'Mutuality' is way forward

Mutuality is one of the five guiding principles of Mars Confectionery. It was one of the first things that I learnt when I started work there in 1988. The principle has stuck with me throughout my career and shaped my approach to business.

It states that "a mutual benefit is a shared benefit" and "a shared benefit will endure".

In effect, to be sustainable, all businesses must focus on win-win in all their dealings. It's an approach that has always made sense and it's what is going to make us stand out in this challenging market.

Over recent years pub company/tenant relationships have been caricatured as being based on friction and distrust. That has got to end, behaviour needs to change and we will do well to remember that we work in a two-way street.

At Marston's Pub Company we are striving to ensure that mutuality underpins our efforts. The best way we can help our tenants and lessees (our retailers) to ride out this downturn is to concentrate on maximising stability. It's far better that we do all we can to assist good retailers who are struggling despite their best efforts. That's why we have already invested £2m in supporting our retailers this year, and why we have committed to continue providing such help over the coming months.

Reducing rents or increasing discounts only goes so far, because the biggest problem in some pubs is that they are not attracting enough consumers, who themselves need little excuse to stay in. When they do go out, they expect more than ever before. Pub standards have got to be beyond reproach. The warmth of the welcome must be second to none. Service has to be efficient and attentive. Getting the basics right is more important than ever before.

That is why it is a false economy to stop repairs and maintenance or to cut prices and hope for the best. Nobody has to visit a badly-run pub twice. Our line-cleaning incentive rewards good practice and ensures that drinkers get what they deserve — a great pint every time. We are also working hard to offer pricing activity that is appealing both to our retailers and their drinkers.

It's worth noting that we are using Brulines sales data to inform a lot of this decision making — it doesn't just have to be a control system.

Fixing the top line is the absolute priority. At the same time, though, we must do as much as we can to improve the margins and costs of our retailers. The industry price of wines, spirits and soft drinks has long been criticised for being too expensive. In response we have significantly reduced the cost of these for a trial period during December, January and February.

Our retailers can now buy at the same price as our freetrade customers. We are passing on a significant chunk of income to our retailers without strings attached. At the same time we are trialling lower prices on a range of packaged beers and ciders.

Stocktaking​

As well as reducing the input price of goods, we also believe that regular stocktaking is crucial for the effective management of food and drink margins. We now offer to all of our pubs the opportunity to receive regular stock-takes through Venners at a subsidised rate. There's no catch either. It's just like seeing your own doctor — the test results are for your eyes only and you decide whether to act on the advice given.

Using our buying power for the benefit of our retailers is crucial. We have negotiated better deals on utilities, printing services, crisps and nuts. The list goes on. Most importantly we do not take any commission. The full value flows straight through to our pubs.

Our strength goes beyond purchasing. If we can make life easier for our retailers, we will do so. We can run the payroll at low cost for any of our tenants and we offer online ordering and website design.

For those retailers who want an easier way to manage their cash, we are introducing more convenient payment methods, which we will launch in January. Alongside this we have developed a rescue package to help improve businesses that are under pressure. This combines a profit-improvement course with regular follow-up visits from independent advisors. We are contributing half the costs of this. Mutuality is all about sharing success. In other words, it takes two to tango. We are investing heavily to support our pubs and we want to continue to do so. To have the confidence to do this, we need our retailers to take advantage of everything we are doing.

Historically take up of our support has been quite poor. Why? It is because there is suspicion about our motives. But such an attitude has no place in a win-win relationship. We want to work with people who are prepared to help themselves. Of course, we are not perfect. We do make mistakes. And sometimes we have to say no to requests for help.

However, we absolutely believe that our success only comes from the success of our retailers. We are always listening and learning. I believe that my personal visits to 140 of our pubs in the past three months are positive proof of our commitment. We want to be the best pub company in the UK and that's why the Mars principle drives me: "Mutuality — only success that is shared can be sustained."