All posts by Norman Cescut

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About Norman Cescut

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What will be the 10 new malls coming to the Middle East? Here they are!

Cairo Festival Centre is one of the new retail developments in the pipeline.

Major retail complexes in countries including the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Lebanon are among new shopping malls set to open in the Middle East over the next three years.

From the new Fujairah City Centre mall in the UAE to Muscat’s Grand Mall in Oman, each promises to offer the region’s consumers a vast array of shopping, restaurant and entertainment amenities.

Among the major new developments are Al Futtaim Group’s US$1.65bn Doha Festival City, slated for completion in 2014, which will feature well-known retail names including Toys R Us and Marks & Spencer. The complex will cover 433,847sqm and includes parking for 8,500 vehicles.

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Despite missing its initial delivery date of 2011, the 235,000 sqm Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi has signed up a number of heavyweight retail partners, including the Landmark Group, Dubai Holding Group and Liwa Trading.

While the economic situation may be faltering, consumers’ retail appetites are not, it would seem

via Revealed: 10 new malls coming to the Middle East – Retail – ArabianBusiness.com.

Next: Norman Cescut’s speech at the Expo Livorno

What are the opportunities offered to new entrepreneurs willing to enter the Retail business? What is Franchising and how to create a Franchising project? What are the tools that can help new entrepreneurs willing to become part of a Franchising network? What is the role of a Franchising consultant?

These are just a  few of the many questions that will find a professional answer during a seminar that will take place at the upcoming Expo Livorno – Livorno (Italy), March 17th-18th (you can find the whole program here)

As a member of FCSI  and professional consultant working in the Food Retail and Franchising business for more than a decade, I have been asked to participate at this seminar as a speaker.

On Sunday March 18th, from 11 to 12.30 am, I will get into full details about the consultant role and about how to build a successful and qualified Franchising project.

I am very excited to have been granted this opportunity,  and it will be a great pleasure to  meet you personally at this event. Do not hesitate to contact me norman|at|desita|dot|it to set up a meeting during that day.

Where is the future of coffee shops? EVERYWHERE!!

We have never agreed that much to a future scenario such as the one depicted by Steven Gordon of the Speculist. Gordon writes about the “coffeeshopification” of many public venues –  bookstores, museums, libraries and retail stores. His point of view is very interesting to the projects we have been developing so far with DESITA and ECOFFEE.

Here it is what Gordon writes in his very interesting article

Universities Will Become Coffee Shops

As reported by TreeHugger “The traditional university lecture is a completely anachronistic institution; there is no reason my Ryerson University students couldn’t watch my lectures on their computers at home or in a coffee shop. Most do; rarely more than 50% of the class shows up, because they know I post the lectures on the school website. As you can see in the photo above, even the students that show up have their noses in their computers. It is all a silly leftover from the days before books were printed and were too expensive for students, so the lecturer would stand up at the front and read from them. The reason for showing up these days is for, as Gordon notes, to “seek tutoring, network, and socialize.”- pretty much a big coffee shop.”

Book Stores Will Shrink to Coffee Shops

Ebooks are coming of age – for many reasons. You can keep your library in your pocket. You can annotate and share your thoughts within social networks. Writers can publish more directly to their audience. Once completed, the unit cost of each ebook sold is essentially $0. Those savings can (and sometimes are) passed on to the customer. Also, an ebook doesn’t have to be limited to the written word. An ebook can incorporate video, audio and other methods of presentation. Your book store is always with you and has every book ready to sell. Nothing ever goes out of print because there are no print runs.

Compare that with your local Barnes and Nobel. Those stores are huge but can accommodate only a small fraction of the titles available in the Kindle store. They require expensive real estate, buildings, and employees.

If you don’t like reading from an ereader, there are new on-demand printing options like the Espresso Book Machine that can print a book within minutes.

Between ebooks and print-on-demand, Barnes and Nobel sized stores shrink down to just their coffee shops – or maybe Starbucks takes over their business. Either way, custormers keep the experience of reading with coffee and those big comfortable chairs.

The Coffee Shop Will Displace Most Retail Shops

My Christmas shopping this year was 90% through Amazon Prime. Not having to fight the crowds and having it delivered free of charge to my home is a big plus, but as with the Kindle store, the online retail selection is much better that even the largest retail outlet.

