Dec 26, 2008 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/26/08 edition of Retail Industry
News.

► Penn Traffic Sells Wholesale Business To C&S
► Walmart Looks To Buy Chile’s Biggest Supermarket Chain
► Sansolo Speaks: Who Knows?
► Bond Stirred, Not Shaken By UK Economic Climate
► FastNewsBeat
► The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
► The Balance Sheet
Read more

What a Happy “New” Year!

It is a natural exercise of the human condition to take a deep breath and reflect on the year that was. We always wish each other a very, “Happy New Year,” with the thought of reaffirming and reestablishing our relationships for another calendar year. Yet I can’t help but think of a different meaning for last year. At NARMS International, 2008 was really a happy “New” year with all of the new and exciting developments designed to propel our association into the future. Never before in its history has NARMS been in a better position to serve the members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing industry, those who are seeking great retail jobs with our members, and the outstanding manufacturers and retailers who comprise the end customer of our unique and diverse services.

Early in the year, our leadership decided that it was time for another look at our association’s strategic direction. Our Board of Directors came together and took an in-depth look at who we are, what we do and what we want to be. The outcome is what we now call our Strat Plan and is the genesis for the many new features and services that you have experienced this year. Great strategy yields powerful tactics, of which I will only name a few. And rest assured there is more to come.

The most visible of the new developments is our adoption of a Web 2.0 platform for www.narms.com. And while the look and feel of the website is enhanced, it’s the tools and techniques in the background that make the real difference. Without getting into numbers, the end result is that much more traffic is being generated. Many more people are visiting and they are staying for longer periods of time enhancing our member’s opportunities for exposure to new customers and to new field representatives. Those who list jobs now have their ad pushed out via RSS feeds to many other job seeking sites, as well as JobBank. We also enhanced our human resource generating tools through introduction of One Call Now and Twitter, which both push opportunities out to professional field reps via their cell phones, PDAs and PCs. It’s a mobile solution for a mobile audience. Simply stated, there is no better time to use The Recruiter and to list a job in the JobBank.

Based on those who are taking advantage, our monthly Webinar Series has been a great success with our members who are enjoying the opportunity to spend an hour of education without having to leave the friendly confines of their offices. Content has been planned for this new vehicle through mid-year, and there are many more prospects in development.

Of course, we are looking forward to another great conference in Colorado Springs , but this year will be different as we will be including a virtual trade show opportunity for our exhibitors. This experience will enhance the networking opportunities past just a few days in the Spring and will bring a new power to our relationships with our vendors. And speaking of that, NARMS Associate Members now have their own official division with the walls of NARMS. It is a sign of an even deeper commitment between our service members, and those companies who continue to development new tools and services to make our lives easier and our value greater.

And did I mention individual memberships? How about our charter memberships in the Center for Retailing Excellence at the University of Wisconsin – Madison? And what about the growing NARMS social network on Facebook? GlobalShop? The IFBA Top-to-Top Conference?

Whew! It’s been one heck of a “New” Year.

Think GlobalShop 2009

Increasing awareness of NARMS International and its members is an ongoing, everyday mission for your trade association. GlobalShop, a NARMS sponsored event, held in Las Vegas on March 23-25, provides a platform for us to spread the good word about our members and advance the cause of world-class at-retail merchandising and marketing services. It is time to make plans to attend. Registration for GlobalShop 2009 is now open and NARMS members pay a reduced booth fee to exhibit.

GlobalShop is the venue retail designers and brand marketers visit to find the most innovative concepts, newest products and services to create unique store design and at-retail marketing solutions. The event is the largest annual tradeshow of its kind in the world, featuring more than 900 exhibitors of fixtures, digital signage, visual merchandising and in-store marketing products.

Attendees can see the latest in store fixturing, visual merchandising, digital signage, and much more. There is also a full conference educational program designed by the editors of DDI and presented by leading industry experts. This is great opportunity to gain insight, receive advice, and learn practical application from experts in the retail industry

GlobalShop is really six shows in one. There are six pavilions and over 300,000 square feet of show floor to ensure you will find everything you are looking for. Visual merchandisers, brand marketers, store designers and store planners are all strongly encouraged to attend. The Store Fixturing Show and The Visual Merchandising Show are sponsored by A.R.E., the At-Retail Marketplace and the Digital Store are sponsored by POPAI and the Retail Marketing Services Pavilion is sponsored by NARMS.

In a time when spending your marketing dollars wisely is at a premium, you will find GlobalShop a tremendous opportunity to increase your business prospects. So come and join the many NARMS members who participate in this annual event and help increase awareness of the services and value that we bring to the table.

Can I Really Get a Job During the Holidays?

Read more

Study is an Early Christmas Present

While perusing the pages of Progressive Grocer, well the electronic version anyway, I came across a bit of information that hit me like a shiny new bicycle on Christmas morning. A research group called IHL has released a study called, “What’s the Deal with Out-of-Stocks,” which examines why retailers lose sales to consumers who want to spend money at their stores. Add this study to your deck of information exhibiting issues that can be solved by the professional at-retail marketing and merchandising companies that make up the membership of NARMS.

As if the economy isn’t bad enough, the study tells us that retailers are losing the sale of at least one item to as many as 20% of the customers who visit their stores. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. IHL notes that the negative shopping experience may drive the consumer away from the store entirely. With as much information as we have on out-of-stocks, it appears that the message is not getting through, or rather not getting executed.

