Croatia Convention A Success

Croatia Convention a Success

Nearly 140 delegates attended the highly successful Wessex Guild convention in Croatia in June, enjoying a sparkling event staged at Le Grand Meridien Lav hotel in Split.

Retailer numbers were up by 20% on the previous convention held in Marbella in 2009, and supplier numbers by 50% for the four day event which mixed business with pleasure.

Delegates attended a series of business presentations and enjoyed guided tours of the historic region, white water rafting, a themed evening meal in Omis, and the convention ended with a gala dinner at the Diocletian Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where a three course banquet and entertainment were enjoyed by guests.

The Wessex Guild has previously held conventions in Marbella, Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh and Jersey, and feedback from delegates for the Croatian event was extremely positive.

Amir Sattari, who owns four SPAR stores in Hampshire, said: “It was a brilliant choice of location. The outings and entertainment were excellent and the business sessions very informative. I would strongly recommend other Retailers to try conventions because they can help with new ideas, products and trading information.”

David Hatter, from the Chartman Group which has six SPAR forecourt stores in Devon and Somerset, added: “I would have no hesitation in recommending fellow Retailers to attend similar events in the future.”

New Store Incentive Schemes Unveiled At Convention

Two new store incentive schemes for Wessex Guild retailers were announced at the Croatia Convention.

The schemes, one of which will fund Retailer training programmes and another providing a money back incentive, were announced at the event by Sales Director Nick Kenworthy and Head of Sales (East) Tony Read.

The training scheme incentive – called WAR (Wessex Academy of Retail) – will enable retailers to accumulate funds for training purposes. Every £2 spent by a Retailer through Appleby Westward’s depots will see one point put aside into a bespoke fund exclusively for the store’s use.

Store owners will be able to redeem points against a wide range of training courses, including planogram implementation, fresh produce handling and display, customer service, employee relations and business planning.

The second scheme, Maximise, will provide retailers with a 0.5% rebate for every £1 spent on chilled and frozen products from the company’s depot at Cullompton. Payments will be made quarterly to all participating retailers, and will be based on an internal audit of planogram implementation. “We want to drive consistency and give customers confidence that they can get the products they are looking for in our Retailers stores,” said Sales Director Nick Kenworthy.

The two schemes follow on from the launch earlier this year of another incentive which offers SPAR’s West Country Retailers capital funds based on purchases from Appleby Westward’s two depots. This scheme, FUNd$4all, was explained to delegates by Vince Brown, Head of Sales (West). He told the convention that FUNd$4all provides a capital investment fund from which Retailers can use earned money to help enhance their stores, either for fixtures, fittings and equipment, general upgrades or major refurbishments.

Nick Kenworthy concluded: "These three incentive schemes create real stakeholder value for our Retailers. The total investment into our Retailers businesses in 2011 will be £3 million, over 50% of which is from new money created by the activities of Appleby Westward. This represents over £5,000 of new money per store for our Retailers.

"I believe it represents significant added value for our stakeholders, and Retailers need to encourage other Retailers to remember the DeSPAR principles of joint co-operation by ensuring all fully participate and work together to provide better shops, improve range and choice, boost sales and offer a superior shopping choice for customers."

For Retailers unable to attend Croatia, Appleby Westward held a number of roadshows in July throughout the region to outline the new incentive schemes.

Let’s All Work Together

Retailers, suppliers and the wholesaler all need to work in harmony for common ranging, marketing and promotions, retail pricing, and basic retail standards.

Managing Director John Pattison, who is leaving Appleby Westward at the end of September, told the convention delegates to remember the principles on which SPAR was founded, in which all benefit from joint co-operation.

"Appleby Westward has taken a leadership position, the National Guild will have a more focussed voice, the Wessex Guild is informed and consulted and works faster than any other local guild, and retailers now need to support their brand differently," he said.

“Recent research from IGD showed that convenience was still growing ahead of the UK grocery market”, he said. He also told delegates that compared to 2008, Appleby Westward was showing the greatest improvement of any other Regional Distribution Company in terms of fair price range, availability, service, promotions, quality and store environment.

“So let’s start it, lead it, live it within Wessex – by working together we will realise our maximum potential,” he said.

Note to Editors: For further information on Appleby Westward, contact us via our contact page

Article updated July 2011

Help

If you have any questions or are having problems with this page, either contact our Customer Support department on 01752 854099 or complete and send the short web form on the Contact page.

Interested in becoming a retailer?

Find out more information or ask a question in our 'Become a retailer' section