This past year has been a curious time for the grocery industry with the uncertainty brought by Brexit and other global factors continuing to affect retailers. Fears over the minimum wage increase to €9.25 per hour which concerned some retailers, does not seem to have any major effects. The industry as a whole has weathered through successfully and Christmas 2016 was particularly good for most with shoppers spending an extra €92 million. The market outlook for 2017 is increasingly positive and over 80% of Irish employers have said they expect to be recruiting in 2017.
The ‘Gender Gap’ and disparity between the salaries paid to men and women also became a hot topic in 2016. Our research shows that no such gap exists within the retail industry, as all levels of manager are paid dependent on experience and hours worked, regardless of gender.
Excel Recruitment have been recruiting for the Irish Grocery Market for over 15 years. Our Grocery Team is comprised of former Grocery Managers, passionate about retail, who know the industry inside out. This survey was compiled and designed to give our clients and candidates a guide as to the current market prices for the various roles within the Irish Grocery market.
If you would like to discuss any of our findings, need advice on your staff planning, or assistance with your recruitment needs please feel free to contact our Grocery team here.
All Grocery Jobs with Excel Recruitment are available here.
November saw Irish retail sales rise by .9% in comparison to the previous month, according to the latest statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO)
If auto sales are excluded, the picture is even more positive with the monthly increase rising to 3.1%. There was a rise of 4.3% on an annual basis compared to the same period in 2015.
November was a particularly impressive month for electrical sales which rose by 17% compared to October. It is thought the significant pump could be caused by consumers purchasing early Christmas presents. However, electrical sales have seen an annual rise of 13.8% which means the rise is consistent.
Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics sales also saw a sharp rise in November with a gain of 7.9% on the previous month and an annual rise of 10.2%.
Overall, the results are positive for the sector showing steady growth throughout the year. The figures are particularly positive when the uncertainty brought about by Brexit in the middle of the year is taken into account.
Consumer confidence and retail sales hit their highest numbers in 15 years in January 16 but saw a dip after the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
One significant issue with the CSO figures are foreign retailers selling into Ireland are excluded from the calculations. This means that online retailers such as Amazon and other large global firms are excluded from the final data released.
The strong sales figures were unquestionably boosted by the growing popularity of Black Friday, which takes place on the last Friday of November.
Retail sales are expected to grow a further 4-5% in the coming year. Despite the positive news, consumer spending growth is expected to slow in 2017 due to global political and economic uncertainty.
Retailers in the capital are “cautiously optimistic” about the final week of trading before Christmas, according to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
Shops are hoping that today will see the start of a last-minute frenzy to get ready for the big day. Shops in the city are anticipating a higher footfall in the days ahead particularly as schools and offices remain open so close to the big day. Dublin Chamber of Commerce chief executive Mary Rose Burke, speaking on Sunday, said “The sense amongst retailers is that a lot of spending decisions have been delayed until the final week”
Retailers expect to benefit from what shoppers perceive as an ‘extra weekend’ before Christmas. Burke says “Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, which means people feel they have an extra weekend to shop. Both footfall and spending in Dublin city centre so far this month have been strong, with most shops reporting that numbers are at similar levels to last year.”
Ms Burke also noted there was “a very festive atmosphere” in the city, which could be encouraging shoppers to get to the city.
Louis Copeland of Louis Copeland & Sons, speaking to the Irish Independent, said that although trade so far has been at a similar level to previous years, they are expecting a major boost in sales in the coming days. “From today on, it will all open up. With Christmas being on a Sunday, we’re expecting some week ahead of us,” he said. “Today people will realise that it’s less than a week until Christmas, and they need to go to town.”
Paul Sheeran of Paul Sheeran Jewellers, located just off Grafton Street, also feels that people had been more willing to spend money this season, especially compared with previous years. “There’s a much nicer feeling around this year. People are getting back into enjoying and treating themselves,” he said. “Jewellery hasn’t been top of the Christmas shopping list recently but now people are easing into spending more on themselves.”
Shoppers on Grafton Street noted that the number of shops beginning their sales before Christmas have had a positive impact on their wallets and could be another explanation to the increase in footfall.
Excel Recruitment have been recruiting for the Irish Grocery Market for over 15 years. Our Grocery Team is comprised of former Grocery Managers who know the industry inside out. This guide was is designed to give our clients and candidates a guide as to the current market prices for the various roles within the Irish Grocery market.
If you would like to discuss any of our findings , need advice on your manpower, planning, or assistance with your recruitment needs please feel free to contact our Grocery team here.
Our past Retail Salary Survey covering aspects of Grocery, as well as Non-Food, Fashion and FMCG is available here. All Grocery Jobs with Excel Recruitment are available here.