Which is more enjoyable: Starbucks or Walmart?  For the sane: Starbucks.  So if you can accomplish your Walmart shopping at Starbucks, why do it any other way?

Also, imagine the 3D print shop of the future. You put in your order, probably from your smart phone, and then go pick it up. What does the lobby of such a business look like?  Again: a coffee shop.

Offices Become Coffee Shops… Again

We’re going back to the future: the modern office was birthed in 17th century coffee shops. Steven Johnson has argued that coffee fueled the enlightenment. It was certainly a more enlightening beverage than the previous choice of alcohol.

The need for offices grew as the equipment for mental work was developed starting in the late 19th centuries. That need appears to have peaked about 1980. It was a rare person who could afford the computers, printers, fax machines, and mailing/shipping equipment of that time.

Now a single person with $500 can duplicate most of those functions with a single laptop computer.  So the remaining function of the office is to be that place that clients know to find you… and that kids and the other distractions of home can’t.

Going forward the workplace will need the same sort of flexibility that I described for education. Groups for one project will form and then disband and then reform with new members for the next project. What will that workplace look like? Probably closer to Starbucks than Bob Par’s cubicle.

What will remain other than coffee shops? Upscale retail will remain – people paying as much for the experience as for the goods purchased. Restaurants remain. Grocery stores remain.

Brick and mortar retail stores will be converted to public spaces. Multi-use space will be in increasing demand as connectivity tools allow easy coordination of impromptu events. Some large retail stores will be converted to industrial 3D printer factories. These heavy-duty fab labs will fabricate products that are too big or complicated to fabricate at home.

Multichannel retail strategy survey: the high street is central

The stats come from Shoppercentric’s ‘Shopping in a Multichannel World’ survey, and the results show that customers are using a wide variety of channels.

Mary Portas may have managed to produce a retail review containing just three references to digital, but online and mobile is vital for the future of the high street.

Channels used by customers during the purchase process

As the stats show, shops feature strongly in the channels used by survey respondents, followed by laptop and PC:

Multichannel Strategy Survey

The high street store still remains the most used channel, though for younger age groups, laptops and netbooks come pretty close.

In general, younger shoppers are more likely to use smartphones (and, to a lesser extent, tablets) as part of the purchase process.

Penetration of new technologies

Smartphones have now reached 45% penetration, but for the under 34 age groups, this rises to 62%.

Penetration of new technologies

Use of tablets and smartphones

As we’ve covered before, iPads can deliver impressive conversion rates and average order values (AOVs) but they are used by just 7% of shoppers.

Use of Tablet and Smartphones

At the moment, since the relatively expensive iPad is the dominant tablet, it may be that the wealth of the average owner means higher spend. However, tablet use is set to grow, so retailers should look at adapting their websites and marketing for this device.

The importance of the high street

The high street will always have a place. In fact, 45% of shoppers said they will ‘always love going to the shops, no matter what new technologies are available’.

These, and other multichannel retail stats, show that customers are rapidly adopting new channels such as mobile, and also that they will choose the one that suits their needs most at the time.

Offline retailers that are able to adapt to customers’ use of multiple channels will be best placed to prosper. This means things like launching mobile optimised sites, putting wi-fi in stores (to allow customers to view reviews, compare prices etc), having easy reserve and collect services, and in-store kiosks.

According to Danielle Pinnington, Managing Director at Shoppercentric: “Marketers should be excited about the prospect of being able to make an impact on the purchasing journey in many more ways than before. The opportunity to change shopper behaviour is better than it has ever been. The retailer or brand that is able to use all the channels at its disposal to meet shoppers’ needs is the business that will reap the rewards”

Retailers shouldn’t necessarily assign fixed roles for channels. Customers may well research online before heading to a store to make a purchase, but the reverse is equally likely.

The trick is to understand that customers will use channels for a variety of purposes, and to deliver a smooth and seamless experience whichever one the customer chooses.

via The high street is central to multichannel retail strategy: stats | Econsultancy.

Tesco and RSPB to protect rainforests around the world

UK retailer Tesco has formed a partnership with Europe’s largest wildlife conservation charity – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) – that aims to protect rainforests around the world.

