Webinar to Cover Field Recruiting Strategies

Are you challenged with a low candidate response and a low return on your investments? Need to add some new ideas to your sourcing strategy and to build your pipeline of candidates? On Thursday, March 4 at 1:00 PM CST, recruiting expert Cathy Plumb will help recruiters and HR Managers with these challenges during the next NARMS Webinar – The Thrill of the Hunt! The NARMS Webinar series is sponsored by Natural Insight and brought to you through the technology of ReadyTalk.

During the one-hour session, another offering in the NARMS-U educational platform, Plumb will show you how to put the “thrill of the hunt” into your recruiting activity. She will share sourcing strategies that will produce candidates without busting the recruiting budget, creative sourcing for the hard to fill locations, techniques for getting the most out of your website career page, and additional tips and tricks for posting internet job ads. This webinar should be a great introduction and lead-in to Spring Conference where Gerard McLean of Rivershark, Inc. and Paulette Blaskey of NARMS will further the topic with the workshop, “Integrating Social Media with your NARMS.com Presence.” NARMS Spring Conference will be held on April 17-20 at the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Florida.

Cathy Plumb speaks directly to the needs of NARMS members. Plumb is a successful recruiter with over 6 years in high volume part time field recruiting. Her expertise and strong working knowledge uniquely qualifies her to share proven sourcing and recruiting strategies for your recruiting success!

The session is complimentary to NARMS members as a membership service but is also made available to other interested persons at a non-member rate of $99.95. We encourage you to share this invitation with other co-workers and anyone else who might gain value from this information-sharing opportunity. Register for this exciting event by clicking here.

Feb 19, 2010 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 2/19/10 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Supervalu Sells CT Shaw’s; Is This Just The First Shoe Dropping?
- Roundy’s Confirms Chicago Location To Open Next Year
- Walgreen Buys NY’s Duane Reade for $1 Billion
- Sansolo Speaks: “In Their Shoes”
- Walmart Puts Another Notch On Its Belt
- Food Lion Launches Price Cut Strategy
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- The Balance Sheet
- Executive Suite

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IRI Report Takes Last Look at Last Year

The recession hit hard and hit fast. This caused consumers to react quickly with devastating results on many brand marketers. As the economy slowly recovers and as energy costs now afford consumers a little more latitude in their shopping habits, the new retail reality is starting to take shape. In its February Times & Trends Report, Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) differentiates between behaviors that were a knee-jerk reaction and those that resulted in new, medium to long-term trends. As suppliers of world-class at-retail merchandising and marketing services, we can’t help but pay attention to these observations.

The IRI report tells us that 40 of the top 100 CPG categories have experienced price increases since 2009. It seems as if the battle for manufacturers and retailers will be to bring the definition of value beyond that of price. Value extends to a lot of factors, but one of the most basic is the ability to be in-stock and for new items to reach the market quickly. In fact, the NARMS Spring Conference on April 17-20 in Tampa will be a great opportunity to hear the challenges directly from the mouths of trading partners during the Manufacturer/Retailer Connection Forum.

Another IRI observation is that consumers turned to doing more things like meals, health and beauty treatments by themselves in their homes last year. This caused a rush of new product trials and the eventual discovery that consumers could achieve, “90 percent of the quality for 20 percent of the cost.” This happening could open up many new opportunities for brands, retailers and service companies alike.

Finally, it has been reported often that private label has made great gains and that the rise of quality will help store brands maintain and gain market share. This causes need on both sides. Through their popularity, store brands become household names and grow into the same challenges as their nationally marketed counter parts. Name brands must defend their turf by executing to near perfection in all marketing disciplines of which at-retail merchandising and marketing is far from the least. After all, if it’s not on the shelf, it’s not for sale.

If you have not already done so, you can download the February issue of Times & Trends here. We thank IRI for continuing to share their insights with us.

Still Time to Save on Spring Conference!

Members who register for Spring Conference by Feb. 28 will save $50 per person. After that date, registration will move from $500 to $550 per person. Non-member registration is $750. The 2010 NARMS Spring Conference is on April 17-20 at the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, FL.

Store Opening Solutions Concludes Successful 9th Annual Best Practices Symposium

The 9th Annual Best Practices Symposium in Marco Island, Florida, co-sponsored by Store Opening Solutions and Koch Logistics, brought national retailers together to discuss best practices for the store opening and remodel process. Discussions among retail leaders included LEED for Retail, presented by Ken Buschle and Judah Rubin with the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and the State of the Retail Supply Chain study results, presented by Dr. Brian Gibson from Auburn University.
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Webinar to Address Employee Drug Abuse

Qualifying labor resources has long been a challenge to the members of at-retail merchandising and marketing industry. With it now being an employers’ market, the timing to establish systems and standards is right. The next NARMS Webinar will show you the way as expert Dee Mason presents: The Price Point of Good Labor — Whether or not to Drug Test. The hour-long session, another in the NARMS-U educational platform, will take place on Thursday, Feb 25, 2010 at 01:00 PM CST. The NARMS webinar series is sponsored by Natural Insight and brought to you through the technology of ReadyTalk.

