
Rationalising the range
Retailers Meten Lakhani, of Premier St Mary’s Supermarket in Southampton, and Gursh Singh, of Kings Wines in Feltham, west London, took part in the trial from July to October 2024, which had several aims, among them to show how retailers can drive sales with Wall’s ‘Five steps to sell’ advice.
These steps are: choose the right freezer for your business; stock Wall’s bestselling products; stock innovations and exciting flavours; draw attention to your cabinet with free PoS; and keep your cabinet clean and well stocked.
Before the trial, both retailers were over-stocking their impulse ice cream freezer baskets with more lines than recommended, cluttering their ranges. Singh had 24 lines in a 12-basket freezer, while Lakhani was selling 19 in his 18-basket freezer, with Ben & Jerry’s take-home tubs among them. The first step was to refine these ranges to ensure all lines available stood out to shoppers. Own-label lines and slow sellers were removed, while value-friendly branded lines were brought in and popular lines such as Magnum were given additional listings. Lakhani also reintroduced Solero Exotic, a top seller for him in 2023, but one he had stopped stocking by the time of the trial.

Throughout the trial, different products such as Cornetto Go, Magnum, Twister and Calippo Orange were introduced at different points.
Strong results
Both retailers viewed the trial as a success. Lakhani’s ice cream unit sales increased by 26.2% compared to the same period in 2023, while his value sales rose from £1,277 to £1,805.51, a 41% increase. Meanwhile, sales of all four key Wall’s brands – Magnum, Calippo, Cornetto and Twister – grew in Singh’s store. Cornetto saw the best performance, increasing by 142%. Singh attributed this increase to the reduction of his range, which turned some shoppers away when they found out he wasn’t stocking certain “pocket-money” lines, but which caused others to trade up to lines such as Cornetto Go. Branded lines are also important for Singh due to the high level of competition around him. A mixture of supermarkets, convenience stores and newsagents is near his shop, so stocking a simplified range of core bestsellers, with branded new flavours and formats, is crucial to maintaining his sales. These strong sales also occurred despite unfavourable weather. The average weekly temperature in the second half of the trial in Singh’s area was 5.5°C cooler than in the year before, and 3.4°C cooler in Lakhani’s. Ice cream has a reputation for “selling itself” over summer, but this trial showed that a proactive approach to ranging can pay dividends, even in poor conditions that can affect shopper attitudes.

Key takeaways
The principal takeaway from both retailers’ sales during the trial was the role of space in the category. Many stores won’t have room for large ice cream chillers, but cramming as many lines as possible into a 12-basket chiller is counterintuitive and won’t be as good for sales as a cleanly stocked chiller with clearly visible products. Both retailers stocked fewer lines during the trial than before and still saw sales increases across key Wall’s lines. Additionally, the visibility of the chiller plays a role in what sells. Lakhani said that as shoppers approach one side of his freezer first due to its positioning, this was a “hot spot” for sales, so he focused on this side first and most often. Ice cream also behaves differently to many other convenience categories, with shoppers returning less frequently and heavily influenced by the weather. The length of the trial and its different focuses, alongside rep visits and EPoS check-ins, allowed both retailers to see in real time what worked and what didn’t.
Insight in action

Meten Lakhani, Premier St Mary’s Supermarket, Southampton: “Sometimes I’m a bit stubborn. But this trial taught me something: to not just stick to what we’ve been selling for the past 20 years. We can branch out and win.
The sales increases we saw across lines such as Twister and Magnum, purely by offering a full range, displayed together, and engaging with the newest flavour variations, was fantastic. Also, in a difficult trading environment where my shoppers don’t have as much money in their pockets, to increase sales overall by more than 40% is amazing. Knowing that this is possible with a focused approach is something I
can apply to other lines in store.
I also learned about how my shoppers actually shop my freezer. Because of where it is, they approach from one side first, so that has to be my ‘hot spot’, and the area where I drive real value for both my shoppers and me.”

Gursh Singh, Kings Wines, Feltham, west London: “I have no negatives about this trial. I’ve learned how to more effectively range my freezer, to keep high-end products in the display, and that shoppers will trade up to known brands when they are offered them.
It was really interesting to see the dramatic increase in sales of products that I have sold for years – in particular Cornetto and Twister – driven not only by new lines and
flavours, but also by making my display simpler and easier for shoppers to see what is available.
The big takeaway here is that even if you think you have space, it isn’t necessarily the right thing to do to cram too much on your shelves. You can encourage shoppers to trade up, and maintain your sales, by stocking the biggest brands more effectively.”
For more information, or to get in touch with your local Wall’s representative, click here
This feature is created by Newtrade Insight. Data is gratefully received from the two retailers who participated in a 12-week trial of Wall’s ice cream. Any data from other sources is cited.
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