Brad and Milk - a guarantee of success

Back in March, Convenience Store joined forces with two of the biggest names in bread and milk - Warburtons and Robert Wiseman Dairies - to offer readers an exclusive bread and milk guarantee pack containing all the material you need to run a guaranteed availability offer in your store and eye-catching pos material to stimulate cross-category purchases.

Chris Herring, who owns and runs two Spar stores in Torquay, Devon, with his parents and brother Peter, has been supplied by Warburtons and Robert Wiseman Dairies for the past two years, so was keen to trial the bread and milk guarantee kit to see if it would boost sales.

"I am always looking for new and innovative ways to help grow my business," says Chris. "Availability of core lines like milk and bread are key to any convenience store, so by running this initiative it allowed us to reassure our customers that we'd always be in stock."

Chris ensured that the pos was clearly placed around the store, and especially on the bread and milk displays, prompting customers to make cross-category purchases.

"I have always had a great rate of sale on milk as a good number of my customers pop in just to buy a couple of pints," he continues. "The bread and milk guarantee pos has prompted these customers to buy bread

as well, which meant that my bakery sales increased after just two weeks.

"This initiative is particularly good if you haven't got linked products like bread and milk located near each other, something I am rectifying soon with a store refit. I would definitely recommend this promotion to other retailers as it raises awareness of bread and milk, increasing the rate of sale. The guarantee has also helped me and my team to focus on ensuring that there is always bread and milk available."

Chris adds: "I think this concept could be taken even further in-store to ensure it is clear what point of difference I offer over my competitors. The guarantee message would be great on in-store radio or TV."

Katie Rowson, customer category manager at Warburtons, comments: "We are extremely pleased with how well this initiative has worked for Chris.

It clearly highlights the role effective pos can play to encourage cross-category purchases, and that by guaranteeing availability to customers it gives reassurance and a point of difference over competitors.

"We would recommend that other retailers trial this initiative to see if they can boost their sales of bread and milk."

Robert Wiseman Dairies sales and marketing director Sandy Wilkie agrees: "The trial of the bread and milk guarantee kit has seen some encouraging results, with Chris being a great example of how such a partnership can benefit both Wiseman and Warburtons customers.

"As well as the kit helping to influence the buying habits of consumers, it also focuses the staff to ensure that their bread and milk fixtures are well stocked, which in turn keeps the consumer happy and returning for more.

"We would encourage all convenience stores to give the kit a go and witness first hand some of the great results that Chris is experiencing."