WA companies gain regular orders from UK store Selfridges following recent promotion

14/10/99
Dozens of Western Australian companies have gained regular orders from the prestigious Selfridges department stores in England in a major promotional coup.
Commerce and Trade Minister Hendy Cowan said everything from fruit and vegetables to ice-cream, honey, flowers, wine and seafood had been ordered by Selfridges after customers flocked to buy Western Australian products at the recent 'Land of Plenty' promotion.
"These are regular orders which will be worth millions of dollars, and represent just the tip of the iceberg for what we can ultimately achievein the UK market," Mr Cowan said.
The Western Australian promotion was held in the two Selfridges stores in London and Manchester from September 23 to October 3, drawing crowds of more than 30,000 people a day.
The products were displayed in windows and in the food departments,complemented by in-store wine and food tastings and demonstrations by three WA chefs on how the food should be cooked and served.
Mr Cowan said the food department in the London store had its biggest trading day since Christmas, while the one in Manchester - open for just a year - had its two biggest trading days ever.
"Over $250,000 of WA produce sold in one week, with one in three customers buying something Western Australian," he said.
"The promotion was so successful that stocks of many products actually sold out and had to be reordered. This happened with Peters and Brownes ice cream, New Norcia nutcake, Wescobee honey and a big range of seafood products.
"At one time, WA wild flowers were being sold from the displays faster than they could be put on display."
Seafood was the biggest attraction, with more than $100,000 of lobster, prawns, scallops, yabbies and other fish sold over the period. Wine sales were also substantial, worth $34,000 in the first week.
More than 50 Western Australian companies were involved in the promotion, and the Minister said many had stayed in England for discussions with other potential customers including buyers from Sainsburys, Tesco and Fortnum and Mason.
The exhibition was the biggest food and beverage promotion ever staged by Western Australia in the United Kingdom.
The entire activity and WA company participation was co-ordinated and manged by the WA Department of Commerce and Trade in collaboration with Agriculture Western Australia and Fisheries Western Australia.
The event was initiated by WA's Agent General in London, Clive Griffiths. It was recently launched by the Premier Richard Court late last month.
Mr Cowan said fruit and vegetable exports to the UK were likely to increase because of the good reaction to the high quality of produce presented and because WA could supply produce off-season.
Lamb sales also had strong potential for increased sales. Antonio Carluccio, famous for his television cooking shows, had highly praised the quality and texture of WA lamb.
The Jan Packer florist chain, which has a concession within Selfridges,has ordered Western Australian wildflowers for all of its five London shops. Other strong sales were reported by the makers of products such as Windmill Flour bread mix, Rare Amber beer, Flying Swan nougat, Murphy crisps, Berry Farm produce and Rock Choc.
Selfridges Director Food Hall and Catering, Jean-Paul Barat, said the promotion was a success beyond any expectation.
"It was the largest and most exciting food and wine promotion ever staged by Selfridges," he said.
"The promotion has been an outstanding success, with Britain's top food and lifestyle magazines giving it strong coverage. Western Australian produce is now clearly on the map in Britain."
The promotion will be the subject of a 30-minute feature program on WIN Television later this month.
Media contact: Julie Cole 9481 2044