- £1mmarketing costs saved, a 30% reduction
- £4 → £6return on advertising spend
- +8%sales from a new campaign planning process
- £300k → £1msupplier income from a new retail media network
The situation
SPAR UK is one of the country's leading grocery convenience retailers, with 2,500 stores, a £2.7bn turnover and five regional distribution centres. I joined as Marketing & Digital Controller on a six-month contract in 2025.
The brief was to put an effective marketing strategy in place: drive sales by growing footfall and basket size, and put the customer at the heart of marketing planning.
What I did
- A strategic marketing review. I looked at every line of spend and what it returned, then moved money from activity that wasn't changing behaviour to activity that was.
- A new campaign planning process. This created a more compelling and relevant trade plan, with competitive offers aligned to what customers want at each point in the year.
- A new retail media network. I built a central retail media offer so suppliers could reach SPAR shoppers in a planned, measurable way.
- An agency pitch to find the right creative partner, with a clear brief and an open, collaborative process.
- Improvements to the SPAR UK website, working with the digital agency, and a national charity partnership with Marie Curie.
The results
Marketing costs fell by 30%, a saving of £1m, while return on advertising spend rose from £4 to £6 for every £1 spent. The new planning process lifted sales by 8%. And the retail media network took supplier income from £300k to £1m.
What other retailers can take from it
- Spending less and selling more can happen at the same time, if you measure what is really incremental.
- A trade plan built around the customer's mindset beats one built around what suppliers want to promote.
- Retail media can become a serious income line quickly when the proposition is clear.
Tim made an immediate impact through the creation of a new blueprint for our Marketing Plan. He also put in place a new Retail Media Centre which is on track to deliver double the level of income previously generated.
