Premier and Nisa retailer, Neil Godhania, is excited about England’s appearance at the World Cup - very excited, in fact.
Part of that comes directly from the local community around his Nisa store in Heacham, near King’s Lynn, who he describes as “massively into football,” and for whom he has kitted out his store accordingly.
Neil - himself an ex-non league footballer (central midfield, since you ask!), is grabbing the World Cup retail opportunity with both hands. “Football’s like a religion here. We’ve got all sorts of flags around,” he explained. “For me as well, football’s everything - such a big passion. So if I get any opportunity to mix business with football, of course I will.”
Plans for his stores’ football takeovers actually began months ago, Neil said. “This is a perfect opportunity for me to make added revenue, really. And it’s 48 teams. You know, when have we had 48 teams before?
“I looked at how I’m going to bring this to life. What can I add? What deals are we going to do? What deals can we get - that’s the biggest one. Which wholesaler is doing what? Where can I pick up a pallet deal? Can I get some Haribo? Can I get crisps, or soft drinks? Can I get beer?”
The stores have been taken over for the tournament with deals, decorations and even an in-store screen which will show England’s matches. But behind all that, many of the mechanics worked out by Neil and his team have been solved well in advance, he said: “In store, we went live about 12 days before the first game, to get the feel for it and give us enough time to get it out there on social media.
“Prior to the World Cup, I was also looking on Amazon at what I could get my hands on - bunting, flags, footballs. I’ve even got 3G Turf, which I put out in front of my deals.”
Neil’s deals have taken some planning as well, he said: “In my store in Heacham we offer stone-baked pizzas, made literally a mile down the road, called Eric’s Pizza. So we’re trying to do a deal with them to see if we can offer a soft drink and pizza, and we’ve got the Co-op deals as well, which are good.
“The World Cup means increased stock levels in key lines - beer, barbecue products, snacks. It’s about looking at the margin. Can I lose a bit? And will I make it back in quantity? That’s the way you’ve got to look at it sometimes.
“Let’s say a can of Coke gives 40% margin. If I reduce it by 10%, I’m still getting a 30% margin but I’m selling a lot more. So it’s about looking at that.
“Sometimes the cash margin isn’t always the winner. It’s all about the quantity you can sell. The data helps us with that, so we know what’s going.
“We know what the best-sellers are, but also what are not. It’s about looking at different categories. Cross-category collaboration - I think that really works too.”
Neil has a host of other deals he’s got planned for the tournament, as he explained: “Two packets of Doritos and a Pepsi - it all comes under the same banner. The biggest thing is the strategic buying - what deals have we been able to get prior to this?
“So Stella Artois might be £7.25 for a pint can multipack. But if we can get it for five quid and we’re selling for £6.50, that’s still cheaper than a multiple. But at the same time, I’m driving footfall - little things like that are the deals we can integrate.”
With further plans for an in-store pub in the café area of one store, thanks to Neil’s on-licence and a special pint pouring machine brought in from home, his tournament is only just starting.
But how far does the retailer think England can really go? “I think they can win it. My son’s got them in a sweepstake too, so I hope we do, because I paid his fiver, so the prize is technically mine isn’t it, if we win?”
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