- Suppliers Can Re-define Retail Relationships
- By Steve Junqueiro
Save Mart
- The relationship between retailer and supplier is in the process of being re-defined. In the old days, it was more often than not an adversarial interaction - with buyers trying to cut the price and sellers trying to increase the sale. Today smart sellers are developing business relationships with retailers, and together we are working to satisfy the consumer.
Success stories I have been part of include apples, bananas, value-added salads, and tomatoes. In each case Save Mart worked with vendor partners and the Perishables Group to employ best practices and expand product offerings to meet consumer needs.
These changes began in the early 1990s and really took off by the end of the decade, but potatoes were not present. Except for the addition of a few new varieties and a small foray into value-added products, NOTHING has changed in fresh potato marketing for years. Not surprisingly, supermarket fresh sales have been flat.
I commend the National Potato Promotion Board for stepping up and bringing potatoes into the modern world of marketing. There is enormous opportunity for those who will employ category management and category development of potatoes.
What does category management mean to me, the retailer? It is the way I approach business. It means expanding each category and driving more sales and profits. For the supplier it should mean the same thing. Working together we can expand each segment of the potato category.
But first, we have to get past discussions based on price. Price, quality, availability, delivery - all are important, but these are the price of admission. They are discussions shippers have with buyers, and it ends there. In order to work with the produce director/vice president of produce, you must bring added value to the category. To do this I recommend you: build business relationships by doing your homework and understanding how your customer operates; build a common goal of increasing sales and profits by responding to consumer needs; and build the category by employing best practices and by adding higher quality products to the mix.
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Then you will come out ahead of the competition.
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Steve Junqueiro, director of produce & floral, Save Mart Supermarkets, was a keynote speaker at the U.S. Potato Board’s Fresh Summit in January.
