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Byline: Christina Veiders Retailers await the impact of advanced devices to shape health and wellness. A new generation of digital health-monitoring devices has emerged, foreshadowing the future of health care [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Food retailers test new concepts to tackle diabetes. The diabetes landscape -- where millions of lives and billions of health care dollars are at stake -- is [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Leading grocery chains pull out the stops in housewares. Traffic frequency, along with a spotlight on food and beverages, positions supermarkets as an effective channel to generate [...]

There are several opportunities for supermarkets to obtain a greater share of the general merchandise market. Food retailers can increase the sales of seasonal merchandise such as greeting cards, batteries and photographic film throughout the year. Supermarkets can create special departments for general merchandise. Grocery stores can also cross merchandise more often., The statistics alone serve as a powerful motivator for supermarkets committed to big volume, high-profit general merchandise categories. Of the $148 billion in nonfood sales last year, both in general [...]

The consolidation of magazine distributors and wholesalers has made the task of periodical management much easier for supermarkets. Efficiency has been increased, cross merchandising programs have been increased and reporting functions have been simplified. The variety in magazine selection is still possible after the consolidation., Consolidation within the magazine distribution ranks is making it possible for supermarkets to hone their periodicals racks for greater efficiency and increased sales. The consolidation that has taken place among [...]

King Soopers Inc and Safeway Inc are both losing market share to Cub Foods and Albertson's Inc during a grocery strike in Denver, CO. Picket lines are being honored by an approximate 80% of Denver's shoppers during the United Food and Commercial Workers Union strike, which began in May 1996. Job security, health care and pension cuts are among the strike's issues. Mass marketers, such as Wal-Mart, could also increase their grocery store market share., Denver -- A stubbornly fought battle in the mile-high city could have long-term implications. With a labor strike in progress, the losers in the fight clearly were Denver's two leading [...]

Supermarket retailers in 1995 benefitted from such profit opportunities as new prescription-to-over-the-counter switches, blockbuster theatrical home video releases and prepaid phone cards. Many retailers also consolidated their magazine and book distribution systems as part of an overall effort to achieve maximum efficiency by eliminating multiple pricing and service levels, as well as multiple invoices., Retailers threw big support behind some nonfood categories that added excitement to their stores this year, and positioned the chains as leaders in other segments. New-product introductions such as prepaid [...]

Children's video producers are increasingly targeting children's programming by introducing an array of products specifically designed for supermarket video departments. Such products include special programs, budget titles, re-releases and catalog tapes. The emphasis on specialized products is designed to capitalize on the growth of direct-to-sell-through theatrical box-office hits that invariably draw customers into supermarkets and supermarket video departments., Supermarkets have a lot to choose from when it comes to children's programming. There are the direct-to-sell-through theatrical mega hits that are almost guaranteed to bring customers into supermarkets and [...]

