2. Initial issues to overcome in the category
Back in September 2014 there were significant gaps in the range, there were no licences. There were major price errors and there
was no collaboration with the Paper Tableware department.
Price issues
• Our best-selling set of decorations was the set of 3 Floral Fiesta Honeycomb Decorations.
• There were 3 sets different sets of honeycomb decorations from the same supplier with the same cost prices but they all
had different prices ranging between £5 to over £8, obviously the cheapest one was the best seller and the other two were
poor sellers.
• We also had fabric bunting being sold for less than paper bunting and the Superhero bunting, was being sold with a cost
price of £2.30 and a retail price of £2.76 for 2 months.
Gaps
• We were missing out on licenced party themes, for example frozen, minions, Spiderman etc which were doing well across all
categories but we had no offering for this in party.
• We also had almost 40 different styles of bunting, but no balloons or party poppers.
Exposure
• There was very limited exposure on the site for party lines, there were no lines on the homepage or check out and there
were no banners or promotions to push sales for the existing lines
Collaboration
• We were not offering any full ranges across Paper Tableware and Party because they are separate categories. However,
Ocado should be able to offer full party ranges regardless of who the areas are owned by, there’s no reason to not
communicate and work together to do what’s best for the customers and the business, this could help sales for both areas
and encourage customer to buy into ranges rather than individual items.
Solutions:
• The party category and the paper tableware category now have regular catch ups and joint supplier meetings so that going
forward we are maximising sales by offering full ranges.
• There is now a years promotional plan in place which coincides with paper tableware category and there are graphic
banners on the site and there are lines regularly placed on homepage or check out.
• I did a lot of work on balancing the pricing on the existing lines while maintaining a healthy margin across the category
• I delisted poor sellers and built up a new party range using new suppliers and including licence's.
3. Suppliers
• Last year the main suppliers proved to
be expensive for decorations and
favours and they do not offer current
licences, and while they were and are
continuing to work well for Paper
tableware, they have not had strong
sales across the party category.
• Considering that previously there were
several issues on the category with
incorrect prices and certain lines being
sold at cost. It’s not a good sign that
these were still not very strong sellers.
• The value lines from suppliers, which
was previously ranged were extremely
poor sellers and are still more expensive
than the new core party range.
• The majority of the current party range
is now sourced from suppliers who
offer competitive pricing and a variety of
licences and colours
• We are also now offering Illoom light up
balloons Balloons, which have proved
very popular with our customer, these
are Tesco price matched at £3.50 per
pack of 5
£0.80p each
4. New Licences
• The Disney Princess & Amazing Spiderman licences are selling well with the customers
• The new Frozen lines and Minions lines have been selling out quickly as expected. The supplier has a lack of stock at the moment as
some lines have done so well.
• Upcoming trends in licences to tie in with new film releases Avengers (already selling fast) Starwars, Jurassic park
5. Cash Basket (weeks 1 to 11) YOY growth
£0.00
£0.01
£0.01
£0.02
£0.02
£0.03
£0.03
£0.04
£0.04
£0.05
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Week Number
£0.00
£0.05
£0.10
£0.15
£0.20
£0.25
£0.30
Total
All Selected Items
£0.00
£0.02
£0.04
£0.06
£0.08
£0.10
£0.12
PARTY BANNERS &
BUNTING
PARTY CANDLES &
SPARKLERS
PARTY CONFETTI &
PARTY POPPERS
PARTY DECORATIONS
& BALLOONS
PARTY PARTY BAGS &
FAVOURS
PARTY PARTY GAMES
& PINATAS
PARTY PARTY HATS &
ACCESSORIES
20132014
20142015
6. Cash Sales (weeks 1 to 11) YOY growth
£0
£1,000
£2,000
£3,000
£4,000
£5,000
£6,000
£7,000
£8,000
£9,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Week Number
£0
£10,000
£20,000
£30,000
£40,000
£50,000
£60,000
Total
All Selected Items
£0
£2,000
£4,000
£6,000
£8,000
£10,000
£12,000
£14,000
£16,000
£18,000
£20,000
PARTY BANNERS &
BUNTING
PARTY CANDLES &
SPARKLERS
PARTY CONFETTI &
PARTY POPPERS
PARTY DECORATIONS
& BALLOONS
PARTY PARTY BAGS &
FAVOURS
PARTY PARTY GAMES
& PINATAS
PARTY PARTY HATS &
ACCESSORIES
20132014
20142015
7. Cash Margin (weeks 1 to 11) YOY growth
£0
£500
£1,000
£1,500
£2,000
£2,500
£3,000
£3,500
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Week Number
£0
£5,000
£10,000
£15,000
£20,000
£25,000
Total
All Selected Items
£0
£1,000
£2,000
£3,000
£4,000
£5,000
£6,000
£7,000
£8,000
£9,000
PARTY BANNERS &
BUNTING
PARTY CANDLES &
SPARKLERS
PARTY CONFETTI &
PARTY POPPERS
PARTY DECORATIONS
& BALLOONS
PARTY PARTY BAGS &
FAVOURS
PARTY PARTY GAMES
& PINATAS
PARTY PARTY HATS &
ACCESSORIES
20132014
20142015
