Gone very quiet
Discussion
President Merkin said:
It is. Some games are rigged. If you supply Tesco or Aldi, chances are they're your biggest customer & they will act accordingly. The criticism of my point about being more in charge of a relationship than appearances suggest is that you as a supplier can easily be replaced, assuming you're not an out & out specialist. This is often true & it's happened to me many times. In all of those cases, I look back & think I would have ended up out sooner or later anyway for various issues around trust, slipperiness, the usual sorts of things that upset one sided business relationships, so in my view, it acts as a filter against clients who were always heading for the exit.
My best customers I've hung onto in excess of a decade & I've done that by demonstrating value to them, again in the usual ways - price, service, flexibility, quality and so on. In those cases, they view it as mutually beneficial which is how it should work if you're doing right by yourself.
A lot of words to say something simple: Never undervalue yourself, no matter how tempting it might be.
If you are able, not having any single customer over 5-10% of turnover is a very secure base. Not always practical or possible. As President Merkin says, buyers of big firms are ruthless, heartless, soulless bMy best customers I've hung onto in excess of a decade & I've done that by demonstrating value to them, again in the usual ways - price, service, flexibility, quality and so on. In those cases, they view it as mutually beneficial which is how it should work if you're doing right by yourself.
A lot of words to say something simple: Never undervalue yourself, no matter how tempting it might be.
ds. They will screw you if they know their business is vital to your business.Being able to refuse business from awkward, unreasonable, or commerically unviable clients is a superpower. We used to have a fairly large firm who'd always make us, as small business back in the day, wait ages for money. The MD used to live in Florida a few weeks a year and they used his lack of presence as an excuse to not sign cheques. One day, they were in urgent need of a few parts we hand and we told the General Manger we'd warned them enough and their credit account was now closed - payment by card, up front, only. He was furious, said "we won't deal with you again" and we said "yes, fine, we already told you we'd rather you didn't if you don't pay". They ended up paying.
urquattroGus said:
Really hoping that construction machinery sales pick up by the half year point at least.
Jan & Feb odwn over 30% compared to 2023, but they were fairly peak months, due to the supply backlog from Covid. Weather needs to stop killing the job first.Anyway, the Office of Nonsensical Superciliousness have had a "no s
t Sherlock" momment. They confirm recession at end of last year.https://www.cityam.com/uk-recession-confirmed-as-r...
Easter Confectionery sales are going 'ok'. The sales ramp seems to be getting later and later every year which causes no end of problem across supply chain
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
RayDonovan said:
Easter Confectionery sales are going 'ok'. The sales ramp seems to be getting later and later every year which causes no end of problem across supply chain
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Not surprising. Understand the price rises but not the size reduction. I used to enjoy creme eggs as a guilty pleasure but since they made them smaller there's no satisfaction in them. Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
jonsp said:
ot surprising. Understand the price rises but not the size reduction. I used to enjoy creme eggs as a guilty pleasure but since they made them smaller there's no satisfaction in them.
Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
I don't get this reducing the size of things at all, just put the price up, we're not daft.Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
Ean218 said:
jonsp said:
ot surprising. Understand the price rises but not the size reduction. I used to enjoy creme eggs as a guilty pleasure but since they made them smaller there's no satisfaction in them.
Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
I don't get this reducing the size of things at all, just put the price up, we're not daft.Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
"Modern Wagon Wheels are w
k" rant over.Ean218 said:
jonsp said:
ot surprising. Understand the price rises but not the size reduction. I used to enjoy creme eggs as a guilty pleasure but since they made them smaller there's no satisfaction in them.
Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
I don't get this reducing the size of things at all, just put the price up, we're not daft.Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
It isn’t a commodity; they’re not buying by the kilo.
Whilst Sainsbury’s, say, are charging 70p a pop, my village store (who struggle to get wholesale deliveries at supermarket prices) are charging £1 a pop.
That’s a threshold price.
