2009 Future of Food Retailing Report

by Heather Sowka

2008 was a year of nearly unprecedented challenges and change in the retail food industry. The global economic slowdown—and domestic recession—caused profound shifts in consumer shopping behavior. The search for low prices and great values was a consumer divining rod that introduced shoppers to new stores and formats, and continues to impact store choice and spending today.

This year’s edition of The Future of Food Retailing report examines changes in the retail food industry over the past year—which formats are gaining share and which are losing share—and forecasts how well all key formats will fare over the next five years, i.e., by 2013.

Download the entire PDF from WillardBishop.com

Is Your Business Moving to Where the “Puck” is Headed?

by Bill Bishop

Are you putting enough emphasis on the Web? There are big differences in the traffic to top-performing retail Websites vs. typical sites, i.e., 10 to 1, and the Web is influencing how and where more people shop.This issue of Competitive Edge can help those retailers who need more reason to emphasize the Web by challenging two broadly held assumptions that are blocking more aggressive Web-based marketing and offers new insights into the potential business-building power of a retail Website.

It also contains an offer for a complementary copy of a new Willard Bishop paper that shows how a retailer can easily see how their Website traffic compares with the competition.

Download the entire PDF from WillardBishop.com

Effectively Communicating Value: Avoiding the Top 10 Value Communication “Sins”

by Jon Hauptman

Effectively communicating value has never been more important than it is today. However, supermarket retailers across the country are making critical mistakes that are preventing them from getting full credit for the value they offer. This edition of Competitive Edge examines the top 10 most frequent value communication “sins” committed by supermarkets and identifies the path to redemption for each

Download the entire PDF from WillardBishop.com

What Is the Impact When the World’s Largest Food Retailer Assigns Category Roles?

Over the last couple of years, Walmart has embarked on “Project Impact”, their program to win with
shoppers. It rests on two critical pillars, Fresh and Seasonal merchandising offerings, which they will
lean on to drive traffic and profit growth. They sum up Project Impact in 10 words:

“Save Money. Live Better”
“Win/Play/Show”
“Fast/Friendly/Clean”

“Win/Play/Show” encompasses their role assignment work. The role assignment a category receives
can have significant impact on food suppliers, regardless of classification.

This issue of Competitive
Edge will:
Describe Win/Play/Show in detail,
Articulate some of the “connection points” between Project Impact and other vendor-facing programs like the Consumer Savings Initiative, and Hypothesize the intended and unintended consequences of Project Impact’s implementation.

Download the April 2009 issue

Retail Strategy – Now is Not the Time to Walk Away From It

In today’s tough economic environment, now might be the worst time for retailers to abandon their
go-to-market strategies. Some of what you have developed may still work, and more importantly,
you don’t want to destroy the trust you’ve worked so hard to earn in the eyes of your shoppers.
The winners are those who have a unique value proposition and unrelenting commitment from their
top executives to further sharpen that proposition and do everything they can—from focusing on the
shopper, cutting costs, and keeping an eye on competition to staying the course. The rest—those
who are struggling—have decided not to adhere to or even abandon their strategic objectives and
instead are chasing their customers, investing for short-term versus long-term gains, and trying to
morph into something “on the fly.”

Realizing that it has taken many, many years for retailers like you to build trust with the shopper
and define who you are—whether it’s the neighborhood grocery store, the value provider, or the
one-stop shopping place—in today’s difficult economic times, instead of trying to make a radical
change—which will truly take years to achieve sustainable results—why not strengthen who it is you
worked so hard and long to become?

In this edition of Competitive Edge we’ll discuss a process to help retailers strategically stay the
course and provide insights into how to validate and modify your strategic path in these
competitive, difficult economic times.

Download the March 2009 issue

Feb 2009 Competitive Edge Newsletter

Achieving Efficient Retail Implementation

By Paul Weitzel

Do you know what it really costs today to execute at retail? Do you know what it costs to make
planogram changes before you actually get to the store? Do your space management and category
management people understand how moving a shelf just one-half inch can add $200,000 to the cost of
a reset? Can you achieve 97% ACV on new item introductions in just three days? New programs and
best practices are emerging, and we are beginning to finally change retail implementation paradigms.

This issue of Competitive Edge looks at new retail implementation programs that are streamlining
category resets, remodels, and new item speed-to-shelf work. See how you can finally get control of
your retail implementation costs and eliminate a significant amount of unproductive resources at retail.

Download the newsletter. (PDF)

December 2008 Competitive Edge

Retail Pricing 2009: 12 Trends That Are Driving Success
By Jon Hauptman

The Benefit Retail pricing has never been more important. In the current challenging economic environment where personal savings and wealth have been slashed to a fraction of their previous levels, and food prices continue to increase at rates not seen in nearly three decades, shoppers are increasingly looking for stores that provide more value—including more bags of groceries—for their weekly shopping budgets. This edition of Competitive Edge examines how retailers are successfully responding to these challenges. We’ll explore 12 retail pricing trends (strategies and tactics) that progressive supermarket operators are embracing to strengthen price image, attract greater spending, and drive profitable growth.

December 2008 Competitive Edge Download

October 2008 Competitive Edge

Now is the Time to Add Value Beyond Price
By Jim Hertel

The Benefit
The current financial crisis is affecting all industry sectors, and food retailing is no exception. Economic pressure on retailers can quickly translate into margin pressures and price increase pushback for suppliers. As a result, suppliers need to understand, improve, and get credit for the total value they create beyond product and price. Doing so can help enhance senior retailer relationships, reduce margin pressures, and create sustainable competitive advantage.
Read more

Sept 2008 Competitive Edge

Assessing Private Brands as Threat or Opportunity: A Supplier View
By Jim Hertel

The Benefit
It’s no surprise that in the current economic climate, food retailer interest in Private Brands is growing as fast as its shopper appeal. Many suppliers view the growth of Private Brands with concern and possibly alarm. The fear which suppliers feel is amplified by the limited availability of comprehensive Private Brands performance data; historically, it has been limited to aggregate sales and unit movement data only. But new performance data from Willard Bishop is emerging — including profitability; we’re developing a much clearer view of the full impact of Private Brands, and can better judge the opportunities and threats for suppliers.

Sept 2008 Competitive Edge - Download Here

Competitive Edge Newsletter

The Rising Cost of Fuel and Its Impact on Grocery Distribution
By Paul Weitzel

The Benefit
Over the past 12 months, the cost of diesel fuel has increased by 47% and has tripled since 2002. Since most trucks in the grocery distribution system today are already cubed out, there isn’t a lot of slack in the system to absorb higher fuel costs. This means that the higher fuel costs are having a direct impact on supply chain profitability. As a result, many distributors are now pulling out fuel costs and adding surcharges to their service contracts to protect against sharp increased in the price of diesel. Read more