Retail Sales to Increase in 2010
Following Decline Last Year
By Lynne Cooke
Retail industry sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase
2.5% from last year, according to a 2010 economic forecast from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Influential economic indicators such as the housing market and employment, says NRF, are beginning to show positive signs, which will bolster consumer confidence throughout the year. Total industry retail sales for 2009 declined 2.5%.
Other positive economic contributions will come from trade, especially strong exports, a turnaround in the inventory cycle, and federal government spending. Consumer spending will lag behind overall economic growth, Wells estimates, but will continue to expand at a modest 2.0 – 2.5 percent rate.
“As we continue to see signs of improvement throughout the U.S economy in 2010, overall sentiment will begin to lift, making way for slight increases in consumer spending,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. “While we still expect shoppers to continue to be frugal with their discretionary spending, retailers will soon be able to reap the benefits of leaner, smarter inventories and a year and a half of pent up consumer demand.”
Shopping with Alice
More makers of CPG products aim to sell directly to consumers via Alice.com. The eCommerce platform provides storefronts linked to a brand’s web site. Nearly 30 marketers – mostly CPGs – have reportedly come aboard to drive incremental revenue and accrue consumer data and insights.
Consumers can buy from several manufacturers in one shopping trip and receive their purchases in one box at their front door – along with free shopping. The selling solution is already available to more than 100 CPGs that have signed with the platform.
Clorox CEO Honored
Donald R. “Don” Knauss, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of The Clorox Company, has received the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) William H. Albers Industry Relations Award for his excellence in trading partner relations and consumer and community service. The award was presented at FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference in Orlando, FL.
The William H. Albers Award was introduced in 1955 in honor of the first chairman of the
Super Market Institute, one of FMI’s predecessor organizations. Knauss is the 66th recipient
of the award.
Del Monte CEO to Chair GMA
Richard G. Wolford, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Del Monte Foods has been named chairman of the board of directors of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). He will serve a two-year term.
Wolford previously served GMA as vice chairman of the board of directors and as chairman of the Industry Affairs Council. His distinguished career in the food industry began in 1967 when he joined the finance department at Dole Foods.
Healthy Eating at Whole Foods
Consumers who want to shop healthier can get some advice via a new initiative from Whole Foods called Health Starts Here. The goal of the program is to promote healthy eating education. It will be available at all locations in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
JANUARY 2010
Integrated Marketing on Stage at Annual PMA Conference
By John Karolefski
Marketing to the consumer more holistically will be the theme of the Annual Integrated Marketing Conference hosted by the Promotion Marketing Association March 23-24
in Chicago.
The event aims to erase the lines between marketing disciplines and will present innovators, icons and other industry experts as they talk, show and teach integrated marketing at its finest. Presentation of the acclaimed Reggie Awards will highlight the conference.
Executives should attend for educational and networking reasons, according to Bonnie Carlson, president of PMA. They will learn through deep dives into the building blocks of Integrated Marketing: Consumer Marketing, Shopper Marketing and Digital Marketing.
“The conference will give them an update on a number of topics that are important and relevant. Also, it will give them a chance to network with their peers,” she said.
Marketing superstars Don Schultz and Seth Godin will headline the agenda. The former, the “father of integrated marketing” and professor emeritus of service at Northwestern University, will deliver the most up-to-date media consumption research, leading attendees to budgeting and allocating their marketing dollars. Godin, writer of the most popular marketing blog in the world and author of some of the best-selling marketing books of the last decade, will outline the latest trends. All conference registrants will get a copy of Godin’s new book, Linchpin: Are
You Indispensable?
The biggest change in integrated marketing in the last few years has been its extension into the retail store, according to Carlson. “Now it’s definitely part of the entire planning that has to happen up front. A new policy at P&G basically says you have to think about the real change in consumer’s minds when they’re in the store,” she said.
At the conference, Samantha Avivi from the country’s largest advertiser will present how P&G’s “Store Back” mindset is fundamentally changing and elevating the role of shopper marketing. “If it doesn't work at the store, it’s a miss” has been a powerful message and challenge within Procter & Gamble and the industry.
Also highlighting the agenda will be:
- Innovating an Iconic Promotion with Geoff Jackson, Director of Event & Shopper Marketing at Campbell Soup Company, and Glenn Sherling, Vice President, Retail Channel, at Mars.
- The Brave New World of Global Marketing with Dean Barrett, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for McDonald’s
- The Path to Purchase with Al Wittemen of Tracy Locke, Sonja Matthews of PepsiCo, and Rita Bagerhuff of 7-Eleven
- Couponing Trends with Charlie Brown of NCH Marketing, Matthew Tilley of Inmar, and Andrew Mason with Groupon.
“There will be a session on private label and how to win at shelf with store brands,” said Carlson. “We’ll have a marketer who actually produces product for private label as well as national branded products talking about a dual strategy within his company. Also, a packaging executive talking about creating packaging that wins against the store brand. There will be a topic on targeting men as shoppers. Usually we always talk about women or moms with kids. This is going to be talking about men – straight and gay – and how they function as shoppers.”
The Reggie Awards, now in its 27th year, will feature bronze, silver and gold winners in 17 categories, in addition to the Super Reggie award.
“The caliber of the programs and the industries that they represent are very broad,” said Carlson. “A very small regional radio station won the Super Reggie as couple of years ago. You don’t have to spend tens of millions of dollars. It’s really about creativity. Does it really produce results? Does it make the cash register ring?”
The Reggie gala, which will take place on the evening of the second day of the conference, will be followed the next morning by an invitation-only three-hour session on organizing for shopper marketing presented by Chris Hoyt, the well-known consultant and shopper marketing expert.
Food Industry Summit
The Food Marketing Program at Saint Joseph’s University will host its Fourth Annual Food Industry Summit March 11 at the Haub School of Business in Philadelphia.
Some of the speakers at the highly-regarded event will be: Scott Young, Senior Vice President of Retail Sales at Coca Cola North America; Andre Hawaux, President and COO of ConAgra; Fred Morganthall, President of Harris Teeter; and Pam Bailey, President of the Grocery Marketing Association.
Christine Bater at 610-660-1615, or cbater@sju.edu.
Costco to Keep Coca-Cola Products
A pricing dispute that prompted Costco stores not to order any more Coca-Cola products
has been settled. Beverages marketed by the Atlanta-based company will remain in the
club stores.
The retailer took the dispute public by posting messages in stores and explanations online. The dispute was brief.
New Organics Website
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has a new consumer web site located at www.organicitsworthit.com. Launched in beta format, the site offers a wide range of informational resources, including basic facts about organic, tips on using organic around
the house, and organic recipe ideas. It presents the latest in organic news and trends, as
well as a poll, allowing consumers to share their thoughts on a variety of issues related to organic agriculture and products. An interactive portion of the site includes a “Featured Expert” section, where consumers have the opportunity to learn directly from experts from across the organic community.
The new site builds on the success of OTA’s first-ever consumer marketing and education campaign, “Organic. It’s Worth It.” Begun in 2008, the campaign sought to educate consumers about how organic can be used to “check off” tasks on practical to-do lists as well as goals on aspirational wish lists. It also sought to address topics of concern to families open to choosing organic products, including children’s nutrition, food safety, clean water, and a healthy future.
