had fallenalmost 11 per cent thisyear, and action wasneeded to stem rising joblosses.

“Four companies havegone out of business, andthe balance of the industryhas reduced its numbers by25 per cent, which amountsto hundreds of jobs. Manymore have been lost in thehospitality sector,” he said.

Figures from theRevenue Commissionersshow that wine sales aredown 10.9 per cent thisyear. They recorded theirfirst drop last year whensales fell by 2.5 per cent.

Robinson said that lastyear’s 50 cent increase in

excise on every bottle ofwine had a dramatic impacton sales. He said a 20 percent excise cut was requiredto save jobs, safeguard taxrevenues and stem the tideof cross-border wineshopping.

Robinson said themajority of shoppers weregoing north for alcoholpurchases and thenshopping for other items,such as groceries.

The Republic has thehighest excise rates inEurope for wine and thesecond-highest for beer andspirits, he said.

“Excise is now €2.50 onevery bottle (of wine). It isworse for spirits. Theindustry is facing verychallenging conditions,”Robinson said.

The Irish WineAssociation, said the sectorcontributed more than€460m in Vat and excise tothe state.

A call for cut in excise duty Credit dries up

Largo set for profit

Retailers, includingmany household names,are increasingly beingforced to pay cash upfrontfor goods, due to asignificant reduction intrade credit insurance.

Billions of euros intrade is covered by tradecredit insurance, but adramatic increase in baddebts and claims hasresulted in cover beingslashed by insurers.

Monthly claims paid outhave escalated from €2-3million a month to €20million a month this year,according to Atradius, oneof the leading insurers.

While the constructionsector was the first sectorto be hit by reduced creditinsurance, retailers and thehospitality sector are nowunder pressure.

Trade credit insurance isprovided to supplierswhich, in turn, give creditterms to buyers.

But insurance

companies are now takinga much closer look at thebuyers getting that credit.

Buyers who have noformal relationship with thetrade credit insurers havebeen asked to providefurther financialinformation before cover isgiven.

In some cases,management accountsmust be furnished regularlyto satisfy the insurers.

Claims being paid out inthe credit insurancemarkets well exceedpremium income atpresent.

This has forced insurersto drastically reassess howthey measure risk, as thefall in consumer confidencehas put the spotlight on theretail sector in particular.

Crisp maker LargoFoods expects to make anet profit this year in spiteof sales in Ireland of itsleading snackfood brands -Tayto, King and HunkyDorys - remaining flat atabout €76 million.

“Our sales are up 27per cent in the North, butin the South they’re flat.There’s no growth,” RayCoyle, Largo’s owner andfounder said. “If we canhold sales here at the levelwe’re currently at, I’d behappy.”

Largo’s various crispsbrands currently have amarket share of 47 percent, according to thecompany.

Coyle said the

restructuring of thebusiness last year, whichalso saw the company’sreduce raw materialcosts and cut wages by 5per cent for staff and 10per cent for management,would enable Largo topost a profit in the currentfinancial year.

Largo sales to the restof the world increased to€18.3 million last yearfrom €16.7 million in2007.

Largo operatesmanufacturing plants inGweedore, Co Donegal andAshbourne, Co Meath. Italso part-owns a popcornfactory in Barnsley.

It buys 10 per cent ofIreland’s national potato

N E W S

TGM

January 2010 11

DUP EnvironmentMinister Edwin Poots hasruled out bringing in aplastic bag levy similar tothat in the South.

While the Southern levyled to a dramatic reductionin the use of plastic bags,Poots said he was opposedto introducing a levy nowbecause of its effects on thepoor.

“For the moment Iprefer to continue tosupport the voluntaryapproach to changing ourshopping habits rather thanimpose additional costsduring these difficulteconomic times,” he said.

“Results of the voluntary

approach announced in July2009 showed thatsupermarkets in NorthernIreland managed to reducethe number of single usecarrier bags by 38 per cent- this equates to 7.6 millionless bags handed out inNorthern Ireland.”

No bag levy

Use-by dates critical

Tesco is to set up aStg£100m joint venturewith a group of Asianinvestors to build threelarge shopping centredevelopments in China

Britain’s biggestsupermarket group ispushing into China’s rapidlygrowing retail market. It willform a 50-50 joint venturewith HSBC Nan Fung ChinaReal Estate Fund, MetroHoldings of Singapore andNan Fung Group of HongKong.

One of the sites in thejoint venture will be Tesco’sfirst Chinese shopping

centre development - a500,000 sq ft retail,entertainment andresidential centre at Fushanin the north-east of thecountry.

The partnership will alsoopen two other malls innorthern China, in Anshanand Qinhuangdao.

Each mall will have aTesco hypermarket as itsanchor tenant.

The structure of thepartnership aims to allowTesco to expand in China ina capital-efficient way. Itexpects To invest aboutStg£100 in the centres.

If the first centres aresuccessful, Tesco could rollout a series of malls inChina.

Tesco entered theChinese market much laterthan rivals such as France’sCarrefour, Germany’s Metroand Walmart of th US, eachof which has beenoperating hypermarketsthere for at least a decade.

However, it has alreadydeveloped a network of 65hypermarkets and will opena further 18 by February.Much investment will beconcentrated on China inthe next year or two.

Tesco Stg£100m expansion

Over one quarter ofconsumers never read foodlabels but, for those whodo, information on nutritionand calorie content is ofincreasing importance,according to a new survey.

Nearly three-quarters ofthose surveyed for the FoodSafety Authority of Ireland(FSA) considered existingfood labeling to beinformative, and a majoritybelieves information aboutsell-by dates and country oforigin should becompulsory

Some 27 per cent ofconsumers said they always

read labels when shoppingfor food, up from 8 per centwhen a similar survey wasconducted in 2002.

Asked to rate theimportance of informationlegally required on foodlabels, consumers rankedthe use-by/best before dateas most important, followedby the ingredients list andthe name of the food.

The vast majority ofconsumers considered thenutrition table on a label tobe very or fairly important,but most would prefer tosee nutrient values statedper portion (e.g. per bowl),

than per 100g or 100ml.Over 70 per cent of

consumers surveyed saidthey were very or fairlyconcerned about salt infood.

Currently, the saltcontent of a food isdeclared as “sodium”, butthe majority of consumerssaid they would prefer tosee a “salt” value on thelabel instead.

More than 80 per centwanted health advice onthe consumption of alcohollabelled on such products.

12 TGm

Drinks manufacturerC&C saw its share pricejump almost 9 per cent onthe back of anannouncement that it is toacquire the British cider

assets of ConstellationBrands.

C&C has agreed to buythe Gaymer Cider Companythe UK’s second largestcider manufacturer, for

Stg£45 million from USwine company ConstellationBrands.

The transaction isexpected to be completedby mid-January 2010, andwill broaden C&C’s existingcider offerings beyondBulmers and Magners toinclude brands such asBlackthorn, Olde Englishand Gaymers.

Under the terms of thedeal C&C will also acquire acider production facility inShepton Mallet, Somersetand a distributionwarehouse in Bristol.

As well as strengtheningits position in the UK cidermarket, it will shift C&C’sfocus away from on-tradesales towards the faster-growing off-tradedistribution channel.

The acquisition is alsoexpected to enhanceearnings immediately anddeliver Stg£3 million of costand revenue “synergy”benefits by February 2013.

C&C is currentlyengaged in a consultationprocess with the 250employess of Gaymer Cider.

C&C acquire UK cider company

N E W S

Groups wants cut in excise dutyFood business Aryzta

said its guidance regardingunderlying earnings pershare still appeared“reasonable” after it postedsales of €729.1 million forthe first quarter of itsfinancial year.

In a trading update forthe 13 weeks to the end ofOctober, the firm, whichowns the Cuisine de Francebrand, said food revenuefell 8.4 per cent in thequarter, following trends inthe previous year.

In Europe, food revenuefell by 114 per cent during

the period due to toughtrading conditions in Britainand Ireland, where therevenue decline widened to25 per cent.

Weak spending in itsother European markets-Switzerland, Germany,France and Poland - hitrevenue, but the firm said ithad expanded its channelpenetration.

In North America, foodrevenue fell 2.1 per centcompared to growth of19.5 per cent in the samequarter a year earlier.

Aryzta chief executive

Owen Killian said thebusiness was performing inline with expectations in thefirst quarter of its 2010financial year.

“Aryzta will remainfocused on cash generationand improved operatingefficiency. As a result thebusiness is in an excellentposition to benefit fromimproved trading conditionsand acquisitions when theyarise,” he said.

Aryzta was formed in2008 following a mergerbetween Iaws and Swissbakery group Hiestand.

Tomatoes are hailed asa superfood, packed withvitamins and anti-oxidantsthat can help preventcancer.

Unfortunately, sucharguments still fail topersuade fussy children toeat them.

But a sweet version ofthe fruit could overcometheir objections.

Growers in Spain haveproduced the sugardroptomato, which they claim is

as sweet as a peach. It isthe result of two years ofcross-breeding involving3,000 varieties, on behalfof Tesco.

And the sugardrops,which are similar in size toa cherry tomato will beeven more nutritious. Just ahandful will provide around50 per cent of a child’srecommended daily dose ofvitamin C.

To produce the newvariety, growers foundtomatoes with already highsugar levels and cross-pollinated them.

Highlighting thesugardrop’s “superfood’properties should helpboost their popularity

The description has ledto a 305 per cent increasein the sale of blueberries inthe past 12 months

But the benefits comeat a premium - a 280gpunnet of sugardrops willcost at least €2.

As sweet asa peach

Tesco posted quarterlysales growth towards thebottom end of forecasts,held back by a drop in food-price inflation, but said agradual consumer recoveryremained on tract.

“We are see improvingcustomer confidence andencouraging trends in boththe UK and ourinternational businesses,although recessionaryconditions still exist in anumber of markets,” Tescochief executive Terry Leahysaid.

The supermarket group,which makes about three-quarters of its profit inBritain, said sales at Britishstores open at least a yearrose 2.8 per cent, excludingpetrol and VAT sales tax, in

the 13 weeks to November28th - its fiscal thirdquarter. that was downfrom 3.1 per cent in thesecond quarter.

Britain is taking longerto emerge from recessionthan other majoreconomies and a retailsurvey has signalled only agradual recovery. The UKgovernment will also needto raise taxes to tackle itshuge deficit and is expectedto confirm it is reversing acut in VAT sales taxintroduced last year.

Tesco which has morethan 4,300 stores in 14countries, said group salesrose 8.8 per cent excludingpetrol, with strong growthin Asia offsetting a flatperformance in Europe.

Tesco sales at lower end

Lir posts profitsLir chocolates, which

manufacture luxury-endIrish truffles has returned toprofits in the year to April2009, having made a lossthe previous year.

The company returnedprofits before taxation of€129,000 according toaccounts filed to theCompanies RegistrationOffice for the year end April30th 2009, havingreturned losses of morethan €585,000 a yearpreviously.

Lir’s 2008 losses werepartially attributed to theloss of €750,000 on

foreign exchange due to theweakening of sterlingagainst the euro as well aslisting exceptional items of€56,226 in relocation andredundancy costs.

The now Navan-basedcompany was merged withBritish confectionerycompany Kinnerton, asubsidiary of Zetar, a UKpublicly quoted foodholding group.

The company employed159 staff in its Meath baseup until the end of April2009, an increase of 27staff on the previous year.

`

There was a 17 per centincrease in food safetybreaches by shops andrestaurants last year,according to the Foodsafety Authority of Ireland(FSAI).

Some 34 businesseswere ordered to close for aperiod because of breachesof food safety legislation,the same number as in2008.

Thirteen businesseswere ordered to stop sellingcertain foodstuffs becauseof a risk to food safety,more than double the sixprohibition orders issued in

2008. The number ofimprovement orders issuedalso rose from six to seven.

In total, 4 enforcementorders of various kindswere issued byenvironmental healthinspectors, up from 46 theprevious year.

The authority said it wasunacceptable that somebusinesses were continuingto breach food safety lawsand warned all foodbusiness operators to placerobust food safetymeasures and hygienepractices to the top of theiragenda for the new decade.

Food safety breaches rise

January 2010 13

TGM

14 TGm

The Barry Group is proving to beone of the most innovative retail groupsoperating in the market right now. Withtwo expansion projects in the works,the group is paving the way for aprofitable new year. Barry’s is set toincrease its number of Carry Out offlicences by 50% following theacquisition to buy the chain inDecember. The group will double thenumber of off licences to 100 within twoyears; a move sure to make competitors

nervous. In addition, the group hasopened a new discounted warehouse inCo. Meath as part of its Buy Lofranchise. With a new year and a newdecade upon us, the group’s expansiveoutlook is the type of upbeat start manywill welcome.

