FERO THIRD ANNIVERSARY

INTRODUCTION

It is three years since we rebranded as FERO; September 2020 feels like a very different time as we grappled with various COVID lockdown scenarios, colleague absences, raw materials shortages and price volatility. We hoped rebranding would send a positive signal for the future for our colleagues, clients and the market in general.

It is not an understatement to say that the only constant in the last three years has been change. Agility is a core element of FERO’s DNA which has allowed us to adapt and realise significant growth over this period. Continued investment in our people, systems, machinery and environment has been key to this success.

MARKET BACKGROUND

Looking ahead, we believe agility will continue to be crucial to our on-going success. We are in the midst of a well-documented cost of living crisis with people facing increasing bills – Grocery Price Inflation hit a record high of 17.5% in the four weeks to 19 March 2023 and whilst it has eased, it is still stands at 12.2% over the four weeks to 3 September*. Geo-political tensions remain challenging with the devastating war in Ukraine leading to great instability, particularly in relation to energy supply. We are also facing a climate crisis - how we protect our planet has never been more important, yet there remains no clear path, or investment, to lead us to Net Zero as a country.

Our customers are also working against this backdrop. 2,302 stores closed with the loss of 32,726 retail jobs between 1st January and 30th June 2023**. Wilko is the latest retailer set to disappear from our high streets with all stores due to close by early October. There is growing pressure to reduce costs across the supply chain and to minimise the increases being passed to shoppers. We are responding by automating as much of our process as possible to reduce the time and cost impacts of managing POS for our clients.

We can’t improve what we don’t measure so collection of data is engrained into our ways of working. Analysing this data allows us to understand where processes can be improved, resulting in greater accuracy, reduced wastage and costs, and an increased speed to market.

KEY TRENDS

Recent research undertaken by FERO identified four key trends affecting retailers and brands, and as we look to the next three years and beyond, we are gearing our business to help our customers respond effectively to these trends.

1. Entertain me

To encourage shoppers to the high street, retailers and brands need to offer a point of differentiation; delivering experiences and reasons to shop physically in store. Our innovation framework helps to ensure we continually drive new ideas and stay ahead of new trends to drive footfall.

2. Make it easy for me

Shoppers are looking for convenience – they want shopping to be easy and frictionless. Retailers and brands are therefore looking to respond quickly which again brings into focus our commitment to expedite and automate our processes to make POS campaigns and communication as seamless as possible.

3. Make it relevant to me

Personalisation is important as shoppers expect tailored offers which are relevant to their choices and preferences. Print technology can also help with this by ensuring messages are tailored by store or region. Our recent investment in the Nozomi 18000+ DG allows for large format variable data to be delivered at speed.

4. Help me to do good

Finally, sustainability is important to shoppers and retailers and brands need to demonstrate how they are limiting their impact on the planet. We are working with our clients to eliminate plastics and have created a number of  product solutions to provide alternatives to clips, trays and SEL strips. Our partnership with CarbonQuota enables us to provide detailed information to clients about their POS carbon footprint, allowing for meaningful targets for reduction to be set.

We also achieved B Corp Certification this year, which is something as an organisation we are very proud of. Certification is just the first step; maintaining our B Corp status will continue to stretch and challenge us in the future. We are focused on making a genuine difference to our impact on the planet – steering away from greenwashing and headline claims.

SUMMARY

If change has been the only constant for the last three years, we expect nothing different as we look forward. We remain focused on what we can control to enable us to respond quickly to the challenges in our own market and the wider environment.  

* Kantar

** The Centre for Retail Research