Let me start by saying that "The Retail Doctor's Guide to Growing Your Business: A Step-by-Step Approach to Quickly Diagnose, Treat, and Cure," by Bob Phibbs is recommended reading by David Biernbaum & Associates. The lists of mistakes and oversights are right on the money. One area though ...
Walmart and other retailers too are pursuing a more aggressive push to pick up merchandise from vendors, and I think this is terrific for cutting out unnecessary costs. However, what concerns me is the usual propensity to also cut out small brands and innovative newer vendors where the quantities ...
Apple does get second-guessed on why it approves some applications for its Apps Store as well as why it doesn't approve others, and many consumers do think it's an issue that Apple does not enable Adobe's Flash to work on its mobile devices. However, Apple remains extremely strong by ...
Absolutely; consumers still snap up items like iPhones, iPads, gourmet coffee, and tickets to Avatar, and spend money when they really want something. However, for whatever reason, the SKU-rationalization "experts" have decided that supermarkets and chain drug stores should carry only what consumers, "need," and not what they "want." ...
Absolutely brilliant strategy at Starbucks to market the Seattle's Best brand to the mainstream near-luxury marketplace. This strategy helps to separate the approach between the Starbucks brand and the Seattle's Best brand in a very smart way....
Effectively using the social media for product marketing makes tons of sense because it reaches a much targeted audience with the right common interests. However, like any other means, there are at least a thousand ways to do it wrong and even to produce erroneous results. Best to ...
I don't know if Walmart and Target are offering better pricing on consumer electronics or not, but I would not doubt the consistency. What I do believe though is that consumer electronics stores are doing a better job with customer service and how consumers are handled through the buying ...
Supermarket executives had made their own bed with short sighted SKU rationalization implementation that has resulted in almost every store in the country carrying exactly the same product assortment and the same SKUs. And now, these same executives wonder why the consumer bases most of her purchasing decisions based ...
Digital signage integration in retail stores has the potential to be either amazingly fantastic or else an amazing debacle. And we shall see both of those things happen within various retail chains at different times. It's all a matter of putting the right people in place to make ...
Time will tell if the in-store events have staying power, at least in the way they are currently being treated. Hhowever, what will be most important is that retailers stay within themselves and not make the mistake of taking themselves too seriously in their approaches....
Time will tell if the in-store events have staying power, at least in the way they are currently being treated. Hhowever, what will be most important is that retailers stay within themselves and not make the mistake of taking themselves too seriously in their approaches....
I definitely can understand why Greenlife consumers would be concerned about an acquisition by Whole Foods. I'm a fan of what Whole Foods is doing, however, it's not the same model as what Greenlife is doing....
When consumers see a particular brand on the shelf, they are thinking back to the time that they tried that brand. When they see something they don't recognize, they are thinking about future uses for that brand. This says a lot!...
No retail company, including even Walmart, should try to be "all things/all formats" to all the people. Walmart doesn't need to open small box formats like Aldi. Walmart just needs to be Walmart and do what Walmart does best....
Branding is more driven today then ever before by image, the creation and perception of cause and goodwill, and effective public relations. Why now?1. Candidly there are very few meaningful points of differentiation among major brands in most categories.2. Retailers (unfortunately) are relying on SKU rationalization processes that are ...
I have noticed that many lower tier supermarkets that do serve the lower income markets have a tendency not to carry healthy choices. For example, one of the largest supermarkets that caters to mid and lower tier families doesn't bother to carry the "crisp and healthy breaded fish sticks." ...
I do not necessarily agree that salad bars in supermarkets are now an antiquated idea, however, I fully believe that certain characteristics and values have become increasingly relevant to fit today's purposes....
There is a fine line between good business and good citizenship. Nike's comment, "factories which directly employ workers are responsible for ensuring that their employees receive their correct entitlements," is probably literally true and correct. The real question becomes, "should Nike care enough to make a real difference?" They ...
