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Commentary
From Our President
Many grocers are thinking fresh at the same time they consider the space requirements for other important categories. But there is much more than shelf space involved when it comes to Non-Foods. Too often, there can be a lack of attention for Non-Food categories that deserve better. Non-Foods boast a combination of one-stop shopping attraction, plus excellent dollar margins with low operating costs. With lower labor expense, no refrigeration and relatively little waste due to spoiled or ‘not-so-fresh’ product, Health and Beauty Care and General Merchandise enjoy one of the highest contributions in the store. Back in the 70’s when HBC broke loose in supermarkets, full-page supermarket ads appeared, often in the Sunday paper, extolling the lowest prices for toothpaste, shampoo, aspirin and just about everything else that would fit into the expanding shelf sets. HBC endcaps began to appear in feature positions once reserved for grocery. General Merchandise categories were expanded with more space allocated to pet supplies, stationery, kitchen tools and other lines of Non-Food products relative to food. Morale was high in Non-Foods from top to bottom. Today Wal-Mart and Target have gained market share and Chain Drug outlets have outpaced supermarkets in growth. What’s happened to supermarket Non-Foods? As space has become tighter because of the movement to fresh; HBC and GM have suffered in many supermarkets. Perhaps it’s time to sound the alarm, not panic, but snap back with an innovative spirit from top management. The turn to fresh is just one part of a revitalization process. Health and Beauty Care and General Merchandise need an infusion of innovation and a can-do spirit, to pump new life into supermarket Non-Foods. A return to aggressive pricing, more specials, harder-hitting advertising/promotion and improved endcap displays will help. But there will never be a substitute for adequate HBC/GM in aisle space. We recognize that consumers are demanding more green products, but Non-Foods are still a major draw which deserves focus and expansion. We encourage retailers to reconsider space requirement for Health & Beauty Care and General Merchandise before killing the goose that laid the golden egg.For comments or questions, contact us by phone at 508-756-5156, or e-mail: msleeper@imperialdistributors.com
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Let’s Not Kill the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg