Packaged
Bread
November/December 2000
As
easy as.....
Bread is one of life's staples. It certainly is for consumers
- and should be for C-store operators. Here are a few ways to boost
sales
Cast your mind's eye over the products in your store and
name the big movers each day. Bread would be one of them.
Right? Wrong
Despite its image as a basic food commodity, bread is not doing
great things in C-stores, and there are a number of reasons why. Given
the margin is around 40 per cent, it's a product that's worth pushing.
The good news is that it can do better and it's not a difficult or expensive
exercise.
Louie Coorey is national business manager for Goodman
Fielder Baking Australia which produces a huge range including Buttercup,
Wonder White, Sunnicrust, Queensland Country Bakeries, Helga's, Uncle
Toby's.
According to Mr Coorey, who has a vested interest in knowing
such issues, in terms of sales volume, milk has the edge over bread.
According to his figures, milk makes up eight or nine per cent of C-store
sales, whereas packaged bread is around two-to-three per cent.
"I have to admit being surprised because bread is a very
similar type of purchase to milk. Traditionally people stopped at a
convenience store specifically for products like milk and bread and
we need to do something to link the products again, to lift bread sales."
Mr Coorey says both products share similarities in that
they're similar in price and they're both daily-fresh products. They're
both destination buys but also impulse buys, in that customers may come
in specifically for them, but may also be there for something else,
see the product and decide to grab it.
Importance of position
It's there that bread can miss out. Quite simply, Mr Coorey says,
position is one of the major problems for bread because it's often hard
to find it in the average C-store.
"It's often tucked away in a back corner, not immediately
obvious, whereas milk is much easier to locate - it needs to be in a
fridge and they're pretty easy to see. Forget the front of store position
that everyone wants - you could do worse than positioning your bread
right next to the fridge. Just remember it needs to be visible.
"Because if it isn't, if the customer can't actually see
it, you'll find that unless they've come in specifically for bread,
they won't think about it. If they do, they'll grab it. We've done some
trials and it's flown out the door when the display unit is somewhere
where it can actually be easily seen by the flow of traffic."
Aside from the margins involved, one of the benefits of
bread, as far as the operator is concerned, is that they are not stuck
with tired product that has to be removed. The supplier removes the
stale product at the same time as re-stocking with fresh - but leftover
product doesn't translate to profit so, in Mr Coorey's eyes, it's worth
operator and bread vendor working together to ensure there is minimum
stock left unsold.
Stock choice & presentation
"There's a definite improvement in sales once operators look at
the presentation of the product, and remove too many skews. There's
no doubt there is a huge number of products out there and it's tempting
to try and stock as wide a range as possible, but then you're offering
too much choice and not enough supply of the in-demand product.
"It's really important to remember that 90 per cent of
sales are white bread and if you think about that, and also stock the
premium products because people don't expect the cheaper breads in C-stores,
you'll see a much better return."
The bottom line is to work out exactly what your customers
are buying and what they're not. If there's a pattern to what is left
at the end of each day, stop stocking it and replace it with more of
what seems to sell well. That way, Mr Coorey says, every loaf of bread
is contributing to your profit line.
"Have a set core range, so you have plenty of presence
on the display. Make sure that the display unit is well positioned to
capture the impulse buyers, and merchandise properly.
The value of promotion
"The way the industry is going, the operators will be finding more
and more promotional activity happening, especially through the major
chains, all aimed at putting a focus back on the C-store as a major
convenience outlet for the everyday necessities such as bread."
Mr Coorey says Goodman Fielder has discovered by experience
the value of promotion, and the results translate to good news for the
company and for individual operators.
"Every time we've promoted a product over the last two
years, we've had double-digit growth. There are huge opportunities in
getting it right and getting the focus back on the C-store as the place
people pick up their bread."
Talk to your bread vendor about how you can make things
work for you. Obviously they're happier if they're not continually removing
stale, unsold product, and if they know you're keen to make every product
a saleable item, they'll be happy to advise and assist.
"You've got to make sure you've got the right range of
products to suit the demographics of your customer base, that there's
plenty of supply of the most popular products and that it all can be
easily seen.
"Given the figures, the objective must surely be that
every customer who comes in to buy milk should also be buying bread.
So position the bread next to the milk. Set out some of those generic
signs that ask 'have you bought your milk and bread'. Design your own
bread-and-milk combo purchase in-store. People need prompting so you
need to be pro-active to encourage the traffic flow.
"The difference between nine per cent milk sales and two
per cent bread sales is a seven per cent gap of opportunity. Fill that
gap by promoting and selling well and everyone involved is going to
be a better off - literally."
