WITH minimum pack sizes coming down the line, Richard Booth of Bestway Wholesale has offered his assessment of where the market may go after 20 May.
Booth said that although new pack size legislation will remove many of the best-selling packs from gantries, retailers should still make sure to stock the stalwarts.
“The key brands to stock will be Amber Leaf, Golden Virginia, Gold Leaf and Cutters Choice who between them currently have 80% of the total RYO sector,” he said.
Minimum pack sizes may remove best-selling formats, but Booth reckons there are positives for retailers as, “for every larger pack a retailer sells, they make more margin”.
“The flip side is that you may not see that customer again for a couple of days as the pack will take longer to consumer therefore missing out on the incremental purchases the shopper will buy in addition to tobacco.
“Tobacco customers spend more than double that of non-tobacco customers and therefore every effort should be made to keep these customers onside,” he said.
