Lubricants can be a problem for both a forecourt owner – what to stock and how to merchandise it – and for the driver who is often unaware of what oil should go into their car, and also of the consequences of using the wrong oil.
Gulf has come up with a solution to this problem, with a compact range of six oils to cover 93% of all the cars on the UK’s roads.
The range, which is offered at its company-owned forecourts, has been put together after research into the cars currently being driven in the UK and covers as many makes of vehicle as possible, while using the least number of grades of oil.
For the forecourt owner, it’s not just about stocking the most appropriate oils, but also displaying them in a way that helps drivers to select the correct oil for their car.
“Gulf has designed a unique tool that is simple to use to help them do this,” explains Brian Carlyle, lubricants sales manager at Certas Energy. “It’s a shelf-edger that gives a rough outline of what each oil covers. This shelf-edger also acts as a planogram for staff and as the price ticket too.
“While the range doesn’t cover every car, and drivers should always check their handbook for which oil they require, this shelf-edger has had an immediate impact as sites now stock what is needed for the cars we have in the UK.
“Because of this, the days of the wrong oil being used, and so the vehicle’s warranty being under threat of being breached, have gone. Also, the days of the shelves being full of oil that shouldn’t be used in modern cars, such as 20w/50 and 15w/40, are now a distant memory for these forecourts.”
The shelf-edgers have been on trial at the 24 company owned Gulf petrol stations across central Scotland. “Their effectiveness has been really good, and not only because the Gulf orange and blue stands out.” reports Colin Levy, Certas Energy retail operations director. “The shelf-edgers are very distinguishable for the customers and easy to use, with clear descriptions of the oils. From a store perspective, the planograms work really well, too.”
