Power firms braced for retail assault

SCOTLAND'S main utilities are preparing to do battle in theelectrical consumer goods sector as ScottishPower and Scottish &Southern Energy see it as a key way to boosting energy supply sales.

ScottishPower is planning a multi-million pound investment in 14new superstores, including one at the new Braehead shopping centrenear Paisley, but it will concentrate its main efforts on buildingmarket share in south-east England.

Willie MacDiarmid, managing director of sales and supply, saidthe company's investment, which included a rebranding of its shops,will raise its number of retail outlets to 200 and said this couldrise to as high as 250.

MacDiarmid has developed a range of initiatives designed tomaximise cross-selling opportunities, including cashback offers forcustomers buying big ticket items and taking electricity or gassupplies, as well as offering energy audits to customers.

"We're the third biggest electrical retailer in the UK and we'rein a position to start punching our weight," he said.

Sales figures for the Christmas period showed that ScottishPowerstores had chalked up like-for-like sales growth of 11.6%, beatingthe more modest growth of about 6% for other major electrical goodsretailers such as Currys and Comet.

ScottishPower, which recently announced an alliance with RoyalBank of Scotland, offering customers an all-in-one internet servicebundling utilities, telephone, internet and financial servicesfacilities, also sees this as a major growth route in future.

MacDiarmid said an in-store internet facility to view and orderelectrical goods is also under development.

However, it will face competition from Scottish & Southern Energywhich also plans an assault on the retail market using the internetas a means to increase sales.

Finance director Ian Marchant said the company had 54 retailoutlets but saw the internet and the Southern Energy customer baseas a promising "55th shop". There are plans to boost sales bybuilding a new brand, introducing on-line purchasing and strikingmore affinity deals to entice customers. S&SE already has such dealswith major partners including airlines and Argos and will announcetwo more affinity deals with big names soon

It recently announced plans to invest GBP 45m in building a 900mile telecommunications fibre network.