The two winners of the Peter Jowett Awards were recognised at the AACS 2021 Conference held in Melbourne this week.
The winner of the Supplier award was Brittany Rea from Unilever, who succeeded after an afternoon of judging in front of the AACS Diamond members ahead of other finalists – Jann Lurie from Mars and Nick Ryan from Frucor Suntory.
The winner of the Retailer award was Jordan Swire who was one of three finalists from BP who were all employed by BP through the same graduate intake. The other two finalists were Cedric Boissezon and David Menhennitt.
In her presentation, Rea talked about the changes to the convenience category post-Covid.
“Some people were questioning how convenience could remain relevant, but when UberEats can charge $15 for a McFlurry – we know convenience still thrives,” she said.
Rea questions what must happen for convenience to remain relevant and what the industry needs to be and become to be attractive to post-pandemic convenience customers who will have a mix of working from home as well as from the office.
“Convenience needs to be caring, digital and younger to survive,” she said pointing out that Generation Y and Millenials are now 50 per cent of the population and by 2025 they will represent 55 per cent of all retail spend.
She warned of digital disruption and social commerce as challenges of the future as petrol convenience operators need to engage with customers who have grown up with media fragmentation.
“Forget about these consumers at your peril,” she said.
In his presentation, Swire argued that localisation has changed the way that we live our lives now that people have more time, and sustainability has also become a key concern for many consumers.
“We have been in a rush for 30 years, even though I have only been alive for 25,” he joked.
He argued that technology and connectivity were key areas of success in the future and used case studies such as local mobility hubs in Germany where customers can use the store’s wi-fi, earn points through loyalty programs, charge their electric vehicle, grab a coffee as well as make in-store purchases as one of the concepts that should be embraced in the local market.
Another case study known as Father of the Year, used humour to claim that a visit to a convenience store could tick off all of the key elements of being a successful parent including charging the family vehicle, while consuming coffee from a barista, while kids played or consumed plant-based fresh food made on site.
Both winners will be offered an opportunity to travel to further their knowledge of the industry and also obtain access to events attended by senior leaders events to build their profile in the channel as well.
Written by James Wells