Avonmore has been revealed as Ireland’s favourite brand. Kantar Worldwide have revealed their annual barometer of consumer brands, which illustrates the most popular brands by Irish consumers. Half of the country’s 50 most popular brands came from traditional local names. The study reported on sales between October 2014 to October 2015 using a metric called ‘consumer reach points’.
Interesting statistics
Over 12 months, 75% of Irish households purchased an Avonmore product.
Those who did buy Avonmore jobs, did so an average of 27.4 times a year.
Avonmore sold 35 million products from supermarkets throughout the course of the year.
Four Irish brands are in the top 10.
Coca Cola retained first place in worldwide ranking.
25 Irish brands made it into the top 50 brands domestically.
David Berry, KantarWorldwide Director said that Irish brands “continue to represent a strong contingent in our shopping baskets”.
The 2016 Checkout Conference took place on Feb. 2nd in The Round Room of The Mansion House. The 2016 theme was ‘Think. Learn. Evolve’ with some notable industry professional speaking on the challenges and changes facing Irish Grocery Retail, with our MD Barry Whelan in attendance. There was some interesting observations from the top retail professionals, their plans for 2016 and how they envisage retail changing. Here is our take away points.
Julian Baldwin
Sales Effectiveness Director, Nielsen UK & Ireland.
The consumer wants personalisation. Targeting the consumer with personalised offers is a powerful way to drive sales. Since the recession the Irish consumer has traded down well beyond the European and global average. 51% in Ireland versus 31% in Europe.
Recommendations
Be shopper centric.
Prioritise personalisation.
Consider your online shopping experience.
Be nimble and build prototypes.
Maggie Timoney
Managing Director, Heineken Ireland.
Maggie has been Managing Director for Heineken Ireland since 2013, having worked for the brand for 17 years. Maggie addressed the importance of acting quickly and the crux of her speech correlated closely with the Checkout Conference theme of Think, Learn, and Evolve. Timoney highlighted Orchard Thieves as an example, the highly successful Cider that went from idea to product launch in just six months.
Her summary:
Get your organisation ready.
Be responsible together.
Collaborate between supplier and retailer.
Know your consumer.
Maggie also showcased Heineken Ireland’s new ad aimed at curtailing heavy drinking and titled ‘Heineken | Moderate Drinkers Wanted’.
Andrew Yaxley
CEO, Tesco Ireland.
This was one of our favourites. Appointed Chief Executive of Tesco Ireland in 2015, Yaxley was previously Managing Director of Tesco’s London business. Yaxley gave a highly informative talk, addressing Tesco’s priorities, the key levers that influence these and how Tesco will change their customer offering to better reflect business.
Regaining competitiveness by serving customers better.
Protecting and strengthening the balance sheet by creating a more simple operating model
Build trust and transparency by working better together.
They will concentrate on achieving these through concentrating on Customer, Product and Channel.
Customer
To the customer, Tesco need to show that they will deliver value for money and care about food. Another concern was the local community that each Tesco operates in. The introduction of the Tesco Community Fund has resulted in €1 million being donated directly to 3,500 local charities. The Tesco club card may be changed to a ‘thank you’ as opposed to a promotional tool. Some very interesting insights coming directly directly from the CEO himself.
Product
The Tesco range is too big and will be reduced by 15%. Fewer, more simple promotions, less multi buys, more half price are rounded euro offers are favoured by consumers. Tesco can have up to 5000 promotions every week. Too many. An emphasis will be placed on pushing the Tesco Brand, particularly the ‘Finest Range’
Channel
Yaxley commented on the need to invest in Service, continual investment in stores and driving the convenience store channel.
John Callan
Country Manager, dunnhumby.
Callan, the Country Manager for customer trends and insights agency dunnhumby spoke about the concept of altered value and frictionless interaction.
New Value: There have been shifts in attitude regarding the concept of what ‘value’ means following the recession. Discounters have affected the market and contributed vastly to this point.
Frictionless: Customers want a frictionless engagement with the retailer and the brand. They want things quick, easy and simple. Customers need and want connections to your business on a one to one.
Simon Twigger
Trading Director, Poundland.
Simon Twigger is Trading Director for Poundland, trading as Dealz in The Republic of Ireland. His most notable comment we found? ‘You don’t need to compromise on quality for the right price’. He talked about the brands trajectory from a single UK store, Dealz in Ireland and plans over the next 2 years.
Main Points:
Dealz launched in Ireland in 2011.
At least 10 new stores will open in 2016, a €6million investment.
They will seek more local suppliers.
Aim of 500,000 customer a week by 2018.
Tom Keogh
Managing Director, Keoghs.