According to Jim Barry, Groupmanaging director of the Barry Groupthey are satisfied that after sealing theCarry Out deal they will do somedamage to rival off licence chains withplans to extend and develop the offlicence format wherever possible as

opportunity arises.The Carry Out off licence chain is

operated under franchise and wascontrolled by fellow Cork based GalvinsWholesale which went into voluntaryreceivership in September last. Galvins’has been under pressure for some timewith debts mounting as a result ofexpansion plans. The group had hopedto have 75 Carry Out outlets up andrunning by 2009. However, the existing52 chains are maintaining profitably

according to the group.In November last, a provisional

liquidator was appointed to GalvinsWholesale, despite efforts to salvagethe business; including renegotiatingpayment terms with its largest tradingcreditor Diageo, to which it owed anestimated €3.7m.

The Barry’s Group, operates 138Costcutter outlets in Ireland, supplyingwine, beer and spirits to the outlets.From its central distribution centre inMallow, Barry’s supplies 700 stores.The group has plans to expand its

125,000 sq ft distribution centre todeal with the new business. Work on thefacility will get underway in 2010.

Barry’s employs 218 people andmade a pre-tax profit of almost €2.7mlast year. It is speculated that the CarryOut deal will add an estimated €42m tothe group’s turnover of €212.5m. Todate, Jim Barry says the group hasalready received interest from potentialfranchisees of the group.

The Barry Group enters the off-

licence trade at both an interesting andopportunistic period in Irish drinkingculture. There has been a steady shiftof alcoholic drinks volume sales fromthe on-trade to the off-trade. Thismovement came as a result of risingunit prices, as well as the effects ofrandom breath tests.

This change in drinking culture wasevident throughout Ireland. A lot of thishas been due to the concept ofcocooning which is characterised by thepropensity of many consumers to dothe bulk of entertaining in the comfort

C A R R Y O U T T O C A R R Y O N

Carry Out to Carry On

of their own home. Naturally, thecocooning trend has seriousconsequences for publicans as well asbrand owners, many of which are beingforced to adjust their portfolios andreduce their emphasis on the strugglingon-trade sector.

Irish drinkers are the second highestconsumers of beer in Europe, behindthe Czech Republic. Consumers inNorthern Ireland consume an averageof 101-litres of beer per year whilethose in the Republic consume 187-litres. However, in both the Republicand Northern Ireland, pub sales of beerby volume have declined in the lastnumber of years. Due to a combinationof growing in-home consumption, therising price of on-trade beer and thesmoking ban.

Faced with the unfortunate couplingof declining volume sales and thepressure of shareholder commitments,some beers have raised the averagebarrel prices to gain pack profitability.This placed further pressure onpublicans, leading some boycotting ofcertain brewers and thus providing anopportunity for alternative and foreignbrands, in recent years.

Some consumers choose to drinkmore in-home before they go to the pubwhile also enjoying more casual

drinking during the week. As a resultvalue sales from off-licences have risen.Another problematic situation fordrinks companies is the fact that thequantity of beer drinking in Ireland hasbeen in decline. Health motivations,media spotlight on binge drinking, risein popularity of wine and cider and lessincentive to go to the pub are just someof the reasons behind this worryingtrend.

In essence, the market is goingthrough a period of readjustment. Oneof the principal trends to have evolvedfrom this transition period is the growthin bottled lagers, which has ultimatelycontributed to the decreased volume ofbeer sold overall. However, this slowingmarket is regaining momentum interms of value due to the higher priceper litre of bottled water.

The smoking ban, introduced in2004, has been hailed as a successamongst various health andgovernment agencies, along with themajority agreement by consumers.However, the on-trade has been hithard with alcohol consumption fallingand this has a directly adverse affect onbeer.

Similarly, the abolishment of theGroceries Order in 2006, which keptprices of groceries at an artificially high

level, has resulted in a price war onalcoholic drinks. This, coupled with thesignificant increase in the presence ofmultiples within the off-trade, hasresulted in lower prices of alcohol withwhich the on-trade is finding it hard tocompete.

As consumers continue to shift theirdrinking patterns from pub drinking toin home drinking, on-tradeestablishments have suffered in termsof alcohol consumption, whereas theoff-trade has gone through a surge as aresult. Due to this decline in volumesales in the on-trade, most of theseestablishments have incorporated otherservices including food in order toincrease revenues.

More than any other country inEurope, a drinking occasion involvesbinge drinking. Figures show that up to48% of men and 16% of women claimto binge drink at least once a week. Thegovernment has continued to try totackle this problem along withincreased co-operation from the drinksindustry in order to promote drinkingsmartly.

Beer continues to generate the mostvalue sales in the on-trade at €2.3bn.

Barry’s has also hit it on the nailwith the discount chain Buy Lo, the Irishown branded discount warehouse

TGM

January 2010 15

16 TGm

chain, the first of which has opened inAshbourne Co. Meath. The new 16,000sq ft warehouse has created 10 newjobs and its concept feeds into thepublic’s current lack of consumerconfidence and desire for a bargain.

The Buy Lo store offers a uniqueconcept, offering well known brands offood and non-food at discounted prices.

After extensive trialsproved to be a greatsuccess, the newAshbourne outlet is thefirst proof-of-conceptBuy Lo Store to open inIreland and paves theway for more in thefuture.

The store’smanager, Sean Gaynorsays;

“The discounts onfruit, veg and meat aswell as recognisedbrands of cleaningproducts, soft drinks,

biscuits, sweets and pet food are to beseen to be believed..”

The Barry’s Group promotes theBuy Lo franchise in Ireland.Commenting Jim Barry said;

“Ashbourne is a bustling town witha vibrant community who are lookingfor a better choice and better value ontheir doorstep so Buy Lo is arriving just

at the right time with consumerconfidence now at an all time low, wehope that Buy Lo’s promise to promotewell known brands, and discount priceswill instil people with a new confidencein the top quality products their moneycan buy.”

“We are confident that Buy Lo willbecome the number one choice for

d e l i v e r i n gq u a l i t yproducts ata f f o r d a b l eprices. WithBuy Lo theireuro willstretch furtherand that’s whatpeople wantright now.”

Barry’sexpansion intothe off licenceand discounttrades willundoubted lyadd a jolt tothe retail sectorand get 2010off to anintriguing start

C A R R Y O U T T O C A R R Y O N

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www.musgrave.ie

18 TGm

Is chocolate recession-proof? Does the sale ofsweets and crisps rise duringa downturn?

The next time you seekcomfort from financial woesin a bar of chocolate orpacket of sweets, you couldbe doing your bit for Irishcompanies that are quietlyholding their own during thedownturn.

Ireland’s chocolatemarket, valued atapproximately €544 millionannually, has among thehighest per capitaconsumption in the world.Irish chocoholics eat theirway through 9.7kg ofchocolate confectionery eachyear, surpassing Britain9.4kg and Germany 8.1kg.

Boxes of assortedchocolates are worth about€33m annually, and of thisamount, about €9 million isspent on premium brands.The gourmet chocolatemarket is growing despitethe downturn. While sales ofchocolate boxes fell by 1 percent in the year to August2009, sales of premiumbrands were up 9 per cent.

“People still want theirchocolate fix,” said MiriamToumey, Bord Bia’s sectormanager for confectionery.“Smaller boxes of premiumchocolate are performingwell, indicating that peoplewill opt for a small quantityso as not to sacrifice onquality.”

Along with Lir Chocolatesand Lily O’Brien’s, ButlersChocolates is one of themain Irish companies in thepremium boxedconfectionery market.

Butlers marketingdirector Aisling Walsh saidthat consumers had becomemore discerning.

“People are choosingcarefully how they spendtheir money, but they’refactoring in quality and arenot looking at price inisolation. This year, oursmaller gift boxes are verypopular, signalling a trendfor people looking for qualityat varying price points,” shesaid.

Established in Dublin in1932, Butlers Chocolatesopened its first cafe onWicklow Street in 1998.

There are now 15 suchcafes in Dublin, Cork andGalway, along with one inLondon and two franchisesin New Zealand.

“I don’t think chocolate isrecession-proof, it’srecession-resistant,” saidWalsh. “People still want totreat themselves. Achocolate treat is a relativelylow spend, compared to anew handbag or pair ofshoes.”

It would also appear therecession has prompted a fitof nostalgia, with consumersmore eager to indulge intraditional tuck-shop treatsthan newer products.“During an economicdownturn, people moreoften revert to productsthey’re familiar with throughtheir childhood,” saidElizabeth Phillips, director ofsales at Caffreys.

With household brandssuch as Snowballs, TeaCakes, Macaroon bars andBig Time bars, Caffreys is theoldest established Irishfamily-owned chocolatecompany trading under itsown family name.

“Our confectioneryprompts people’s memoriesof home and their familygrowing up; only recently,somebody said to me, ‘I love

CaffreysSnowballs atChristmas, it remindsme of happy timesgrowing up’. I loved hearingthat,” said Phillips.

The company is reportinga slight increase in marketshare. “Being Irish, havingcompetitive price points andcontinually improving thequality of our products arethe key drivers for ourbusiness,” said Phillips. “Inparticular, I think people areconscious of supporting Irishjobs. They want to keepthose jobs going.”

The Irish crisps andsnacks market is valued atan estimated €207 millionper annum. Largo Foods, thelargest Irish-owned crisp andsnack manufacturer, is hometo the Tayto brand.

The company had ashare of about 47 per centof the Irish crisps and snacksmarket, with manufacturingplants in Meath andDonegal, and one in Britain.

otherbrandsinc lude,H u n k yDorys, Velvet Crunch, Perri,King and Sam Spudz.

The Largo factory inKilbrew, Co Meath, issurrounded by agriculturalland and uses about 38,000tonnes of potatoes annually.Of these, 90 per cent aresupplied by 14 local farmers,which is 10 per cent of thecountry’s national crop ofRosetta, Lady Claire andSassy varieties.

“The last year hasremained flat but steady;we’re very fortunate that’sthe case as a lot of productshave gone down. But snackfoods, for us, have held,”

Comfort eating

N E W S

saidRay Coyle, ownerand founder ofthe company

Tayto

is thenumber one

snack food brand in Ireland,Hunky Dorys the numberone crinkle cut crisp, andKing cheese and onion is thenumber one crisp pack inDublin, according to thecompany.

“The domestic snackmarket is pretty stable, butthere have been changes,”said Bord Bia’s Toumey.

“What we are seeing isan increase in the sharingsegment as consumers optfor multi-packs or biggerbags of crisps, as opposed toimpulse purchases of singlebags.” However, Coyle issurprised the snack categoryhas not grown more duringthe downturn.

“People like comfort foodand, if they’re not out and

about as much they tend toeat more snacks. Certainlythe last time we had arecession our sales went upby 12 per cent, but that’s

not the case

now,” he said.“Even if you observe

people in the forecourtof a petrol station, you’ll

see that they’re cautious tobuy and taking a longer timeto evaluate what they maybuy. I hope it’s bottomedout.”

A Bord Bia PERIscope2009 study, which surveyed3,000 consumers acrossIreland, the North andBritain, found that foodorigin and local produce wasincreasingly important toIrish consumers. More than60 per cent of consumersrated buying local produceas very or fairly important,while 67 per cent said thatthey liked to know the areawhere their food came from.

Largo Foods hasdeployed Mr Tayto, one ofthe countrys mostrecognisable brands, todrive home the localconnection. “Mr Tayto ranfor office in the 2007

general election. Last yearhe was looking for a wife andthis year h’s brought out hisautobiography - The ManInside the Jacket,” saidCoyle.

“We employ 50 peopleand our Mr Tayto marketingcampaign is important tokeep reminding people thatwe’re an Irish companycompeting against a numberof multinationals in the crispmarket.”

The Irish market forsugar confectionery is worth€120 million annually, withNestle Rowntree the numberone brand. Denmark has thehighest sugar confectioneryper capita consumption inthe world at 7.81kg, butIreland is not too far behindwith 5.7kg per capita rating.

Irish consumers aredeveloping new tastes insugar confectionery. TheJelly Bean factory brandproduces 10 million gourmetsweets every day inBlanchardstown, westDublin, 98 per cent of whichare exported. “We arestarting from a low base, butour domestic market isgrowing given that, up tonow, there’s been littlechoice in terms of a highquality sugar confectioneryproduct,” said RichardCullen, co-founder and jointmanaging director.

The Jelly Bean factory isone of the brandsparticipating in the ‘LoveIrish Food’ organization,which was established topromote Irish manufacturedfood and drink brands toconsumers.

“Being part of the ‘LoveIrish’ initiative is a majorbenefit, because it’s aguarantee to consumers thatthe brand is manufactured inIreland using Irishingredients where available,”said Cullen. “Some sweetsare passed off under an Irish

name while, on closerinspection, they’ve beenmade in China.”

The increase inconfectionery sales is beingencouraged by thepromotional nature of theretail sector. “We havenoticed that sales ofconfectionery haveincreased. Consumers seechocolate as an inexpensiveindulgence, so it’s a treatthey can still afford despitethe recession” said NiamhBoylan, spokeswoman forSuperquinn. “Obviously,price predictions andpromotional deals also havea role to play in drivingsales.”

Fair trade and organicconfectionery products havebeen victims of the currenteconomic uncertainly, butToumey said sugarconfectionery companieswere tending towards theuse of real fruit flavouringsto obtain a premiumposition.

