The addition of a new range of more than 25 new Scottish craft ales that are available nowhere else in Falkirk adds another USP to our store’s offering.
by Antony Begley
Part of our strategy at Woodlands Local is to add as many USPs as we can to our offering. It is our belief that we must do more than simply offer a good basic range at decent prices; we believe we need to give our customers great reasons to visit us.
One of the latest USPs we’ve added is a top notch range of Scottish craft beers. The range has become available through our wholesaler Filshill as part of its excellent Clan Beer of Scotland distribution business. The initiative basically makes a range of 36 beers from 19 different Scottish breweries available to convenience retailers – and we wanted to be among the first to get involved.
We have allocated a couple of shelves to the range which has allowed us to initially introduce around 25 new Scottish craft beers as well as a few of the better known English options. We are the only store in Falkirk to stock such an extensive and unusual range and we fully expect many customers to seek us out in the near future.
This project is part of a wider strategy targeting the more affluent clientele around the store. The hope is that these ranges will help attract more customers to the store, particularly those that haven’t traditionally used us regularly in the past. There is a large and affluent area to one side of Woodlands Local but very few of those living there ever cross the door of the store.
Our customer leaflets for the next few promotional periods will be tailored to highlight the new premium ranges and we are quietly confident of attracting some new faces to the store. Once we have brought them in for the first time, we clearly hope to retain them as regular customers into the longer term.
Craft beer, as most retailers will be aware, is a market in solid growth. It’s also a high margin category – typically 25%-30% – and it doesn’t cost the earth to build a solid fixture. The entire range featured in the photos on this page cost less than £400.
They come from The Craft Beer Clan of Scotland, a division of JW Filshill, that is distributing craft beer across the world – starting with Asia, and this month arriving in Falkirk!
The range even comes complete with shelf-edge strips and good quality point of sale and signage. We’ll report back over the next few months on how we’re progressing, but if the range is a success we intend to add a third shelf to give us space for the entire range of 36 beers. Cheers!