There is a fine line between good business and good citizenship. Nike's comment, "factories which directly employ workers are responsible for ensuring that their employees receive their correct entitlements," is probably literally true and correct. The real question becomes, "should Nike care enough to make a real difference?" They ...
Hmm, before you proceed to fire your small customers I'd advise two stops along the way:1. The mirror.2. The crystal ball.The relationship might be in part your own doings. And secondly, you ought to be sure that your "big" customers view your company as being important enough not to ...
The online MasterCard Marketplace offers some good potential for all parties involved and it's an effective way to gather consumer behavioral intelligence generally and specifically but once it's imitated by too many other institutions, it will decline in overall effectiveness....
I do like the idea of the "disloyalty" card as an attempt to intercept new customers from competitors, however, I think it is only effective for the first retailer to play in the game; once it becomes customary for all retailers, it will lose its effectiveness....
However, innovation is only part of the problem. The bigger issue right now is that retailers are over SKU-rationalizing this industry to death.To help reverse the current retail trend for omitting small brands, licenses, specialties, and niche products from retail POGs, I am teaming up with four colleagues (other ...
Groupon might have success, however my concern would be that consumers will get tired of receiving the mail day after day for items that are not particularly relevant on. For example, receiving a certain restaurant or entertainment discount on Wednesday, for Wednesday night, might all too often lead to ...
I do wish and encourage Walmart to rejoin the market data collection community (IRI and Nielsen.) FDMx (food, drug, mass, excluding Walmart) isn't a very valuable tool with Walmart being such a significant part of both food and mass. ...
Full disclosure: I am addicted to Starbucks, I have a Gold Card with my name on it, and I drink two to three Lattes every day, and the employees at "my" Starbucks are "family" to me. All that said, I'm extremely impressed with the job that Schultz is doing (second ...
http://biernbaum.com/skurationalization.html Great news! Firm appointments and meetings are now set with CEO’s, presidents, and senior merchandising VP’s at five major national retailers and two major regionals. These presentations and meetings will be held in privacy in off-site locations May through August. ...
The fact that cashiers and managers in Kmart stores where the coupon was not valid refused to accept the coupons and, in some instances, went so far as to accuse customers of trying to cheat the retailer, makes me believe that the CEO ought to sign up for CBS show ...
Granted, the Undercover Boss show on CBS is a made-for-TV event with lots of holes but overall, I think this is an outstanding reality show because it does show what can be learned by executives going out to the field in a more practical and "real world" manner. Retail ...
It's erroneous to make assumptions about baby boomers and how to market products and services to them. This has always been a generation of individual thinkers since the very start....
Social networking is great for real people that like to get in touch and stay in contact with other people regardless of location and geography. I'm a huge fan of social networking for enjoyment, business, networking, and for treating it as a medium to keep up with people, developments, ...
P&G has always excelled at understanding the consumer. Consumers in the critical mass are unwilling to pay premium prices for eco-friendly products....
Consumer advertising on Smart Phones will become mainstream only when consumers perceive the practical benefits for themselves vs. the perception that such activity is really only benefiting the advertiser, and not the consumer....
As a consumer I'm a big fan of not paying sales taxes for online shopping. However, to be fair, it really doesn't make sense that online shopping is tax free....
Urban centers definitely stand a chance of renaissance and rejuvenation for reasons of convenience, fuel and transportation costs, and pragmatism. However, success depends on three major factors: quality of schools, safety in neighborhoods, and availability of public transportation....
Many lessons for retailers should have been learned by the economic events of these past two years. Among these lessons should be the point that many retailers over "rationalized" their SKU assortment to the point where consumers were turned away not by the recession but more so because the ...
Many lessons for retailers should have been learned by the economic events of these past two years. Among these lessons should be the point that many retailers over "rationalized" their SKU assortment to the point where consumers were turned away not by the recession but more so because the ...
