Costcutter buyer: Own label remains key in household

Meet the buyer…

Robbie Moore, category manager of household, Costcutter Supermarkets Group

Robbie has been at Costcutter for two years. Having worked in the edible grocery categories, he now manages all non-edible, pet and baby categories. He started his career in procurement with the Best Western hotel group and has also spent time working for The BuyCo.

What do you love about your job?

RM: The household category includes some of the biggest brands and I really enjoy working with them and helping them to see the significant opportunities there are with the convenience sector. How we approach range, pricing and promotions is different to the large supermarkets and while many of our retailers don’t have the space to include big ranges, there is still the opportunity to offer a diverse mix that will meet consumer needs and provide strong sales for retailers. 

How would you sum up the past year in household?

Household is a consumer’s market and pricing is very competitive. Consumers are demanding more price-marked packs, strong promotions and strong everyday low prices…

RM: Household is a consumer’s market and pricing is very competitive. Consumers are demanding more price-marked packs, strong promotions and strong everyday low prices. However, we have seen continued growth and have been able to maintain margins for our retailers. ‘Trade up’ promotions have proved very popular with consumers and the aircare category is continuing to grow.

The importance of a strong own brand in household remains key and while foil, wraps and bin bags remain some of the core products, consumers are increasingly seeing the improved quality of own brand and are much more willing to try different products within a trusted own brand. This is why we’ve put such a strong focus on quality within our Independent own brand.

What was the best launch in household over the past year?

RM: It’s not so much a launch, rather a change in pricing strategy. Andrex’s revised pricing has resulted in a very strong performance for us this year. The new lower price point has been received well by consumers.It has certainly been another year of fragrance from the laundry to aircare markets. Consumer demand for scent is a trend we are all following and having multiple scents available is key for retailers.Dettol’s re-design on the traditional anti-bac spray can is one to look out for and at last we have something new in toilet, where we have seen some NPD in the toilet cleaner range with the new Blue Foam Aroma product.

How has your household range changed over the past year and what trends have you been tapping into?

RM: There’s been a real growth in the aircare market. This growth looks set to continue and we’ve introduced a number of new products into our range as this is a potential growth area for our retailers. As part of our ongoing range analysis we’ve increased the size of our household range, including new scents to give retailers a wider range of products to choose from so they can offer the right products for their customers, no matter what size their store is.

What threat do the discounters, particularly their own label ranges, pose to the brands in the household category? How can brands fight back?

Consumers are demanding value across branded and own brand products and household is no exception. Our Independent range offers a compelling own brand offer to consumers at lower price points…

RM: Consumers are demanding value across branded and own brand products and household is no exception. Our Independent range offers a compelling own brand offer to consumers at lower price points.By working closely with the brands, we are able to help them see the opportunity in the convenience sector and this has enabled us to deliver very strong pricing, including many price-marked packs, to our retailers. In fact, this approach with suppliers has enabled us to offer our retailers a first to market, everyday low price, price-marked cleaning range that will launch very soon. We were also first to market with Andrex four-pack PM packs.

Toilet roll is a heavily commoditised market. How can retailers and brands add value?

RM: Two and four rolls remain the bread and butter for convenience but consumers still want strong promotions. There is, however, room for bigger packs supported by strong promotions. As part of our Love Local Deals campaign, we kicked off the year with a fantastic promotion on a nine-roll pack of Nicky toilet rolls, which absolutely flew off the shelves. Having a regular promotional cycle in store is essential for retailers and stack ‘WOW’ offers are a key part to this.

What’s the best way for a supplier to approach you with a new product?

RM: It has to be relevant for our retailers and our customers so brands must have a good understanding of us, our retailers and customer trends, and not just try and push products for the sake of it. There has to be real substance to the rationale for bringing it to us. Showing us not just how they will support our retailers but how they are supporting the product on other platforms so that our retailers are stocking what consumers see and want to buy.

Any pet hates when approached by a brand with NPD?

RM: Lack of knowledge about our business and not fully understanding how their product will work in a convenience environment or help drive sales for our retailers.

How will the house market shape up in 2016? What are the key trends?

RM: The discounters will continue to drive prices down and it’s important that we are able to continue offering value to our customers through everyday low prices, price-marked packs and key promotions. Stronger branded promotions will come through in the market with a lot of focus on new scents. Categories like aircare will continue to grow and we are working with suppliers to help our retailers get their share of this growing market.