Each year as part of the IAA’s Academy in Action programme, we visit 12 independent retailers to help them make simple improvements in their stores in order to increase sales and profits.

In October, we visited Asman Hussain’s shop in Airdrie along with Mars Wrigley’s Helen Richardson to look and create an action plan to improve and anticipate shopper desires . We catch up with Asman to find out what’s changed since our visit.

IAA advice

1. Work towards a 95% target across all store categories

2. Identify core range products and agree minimum stock levels

3. Work with suppliers to identify the best range for your store

The results

“We took it one category at a time, introducing availability targets and identifying a core range. In confectionery I used to wait until I had six bars left to reorder, but now I reorder at 10 bars, so I rarely run out of stock.

“I also worked with suppliers such as Mars Wrigley to identify a core range and top sellers, as well as the best promotions to run. Sales of hanging bags and block bars have grown hugely since doing this, resulting in a 37% increase across the category.”

Partner advice

“Consumers make purchasing decisions based on what they can see and what appeals the most so it’s great that Asman is benefitting from focusing on these key points. Strong availability drives sales across every store.”

Helen Richardson, Category Strategy Manager, Mars Wrigley

Find out how the visit went in the follow-up feature. Click here