Nisa overhauls partner rebates and fees

The new terms reward partners based on their weekly order value, as well as stocking Co-op own-brand products. The entry threshold for a 1% rebate starts at £4,000 and partners can earn up to 4% rebate by spending £12,000 or more. Additional benefits are also available for being a Nisa fascia store.

Additional charges that partners have previously paid – such as marketing and membership levies and the annual exhibition fee – have been removed. They are all included in the yearly membership fee of £860, saving retailers at least £600 per year, Nisa says.

Through the unchanged membership fee, Nisa retailers will also get access to “best-in-class support” through its new partner proposition, Fresh Thinking. This provides partners with access to a field team consisting of retail, fresh food, and store development managers along with convenience and symbol expertise through its insight team, access to planograms, marketing support, central helpdesks and expertise, and the Co-op promotional plan.

Martin Rogers, who heads up strategy and transformation at Nisa, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to create greater value for our partners and our new terms are a huge step forward in the way we can trade together. Fresh Rewards have been designed to make it easy for partners to see our competitive prices and understand the rewards they can access through spending with us, so we can be clear about the value of us working together to grow their business.

“Our partners have told us for some time that our rebate structure needed to change, and we wanted to launch them earlier, but were focused on supporting our partners to serve their communities with distinction through the pandemic. We’re proud that even with the challenges of the last year, we’ve built and tested these new terms, and have stripped out all the historic complexity to create a simple set of five criteria. These will allow our partners to find a combination that works for them and their business, save time and energy working with us, so we can work together to release even greater benefits. And the feedback from our partners has been fantastic.”

Colin Graves, convenience expert, independent store owner, and Costcutter founder, added: “The simplicity and ease of how partners can see the rewards of trading with Nisa will help the business to retain and grow a loyal partner base and the support of the Co-op brand will significantly enhance their trading terms. I switched my stores to Nisa six years ago because I knew exactly what I was getting and that the model worked and now I’m looking forward to start seeing the benefits of Fresh Rewards.”