“Irish consumers areincreasingly looking fordeals, and you’ll see a lot ofthat in retail. For examplethe Natural ConfectioneryCompany, which isdistributed by Cadbury’s inIreland, is often on specialdeal in the multiples,” saidBoylan.

Millions of CaffreysSnowballs are consumerover the Christmas period, abusiness boost thatElizabeth Phillips, salesdirector of Caffreys said wasonly possible because ofIrish retailers.

“We are a third-generation business and arefortunate in that we get verygood support from the Irishmultiples and retailers. Iremain positive that Irishconsumers make choicesthat continue to support theconfectionery sector in thiscountry.”

January 2010 19

TGM

With the finalappointments made to itsboard, the BroadcastingAuthority of Ireland (BAI) isexpected next month toannounce several updates tobroadcasting rules, includinga partial permit to useproduct placement.

In the draft version of itsplanned new generaladvertising code, the BAIhas proposed allowingproduct placement to beintroduced to most kinds ofprogrammes other thanchildren’s programmes, aslong as there is no impact oneditorial independence andthat there is not “undueprominence” given to theproducts and services inquestion.

The draft stipulates thataudiences must be clearlyinformed of the existence ofproduct placement to avoidany confusion. Thesechanges would be in linewith the European Union’saudio visual directive

covering this area.The BAI has already

sought submissions on thisissue and others and iscurrently assessing them.Many people who work inbroadcasting, particularlycommercial broadcasting,have been arguing in favourof product placement foryears.

Unlike commercials,which can be skipped byviewers with increasing ease,products cannot be missedonce they are part of theprogrammes.

At present, this is a verygrey area in Irishbroadcasting. Some say thatthe toys on The Late LateToy show are productplacement, but RTE wouldargue that this is not thecase. TV3’s The Apprentice isanother programme raisingquestions, The concept ofthis show comes from theUS, where it was used toshowcase Procter & Gambleproducts. A new toothpaste

brand was actually launchedon the show.

In Ireland, individualprogrammes during the TV3series showed contestantsdevising real advertisingcampaigns for existingbrands and in one case,organising a sales push for anew brand of nasal strip.

The BroadcastingCommission of Ireland,forerunner to the BAI, raisedsome concerns about theshow’s format last year andsaid that no decision had yetbeen taken on whetherfurther action was needed.Larry Bass, whose companyScreentime Sinawil makesThe Apprentice, and whowas named as a new boardmember of the BAI, is alongtime advocate ofproduct placement. He saysall ways that can helpgenerate resources forprogramming should beused.

“This is one of the fewways to protect resources

and revenues inbroadcasting,” he said. “It’sbeing seen as such bycommercial TV operatorsacross the world.”

One of the issues facingthe BAI will be whether toallow RTE, as a publicservice broadcaster, to useproduct placement in thesame way as the fullycommercial sector. InBritain, ITV is likely to beallowed to introduce productplacement, while the BBC isnot. In Germany, it seemsthe save division will apply.

In Larry Bass’s view, themain issue is that theregulatory situation shouldbe made clear.

“If it’s going to beadopted, we need properrules and etiquette aroundit. At the moment what wehave is a paragraph about itthat’s totally open tointerpretation. This can be avery transparent way ofraising money.”

New product placement rules expected

N E W S

20 TGm

An upmarket buggy,supermarket trolleys, thecar boots of old bangersand SUVs and the arms ofstrong sons were used tocarry just some of about150,00 bottles of discountwines on offer at a Dublinliquidation sale.

By 2pm the queue wasout the door of the shop inthe green retail unit besidethe Stillorgan shoppingcentre, as word spreadthrough world of mouth, e-mail, Facebook and internetforums. The catalogue listsover 100 varieties of red,white and sparkling wine,with the cases on offer atan average discount of43per cent.

The stock is from winedistributor Parbind whichwas owned by entrepreneurEmmet Memery, and theliquidator is Kieran Wallaceof KPMG.

The collapse of anumber of his firms thisyear, including Asianrestaurant franchiseLemongrass and OysterCommunications, leftbehind debts of millions.

The retail value of the13,000 cases of wine is€1.9 million but the priceafter discount is some €1.1million, according tocatalogue prices. Mostcustomers admittedknowing little about thewines on offer, mainly South

African but were willing totake a punt “It’s a bit of arisk buying it like that, butwe can always give themout as presents,” said onecustomers, who bought 36bottles for his workplace.

While he was not

familiar with the wines, hegot recommendations froma friend and thought themarkdown was good.

The fact that the salewas the result of a businessclosure did not bother thebargain hunters.

Bargain hunting

The recession is heavilyaffecting people’s lifestyles,with more than a thirdcutting back on essentialslike electricity and homeheating.

A large number (36pc)say they have cut spendingon electricity over the pastyear, as well as homeheating (33pc) and mobilephone use (27pc).

Most people are trying toavoid cutting back on basicssuch as medicine and healthinsurance. However, manyhave already had to makesacrifices in this area.

Significant numbers -almost 400,000 people -are spending less on familymedicine (11pc) over the patyear, as well as healthinsurance (10pc), GP visits(16pc) and dentalappointments (18pc).

A breakdown of thefigures indicates that peoplefrom higher and lower

income groups are cuttingback on their spending inalmost exactly the same way.

Those most likely to bespending less are youngerpeople. People in the 25-to-24 year age group werespending less on day-to-dayexpenses than all other agegroups.

The recession is alsohaving a strong effect onpeople’s social lives. Peopleare much less likely to eatout (55pc), visiting the pub(48pc) or go on family tripsinvolving expenditure(39pc).

Instead, many areentertaining at home morethan they did a year ago923pc) and spending less onitems such as the gym,cinema or takeaways.

Again it is young peoplewho are most likely to becutting their spending inthese areas.

Spending on basics slashed VAT changewillboost sales

Retail figures fell againin October and are down9.1pc in the year, butretailers are hoping for a liftin sales in the wake of theBudget.

The sight of newnumber plates on the roadsafter the Government’sscrappage scheme willgiven consumers a “hugepsychological lift” inJanuary, according toBloxhams stockbrokers.

However, the latestfigures from the CSO showthe downward trend insales continued in October,

although the slump wasn’tquite as pronounced asearlier in the year withannual sales down 9.1pccompared to the 26.5pcdrop in January.

Department stores haveseen a slump of almost 6pcin the volume of sales and amuch larger 16.5pc drop intheir value.

Bars have seen an 8pcdrop in business, butpublicans have beenjubilant about excise cuts inthe Budget which they hopewill revive the sector.

Dunnes Stores showsUK profitThe British arm of

Dunnes Stores reported anoperating profit of €2.5million in the financial yearto the end of last January,up from €1.7 million in theprevious period, newaccounts filed for thebusiness show.

The accounts for theBritish subsidiary do notinclude results from DunnesStores outlets in NorthernIreland, and relate to its 11shops at cities includingGlasgow, Leeds andBradford in Scotland andEngland.

The stores sell textilesand homeware and theaccounts state thatdirectors are “pleased” withcurrent trading levels.

The UK unit is the onlydivision of Dunnes Stores’operations that sheds anylight on the group’sperformance, as the rest ofthe business is unlimitedand so does not have to filepublicly available accounts.

January 2010 21

TGM

22 TGm

Unilever is consideringthe sale of its Italian frozenfood business in a dealworth up to €800 millionthat has attracted interestfrom Birds Eye Iglo and theFindus Group, its privateequity owned rivals.

Goldman Sachs hasbeen working with Unilever,the maker of Lipton tea andSunsilk shampoo, on theplanned sale of its Italianfrozen food business, whichmakes ready meal versionsof classic Italian dishes,such as carbonara andbolognese.

The Italian business -called Findus Italy - was theonly part of Unilever’sEuropean frozen foodoperations that it keptwhen it sold Birds Eye andIglo to Permira, the UK-based private equity group,for €1.7bn in 2006.

Birds Eye Iglo, famed forits fish fingers, is consideredone of the favourites to buyFindus Italy. The otherleading contender is theFindus Group, which makesYoung’s frozen seafoodproducts and the seafoodCompany’s chilled meals.

The Findus Group wasbought last year by LionCapital, the London-based

private equity group, forStg£1.1bn from CapVest, asmaller buy-out house.

Unilever decided not tosell Findus Italy in 2006because it was integratedwith its Italian ice-creambusiness, which includes theViennetta, Solera andCornetto brands.

At the time, the Italianbusiness was the company’sbiggest single business inItaly and former Unileverchief executive Patrick

Cescau declared it to be“strategically important”because of the role itplayed in trade relations inthe country.

It was also seen as asource of innovation andtechnology for frozen mealssold in the US.

However, in late 2008Unilever opened a globalresearch and developmentcentre in Italy focussing onso-called “assembled foods”such as meals and snacks.

It has also broadened itsItalian business, recentlytargeting the Italian malegrooming market with thelaunch of a “Dove Men +Care” shower gel anddeodorant range.

Unilever now has adominant position indeodorants in Italyalthough overall it is not asstrong as in Italy as it is inother European marketssuch as the UK, France andthe Netherlands.

However, it believes itcan now sell Findus if itreceives a good pricewithout risking itscompetitive position in Italy

Unilever has beentargeting personal care as akey area of expansion InSeptember it paid €1.27billion in cash for Sara Lee’spersonal care business tostrengthen its market sharein Europe, acquiring brandssuch as Radox bubblebath,Brylcreem hair gel, andSanex handwashes.

... It believes it cannow sell Finduswithout riskingits competitiveposition in Italy

Unilever offload Italian unit

N E W S

United Biscuits, Ireland’s leadingmanufacturer of biscuits, snacks andcakes, announced a second reduction inthe saturated fat content in three of itsiconic McVitie’s biscuit brands after afurther multi-million investment. FromJanuary 2010,M c V i t i e ’ sD i g e s t i v e s ,M c V i t i e ’ sHobNobs andMcVitie’s RichTea will bereduced in

saturated fat by afurther 50% followinga similar reduction 12months ago.

Last year UBreduced the level ofsaturated fat inMcVitie’s Digestives,McVitie’s Rich Tea,McVitie’s HobNobs,McVitie’s Light Digestive,McVitie’s Light Rich Tea and McVitie’sLight HobNobs by 50%. Now, the samerange of brands benefits from a further50% saturated fat reduction.

To ensure the taste and texture ofthe biscuits remain the same, the rangehas gone through rigorous sensorytesting and consumer taste tests, all ofwhich have been extremely positive.

Darren Abbott, Marketing Manager,United Biscuits Ireland comments: “Our

first reduction in saturated fat was amajor investment by UB. This wasrecognised recently at the UK IGD FoodIndustry Awards where UB won the2009 Wellness Award. Through theinvestment of a further €5 million, we

have achieved this second reductionwithout compromising on therecognisable taste and texture that ourconsumers expect from McVitie’s, oneof Ireland’s favourite biscuit brands.Last year’s positive nutritional changeshave helped grow these McVitie’sbrands, so we recommend that retailersnow get stocked up on the entireMcVitie’s range to take advantage ofthe increased sales and profit

opportunities that the second saturatedfat reduction will present”.

This second saturated fat reductionis a clear example of UB’s ongoingcommitment to improving thenutritional credentials of the much-

loved brandsand respondingto consumers’desire to eatmore healthily.

The on-packflash has beenupdated to:

“Now Lowest EverSaturated Fat SameGreat Taste”.

In addition, thecommunication of ‘afurther 50% reduction’will clearly highlight toconsumers the secondnutritional upgrade. Thesebrands are already free

from artificial flavours orcolours, as well as from hydrogenatedvegetable oil and are a good source offibre. These claims currently feature onall McVitie’s Digestives packs. Thefurther saturated fat reduction will bepromoted to consumers in January,February and March 2010 by aheavyweight television and PRcampaign.

TGM

January 2010 23

United cut the fat

24 TGm

Superquinn executivechairman Simon Burke hasmanaged to get himselfcaught in the crossfire of astandoff as listed Britishpub chain Mitchells &Butlers (M&B), operator ofAll Bar One and Harvester.

Burke was approached

recently aboutbecomingchairman bythe pubgroup, whichis in disputewith itslargestshareholder,Joe Lewis’sPiedmontvehicle, whichholds 23 percent.

M&Bclaimed thatBurke and itstwo otherpotentialcandidates forthe job wererejected byPiedmont.

But, in astrange twist,Lewis hassinceproposed that

Burke, former Debenhamschairman John Lovering,and two other businessmenbe appointed non-executivedirectors at the company’sannual general meeting onJanuary 28th.

“We’re putting ourselvesforward and it’ll be down to

the shareholders to decide”Burke said. Theshareholders include JPMcManus and JohnMagnier, who have a 17.6per cent stake.

“We’re going to try andbe our own men and tryand help the company tomake money for the benefitof all shareholders.”

Burke is well regarded inthe UK, where he helpedturn around the fortunes oftoy retailers Hamleys. He isseen as a straight shooterand something of an honestbroker in the standoffbetween M&B and Lewis.