In addition to raising funds, the “Together For Trees” campaign includes a competition to identify a “Rainforest Reporter,” who will travel to one of the projects in the RSPB’s rainforest program and experience first-hand the efforts to slow deforestation.

Together For Trees aims to raise over £1million for the RSPB in its first year. Every time a Tesco customer brings in a re-usable shopping bag, he or she will be able to donate the vouchers or points Tesco awards through its green Clubcard membership. Additionally, customers have the option to donate cash, and Tesco will contribute £75,000 from the sale of its new Together For Trees reusable bags.

Funds raised by the partnership will support conservation work such as the replanting of native trees in areas damaged by illegal logging, providing equipment for researchers and conservationists, and helping local, forest-dependent people to improve their livelihoods in a sustainable way.

“Our customers will trust this scheme because it brings together the UK’s most popular retailer with the UK’s most popular conservation organization,” said David North, Tesco UK Corporate Affairs Director.

The money raised by Together For Trees will be spent on the RSPB’s rainforest projects across the world, including Harapan Rainforest in Indonesia, Gola Rainforest in West Africa and Centre Hills National Park in Montserrat, a UK Overseas Territory in the West Indies. Rainforests such as these are home to more than two thirds of the planet’s land-based creatures, three quarters of all endangered bird species and have more than one billion of the world’s poorest people depending on them to survive.

In the search for the Rainforest Reporter, Together for Trees has partnered with Amazon explorer and European Adventurer of the Year, Ed Stafford. (Stafford participated in a live web chat Thursday morning, hosted by The Guardian.) People can apply to be the Rainforest Reporter on the Together for Trees website.

Tesco has set a goal to become a zero carbon business by 2050. In 2011, the Carbon Disclosure Project named Tesco the top retailer in the world for its efforts in tackling climate change. However, last month, Tesco abandoned its industry leading effort to place carbon labels on all of its products

via Tesco Raises Funds for RSPB, Opens Competition for ‘Rainforest Reporter’ | Sustainable Brands.

A more natural Coles for healthier consumers

Despite extensive research conducted by the Food Standards Australia proving there are no adverse affects to consuming products with added MSG (monosodium glutamate) and artificial colourings, Coles has removed both ingredients in direct response to consumer concerns.

Lydia Buchtmann, communication adviser at Food Standards Australia, told FoodNavigator-Asia that the government food regulator has conducted “rigorous safety reviews of MSG and colours showing that they are safe for the general population.”

She added that it is possible a few consumers may experience intolerances but that they would not be life threatening like major allergies.

The retail giant’s private label range is now entirely free from artificial colours and MSG, following a five-year project to reformulate all of its own food and beverage brands.

‘Listening to our consumers’
“Our customers are clearly concerned by food additives and the effect they believe they have on their health. A significant number have indicated that they or their children have experienced reactions to artificial colours and MSG,” Jackie Healing, quality manager for Coles said.

This move is simply a reaction to this, Healing added.

The supermarket noted that research showed 91% of customers were worried about consuming products with added MSG and artificial colours, with 76% avoiding such products.

Vanessa Walles, marketing manager at natural ingredients supplier Chr Hansen Australia, said “Coles are being pro-active by taking this stance, it is not because they have to,” and consumers will appreciate this.“It certainly sends a very positive message that Coles is listening to consumer needs and moving with the market expectation of natural colours,” Walles said.

Natural moves
There are no laws against the use of MSG and artificial colourings in food and beverage products in Australia.

Food manufacturers are just required to label a food when MSG is added, either by name or by its food additive code number 621. Walles noted however, that consumer pressure fuelled by media focus on artificial colours and MSG has created a market demand for products free from these additives.

“Natural is the way the colours market is moving”, Walles said.

Add to this, the Southampton Six ruling in the EU where manufacturers using artificial colours have to provide the warning label, ‘may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’, and there is a burgeoning pressure towards natural products, she said.

Similarly Aldi’s removal of artificial colours may have been an influencing factor, she added.

“Many branded products have already made the switch from artificial to natural colours, however there are still many products to follow suit,” Walles said.

via Coles ‘goes natural’ for consumers.

