Retail Marketing Survey 2009
RMS 2009 - featured articles
The following is a synopsis of the articles that appeared in the 2009 Retail Marketing Survey.
Volatile prices and weakening demand
Last year was a challenging one for the retail fuels sector in Europe as the market underwent some dramatic changes. If the first half of the year was characterised by a continuation of the rising oil prices seen since 2007, with retail pump prices reaching record highs by the summer, the second half saw prices fall dramatically as the global credit crunch took hold and market sentiment weakened. This quickly had an effect on retail fuel demand, with already weak petrol demand falling further relative to diesel. Wood Mackenzie’s Stephen Brooks reviews some of these changes and their impact on the short-term market outlook.
Oil industry profitability
During the past year we have experienced extraordinary volatility in oil markets, with oil prices reaching $147/b in July 2008. Yet at the start of 2009 it had sunk towards $40/b – a level not seen since early 2004. Combined with the rapid slow down in economies globally and the wider impact of turmoil in the financial sector on the rest of the economy, sterling has been particularly exposed, losing a third of its value against the US dollar since July. UKPIA’s Nick Vandervell explains some of the background and the impact this has had.
Fuel supply in the Highlands and Islands
On behalf of the Scottish Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and its partners, the Highland Council and the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS), Experian Catalist recently concluded a study into the state of the service station network in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Here, Justin Muir, Head of Experian Catalist, outlines some of the issues and challenges facing the future sustainability of road fuel supplies in the region.
Supply chain visibility brings forecourt rewards
DHL Exel Supply Chain’s specialist industrial team has forged a close working relationship with the petroleum products business of supermarket chain Morrisons. Working together, the two companies have created what is claimed to be one of the most robust yet flexible supply chains in the UK forecourt retailing sector.
Fleet fuelling
For companies that rely on fuel as a business enabler, 2008 will be remembered as a year of unprecedented highs, lows and unpredictability. As the industry looks forward to 2009 and beyond, the critical issue is not whether prices will consistently rise or fall, but managing and, where possible, capitalising on the price volatility that is the new reality. It is inevitable that the global economic turmoil will create winners and losers in the fleet/haulier sector, as in all other markets. However, companies with comprehensive approaches to their fuel programmes can predict and control this critical operating cost and provide themselves a much needed competitive edge, writes FuelQuest CEO Matt Tormollen.
Global brand trends in fuel retailing
In a market where global oil prices soar and fuel margins become tighter, fuel retailers the world over are looking for more efficient ways of squeezing revenue from their valuable assets. Others, like ExxonMobil, have decided that the business of retailing downstream is just not lucrative enough and are selling off assets. Robert Onion, Chairman of Circle, a brand and identity consultant for the fuel retailing and energy sector, explains.
Capturing customer footfall
The European fuel retail market is facing tough times. High prices last year have been followed by a global recession. It is no wonder that fuel sales are depressed. In such circumstances, the sharpest fuel retailers are looking to hook custom through other offerings, especially convenience – with C-stores attached to forecourts. Here, Philippa Jones, in Paris; Andrew Cave, in Oxford; and Symon Ross, in Belfast, look at how fuel retailers are handling these pressures in France, the UK and Ireland – three highly contrasting western European markets.
C-store challenges and opportunities
Many that work in the fuel retail and grocery markets can remember when convenience stores and forecourt shops were entirely different operations. Fuel retailers focused on the core business of delivering the most effective and efficient return on the sale of fuel. Operating a safe, compliant and efficient forecourt – in particular, striking the right balance between a profitable fuel margin and being competitively priced for the local market – was a full time job. However, these priorities are only one dimension of the multi-faceted retail operation that customers expect from today’s fuel retailers and only service station operators that have adapted are profiting. James Lowman, Chief Executive of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), outlines some of the C-store challenges and opportunities that today’s UK fuel retailers are having to tackle.
Keeping it clean
Almost a third of all car washes in the UK are undertaken at service stations, making it a key income centre for forecourt retailers. However, their position continues to be compromised by independent hand wash operations which, according to new research by Datamonitor, are responsible for in excess of 10% of all washes. Anne-Marie Davis reports.
Fuel retail not necessarily top of the political agenda
It may seem like a good thing for fuel retailers to be based in a country that is sitting on a bounty of fuel reserves. However, that is not necessarily the case, as many Latin American and Caribbean retailers can testify, write Pacifica Goddard in Caracas, Venezuela; Marvin Hokstam in Paramaribo, Suriname; and James Fuller, in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.
China considers C-store concept
An increasing number of China’s fuel retailers are looking to convenience stores and fast food to increase customer footfall on the forecourt, writes Mark Godfrey.
Business battlefield
My Russian Agent – no, not the James Bond kind – is a company that specialises in running seminars and workshops for Russian oil executives. Here, Marcel Cohen – previously part of Shell UK’s retailing division and now a Marketing Strategy Lecturer attached to the Business School of Imperial College – explains how his ‘PetroWars’ training concept works.
