2017 CMA Conference Attracts Record Number of Attendees
Another memorable CMA conference is in the record books! In fact, we had a record number of attendees this year which included a diverse mix of retailers, solution providers and manufacturers from a...
View ArticleBest Buy Looks to Mobile Phones to Continue Growth
Best Buy shares recently jumped nearly 20% in one day when they announced comparable sales increased 1.6% in the past quarter. Analysts had expected a decline of 1.5 percent. One of the surprises was...
View ArticleU.S Grocers Preparing for Lidl
German grocery giant Lidl just opened its first U.S store and boldly claimed; “Shoppers can expect to get top quality goods and groceries at up to 50 percent less than other supermarkets in the U.S.” A...
View ArticleCustomer Insights Begin with Insights into Consumer Trends
Stores closings are on a record pace and the retail industry will likely see more brick and mortar store closures this year than ever before. Now more than ever, retailers must keep a close eye on...
View ArticleFour Key Challenges for Whole Foods (and how Amazon can overcome them)
By purchasing Whole Foods, many believe Amazon will transform the retail grocery industry. But this business has become extremely sophisticated, intensely competitive and powerful new competitors like...
View ArticleIs this merchandising weapon in your arsenal? It should be.
For retailers, promotional concepts and endcap displays can often change the timing of sales, but not necessarily increase overall category sales. But cross merchandising can effectively drive...
View ArticleWant to Become Certified?
Want to Become Certified? Of course for the hundreds of industry professionals pondering this question the real question is why is certification important to me? Furthermore, why is certification an...
View ArticleHispanic Spending Down in 2017
Hispanic consumers are spending less this year and the retail industry is concerned. "The Hispanic consumer in the U.S. is shopping much less," Target CEO Brian Cornell said during the Fortune...
View ArticleLatin-American Marketing Conference Brings Together Top Retailers &...
The 3rd Annual Latin-American Category Management & Shopper Marketing Conference was held on July 11th and 12th at the JW Marriott Hotel in Bogota, Colombia. The event drew over 200 attendees and...
View ArticleCarpe Datum (Seize the Data)
Carpe Datum (Seize the Data) Ok, so the Latin translation of Seize the Data is actually carpe notitia. Better yet, it should really be Seize the Big Data which would translate to carpe magnus notitia....
View ArticleThe Do’s of College Recruiting in Category Management
The Do’s in Recruiting Millennials for Category Management Positions The CMA Higher Education Board recently conducted a survey to find the most important criteria for career choices made by today’s...
View ArticleThe Time is Ripe for Produce
Grocers need to take advantage. Produce sales increased 3.3% and volume grew 2.6% over the 52 weeks ending March 19th. Total produce category sales reached $63 billion, outpacing all other categories....
View ArticleNewly Certified Showcase!
The best way to understand the motivations behind why someone got category management certified, is to ASK! Hear from this month’s feature on their certification experience. Meet Geoff Nadler. What is...
View ArticleCategory Management Standards & Higher Education
Category Management Standards & Higher Education By Daniel P. Strunk Standards Early in this decade The Category Management Association (CMA) released standards to govern the evaluation of industry...
View ArticleCMA Certification
CMA Certification has been so readily accepted because it is the result of a collaborative effort between manufacturers, retailers, brokers & training organizations to establish & communicate...
View ArticleWhy Amazon’s Lower Price Strategy for Whole Foods Will Work & Why It Won’t
Amazon is dramatically reducing prices at Whole Foods to attract new customers and bring back those who left to find lower-priced natural and organic foods at traditional super markets. The lower price...
View ArticleThe Value of Certification of Industry Talent to the Category Management...
Category management is a collaborative practice exercised by retailers and manufacturers, in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, to optimize the return on investment for a segment of retail...
View ArticleThis Brick & Mortar Retail Sector is Thriving
C-stores get an “A” for growth. While many brick and mortar stores have been closing, the convenience store industry has actually doubled in size over the past 30 years and is still growing. In 2016,...
View ArticleNewly Certified Showcase!
The best way to understand the motivations behind why someone got category management certified, is to ASK! Hear from this month’s feature on their certification experience. Meet Becky Bronkema! What...
View ArticleSome Lidl Stores Off to a Slow Start
German grocery powerhouse Lidl officially landed in the U.S. in June and has opened 37 stores on the East Coast. While initial sales were strong at most locations, customer traffic has slipped at some...
View Article