Bringing nutritional advice directly to consumers’ table: Tanita Shokudo

In Tokyo, Tanita Shokudo offers a way to bring nutritional advice directly to consumers’ tables.

The brainchild of Japanese health device manufacturer Tanita Corp, Tanita Shokudo provides expert culinary information about all items on the menu, aiming to help those wanting to eat out without compromising their diet plans.

Each table is fitted with a weighing scale to ensure healthy portions can be measured out, while a timer tells the diner when the optimum duration of 20 minutes for completing their lunch is over. Professional dieticians are also on hand to provide free advice on eating regimes in a special counselling room.

Tanita Corp has tried and tested the concept in its office cafeteria and it has proven successful enough among its employees to roll out to the public. Lunch options come from the company’s successful cookbook, which first introduced Japanese food lovers to healthy set meals of 500 calories or less.

Consumers are becoming ever more health conscious and nutrition transparency in restaurants is a trend that has grown around the world, but the mix of a good-for-you lunch alongside professional dietary advice takes these services to another level. Could this be picked up in other countries?

via Japanese cafeteria offers diners in-depth advice on health and nutrition | Springwise.

Leadership and Innovation in Retail Sustainability: a Research

“As one of the leading industries to embrace sustainability, it is becoming a core consideration for the retail industry,” said Adam Siegel, RILA vice president of sustainability and retail operations. “Retailers are working to incorporate sustainability into their strategy, operations, workforce engagement, and connection to consumers and communities. This report is a first look at the broader industry’s accomplishments, challenges, and future directions. It lays a foundation to determine where we can go from here.”

The following are four key trends identified in the report.

Retailers are:

  • Working across sectors to achieve sustainability goals. Because expertise is not yet available within their respective organizations, retailers are reaching out to nonprofits, academics, and governments, as well as suppliers, consumers and investors to accelerate sustainable innovation.
  • Turning from sustainability as a cost- and risk-reduction measure to an opportunity for business growth. Retailers leading the sustainability charge recognize that the benefits extend well beyond achieving business efficiencies. Sustainability programs are increasingly viewed as a source of innovation and differentiation and a platform for new product and market development.
  • Developing systems for continuous improvement. As retailers build sustainability programs, they have developed management, measurement and IT systems for continuous improvement. Such mechanisms include environmental management systems, supplier “scorecarding” and management training, employee training and engagement, energy and waste reduction goals and sustainability reporting.
  • Fostering transparency in operations and the supply chain. Opportunities for risk mitigation, coupled with increased public scrutiny, are driving the need for additional disclosure. Reporting on financial information alone can no longer articulate the complexities and intricacies of retail operations and global supply chains.

Data for the report was collected from 2011 sustainability reports of 30 RILA member companies, including grocery and drug stores, general merchandise and department stores, and spanning both large and small formats. Information was also compiled through multiple industry surveys, industry meetings, and company interviews, across all segments of retail. Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) was a key partner in the development of the report.

“RILA’s first sustainability report is an important step forward for the retail industry,” Ted Howes, director of advisory services for Business for Social Responsibility. “Our hope is that RILA’s efforts will inspire retailers around the globe to take action and engage in sustainability more deeply and strategically — to ensure a healthier bottom line as well as a healthier planet. BSR looks forward to collaborating with industry leaders to ensure that sustainability stays top of mind in the years to come.”

RILA members were also invited to submit case studies for the report, and interviews were conducted with 20 companies – Belk, Best Buy, Gap Inc., H-E-B, The Home Depot, Ikea, J.C. Penney, Lowe’s, Meijer, Petco, PetSmart, Publix, Safeway, Sears, Staples, Target, VF Corporation, Walgreen, Walmart and Whole Foods Markets.

The following are future directions retailer’s say they will explore over the next five to 10 years:

  • Sustainability will become integrated into all aspects and departments of the business;
  • The drive to manage supply chain impacts will transform retailer-supplier relationships;
  • Industry collaboration will become the standard; and
  • Business models will evolve as consumption habits change.

Retailers identify many benefits while pursuing more sustainable operations and products including efficiency, risk mitigation, new innovations, a way to recruit and retain top talent, a means to develop new product and enter new markets, as well as improved reputation with customers and industry stakeholders.

