FAQ

A: Bakery equipment needs to be tailored to the bread that is on display and it must entice the customer to purchase. Through our assistance, some stores have achieved a 300 per cent increase in bakery product turnover.

BCG bakery units feature darker, warmer colours, so the golden bread is seen while the unit blends into the background. We have countertop units that are fantastic for loose rolls and doughnuts for stores with, primarily, tobacco sales, through to large displays that can take a complete wall of the outlet.

The display solution is dependant on your customer base. What works for one store may not work for another. Is your typical customer a trade looking for a pie & smokes or is it a parent with kids in tow on there way home from school? Whatever the answer BCG has the perfect display solution to increase bread sales and impulse purchases.

A: Brian Cummins Group manufactures all of its products within Australia to ensure not only quality but also quick turnaround times. The company can easily modify units specifically to each site, and work closely with store owners to develop real solutions for their retail problems.

A: Since 1989, BCG has been providing exceptional building maintenance services for supermarkets, shopping centres, fast food outlets and other commercial establishments.

We are well aware of the importance of proper maintenance and repair of equipment, power outlets and the overall smooth running of any commercial facility.

The fully equipped service vehicles that allow us to carry out more effective and on-time building maintenance and site installation which means we get to you sooner, so you can return to normal business faster.

A: Early response to any safety issue is BCG's chief priority. We are dedicated to providing quality maintenance and repair services to the Australian commercial and retail industry. Our highly trained staff members will take care of your maintenance needs to ensure that all safety precautions are undertaken will before, during and after we have rectified any issue.

Our staff are all fully AIP and CM3 accredited, so they fully understand the special requirements necessary when working with stores that are associated with petrol.

A: Brian Cummins Group believes it has designed one of the operational innovations of the year with the release of its new distinctive Conveyor Express Checkout to the Australian market. This product has been in design for over six months with BCG staff working with retailers to come up with a checkout design that sets them apart. Through clever design, this unit provides large supermarket appearance, efficiency and quality yet created with smaller stores in mind.

The new design is extremely flexible and is available with but not limited too:

• Automatic Australian made self feed electric eye conveyor providing reliability, quality, local spare parts and operational efficiency.
• Left and right-hand configuration allowing versatility to accommodate most locations.
• Multiple standard lengths providing many variations without the need for customisation.
• Multiple conveyor options creating versatility across all sectors of the retail industry.
• Ample storage space providing a clean and tidy work area.
• Cash draw location provided to streamline installation.
• Adjustable shelves provide versatility to the storage area.
• Heavy-duty adjustable legs easily adjust to floor variations during installation.
• The design allows checkouts to be banked together or as a single adapting to most store layouts.
• 4mm vinyl dressed countertop providing a maximum life expectancy of the unit.
• Bag packer accepts plastic and environmental bags.
• Impulse sell display (Also available without) gaining maximum sale capacity per metre of floor space.
• Impact protection fitted as standard reducing unnecessary damage through clever design.
• Available with scanner scale cut out if required reducing installation delays.
• The ergonomic working height provides staff with a comfortable work environment.
• Ability to service trolley, basket or tobacco sales from a single location making it one of the most versatile units on the Australian market.
• Available in any board colour providing the adaptability to match customers décor or equipment design ideas.
• Australian made with options for personal customisation, this ensures that customers receive the unit they want not what the shopfitter wanted to sell.
• DIY installation reducing store costs or our team can take care of it for you removing the stress of fit-outs.
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This smart design allows stores to minimise new tobacco legislations effects on their operations, develop time and money-saving process and minimise required checkout staff. By the implementation of this product, stores will no longer need to swap checkouts depending on client purchases or quantities as all sales can be processed from this one smart register.

A: Many factors affect store performance but our research has shown with careful selection of equipment, correct placement of displays, effective merchandising and cleaver checkout units, stores can increase sales and reduce labour usage and in turn create a more profitable store. Use of standard units with the added flare of some customisation is a great way to distinguish you from your competition.

One of our bakery units has seen increases in sales of over 300% while the installation of BCG express checkouts saved one retailer 400 hours pa in operational costs.

A: Selling fast-moving consumer goods has become an extremely competitive market with trends being driven by the two majors. This has resulted in the need for independent retailers to move quickly and react to these trends in order to minimise potential revenue loss. As you would be aware of the changes you often see revolve around store design, display equipment, product merchandising, planagramming, and customer service. It is imperative too not just bring customers through the door but through clever use of display and operational equipment to engage the customer quickly, create interest, generate desire, bring to purchase without disregarding the impulse purchase.