“Our attitude is that ifit’s appealing toshareholders then we’d behappy to help and if notthen no harm done andwe’ll be on our way,” hesaid.

Burke already has a loton his plate withSuperquinn, although hisload has been easedsomewhat by theappointment earlier thisyear of Margaret Taylor asmanaging director.

Burke said this year hadprobably been the worst hehad experienced in his timeas a retailer

“It’s been tough...deflation is a nightmare forretailers,” he said.

“We’re holding our own;our market share is steady(at about 7 per cent) but it’sa difficult market.”

Sales are down, a storein Dundalk has closed, andBurke admits that proposedstore openings have beenput on the back-burnerwhile the economy remainsin recession.

“You just wouldn’t do itin this climate but wehaven’t changed our mindson them. If conditionsimprove we’ll move themahead.

”The outlook is not goodat the moment. Cross-Border shopping is amenace... it’s more intensethan last year.”

Unlike severaldepartment stores andfashion retailers, Burkedidn’t open Superquinn’slarge stores on St StephensDay.

“I just don’t think thedemand was there. Wemight open a couple ofconvenience stores alrightbut I won’t be opening thebig stores.”

The recession took thefizz out of sales and profitsat Coca-Cola’s bottlers inthe Republic last year, thelatest figure show.

Accounts filed by Coca-Cola Hellenic BottlingCompany with theCompanies’ RegistrationOffice show sales in 2008were down close to 3 percent at €224m, from€251m in 2007.

The directors’ report

said sales in soft drinkswere down 2 per cent, whileother products that thecompany also distributeswere down 3.5 per cent.

Soft drinks, thecompany’s main business,accounted for €23.2m oftotal sales last year, whileother products made up theremaining €12 million.

The directors attributedthe fall in profits to thedecline in sales over the

year.Coca-Cola HBC is one of

the biggest Coca-Colabottling franchises outsidethe US.

The company is based inHuntstown in Dublin, buthas branches in a numberof centres around thecountry.

N E W S

Man of the day

Recession - the real thing

Barry Group, a Cork-based wholesale fooddistributor, has acquired theCarry Out off-licencebusiness of Galvin’sWholesale.

The deal includes 52Carry Out outletsnationwide. It is expected toadd €42 million in new salesto Barry’s group turnover.

Barry Group acquiredCarry Out from the receiversappointed to Galvin’sWholesale earlier thismonth.

Commenting on theacquisition, Barry Groupmanaging director Jim Barrysaid it marked a milestonefor the company in themainstream off-sales sector.

“The takeover is asignificant deal in the FMCGindustry in Ireland and theaddition of the Carry Outbrand to the suite of existingBarry Group channels offersfantastic potential to growthe Carry Out franchise intoa position of robust growthand further expansion in the

future,” said Barry.“We believe that this deal

will allow us grow our scaleand leverage our increasedbuying power across all ourselling channels.”

Established in 1955, theBarry Group operates out ofa 125,000 sq ft centraldistribution centre inMallow, Co Cork. It is thelargest member of thestorehouse Group - a buyingalliance of independentwholesalers.

It employs 218 staff andsupplies products to 700stores, including 230affiliated outlets in theRepublic of Irelandoperating under theCostcutter, Buy Low andQuik Pick brands.

Barry Group acquireCarry Out

A sharp rise in onlinesales and the increasingpopularity of fine wineshelped to push up profits atMajestic Wine.

The chain recorded arise of 9 per cent in its first-half pre-tax profit toStg£6.1m, driven by an 89per cent increase in sales toprivate customers.

Online sales rose 24.6per cent as Majestic used ablog and the socialnetworking site Twitter toattract new customers.

“We’ve unleashed thepotential of the twenty-somethings in our business,improving the blog writtenby staff and selling parcelsof wine which are too smallto send to stores as onlineexclusives to create a senseof urgency,” said SteveLewis, ceo. “They sell outwithin hours.”

Sales of fine wines,

defined as those priced atStg£20 or more, rose 14per cent and now accountfor more than 4 per cent ofretail sales.

The company increasedits exposure to this marketpaying Stg£4.75m for Lay& Wheeler, the upmarketwine merchant.

However the corporatemarket is proving to be lessresilient.

“Every finance companyin the land seems to havedrawn a red line throughtheir entertainmentbudgets and this declinehas showed,” said Lewis.

This was compensatedfor by stronger sales tosmaller businesses such asgastro pubs. Majestic saidthat offering a wider rangeof New World wines thancompetitors appealed torestaurants and pubs tryingto provide good value.

Majestic wine cheered

Liam Carroll has longheld a 29.8 per cent stakein sandwich makerGreencore, a fact which hasscared off investors over thepast few years. Recently,brokers were preparing toput together an order bookfor that stake, adevelopment which wouldno doubt be welcomed bycompany management.

There had beenspeculation that theGreencore stake could bethe next to go on themarket after Carroll’s IrishContinental Group (ICG)hold was sold off toinstitutions. It appears that

the banks which control theposition are ready tooffload it.

Institutions areexpected to be keenlyinterested in the shares, asthe company sells off corebusinesses and focuses onUS consumer foods.

Greencore, under chiefexecutive Patrick Coveney,has indicated that thecompany would like tomove out of businesseswhich are underperformingor volatile.

The proceeds would bemoved into areas seen assustainable in terms ofprofitability and margins,

namely the US consumerfoods division

The company confirmedthat it had beenapproached about the saleof its malt business and hasalso agreed the sale of itsmineral water business.

Coveney will not besorry to see the back of thewater business. Shortlyafter his appointment to thetop job, it emerged thatthere was a €21 millionfraud in the Scottishmineral water unit thatwent unnoticed for morethan two years. But, morethan that, the business didnot really sit well with the

group.A number of interested

parties have been linkedwith the reportedapproaches; Frenchcompany Soufflet is to ofthe list. Other companiesinclude Axereal and Cargill.

The figure mentioned forthe operation is €120million, which is seen asbeing on the low side bysome analysts.

But again, the salewould be welcomed from aninvestor point of view if theycan redeploy the capital tothe US.

Getting to the core

TGM

January 2010 25

the Magnificent

Seven,from Glanbia.Glanbia is the only food company with an impressive

seven brands in Checkout’s Top 100. Seven big names that are guaranteed sellers

in today’s ultra-competitive market.

Make sure you stock the magnificent seven from

Glanbia - seven names wanted by your customers.

28 TGm

Cross-border shopping as become anew national obsession, among thosewho go north to shop and those whodon’t but want to talk about it all thetime. The controversy over the nationalpublic sector day to action and how itboosted the numbers of people headingfrom Dublin and its hinterland toNewry, added fuel to the fire.

People from border counties wonderwhat all the fuss is about. They havebeen buying some items across theborder, on and off, for decades. Thereis an ebb and flow about cross-bordershopping. People from border countieshave bought some items some of thetime north of the border and, to acertain extent, albeit limited to thingslike fuel. Northerners have come south.People living near borders all acrossEurope shop on the other side forcertain things at certain times.

The big question is, what is differentabout it in Ireland this time round? Inthe overall scheme of things, and with along-term view, the situation ultimately

will settle down. But there are uniqueshort-term features about what hashappened.

Lots of pensioners from Dublin havebeen taking buses to places likeJonesboro in south Armagh for manyyears, even during the troubles.

These were once-off, one-day trips,mainly to buy drink and presents in therun-up to Christmas. In general, evenafter the first IRA ceasefire of 1994,people from beyond the bordercounties did not travel north en masseon shopping trips.

It has taken several years of realpeace in the North, an economic crisisin the Republic and a fall in the value ofsterling to bring people from as faraway as Munster across the border toshop in large numbers.

Finance minister Brian Lenihansought to address this in the budget byreducing excise on alcohol. This isbased on the idea that many people areattracted by cheap pre-Christmas drinkprices; when they are up there, they

might as well buy other items too. Hemay be right about that, but some ofthe North’s price advantages are tochange.

The reduction in excise will take alittle off the saving on drink. The 4c perlitre carbon tax hike on petrol will takesome more.

The reversal of the 0.5pc increase inVat, introduced by Lenihan last year,will shave a little more. The fact thatBritish Vat rates are going to increaseby 3 per cent, and possibly more in thefuture, will also eat into the savings.

In the meantime, the great drivenorthwards has stolen the headlines.Lenihan referred to it as unpatriotic lastyear, and it has fuelled a nationaldebate.

As the financial advantagesgradually reduce, and everyone calmsdown about it, cross-border shoppingwill remain, but probably not to thesame extent as it has been presentsince 2008.

The currency advantage has been ahuge factor in the recent surge in cross-border shopping. Since we adopted theeuro in 2002, the euro/sterlingexchange rate has been around 67p to69p to the pound. But in 2008 itaveraged 79.6p. It was almost at parityat Christmas 2008 and hit 97.4p onNew Year’s eve 2008.

It is now around 91p; the averageprice in 2009 has been 89.1p. There isno doubt that such a major currencyshift, coinciding with a seriousdownturn, has had a big part to play.

But the real lesson to be learnedfrom all of this is how cross-bordershopping has shown the way theeconomy this side of the border neededto re-price itself. What is described aseconomic treason by some has helpedto force the acceleration of the re-pricing of the southern Irish economy.

The fact that Lenihan cut drinkprices in the budget may also suggestthat the great drive northwards hasworked in forcing a governmentresponse.

Unfortunately it has damaged manysmall retailers along the border. Thishas been damaging in the short term.However, as those people know toowell, the situation will ease in time, turnaround again, and hopefully many ofthem will be back in business again.

Losing its appeal

N E W S

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30 TGm

Pat Quinn, who has diedaged 74, was the founderof the Quinnsworthsupermarket chain, whichhe launched in Stillorgan,Co Dublin, in 1966. Helater opened branches inDundrum, Rathfarnham,Ballymun, Shannon in CoClare, Cork and Galway. Thechain had a turnover of £6million in 1971.

He established animmediate rapport withshoppers, and a journalistwho observed him at workdescribed him as “friendly,informal, approachable,likeable, straightforward,and a man of the people”.These were the qualitieshighlighted inadvertisements featuringthe flamboyant Quinn in histrademark polo-neckjumper, which made himone of Ireland’s best-knownbusinessmen.

Once on the verge ofhiring George Best to opena new store, when he wastold the fee was £1,000 hedecided he was sufficientlywell known to perform theopening himself, and gavethe money to charity.

In the early 1970s hesold his controlling interestin the Quinnsworth groupto Galen Weston’sAssociated British Foods.He then established the PatQuinn Club, a sports andleisure complex, atKilternan in south Dublin.

After he announced theventure, he chartered aplane to fly a party ofjournalists to Bristol to visita country club to showthem what he had in mindfor Kilternan.

But the Pat Quinn Clubdid not prosper andbecame known as “one ofthe most spectacular

business failures on record”.Born in 1935, Pat

Quinn grew up in Cloone,Co Leitrim, where his fatherwas a garda and his motherran a pub and grocery.Educated locally and at StMel’s College, Longford, he

entered the retail trade witha Woolworth’s outlet inLimerick

He next worked with hisuncle, a shopkeeper inLongford, before emigratingto Canada. In Toronto heworked in a branch ofSayvette’s departmentstores. He quickly made hismark and was appointedassistant general managerof the London, Ontario,branch.

A music promoter in hisspare time, he introduced

performers such as JohnnyCash, the Rolling Storesand the Dave Clark Five toCanadian audiences.

In 1965 he returned toIreland on three months’leave of absence, butremained on after being

recruited as generalmanager of the H Williamssupermarket group. One ofhis first recommendationswas that the group shouldopen a branch in theStillorgan shopping centre.Williams, however, decidedotherwise and Quinndecided to take the plungehimself, opening a store onthe Woolworth’s model.

The business got off to adisastrous start, but pickedup when he switched togrocery. He and his wife

worked long hours, stayingon after the close ofbusiness to wash the floors.

His main competitorswere Dunnes Stores,Superquinn, H Williams,Liptons and Five Star. Onthe advice of his advertisingagency, he became thepublic face of Quinnsworth.He is credited withinventing the term “yellowpack” for his cut-pricebrand.

Before opening the PatQuinn Club, he bought intothe Mooneys pub chain inDublin. He bought severalother pubs, including theDead Man’s Inn atPalmerstown, which heclosed and reopened beforefinally calling time in 1975.Mooneys went intoreceivership.

Undaunted, he openeda pool hall over the Stellacinema in Rathmines,adding two more in Brayand Drogheda.

There followed discountstores in Finglas andBallymun as well as the“plush Pierrot snooker andgaming club in Ringsend.The final throw of the dicewas the Shoparound Centrein South Great GeorgesStreet, which closed in1986 after poor Christmastrading.

Later that year, hereturned to Canada. After astint selling discount books,he went back to the bartrade He and his family ranthe well-known IrishEmbassy and PJ O’Briens inToronto, as well as arestaurant business Theyalso opened a bar inMontreal. His many Irishand Canadian friends willremember him as a popularpublican and giftedstoryteller.

