Londis has won the Social-Media Campaign of the Year Award for its ‘Overheard in Londis’ advertising campaign, featuring Liam and Des, at the 2022 National Digital Awards. Digital Business Ireland announced the winners of the 2022 awards recently, at an event in the Gibson Hotel, Dublin. The National Digital Awards are a platform to showcase ‘the very best and brightest in digital and online enterprise and reward businesses, innovators, organisations and people who have showcased exceptional digital prowess.’ Londis won in what was a very competitive category, further boosting its credentials as an industry leader. Commenting, Suzanne Weldon, chief marketing and communications officer, BWG Foods, said, “We are delighted with how our campaign resonated with our customers and the general public. Londis is a brand that is always seeking to evolve, and this award is just recognition of how we are continuing to challenge ourselves and grow our overall offering and enhance our brand.”
Supermarket chain Casino noted that it was in exclusive talks to combine its French retail business with smaller food retailer Teract, as it seeks to reassure investors over its ability to generate cash and reduce debt. Casino, controlled by 73-year-old Jean-Charles Naouri, also noted that it plans to further cut costs this year, after reporting a 5.9% decline in 2022 group operating profit, hurt by a slump at its core French operations and weak fourth-quarter sales, reports Reuters. The company, which has been selling assets to cut debt, reiterated that it aimed to complete the final €400 million leg of its €4.5 billion disposal plan in France by the end of 2023. Casino, which also controls Brazil’s Grupo Pão de Açúcar, noted that it will continue selling assets in Latin America this year.
As part of Spar’s 60th anniversary celebrations, the brand has partnered with actor Colm Meaney to deliver a powerful radio ad to celebrate the special occasion. The ad was commissioned as a 60-second edit, to allow Meaney to deliver a manifesto-style piece ‘that cuts through with great gravitas’. According to Spar, working with a world-famous actor like Meaney allowed the script and messaging to be elevated and delivered through masterful storytelling. The ad chronicles the journey of Irish society over the past 60 years and details how Spar has been at the forefront of the most monumental changes in Irish society during that time. The striking script transports the listener down memory lane, with Meaney recalling the introduction of sliced bread, the time when Irish consumers veered from instant coffee to freshly brewed coffee in an instant, as well as the birth of the jambon pastry, the chicken fillet roll, and the breakfast roll that built a nation.
Dutch retailer Jumbo has announced the appointment of Ton van Veen as its new chief executive officer and Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd as chair of its supervisory board, reports ESMmagazine.com. Since 2004, van Veen has been part of Jumbo and – along with Karel, Colette, Frits and Monique van Eerd – was instrumental in the success of the chain, which has grown from 30 to over 700 stores in 20 years. Commenting on his new role, van Veen stated, “Jumbo is a great family business with a unique culture based on entrepreneurship. In all those years that he was CEO, Frits van Eerd [...] played a very important role in the growth and success of Jumbo.”
Czech headline inflation eased to 16.7%, year on year, in February, reinforcing the view that surging price growth is moving past a peak, as the central bank seeks to maintain stable interest rates. Inflation around Central Europe has surged in the past year – more than elsewhere in Europe – as food prices have jumped alongside energy costs, reports Reuters. Central banks in the region started battling price pressures in 2021 – sooner than other European Union policymakers – and have thus ended hiking cycles, even as global central banks like the ECB and US Federal Reserve continue to tighten them.
Read More: Weekly Round-Up ... 7 March 2023
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