Nisa members from across the south Midlands took a day out of their busy schedules to learn from fellow retailers, as well as suppliers in a unique engagement day.
The group met at Croft Stores in Silverstone, which is celebrating a 50-year presence in the village, and is run by a brother and sister team, Matthew Croft and Sally Cann.
Nisa Retail Development Manager Richard Whitehouse, who covers the South Midlands and West London regions, arranged the cluster meeting for a selection of members from the surrounding area, incorporating a presentation by energy drink supplier Red Bull and a look at how suppliers can assist retailers in growing specific categories.
Members heard from Red Bull about the energy drink market in general and received useful advice on how it sits within the soft drinks chiller – to help drive the category and total sales. Practical pointers were also offered on the position of Red Bull within the category, with visuals on the good, bad and ugly showing before and after photographs of a chiller re-merchandised by Red Bull.
The group took part in a store walk of the shop with a critique provided including feedback from both the supplier as well as other Nisa members on range and layout alongside observation of consumer habits and customer service.
Croft Stores’ Sally Cann said, “It was a unique event and certainly very worthwhile from a retailer perspective. We got a tremendous amount of insight from Red Bull in terms of how they could help us to develop our business and just by speaking to other retailers in the informal setting allowed a great opportunity to share best practice and take away snippets for our own business.”