Norman Collett Ltd has been at the heart of the English top-fruit marketing for a quarter of a century. Supplying Kentish apples and pears to Somerfield, Tesco and the wholesale sector, the company is one of the few remaining English-only marketing desks and is happy to be that way. Tommy Leighton talks to md Andy Sadler.

Paddock Wood has been home to Norman Collett since it first opened its doors to the top-fruit business 25 years ago last April. Pastures new were found in September 2001, when larger premises were acquired at the distribution centre to manage fast-expanding volumes. The last 12 months have brought continued growth and, in an industry that becomes more competitive with every season, Andy Sadler remains extremely confident that the medium and long-term outlooks offer fresh expansion opportunities.

Throughout those 25 years the vast majority of the fruit marketed by Collett's has been provided by either Mid-Kent Growers or Spymark Growers, in east Kent. Not only is the company an English-only business, it is also a Kent-only operation. The volume of apples and pears coming through the two co-operatives has topped the 1million box mark in recent seasons and continues to maintain an upward curve. "We have also acquired a number of new growers in the last year," says Sadler. "Some see the benefits of being involved in a producer organisation and will be incorporated in one of the co-ops, but others like their independence and there is no pressure placed on them to give that up. We have more growers now than ever, which I think is an indication that we are doing a more than reasonable job."

The top-fruit sector is responsible for "99 per cent" of Collett's business. "As well as apples and pears, we do market some of our growers' cherries and plums. Ninety per cent of our fruit is sold to the retail sector and the rest goes to wholesalers."

The company has increased its volume year-on-year, to the point where a switch of premises was imperative. "The new premises give us a lot more capacity, which has enabled us to improve our management systems, increase cold storage space and enhance our logistical co-ordination. We had outgrown the previous site and it was becoming outdated." The move down the road added to the feeling of a new age having dawned at the company. "The founding directors have all now either retired or moved on and we have a relatively young, but experienced, team of directors in place," says Sadler. Both Sadler himself and site manager/director Ashley Bernhard have been with the company for more than 20 years and supermarket sales director Sean Tolton and warehouse manager/director Ron Green have notched up more than a decade in situ. All four are in their 30s or 40s.

One of those founders, Norman Collett, was the last name on the visitor list prior to the Journal's arrival. "He is not involved, but still retains an interest in how the business is performing. This was his business after all," Sadler says. "The current directors share an enthusiasm and hard work ethic and we all feel there is a sound future for English growers," he adds. "We intend to do whatever is needed to ensure that".

While retailers continue to rationalise their supplier base and a number of companies never before associated with English top fruit join the circle, Sadler remains content with his company's strategic direction. "Obviously, we are not the norm anymore," he says. "The fact that we have always focused solely on the English crop has helped us. It definitely helps to concentrate the mind when there is nothing to side-track you from your core business. There is a little downtime from April to July, but that gives us an excellent opportunity to take stock and evaluate the season just gone and plan exhaustively for the next campaign.

"I think the rationalisation process was inevitable. The retailers understandably want streamlined operations that are dedicated and loyal to their businesses and in some case they probably weren't getting that. A lot of restructuring had to happen for their goals to be achieved.

"Category management has kicked in now and it enables us to focus closely on the requirements of our customers, understand their demands and dedicate ourselves to working with them in the way they want. There has to be a benefit for companies that are able to consistently deliver the right product of the right quality and at the right price and it is a two-way street. We are all working together to improve performance and return as much as possible to the grower."

There is no contractual agreement between Collett's and its growers, an arrangement that has never been any different and demonstrates confidence in long-standing and deep-rooted relationship-based negotiation. "Our growers are at liberty to leave whenever they like, but we haven't lost any and that must mean they're happy," Sadler says. "It is an old-school, traditional way of looking at things, but it works for us."

With an arrangement like that, seasons like 2001/2 can't come around too often. However, Collett's performed well in a bad year, he adds. "Our growers received higher returns than the industry average last year and we like to think it was good marketing that achieved that. Being on top of the crop at all times and planning well in advance stood us in good stead.

"There are a few difficulties this year too, but the situation has improved. The lighter Cox and Bramley crops should lead to better prices, but there are significant grading problems with both varieties. Cox has started well and hopefully it will move on. The Gala crop is also good, but prices will be competitive as the French have an excessive volume.

"The Conference crop is similar in volume to last year, but large volumes from Belgium and the Netherlands will make the marketplace far more competitive and bring pricing back to normal."

As a marketer in such a dynamic marketplace, you're often damned if you do and damned if you don't. Growers with a bumper crop expect bumper windfalls ?st year showed that can't always be the case. And growers with a smaller crop then fall back on the demand and supply equation, expecting prices to rise accordingly ?fortunately reality rarely reflects their logic. "Information is key", says Sadler. "We communicate on a regular basis with our grower base. At this point of the season, we talk with them on most days, to assess the crop and immediate availability. It's simple ? you don't know what you've got to sell, how can you sell it or put the marketing plan in place to optimise performance?

"I can tell you now, the number of boxes of every variety we market that we need to sell each week to get out of the market at the right time, and the effect that rate of sale is likely to have on prices. This is vital, particularly when factoring in promotional activity. If the market is moving too slowly, promotional activity can pep it up, if it is moving too quickly, a price increase does the trick."

With Somerfield, there is a great deal of flexibility on the promotional front and to ensure this, discussions about the season begin in early May. "We meet in May to build a basic understanding of the crop and from that we create a promotional calendar," says Sadler, "which deciphers the varieties we need to move and when.

"Somerfield is extremely supportive of English growers and we have a promotional programme for English apples from August 1 to December 31 this year. They understand seasonality and the need to provide reasonable returns to the growers and are also aware of the wider issues in the industry. There is flexibility in the way we work with Somerfield, which allows us to react to specific situations and sell as high a proportion of the English crop as possible without reducing the consistency of the offer. These promotions do not mean the grower will receive less money, but do ensure that their fruit is featured prominently in stores nation-wide for a prolonged period."

