Iceland - Neighbourhood Retailer

IFCF partners with CALM to help unite against suicide

Caroline Rainey — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:57:47 +0000

Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation (IFCF) has announced the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) as their new 2024 Charity Partner of the Year.

IFCF is partnering with CALM to raise awareness of the suicide prevention charity and encourage life-saving conversations on CALM’s helpline, at tills and around the dinner tables, changing the landscape forever and helping to remove the stigma of suicide across the UK.

Their broader goal is to help create five million life-saving conversations, one for every customer that walks through store doors each week, by starting the biggest conversation ever about suicide. Money raised will help with CALM’s vital helpline service.

Currently in the UK, data shows 1 in 5 will have suicidal thoughts at some point in their lifetime, 125 people are lost every week to suicide and sadly, someone dies by suicide every 90 minutes on average in the UK.

During the partnership, Iceland and Food Warehouse colleagues, charity champions, and store managers nationwide will take on several fundraising challenges in a bid to raise £300,000 for CALM. When visiting your local Iceland store or Food Warehouse, look out for their Charity Weeks that will be taking place between Thursday 2^nd May and Saturday 1^st June. The money raised during store charity weeks will go towards CALM’s life-saving work/helpline to help ensure more people than ever are encouraged to stay.

In their first-of-its-kind partnership they want to help smash the stigma by educating and empowering people to start life-saving conversations about suicide and mental health through in-store messaging and prompts.

‘This incredible campaign will enable us to raise awareness to our customers and colleagues about mental health and help to end the stigma around it’

Simon Gunning, CALM CEO said: “We’re thrilled to be teaming up with Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation on a groundbreaking partnership to break the silence around suicide and bring hope and life-saving conversations to high streets and Iceland stores across the UK.

“It’s been a tough few years, and for many, it can feel like things aren’t going to get much better any time soon. This partnership with Iceland will raise awareness of CALM’s life-saving message and services with millions of people, providing support to anyone struggling and potentially saving lives.

“CALM is a lifeline for so many people right now, and with the support of Iceland, we can continue to reach more people than ever in our fight against suicide.’’

Tarsem Dhaliwal, Group Chief Executive of Iceland Foods and Trustee of Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation added: “Iceland is at the heart of hundreds of communities, with our stores welcoming five million customers every week.

“This incredible campaign will enable us to raise awareness to our customers and colleagues about mental health and help to end the stigma around it by empowering them to have lifesaving conversations.

“Mental health is one of the biggest growing concerns in the UK, with 125 people per week losing their lives to suicide and bringing attention to it is key in stopping these preventable deaths.”

More information about CALM and its life-saving work can be found via the CALM website.

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Retailers enjoy highest December shopping figures in four years with Christmas boost

Caroline Rainey — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 12:10:49 +0000

Supermarkets saw their highest level of transactions in December since 2019, with 488 million trips made to supermarkets over the four weeks to 24^th December.

According to the latest Kantar figures, a record £1.37 billion passed through the tills last month, with the average household spending at an all-time high of £477 across the month, an increase of £28 on 2022.

Total take-home grocery sales grew in value by 7.0% while the number of items bought rose by 2%.

Grocery price inflation fell to 6.7% in December, marking the fastest month on month drop that Kantar has recorded.

As predicted, Friday 22^nd December was the most popular shopping day, when just over 25 million trips were made and consumers spent £803 million in physical stores – 85% more than the average Friday in 2023.

BUDGET PRESSURES REMAIN

Despite the fall in grocery price inflation, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, Fraser McKevitt said consumers are still feeling the pinch.

“The rate of inflation is coming down at the fastest pace we have ever recorded, but consumers are still facing pretty hefty pressures on their budgets,” he said.

“Retailers were clearly working hard during the festive period to offer best value and win over shoppers, and promotions were central to their strategy. Nearly one third of all spend in the four weeks to Christmas Eve was made on items with some kind of offer, the highest level since December 2020 and £823m more than last year.”

Appetite for the traditional Christmas dinner was as strong as ever, with volumes of parsnips, sprouts and potatoes up 12%, 9% and 8% respectively, and chilled gravy up by 11%. Festive meals including pigs in blankets, sausages, hams and turkeys were also up by 6% collectively.

“We’re creatures of habit when it comes to Christmas and our data shows that the classic festive plate remains much the same,” added Fraser McKevitt.

“However, mince pies and Christmas puddings did buck the trend. They were less popular this year, with volumes falling by 4% and 7% respectively, but that isn’t to say we’ve lost our sweet tooth. Fresh cream was up by 5% across the month, so dessert was still very much on the menu.”

‘Retailers were clearly working hard during the festive period to offer best value and win over shoppers’

Meanwhile, discount retailers Lidl and Aldi saw their highest ever market shares for the Christmas period, with Lidl’s sales increasing by 13.8% and Aldi’s growing 0.2 percentage points.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose accounted for a combined market share of 70% during the 12 weeks to 24^th December.

Fraser McKevitt said this year was no exception for traditional retailers doing well in the run up to Christmas.

“Supermarkets saw especially strong performances for their own-label lines, with sales of premium ranges like Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference and Tesco Finest surging by 11.9% compared with last year, to £790 million. Branded sales rose by 6.0% during the same period,” said Fraser McKevitt.

Frozen specialist Iceland’s sales increased by 2.9%, with its market share at 2.4% and Asda accelerated sales growth to 3.4% to take 13.6% of the market.

Online purchases grew slightly ahead of the market during the four weeks to 24^th December versus last year, up by 7.5%.