Many Rite Aid stores would probably be square pegs and not necessarily the right fit for Walgreens and/or CVS. However, it would not be surprising to me if the chain were taken over, at least in parts, perhaps even by multiple buyers. Who knows?...
Observing consumers is far more useful than listening to consumers for many reasons. For any number of human reasons people often do not discuss accurately what drives their own buying decisions. Truth is, many consumers do not even know what drives his or her purchasing decisions. Stand in an aisle ...
Walgreens is a good company that I have done business with for more than 30 years. Walgreens will do a great job in the NY market.What concerns me is that the U.S. drug store market has a serious lack of competition. I do not believe that this is a wonderful ...
Calorie and fat content on menus should be regarded not only as a marketing tool but also as a service to the patronizing public. People deserve to know what they are eating and it's not always obvious merely by what's on the plate. For example, a "healthy" veggie ...
Employees are not robots. Task management needs to take into consideration various human concerns for emotion, logic, sensitivity, security, and reward. Frankly, I see too many retailers operating on all levels with a lack of the human element in mind....
Here is what I'd like to see on every supermarket web site:1. What's on sale?2. What new items are you now carrying?3. Easy way online to communicate with management. 4. New item(s) request. 5. Survey. 6. User friendly store-finder (I might be from out of town.)...
Good luck to Coach (stores) for guys but many female-oriented retailers that have tried similar approaches before now have not necessarily succeeded. It would seem that Coach is best known for its purses and it might have a tough time with guys to overcome that image. What probably needs ...
Okay; first off, I have to offer full disclosure: I am a Starbucks addict and there is a Starbucks downstairs in my office building that I frequent two or three times every day, not to mention that the employees are like "family." In addition, I usually stay at hotels ...
Okay; first off, I have to offer full disclosure: I am a Starbucks addict and there is a Starbucks downstairs in my office building that I frequent two or three times every day, not to mention that the employees are like "family." In addition, I usually stay at hotels ...
Some retailers are leaving money on the table by pricing private label so much lower than national brands. However, do take into consideration that private label is now so prominent that consumers are starting to show signs of comparing prices of private label between one retail chain to another. ...
I totally agree with Stephen that reduced assortments have caused shoppers a struggle to find what they want at Target in the HBC sections. This indeed limits the number of trips that consumers will make to the Target store. Target needs to think about HBC in a different way ...
The store-within-a-store concept is relevant and timely for the current retail era, provided that arrangements have been made in partnership to make it easy for the consumer to shop and pay altogether under the same roof....
There are a lot of reasons for why "eagles" become "turkeys" in the hiring process. I do agree that the most prevalent reason this happens is because the employer, be it a retailer or a manufacturer, is not honest with itself about what they are looking for:Entrepreneurs in particular ...
The perception of "frugal" means different things to different consumers. However, one mistake made by many retailers during the recession is that "frugal" doesn't necessarily mean that consumers don't want "nice things." Fact is, they simply do not want to overpay for them....
Having worked with and consulted on private label for so many years with retailers, I would first point out that private label comes in many different forms and serves a wide variety of purposes for retailers.Here are a few shortened guidelines I recommend to all retail chains:1. Define what you ...
I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Wal-Mart's plan to consolidate its global procurement functions and reduce the use of intermediaries in its global sourcing processes, and I firmly predict that doing so will result in putting Wal-Mart even further ahead of its competition....
I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Wal-Mart's plan to consolidate its global procurement functions and reduce the use of intermediaries in its global sourcing processes, and I firmly predict that doing so will result in putting Wal-Mart even further ahead of its competition....
Walgreens has an opportunity to create an excellent flow of traffic into its stores with prepared foods. However, the check-out process needs to be "convenient."...
With most retailers now using e-mail so aggressively and often, it means that the competition for the reader's attention is more intense and therefore this form of communication requires greater competitive skills than it did in the past.1. Send consumer emails enough to stay competitive but definitely have something very ...
