NARMS Releases PIC Paper

In 2006 NARMS released a white paper that explored the services provided by our professional installation companies (PIC). The paper was entitled - PIC-Building Out The Future of Retail. Time has passed and much has changed in the industry so we decided to take another look at the market resulting in the newly released -Professional Installation Companies – Continuing to Build Out The Future of Retail. The White Paper is available to members in the members area of www.narms.com in the infoShare library.

RORI Calculator Ready, Willing and Able

NARMS members were given a powerful tool at the 2010 NARMS Spring Conference when Bart Flaherty of GroupM introduced the RORI industry research project and unveiled the RORI Display Selling Calculator. The Calculator and supporting documents are ready and waiting for your use. You can download them by visiting the members section of www.narms.com.
The first cut of RORI information focuses on display activity. RORI identifies display activity as one of the most important tactics a manufacturer can execute at-retail. Displays pay a handsome return on investment for manufacturers and retailers if correctly and efficiently executed. According to SmartRevenue and MEC Sensor on in-store media, 61% of all consumer purchases are unplanned and 47% percent of those purchases come from displays. And yet grocery retailers have actually cut down on the number of displays they use in recent years. Some of this is driven by store format shifts and clean store policies. The RORI tools and Display Selling Calculator can help you show trading partners that getting displays to the sales floor is a necessity for building business in the retail environment today.

In order to do this, it is helpful to start with the end in mind. In other words, show your retailer and manufacturer customers the money! This is where the RORI Display Selling Calculator comes in. The Calculator is an easy to use and easy to present format that can slide seamlessly into your RFPs and sales presentations. In brief, it takes the number of stores, displays and case units on display and calculates the sales lift based on the product type and category. It then figures in the cost of labor and delivers a direct return on investment for the manufacturer and retailer.

The calculator itself is available in an Excel format and the supporting documents are downloadable in a PDF file format including: RORI Display Case Study, RORI Scope Selection Presentation, The Role of the University of Wisconsin Kohl’s Center for Retailing, The RORI Program Defined and What will RORI do for NARMS.

RORI defines display labor activity as a $1 billion opportunity for NARMS members and it may be growing. In order to get your piece of this pie, you may have to consult with your customers and use the RORI Display Selling Calculator to show them how using NARMS members to build and service displays can deliver incremental sales gains for just a fraction of the lift.

June 25, 2010 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 6/25/10 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Whole Foods To Require Certification Of Personal Care Products Making Organic Claims
- Chicago Agreement Could Lead To Dozens Of Walmarts In Windy City
- Tesco To Acquire US Suppliers For “Synergies And Economies”
- Sansolo Speaks: “Demon Customers”
- Whole Foods Hopes Green Thumb Will Grow Loyal Customers
- Bi-Lo Launches New Health & Wellness Initiative
- Starbucks Expands On Beer & Wine Prototype
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch

Click here to read Retail Industry News

NARMS Economic Survey

News reports indicate our economy is rebounding and that retail sales are improving. Please help us understand if you are sharing in the recovery by completing this short survey. Your responses are confidential.

Fixture Installation Course Now Available

Often times when we discuss at-retail merchandising and marketing services, we become focused on the products and brands that appear on store shelves around the world. However, another equally as critical in-store activity involves installing the shelving and fixtures. NARMS has a Professional Installation (PIC) division dedicated to this and other store opening, remodel and conversion services. To serve these members and their field crews, the recently launched NARMScertifyU online training tool has a course called Fixture Installation specifically designed with professional installers in mind.

Most fixtures in retail stores never get noticed. However, without them shopping as we know it today could not take place. Fixtures provide the simple, yet critical function of storing and displaying merchandise in a way to capture attention and generate sales. You can learn more about the members of the PIC division by reading the soon to be released NARMS White Paper – PIC, Continuing to Build Out the Future of Retail- and attending the NARMS Webinar of the same title in July.

