A Happy New Year!

This being the last column of the year, let us be the first to wish a great big Happy New Year to the members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing community. The leadership and staff at NARMS International are excited to move the Association along after a year of contemplation and transition. Here are just a few things to look forward to as you begin to plan your 2012.

Tom Caddell brings a lifetime of experience in the industry as the new NARMS Executive Director. Caddell and the staff are looking forward to bringing a new and strategic direction to build and brand the association name of NARMS in new, valuable and ever exciting ways.

The 2012 new membership drive and membership renewal is right around the corner. Do not forget to look for your renewal notice and take action so you do not miss out on any valuable membership services.

The 2012 Spring Conference is coming up and in its 17th year will feature a new name. The Retail Merchandising & Marketing Conference will be held at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa Florida on April 14-17. Conference Chair Stefan Midford, the NARMS staff and the NARMS Board of Directors are putting together a value- packed agenda for our annual showcase event. Look for exciting agenda, registration and sponsorship announcements coming up shortly at the Conference Center on www.narms.com.

NARMScertifyU continues to provide on-line career building courses for at-retail marketing service representatives. NARMScertifyU offers eight courses for $15 each: Mystery Shopping, Retail Visit Excellence, Merchandising Standards, Demonstrations, Event Marketing, Fixture Installation, Train the Trainer and Team Lead Skills. Block pricing is available for member companies to purchase on-line courses for their field reps at a great savings.

NARMS JobBank and the Recruiter database have been experiencing robust levels of activity as at-retail marketing service reps and hiring companies use this original and custom built member resource to bring professional service to their retailer and CPG manufacturer customers.

The New Year brings fresh perspectives and new opportunities. This is particularly true for our Association as several things are converging simultaneously to shape the future of the industry and NARMS. Make a resolution right now to be part of that future.

To Automate or Not to Automate

A great self-checkout debate began this year. Some retailers began taking them out of stores saying that the benefits are limited and that the use of self-checkout robs them of an opportunity to display exceptional customer service. Others say there is no proof of that argument and that consumers enjoy the speed and convenience of self-service. A news item in CSP Daily News takes the debate to a whole new level. Kraft Foods will begin using an automated sample dispensing machine in the Chicago market in the near future.

The machine will hand out Temptations dessert by Jell-O. It will get by potential exposure abuse by using technology that can detect the facial age of the user. In this case, the product is targeted to adults so the machine scans the users face to determine if it will dispense a sample or not.

As is the case with self-checkout, shopper experience experts are weighing in on the use of the device. Some say the wow factor is too good to ignore. Others are calling it gimmicky and not very useful.

The investment in the technology and the pilot test speaks volumes as to the importance of sampling programs to CPG manufacturers. According to the story, the food and beverage industry spends somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 billion annually on product sampling. It is all about getting the right sample in the right hands.

For NARMS members who specialize in event marketing, sampling and demos, the news might be somewhat disturbing. But widespread use of such devices is likely to run into the same debate as self-checkout. No matter how hard we try, shopping at retail stores is largely a social experience. No amount of technology will ever be able to replace the services of a professional and well-trained event marketer whose ability to act as a real life brand ambassador is priceless.

Reflections on Food 2011

On Tuesday in Top Shelf , we called your attention to a series of review/preview articles being featured on www.supermarketnews.com. In one quick and easy read, you can get a nice recap on the year that was 2011 and many of the activities that will continue into 2012. All things considered, it was a remarkable year for food retailing with many top players making bold moves to reestablish themselves in a new retailing reality. Today, we will give you a sneak peak at each article and a link for you to read further.

Leading off the series is a look at the return of food inflation and the effects on the marketplace. Author Jon Springer looks at the initial bump provided by price inflation and the resulting anxiety about continuing to pass these costs to the consumer in a time of heavy price promotion.

In his next piece, Springer takes a look at the A&P bankruptcy and the turnaround effort of investor Ron Burkle and his Yucaipa Cos. The plan is to buy A&P out of bankruptcy by this coming February and operate it as a private company.

In the most extensive part of the series, Mark Hamstra reviews merger and acquisition activity for the year. According to The Food Institute, there was a 27% increase in food industry mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2011 over the same period in 2010.

Elliot Zwiebach chronicles the ongoing efforts at Supervalu in their two-year battle to turn the company around. The company is now confident it has the tools and processes in place to do the job right. The company acknowledges that execution across the board has been holding it back.

Mobile and checkout technology continue to make news on both the part of the retailer and consumer. Author Michael Gerry tracks the ongoing debate over self-checkout and the increased use of smartphone apps being released by retailers.