N E W S

The “yellow pack”man

TGM

January 2010 31

Lidl will make its debutin Irish primary schools inthe next few weeks when afitness programme, devisedwith the Irish HeartFoundation, is launchednationwide.

The discount retailerpiloted the Lidl Fit Factorprogramme in the Northlast year and it’s now beingextended into the Republic.

This is a four-weekprogramme that includesthree days of healthy eatingactivities and two days ofphysical activity

Lidl said the programmewas designed to “increaseawareness of the linkbetween positive lifestylechoices and the overallhealth of schoolagechildren, while promotingthe accessibility ofaffordable fruit andvegetables to familiesacross Ireland”.

Some 600 primaryschools out of the 3,000have signed up to take partin the programme, which isaimed at children in thirdand fourth class.

Lidlfitnessdrive

A new generationMiguel Torres Jr. of the

Torres family in Spain hasbeen appointed executivepresident of Torres’ Chileansubsidiary, based in Curicó.His main objectives are toincrease sales in the exportmarkets, to implementorganic viticulture and todevelop the new wines thatwill come from‘EMPEDRADO’. With itsslate soils and steepterrace vineyards, this veryspecial region south ofConcepción shows excitingpromise.

Miguel Torres Jr, thefifth generation of a familyof winemakers, has alreadymoved to Curicó to take fullresponsibility of thesubsidiary in Chile. Duringthe past five years he hasbeen the marketingdirector of Torres in Spain,responsible for setting up anew marketing team thathas launched wines likeCELESTE from Ribera delDuero, SALMOS from thePriorato, and IBERICOSfrom Rioja, as well asNATUREO, a non-alcoholicwine.

“My family and I arevery happy to travel toChile and embark upon anew personal andprofessional chapter inCuricó. We are lucky tohave a great team at ViñaMiguel Torres andundoubtedly still have a lotof potential for growth,particularly in exportmarkets".

The winery in Chile wasfounded in 1979 byMiguel’s father, MiguelTorres Riera, who is thecurrent president and CEOof the mother company.Miguel Torres has been apioneer in Chile inimplementing new

technologies like stainlesssteel fermentation and oakbarrel ageing in Frenchcasks, and it hascontributed to the growth

of Chilean wines over thepast 30 years. The mainbrand of the company interms of sales is ‘SANTADIGNA’, a varietal range,but there is also a solidportfolio of icon andreserve wines like CONDEDE SUPERUNDA, MANSODE VELASCO andCORDILLERA.

The Chilean winery'ssales have grown in linewith the Group's sales,going from 8.38 to 11.24million Euros from 2004 to2008, making it the secondlargest firm for thecompany and achievingsales of 3.9 million bottles(more than 325,000 cases)in 2008, 82% of which areexported to more than 80markets.

The new operationalstructure heading SociedadVinícola Miguel Torres S.Awill focus on ensuring thatits premium product linesachieve good penetrationand consolidation both in

Chile and abroad. It willalso continue to work onand encourageresponsibility inenvironmental policy andproducing organic wines.The firm will also intensifythe development of itsextraordinary project in thearea of Empedrado, wherevineyards are planted innarrow terraces made ofstone slabs. Without doubt,it is Miguel Torres' mostambitious project in Chile.

32 TGm

N E W S

A sustained decline in the value ofsterling combined with the economicdownturn and severe difficulties in theglobal dairy market createdunprecedented challenges for Irish foodand drink exporters in 2009, accordingto Bord Bia’s Export Performance andProspects recent report. The value ofIrish food and drink exports declined by12 percent last year, or by just under€1 billion, to stand at €7.12 billion.

There are indications however thatexport values are now beginning tostabilise and Bord Bia predicts somerecovery in the year ahead. “Theprospects for 2010 point to a return togrowth for Ireland’s food sector”,according to Dan Browne, Chairman,Bord Bia. “The potential for strongerexport revenues from the key dairy andmeat sectors, and investments by

prepared food companies to broadentheir market presence on the Continent,will help exports as 2010 progresses.However, developments in sterling andconsumer sentiment remain critical.”

The decline in sterling and pricedeflation in the marketplace wereresponsible for the majority of thereduction in export revenues in 2009.“The underlying performance of theindustry, reflected in an estimatedvolume decline of just 3 percent, wasimpressive when set against thesechallenges”, according to Aidan Cotter,Chief Executive, Bord Bia. “Sterlingremains the single biggest issue for theindustry”, he said, adding that, “in2009, it is estimated the depreciationof sterling reduced the value of exportsto the UK by some €400 million”.

The agriculture and food industry

plays an important role in the Irisheconomy and remains its largestindigenous sector accounting for almost9 percent of employment and 10percent of exports. As much as 65percent of manufacturing exports byIrish-owned firms are estimated toconsist of food and drink.

The long-term outlook for the sector,with its high export orientation,remains positive. Due to an expandingworld population and evolvingdemographics, the world will need toproduce over 40 percent more food by2030 and some 70 percent more by2050. It will have to do so from fixedresources while minimising its impacton the environment.

However, as it seeks to avail ofemerging opportunities, the challengefor the industry to improve

ExportGrowth set to resume in 2010

competitiveness while broadening itsexport reach, remains a formidable one.Ireland’s uniqueness within theeurozone, sharing a land border withthe sterling area, has compounded theindustry’s difficulties on its domesticmarket. At the same time, it mustcompete with UK-based exporters as itseeks to build share elsewhere withinthe euro area.

The UK remained Ireland’s principalexport destination in 2009with sales valued at just under€3.1 billion, a decrease of 15percent compared to 2008figures. Despite this, themarket still accounted for 44percent of Ireland’s food anddrink exports although itsshare of trade came underpressure as the yearprogressed, dropping from 48percent in January toapproximately 43 percent bylate 2009.

The share of exports destined forother EU markets increased to 34percent in 2009, from 32 in 2008,helped by a higher share of beefexports destined for the Continent,together with a stronger focus on theregion by prepared foodsmanufacturers. The value of trade toInternational markets was adverselyaffected for much of the year by theweaker global dairy market.

Exporters focusing on efficiencies,but concern over sterling remains

Irish food companies have adopteda range of measures to defend theirmarket positions in the face of theeconomic downturn, according to arecent Bord Bia survey. Measures haveincluded reducing non-staff costs (68percent of firms); reducing staffnumbers (36 percent but rising to over70 percent among the largest firms);discontinuing some product lines (35percent), and reducing expenditures onbusiness development and sales (38percent) and new product development(28 percent).

Eight out of every ten exportersreport difficulties in securing priceincreases in the UK market tocompensate for the decline in sterling.As a result, one in every two firmsconfirmed they have withdrawn fromcustomers that are no longer profitable,

while changing their focus to less pricesensitive channels and customers.

Nine out of every ten exporters saythat the changes they have made willenable them to maintain their businesssituation in the UK should sterlingremain at 90p over the next six monthsor so. However, if sterling were toremain at this level indefinitely, havingfallen by 30 percent over the last twoyears, only seven out of ten firms

believe they could continue to sustaintheir business situation. Furthermore,only one in every two believes theycould maintain business levels shouldsterling depreciate further to between95p and 100p, with the numberdropping off to one in three at a ratebetween 105p and 110p.

Bord Bia Marketing InitiativesIn a move to support the industry

broaden its export reach Bord Bia willnext month, on February 9th, host 250international food and drink buyersfrom eighteen countries to meet withsome 160 Irish companies in Dublin. Aseries of preparatory workshops andbriefings is already underway withparticipating companies to assistmaximise business development

opportunities from the estimated1,000 pre-scheduled, “speed-dating”meetings that will take place during theMarketplace 2010 event.

Meanwhile, Bord Bia’s MarketingFellowship programme, initiated inOctober 2009, sees twenty fiveexperienced graduates currentlyworking across 13 overseas markets,from New York to Shanghai, to helpboost Irish food and drink exports and

support some 113 Irishcompanies expand theirmarket reach. The graduatesare undertaking 168commercial assignmentsvarying from investigatingpotential new businessopportunities to developingbusiness plans to assist Irishcompanies enter, and succeedin, emerging and valuablemarkets such as the MiddleEast.

Bord Bia is also planning totransform its quality assurance schemesby incorporating environmentalsustainability measures that will enableit to objectively promote Ireland as the‘Sustainable Food Island’. The existingschemes, which include over 36,000independently audited members,enable the Irish meat industry accesspremium retail and foodservice outletsinternationally. The transformation ofthe schemes is designed to impartadditional competitive advantage to theindustry and give it a leadership role asmarkets increasingly factor in climatechange and environmentalsustainability issues.

The volume of dairy productsavailable to export fell during the yeardue to a combination of lower milk

Bord Bia is also planning to transform itsquality assurance schemes by

incorporating environmental sustainabilitymeasures that will enable it to

objectively promote Ireland as the‘Sustainable Food Island’.

January 2010 33

34 TGm

N E W S

output and increased use ofintervention storage. It is estimatedthat these developments reduced thevalue of dairy exports by more than€150 million.

Overall, it is estimated that thevalue of dairy exports fell by 13 percentto €2 billion in 2009. However, anadditional €90 - €95 million worth ofSMP and butter was sold intointervention and will be available toexport from 2010. The strongestperforming categories during the yearwere infant formula and to a lesserextent cheese and chocolate crumb.

The prospects for Irish dairy exportsin 2010 are more positive given therecent recovery in product prices. It ishoped that this improvement can bemaintained and further boost exportrevenues. Irish milk output is expectedto recover from the decline recordedduring 2009, which will boost overallavailability with the strongest increasesin production likely in cheese and whole

milk powder.

Prepared FoodsExports of prepared foods faced a

very difficult market environmentduring 2009. Given the backdrop,exports, particularly those fromindigenous manufacturers, performedreasonably well. Overall, export valuesof product covered under the preparedfoods category fell by an estimated 15percent to €1.28 billion.

Export values were helped by arelatively positive performance by bothchocolate and sugar confectionery andbakery, which helped to partly offset avery challenging environment for readymeals and pizza manufacturers.

The market environment for Irishprepared food exports in 2010 isexpected to remain difficult, particularlyif sterling remains weak over thecoming months. Manufacturers areseeking to adapt products to thechanged consumer shopping

requirements while also seeking todiversify to a broader range of markets.

BeveragesExports of beverages remained

under pressure during 2009 as theimpact of slower consumer spendingand a fall off in the Travel Retail sectorand supply chain destocking impactedon export revenues. All markets havealso witnessed a noticeable shift towardvalue propositions.

As with all other sectors beverageshad to deal with the weakness ofsterling but were also proportionatelymore exposed to the volatility in the USdollar than most categories. Overall,exports are estimated to have declinedby 13 percent to almost €1.07 billion.The strongest performing categorycontinued to be whiskey, which hasdealt with the economic crisis betterthan most.

CPM Ireland has over 24 years ofsales and merchandising expertise inIreland with extensive experience inrecruitment & management of fieldbased teams. They have a proven abilityin the Irish market with a range of bluechip organizations and are part of oneof the world’s largest advertisingconglomerates since 1986, known asthe Omnicom Group.

CPM offer fully managed solutions,tailored specifically to their client’srequirements. Having global experienceallows them to take best practicelearning’s across their clients and theirindustries. Leading edge technology inthe field allows them to provide realtime reporting and order fulfillmentservices, also enabling them to have thecapability to provide a customer careservice through their call centre facility.

CPM is the leading partner foroutsourced sales and marketingsolutions, with impressive clients likeMicrosoft, Eircom, Bord Gáis and Mars.The special relationship CPM has withclients is all about commitment,transparency, trust and performance –old fashioned values that work very wellin a very modern world, and which isalso the reason its client base continuesto grow, with some of the biggestbrands and indigenous companies inIreland requesting their services.

CPM’s recently appointed ManagingDirector, Alan Peyton, says “Given thevery difficult times we are facing in theeconomy we are delighted that many ofour clients are committed to investing

in their sales channelsa n d

ensuringthat vacated roles are

replaced, as well as creating new jobs.”CPM’s approach is based on a

partnership model whereby tailoredservices are developed in consultationwith the client. These can be long-termstrategic solutions or short termtemporary tactical solutions. CPMoperates a full service managed modelwhereby it recruits, trains and managessales teams on behalf of their clients.

Above: Ryan Callan, Lisa Conway and Michelle Saunders

Left: Shauna Seeryand Emma Barrett

CPM announces 50 new positions

Alan PeytonManaging Director, CPM Ireland

CPM Ireland has announced theappointment of Alan Peyton as their newManaging Director effective fromJanuary 2010.

Alan has been with CPM Ireland sinceApril 2007, when he was appointed tohis current role as Client Service Directorresponsible for the company’s largestclient, Eircom.

Prior to joining CPM Ireland, Peyton wasSales Director with Barry’s Tea for 4 yearshaving previously spent 10 years with MarsIreland in a variety of managementroles. He is a graduate of UCDwhere he holds a Bachelorof Commerce honoursdegree and is currentlycompleting his final yearof the Henley BusinessSchool MBA.