The Fixture Installation course teaches the fundamentals of fixture installation excellence. The participant will gain an understanding of what excellence entails, and how to immediately become a productive member of any fixture installation team. The installer will learn what must take place during preparation, what types of fixtures they might work with, what things to remember during installation, important safety tips, and what to do to finish up projects properly.

Fixture Installation is just one of eight courses currently offered at NARMScertifyU. The others are The user simply selects and completes the course to earn a certificate of completion. Their NARMS Recruiter profile is automatically updated with the increased level of knowledge making them a more valuable, accessible, marketable and hirable resource.

NARMScertifyU is available at only $15 per course and represents a quick easy and inexpensive option for enhanced at-retail service knowledge for both service company and individual field personnel. Please check out NARMScertifyU today and help spread the word of this tremendous industry building resource.

NARMS Welcomes Gondola Train

NARMS Welcomes new Associate Member Gondola Train. Ed O’Hearn is national sales manager of the company. The Gondola Train is an important merchandising tool a contractor will use in a store remodel or renovation project. Fully loaded fixtures can be moved and repositioned within minutes. NARMS 6/23/10

NARMScertifyU Course Caters to Demonstrators

Product demonstrations and samplings are the topic of the day as Dr. Kenny Herbst will lead a NARMS Webinar on the topic this very afternoon. Well trained, professional demonstrators play a significant role in the success of any product introduction or at-retail trial. NARMScertifyU is currently offering a Demonstrations Course which caters to both beginning and veteran demonstrators.

Conducting at-retail product demonstrations is a powerful activity that creates brand and product awareness, builds long-lasting personal connections with the end-consumer and drives sales. As a first point of contact for the brand, the individual demonstrators are vital in the launching and/or re-launching of products. This course has been designed to give all levels of demonstrators the information they need to be successful.

Upon successful completion of this course, the demonstrator will develop a clear understanding of Demonstration Excellence and how to achieve it. They will learn how to prepare for and execute product demonstrations to be in the best possible position to succeed. Included in the instruction are specific communication techniques, based on proven consultative sales principles, enabling the demonstrator to quickly build credibility, get people interested, present effectively and consistently gain commitment.

The Demonstrations Course is just one of eight courses currently offered at NARMScertifyU. The others are Retail Visit Excellence, Merchandising Standards, Train the Trainer, Event Marketing, Fixture Installation, Mystery Shopping and Team Lead Skills. The user simply selects and completes the course to earn a certificate of completion. Their NARMS Recruiter profile is automatically updated with the increased level of knowledge making them a more valuable, accessible, marketable and hirable resource.

NARMScertifyU is available at only $15 per course and represents a quick easy and inexpensive option for enhanced at-retail service knowledge for both service company and individual field personnel. Please check out NARMScertifyU today and help spread the word of this tremendous industry building resource.

June 18, 2010 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 6/4/10 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Sears Enters Online Grocery Business
- Sansolo Speaks: “Talking ‘Bout My Generation”
- Sansolo Speaks: “Death to Middlemen”
- Study: Consumers May Be Feeling Better About Economy
- Wegmans’ Scholarship Program Hits New Heights
- Company Bringing TV Commercials To Supermarket Aisles
- BJ’s Bakes Up New Program With “Old Traditions”
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch

Click here to read Retail Industry News

CPG Companies Focus on Shelves

Campbell Soup is working with stores to make soup aisles more attractive and easier for consumers to navigate. Hershey has begun a major study of how consumers make their way through stores. PepsiCo benefits when stores sell its snacks and drinks together. Wall Street Journal 6/21/10

SPAR Group Named Consumer Products Group Partner of the Year by Health Mart(R)

TARRYTOWN, NY, Jun 18, 2010 — SPAR Group, Inc. (the “Company” or “SPAR”) a leading supplier of retail merchandising and other marketing services throughout the United States and internationally, today announced that the Company has been named Consumer Products Group Partner of the Year by Health Mart(R). SPAR Group is the inaugural recipient of this award.
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