Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
Criteria for becoming a member: Store sizes range from 700sq ft to 7,000 sq ft.
Costs of becoming a member: No joining or membership fee.
What financial packages or credit terms do you offer? We reward our retailers’ loyalty with rebates of up to 6%, alongside some of the best commercial terms in the sector.
Do you offer a trading area agreement? No
Minimum drop requirement: 120 ambient/BWS/tobacco and 30 chill/freeze.
What options do retailers have for ordering goods? They can access our range through our integration between mobile devices and our ActivOC ordering system.
How many own-label lines do you have listed and what are the own-label ranges? Access to more than 2,000 Co-op own-brand products is a major factor in helping our retailers drive footfall, basket spend and sales.
What arrangements do you have for fresh produce and chilled and frozen foods? Our 14,000 SKU range and 2,000 SKU Co-op own-brand range contain a mix of fresh, chilled and frozen products. Our retailers’ investment in their fresh and chilled range has supported the increase in shoppers using convenience to do their full shop.
How many of your retailers have EPoS and how do you encourage them to take on new technology packages? About 600 of our retailers have our EPoS system – CPOS. To help our retailers take advantage of CPOS, we offer rental packages that allow them to invest in IT and make it easy to manage by integrating this with self-scan checkouts, electronic shelf-edge labels, intelligent cash drawers, news package and fuel links, Avery Scale solutions and a fully integrated chip and pin package. Retailers also benefit from one-to-one training to ensure they best use CPOS to run their business.
Do you invest in consumer advertising? From traditional leaflets to social media and mobile marketing, we help our retailers engage with their shoppers and maximise their sales. We also run national advertising that reaches millions of shoppers every promotional period and full multi-channel advertising campaigns.
What promotions do you offer? Every three weeks we publish Connect magazine, including 500-plus free-sell promotional deals. We also offer seasonal pre-sell promotions to allow our retailers to make the most of key trading periods.
What category management help can you provide? Alongside our planograms, we provide retailers with merchandising amd market insights that help drive customer value in stores. These include core category list, blockograms and market insights.
What other support measures for retailers have you introduced recently and what do you plan to introduce in the near future? Costcutter Supermarkets Group is now part of the Bestway family. Our mission is to help independent retailers thrive and provide a full spectrum of support with a leading retail offer that helps retailers adapt to meet the needs of today’s convenience shopper.
Converting those shoppers who saw their local Costcutter store as a lifeline during lockdown into lifelong loyal customers remains a key focus throughout 2021. Our Shopper First: Drive Five to Thrive business growth programme provides actionable insights based on in-depth shopper analysis and data that enables retailers to tailor every aspect of their store and reflect changing shopper needs. Retailers who have participated in the programme have seen a minimum of 20% sales growth.
Why should an independent retailer join your group? With more people shopping in their local store, the access Costuctter retailers have to Co-op own-brand has never been more important. We have a strong retail and fresh food offer, offer full guidance on last-mile delivery options and make strong use of data and predictive analytics to help retailers maximise their sales and create an even better experience for their shoppers.
CONTACT
Name: Costcutter Supermarkets Group
Address: Harvest Mills, Common Road, Dunnington, York, YO19 5RY
Telephone: 01904 232505
E-mail: contactus@costcutter.com
Website: costcuttersupermarketsgroup.com
Twitter: @CSGCorporate
First contact for potential members: Call back from Costcutter new business team
FACTFILE
Average store size: 700sq ft to 7,000sq ft
Number of UK retail members: 1,550
Names of all UK fascias: Costcutter, Mace, SuperShop, Simply Fresh
RETAILER PROFILE
Owner: Ahilan Murugesu
Store name: Costcutter Leybourne Chase
Location: West Malling, Kent
Number of years as a member:10 years
Opening hours: 7am to 8pm Sunday to Thursday; 7am to 9pm Friday and Saturday
Main advantages of membership: The level of retail expertise and the support I’ve received from the CSG team has been exceptional, from merchandising, planograms and POS to promotions and marketing, they’ve helped me every step of the way. Having been supplied by CSG for my store in Sutton for the past 10 years, the group’s commitment really came into its own when we opened a brand-new Costcutter store in Leybourne early this year.
Why did you choose to join this group rather than one of its competitors? It was an obvious choice based on 10 years of experience working with the group and the dedicated team. I felt confident they would be able to support me on my journey to opening a second store. The CSG team helped guide us from the moment we signed the lease, all the way to the launch day. As well as being in daily contact, they provided planograms, range advice and shopper insights to help us create a truly local offer that directly responds to shopper needs and drives footfall and basket spend.
