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31
August 2011 | Adam Leach
When
negotiating for a major brand, such as Playboy, talking to the right people at
a supplier who understand its value is crucial.
This
is the view of Tom Woodham, director of consultancy Crimson & Co,
which was given six weeks to set up sourcing strategy for drinks at the Playboy nightclub in London, which opened in June.
He
told SM communicating the overall
worth of the Playboy brand to suppliers such as Diageo and Bacardi was critical
in negotiations.
“Getting
to the right people so that we had the marketing team for the brand owners
involved, because they saw the value potential in working with a brand like
Playboy, whereas the standard sales guys weren’t as aware of that. So it was
about working with the right level within the suppliers,” he told SM.
As
a result, it was important to assure suppliers they would see the benefit of a
relationship. “The other key thing was building conditions into the tender so
that they could see they would get a return.” These included making clear to suppliers
the potential brand awareness and promotional opportunities provided by special
parties, press releases and shelf space in the club's three separate bars.
The
purchasing strategy introduced covered a £2.5 million spend on drinks for one
year at the venue, which is owned by LondonClubs International.
Woodham
and his team implemented a seven stage sourcing process. Key to its success was
working closely with the stakeholders, especially the managers of the club’s
three different bars.
“They
all had slightly different favourites and slightly different desires, but we
were very clear that we wanted one set of drinks across the club,” said
Woodham. “So we had different side meeting with each of them and then got all
together to work out a plan.”