Positive thinking sounds like a wonderful thing, however, there are some inherent dangers when positive thinking becomes part of a management's culture just for the sake of "being positive."1. Loss of objectivity. 2. Discourages often needed, critical thinking and contribution. 3. Confuses "negative" with caution, carefulness, and critical thinking. ...
Dealing with negative criticism about your company on message boards, blogs, etc, requires excellent training or assistance from well trained communication experts, in order to accomplish your true objective without making the situation much worse. A few suggestions right off the top:1. Give some true thought first and be ...
Retailers still have a hard lesson to learn in terms of how they handled the economic downturn. I have a contrarian view from most, in that I strongly believe that retailers that "dumbed down" their SKU assortment are in for a rude awakening in the coming years. One of ...
I do a lot of business development for consumer goods that have connections with charities including Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and several others. Through the years I have learned that different charities have different levels of charisma with consumers that directly impact price points and how much ...
Whole Foods needs to have an all-healthy image in order to keep its separate but more expensive appeal to its consumers. The timing is excellent because conventional supermarkets have been discontinuing non-fatty foods left and right in the SKU rationalization process....
The in-store experience is the most underrated aspect of successful merchandising. In this day and age of SKU rationalization, restraint of corrugate displays, slogans such as "We'll simply be lazy and match all competitors' prices," with all "me-too" logos, signs, and walls, etc, the in-store experience has become generic ...
Weather does have an effect on results. Even though most every consumer will purchase all the same number of gifts he or she planned, the lost opportunity will be from fewer extra sales and impulse purchases driven by traffic in the stores shopping the event weekends....
RetailWire/May 23, 2007 -- Discussion Questions: What are some ways vendors and retailers are resolving trade promotion allowance issues? Are there methods to assure proof of performance that are practical for retailers? Do you agree that manufacturer salespeople need to know more about media buying?
Al Heller's report on trade allowances is outstanding and offers a very truthful and frank perspective and goes where many trade journal writers would not dare. However, this is exactly the type of dialog that needs to happen for everyone's true benefit--the manufacturer, the consumer, and also...and maybe most of all--the retailer. In an effort to be fair and balanced, here is the very short version of how I advise my own manufacturer-clients and employers to look at trade allowances and support:
1. Recognize that trade advertising and other programs that retailers "sell" does have significant value to the brand for lots of reasons--too many to list right here.
2. Know and be completely educated that some types of products in certain categories respond to retail ads better than others, while other retailer programs, besides ads, work more effectively for others. Know what truly drives your product or brand and make recommendations accordingly to your retail partners.
3. Recognize that in some instances retailers make more profits from "selling" programs than they make from "selling" products off the shelves. This is not meant to be judgmental as much as in many instances, it's reality. As manufacturers, we need to consider and deal with it, as necessary.
4. Refrain from making black and white policies about your trade advertising strategies. Instead, make excellent judgments on a case by case basis.
5. Do not patronize programs that have no clear objectives to drive more business for the retailer and your brand. To do so will hurt your brand and other retailers that compete with a greater or more conscientious degree of ethics and purpose.
6. Try to sit down with the retailer once or twice each year to have a comprehensive dialog and planning session with the goal in mind of building each other's mutual business in a dynamic manner so that all the planning, spending and commitments made are dynamic, interactive, and purposeful to achieve ultimate objectives and goals. Contrarily, the piecemeal approach is usually not impactful or effective.
7. Look at your projected or predicted ROI, not from one event to the next but comprehensively over a period of one, three, and five years.
Everyone should also keep in mind that expectations should differ between what retailers expect from different types of brands and products. Every day name brands should bear the majority of trade funding because the name recognition and feature prices are what drives traffic, and these brands are unique to no retailer, so price is what drives traffic. However, niche brands and specialties should be promoted uniquely and creatively, with points of differences offered even in the promotions, and in most cases, private label and store brands should be promoted at the expense of the retailer, not the manufacturer.
