This past week, Dave Forsman and I visited with one of the country’s largest retailers. One might think that all major promotions from the top manufacturers would be presented to these massive retailers, but that is never the case. We were able to bridge a video game distributor with this retailer for a last minute 4th quarter promotion, which will yield several million dollars in sales. In addition to the sales for this retailer, Mercury Retail Services also provided a merchandising solution to maximize sales and sell-through.

When I was a buyer/category manager for a major retailer, it was very frustrating to learn about major promotions after the fact without being given the opportunity to participate. I can’t tell you how many times I saw a product or promotion in another retailer, and then had to contact the manufacturer of the product to learn how our company could carry it. I often would hear that they did not have a contact or thought that I, or the company I worked for, would not be interested in their product.

The bottom line is manufacturers and distributors should never assume that retailers are not interested in their product(s), or it’s too difficult to secure an appointment with the retailer. Companies like Mercury Retail Services have contacts with every major retailer and can help bridge the connection and provide turnkey merchandising solutions.

Manufacturers and distributors – Don’t give up or underestimate the value of your products! Every retailer, regardless of size, wants to maximize its sales and profit and provide its customers with products they may not expect to find.

Let’s sell some product!

Dave Rustad is EVP Sales and Business Development at Mercury Retail Services.

A couple of weeks ago, Dave Rustad and I attended the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show in Atlanta, Georgia. The NACS Show is the top trade show in the United States for “buying power” and second overall for buying plans.

This has always been a good event for us at Mercury, so Dave and I packed our bags and flew to Atlanta.

As we wandered the floors each day, we checked out some of the new displays and products available.  We saw some cool ideas for merchandising programs, like this display—sunglasses on two sides, cell phone accessories on the other—which will be a terrific program to present to some of our C Store and grocery COT retail customers.

Another great item we stumbled upon at NACS was supplements—in a counter display.  We see some good opportunities with this product line for the retailers we supply and service. [photo]

We also had some great meetings with clients and met with a number of companies ready to launch their products to market.

Overall, we had a very productive time in Atlanta, and have some great programs we’ll be working on in the upcoming months.

Did you know that the checkout is a massive department representing $5.5B in retail sales and representing 1.0% of grocery retailer revenue? To ensure you are maximizing this lucrative opportunity, we are sharing the results of the 2010 Front End Focus study from Time Warner.

1. The checkout should be managed as a distinct department/category with at least 83 linear feet stocked with 530 to 599 items.
2. Front-end conversion should exceed 90%.
3. Power categories are defined as products that are high impulse, frequently purchased and have high household penetration.
4. Power categories are beverages, magazines, candy, gum, and mints, which represent 79% of sales and 81% of profits.
5. Beverage coolers should be located on 80% or more of checkout lanes. Coolers should be located in-line on regular lanes to maximize checkout sales and profits on regular lanes (Checkout Performance Index 105).
6. Magazines should be located on 100% of checkout lanes to maximize sales (Checkout Performance Index 107).
7. Maximize checkout sales by placement of magazines both in-line and end-cap (Checkout Performance Index 114).
8. Magazines should be allocated at least 24% of checkout space to maximize sales (Checkout Performance Index 102).
9. Over-the-belt space productivity is maximized when magazines, gum, candy and general merchandise are merchandised in this area (Checkout Performance Index 103 versus an index of 96 when only gum/mints are available).
10. Optimal magazine merchandising techniques differ by lane type (e.g. regular, express and self-scan).

The access the entire study, please visit Front-End Focus.

In an earlier post, we shared the overwhelming success of the Junie B. Jones event at the HEB Plus store in Laredo, Texas. The event, which attracted over 700 people, followed the closing of the B. Dalton store.

In an article by Publisher’s Weekly this week, Jim Dahlen, senior buyer, publishing and audio/video electronics for HEB commented, “I’m always looking for children’s events. Our whole culture for the company is family and community.” That translates into 16 feet of children’s books in 140 out of 300 HEB grocery stores in Texas. “I don’t just want coloring books. I want young children reading in our store,” Dahlen adds, citing studies indicating that the number one reason for low children’s literacy in the state of Texas is the lack of reading material in the home. Based on his own research, he’s found that if HEB stocks inexpensive children’s books—mostly Golden Books and paperbacks—people will buy.

Literacy has been a mission of HEB, and there was much excitement around the opening of the company’s first children’s literacy center inside its store in Tomball, Texas, in July.  The 300 square foot space is full of toys and books, away from the store’s main traffic, and provides the perfect atmosphere for children to sit at tables or lie on the floor to read.

“Literacy for me is important, because I love my company and the future for any company is having an educated work force. With all the video and gaming, a lot of kids have forgotten how important reading is,” says Dahlen. However, one driver for his literacy push is personal. “My life changed dramatically nine years ago, when I had my first grandson,” he says.

At the end of July, HEB opened its first children’s literacy center inside its store in Tomball. The 300 sq. ft. space, located between toys and publishing, is dedicated to children’s reading. Parents can see their kids sitting at tables or lying on the floor reading, but it’s outside the traffic area. No shopping carts are allowed.

HEB plans to open additional literacy centers in stores that are large enough to support a center.  In addition to the children’s literacy program, Dahlen is beginning to experiment with ways to promote adult literacy. Since 2002, HEB has given annual education awards totaling more than $500,000 to teachers, principals, and school districts.

With the huge changes taking place in the publishing industry, it is wonderful to see the commitment from companies like HEB supporting the love and passion of reading a book.

After 23 years on the retail operator side of the industry, I was offered a unique opportunity to join Mercury Retail Services. Although some have questioned this move, I feel very confident in my decision. Mercury is an innovative leader in retail distribution and merchandising and is excelling at what it does best — execution.

Trey Holder and the management team at Mercury have recognized the need for perfect retail execution, and have built the infrastructure and provided the necessary tools to accomplish just that. I possess the skills and the passion for achieving the same goal, thus my recent change to be part of the Mercury Team. Additionally, “perfect retail execution” feeds a condition I have — the passion for selling products (actually keeps me up at night)!

I understand the challenges of retail execution. Store managers more than ever are buried with tasks and “priorities of the week”. Too often these priorities change and become “flavors” of the week. It’s not bad management; it’s the nature of the business. As retailers change to meet their customer needs, and as store managers are tasked to achieve their labor budgets, this combination leaves unchecked items on the to-do list.

I’ve talked with multiple manufactures and suppliers within the last month, and there is no question that one of their major points of frustration is retail execution. A director of one of the largest candy companies recently said, “if I can get 75% of my displays on the sales floor during a promotion, I’m doing good.” This level of execution should never be acceptable, but unfortunately it has become commonplace in many areas of retail businesses.

To ensure programs and products are successful, the “flavor” manufactures and retailers need is consistent, reliable, 100% retail execution in a timely manner — that’s Mercury.

Last week, I attended the 14th Annual Charity Golf Classic, sponsored by HDS Retail, which raised money to support the Children’s Miracle Network of Canada. It is always an honor to participate with our customers and support them in their communities.  And, it was a great way to spend the day.

HDS Retail North America, with headquarters in Toronto, owns and operates airport news, gift and convenience concepts, which cover more than 150 stores in 31 airports across North America. Designed with today’s traveler in mind, every one of their stores offers the best selections of magazines, newspapers, books, confection, beverage, tobacco, gifts & apparel and convenience items.

HDS Retail continues to expand, and we are excited to do our part to support them in their success.