Supermarkets had a challenging year in 1994 in the non-food categories. For example, most supermarkets aggressively marketed Procter and Gamble's Aleve analgesic, setting a new trend in how supermarkets handle pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, four major supermarket chains sued 16 pharmaceutical manufacturers, claiming price discrimination. Other trends in supermarket non-food categories are also discussed., Supermarkets fought back hard this year to protect their nonfood turf. They did it by being first to market with a new over-the-counter switch pain killer. In video, retailers took [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Retailers can tap new technology for personal disease management to attract diabetes patients. Forecasters indicate that no end is in sight to rising diabetes rates -- 29 [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Following a frontal assault in the shaving category, retailers prepare for the next wave. Steely glints of a rebound in the shaving/grooming aisles of retailers have begun [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders E-cigarette vapor product sales continue upward, but food retailers face tobacco marketing obstacles. The food channel rang up impressive dollar and unit gains in the electronic smoking [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Food retailers turn to workforce management technology to protect profits. Labor costs -- a grocer's second-biggest operational expense after cost of goods -- are under pressure. Grocers [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders A new openness pervades sexual wellness marketing and merchandising, with women leading the charge. An indication that things are quickly changing in sexual health is that Plan [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Demand for dollar greeting cards causes industry disruption. 'Woo-hoo! Look -- 47-cent cards!' That was a sentiment expressed by several shoppers at a local Walmart store in [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders A rich resource for retailers, energy products can present placement challenges. Supermarkets are in the midst of an energy surge. Food and dietary supplements formulated for those [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Food purveyors are helping diabetics to cut through the food confusion in stores to find healthy choices. Most grocery chains have made strides as valued resources for [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Supermarkets can take time now to evaluate their first-aid sets to maximize product movement during active summer months. With the run-up to summer, health and beauty care [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Bigger and better retail promotions needed to capture POS purchases. A cash-cow regimen -- shaving -- went south last year for mass-market retailers, including supermarkets. Razors and [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Retailers that invest in new tobacco segment await the effect of regulations. Wegmans Food Markets Inc. stopped selling highly profitable cigarettes and other tobacco products in 2008, [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Supermarkets and mass-market retailers tackle how to handle emergency contraceptives on the shelf. It's been a rocky and controversial road in getting emergency contraceptive (EC) Plan B [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Food retailers must sell more than simple mustard plasters and alcohol rubs to satisfy today's shoppers looking for topical pain relief. With limited shelf space, retailers are [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Food retailers rethink housewares as more shoppers cook fresh food at home. Cooking at home has gone from a recessionary trend to an ingrained daily routine for [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Fragrances sold in the grocery channel can be lucrative and exciting, despite the challenges. The fragrance category -- a $6.3 billion pot of gold in U.S. sales [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders E-liquids can propel electronic cigarettes further, but first hurdles must be overcome. What's in the vapor is part of electronic cigarettes' allure, as well as a controversy [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Women and younger shoppers pick up homepathic brands, attracted to natural, safer attributes on labels. An increase in homeopathic sales among mainstream retailers might be a case [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Opportunities abound amid inroads by e-cards. There is a potential $1 billion sales opportunity in the greeting card aisles of mass-market chains this spring. During the second [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Retailers keep shoppers informed on the latest products, uses and guidance for calcium supplements. Bone-health supplements -- a $133 million business at mass-market retailers, according to a [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Tampons and sanitary napkins confront the demands of health, safety and environmental concerns. Consider the numbers: Tampons are used by approximately 73 million women in the United [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Efforts to capitalize on style trends could prove a two-edged sword. Sales of razors and blades this year will be partly driven by the dichotomy between clean-shaven [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Retailers scramble to keep pace with an unexpectedly difficult flu season, brand shortages and an elevated demand for cough-cold products. It came earlier than expected and was [...]

The Food Marketing Institute's 1997 convention introduced results from a study evaluating the loss of nonfood sales from grocery stores to other retailers. Supermarkets need to utilize their strengths, such as convenience, new product introduction regularity and service to regain their losses in nonfood sales. Supermarkets also need to correct the misconceptions that they have a low selection and high prices of these items., CHICAGO -- Results of the third American Greetings Research Council project, titled 'Winning the Battle of Consumer Perceptions,' indicate that super- markets can regain the nonfood ground being lost to [...]

Grocery stores maintained a 34% share of total sales of health and beauty care (HBC) products in 1996 by capturing $6.1 billion of the $18.2 billion in total HBC sales. Mass marketers increased their market share to from 28% in 1995 to 31% of the total in 1996, while drug stores' share fell from 38% to 35%. Supermarket market shares increased for analgesics, vitamins, antacids, razors, and cosmetics, but declined for feminine protection products, toothpaste, cough and cold medicines, deodorant, and shampoo.

Individual store managers from the DeMoulas Super Markets Inc. chain attended Imperial Distributors Inc.'s Dec. 1996 product show and completed seasonal buying for their respective stores for spring and summer 1997. The buying campaign represents a departure in DeMoulas' supply order strategy, which had formerly been centralized under the authority of the chains' headquarter buyers. Since the task of supply buying has fallen to store managers, Demoulas' orders from Imperial have increased by approximately 20%., BOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Demoulas & Market Basket, Tewksbury, Mass., completed all seasonal buying for spring/summer with the help of its individual store managers at a merchandising show held here, Dec. [...]