Somerfield has also retained its interest in some of the more traditional English varieties and will this season stock a dessert portfolio of Cox, Gala, Russet, Spartan, Worcester, Discovery, Jonagold, Laxton Superb, Laxton Fortune, Charles Ross, Chivers Delight, Cameo and Sweet Lilibet.

The last on that list is the re-named Alkemene, a Cox sport that was named in honour of the Queen and exclusively grown for Somerfield for a week-long window in late September to early October. "The fruit was very well-received in store, it is sweet and has a limited shelf-life, which allows it to have a premium price. Sweet Lilibet was marketed as a special variety, after a nation-wide schools competition to name it," says Sadler.

Cameo is one of the more interesting apples in the market and Collett's took on the marketing of the Cameo Club members' fruit last year. "We are only marketing English fruit, but I went to France to see how they grow it out there. Cameo has a good flavour, it is very sweet and stores very well. Both Tesco and Somerfield agreed to stock it and we sold the entire crop in two weeks in late February/early March. It is another red English apple to market after the domestic Gala season ends and as it is a club apple and volumes are limited, it can be marketed at a premium. Any growers wishing to plant Cameo, please give us a call as we are keen to expand our English growing base."

Braeburn is causing a stir, as Journal readers would have noted last week, and Collett's does have some available in the February window. However, Sadler adds: "We will have very limited volumes. It is a commodity variety and there is a general reluctance amongst our growers to plant it as you need to grow a large volume if you want to make money out of it. It is a global apple and England is on the fringe of its climatic ideal."

Cox is the bedrock of the industry and Sadler believes there is little indication of change. "Our customers are very positive about the future of Cox. It is our major strength and even though last season was not a good one, the variety still has unique attributes and provides consistent quality to the market. We are still encouraging our growers to plant the variety ?ere is no doubt area is reducing overall, but for growers that grow it well, it will continue to deliver returns."

Bramley, he adds, has dropped off in popularity, but is far from a lost cause. "It has been a disappointing few years for fresh Bramley sales ? do not get involved with processing ?d it has had to fight to maintain its place in the market. But the good work of the Bramley Campaign Group has at least stabilised things and a more co-ordinated industry-wide approach to marketing the crop would certainly improve matters."

The onset of the UK top-fruit crop has always been the subject of excitement and never more so than in 2002. "Somerfield and other retailers are making a lot more noise than they used to about their support for British horticulture in general," says Sadler. "With some retailers, that is without doubt designed to score political points. Both of our customers are paying far more than lip service to this idea though. Somerfield's corporate view is that they want to support English growers as far as they possibly can and they most definitely do."

SOMERFIELD'S ANGLOCENTRIC APPROACH PAYS DIVIDENDS

Gary Beggs, Somerfield's senior product group manager for bananas, top fruit and citrus, says that in working with Norman Collett (80 per cent) and SGT (20 per cent) on its English apple business, Somerfield is making a statement of its commitment to the country's industry.

The latest Taylor Nelson Sofres figures show the supermarket group's share of the English apple business stood at 5.6 per cent on expenditure and 4.8 per cent on volume in the last four weeks, against a 52-week figure of 3.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively. Beggs says this is a reflection of a successful English season to date and proof that the Somerfield strategy is delivering results.

Collett's and SGT are both UK-only top fruit desks and Beggs adds: "We have gone down the route of asking English companies to supply our English apples because we believe it adds focus to our business and also to growers who know that the marketing desk has their interests at heart. We think it is the right way to go, rather than using a supplier that is sharing its efforts between English and imported fruit."

The Sweet Lilibet competition that drew to a close with the presentation of the new strain to Buckingham Palace two weeks ago is one part of a strategy to add interest to the top-fruit category, he says. "We wanted to encourage schools to get involved to both increase awareness of English apples and support the on-going Fruit for Schools initiative. The response to this competition was overwhelming. More than 1,000 schools took part and it was nice to see it follow through into stores. It adds to the pester power, it creates a vibe in-store and overall, it adds to the shop for the Somerfield customer."

Since August, the multiple's stores have been busy promoting UK apples at every opportunity, but in a planned manner. "It is a process of sitting down with the supplier and the growers and planning shelf space to get the best performance out of the apples when they are in prime condition, while ensuring the best balance of returns across the season," says Beggs. "The promotions vary ?ey are not deep cut or at the expense of cost and sometimes they are funded by us, sometimes by the supplier. The aim is to get product on shelf, particularly with early varieties such as Discovery and Worcester with short windows. They are the first representation of English apples each season and have to be managed very carefully.

"Discovery for instance may not be the best apple, but if you look at it in reverse, the alternative is to put US apples on the shelf that have been in storage for 10 months. We do not believe that growers should be looking to extend shelf life of these varieties, but they do have a place in the market for some time to come. The important thing is that between us, we find the right mechanics to push the product through store.

"Cox is key. I have always said that good quality Cox will always sell and we have a stream of customers that ask us why they can't buy English Cox in the summer. I think if people market the fruit properly and the quality is maintained, we will return to a premium price point for Cox, the future of the variety lies in its quality, not in price promotion."

Adding interest to the apple fixture has also seen the introduction of Cameo, and Beggs believes that the size of Somerfield allows it to introduce new varieties that are only available in limited volumes and timeframes more easily. "We can manage smaller volumes better. We only had X amount of Sweet Lilibet for instance and we limited it to our southern stores, whereas with Cameo last year we were able to spread the 5,000 boxes to every store in the country."

 Norman Collett Ltd - English Apple and Pear Marketing