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Iceland supermarket ‘walking away’ from planned Londonderry store

Linda Stewart — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 09:23:37 +0000

Supermarket chain Iceland has scrapped plans to open a new Londonderry store over planning process delays.

The retailer said it had hoped to open a third store in the Crescent Link area of the city.

Managing director of Iceland, Richard Walker, told BBC Radio Four’s Any Questions they were now “walking away”.

“In Derry-Londonderry we’ve actually given up because after two years of trying to apply for planning we’re still waiting for a decision,” he said.

Mr Walker told the programme on Friday evening that “less bureaucracy and getting government out of the way” in local planning would allow the private sector to get on with job creation.

The managing director said this was the case “for many stores” they wished to open across the United Kingdom.

Derry City and Strabane District Council confirmed that a planning application was submitted in February 2021 for a proposed development at the Crescent Link site.

The council said that while Iceland has no individual planning applications with the council, the company is understood to be involved in a full application, alongside another retailer.

A spokesperson for the council said the major retail application was “a complex proposal” and one with “a number of issues the council had to take into consideration as part of an application of this scale”.

The council said some issues it would need to address in the application would be the fact that Crescent Link is a “bulky goods” retail park, as well as the retail impact, traffic impact and congestion.

The supermarket chain has two stores in Derry – one at Foyleside Shopping Centre and another at Buncrana Road.

There is also another store located a short distance from Derry in Strabane, County Tyrone.

The Crescent Link site is one of the biggest retail developments in the north-west and includes retail giants like Homebase, Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

SDLP councillor Brian Tierney said that “there are clearly issues with the planning system”.

Mr Tierney said his party has raised concerns on numerous occasions in recent years and have been frustrated with the lack of progress.

A spokesperson said the council is “committed to continuing to work closely with the agent, the consultants and consultees to review the submission”.

Derry City and Strabane District Council confirmed that upon receipt of further feedback, a full report and recommendation will be brought before a future meeting of the planning committee.

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The Food Warehouse to open in Westwood Retail Park

Linda Stewart — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 10:42:52 +0000

Food retailer The Food Warehouse has announced the creation of up to 40 new jobs in West Belfast as part of a wider £1.4m investment.

Situated in Westwood Retail Park, this will be the brand’s second supermarket store offering in Northern Ireland.

The Food Warehouse, which is part of the Iceland Foods Group, launched its big pack brand in 2014 and its retail footprint has grown rapidly to over 150 stores across the UK and Ireland, making it the fastest growing supermarket chain in the UK this century.

The Food Warehouse have announced the creation of up to 40 new jobs as part of a wider £1.4m investment. The new store, situated in Westwood Retail Park, will occupy a 16,300 sq. ft double unit and is scheduled to launch in the coming weeks.

Ron Metcalfe, managing director of The Food Warehouse Ireland, said: “Following the success of our launch into the Northern Ireland market with the first Food Warehouse in 2020, we’re thrilled to be opening our second store here at Westwood Retail Park in West Belfast.

“Throughout the pandemic and its subsequent recovery, we’ve seen strong demand in a very competitive market, and we believe that shoppers will welcome the innovative offering at our new store, particularly in a challenging economic environment with the current cost of living crisis.”

Customers can shop from more than 3,000 product lines, including fresh, frozen, and ambient produce as well as homeware items.

The store will support local business, with hundreds of products coming from local suppliers, including Mash Direct, Dale Farm, Irwins, Britvic and Tayto.

Metcalfe continued: “Trading conditions for small businesses are increasingly challenging, with margins being stretched, we believe that local businesses and the general public will benefit from our bulk offering, which offers savings on a wide range of favourite brands at unbeatable prices.

“We are committed to offering a new shopping experience for everyone as well as strengthening relationships further with local Northern Irish suppliers. I’d also like to welcome old and new customers from the local community as well as our new colleagues who will be working in the store.”

Store manager, Paul McTasney, added; “This investment into West Belfast demonstrates the company’s commitment and growth in Northern Ireland. I’m very excited to officially open the store for business and welcome all of our new customers.”

The new Food Warehouse store opens at Westwood Retail Park on Tuesday, October 11 at 8am.

Shoppers will receive exclusive launch offers as well as a £1,000 giveaway for the first 100 customers through the door, 200 goodie bags for the first 200 customers and a trolley dash where three lucky winners can grab all their favourite brands in a 90 second challenge.

Founded in 2014, The Food Warehouse now has more than 150 stores across UK & Northern Ireland.

They are all large format stores, with a car park, providing the value and convenience of a wholesale store without the hassle of membership.

Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores already employ more than 800 colleagues in Northern Ireland with plans to expand in the future.

Caption: Store Manager Paul McTasney and Iceland Area Manager Danny Burke

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Nestlé launches new Munchies sharing bar

Linda Stewart — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 09:50:10 +0000

Amy Kendall, Munchies Brand Manager, said: “We know that Munchies fans are a passionate bunch – we always receive a tremendous reaction whenever we launch new flavours and formats from the brand. And because they taste so good, it’s not surprising that fans love to munch with their favourite people – in fact, Munchies is one of the most popular sharing bags we sell here at Nestlé Confectionery.

“That’s why we are especially excited to introduce our latest innovation – a brand new sharing bar. We’ve set the bar high on this one – it’s got soft, gooey caramel, it’s got crunchy biscuit pieces and the whole lot is encased in a smooth milk chocolate shell. In other words, our new Munchies bar is a bit of a taste sensation!”

The 87g bar (RRP £1) is available now from a variety of supermarkets, convenience, and value stores including Iceland, B&M, Home Bargains, Poundland and Spar.

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