36 TGm

T H E P E R F E C T R O A S T P O T A T O

Roast potatoes are one of the mosttraditional of British side dishes. Butreally great roast potatoes, ones thatare crisp on the outside and soft andfluffy in the middle, need really greatpotatoes. You can’t make a silk purseout of a sow’s ear and you can’t makesuper roasties from just any old spud.

For the Roasties range Sainsbury’sand Greenvale AP, the UK's largestsupplier of fresh potatoes, have lookedat what makes a great roastie. They'vegone back to the traditional Britishpotato breeds that were popular yearsago when home cooking was at itszenith and roast potatoes were staplefodder.

The real ‘Brit Pots’ are heritagebreeds that have stood the test of timein terms of taste and versatility. They

may have vanished from thesupermarket shelves because of theirshort growing season but they havebeen kept alive by gourmets andspecialist growers alike.

Now Sainsbury’s has decided it’stime for a Brit Pot revival. The heritagebreeds that passed Sainsbury’s tastetests include Red Duke of York - avariety with moist yellow flesh and asuperb flavour, Red King Edward – ared version of the traditional KingEdward which is even better to eat andhas white flesh, Edzell Blue - an unusualvariety, prized for its excellent taste,beautiful blue skin and white flesh, andBritish Queen – a 100 year-old variety,well known for its good shape, whiteskin and white flesh packed with taste.All these varieties are perfect for

roasting and are set to regain pride ofplace on the British dining table.

Greenvale works closely with itsgrowers to ensure only the best andtastiest potatoes make it to the shelves.These special varieties are only grownin small quantities by dedicated andexpert farmers so each harvest mimicsthe profiles of home-grown produce.

Although Sainsbury’s and Greenvalerecommend these varieties for roastiesthey are also suitable for mashing andchipping.

The Roasties are available in 1kgpacks from Sainsbury’s stores. Becauseof the short growing period the varietyin the bag will vary, according to thetime of year, but their great Britishtaste remains unchallenged.

The perfect roast potato

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Consumer surveys and data aretelling us that dieting is no longer theexclusive domain of women; men arealso feeling the pressure to eathealthy. Consequently, healthy,wholegrain, sugar free bread varietiesare doing well at the moment.Conversely, on the flip side there hasalso been a huge interest in ethnic andgourmet varieties which are aimed atthe premium end of the market.Focaccia and various internationalstyle breads is a standard feature onmost fresh bread shelves.

The Irish bread market has anestimated value of €420m.Experimentation with new products isset to continue, with greater varietynow expected by Irish consumers. Themarket is quite well developed, whichis due largely to the high quality andfreshness of product offering availableon-shelf. Irish consumers favour breadfor its versatility, convenience, taste,value for money, variety and generalnutritional content.

Most of the growth in the breadmarket has been attributed to thewrapped bread sector which hasexperienced a growth of 6%, and thewholemeal bread sector. The latterhas enjoyed a value growth of anestimated 17%.

The sliced pan sector accounts foran estimated 60% of the overallmarket. The French bread market isbelieved to have enjoyed a growth of40% over the last five years, thankslargely to the introduction of in-storebaking.

The Irish sector has experienced adecline in volume, although it has

“Acorns were good till bread was found”, so said Francis Bacon, 17th century English philosopher. How right the goodstatesman was, for bread is not just a staple part of our everyday eating it is a delicious snacking essential. Our eatinghabits have become more complex in the last four centuries since Mr. Bacon waxed lyrical. The constant pressure to eatwell and avoid ill-health or obesity through the wrong foods has not gone away nor is it about to anytime soon. Breadhas been one staple food that has survived the cull of ‘foods to be avoided’ lists. In fact as consumers continue to focuson healthy eating there is an increased demand for wholegrain and health-orientated products. Bread provides complexcarbohydrates which are a source of energy, especially in low fat diets and it is generally low in fat and high in fibre, whichis important for many health concerns. Despite the drive towards healthy products, consumers still want products thatare not only good for you but look and taste great.

Bread

The Players:

Brennan’s Bread is ingrained inthe Irish psyche. Over thegenerations, this firm favourite hasbecome synonymous with freshnessa n d

quality of taste.Famous for using only the freshestof ingredients, Brennan’s ensuresthat its products come hot from theoven and onto the shelves withinhours. It has many brands in itsportfolio including; white, brown,batch, Weight Watchers, Buns andHot Dog Rolls. One of its interestingnew product developments is TheNatural Recipe Bread range, a craftbakery brand which has recapturedthe magic and art of baking. It

range combines traditional tastesand flavours with exciting newingredients. There are seven in themarket including, CrunchyWholemeal, Crunchy 7 Grain,Crunchy Oatgrain, Crunchy Rye,

F a r m h o u s eBrown, Wholewheat, and

Buttermilk Brown Soda.

been growing in recent years. Themarket can be divided into severalsectors including prepared bakeryproducts and home baking.Pre-prepared products include traditionalbreads – sliced, wholemeal, loaf etcand in-store breads. Cakes also comeunder this sector. Home bakingcomprises products that are used inthe preparation of baked goods, suchas flour, sugar, cake mix.

There has been a rise in consumerinterest in ethnic and specialityproducts. Equally morning goods area popular choice and bread has donewell out of this snacking phenomenon.As consumers continue to eat on thego, bakers have been able to jump onthe bandwagon expanding productrange to provide greater choice. Inaddition, manufacturers haveincreased availability and accessibilitythrough widening distributionchannels such as c-stores and garageforecourts. In the morning goodssegment, soft white rolls account foran estimated quarter of the marketfollowed by croissants, scones, bunsand Danish pastries.

Innovation is key to this marketand all the significant manufacturersare aware of the importance ofpioneering new trends and sustaininga fresh image.

January 2010 39

As one of Ireland’s largest bakeries,Irish Pride Bakeries delivers freshbread and bread productsthroughout the Republic every day.The company has two bakerieslocated in Wexford and Mayo whichare supported by a network ofdepots. Among its portfolio offamily favourites including, Irishpride Sliced Pan, Big Toast, OriginalFarmhouse to name a few, IrishPride has launched a number ofinnovative products including HalfPans and Irish ride Healthy White.The latter is a great tasting softwhite bread with all the hi-fibregoodness of wholemeal bread. Ithas in fact, four times more fibrethan a standard white pan.

Irish Pride Healthy Grain Sandwich

is another tasty healthy choice. Thebread is tasty malt bread, whichhas extra folic acid, 10% less slat,no hydrogenated vegetable oil andlinseed.

Johnston Mooney & O’Brien(JMOB) has long been enjoyed bygenerations of Irish bread eaters.Aside from its popular JohnstonMooney & O’Brien brand; thecompany has an impressive rangeof important sub brands whichincludes Butterkrust, Bundys, Hovisand Vogel. As it has proven through

the years, JMOB places animportant value on innovation andnew product development. It hasthe widest range of breads andbuns in the marketplace it iscommitted to improvement of itsproducts and services as well asanticipating the needs of theconsumer.

Cuisine de France has become thenumber one choice for its Frenchand ethnic style breads, continentalpastries, gourmet breads andconfectionery and other delightsfrom around the world. Cuisine deFrance’s gourmet range of breads isaimed at the discerning consumer.The flavours and bread types havebeen carefully chosen and representan innovative selection of fine qualitybatard, boule and loaves fromaround the world. Among these is itsSunflower and Honey Star, Pain deCouronne and Cranberry andRosemary bread.

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Reductions in cooking from scratchhave also had a negative impact asmore consumers purchase preparedmeals to eat out. Despite thesenegative influences, these productscontinue to have high householdpenetration rates and are consideredby many consumers to be a staplepart of their diet.

The increase in market value ofbutter has been steady over a fiveyear period. This is largely due to avariety of new healthier butterproducts and new flavours which mayencourage consumers to opt forpremium varieties of butter at higherprices.

Sales of organic butter haveincreased since 2003 from€0.19m to

€0.7m in 2006. Sales of organicbutter accounted for 0.7% of totalbutter sales. The market value ofspreads in all-Ireland has increased by11% points since 2001. The majorityof growth has been persistent over thelast three or four years. The marketvalue of spreads stood at €52.5m, arise of 8% since 2001.

The market value of margarine onan all-Ireland basis has been indecline. The value fell from €40.9min 2001 to €18.8m in 2006, a fall of54 percentage points. As conventionalmargarine has a much higherpresence of Tran’s fats than butter,there has been

certain controversy surroundingresearch which shows a link betweendiets high in Trans fats and coronaryheart disease. As such margarine hascome to be perceived by many as lessthan healthy.

The yellow fats market comprisesbutters, fats and spreads products.The market has been in a maturestate for some years and has reachedalmost 90% saturation which hasresulted in some brands becomingcommoditised. Like the other sectorsin the dairy market, health concernsand its progressive importance to

consumers has seen anincreasing focus on

NPD. This willcontinue tod r i v e

Sales of butter and yellow fats products have suffered a decline in recent year due to increasing Consumer concernabout health-related issues such as heart disease and obesity. Many consumers are cutting down on their overall fatintake and increasing numbers are making a distinction between ‘good fats’ and ‘bad fats’ and consequently turning toalternative fats like olive oil, especially when cooking or baking.

Dairy Spreads

innovation in thefuture.

The Irish market isworth an estimated€145m. Butters andspreads arecontinuing to growbut margarine is indecline, according tomarket researchers.Reduced fat productshave helped to makethe sector relevant totoday’s healthconscious consumer.That said consumersare quickly becomingcynical aboutproducts whichpromise the earthmoon and stars inhealth benefits.

Manu fac turerswould do well fromnot brandishingscientific terms acrosstheir products andmake things a littlesimpler.

Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter is thevery essence of rural Ireland.Produced to the most exactingrequirements and standards, it enjoysworld-wide recognition as a culinarydelight. Its entirely natural content ishighlighted by the unique goldencolour and singular taste. Made from100% fresh milk, Kerrygold is high inOmega 3, Beta Carotene and VitaminA. The Kerrygold range includesKerrygold Foil Butter, Softer Butter,Lighter Softer Butter and Garlic &Herb Butter, to name a few.

Over the past 30 years, the yellowfats sector has experienced rapiddevelopment and in Ireland today therange of products on offer hasexpanded dramatically. In the mid-seventies, consumer choice waslargely restricted to butter andmargarine while in the early eighties,new products, comprising blends ofbutterfat and vegetable oil weredeveloped with the aim of combiningthe taste of butter with theconvenience of spreadability. Tubpackaging was also introduced andreduced-fat and low-fat spreadsfollowed in the late eighties andnineties, to cater to the diet-conscious

sector of the market.Although these developments

occurred in response to anincreasingly diversifying market, onedisadvantage of this fragmentationwas a greater consumer confusionrelating to the nature and compositionof the yellow fat products on offer.While many of the so-called ‘taste’spreads began life with a 50% buttercontent, today these products containlittle or no butterfat at all.

Amid all the multiplicity of blendsand mixtures which populate thechilled cabinets one brand hasretained its clear, uncomplicatedmessage, Kerrygold – pure Irishcreamery butter. Unquestionably ahousehold name in Ireland, theKerrygold brand is owned by the IrishDairy Board, a commercial dairycooperative, whose role is the exportmarketing of Irish dairy products.Whether as consumer packed retailproducts, as provisions for thecatering and foods service sector or asspecialized ingredients for foodmanufacture, the IDB markets andsells to a variety of culturally diversemarkets around the world.

Originally launched in the UK in1962, Kerrygold butter has developed

an impressive pedigreei n t e r n a t i o n a l l y .Following Ireland’saccession to the EEC(EU) in 1973,Kerrygold butter waslaunched in Germanyand now commandsthe number oneposition in that largemarket. TodayKerrygold butter canbe found in over 60markets around theglobe, throughoutEurope, North andSouth America, Africa,Asia and Australia.A.C. Neilsen datarecords that Kerrygoldis the most purchasedimported butter in theUnited States.

According to IDB,in Ireland, Kerrygold isthe leading butterbrand, with a marketshare of 46%.

Distributed nationally and carried inevery grocery outlet, large or small,throughout the country, Kerrygold, inits signature gold foil packaging, hascontinued to be the butter of choicefor almost four decades.

has played an intrinsic role in theIrish diet for centuries and evokes atraditional lifestyle, rooted in the Irishcountryside and made in tandem withthe seasons.

Kerrygold is a brand that peopleknow and trust. It is a name thatstands for premium quality, fornaturalness, a truly reliable Irish food.All of these values are reflected in theBoard’s advertising strategyworldwide. On the home market,Kerrygold TV advertising has beenfairly iconic. There is a high degree ofrecall of, and affection for, Kerrygoldstorylines amongst consumers.

Dairygold Spread is the flagshipbrand of Dairygold Consumer Goods.Made with all natural ingredientsfreshly blended for a creamier taste,Dairygold dominates the tastespreads sector with a market sharevalue of over 57%, outselling itsnearest competition by five to one,according to the group.

