Competition Commission rulings mean prices and innovation will become major weapons in the battle for freezer cabinet share, says Tim Palmer A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the impulse ice cream market. The Competition Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry have signalled the end of freezer exclusivity for Birds Eye Wall's. So traders trying to finalise stocking and range policies ahead of the summer ice cream sales peak are left wondering whether to open Wall's freezers up to rival products ­ or to stick with the established moneymakers. Meanwhile, the fine detail of future agreements between Birds Eye Wall's and retailers has yet to be determined while BEW thrashes the matter out with the Office of Fair Trading and the DTI. Only last week, loud complaint came from Birds Eye Wall's main rivals over the implementation date for undertakings over the impulse ice cream market, with Nestlé and Mars claiming the date for opening up freezers had slipped from April 1 to June 1. The DTI insisted nothing would be decided until the end of this month when it heard from the Director General of Fair Trading about his consultation with companies [The Grocer, March 11, p6]. Nisa-Today's has taken the bull by the horns and is about to launch its ice cream brochure for 2000, although some details are still to be finalised. Buying controller Andrew Hirst says: "The various pieces on the impulse side are coming together. Wall's has a number of contingency plans and everything is about to be set up. It is a case of saying ­ this is my range for the season and waiting for the terms to come together. Retailers are looking at a wide range of issues and if we get sorted out early they will come to us." Scottish convenience store operator Morning, Noon and Night is supplied solely by Wall's but that could soon change if the suppliers start talking. Marketing director Stephen Thompson says: "We would like more of an industry combination in the cabinets with more lines from Mars, but we haven't got into negotiations with anyone yet. "No one has had discussions and there is a lot more information to come out." He adds the Wall's products are more profitable for MN&N but "consumers don't give two hoots about that and they clearly want some of the Mars products". He believes there could still be a questionmark over all the free on loan freezer cabinets in the trade. "If Wall's pull theirs out it would probably cost us £80,000 to replace them in all 40 of our stores, and we cannot afford that." Spar's trading director Keith Webb welcomes the freedom offered by the Competition Commission decision. "We are now looking at what the changes will be. Before we decide which way we go we will be negotiating with the major players. "For the independent symbol groups we have to be able to provide choice with a range of options, but for our controlled estate we can make a decision and implement it. All the major brands will be making pitches to get their brands into the cabinets." Webb says he wants to provide a competitive offer and suggests price will become a weapon as more people come into the arena and try to gain market share. "There is now a reason to negotiate with Wall's. In the past the business has been driven by who will provide the most free freezers." One of the spin offs for the consumer could be a rash of exciting new product developments. Webb says: "Someone with a brilliant idea now has a better chance of getting it on sale." Good news for BEW is the positive reaction from T&S Stores, one of BEW's largest customers in the impulse sector. Buying director Geoff Purdy does not believe there is a problem. "All 1,100 of our stores stock Wall's and 35 of them take Mars. This is driven by consumer demand. I see no need to change. We used to have Mars in 100 stores but sales data showed we did not need both suppliers." As one of the leading players says: "The last thing that Wall's needs is a kneejerk reaction from people who stop stocking the major brands." And BEW's general marketing manager Simon Stephens points out: "Why would a retailer want to remove the fastest selling lines and replace them with slower selling ones? We have 18 out of the top 20 products by rate of sale." n {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}