2568.11 kb - Compass Group

09 Compass Group PLC Annual Report 2007Our consumer focusis driving continuedinnovation in our brandsand foodservice offers.Selling more beveragesIn the Czech Republic we have doubled like forlike beverage sales in our 350 Business & Industryunits. Through understanding consumer behaviourswe identified a significant opportunity to captureincremental beverage sales by focusing on ‘hydrating’people better in the workplace. Key initiatives werebased around expanding day-parts, increasing varietyand choice and educating the consumer on theimportance of hydration. Solutions were to increaserange and package types, introduce larger packsizes, install incremental equipment (coolers andracks), improve merchandising and place hydrationmessages at point of sale.Improved pricing through ‘Value Planning’2,000 of our operating units in the USA are usingthe ‘Value Plan’, a simple but highly effective pricemanagement and benchmarking tool whichprovides the framework for setting pricing strategies.Through the ‘Value Plan’ we compare unit pricinginformation against national and local ‘market basket’benchmarks and inflation forecasts, to set our targetprice points for each of our major categories. Thisprovides our Unit Managers with credible data todevelop their own unit pricing plan and set regularpricing reviews with our clients. Performance isnow being tracked through weekly ‘owners reports’from each unit, comparing the actual price achievedagainst our target price for the top selling categories.Recently developed supporting tools such as‘mapping the servery’ and ‘station profitability’enable managers to analyse the performance ofindividual areas of the restaurant. The impact of the‘Value Plan’ is evidenced in like for like sales growthof 5% and an increase of up to 10% in averagespend per transaction.MAP 2 – Consumer sales and marketingMAP 2 reflects the importance ofhaving the right offers and retailskills to drive growth in consumervolume and spending.Understanding consumer trendsto drive innovationWhilst we may be feeding people either intheir workplace, at college or in a hospitalrestaurant, their demand for quality, choiceand value are equally as discerning as youwould find on the high street. Our focus onunderstanding consumer needs and futuretrends is driving the development andinnovation in our food offers, brands andservices. In Healthcare, for example, we haveled the market with the introduction ofpersonalised patient meal ordering, such asour ‘Catering to You’ service, which providesgreater flexibility, choice and individualdietary control. Developed in the USA,‘Catering to You’ has already successfullytransferred to other countries.Health, wellbeing and sustainability areimportant topics that matter to ourconsumers in every sector. As a globalfoodservice company we fully understandthe responsibility we have in helpingconsumers make informed choices aboutdiet and nutrition. Our in-house dieticianswork with our culinary, product developmentand purchasing teams to create menuprogrammes that combine menu planning,labelling and promotion, and educationaltraining for our people to deliver food choicesthat are safe, nutritious and balanced, andsuit the lifestyle and tastes of our consumers.For example, in our US Education business,‘Eat, Learn, Live’ is a market leadingcommitment to the health and wellbeingof children and students from primaryschools to college. This holistic approachdrives innovations such as ‘Brake forBreakfast’ and ‘Morning Editions’ providinga healthier start to the day. In addition wehelp educate students to recognise andchoose healthier options, provide a nutritionand physical activity for the curriculum‘Healthsmart’ and support health relatedin-classroom and outreach programmes.Improved pricing managementIn an increasingly ‘retail’ market we aretaking a more thorough approach to pricingand are deploying pricing tools and processesto enable our managers to undertake‘local market basket’ benchmarking which,combined with national benchmarking,enables a regular, fact-based pricing reviewwith our clients. For example, in our UKbusiness our units receive a regular ‘PriceWatch’ update providing information, basedon ‘high-street’ benchmarking research.Driving volume and spendA greater understanding of our consumersenables us to more effectively target offersthat entice consumers into more repeat visitsand encourage them to spend more per visit.To achieve this we are developing a moreretail-focused approach to promotions, sellingskills and merchandising. In our Business &Industry sector this might mean extending theuse of the restaurant through different daypartoffers, for example, broadening out froma lunch time only service to include breakfast.In Germany, in response to consumerresearch we have developed a ‘Grab and Go’offer as an additional service which is nowgenerating a like for like volume increaseof 4%.Controlling the cashLearning from the retail sector, at the sametime as driving increased sales, we havefocused on ensuring that we are not losing thiscash to poor cash handling disciplines, stockshrinkage or even theft. The experience ofa considerable number of trial sites forour ‘Profit Protection’ programme in theUK has shown that a focus on this area(putting training and processes in place,supported by the right technology) canlead to sales increases of up to 7%, cashreconciliation improvements of up to 3%and a significant reduction in cash ‘loss’.