Booker Group has teamed up with former football internationals Emile Heskey and Robert Snodgrass to help its Premier, Londis and Budgens retailers drive sales during this summer’s football World Cup.
The campaign comes as late-night and early-morning kick-offs are expected to boost demand for at-home viewing occasions, with shoppers likely to stock up locally on snacks, drinks and meal solutions around matches.
Heskey and Snodgrass have been visiting symbol stores in Yorkshire and Glasgow to promote the role of local convenience shops in supporting football watch parties and top-up shopping missions during the tournament.
Booker said the activity is designed to help its network of 8,453 independent symbol retailers maximise sales opportunities linked to football viewing occasions over the summer.
More than half of the tournament’s fixtures are scheduled to kick off at 10pm or later, creating opportunities for convenience retailers to capture demand for “food-for-now” and “food-for-later” purchases, particularly during evening and late-night trading.
The wholesaler said it is supporting retailers with a mix of new product launches and established best-sellers across food and drink categories aimed at shoppers preparing for matches or making impulse purchases during games.
Colm Johnson, retail managing director at Booker, said the tournament represented a major sales opportunity for local stores.
“The summer of football is nearly upon us, so stores should assemble their winning lines and best-sellers to encourage football fans to stock up on the essentials locally – whether it’s for a planned purchase or for an impromptu shop,” he said.
“With this activity, we’re letting football fans know that Premier, Londis and Budgens stores can play a part in their preparations, whether it’s an early fixture or late-night start.”
Robert SnodgrassPhoto: Handout
Former England striker Heskey said local convenience stores could play an important role during the tournament period as communities gather to watch matches together.
“You can feel the excitement building across the nation as we get closer to the tournament. This is where communities come together, and watching these matches with friends and family is such a huge part of what makes these summers special,” he said.
“To be involved with this campaign and show fans that they can support their local convenience store, while getting watch-party ready has been something I’m really pleased about. The selection on offer is amazing, and it’s an important message we’re putting out to really place local shops at the heart of the tournament.”
Former Scotland midfielder Snodgrass added that the tournament would create strong demand for local food and drink shopping missions.
“To be competing on such an international stage is not something Scotland has been able to do very often in my lifetime. This makes this summer even more exciting,” he said.
“Scottish football fans won’t want to miss any of the action, and having such great food and drinks options on their doorstep will not only allow viewers to watch all of the action, they’ll be supporting local stores in the process.”