Licensed products will be popular items in 1997 back-to-school promotions, according to attendees at the School and Home Office Products Association trade show held Nov 14 to 16, 1996, in Dallas, TX. Back-to-school promotions in 1997 will feature licensed products from 'Space Jam,' 'Lost World,' 'Batman and Robin' and the sequel to 'Jurassic Park.', DALLAS -- Licensed products in entertainment, character, trademark and sports dominated the exhibit floor at the Dayton, Ohio-based School and Home Office Products Association trade show here, Nov. 14 to [...]

Category management is heavily used to drive supermarket marketing of impulse-driven general merchandise, and it is beginning to creep into other areas of general merchandise. Supermarkets are trying to form partnerships to facilitate category management programs for batteries, lightbulbs, film, and other high-volume items. Benefits of the approach include improved variety and selection, monitoring and tracking of sales, and progress towards establishing broader Consumer Efficient Response initiatives., Supermarkets are beginning to get religious when it comes to merchandising highly impulse-driven general merchandise categories. That new-time religion is category management. It is happening by degrees in general merchandise, [...]

Tops Markets and Wegmans Food Markets dominate the health and beauty care product sales in Buffalo, NY. Neither market would discuss its merchandising strategies. Drugstores started moving into Buffalo during the 1990s but have not seized a major portion of the health and beauty care market. Discount stores have also moved into the area and are beginning to have an effect on health and beauty care product sales., BUFFALO, N.Y. --This territory is shaping up to be a battleground in health and beauty care. So far, the two dominant supermarket chains in the region -- Tops Markets, an [...]

Supermarkets are employing destination sections as a strategy for garnering increases in the sales of nonfood items. Supermarket retailers are trying to compete against mass merchandisers and specialty stores which have made inroads into the nonfood sector. Some of the nonfood categories include a pharmacy section, video rental and sales, greeting cards, partyware, and a gift section., It's major league retailing when a supermarket creates a nonfood destination. In implementing this strategy, grocery chains are going directly against the competition - specialty stores and mass merchandisers - [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders E-cigarettes remain in the hinterlands of smoking and smokeless products at many retailers. A recent trip to Duane Reade's New York flagship store at 40 Wall St. [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Expect harsh winter winds to churn up more sales for lip care products. Retailers can expect to enjoy a fourth-quarter sales spike in the mature and well-developed [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders E-cigarettes - deemed tobacco products by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - are poised to break through the haze as a more legitimate category for mass-market [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders A seminal moment for the future entry of prescription to over-the-counter (OTC) drugs occurred in March, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Whole health as a destination is about to get more complicated, requiring new partnerships and investment. Supermarket chains have been preparing for the challenge ahead for the [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Supermarkets' health-and-wellness merchandisers and marketers are challenged to help their health-conscious shoppers, given the fast-moving but less nutritious food and drink products sold in grocery stores. 'Sometimes, [...]

Stephen Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park' is expected to be strongly promoted by MCA/Universal Home Video when it is released at retail in Oct 1994. The promotion plan calls for retailer-driven marketing programs that will have six cross-promotional partners that include McDonald's and Kraft General Foods. The home video version of the movie, which has grossed $900 million in worldwide sales, will have a suggested retail price of $24.98 and is expected to generate sales of $1 billion., UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- MCA/Universal Home Video will promote Steven Spielberg's blockbuster 'Jurassic Park' to home video sell-through with a retailer-driven marketing program that features six cross-promotional partners, including Kraft [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders Winner: ConAgra Foods Foundation Funded education program for low-income families. Assisted in rollout of store-tour pilots in 32 markets. Promotes small lifestyle changes for better health. It's [...]

Byline: Christina Veiders ST. LOUIS - Young family of four is about to begin the busy back-to-school season on a tight budget. Solution: Save-A-Lot hits the road, August 7-28, on [...]

Byline: CHRISTINA VEIDERS For kids getting back to school this week, carrying the hottest lunch kit gear is an annual rite of passage. The food containers that kids take from [...]

Byline: CHRISTINA VEIDERS WOOSTER, Ohio - Buehler's Food Market, a 13-store chain here, is in the final phase of selling its 11 pharmacies to Ritzman Pharmacies in Wadsworth, Ohio. The [...]

Byline: CHRISTINA VEIDERS Product orders for the July 4th holiday were planned months out. Now retailers can reap the fruits of their labor or start moving unsold patriotic gear, fireworks, [...]