Tesco recently revealed it would no longer stock Kingsmill bread following a review of its ranges to ensure they met the needs of its customers.
The retailer would continue to stock Kingsmill snack products and other items produced by its owner Allied Bakeries, it said.
Food and drink manufacturers must be range-review ready to prevent falling foul of a similar delisting, Bridgethorne’s joint md John Nevens said.
Meet the needs of the retailer
“If the Kingsmill decision demonstrates one thing it is the importance for suppliers to really get to grips with the way the multiples work and to ensure that they have the information, the strategies and the practical plans in place to ensure their business meets the needs of the retailer rather than expecting things to work the other way round,” he said.
This placed an onus on food and drink manufacturers to gather and share information with the retailer which could contribute to category and range review planning, Nevens claimed.
“For example, with the Tesco category reset programme reaching its activation stage, all suppliers need to be in a state of readiness,” he said.
“They need to prepare for all eventualities: scenario planning; conducting in-depth range assessments; and stakeholder engagement.”
Delist list
- Meet retailers' needs
- Be range-review ready
- Gather and share data with retailers
- Demonstrate an ability to influence consumers
This would require in-depth analysis of market and retailer data, using industry leading techniques and the translation of this data into insights aligned to the retailer’s growth aspirations, he added.
Influence shoppers
More businesses needed to demonstrate their ability to not only influence shoppers today but also contribute to a discussion with retailers on their category’s future and likely areas of growth, he claimed.
“We believe clients need to attract new shoppers to a category and more importantly encourage them to buy regularly as this encourages a positive supplier-retailer relationship,” he said.
“This means suppliers looking at and developing insight-based recommendations on range, space utilisation in store, merchandising and activation.”
Meanwhile, Allied Bakeries owner Associated British Foods said intense competition in the UK bakery sector would hit Kingsmill’s profits this year.