And then we look at the specifics. The creme egg hasn’t shrunk in weight in the UK recently: it’s the same 40g it has been for a long time. The chocolate shell recipe changed in 2015 (which may, if it is a higher density, have slightly changed the physical dimensions - I’m not sure), and the US version has shrunk to 34g (prompting many of the online videos about the issue).
For more info on changing pack sizes in the UK, there are a number of online resources, such as https://planetradio.co.uk/hits-radio/lifestyle/onl...
jonsp said:
RayDonovan said:
Easter Confectionery sales are going 'ok'. The sales ramp seems to be getting later and later every year which causes no end of problem across supply chain
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Not surprising. Understand the price rises but not the size reduction. I used to enjoy creme eggs as a guilty pleasure but since they made them smaller there's no satisfaction in them. Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
TX.
RayDonovan said:
Easter Confectionery sales are going 'ok'. The sales ramp seems to be getting later and later every year which causes no end of problem across supply chain
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Went to pick up some eggs yesterday and morrisons were completely out of mini egg ones which was annoying.Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Picked up 5 creme eggs to eat in the car on the way home though. Expensive but worth it.
skwdenyer said:
In general, that’s a quick way to lose even more sales in a cost of living crisis. People buy products like creme eggs because they want a little “hit” and they very much will be influenced by the cost of that.
Conversely, if produce no longer quite hits the spot, then cost is of no consequence, customers will quit the product.Digga said:
skwdenyer said:
In general, that’s a quick way to lose even more sales in a cost of living crisis. People buy products like creme eggs because they want a little “hit” and they very much will be influenced by the cost of that.
Conversely, if produce no longer quite hits the spot, then cost is of no consequence, customers will quit the product.
It is, however, easy for those with money to say they’ll suck up a price increase. There’s a reason so many now shop at discounters
skwdenyer said:
Digga said:
skwdenyer said:
In general, that’s a quick way to lose even more sales in a cost of living crisis. People buy products like creme eggs because they want a little “hit” and they very much will be influenced by the cost of that.
Conversely, if produce no longer quite hits the spot, then cost is of no consequence, customers will quit the product.It is, however, easy for those with money to say they’ll suck up a price increase. There’s a reason so many now shop at discounters
It's been slightly easier for snacking companies to reduce sizes as it's seen as removing calories as opposed to an effective price rise.
Many of the bigger Confectionery companies are struggling to maintain their performance post COVID as volumes are through the floor in many categories. Price rises and weight reductions have been too drastic and consumers are moving into other categories for snacking.
Ean218 said:
Digga said:
Agreed. I can pretty much take or leave chocolate and biscuits, but if I want one, I want a proper one.
"Modern Wagon Wheels are wk" rant over.
Don't start me on Curly Wurlys."Modern Wagon Wheels are w
k" rant over.king point?
Online Gardening products reporting here.
Nov-Feb is our 'off-season' with sales down -30% on last year.
Did it ever stop raining?
March is a more important month for us.
Looking like we will end up with our March sales around -20% down on last year.
We can live with this - though disappointing the weather has been dreadful
(mind you March 2023 had poor weather too)
Slightly concerning that this month includes the run up to Easter when it fell in April last year.
Being a seasonal I'm hoping 'first in, first out' regarding the recession.
Feb 2022 was close to the start of our season when sales really started slowing down
After two poor years I'm busy looking for those 'green shoots'
Nov-Feb is our 'off-season' with sales down -30% on last year.
Did it ever stop raining?
March is a more important month for us.
Looking like we will end up with our March sales around -20% down on last year.
We can live with this - though disappointing the weather has been dreadful
(mind you March 2023 had poor weather too)
Slightly concerning that this month includes the run up to Easter when it fell in April last year.
Being a seasonal I'm hoping 'first in, first out' regarding the recession.
Feb 2022 was close to the start of our season when sales really started slowing down
After two poor years I'm busy looking for those 'green shoots'
RayDonovan said:
Easter Confectionery sales are going 'ok'. The sales ramp seems to be getting later and later every year which causes no end of problem across supply chain
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Mini egg portions have got comically small and ridiculously expensive. I usually go through a couple bags a week and this year I’ve had maybe 3 bags total. Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
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