First step: Theory on Chandler, find what you do best and stick to it! Holland and Barrett Provide high quality products at value for money prices.
Holland & Barrett is Europe’s leading retailer of Vitamins, Minerals and Herbal Supplements. Our stores are a familiar sight in almost every major city and town across the United Kingdom and Ireland, where we operate over 620 outlets.?? Holland ; Barrett has the benefit of over 80 years of experience in the health supplement industry.We offer one of the most extensive staff-training programmes in the retail industry, an unparalleled range of natural health food products, as well as an intense commitment to quality goods at exceptional values.?? We apply those many years experience in working to bring our customers the most advanced formulas nutritional science has to offer. Everyday our scientists, working with the finest ingredients sourced from around the world, are searching to develop the breakthrough formulas of the future.??The original values set down all those years ago remain the same today, with Holland ; Barrett remaining committed to education ; advice, wide product range, quality assurance and everyday low prices.
Holland ; Barrett have one of the most comprehensive staff-training programmes within the health supplement industry. This on going mandatory package includes in-depth information on the background, actions and benefits of the wide range of nutritional and herbal supplements available in Holland ; Barrett stores.??Emphasis is placed on safety and contraindications for a products use such as during pregnancy or with existing medication or medical condition. All members of staff are required to complete this training programme to enable them to help our customers with their enquiries.?? Our commitment to training means our customers can confidently have access to clear concise information to help them make informed choices about the products they may want to include in their nutritional supplement regime. Quality Assurance Good value can’t be measured by cost alone; Holland & Barrett have an ntense commitment to quality.
We believe in using only the finest ingredients to create high quality products, which are religiously tested for potency and purity, ensuring they match up to the high standards we expect from them. Everyday Low Prices This is true now more than ever before because every time you buy a Holland and Barrett natural supplement you are actually buying direct from the manufacturer. We’ve cut out the middleman and this simple difference allows us to hold down the prices making significant savings for customers. Compare our prices with other high street retailers.
Health magzines the company is committed to education + advice, wide product range, quality assurance and everyday low prices. ere at Holland ; Barrett we don’t just want to be ‘good for you’, but ‘good for our planet’ as well. Being the UK’s leading health food store, we have been ‘green’ for years, well before it became fashionable. Summarised below are some of our policies, what we have done and what we are working towards. Throughout our history we have supported the manufacture and supply of the products we sell in ways which help to protect the world’s natural resources and habitats. We encourage all our suppliers to adopt an ethical policy when sourcing raw materials and in the treatment of their workforce. This is supported by a preferred supplier programme, which recognises those suppliers who have embraced our views.
* We have a dedicated team of auditors who regularly monitor the care, quality and responsibility exercised by our suppliers. Their aim is to maintain and improve the standards at each audit. * We ensure that all our advertising materials used in stores, our catalogues and our magazines are printed on renewable materials.
We strive to source organic equivalents of our food products wherever these are available. Our aim is to increase the number of organic products we sell year on year. * We will only use environmentally friendly cleaning products at our premises. * We insist that all of our products are free from genetically modified organisms. Chemicals Holland & Barrett is the UK’s 1st retailer to have no SLS and paraben free chemicals in their toiletry products.
Synthetic chemicals are everywhere and many of them are bad for our skin and for our environment.We are committed to sell our customers chemical free products with ranges such as Dr Organic and Dead sea magic. Waste Plan-it Green addresses waste management in terms of the waste we produce directly, through the activities of our businesses. We will ensure that over 90% of the packaging for our own label products is recyclable.
* We have invested in our own recycling centre based at our main distribution depot in Burton on Trent. This processes 95% of all our recyclable waste. * By 2012, we aim to make all consumer packaging on our products recyclable * We have introduced an electronic communication system with all of our stores.This will convert 90% of our internal communications from paper to electronic form, resulting in a massive saving in paper usage. * All of the packaging we use for transportation purposes is re-used or recycled.
In addition, we will continue to remove all unnecessary packaging from our products. * On 1st January 2010 we commit to having NO PLASTIC BAGS policy in our stores and ensure that all bag for life products, including cotton and Jute will be cost neautral to ensure they are affordable to our customers. Good News!In Quarter 4 we released our figures on own label packaging waste for 2007/2008, reporting that we met target for landfill waste by 50% in the second half of their financial year. This figure exceeded expectations and almost meets landfill targets set for 2012 with recycling rates continuing to increase. Steps being taken in our stores and offices: * Set computers, printers, etc. to go to “sleep” after a few minutes. * Print and copy double-sided to reduce paper use.
* Use recycled paper products. * Purchase furniture that is made of recycled products, and recycle or donate once it’s no longer needed. Turn off computers and lights at night. * Encourage recycling by having bins accessible around the office.
