SLR p10-11 cs Nov08.qxp 31/10/2008 17:12 Page 10
cover story
Premier puts
retailers first
It’s been a busy year for Booker and its Premier fascia with a raft of new innovations, new
initiatives and improved deals, all with the single aim of helping Premier retailers make
more money. Antony Begley talks to head of Premier Steve Fox.
S
teve Fox is refreshingly positive customers in general and its Premier Head of Premier,
when it comes to the much customers in particular. Steve Fox.
discussed credit crunch that’s
crippling banks across the world and
MAKING MONEY
causing general mayhem to the global Chatting with Fox, it also struck a chord
financial system. While the newspapers that his aims are to all intents and
and the media work themselves up into purposes identical to those of SLR,
a froth about how the world is tumbling albeit that Booker/Premier and SLR are
down around our ears, the head of the serving different ‘customers’. That
Premier fascia shrugs and says: “It’s aside, the fact that “everything we do is
not ideal, certainly, but it’s not all nega- geared towards helping our retailers
tives either. There are benefits for sharp make more money” is the refreshingly
retailers prepared to look for them. frank objective that we at SLR set as our
“One positive outcome of the own sole and over-riding objective,
economic slowdown, for instance, is the although in our case, you can swap
fact that customers are tending to shop ‘customers’ for ‘readers’.
locally more often and that plays right Fox explains: “We exists exclusively to
into the hands of our Premier retailers, help our customers, our retailers put Premier retailers.”
and indeed every other true local more money in their tills – it really is as And judging from the activity
retailer in Scotland.” a simple as that. emanating from the Booker and
Fox also points out that, with the “Every initiative we launch – and premier camps over the last year, there
widest distribution network in Scotland there are a lot of them, every promotion must be a few Premier retailers enjoy-
– 23 branches at present – Booker is we facilitate, every improvement we ing increased revenues and margins
benefiting from this trend, and intends make, is geared towards increasing the over the last 12 months.
to continue to do so for the benefit of its revenues and the margins of our While the symbols are typically a
busy bunch in what is a cut-throat
sector, the last year has been particu-
larly frenetic, and Premier/Booker have
been particularly vocal in sharing the
work they are doing with their retailers
in Scotland and across the UK.
HELPING HAND
“It has definitely been a busy year for
us,” says Fox. “We’re trying really hard
at the moment to give our retailers the
best chance to excel in a difficult times
and how we do that is by helping
through choice, price and service.
“We have 32 branches of Booker in
Booker has more Scotland and that’s an incredibly
depots in important asset in times like this when
Scotland than more people want to shop locally and
any other cash many are looking to reduce their carbon
and carry. footprint.”
10 l SCOTTISH LOCAL RETAILER l NOVEMBER 2008
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