Range Reviews and Resets

Join Andrew Grant and Darren A. Smith in the fourteenth episode of Grocery Guru: Discussing Range Reviews and Range Resets.

You Can Read the Full Range Reviews and Resets Episode Transcript Below:

Darren A. Smith:

Welcome to episode 14 of the Grocery Guru with Andrew Grant. Andrew, how are you?

Andrew Grant:

Hi, Darren. Good, good. Thank you. You?

Darren A. Smith:

Yeah, I'm good, I'm good. Looks like you're at your mum's, am I guessing?

Andrew Grant:

I am at the homely palatial pile.

Darren A. Smith:

Very nice. Very nice. All right, looks lovely. This week I think we're talking about range reviews, range resets, that sort of thing. That's what we discussed?

Andrew Grant:

Yeah, I think we said last week, not a lot hot happening out there. About the only bit of newsworthy stuff to come out is Morrisons have had a virtual supplier conference and have announced a major category reset. What I found quite funny actually is some of the learned publications out there picked up the fact that it's a 170 category range review.

Darren A. Smith:

Wow.

Andrew Grant:

But published it as Morrisons to change 170 products. Yeah.

Darren A. Smith:

Well, that's not many, so that shouldn't take long.

Andrew Grant:

Might take them about 12 minutes, I reckon. Yeah. But no, it's 170 categories, full-on range reset by the sounds of it and utilizing their new Morrisons Edge shopper insight technology.

Darren A. Smith:

And is this their hookup with IRI, am I guessing?

Andrew Grant:

Yeah, with IRI.

Darren A. Smith:

Okay. So a crazy time to be doing a range review, range reset?

Andrew Grant:

Well, yeah, exactly. That was my first thought. We don't know what the new normal is. So they're going to be looking at a year's worth of data when... just take a few categories. People haven't really bought any sandwiches for lunch. People haven't been doing meal deals. Everybody's been baking at home and cooking at home. So ready meals sales probably aren't reflective of whatever the new normal is. So I think it quite, quite difficult to do a range review when the world's been turned upside down. Why the timing now, is slightly bizarre to me.

Darren A. Smith:

I don't know. I mean, it's a topsy-turvy time obviously to do it, and you're basing it on data that may then change as shopper habits change, we come out of lockdown, blah, blah, blah. Is it a brave move to be doing it? I think not is my suspicion. Not a brave move.

Andrew Grant:

I suppose, as long as they put a common-sense rule over it. But obviously, we don't know what data will come out, but you can sort of, with some of the macro trends we've talked about over the last few months, you could almost imagine a situation where a whole aisle of flour, you de-list ready meals, you take out front of the store and fill it with masks. That ain't going to be the new normal back in, hopefully, in May, June, July.

Darren A. Smith:

You're right, it's not. And I think with what we could both credit our friends in Bradford with more intelligence, and of course, they're not going to put a whole aisle of masks in, but it comes down to the nitty-gritty, doesn't it? Are they going to extend baking by 20% and then try and change it again in June when they go, "Hold on, we're now not all baking"?

Andrew Grant:

Yeah exactly. So it will be interesting. And I guess for the suppliers out there, our clients, it's going to be quite a challenging range reset for them to go through. I guess our message is we've got a lot of experience of this. And obviously, the inevitable negotiations that will come to fruit from the winners and the losers being put under pressure. So I guess, yeah. I guess the message of today's webinar is that we're here to help if there's any Morrisons supplier out there caught up in this range reset. Quite important, I think, that they spend the commensurate amount of time on it because it's going to be a weird one.

Darren A. Smith:

It is.