Warm Reminder Click ↑ “FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting” for more marketing and distributor internal management content.
Case: Xiao Wang is a salesperson for a joint-venture snack food company, responsible for KA store sales in Fuzhou. In recent years, with the improvement of living standards, snack foods have shifted from holiday consumption to regular consumption. This is evident from the changes in snack food shelf space in various stores, which have not only expanded but also refined their categorization. Xiao Wang's products fall under a major category in store snack foods—chocolate. Recently, more companies have entered this category, intensifying competition. Especially in foreign-invested hypermarkets, product displays are now designed based on flavor characteristics. As a result, many companies' products cannot be centrally displayed; they are fragmented into smaller categories, making it difficult to highlight brands and manage them centrally.
Due to different product items being squeezed into a narrow space, and the store placing too few orders each time, shelves often face out-of-stock or understock situations. In Xiao Wang's words, it's a terrible sight! Xiao Wang has been communicating with the buyer responsible for this category, who expresses understanding but makes no progress. For example, in XXX store, since each flavor is given an independent facing, especially for high-end nut products, it's hard to achieve centralized display by brand. Two days ago, Xiao Wang received an ultimatum from his supervisor: if the centralized display issue is not resolved this month, he will have to leave.
......
For suppliers, centralized display of brand products in hypermarkets has always been a headache. From a management perspective, almost all suppliers want their products to be centrally displayed. However, to create the best shopping environment, every store has its own display principles, which is an indisputable fact! Therefore, suppliers should rationally view the centralized display of their products. On one hand, find ways for brand products within existing display principles; on the other hand, find reasons to persuade hypermarkets to agree to centralized display. Specifically, suppliers should consider the following aspects:
How to rationally view centralized display? Seek development in survival In life, people tend to be self-righteous—imposing their ideas on others, rarely considering others' perspectives. The same applies to business organizations. Because most suppliers design brand terminal sales strategies from the brand's perspective (including display design, marketing design, etc.), when their ideas are blocked in stores, they become at a loss. They either pressure terminal operations or obey the hypermarket's operations. Fundamentally, this affects product sales in stores to some extent.
So, the correct approach is: enterprises should formulate their display standards based on the store's product management principles and classification standards, and design their brand display plans accordingly. For example, when centralized display is not possible, consider multi-point and multi-form displays to increase sales opportunities, indirectly enhancing brand influence among consumers. This places higher demands on supplier salespeople: on one hand, understand which existing display principles must be followed and which can be changed through communication; on the other hand, leverage store resources to find alternative display methods.
Strive for good display positions within small categories Even if centralized display is not possible, suppliers should try to secure good positions within small categories, ensuring products are within the golden sightline easily seen by consumers. Don't rely too much on computer orders; computers can be foolish. Have you heard of manual orders? If the system fails, use manual orders.
Attract consumer attention with display props Good display props not only attract consumers but also facilitate store management and even secure larger display space. When designing these props, if you can capture the store's interests, it's easy to gain approval.
Choose good "neighbors" In ancient times, there was "Mencius's mother moving three times"; modern people also want good neighbors when buying houses. For suppliers, products in hypermarkets also need good "neighbors." If your brand is surrounded by well-known, reputable products, it will naturally boost your sales.
Find ways to persuade buyers and stores Generally, no matter how "awesome" a hypermarket is, it won't reject all suppliers' centralized display requests. There will always be one or two that can achieve centralized display. So, if your store rejects your request but approves others', it means there is a "breakthrough" to persuade the buyer and store. Typically, just as suppliers classify hypermarkets, hypermarkets also classify their supplier groups. If your position in that classification is too low, it's not conducive to securing more resources and conditions. Conversely, if you have attractive "bargaining chips," the problem becomes easier.
What problems exist in current store displays? In fact, no hypermarket's display is static. Hypermarkets are also "crossing the river by feeling the stones," constantly changing display forms. Whichever display brings good sales may be adopted. Most store buyers, due to limited energy, are buried in trivial daily work and rarely think about this. Therefore, if suppliers can identify "dead spots" in existing displays and propose improvements, your suggestions may be adopted and establish your professional image in buyers' minds.
What are the "exchange conditions" for centralized display? Generally, brands that achieve centralized display in hypermarkets often have clear "exchange conditions." Stores are profit organizations; good display positions and methods require "exchange conditions." Some stores even use this to set "thresholds" for suppliers, as a profit-making tool. So, as long as you have enough "exchange conditions" to tempt the store, centralized display is not impossible. The key is to consider all factors when designing these benefits and clearly show the buyer what they can gain. Let the store know that everyone is not working for nothing; all can benefit.
Provide convincing order basis Don't assume all hypermarket buyers are professional. Many in stores don't understand business; many buyers have little knowledge of supplier products and are not experts at ordering. So, you might as well decide your own order quantities. Of course, you need to provide reasonable data and evidence to persuade the buyer to order according to your quantity. For example, determine order frequency and quantity based on inventory days, turnover, display, and sales. Over time, when buyers find your orders are scientific, they will naturally follow your order quantities—meaning you have the say!