Grocery Guru Episode 3: How the New Normal May Impact Holidays

In this episode of The Grocery Guru, we discuss the ‘new normal’ and how this is likely to affect Christmas. Touch challenges for our industry during Covid-19.

You Can Read the Full New Normal Episode Transcript Below:

Darren A. Smith:

Hello. We're on week three of the Grocery Guru. That is Andrew Grant. Hello.

Andrew Grant:

Hi Darren. You okay?

Darren A. Smith:

Yeah, I'm good. I'm good. So in our first week, we talked about the UFC's, which were Urban Fulfillment Centers. In our second week, you said to us that category management is dead, very provocative, very emotive, which we had a nice debate about. And in week three, I'm waiting with bated breath. What're we talking about?

New Normal, and New Holidays

 

Andrew Grant:

Well, maybe slightly off-topic, I'm not sure. But Christmas, and what are you buying me, Darren?

Darren A. Smith:

Oh.

Andrew Grant:

Front of my mind.

Darren A. Smith:

I was thinking of a big pair of those monster slippers.

Andrew Grant:

Oh, with Garfield on the front?

Darren A. Smith:

All right. Why is Christmas on your mind? Apart from it's coming up in-

Andrew Grant:

No, just thinking. What is it today? The 27th. So it's the end of October. We are ... in two months' time Christmas will be done.

Darren A. Smith:

Yes. Yes.

Andrew Grant:

And I'm just thinking back. If we think back to sort of the 23rd of January, two months on from then, 23rd of March, when we got ... Boris locked us all down. Did we really expect on the 23rd of Jan, that what happened to us was going to happen? I mean, we knew something was going on in China. There was a city we never heard of called Wuhan, and some people were getting bad colds. Could you ever have expected two months later, us to go into what we've now had for six months?

Darren A. Smith:

No, no, not a chance. Something to do with a bat as well as in the story, wasn't it?

Andrew Grant:

Yeah. Yeah. Some strange seafood market and doing strange things with bats. But yeah, whatever.

Darren A. Smith:

All the people out there talking about grocery. Why are you thinking about it now?

Andrew Grant:

What is the link? Well, I'm just thinking that this is traditionally the time, post-Halloween, when the retailers go into, and I'm going to use the phrase actually, go into Christmas lockdown mode. 1st of November it is all about the home run to Christmas. They start counting back to Christmas Day. So it's Christmas Day minus 56 days, 55 days. All their plans.

This Christmas, we have no idea what might happen. And it was interestingly the COO of Tesco on Monday saying, "There won't be a problem, but we really do suggest you start shopping early." So I think quietly they are petrified that will they be able to supply Christmas? I guess more importantly for them, what sort of Christmas will they supply? And I can imagine the best-sellers are going to be two-meter long Christmas crackers. Socially distanced Christmas crackers. If you want to make some money, get yourself into the two-meter Christmas cracker market.

Darren A. Smith:

Only you. Interesting, I was talking to a client earlier today, and she said that a supermarket was talking to them about contingency. Would they go find a similar supplier like themselves, that should they get COVID, could they then turn on a similar supplier? They were ... Well, the chest was out, the head was back. "No, we're not doing that." But then the supermarket said, "Yeah, you got to."

Andrew Grant:

Well no, think about, and you've been there, think about fresh foods. So grocery and non-foods, the stuff's been ordered for a long time. But you remember the days of making sure all the gate codes hit the 25th of December, and you can only order the cream seven days ahead, I think. The pigs in blankets, four days ahead. The turkeys, eight or nine days ahead. And you're right. I mean only this week, was it,