The Czech Republic Market
The Czech market is dominated by foreign retailers, and according to IGD Retail Analysis, this trend looks set to continue as major players step up their expansion plans in the market. Currently German-owned Schwarz Group and Rewe Group, Dutch chain Ahold and Tesco plc between them hold over 50% grocery retail market share. With foreign retailers having gained such a stronghold in the market, around 25% of food sold in the Czech Republic is imported.
The expansion of discount grocery retailing is leading to an intensification of price competition across all operators. Discount remains a key growth channel, as the market is currently relatively underdeveloped in this area.
Despite intense competition, there are also opportunities for the development of more premium products as affluent Czechs increasingly seek greater convenience and new eating experiences.
The Challenge
As the popularity of the discount operators grows, low prices and price promotions are becoming increasingly dominant. The challenge for TCC was to deliver a retail marketing programme in 280 Albert supermarkets and hypermarkets across the Czech Republic that differentiated the chain from the aggressive price driven promotions and incentivise customers to increase basket spend, drive repeat footfall and ultimately grow market share. Albert set a sales target to deliver a minimum 2.5% sales increase over the eight-week promotional period.
The Promotional Solution
An eight-week The Smurfs™ retail marketing programme was launched on 10th August 2011 in 280 Albert stores across the Czech Republic.
The family-focused retail promotional campaign linked to the launch of the new Smurfs 3-D movie and encouraged customers to collect a set of 24 Smurfs branded lenticular cards. One card was given away free with every 200 CZK (approx 8 Euros) spent. A collectors’ album was also available for purchase for (CZK39, 1.50 Euros).
To support the campaign, thousands of 20cm-high Smurfs were placed in public spaces across the country. Each was tagged with a logoed invitation to join the fun at Albert. Albert stores were decked throughout with an extensive portfolio of campaign materials and staff adopted blue Smurf-logoed uniforms for the duration of the campaign.
The Results
As a result of The Smurfs™ campaign, Albert saw sales increase by 7.2% over the promotional period – 288% above target. The chain also raised its market share by 1.5% and grew its new shoppers by 300,000 every week – gaining an extra 30% of the Czech population during the programme. Over the promotional period, 21 million cards were distributed in Albert stores and 200,000 albums sold.
Zlata Ulrichová, Head of Marketing, Albert, commented: “We were delighted with the way this programme created real additional value and appeal for our customers. TCC delivered a campaign with genuine stand-out, driving significant growth in sales for Albert.”
Jan Melmuka at TCC commented: “The campaign exceeded all our expectations in terms of sales uplift, the increase in footfall to Albert stores during the promotional period, and the greater basket spend that were all driven by the Smurfs campaign. We are delighted with the results.”
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