Hamstra, in his next piece, discusses the focus of many food retailers to fine-tune and refine their positioning in the marketplace. These attempts are resulting in revamps and refreshes to stores around the country.

And finally, Zwiebach looks at the changing face of Wal-Mart as it gets its sales back in a positive direction. The company says that merchandising assortment and presentation resulted in a loss of store traffic.

The common denominator in these stories is change. The good news is that the ever-evolving food retailing marketplace is full of opportunity for members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing service community. In just about every case, at-retail execution is still a daunting challenge for retailers and manufacturers alike.

Supermarket Consolidation on Horizon

We are in the middle of that time in the editorial calendar when trade publications take a deep breath and look back at the year in review and attempt to foresee what lies ahead. A particularly good series is being run right now on www.supermarketnews.com. Several industry experts are being called upon for their views of 2012. In one such column, David Schroeder of The Food Partners tells us that he sees an acceleration of food industry consolidation.

As some retailers seek to divest of non-viable locations, many are considering simply closing locations rather than selling them as grocery stores. According to Schroeder, those who are looking to sell fall into two groups.

The first group is small chains of six to 20 locations. The key to survival for this group is to carve out a unique niche in the market. The author expects that group to decrease by half over the next five years as a few independents will act as consolidators and buy them up.

Schroeder also sees another group that he expects to experience widespread consolidation. Many regional chains are struggling for a variety of reasons. He does not expect these to be single buyer transactions, but rather multiple buyers who will break up the chain.

Whenever we read retail observations of trends or predications of the future, we have to ask ourselves what that means to the members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing services industry. A rapidly changing retail landscape can mean one of two things. We could wake up one day and see that our business has gone away, or we could embrace the opportunities that these changes bring. Acquisitions almost always bring about store conversions on both the store and shelf level.

Retailers and their manufacturer suppliers will want to use these conversions as opportunities to attract new customers and market share. But in order to do that, they will have to execute in-store changes quickly and efficiently to see the sales lift sooner. Partnering with members of NARMS can ensure that.

Dec 16, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/16/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- CVS Goes The Self-Checkout Route
- Sansolo Speaks: Mislabeled, Misunderstood and Mismanaged
- Supermarkets Go All-Out For Dining In
- Price Chopper Makes Changes At The Top
- Ric Jurgens To Retire As Hy-Vee CEO
- NRF Forecasts 3.8 Percent Increase In Holiday Sales
- The Humanity Of Great Retail
- Making The Healthy Choice The Easy - And Profitable - Choice
- McDonald’s To Highlight Suppliers In New Ads
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

Shoppers Have Many Faces

We have all read endless stories about the changing face of the American shopper. We know that consumers are being conservative in their buying choices and that impulse purchases are down as shoppers stick to the shopping list and hunt for deals. The most recent Times & Trends from SymphonyIRI does a great job of digging beneath the surface of these general trends, helping us to truly understand motivations. They also give retailers and manufacturers some practical tips that we, as at-retail merchandising and marketing service professionals, can look forward to executing in-store.

Despite the relatively negative headlines in the trade press, there are some brand marketers succeeding at retail. We are also coming off one of the most robust Thanksgiving weekends in history with Americans spending $7.4 billion more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation. We can no longer say that the American shopper only has one face. Successful CPG companies have come to realize that there are many. And they are figuring out ways to reach them.

Here are some steps to success for CPG companies according to SymphonyIRI: Trip Management helps to segment consumers using analytical tools to recognize opportunities in the store. Store Level Opportunity Analysis can identify missed opportunities using POS data. Maximize Packaging by focusing on channel and trip type. Understand Channels and focus on growth channels like Dollar and Drug stores. Look at Assortment to determine optimal use of shelf space. Always keep an eye on Pricing in regards to channel, competition, private label and promotion.

The paragraph above only scratches the surface of the Times & Trends report and you should definitely download and take the time to read and digest it. All the suggested approaches for manufacturers and retailers ultimately run up against the same challenge of at-retail execution. As providers of those services, the members of NARMS should stay tuned and be ready with offerings that understand and meet the needs of trading partners.

Hold the Date

These are exciting times for NARMS. The Association recently named Tom Caddell as Executive Director and is in the process of putting together the 2012 new membership drive and renewal campaign. The 2012 Spring Conference is coming on April 14-17 and in its 17th year will feature a new name. Remember to hold the date for The Retail Merchandising & Marketing Conference held at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa Florida. Caddell, Conference Chair Stefan Midford, the NARMS staff and the NARMS Board of Directors are putting together a value- packed agenda for our annual showcase event.