The Story: Tom Keoghs story is pretty unique. From farmer to marketer, Keogh describes himself as a farmateer. Keogh faced a pretty surmountable challenge. Between 2002 and 2013 fresh potato consumption feel by 50%, and to succeed they would need to reinvent the potato. The family owned potato growing company expanding into a dedicating crisping business by:
Branding them.
Create new and innovative products.
Market the hell out of the brand.
The Success:
Keogh became the brand and is one of the most recognised nationwide.
Focused on in-store marketing explaining to consumer varieties the cooking process.
Launched national potatoes day
Launched a cook book.
Now there is a 2 year running increase in the sales of fresh potatoes
So what about crisps?
Tom found out the only way to export potatoes to the US was that they needed to be cooked. By launching a quality crisp, harvesting and crisping on the same day, they have made a unique and successful product with amazing quality.
SuperValu has regained their top spot in the supermarket rankings, pitching Tesco by .5%. SuperValu comprise a market share of 24.6% with Tesco ranking second with 24.1%. The results are based on the 12 weeks till November 8th, with Kantar Worldpanel detailing the figures.
SuperValu had previously held the top spot in the 12 weeks leading up till March 29th 2015. Director of Kantar Worldwide David Berry noted that SuperValu are ‘encouraging more repeat shopping trips. The average consumer has visited the retailer on two additional occasions and spent an extra €16 over the past quarter when compared with last year’.
Lidl outperformed all competitors with sales growth of 11.2% and were the only supermarket to boast double digit growth, resulting in an overall market share of 8.7%.
Berry furthered ‘The grocery market is arguably the most competitive retail sector and the latest figures emphasise this, with the three biggest retailers each within one percentage point of each other’.
Urban Outfitters, best known for their clothing and homewares have bought an Italian restaurant chain. The retailer also known as UO, have made a bold move in diversifying their portfolio by purchasing the Vetri Family group of restaurants.
UO, which is based in Philadelphia has 2 Irish stores in Dundrum Town Centre and Temple Bar, Dublin 2. The price has not been released, but the sale was confirmed yesterday. Certain UO stores already have an in-store food offering with cafes, but the acquisition of a restaurant chain is an unusual move for the fashioned focussed retailer.
It is believed that Urban Outfitters will help expand the restaurants to a wider audience while the Vetri family focuses on the food.
How does it compare going from working in Retail to a Recruitment environment?
Coming from a buying perspective it’s not as fast paced and probably more service focused.
What was your favourite part about working in retail?
Developing product and analysing sales performance were my favourite.
What is your favourite aspect of working in Recruitment?
Keeping candidates and clients mutually happy.
Are you seeing any difference in applications over the last 12 months?
Perhaps more Ecommerce candidates are applying and also more Ecommerce jobs are being registered with us.
What do you favour most when a CV comes into your inbox? What must haves does a candidate need in order to be considered?
Keep it simple/ My ideal CV has a short personal profile that sums the candidate up and describes main objective for their career, followed by career summary, education, IT skills (computer programs and systems you can use well) and then any relevant interests. CV’s on Word are preferred as PDF’s can often at time be difficult to format if we need to.
What has been your most favoured candidate placement and why?
One candidate we worked with wanted to get into a trainee merchandiser role. She had great experience but was struggling with nerves at interview and her relevant skills and knowledge weren’t getting across. We spent time with her going through her CV, practising interview questions and any potential difficulties she might come across. Long story short – she got the job and we’re all delighted for her!
A young sales assistant aspires to be a Retail/Area Manager – Buyer/Senior Buyer. Describe what they should do in 4 sentences?
If the company they work for has a head office here in Ireland then it would make sense to see if they offer any entry level buying or merchandising schemes depending on which function you wish to get into. For any head office roles, it is pretty imperative to gain some office experience so you can brush up on your IT skills and work in a fast paced environment.
Best Menswear will exit examinership on Friday, November 13th. 130 retail jobs have been saved after the approval of the examiners scheme in court. Best fell into examinership in July of this year as part of the fallout from the Clerys closure. Best are one of many concessions who are owed money by OCS Operations Ltd which ran the department store. The figure is approximated of being between €1.5 – €2million.
Best said that the closure of their Clerys concession placed an enormous strain on company cash flow. Almost all Best Menswear stores will continue to trade and no indications have been given about store closures. Best have stores in pinnacle retail centres including Dundrum Town Centre, Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown and Swords.
MD of Best, David Jones said ‘We are delighted to be set to successfully exit examinership on Friday. The process has facilitated Best Menswear reaching agreements with our creditors and, together with the adoption of a range of cost control measures, we now look forward to a bright future’.
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