Employee abuse of drugs – prescription or traditionally “illegal” drugs - can severely threaten your margins. Shrinkage, lost productivity, accidents and workers compensation claims at the hands of substance abusing employees are but a few of the ways your profits can suffer.

Mason is president and founder of Working Partners, a private consulting and training firm offering comprehensive, integrated services for employers who are developing or maintaining a drug-free workplace (DFWP) that involves drug and alcohol testing. She and her firm are relied upon by individual employers, large third-party providers and government agencies.

The session is complimentary to NARMS members as a value added service but is also made available to other interested persons at a non-member rate of $99.95. We encourage you to share this invitation with other co-workers and anyone else who might gain value from this information-sharing opportunity.

You don’t want to miss the information presented on a serious issue that directly affects workplace conditions at your company and bottom line numbers on your balance sheet. Click here to register.

NARMS Spring Conference Engaging Social Media

It’s without question that social media networks are in the mainstream. For almost two years, NARMS has been engaging with field personnel seeking employment. The NARMS Facebook group has 3,631 members as of this morning and over 4,000 following on Twitter. The next step in the evolution is to engage a professional audience such as customers, members, potential members, other trade groups and trade media. NARMS Spring Conference is doing just that by employing social media to communicate and network before, during and after the event.

Let’s start with Facebook. Go to www.facebook.com and become a fan of the NARMS – International Association of Retail Marketing Services fan page. You will immediately receive notices about Spring Conference features, thought leadership, upcoming events, webinars, research and all of the other value added services offered by NARMS. Perhaps just as important, network with your friends and associates and encourage them to join the group.

LinkedIn is also fast becoming a must for professionals. Because of the business focus, there are a few more barriers to gain access to your contacts. However, you’ll find an extensive list of people and organizations that you already know. From your profile on www.linkedin.com, find NARMS International Conference Updates and join the group . In short order, you will be approved and will get all the latest news, updates and speaker insights for our showcase event being held this year at the Saddelbrook Resort in the Tampa area.

No social media conversation is complete without Twitter. It’s perhaps the hottest social medium on the planet and is especially useful for mobile users. Go to http://twitter.com/narms2010 and follow the stream. You will get tweets featuring updates and news for Spring Conference. You can help spread the word by retweeting to your contacts and encouraging them to follow the stream. At conference, we will tweet notices just prior to workshops, sessions and speakers so you won’t miss a thing. You can also tweet your thoughts, impressions and feedback live during conference session by using the Twitter hash tags located in the agenda on the www.narms.com conference page.

Consider this article as your NARMS social media boot camp. Follow these steps, and you are sure to get maximum value out of your membership, broaden your contact network, add valuable insight and further the value proposition of the at-retail movement. Help us build the network today.

Video: Spieckerman Promotes Session at Spring Conference

Carol Spieckerman promotes her upcoming session, “Are you Ready for the Reset? Three Revelations that Will Rock Your Retail Reality.” on Monday, April 19 at the 2010 NARMS Spring Conference. Spieckerman will also facilitate the Manufacturer/Retailer Connection sessions which will run from 10:00 AM until 12:30 PM.

Visit the conference center here.

Feb 12, 2010 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 2/12/10 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Walmart’s Move To Bag Certain Brands Likely To Have Broad Implications
- Wegmans, Shifting Focus, Cuts Peripheral Products & Services
- Tops CEO Lays Out Plans For Newly Acquired Penn Traffic Stores
- Sansolo Speaks: “Columnist, Heal Thyself”
- Time For Drinks On Sunday: Ahold Completes Ukrop’s Acquisition
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- The Balance Sheet
- Executive Suite

Download the PDF

Connection Session to Include Spieckerman

The NARMS Manufacturer-Retailer Connection Forum is taking shape with the recent announcement that Carol Spieckerman of newmarketbuilders will participate. The Connection Forum will happen on Monday, April 19th as part of the NARMS Spring Conference scheduled for April 17-20th at the Saddle Brook Resort in Wesley Chapel, FL. Spieckerman will start the event at 9:00 AM with - Are you Ready for the “Reset? Three Revelations that Will Rock Your Retail Reality – and then will stay on to facilitate the Connection sessions which will run from 10:00 AM until 12:30 PM.

Spieckerman is president of newmarketbuilders and serves as a strategic out-of-enterprise resource to the retail industry for product, brand and marketing campaign launches, and retail best practices. She possesses a unique understanding of macro retail trends and how marketers can translate them into relevant and actionable strategies that resonate with retailers. Spieckerman is a speaker, author and regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Women’s Wear Daily, DSN Retailing Today, Home Channel News, and other national and international media outlets.

The addition of Spieckerman only strengthens what promises to be an exciting and enlightening day. The blue ribbon group of presenters that will participate in the 30 minute Q&A sessions include Kelly Hampton of 20th Century Fox Entertainment, Joe Wood of Roundy’s Supermarkets and Mary Jo Bastuba of Nintendo. Todd Jones, President of Publix will close out the connection theme for the day with an hour long presentation at 4:00 PM.

If you have not already done so, visit the conference center at www.narms.com for more information and to register. The agenda includes not only the Monday Manufacturer and Retailer Connection session, but a whole slate of business building education and networking activities sure to make this a memorable NARMS Spring Conference. 372NARMS2010