Following our exciting announcement a few weeks ago, the eXPD8 team are deep into the planning of bringing to life the phased roll-out of The Entertainer stores in Tesco stores nationwide! eXPD8 will support The Entertainer with all elements of in-store merchandising relating to the initial set-up and ongoing operation across the concession, from March 2024 onwards.
Becoming the key field marketing partner for such an iconic brand such as The Entertainer is something we are immensely proud of, and having worked across some of the trial stores, we have lots of experience to draw from. Planning a roll-out of this scale is no mean feat, but it’s something that we are well versed at; drawing on our 20 years of experience and thorough knowledge of retail, especially within Tesco, having been their preferred Field Marketing partner for several years.
There are many moving parts to align in order to hit the first phase of launch dates successfully. We have therefore set up a project team in Central Office that meets daily, along with weekly calls with The Entertainer team to ensure everyone is fully informed during every step of the process. At eXPD8, we thrive on process and meticulous planning, so the team are working to a detailed project plan that ensures we capture everything from IT and Data, to HR and Resourcing, Marketing and Operations and everything in between.
With less than 4 weeks until the first phase of launches go live, our first key step is to survey the stores to identify the space and measure up so the relevant point of sale and signage can be ordered. Our fully employed and trained merchandising team follow a detailed brief and pass back the relevant information and photos for every store in the UK, allowing us to understand any issues and plan accordingly.
The next phase is focused on the initial set-up, including everything from managing the matrix of planograms, to understanding how the stock will arrive, to printing shelf-edge labels, and not forgetting how we manage the huge variety of space in store that ranges from just one ‘MOD’ (modular unit) to up to 30!
In the meantime, our resourcing team are in the process of identifying where any gaps are so we can get recruiting and then start inducting and training the team so they are fully emersed in The Entertainment brand and the standards we hold ourselves to.
It’s an exciting time full of decision-making, problem-solving and fast-paced action! Luckily, we’ve done this many times before and our detailed knowledge and experience of working within Tesco gives us complete confidence that we’ll deliver an excellent first phase of roll-outs for The Entertainer.
Watch this space as we count down to launch!