January 2010 41

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The health spreads sector isshowing overall growth of 3.4% andDairygold Light has a strong positionwith an estimated 20% value share ofthe low fats spreads market. DairygoldLight is 62% fat free, low in saturatedfat and high in mono-saturates.Dairygold is available in a _ lb, 1lb and2lb tub and a 1.8kg catering tub.Other key products in the Dairygoldportfolio include Golden Pasture,Country Pride and Ballyclough.

Dairygold Heart is Ireland’snumber one taste spread. The brandis a low fat spread that contains plantsterols which are clinically proven tohelp lower blood cholesterol levels by10% when used as part of a healthydiet.

Since the 1970s Kerry Foods haspioneered and developed world classtechnology in the production of high-quality dairy and low fat spreads at itsplant in Listowel, Co. Kerry. This hashelped Kerry Foods to establish aleading position in many of its spreadscategories through a portfolio ofleading brands including Low Low,Kerrymaid, Move over Butter,Easigold, and Golden Olive.

The Low Low ‘healthy butter’comprises two consumer offerings –Low Low Original and Low Low Gold.The latter combines a pure butterymelt and creamy taste with the healthcredentials of the Low Low brands.

Kerrymaid is made from freshcream. The well-recognised ‘fromwhere Kerrymaid is made’ TVcampaign reinforces the position of

the brand to consumers, according toKerry Foods.

Golden Olive is a unique offeringon the Irish yellow fats market, theonly brand to offer consumers aspread with the long-term healthbenefits of olive oil. Move over Butteris placed as the fun, exciting, butteryspread that is great for the wholefamily.

The Avonmore butter range has astrong variety of products whichinclude Avonmore Spreadable Butterand Avonmore Unsalted Butter, anideal choice for more health consciousconsumers.

Avonmore’s yellow fats rangemakes it a leading player in the butterand spreads sector in Ireland. Therange comprises Avonmore Lifestyle,Avonmore Light, and Avonmore X-traLight, Avonmore Spreadable Butter

and Avonmore Unsalted Butter.According to the company, AvonmoreLifestyle is a perfect spread for thewhole family. It is made from the bestof Irish sourced ingredients and offersgood value for money.

Flora is high in polyunsaturated fatand at least 70% lower in saturatedfat than butter. The Flora brand is thebiggest seller in the butter andmargarine sector. Uniquely, Flora hascontributed to developing awarenessof the importance of a balanced dietplays in maintaining a healthy heart.The Flora range is made up of FloraOriginal, Flora Light, Flora Butteryand Flora Low Salt.

The Flora Pro.Activ rangecomprises low fat spreads, a semi-skimmed milk drink, a one-a-dayyogurt drink and low fat yogurts. FloraPro.Activ claims to dramatically lowerLDL (bad) cholesterol level withinabout three weeks. In addition, FloraPro.Activ and Flora Pro.Activ witholive oil make the promise toconsumers that ‘gram for gram, notother spread can lower cholesterol bymore’.

Utterly Butter is made withbuttermilk which explains its deliciousbuttery taste and creamy texture. It isthe ideal spread for those who seekenjoyment in both taste and life. It issuitable for all the family and can beused for spreading, baking or frying –just like butter. Moreover, UtterlyButter contains half the saturated fatof butter and is trans fat, acid free.The distinctive yellow tub comes in500g and 1kg tubs.

Dairy Spreads

44 TGm

The frozen food market comprisesfrozen fish, seafood, meat products,potato products, vegetables, fruitpizza, ready meals, bakery productsand desserts. According to TNS Worldpanel, the pattern of expansion andaccelerated growth within all productsectors of the frozen food marketcorrelates with the fact that moreconsumers have switched to frozenfood with a goal to minimise wastewhile still retaining the nutrients andvitamins locked in to frozen food. Andwith every good reason. The Irish havespent far too long wasting food. Datashows that one in three householdsthrows out 10% of their freshvegetables; a staggering 7,000

tonnes of perfectly good and oftenexpensive food. Clearly, the presentgloomy economic outlook has put paidto that.

The global frozen food marketgrew by 4% to reach a value of$100bn. By 2012 the market isforecast to have a value of $119.9bnan increase of 19.9% since 2007. Inglobal terms, sales of frozen pizza andready meals account for 41.4% of themarket’s value. Unilever is the world’sleading player holding a 4% marketshare by value.

All products within the Irish frozenfood category are expected tocontinue to hasten over theforthcoming months. With the credit

crunch still very much in full swing andexpected to get worse, consumershave fast realised the cost savingbenefits of frozen food.

The category has also benefitedfrom major investment form theleading brands such as Birds Eye andMcCain.

There is no doubt there has been agood deal of snobbery about frozenfood through the years but theindustry has learnt much tounderstand that shoppers and chefslike what’s on offer. In 2008, the UK’sbest known TV chef Delia Smith puther weight behind frozen food givingthe category a much welcome boost inpopularity. Known in the UK, as the

The frozen food market is undergoing something of a renaissance at the moment. In fact the category has enjoyedaccelerated growth for quite a few years now as consumers turn to frozen food for its minimal waste and locked innutrients. The leading growth sectors of this market include savoury foods and the fish sector.

Frozen Food

January 2010 45

‘Delia Effect’, her series andaccompanying book, ‘How to Cheat atCooking’ flew off the shelves when itespoused the nutritional and cookerybenefits of certain frozen foods.

Conversely, sales of frozen mashedpotatoes, aubergine and ready madespice mixers went through the roof.

No doubt the Delia Effect hasrubbed off on Irish consumers asincreasingly, chefs are espousing thebenefits of using frozen ingredients.Jamie Oliver regularly encouragesusing shop-bought frozen filo pastry,rather than making it from scratch.

The weakening economy hasundoubtedly conspired somewhat toencourage shoppers to switch frompricier products to the more valuedriven frozen category. However, itwould be simplistic to imagine thesewere the only factors at play. Over thepast number of years frozen food hasprofited from big brand investment, arevival in own label products andsupport form all celebrity chefs (otherthan Delia!) - much of which has comein response from growing consumer

demand for healthier food.The big names like McCain and

Birds Eye have begun to underpintheir health message in theiradvertising, discussing the goodnessand versatility of frozen food. Forinstance, Birds Eye is branding itsproducts with Omega-3 credentials.Similarly, McCain Oven Chips boastjust two ingredients specially selectedpotatoes and sunflower oil, and itsproducts contain just 5% fat and nocholesterol.

According to many foodnutritionists and studies, frozen foodhas always been a much better ,fresher product than the chilledequivalent and consumers are nowseeing it for themselves thanks toexcellent branded advertising. As costpressures augment, frozen willundoubtedly continue to gain at theexpense of chilled. The heady days ofdouble digit growth in the chilledcategory are no more, say marketanalysts, and the cards are in favourof frozen food.

The reality about the nutritional

benefits of frozen fruit and vegetableshas hit home with many consumers.Frozen vegetables are usually blastedfrozen within four hours of picking, sovirtually all their goodness ispreserved. An Austrian study foundthat not only is the vitamin content offrozen vegetables substantially higherthan that of fresh varieties, they arealso less contaminated by pesticidesand fertilisers because they are grownin season.

While groceries in the fridge andcupboard will gradually lose theirnutritional value, vitamin content onlyreduces very slowly over time in mostfrozen foods. Peas, for example, arefrozen within two and a half hours ofharvesting and the levels of vitaminsC and B are often higher than in freshversions which loose fresh nutrientsduring transportation and storagewithin shops and in the kitchen.Freezing also reduces the damage tothe texture and flavour of the food sothat colours, flavours andpreservatives are not needed.

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Pizza MarketConsumption of pizza’s has

reached impressive rates and thesegment continues to be one of themost important of the frozen foodcategory. The market continues toshow strong growth, driven by theperformance of the chilled sector. Thepizza sector is dominated by frozenpizza but most multiples now offercooked pizza in store for about halfthe price of a home delivered version.

The market for convenience maystill be a relevant motive in today’s

consumer but manufacturers need totake note of changing tends largelyinvolving healthy lifestyle choices.Consumer’s want health options andTV cookery shows and celebrity chefshave done much to demonstrate thata pizza is a health meal choice with afew different toppings such as rocket,roasted vegetables and parmesanshavings.

For some time now the demand forhome delivery continued to showstrong growth, the highly competitivenature of the overall eating out market

and rivalry from the chilled retailsector meant that the eat-in-sectorwas starting to find trading conditionsdifficult.

The rise of the ‘foodie’ duringbetter economic times took its toll onthe frozen pizza segment. However,with the current global recessioncomes a back to basics consumerattitude and many are opting for the‘cocooning’ option over going out;staying in with a pizza, a bottle of wineand an rented DVD.

Frozen

The Players:

Birds Eye Foods is one of the bestknown names in the Irish frozen foodmarket. Birds Eye’s famous productrange includes fish, poultry,vegetables, burgers & meatballs,meals and pies. Its top brandsinclude Captain Birds Eye and BirdsEye Steamfresh, all of which aremade with only the freshestingredients. Its vegetable rangeincludes everything from simplevegetables to vegetable mixturesand vegetables with sauce, ensuringendless meal solutions.

Its famous Captain Birds Eye rangeincludes Omega 3 Fishfingers, 100%Cod Fillet Fishfingers, MiniFishfingers and Salmon Fishfingersamong others.

Birds Eye’s belief in quick freezinggreat food has become the core atwhat it does best creating theoptimum taste possible. It freezeseverything when it’s at the peak ofperfection, so there is no need foradditives, colourings, preservativesor flavourings.

Founded in 1966, Clayton LoveDistribution (CLD) offers acomprehensive national sales,marketing and distribution servicefor frozen food to all sectors of thegrocery sector. Based in Inchicore,Dublin, its portfolio includes the wellknown blue chip brands Findus,McCain and Jus Rol.

48 TGm

Few will doubt the evolution of themale grooming market. No longer justabout razors and shaving foam, themarket comprises some key segmentsincluding deodorants, shavingpreparations, personal wash products,men’s skincare, men’s haircare andmen’s bodycare.

Regardless of changes in thetraditional makeup of households,women remain the principle shoppersfor families. This means that womenare buying grooming products foryoung men under-18 (including under-25 men still living at home) as well asfor husbands and partners.

The majority of male groomingproducts are seen as a householdstaple item and as such can bepurchased without the input of themale consumer. This remains adisadvantage to companies andretailers alike who need to encouragemen to become more engaged inproducts.

Men’s literature such as weeklymagazines is important incommunicating what is available onthe market as well as the benefits ofthe product. In a similar way towomen’s magazines, samples could beoffered in every issue to encouragemale readers to try new products.

The male grooming market shouldnot be underestimated. One of themain drivers is the growing number ofmen who are interested andconcerned with their appearance. Menare now being advised about how bestto dress and also how to take care oftheir hair and skin. This has been inpart led by men’s magazines andprominent male celebrities such asDavid Beckham and George Clooney.

A decade ago, men could not haveas easily availed of information that isaround today. Aside from magazine,

men are readily receiving informationabout grooming products on theinternet which have long removed anydoubts about looking after one’sappearance.

As women are likely to be the mainpurchasers of male groomingproducts, the industry needs to appealbeyond the male audience and intothe female market. Some ways toattract attention would be to use malemodels at beauty counters in thelarger department stores, freesamples of male grooming products inwomen’s ,magazines with a coupon forrepeat purchasing and moreadvertising in the female orientatedmedia.

The male grooming market, allIreland basis, is valued at €103.1m,increasing by 24%. The market in theRepublic is worth €62m rising by26%. The multinationals dominatethe male grooming market with ownlabel brands from retailers holding amarginal proportion of retail sales.Gillette is currently the market leaderin the shaving preparations category,with no other brands remotely close toits position, with disposable razors,razors and shaving preparations.There is further potential to developthe Gillette brand in other areas of themarket, as men may be moredisposed to buying a brand if theyalready have a positive experience ofit in another market sector.

Deodorants account for the largestsector of the market, valued at€18.2m, representing 29% of themarket share. Shaving preparationsare the second-largest segment of themale grooming market accounting for25% of the total market value andworth €15.6m. Personal wash andbathroom products, including showergels and bath oils currently hold an

estimated 20% of the male groomingmarket, worth an estimated €12.2m.Skincare products are worth €6.8mrepresenting 11.0% of the market

Older men’s routines consist oftaking a shower or a bath, washinghair and cleaning and flossing teeth.Whilst men in the younger sections ofthe population, notably those aged15-34 will be more engaged in themarket and inclined to use productsthat fall outside the realm of personalhygiene such as hair styling andskincare products.

Younger men no longer considerconcern over their appearance as acompromise on masculinity. Thesemen will be most likely to adopt newforms of male grooming such asskincare routines. Whilst men in theolder sections of the population arenot as easily convinced and will have avery traditional method of groomingwhich involves primarily washing andshaving.

Older men will have takengrooming habits from their youngeryears into a different life stage and willbe least likely to experiment withdifferent brands/products. These menmight welcome products such as haircolorants or skin treatments thatenhance the texture or colour of theskin by providing a healthy glow.

