BOGOF becomes BOGOFL (or BNFNT)

BOGOFL hasn’t quite got the same ring to it has it - but it’s a development that is being used in the latest round of supermarket wars.

BOGOFL stands for “Buy One Get One Free Later”, and involves the customer receiving a voucher at the till which entitles them to a second product free at a later date.  It is also referred to as BNFNT (Buy Now Free Next Time)

The idea was first announced by Tesco in October as a response to criticism that BOGOF offers created waste as many of the foodstuffs were going off before customers could use the free product.  However, today Tesco’s arch rival Sainsburys, which has seen some positive signs lately, were able to implement the idea before Tesco and launched the offer on two products.

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Sainsbury’s and the electric vehicle superhighway

This story seems like a good example of how understanding your customers can help to develop a competitive advantage. Sainsbury’s already claim that they are one of the country’s biggest users of electric vehicles, and are now encouraging their customers to follow their lead by installing vehicle recharging points for customers’ use at eleven of their London stores. They will not charge for the service, which presumably will enable customers to top up their cars for an hour or so while they do their shopping. Neil Sachdev, Sainsbury’s commercial director, said: “This will turn London into an electric vehicle superhighway, giving electric car drivers greater freedom.” According to the company’s press release, almost 70% of harmful particulate emissions in London come from road transport, whereas electric cars have zero emissions when being driven. Electric vehicles result in between 25% and 50 % less CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere and reductions could increase considerably as technology improves. 

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Halloween - packed full of business studies lesson ideas

Its over for another year (thank goodness).  But the seasonal horror fest that is Halloween is a great source of business teaching material, as demonstrated by this BBC Video…

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Providing What Customers Want?

Asda yesterday launched a new range of clothing under it’s well-established George label.

What’s unusual about that, you might ask. 

Well the 13-piece range is “the UK’s first mainstream range of traditional Asian clothing” - not just for supermarket clothing, but for the big high street names.

Kick-start for retail business

The British Retail Consortium estimate that England’s qualification for the World Cup finals in South Africa next year could be worth £1.25 to the UK economy next year. Pubs could take an extra £30-40mn, and electrical manufacturers will get boom sales in flat-screen TV’s to those watching at home and supermarkets will sell huge quantities of food and drink to keep the blood sugar levels up and combat the nerves. Spending on world cup advertising in 2006 generated £300mn, sports kit manufacturers Umbro will be rushing to make more England shirts, and flights and package tours to South Africa are selling out fast. Could this be the news we need to combat the recession and get people spending again? The Times leader writer yesterday thought it might be; in spite of the trillions that have been spent in the last year, this could finally be the news that we need.

Not all businesses will be so happy though. In 2006 estate agents found a huge drop of interest in house buying during the World Cup, and some cinemas had to close for the month with too few visitors. Not to mention the potential effect on A level students: the tournament kicks off on 11th June, with group matches and the knock-out round of 16 lasting through the rest of that month – just when the exams will be scheduled. Best to get the revision done early……..

Sainsbury’s and Diageo pitch in to battle

Summer isn’t over yet – still plenty of time to enjoy a few glasses of Pimm’s with friends – or is that a few glasses of Pitchers? Diageo, the giant company that owns Guinness, Smirnoff Vodka and Johnnie Walker whisky as well as Pimm’s (and many, many other brands) is threatening to use copyright legislation to take Sainsbury’s to court, alleging that the supermarket’s own brand ‘Pitchers’ is a copy of Pimm’s. Pitchers is a gin-based summer drink which can be mixed with fruit and lemonade. Does this sound familiar? A little like the way you might mix a Pimm’s, perhaps?

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Own label brands profit from the recession

As the price of the average grocery shop rises, supermarket own-brands are becoming more popular with shoppers. A neat little video clip from the BBC explains further.

Wonky Veg - Poor Quality or Just Cute?

EU legislation which prescribes the required shape for a range of fruit and vegetables, is being relaxed.  So can you now look forward to seeing a lot more “wonky” veg in the supermarkets?  Or will the main grocery chains continue to source good-looking vegetables to meet the needs of customers who like their products to look just right?

Recession Bites - new food shopping habits

Tonight’s edition of the Money Programme looks worth watching, or recording – on at 22.00 on BBC2 (unless Wimbledon overruns by two and a half hours again, presumably!).

‘Recession bites into our eating habits’ looks at the changes in supermarket and food spending over the last year, as food prices have risen by 8% and consumers seems to be cutting back on luxuries and shifting to inferior goods – a good illustration of income elasticity of demand, and the effects of falling consumer confidence.

Snap, crackle and … crumbs? Are cereal boxes toast, now?

Sainsbury’s continue to seek ways to improve their green credentials, and to cut the amount of wasteful packaging on their goods. The Sunday Times reported that they introduced ‘milk-in-a-bag’ – polythene bags containing 2 litres of milk which can be transferred to a jug-style holder, and which have 75% less packaging than the rigid plastic bottles. Their next move has been to take some own-brand cereal out of cardboard boxes, and on Friday they introduced their own brand of Rice Pops in recyclable plastic packets similar to those used for crisps.

Kelloggs say they are considering doing the same, although Nestle have no plans to do so at present. A problem with the plastic bag for cereal is keeping it from being crushed either on the way to the supermarket or on the way home – but we manage to do this with packets of crisps, so presumably we can manage it for cereals as well. Reducing the volume of packaging is certainly to the advantage of the supermarkets, as it cuts the space used per pack in it’s delivery lorries so fewer lorries are needed, cutting both their costs and their carbon emissions.