LONDON--Costcutter Supermarkets Group has brought in Speed Communications as its retained corporate PR agency.

The appointment began in February ahead of the partnership with Palmer & Harvey that Costcutter announced to its members on 13 March. 

The deal sees Costcutter and Palmer & Harvey set up a joint venture buying company with £5bn negotiating power; the transfer of Palmer & Harvey’s 800 Mace, Your Store and Supershop convenience stores to Costcutter Supermarket Group - making it the second largest symbol group retailer with over 2,500 stores; and the signing of an eight year distribution contract with Palmer & Harvey.

Speed’s corporate team, reporting into Costcutter PR and comms manager Simon Brown, will now aim to communicate the benefits of the deal to members and support the group’s growth initiatives. This will include a brand engagement programme which involves Speed’s consumer team.

 “As a symbol group retailer in a growth sector that is facing significant competitive pressures, we needed an agency that understood the challenges of communicating with multiple stakeholdersm" said Brown.

"Communicating the value we bring to our independent retailer members and their customers, not just now but as the benefits of our strategic partnership with Palmer & Harvey begin to be felt, is something we trust Speed to deliver. They have already aptly demonstrated this and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the team at Speed.”