THE HIGH STREeT shufflE

Two decades ago, the idea the village butcher would sell black olives stuffed with garlic, or would do a nice sideline in brown organic loaves, was about as odd as the local baker offering chops with his sticky buns.

But as times have changed, so have tastes. In 1985 there were 21,000 butchers; today there are less than 6,000 and those who are thriving are diversifying like never before.

Patrick Richards of P Richards in Albrighton, near Wolverhampton, has worked as a butcher in the same shop for 42 years. Eight-years ago he bought the shop from his former boss and decided to open a delicatessen counter.

GONE

FISHING

"A lot of people said a good deli in the village would go down well," he says. "We have parma ham, serrano ham, black olives stuffed with garlic, kalamata pitted black olives. We also do a rosemary Italian-style ham which we cook here."

The shop also stocks a range of cheeses. "We have several very good suppliers," he says, citing Anthony Rowcliffe & Son and Cheltenham Cheese & Co.

But Patrick and his wife Gaynor, who jointly run the shop, have not stopped at deli products. Amazingly, they also sell fish, and bake bread on the premises. But according to Patrick, this is just moving with the times. It is important, he says, to stock the "sort of thing that's going to help your business".

And that includes baked goods: "We sell freshly baked bread. It comes in part-baked and frozen. You can control what you use and if you run short it's just a case of popping it in the oven. There are several outlets for bread in the village but people like what we do. We do organic loaves - white and brown - and they're very popular. Sometimes people come in just for the bread. Often they will end up buying more."

Although he still considers himself a traditional butcher, with approximately three quarters of his trade fresh meat, lessons must be learnt from the success of the supermarkets, he says. "We are fighting the supermarkets and the only way to do that is to offer better quality. We sell Spanish olive oil as a decanter service and the quality is unmatched by supermarkets."

The shop also stocks unusual, specialist products such as habas fritas, which are roasted broad beans, lightly salted.

Catering for specialist demand in the community is important. RAF Cosford is near the Richards' shop. "People in the airforce are very well travelled and develop tastes from where they've been," says Patrick. "We do have bratwurst, which barbecues very well, and largely, yes, the demand's from the RAF base.

"Diversity is what's going to save the trade or keep it going," he adds.

WIDER CHOICE

Phil Davies, trade sector manager at EBLEX is keen to encourage butchers to start stocking the kind of specialist products that will appeal to the kind of community they work in.

"The fact is today's consumer has ever more choice and is ever more demanding," he says. "The fact is consumers need never buy meat from a butcher again. Some butchers prepare for dinner parties, go out and do barbecues and some may specialise in unusual products such as haggis. Butchers need to ask 'what would force me as a consumer to come in the shop?' and if they don't know, there's a problem. If they're just stocking beef, lamb and pork, they need to be looking at marinated products, 10-15 types of sausages. Unless they sing at the customers or have a pianist in the corner they need to consider these things."

Eye on the area

Overall, it's a positive picture, says Davies. "There's a danger of losing out rather than losing the business."

He thinks making the most of the area you work in is not difficult. "It's not rocket science. Butchers have to be aware of the surrounding area. They have to find out what's going on in the area. Look at specialisation, premiumisation. If other shops are selling premium products there's the income to support it. Nothing is wrong with pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap, but products need to be appropriate to the area. Look at local multiples and watch what they do," he says. "The range in store is appropriate to the local area. Butchers can try and do it better. They can look at what they're charging. I advise butchers to go into the supermarket at the end of the day and look at what's left on the shelf."

KEY TRENDS

Davies recently delivered a talk on trends in consumer marketing at the National Federation of Meat & Food Traders' conference. It examined what people are buying and how the multiples are adapting their stock. "Key drivers are taste and indulgence," he says, referring to the popularity of luxury foods. "That can be seen in the growth of premium ranges and the growth in organics."

An interest in health is also determining what people buy, as is convenience. "Time to table, people want to spend no more than 20 minutes preparing a meal," Davies claims.

Regional and local food is also receiving unprecedented interest, as is Fair Trade food, which according to Davies is not only about ensuring Brazilian coffee producers are paid properly, but is just as relevant in making sure local farmers get a fair deal. These are all trends butchers are in the perfect position to take advantage of, by promoting the provenance of their meat, and by diversifying into ready-to-cook products.

CHANGING TIMES

Butcher John Taylor has witnessed the changes in consumer demand in his two shops in Coventry. His father opened the first shop in 1937 and over the years the products have changed with the introduction of marinated meats, curries that are ready-to-cook and jars of curry sauces available to buy with the meat. A wide range of home-made pies is also on sale, as is a selection of cheeses and salamis.Changing with the times is vital, says John. "The ones who have stayed in the business have adapted." Nine-years ago, Taylor launched a website, which has developed to allow busy customers to place their orders and collect them the next day. It cuts queues and his butchers can prepare the orders before the shop gets busy. Christmas products have recently been posted on the website, including a selection of three-bird roasts, and he says there will soon be a link on the website to the turkey farm where the Christmas birds are reared. This attention to detail in giving customers information about provenance can really pay off.

ALL ABOUT SERVICE

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