The purchase of display and operational equipment should last a store between 3-7 years depending on the application. When you look at your investment your decisions now will be playing a role in your operations well into the future. The right selection must be made the first time, if you are marketing the wrong product, presenting with the wrong display or have it in the wrong location then you are missing sales. Our sales coordinators and designers work with store owners and managers understanding their needs and using our experience in developing the perfect storage solution. Many of our original customers are still with us for the past 23 years and continue to use our services and products again and again. We must be doing something right.

A: This is going to be received as a little cliché but please remember that cheapest is not always the best. When making an investment you want to receive a good quality item at a value price. Our experience shows that if store owners pay cheep they usually pay twice. Price should be a consideration in purchasing and installing shop fittings, not the decider. Service, function, ease of use, product longevity, and ease of replacement should determine shop fitting choice. Store owners should really understand their customer prior to jumping in, don't forget that legislative requirements also affect your selection and what equipment that can go into stores. All BCG equipment and materials meet or exceed Australian design standards, and come with a written guarantee so that store owners can rest assured their equipment will long serve them until the next change.

A: Involve a specialist like Brian Cummins Group to work with you to get it right to pick the right unit or design to boost sales.

1. Think about the store operations and consider what will improve store flow and engage your customers.
2. Purchase a display that works in your store and markets products your customers buy, not what necessarily looks best or is a good price.

A: Brian Cummins Group is a specialised FMCG service provider, with extensive services ranging from design, manufacture, installation and ongoing maintenance of all things retail we do it all from start to finish.

A: Brian Cummins Group is family owned and operated, with over 300 years of combined experience in the retail sector; we have the knowledge to get it right. Our divisions support each other from sales, design, manufacture, install and maintenance through our methodology of complete engagement, BCG Provides solutions to better your business. It is our objective to see our clients obtain an ROI on all purchases from our organisation. Additionally, Brian Cummins Group manufactures in Australia and supports our products with a 24 hour/ 7 day a week building maintenance service, all BCG staff are CM3 accredited. So our customers can have complete confidence in what we do.

A: Our latest metal-based offerings has been our best-seller; offering high-quality construction and versatility with a reasonable price. Unlike other competitor products, our metal offerings are made with quality and longevity in mind and it shows up through our customer's feedback. 

Our revolutionary TekTile Design Tile is also flying off the shelf right now; Polished concrete is the darling of Australian Supermarket Flooring Scene. Offering better value compared to traditional vinyl / ceramic tiles, small and big supermarkets alike are starting to shift towards TekTile Design Tile due to its advantages. 

A: The last three years have been hard for retailers with the emergence of low-cost supermarket chains from abroad. This has resulted in retailers tending to purchase lower quality imports, which has had a drastic impact on Australian manufacturing leaving only a handful of Companys still providing this service locally. Retailers over the last six months have realised that the equipment although cost-effective two years ago is not as robust and now needs to be replaced. As a local equipment supplier with an emphasis in quality, we offer products which are pricier than our competitor but will costs you less over time. 

 

With the rapid development in digital technology, supermarkets are shifting towards using self-use checkouts. While conventional checkouts offer better interaction with an actual person sitting behind the counter, the cost savings associated with self serve checkout makes it hard for retailers to ignore. 

A: Petrol and Convenience have moved a long way from just bread, milk and tobacco. You now find stores identifying impulse opportunities and tailoring product lines to consumer needs. The best example of this is Brian Cummins Groups latest innovative tobacco product display range. With the removal of the ability to display tobacco Brian Cummins Group designed draw dispensers for cigarette packs. This allows slat wall merchandising where tobacco units used to be for retailing impulse items and high shrinkage stock. This has resulted in an instant increase in impulse sales, a reduction in shrinkage whilst at the same time maintaining tobacco sales.

