GLOBAL EYE

SIMPLY FOOD

What is happening in the food sector?

The Franchise Times in the US suggests that with more store closures on their way and changing consumer behaviours, the focus on innovation in site selection is important.

Top trends are recycling empty spaces, negotiating limited-lease guarantees, locating outlets in mixed-use environments, providing plenty of parking, restaurant design changes such as communal seating, and understanding the reinvention of the shopping centre.

According to Forbes, the future of food retail is neither restaurant-based nor grocery shopping, but a combination of the two, a hybrid it terms “grocerants”. It is being driven by the millennials’ preference for fresh, healthy and value-based food, which translates to ready meals or prepared dishes at convenient locations. It is a trend that Caltex has picked up with its new concept unveiled in Sydney, The Foodary.

The trend is expected to take business from traditional restaurants. Forbes reports that one US retailer, Wholefoods, with its pre-packed meal range could capture 20 to 30 per cent of its market share from restaurants.

Supermarket News reports that creating a dining experience is the next step for supermarkets and convenience stores.

“This is about leveraging your environment to create memorable experiences,” says Juan Romero of design firm API(+).

He says customers can spend the whole day in a supermarket eating and enjoying, with an entertainment value happening in grocery design. “The concepts inside supermarkets can go anywhere from fast casual to elegant to urban.”

Could destination-dining environments within supermarkets or convenience stores catch on in Australia? The key is to borrow the best design elements from the restaurant world, Romero suggests.

SERVING EXPECTATIONS

Not only do today’s shoppers expect a great service experience, they want it to be integrated and harmonised across channels. Recent research by Manhattan Associates shows that three-quarters of shoppers expect a consistent cross-channel shopping experience, yet just 14 per cent claim to enjoy such an experience today.

With 82 per cent saying they expect their online experience to be duplicated in store, 78 per cent say they feel they know more about the products and services in store than the shop assistant. It is clear where consumers think retailers need to invest.

Half of the 2000 consumers surveyed said they would like store assistants to make personal recommendations in the same way a website already recommends products they might like, indicating that personalisation within every selling channel is high on the consumer’s agenda.

The rewards for retailers able to effectively provide customers with a consistent service experience across channels is potentially huge, with 56 per cent of the consumers surveyed saying a seamless service capability is the main reason they would be willing to commit their loyalty to a retailer.

The report also found:

64 per cent of consumers consider free delivery a crucial online service

62 per cent of respondents go to a store “to get the product there and then” while 53 per cent choose “to try and feel the products before buying in-store” 42 per cent would like the store assistant to source an unavailable item from a store nearby so they can collect it, while 19 per cent would prefer the assistant to order and organise delivery to their home or to the same store for collection “Consumers clearly have an expectation of what aretail experience should look like in today’s digital world, and are willing to offer their loyalty in exchange for retailers able to meet that expectation,” says Manhattan Associates Australasian MD Raghav Sibal.

“Now is the time for retailers to invest in technologies that keep them ahead of the curve and take the appropriate steps to close the gap between customer expectation and reality. Those who do will be the ones to thrive this year and beyond.”

A big heart

SAVING A LIFE

Australian medi-aesthetic franchise chain Australian Skin Clinics has found a new use for its medical scrubs and supplies – sending them to Africa to help save the lives of women in need. One in 100 women in Madagascar die during childbirth through the lack of adequate medical standards and equipment.

Working together with the not-for-profit organisation Australian Doctors for Africa (ADFA), Australian Skin Clinics MD Deb Farnworth-Wood says she didn’t hesitate to donate supplies that her clinics use every day when she learnt they could save a woman’s life.

“It’s hard to imagine when we have ample supplies of medical scrubs at our clinics, that there are women who don’t survive child birth because of the lack of such essentials.

“At Australian Skin Clinics, we put enormous emphasis on the importance of cleanliness and hygiene, so it seemed only right that we continue that philosophy and practice beyond the clinics themselves and help as many women as possible to enjoy safe and appropriate medical treatment.”

While basic healthcare is provided free, patients have to pay for such items as bed sheets, dressings and food.

“Working within the medical space, we believe that every woman should be treated with the highest standard of care,” says Farnworth-Wood. “We hope our contribution will allow these women to feel self-respect and dignity when giving birth.”

FEEDING THE HUNGRY

Mexican restaurant franchise Zambrero, through its Plate 4 Plate initiative, has donated more than 15 million meals to people facing food scarcity.

For every burrito or bowl bought at a Zambrero restaurant, a meal is donated to someone in need. The meal is made from rice, lentils and soy, and invigorated with 23 essential vitamins and nutrients. Communities receive these packs then use available local ingredients to make meals, primarily through school feeding programs.

Zambrero works closely with hunger-relief agencies to effectively distribute the food to more than 74 countries, including Australia. Rise Against Hunger distributes the food globally while Foodbank Australia distributes meals locally.

Foodbank Australia CEO Brianna Casey says malnutrition and hunger are growing issues in Australia. “One in six Australians face food scarcity, so the dedication of companies like Zambrero goes a long way in fighting hunger in our own backyard.”

Zambrero CEO Karim Messih says access to lifesustaining food is a human right “so we are grateful that thousands of customers, employees and communities across Australia and the globe have helped us tackle this issue head on”.

HOME HELP

GJ Gardner Homes Sydney West has started building a four-bedroom family home, destined for a charity auction.

The Variety Freedom House is on track for completion by August, with a public auction scheduled for September. The profit from the auction will be donated to Variety - the Children’s Charity to help Australian children who are sick, disadvantaged or have a disability.

David and Belinda Hogan from GJ Gardner Homes Sydney West say that by building the home for cost only, and with the help of partners and suppliers, they hope to raise upward of $250,000 for Variety.

“This is the third year GJ Gardner has been involved in the Variety Freedom House initiative, with $175,000 raised at auction last year by our Tamworth franchisee,” says Hogan. “We’d love to go that little bit extra this year and get that figure up to $250,000.”

More than 30 suppliers have thrown their support behind the project by providing materials and services, plus the land has been provided at a generous discount.

Variety CEO David Sexton says the company has raised nearly $500,000 for the charity over the past three years, enabling it to help 10,000-plus children in New South Wales each year.”