Billed as the largest event for retail merchandising and marketing across North America, the event is geared toward retail in-store companies, retail industry executives, retailers, independent food brokers, manufacturers, event/mystery shopping/demo companies, professional installation companies, merchandising service organizations and future NARMS members. The event annually features speakers, workshops, meetings and networking opportunities designed to address the issues and needs faced by the at-retail service community.

Registration for The Retail Merchandising & Marketing Conference will open up shortly at the Conference Center at www.narms.com/conferences. You will want to check the Conference Center often for upcoming agenda announcements, hotel information, sponsorships, and exhibitor opportunities.

If you have not already done so, open up your date book or smart phone and make sure you set aside April 14-17, 2012. There are many changes going on at your trade association and you are going to want to be on hand to witness and experience this annual event. Stay tuned for more big announcements from NARMS.

Getting Off the Elevator

Successful salespeople are constantly learning from other salespeople. The art of listening to and learning new techniques and behaviors is important because it mirrors the necessity of listening to and learning from the customer. In a recent guest column in Progressive Grocer, sales consultant and author John Graham challenges the use of the age-old elevator speech and calls it a barrier to true and effective communication. The column is valuable advice for members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing service industry as they seek to help retailers and manufacturers solve problems at the store and shelf level.

It is important to be able to quickly verbalize who you are, what you do and why that is important to a potential customer. According to Graham, that is exactly why so many sales managers insist that their salespeople develop a good canned speech. But in the same breath, sales managers will tell you that salespeople talk too much. The balance, he says, is being able to draw a potential customer into a conversation where there is two-way communication happening.

That is good advice, but how exactly do you do that and still articulate your goods and services? Graham offers several real world examples that you can start using today. It starts with having an intriguing statement when someone asked you what you do. The statement draws people in and compels them to ask for more information. The information in the elevator speech is still important to the conversation, but the need to blurt it out all at once is not.

Even if it is not your job to directly sell, we are all salespeople for our organizations, departments and even our ideas. Great communication at all levels of business involves selling to some degree. Take a few minutes to click on the link and read the story, and then forward it on to a fellow salesperson or colleague. We all learn best when we learn from each other.

When Resolution Meets Reality

Everyone in some way, shape or form makes resolutions for the coming New Year. For CPG manufacturers, some help is offered from the November Competitive Edge newsletter by Willard Bishop Consulting. The author offers seven New Year resolutions to help suppliers support the sales and business performance of their retail partners. As providers of at-retail merchandising and marketing services, NARMS members are often part of that support package.

You can click on the link to see the entire report and read all the suggestions for yourself. This column will take a closer look at two of the resolutions.

The first is, “Proactively optimize your assortment.” This allows suppliers to focus on strategic fit and growth opportunities. It also helps to make the most out of existing shelf space and existing trade funds. As the author points out, a huge component is to minimize out-of-stocks and to optimize pack out. As always, managing assortment means executing new planograms, shelf sets and adjacencies. It also means regular coverage to help in the never ending battle against out-of-stocks.

The second point is, “Utilize shopper data across all of your merchandising decisions.” The author points out that we are at the intersection of category management and shopper insights. The data and insights, supported by mystery shopping and shelf data gathering techniques and technology, offer a clear picture of merchandising gaps. These gaps, when filled, drive increased volume.

However, the plans and resolutions of trading partners often go unrealized due to the lack of resources at store level. Suppliers quickly find it difficult to rely on retail store staffs to execute their plans in a timely, quality and consistent manner. They also realize that this is often not time well spent by their sales organizations. NARMS members provide the people, systems, experience and expertise to help introduce resolution to reality.

Dec 2, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/2/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Thanksgiving Weekend Shopping Shows Promise For Holiday Season
- Private Brand Growth Continues As Retailers Are Emboldened
- Sansolo Speaks: Black Birds and Fridays
- Retail Giants Push For Frustration-Free Packaging
- Consumer Confidence Rises. Really.
- Save-A-Lot Opens New N.C. Warehouse To Support Area Growth
- Surge In Credit Card Usage Could Presage Broader Trend
- Walmart Unveils Shopycat, New Social Media Application
- Walgreens Offers 300,000 Free Flu Shots
- Loblaws Takes To The Ice With New Toronto Store
- Bottom Dollar Good For Delhaize Bottom Line
- Mobile Commerce Gaining Momentum
- Supervalu Joins Better Buildings Challenge
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch

Click here to read Retail Industry News