The story says that consumers are coming to the store with money that they have budgeted to spend and leave without spending it because they can’t find an item, can’t get access to a locked item, or can’t get help to get an item that is not on the shelf, but may be in-stock. Because of the problem, 9% of polled consumers said they have stopped shopping at one or more stores in the last 12 months.

To further illustrate the lost opportunity, Consumer Electronic stores are losing $1.35 for every customer that comes in the store due to the level of out-of-stocks. Warehouse clubs lose $1.78 and grocery stores 68 cents in sales for every customer that can’t find the product or a replacement. The differences in the losses per channel are caused by the merchandising mix and average transaction of the store. If you multiply $1.35 times the number of consumers that come though the store during a day, week or month, the cost of an hour service call here or there to recover the loss seems like pretty good return-on-investment.

The study is available for a fee at www.ihlservices.com. There are also some free preview summary pages available. The study goes into specifics of OOS performances at Wal-Mart, Kroger, Best Buy, Circuit City , Costco, Albertsons, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and others in the food/grocery, home improvement, or electronics channels. This information, and other similar afforts available in the NARMS InfoShare Library, is a gift in our efforts to demonstrate value and be part of the solution.

Dec 19, 2008 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/19/08 edition of Retail Industry News.
► Walmart Considers New Effort To Expand in Windy City
► Sansolo Speaks: Five Questions
► E-Grocer Introduces Fresh Produce Rating System
► Sweetbay Points to Marked Market Improvement
► Tops Plans To Upgrade Stores…& Maybe Build New Ones
► New Plan Offers Suggestions For Parents Of Finicky Eaters
► Survey: More Holiday Shoppers Procrastinating This Year
► The Power Of A Differentiated Offering
► FastNewsBeat
► The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
► The Balance Sheet
► Executive Suite
Read more

Recent Developments Increase Scope and Reach of Association

On December 10, NARMS International announced that it will now allow for individual memberships. Prior to the announcement, the Association was limited to company memberships. Yesterday the announcement was made that NARMS Associate Members will formalize and develop a divisional committee. Both moves are designed to expand the scope and reach of NARMS as it further develops as a collaborative center point for the retailing industry. Not surprisingly, two industry veterans find themselves in the middle of the developments. Former NARMS President/CEO Gary Ebben, chief administrator from 1996 to 2005, was the first individual to take advantage of the individual membership opportunity. Charlie Fanning, the first Associate Member to serve on the board of directors, will act as the first Associate Division Chair.

The individual membership allows for any individual not associated with an active member firm or corporation and has an interest in providing merchandising services, manufacturing, retailing or the provision of goods or services within the retail industry to register for membership. What this means is that merchandisers, students, researchers, professors, retired retail marketing professionals or persons in transition and any other independent retail service person can now stay closely involved with the at-retail merchandising and marketing industry.

These individuals will receive a subscription to NARMS Today; earn a members discount on attendance at the annual NARMS Spring Conference; have free access to monthly NARMS Webinars highlighting retailing industry topics and to the NARMS Info-Share Library; access to Merchandising/Sampling Proficiency Tests, podcasts and use of the ever-expanding resources available at www.narms.com website.

Associate members have been an important part of NARMS since its inception. The decision to formalize will provide the Associates with a new voice and an opportunity to meet and develop programming specific to their business challenges. Associate members include companies that provide products and services that other NARMS members utilize in the day-to-day activities of managing and operating their businesses. Currently NARMS has 53 Associate member company members representing a wide range of product and service opportunities.

These two announcements enable NARMS to further advocate for the value that is brought to retail by our diverse membership. It is also demonstrates the Association’s commitment to be a leader and focal point in the industry. It is somehow appropriate that two early leaders, Ebben and Fanning, are again acting as trailblazers in the ongoing effort.

NARMS Associate Members to Gather At Spring Conference

Stevens Point, WI - As a result of the recent action by the Board of Directors of NARMS, Associate members of the trade group will now formalize and develop a divisional committee, similar to the other NARMS member divisional units. Action earlier this year enabled the appointment of an associate member to service on the NARMS board of directors. The Associate committee will initially be chaired by Charlie Fanning, Synergy Systems, Inc. of Richmond, VA, who gained that earlier NARMS board appointment. Read more

Think local. Think sidewalk local.

By: Gerard McLean
President /CEO Rivershark, Inc

Excerpt:
Think local. Sidewalk local
People don’t live in “states” or “regions.” They live on city blocks and in neighborhoods. Think about how to get the closest people possible to the job site. The easiest way to do that is to list the city and the ZIP Code on your job listing. As you can see from our example above, I was not looking for jobs in Ohio. I was looking for jobs in the 45426 Zip Code. Even more specifically, I was looking at GPS 39.818648,-84.288084. (Most job listing services, including the JobBank and Recruiter at NARMS.com will translate that for you as long as you provide the ZIP Code.)

Read More

MVI Announces Top 50 Retailers

MVI has listed the top 50 retailers for this year. Top 5 include:
1. Walmart - USA
2. Carrefour - France
3. Tesco - UK
4. Metro Group - Germany
5. Schwarz Group - Germany

Read all top 50 Retailers here.