Trade Talk: Cathryn Sleight
Cathryn Sleight, marketing director at Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine (UK), offers her top five tips on how to make the most of the festive season.
With the three months before Christmas accounting for around one third of annual spirits sales, licensees should be gearing up to take full advantage of the increased profit opportunity that premium spirit brands offer this yuletide. But what can licensees do to take full advantage of this year's festive season? My five top tips are:
- Improve star brand visibility. Your bar is your shop window. Remove clutter and give prominence to premium brand performers. Take full advantage of brand owners' point-of-sale (PoS) material.
Trade up to premium brands. Research shows that consumers are more willing to buy higher-quality, premium brands during the festive period. Brands such as Courvoisier, Teacher's and Laphroaig all out-performed their respective categories over the 12 weeks to Christmas last year and in doing so delivered increased returns to those who stocked them. Consider offering customers an even higher quality alternative such as Courvoisier VSOP where premium brands already feature behind your bar.
Alternative drinking solutions. Mixability and cocktails are watchwords in the on-trade at present. The decline of RTDs and sustained growth of spirits such as Malibu demonstrate that mixability plays a key role in providing new and exciting ways for customers to enjoy their favourite brands. Varied serving solutions, often created by the barstaff themselves, provide an opportunity to drive sales
Know your customers. Tailor your brand offering to customers. Analyse product sales and review stocking policy to take full advantage of the premium trade-up opportunity Christmas brings.
Industry knowledge. Get a handle on what the premium brand owners are doing to support their brands, then use this to your advantage by emphasising what consumers are seeing and experiencing all around them.