There are very few shampoos onthe market to treat hair thinning orbaldness, which affects a considerableproportion of the male populationover a certain age. Manufacturersshould embrace this trend by offeringa wider selection of products toaddress this need. Other types ofskincare products such as facial scrubsand under-eye treatments are lesslikely to be used by men in the greyingyears and it might be impossible formanufacturers to ever turn this

For a number of years now there has been growing pressure for the average man to take care of himself and hence, spendmore money doing it. As a consequence, the media has pushed this concept, backed by multinational health and beautycompanies, to acceptability. The challenge for this market is to encourage men to adapt to more varied daily groomingroutines without compromising their masculinity.

Health & Beauty

January 2010 49

around.Male grooming products such as

anti-ageing skincare, anti-cellulite andbody firming treatments and hairremoval creams are still very muchniche products and it is difficult topredict if these will move intomainstream or not.

Manufacturers need to be carefulin terms of the language they use totarget men by not over using scientificterminology, as with the women’scosmetics market, and bycommunicating the functional benefitsof the product without bogging medown with to much fact.

Usage of anti-ageing treatmentssuch as under eye creams orgels/creams to reduce bags, collagenfillers and anti-wrinkle moisturisersare not strictly confined to the femaleconsumer base. There are a few malespecific anti-ageing treatments on theskincare market for men to treatwrinkles under-eye bags and skinslackness, however nowhere near the

same level as for women. There ispotential to further develop thismarket segment when targeting menwith skincare products as men arealso concerned with the ageingprocess despite the fact that somemen are not willing t admit to beingso.

Men are far behind women interms of the purchasing of personalcare items and ‘embarrassment’ maybe one reason for a reluctance tospend of a range of items. Data showsthat at least one in five men is put offskincare products because theyperceive them to be female products.In one survey, it was acknowledgedamong participants that certainbrands and environments are morepermissible than others. Nivea forMen has quite cleverly tapped intothis market and was seen to beacceptable and appropriate.

This is perhaps as this product fitsinto the ream of shaving, rather thangeneral personal care and en felt it

was a ‘male’ brand and not one withovert female overtones. It was notedthat the level of discomfort with theissue of extending male grooming wasreflected in the switching of malerespondents to talking a ‘third party’rather than themselves.

Another interesting finding wasthat the adoption of products may belimited by the lack of other peopleadopting the products. Men agreedthat they would have to accept acertain degree of teasing from friendsbut as the behaviour became morepredominant then it would become anormal activity and ‘they’d all be at it!’(Male, aged 18-25). Consequently,marketers may find that encouragingwomen to buy on men’s behalf mightincrease product use and adoption.

Christmas is a key time of the yearto purchase gifts for loved ones.Christmas is the ideal time toencouragement to try products theywould not normally use in the hopethat they will see the benefits of the

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product once tried and testedeventually made a repurchase.Likewise gift packages can encouragepeople to buy products for men thatthey would not normally buy forthemselves. One good example is anti-ageing treatments or facialtreatments.

Future projections show a steadyrise in this market over the next sixyears. Mintel predicts that the malegrooming market will rise by 25% inthe next three years. The most difficultchallenge for manufacturers will be toencourage men over the age of 40 toexpand upon their current malegrooming routine that tends to consistmainly of showering, shaving and hairwashing. Products which meetfunctional needs such as haircolorants for the moustache, beardand sideburns may be an effective wayof targeting this category of men.

The deodorants andantiperspirants sector has expandedto include a wider range of formatsoutside traditional aerosol cans.Growth in the market has been drivenby antiperspirants whilst body sprays,according to trade sources seems tobe in unit decline. The market hasseen a steady rise in brandedmanufacturers with aerosol offeringslaunching antiperspirant roll and stickformats.

There has been a slight blurring ofthe boundaries between the maledeodorants and body sprays with Lynxincluding Lynx Dry, a body spray withanti-perspirant properties. Newproduct developments in thedeodorants market claim to offerimproved staying power in terms ofincreased durability. Sure and Niveaare two of the leading layers in thismarket with a range of antiperspirantdeodorants for men and women. TheNivea deodorant range of men hasexpanded to even include deodorisingwipes in recent years.

The shaving preparations sector,encompassing both disposable razorsand pre and after shaving treatments,has experienced a particularly highlevel of innovation in recent years interms of new product development.Disposable razors led primarily byGillette, have increased the number ofblades to improve the effectiveness ofthe product and further segment

market.Gillette continue to be market

leader in the blades, disposable razorsand shaving preparations markets andis the only brand to excel in bothmarkets. Gillette blades and razorsaccount for 78.3% of the total marketshare and the company holds 60.9%of the shave preparations category.Gillette is driving new productdevelopment and category growthwith strong investment in the brandthrough marketing support such assponsorship, advertising and celebrityendorsements. Other brands which

are strong in this sector includeWilkinson Sword and BIC.

Sure for Men sport shower gel andAdidas Active Body care range formen, which includes shower gels anddeodorants, offer personal washproducts for male grooming. Othermanufacturers of male groomingproducts include Radox, Lynx andPhysio Sport. Shower and bathproducts are increasingly offeringmultiple benefits, outside the usualcleansing properties such asmoisturising, nourishing and skinprotection. Manufacturers havelaunched several sports shower gels toappeal to men participating in sportsactivities including gym usage.

Some of the leading brands in theskincare market have extended theirproduct portfolio by moving into the

personal wash market including Doveand Nivea. The Nivea for Men range,from Beiersdorf is a top performer inthe personal wash sector, consisting ofMoisturising Shower Crème,Revitalising Shower Gel, Fitness Geland Energising Shower Gel.

The haircare market for men hasstill to reach its full potential incomparison with other sectors of themale grooming market. Men primarilyuse unisex brand offered bymanufacturers such as Wella,Shockwaves, Pantene shampoo andHead and Shoulders which all target

men in their advertising campaigns.Manufacturers have been slow indeveloping male specific shampoosand conditioners mainly due to thefact that they feel men will notrespond to these products and willcontinue to use established brands.

Premium manufacturers such asClarins and Clinique have been muchquicker to respond to demand formale specific haircare products byoffering hair and scalp treatments formen. Manufacturers have beenreluctant to launch hair conditionersfor men as there is a distinctpossibility that men will not buy intothis market sector. Hair conditioningproducts for men are mainly offered as2 in 1 combination – shampoo andconditioner in one. This is probably dieto the fact that men will not spend

Health & Beauty

TGM

time applying conditioner after theywash their hair and want one productthat cleanses and washes in one go.

New product developments in hairstyling products for men, includingwax, gels, sprays, mousses andserums, have been more active thanwith hair cleansing or conditioningproducts. Hair styling products areincreasingly becoming an importantpart of the male grooming routine asmen take more pride in having theirhair cut regularly and using hairstyling products to achieve a certainlook.

Hair colorants for men arebecoming more widely used withmanufacturers such as L’Oreal andWella into the needs of the makeconsumer. Some men are probablyjust as concerned with going grey aswomen and will be willing to spendmoney on hair colorants to use in theprivacy of their home. The range ofhair colorants on the market for menis much more limited than for womenwith products such as Just for Mendisplayed alongside other malegrooming products rather than in thehair dye aisle.

The skincare market for men isdeveloping as a new productdevelopment activity is growingalthough nowhere near the same paceas for women’s skincare products. The

market leader in the skincare marketis the Nivea brand by Beiersdorf Niveapioneered the entry of skincareproducts for men with the launch ofNivea for Men in the male groomingmarket. The Nivea brand was alreadya strong contender in the women’sskincare market and successfullymade the transition into the malegrooming market due to the strengthof the Nivea brand.

The Nivea brand is no longer theonly mainstream brand competing inthe skincare market with entry ofL’Oreal Paris Men Expert. L’Oreal

used the colours orange and silver inits brand packaging to ensure theproduct would stand out POS againstother masculine colours.

Premium skincare brands for menare starting to increase their presencein the skincare market now that menare prepared to pay more for qualityand added skincare benefits. Brandssuch as Clinique and Clarins for menhave extended the range of productsnow available for men to includeexfoliating treatments, under-eyeconcealers and anti-ageingmoisturisers.

]source: Mintel

January 2010 51

52 TGm

It has been a happyhallmark of the Celtic tigeryears that a number ofIrish business peoplehave risked their capitaltrying to inject new lifeinto Irish brands whichmight otherwise havedied a slow death dueto competition fromforeign-owned brandswith greater financialmuscle.

Michael Carey, executivechairman of the Jacob Fruitfieldgroup, has sought to review consumerinterest in traditional Irish brandssuch as Fruitfield jams, Chef sauces,Silvermint sweets, Kimberley, Mikado,Fig Rolls and Club Milk biscuits.

The sixth generation of theFlahavan family, led by chairman JohnFlahavan, has also sought toreposition the famous porridge oatsfood brand against tough competitionfrom giant multinational brands suchas Nestle, Weetabix and Kelloggs.

And Ray Coyle has sought to raisethe profile of Tayto crisps in the teethof fierce competition from globalbrands including the giant Walkercrisps.

The recession will have done littleto help these entrepreneurs amidfears that increasingly price-sensitiveconsumers may jettison brands infavour of getting the cheapestproducts they can.

The credit crunch also impactsnegatively on attempts to expand themarket for Irish brands becausebranding requires big investment.

But that hasn’t stopped RayCoyle’s Largo Foods investing about€1 million to promote the Taytobrand.

Ray Coyle is the very model of arisk-taking entrepreneur.

Back in the late 1970s Coyle was afarmer supplying potatoes to the Perriand Tayto crisp factories, then ownedby others.

He got into serious financialdifficulties when potato prices and

land prices fell sharply leaving himwith Ir£1.4 million in bank borrowingshe could not service. Then when heput up land for sale in order to pay offthe banks, he found it was worth only£270,000. Undaunted, he decided toraffle his farm by selling 5,000 ticketsat £300 a ticket, raising the amountrequired to meet his obligations.

It was an example of lateralthinking to get round an apparentlyinsurmountable problem and, becausehe had been able to settle his debts indifficult times, it meant that he wasable to return to his bankers for morebig loans in the future. He would laterset up his own factory making crisps.

Three years ago, Coyle had net

debt of €22 million on hisbalance sheet when drinksgroup Cantrell & Cochranedecided to put the iconic Taytocrisps brand on the market for€62 million Largo Foods had toborrow another €50 million fromBank of Scotland to part-fund theTayto purchase. The company alsoraised €15 million in new equity, ofwhich €75 million came from a tradeinvestor, while Coyle personally put up€7.5 million borrowed from UlsterBank.

At the time, Coyle admitted itwould have suited him far better ifTayto hadn’t come on the market untilthe following year, as he had just

Revitalising Great Irish Brands

R E V I T A L I S I N G G R E A T I R I S H B R A N D S

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January 2010 53

invested€15 million in

upgrading his CoMeath factory, after securing

the contract to manufacture Taytocrisps under licence.

But Coyle seized the opportunityto buy Tayto when it presented itselfeven if he had to borrow up the hilt todo so.

In fact, his big fear was that if hedidn’t get his hands on Tatyo, he mighthave lost the Tayto manufacturingcontract which he already had.

He faced a considerable challengewith Tayto, which had been losing

market share. The Tayto brand, whichonly 15 years previously, had marketshare of 80 per cent in Ireland, had by2006 only 40 per cent of the crispsmarket due to stiff competition fromthe likes of Walkers, which in turn isowned by Pepsico, a company witheffectively unlimited resources.

Coyle said Tayto and his otherbrands, which include Hunky Dorycrisps, now had about 55 per cent ofthe Irish crisps market. He has alsosucceeded in reducing his borrowingsto about €72 million, but still jokesthat the banks own the business. Ithasn’t been plain sailing by anystandards. Sales rose by 4.4 per centto €94 million last year, but the

company recorded an after-tax loss of€3.6 million after incurring €1.8million in redundancy costs. Coyle alsocut wages by 5 per cent for staff and10 per cent for management, buthopes to reinstate pay level if thecompany returns to profits in thecurrent year.

Against that background, Coyle’sdecision to invest €1 million inbranding is a major statement of hisambitions for the Tayto brand.

The payoff for Ireland is thatentrepreneurs like Coyle, Carey andFlahavan provide local jobs for localpeople and keep money in Ireland thatmight otherwise have gone abroad.

We need a lot more like them.

The payoff for

Ireland is that

entrepreneurs like

Coyle, Carey and

Flahavan provide

local jobs for local

people and keep

money in Ireland

that might

otherwise have

gone abroad.

Close to you, because it belongs to you.

ADM Londis plc is the only symbol group to offer retailers ownership and profit sharing through shareholding in the group. So the more we grow, the more your profits grow.

Working together with Londis, you will gain a partner that listens to your needs and understands today’s competitive marketplace.

You can benefit from our tailored range of services including logistics, unique store design, marketing, retail information systems and quality retail management support systems in

addition to extremely competitive terms.

If you would like to learn more about our unique approach to retailing, please contact eitherJerry Mc Donnell, Sales Manager East or Joe O’Connor, Sales Manager West on 1890 33 33

73 or email jerry.mcdonnell@londis.ie / joe.oconnor@londis.ie for further details.

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