* Have re-useable ceramic mugs for coffee or water, rather than disposable ones. * Invested in the ‘save a cup scheme’ where disposable cups are necessary in our warehouse. Climate Change Our aim is to be carbon neutral; reducing our carbon emissions and, if they cannot be eliminated, investing in carbon offsetting programmes. * If any of our products have to be imported, we use sea freight – air freight is only used as a last resort. We deploy our own distribution fleet in ways which avoid the vehicles making journeys whilst empty.
We use the fleet to return store waste to our own recycling centre and, where possible, collect goods from our suppliers. * We pride ourselves on our knowledge, advice and service. We aim to extend the advice we give our customers to include climate change issues. * We are introducing a company-wide scheme which invites employees to contribute their own ideas for energy saving. The best ideas will be selected and implemented. * We will work closely with the Carbon Trust to measure and reduce our carbon emissions.We will also give financial support to organisations which provide carbon offsetting measures, such as local tree planting programmes. We intend to roll out smart meters in all stores to evaluate all energy we consume and take steps to lower our carbon footprint.
History Mr Aldis wants to concentrate on two key areas; value for money and good advice. We are a specialist retailer, you have to remember that. We are the only retailer able to provide the advice required.
Even in places like Boots, where there’s a pharmacist, there isn’t the same level of expertise,Staff training is key. The company has a rigorous training programme under which all staff are required to know the answers to 20 key questions (for example to do with the correct treatments for acne or premenstrual tension). At its most advanced level – the so-called Advanced Product Adviser level – the course teaches staff about how the eight systems of the human bodywork, such as the nervous system and the digestive system.
“The more someone understands, the more we can help,” says Mr Aldis. Competitors Alliance Boots GmbH| Zug, Switzerland|Co-operative Group Limited| Manchester, United Kingdom| Superdrug Stores Plc| | Alliance Boots GmbH| Zug, Switzerland| Co-operative Group Limited| Manchester, United Kingdom| Superdrug Stores Plc| | dis says H&B’s hand is strengthened considerably by the fact that it manufactures many of its own products. “We’ve just opened a new ? 7 million distribution and factory facility that combines all the Holland & Barrett, Julian Graves and GNC operations.
That gives us a combined 500,000 sq ft of distribution and warehousing, as well as specialist VMS and sports product manufacturing.Our new sports powder producing machine will save the company literally millions of pounds from not having to import whey from the US. ldis emphasizes the vital role of staff training. “In the end, it’s what separates us from our competitors. We invest millions in ensuring that our staff can advise customers knowledgeably and responsibly about natural health. If you walk into our stores and you’re suffering from IBS or PMT, our staff will know how to advise you. You won’t get that in Sainsbury’s or Boots, unless you go to the pharmacist — and even then you’d have to find one who was sympathetic to alternative medicine. As well as pursuing an aggressive store opening strategy, Holland & Barrett is expanding its online and ‘collect in store’ operations.
“We are working hard to develop a multiple channel business. Our online channel — www. hollandandbarrett. com — has been invested in heavily and now offers every product we have in store on a next day delivery basis”.
While he is concerned about the impact of European legislation on the health food business, and perplexed that the UK makes food supplements VATable (“there is simply no justification for treating supplements as a luxury”), Aldis remains optimistic about the future. We’re currently opening stores as a rate of knots. I think that probably tells you more than anything about how we see the future for the Holland & Barrett business and the future for natural health retailing. ” Perer Aldis describes the changes at Holland & Barrett over past few years — from green policies such as banning plastic bags, and removing parabens and SLS from all its personal care products, to the introduction of a food-to-go — as “very much an evolution of the brand” rather than a conscious re-positioning lland & Barrett has expanded considerably over the past few years following the acquisition of Julian Graves, the growth in online sales and the launch of a new loyalty programme which has seen significant investment.
In addition the company, which is owned by NBTY Europe, has in the past year seen a corporate investment of over ? 20 million with the opening of a new purpose built Head Office at Nuneaton and warehouse, distribution and packing site in Burton upon Trent.Phil Geary, NBTY Europe’s Group Director of Marketing, said: “In the current time of economic doom and gloom, we really are bucking the trend. Holland & Barrett is going from strength to strength and this is reflected in our need to recruit professional people into a number of roles, many of which are newly created to meet the needs of our rapidly growing business. “Our online offering has undergone extensive development over the past few months and this is one of the areas that we are looking to further develop to ensure we are maximising sales opportunities and meeting customer’s demands efficiently. In addition the buying department is a very exciting place to be at the moment with new facilities on offer to us at our Burton site enabling us to develop new commercially viable products and we look forward to welcoming tenacious and talented individuals on board to grow categories we have on offer Last year alone, NBTY Europe posted sales in excess of ? 400 million and opened more than 80 new stores.
The store opening programme has continued into 2011 with a new flagship store – Holland & Barrett’s 700th* – due to be opened on October 11 in Richmond, London.