“One of the biggest takeaways from the report is that creating lasting change in retail sustainability is not something the industry can do alone,” Siegel said. “Retailers are reaching out to nonprofits, academics, and governments as well as to their suppliers, consumers, investors, and communities to provide their diverse perspectives and partnerships and help accelerate sustainable innovation for all.” Author: Adam Siegel

via Research Identifies Retail Sustainability Leadership and Innovation – Green Retail Decisions.

SAPORE Trade Expo: a Tasting Experience

The next event in our hectic February agenda is SAPORE Tasting Experience (at Rimini Fiera from 25th to 28th February) is more than a trade expo. It is the event dedicated to all those wanting to know the future of foodservice for eating out.

At its disposal, there are eight halls of the west wing of the Rimini expo centre for updating on tastes, rites and trends in a world with a continuously changing demand. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for 10.30 am on Saturday 25th in the south foyer. Maurizio Melucci, Emilia Romagna Regional Councillor for Tourism, will take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Two important events will follow: the assignment of the 2012 Innovation Awards for the most innovative products on the market and the appointment with the inauguration conference organized by Fipe Confcommercio. Business unit manager Patrizia Cecchi confirms, ´Rather than a showcase, SAPORE will be a real… tasting experience, thanks to the new products on show and the countless appointments to innovate the Horeca channel´s business (show cooking with award-winning chefs, Sapore University courses, guided tasting sessions of wine and Italian craft beers, fresh and dry pasta and brewery specialities from all over the world, as well as conferences to analyze the latest trends and the presentation of interesting successful cases in the foodservice world.´

The expo therefore features a complete showcase of products and technologies from the world of catering, pasta, beer, seafood, pizza, oil, wine, regional specialities and frozen produce. Each of these sectors will be represented by the excellence of the enterprises and their proposals, alongside events and opportunities for discovering first-hand new experiences of business formats. Approximately 400 foreign buyers are awaited at the exhibition, where they will meet exhibitors according to an agenda scheduled online during the days before the expo.

This is a very effective innovative system for increasing opportunities for business between companies and foreign markets, as well as optimizing buyers´ visits to the expo. Among the key events, the Large-scale Distribution Buyers´ Day scheduled for Monday 27th and dedicated to the new trend ´AYCE´ All You Can Eat – the format with which restaurants charge a fixed price for access to food, then allow customers to consume as much as they want at no additional charge) and the debut of the Sapore Chef Grand Prix Contest

SAPORE 2012 will be held with the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, Emilia-Romagna Regional Government, Rimini Provincial Government and CNA Alimentare.

And if you had already planned to visit the SAPORE exhibition, please  know that we will be there the whole time meeting prospects and clients. It will be a great pleasure to meet you in person: just send us an email at norman|at|desita|dot|it to set up an appointment.

Shipping Containers: a new Solution to Food Deserts?

A group of Seattle entrepreneurs has come up with one solution to the urban food desert problem, and it doesn’t involve adding traditional supermarkets to underserved areas. Their new venture, Stockbox Grocers, is taking the favorite building block of the green-building movement—the shipping container—and adapting it into a miniature food emporium, packed from floor to roof with fresh produce and other staples.

“Our goal is to bring food back to communities, and focus on communities that don’t currently have good access to food and are heavily dependent on public transportation,” says founder and owner Carrie Ferrence. This week, Stockbox celebrates the opening of a 160-square-foot prototype store in a parking lot in a neighborhood where corner stores are the only source of food. Up to five customers can shop at once, said Ferrence, and only one person is needed to staff the operation.

This first store—housed in a temporary structure that’s actually smaller than a shipping container—is intended as a six-to-eight-week experiment to feel out the needs of the community and gather feedback. “A lot of people who come in are breaking down the myth that people of low income and mixed income don’t want access to organic or natural food,” Ferrence says.  By the end of next year, she and partner Jacqueline Gjurgevich hope to have four permanent shipping container stores up and running.

“Everyone’s really excited to have a grocery store in the community,” Ference says. “The community’s been asking for years.”

via Stockbox Grocer’s Food Desert Solution: The Shipping Container – Lifestyle – GOOD.