The last 12 months have seen an additional 55 stores join Spar within the Northern Guild, serviced by James Hall & Co, following a buoyant year for sales and recruitment.

The recent Northern Guild of Spar Retail Roadshows were hosted by Spar distributor James Hall & Co Ltd at venues across the north of England and provided the opportunity for retail director Peter Dodding to update Spar members on successful initiatives from the last year and announce plans to help grow the business in 2009-10.

He revealed that Spar Rewards, the enhanced MRG scheme which was launched last year, had already resulted in bonus payments of up to £10,000 per store. The Spar Rewards scheme is now supported by 360 stores and is open to all members who sign up to the agreed criteria. It provides retailers with enhanced bonus payments in return for increased category discipline and buying loyalty.

James Hall & Co has also committed to the extension of the free leaflet activity, which allows stores to benefit from free leaflets and distribution if they accept specific product allocations. This initiative has seen an additional 168 stores taking regular leaflets and has improved promotional implementation, which has been reflected in increased retail sales.

This support amounts to more than £400,000 investment by the Spar wholesaler in leaflets, distribution and POS and imagery. A key part of the promotion package for the coming year will be a continuation and expansion of 'One Week Only' promotions.

“With customers feeling the impact of the economic downturn, we really need to make these grocery deals work for us," said Dodding. "Each ‘One Week Only’ deal will be supported by shelf, stack, posters and extra large posters which capture extra sales as customers cater for their basic shopping needs."

In April last year, 200 stores were signed up to the Daily Value EDLV package, which sees all products in the package benchmarked against major competitors. Now re-launched as ‘Everyday Value’, the scheme has been adopted by a further 50 stores, taking the total to 250 stores in the Northern Guild.

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