REL - Field Marketing & Sales Consulting

Marketing firm REL knows the potential of the convenience sector. And CEO David Norbury is working hard to convince manufacturers. Chris Rolfe reports

David Norbury knows the convenience sector is thriving. His challenge is to persuade some major manufacturers to break free from their supermarket comfort zones and invest in it.

As chief executive officer of field marketing company REL, Mr Norbury’s belief in the convenience market is based on hard facts. It has a database of more than 30,000 independent retailers from which to analyse sales patterns and promotions and map customer spending. The company also lists clients such as Red Bull, Ferrero, Camelot, Kellogg’s and Campina on its books and cites IGD’s findings that the convenience sector grew 6.1% in 2009.

“Convenience is going through a renaissance after years of squeeze. It’s coming together because of a number of significant trends, such as the pressure on brands by the multiples,” he says.

One of REL’s greatest challenges is to persuade those brands that have not yet understood the opportunity offered by convenience stores, or prioritised supermarkets historically, to invest in the sector with promotions and field sales resource.

“I had a head of convenience from one big brand say to me ‘we know there is an opportunity but we don’t think we can get a return on our investment.’ They are out of the habit of working with this sector and see the cost, rather than the gains.”

Where brands have “lost their corporate memory and understanding of how to work with convenience”, REL can help, he says.

The company held a seminar last week to meet with manufacturers and explain how they can take full advantage of the convenience market. It used the event to highlight its convenience sector service “Independent and Convenience Expertise” which uses knowledge gathered via its database to identify which retailers are prepared to respond to sale initiatives.

“We’ve matched this with consumer mapping, for example with expensive wine. We can see which consumers are likely to buy expensive wine and match their postcodes to our store database,” he says.

REL can work with brands to create activity which can be activated using traditional field sales for the biggest opportunities, or direct mail and calls.

“We can test and control by using EPoS data, for example, four weeks before the test, four weeks during the test and eight weeks afterwards. We look at where it has an effect on sales and whether retailers are retaining activity,” he says.

Red Bull is an example of this working. Much of the company’s success comes from sales in impulse channels so it has invested in field marketing services to work with retailers. Range, location, placing of chillers, promotions and visibility all come under scrutiny, and the result has been an increase in market share for Red Bull.

But Mr Norbury warns that the days of simply handing out samples and ensuring products are on shelves is over. Promotions must be imaginative and, when they are, REL can use them to drive sales, he says.

“Gaymers promote at music festivals and around the festival route to the venue, for example. We are partnering convenience retailers on festival routes with near-store and in-store activity.”

The company is also keen to develop its links with retailers and offer services such as mystery shopping, auditing and sales initiatives. It has deals with chains such as the Co-op and Spar, with the belief that initiatives pioneered in the multiples such as in-store media, brand demonstrations and sampling can benefit convenience stores.

Mr Norbury’s confidence in the potential growth for convenience stores stems from proven positive results, and it is this message that his company will continue to broadcast.

“We know how we can deliver results and there can be a return on investment. We hope that once brands have been successful they will go back and bang the drum for the convenience market,” he says.

Source: Retail Newsagent 4th June 2010