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Retail Execs Join Shopper Marketing Commission

The recently announced Retail Commission on Shopper Marketing has unveiled its advisory panel of executives from leading food, drug and mass chains.

The members are:

  • Mike Haaf, senior vice president-sales, marketing & business strategy, Food Lion
  • Brett Merrell, SVP-marketing, Giant Eagle
  • Mark Heckman, VP-marketing, Marsh Supermarkets
  • Michael Ross, VP-marketing, consumer insights, pricing; and Shawn Buckner, VP-grocery, Meijer Inc.
  • Randy Wedel, SVP-marketing & merchandising; and Larry Maggio, VP-marketing services, Schnuck Markets
  • Janet Sparkman, corporate VP-customer strategy & management; Jim Fuqua, director, in-store experience; and Laura Price, director, segment marketing, Supervalu
  • Cheryl Williams, VP-marketing, Wakefern/ShopRite
  • Catherine Lindner, VP-retail marketing, Walgreens
  • Ken Mantel, senior director, in-store presentation/customer experience; and Scott Huff, SVP-customer experience, Walmart
  • Tom DiNardo, VP-sales & pricing, Wegmans

The mission of the Retail Commission on Shopper Marketing is to enhance the shopping experience, increase same-store sales and boost profit performance through the design of a next-generation model for retailer/manufacturer collaboration. The executives on the panel will work in conjunction with Dr. Brian Harris, chairman of The Partnering Group, who pioneered the use of computerized space management in 1985. The year-long work of the Retail Commission is expected to culminate with the publication of a best practices white paper in early 2010.

The heart of the Commission's work will be to define shopper marketing in terms that are both retailer-oriented and understandable, to develop go-to-market propositions that identify what retailers and suppliers must do, and to establish a process by which shopper marketing proposals can be collaboratively evaluated, enhanced and packaged. "Retailers have to see how an initiative [proposed by a product manufacturer] connects into the standard operating procedures they use in category management, merchandising and, in particular, store operations," says Harris. "There's a lot of historical precedent that says this is the way to go."

Coca-Cola North America is sponsoring the commission because it recognizes the need for the industry to standardize its approach to shopper marketing based on the retailer's perspective, says Diane Wallace, Coke's vice president of shopper marketing. "By sponsoring the Retail Commission on Shopper Marketing, the company supports an industry effort to develop a model that will drive value and success for both retailers and manufacturers."

Published: May 2009

Source: In-Store Marketing Institute/Shopper Marketing

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