The table below shows the top 20 bread sellers at convenience
stores. Rankings are supplied by AC Nielsen C*Track and are based on
dollar sales for the year ended July 2000.
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Tip Top Sunblest Sandwich 650gm
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Buttercup Sandwich Wonder White 700gm
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Country Farm White Sliced 680gm
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Country Bake Mighty W/ML White 700gm
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Tip Top Hyfibe White 700gm
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Gold Coast Sandwich Milk 680gm
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Tip Top 9 Multi Grain 700gm
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Buttercup S/Sandwich White 650gm
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Country Bake White 700gm
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Karls Countr White 680gm
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7-Eleven White Sandwich 680gm
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Helga White Traditional 750gm
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Tip Top Sunblest Thick 650gm
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Tip Tp Wholemeal Sandwich 650gm
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QLD Country Bake White 650gm
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Tip Top Mighty White 680gm
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Buttercup Wonder Toast 700gm
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Helga Wholemeal Traditional 750gm
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NightOwl Daily Fresh White 680gm
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Gold Coast Toast Thick 680 gm
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Buttercup S/Toasty White 650gm
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Tip Top Sunblest Sandwich 650gm
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Buttercup S/Sandwich White 650gm
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Tip Top Sunblest Thick 650gm
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Buttercup Sandwich Wonder White 700gm
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Buttercup S/Toasty White 650gm
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Tip Top Hyfibe White 700gm
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Tip Top Multi Grain Sandwich 650gm
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Tip Top Wholemeal Sandwich 650gm
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Buttercup Wonder Toast 700gm
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Tip Top Pro Roll 650gm
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Tip Top 9 Multi Grain 700gm
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Granny Davis Cottage Sandwich 680gm
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Tip Top White Stuff Toast 700gm
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Noble Rise Soy Linseed 850gm
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Burgen Soy Linseed 680gm
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Bernds White 680gm
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Granny Davis Grain Old Style 680gm
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Tip Top Sunblest Sandwich 650gm
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Tip Top Sunblest Thick 650gm
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Sunicrust Super Sandwich White 680gm
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Sunicrust Super Toast White 680gm
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Buttercup S/Sandwich White 650gm
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Buttercup S/Toasty White 650gm
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Helga White 750gm
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Tip Top Hyfibe White 700gm
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Helga Wholemeal 750gm
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Buttercup Sandwich Wonder White 700gm
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Tip Top Multi Grain Sandwich 650gm
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7_Eleven Sandwich 680gm
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Tip Top Wholemeal Sandwich 650gm
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Buttercup Wonder Toast 700gm
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Tip Top 9 Multi Grain 700gm
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Tip Top White Stuff Toast 700gm
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Burgen Soy Linseed 680gm
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S.A. 12
month $ sales to July 2000
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Tip Top Swissmaid 680gm
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Buttercup S/Sandwich White 650gm
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Golden Ribbon Vienna Sliced 680gm
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Mt Barker White 680gm
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Buttercup Sandwich Wonder White 700gm
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Tip Top Wholemeal Sandwich 650gm
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Tip Top Multi Grain Kibbled 680gm
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Tip Top Hyfibe White 700gm
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Golden Top Sandwich 680gm
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Tip Top 9 Multi Grain 700gm
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Helga White 750gm
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Lunch Box Sandwich 600gm
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Tip Top Sunblest Sandwich 650gm
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Buttercup Wonder Toast 700gm
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Tip Top Spicy Fruit Loaf 600gm
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Buttercup S/Toasty White 650gm
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Tip Top Multi Grain Sandwich 650gm
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Helga Wholemeal 750gm
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W.A. 12 month
$ sales to July 2000
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Sunblest Sandwich 650gm
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Buttercup Sandwich White 650gm
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Sunblest Thick 650gm
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Kartha Wholemeal 680gm
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Crossland White Bread
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Tip Top Mighty White 700gm
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Tip Top Hyfibe White 700gm
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Buttercup Toasty White 650gm
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Tip Top Multi Grain 650gm
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Kartha White 680gm
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Buttercup Sandwich Wonder White 700gm
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Buttercup Toast Wonder White 700gm
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Granny Davis Sandwich Cottage 680gm
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Tip Top Wholemeal Sandwich 650gm
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De Campo Sandwich White 680gm
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Tip Top White Stuff Toast 700gm
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Holsoms T/Top Wholemeal 700gm
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Helga White 750gm
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Helga Wholemeal 750gm
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