A: Equipment is the lifeblood to any retail store; it conveys the character of the store to its customers. It needs to be functional, aesthetically pleasing, merchandise well and have a workable life cycle. If you fall into the trap of purchasing cheaper displays you may achieve some points but you may be lucky to get a two-year working life. When Brian Cummins Group design and build displays we expect our items to last a minimum of 5-7 years and beyond. This allows strong ROI and prevents client replacing units due to serviceability rather than for a store revamp.                                                         

A: Brian Cummins Group provides solutions to better retailers business. Our advice is to speak to the team at Brian Cummins Group; with the complete service offering to the FMCG retail sector retailers can purchase high-quality Australian Made products from one supplier. Remember to look at your store from a customer perspective rather than a retailer; you will be amazed at what you notice.

 

We understand that each store has its own unique needs and opportunities. Whether it's a renovation, refurbishment, or new store build, feel free to consult with our experienced retail consultants for personalised insights. Call 1300 66 22 14 or visit www.briancummins.com.au 

A: Brick and Mortar retailers most important priority is preserving the physical store as a viable retail channel.  To do this they recognize that it is imperative to make the in-store shopping experience relevant and valuable to today's shopper

A: We believe that smaller independent retailers are starting to recognise that it is no longer enough just to have a store filled with groceries, you need to offer the point of difference! When you walk into a major store you are engaged, from well-illuminated produce areas, hanging features from ceilings, bright shelf talkers and promotions everywhere you look on top of the emails you receive.

I believe the real trend has been around data and in-store marketing and more importantly how it is used. Larger retailers have taken the personal approach that smaller retailers had a monopoly on through knowing clients personally which included information such as clients names, how often they shopped and what they liked to buy and just automated it!

Loyalty and in-store marketing is the trend of 2015. Do you think you receive emails with amazing offers when you haven't shopped for a week or two by chance? Retailers are looking for the edge and Brian Cummins Group is investing heavily in R & D to assist. With eye-popping displays in produce and bakery through to the newest metal counters, we help you stand out. With regards to marketing no longer do you need to waste the most valuable impulse location in the store, your conveyor belt? With our Patented MessageWrap products your clients will be engaged all the way to the transaction with the added advantage of offering anti-bacterial protection proving that you care about your clients' welfare.

A: Brian Cummins Group is always reinvesting in new ideas and changes. We spend a lot of time communicating with the store owners coming up with new innovations and equipment to suit their needs.

 At the moment we have the following new equipment being implemented into our list of products:

Key Innovation One: Hybrid Checkout

For the last 12 months, Brian Cummins Group has been working on a range of new metal checkout Counters.   This new range allows smaller retailers to follow trends currently restricted to the majors, our new range is extremely diverse and includes modular design, DIY installation, 
assisted counter range, cashless transactions, single and double bag packing, conveyor or no conveyor and many other class-leading solutions.

Key Innovation Two:

Brian Cummins Group in partnership with Glory Global Solutions are proud to have released Australias first Assisted Checkout, this new counter is set to change the methodology around how retailers treat cash. We all recognised that the major supermarkets have moved to self-service counters over the last 3 years, this has provided them cost saving but has it really been successful? I personally dont like using them, do you?

Brian Cummins Group assisted counter has been designed to include impulse confectionary sales, face to face transactioning with the retailer and most of all removed the risks associated with cash

Key Innovation Three:

MessageWrap the revolutionary conveyor belt advertising medium direct from the USA where it has been used to promote clean store initiatives, customer loyalty, promotional advertising, new product releases and many more. With Clients such as Safeway, Giant Eagle, SpartanNash, and J&J this product has been delivered across thousands of stores, delivering impressions in excess of 200K per belt!

So what is TekTile exactly you ask?

MessageWrap is a patented advertising medium that will overlay onto the existing checkouts conveyor belt without causing any damage to the existing belt. At the moment the conveyor belt is a dead space currently teeming with organisms such as Staph, Bacteria, Mould, Yeast and organisms that are typically associated with open wounds. With MessageWrap and its anti-bacterial treatment Good Armor, we can eliminate this risk and provide you with advertising that has delivered sales increases in excess of 300%.

 All of these products have been tested in-store with great feedback.

 For more information on the above, your readers can contact Brian Cummins Group on retail@briancummins.com.au

A: Australia is a unique market as it is an island with around 25 million people, most of the major clients we deal with have senior staff members that go on overseas retail tours each year to see what is happening in the US or Europe.

 They will come back with concepts and modify them to suit the Australian market and the small retailers will be left to base a lot of their change on what the majors are doing.

 The other side now is that overseas retailers are now coming to Australia with their concepts and setting up their style supermarkets with great success.