POI Pulse: June 15, 2015

CVS to Acquire Target’s Pharmacy Business
Source: (Street Insider June 15, 2015)

“At Target, we’ve talked a lot about the evolving preferences of our guests and this partnership demonstrates that we’re committed to putting them at the forefront of everything we do,” said Brian Cornell, Target Chairman and CEO. “By partnering with CVS Health, we will offer our guests industry leading health care services, and at the same time, sharpen our focus on elevating the way we deliver wellness products and experiences to our guests.” Learn more

Sprouts Shares Secrets to Healthy Growth
Source: (Food Bus News June 12,2015)

Sprouts routinely price checks its competitors across all markets and maintains 19 pricing zones to address competitive differences at state and market levels. The company also offers promotional pricing on a weekly basis, with about a third of items in the store on sale at any given time.Learn more

Join 300+ of Your Peers at POI Summit in Dallas!
Your next opportunity to learn, network, and advance at the POI Fall Summit is November 4-6 in Dallas, TX. The agenda will once again be advanced, so make your plans now to attend, as the POI April 2015 Summit was sold out!

More than 300 CPG Manufacturers and Retailers will join us —
Teams taking advantage of early registration include:

Ahold USA, JBSS, AAFES, DairyPure, Mondelez, Mars, PepsiCo, McCormick, Starbucks, Pinnacle Foods,Coca-Cola, Food Lion, Starbucks, Pinnacle Foods, Nestle, Kimberly Clark, Red Gold, DPSG, Johnson & Johnson, Perfetti Van Melle, Kraft Foods, Pictsweet, Hormel, Clorox, Tyson, Kellogg’s, Dannon, 7-Eleven, JM Smucker, Church & Dwight, Busch Bros., Topco, Keurig Green Mountain, Hillshire Brands, Giant Eagle, Jarden, Hormel, Musco Family Olive, ConAgra, Windsor Foods, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, Del Monte, Rich Products, Mckee Foods, Borden Dairy, SC Johnson, and many others. By now you should have received your invitation. If not, reach me today at mkantor@p-o-i.org

Digital Drives Physical Retail in UK In-store Activity
Source: (emarketer.com June 9, 2015)

The study also asked UK digital shoppers how much extra they might spend in-store based on the availability of these features. Click and collect offered the largest “upsell,” with shoppers saying they would, on average, spend over £18 ($30) extra in-store if this feature was available.Learn more

The Future of Retail – Webinar

Source: (Willard Bishop)

Join Willard Bishop’s Jim Hertel and Craig Rosenblum for a peek into the future of food retailing as they explain how shoppers are impacting online and in-store behaviors, and how manufacturers and retailers can benefit from these marketplace dynamics. Learn more

Whole Foods: New chain to be ‘365’
Source: (MPR Report June 11, 2015)

In its initial announcement, Whole Foods had said that the new chain would be “geared toward millennials.” But Robb said that while 365 is inspired by younger generations, it’s intended to appeal to anyone who wants a quick, convenient way to shop.Learn more

Focus on U.S. Remains ‘Very Strong’ at Wal-Mart
Source: (City Wire June 10, 2015)

Information requested by Walmart in the 8-page “supplier initial questionnaire” includes detail on the cost to produce item overseas compared to the U.S., why the company is interested in moving production back to the U.S., any plans or ability to add production capacity, and consumer demand for the product(s). Learn more

Lidl: A Significant Threat to U.S. Retailers?
Source: Supermarket News June 12, 2105)
On the heels of Aldi’s announced aggressive expansion plans, including their move into California, comes the long expected confirmation of Lidl’s U.S. entry. These two retailers are the two best representatives of the powerful and successful discount format that has made significant inroads throughout Europe. In the U.K., as one example, the two have combined to more than double their market share in the past four years and now approach 10% of the market.

9 Things to Do and Be More Productive Everyday
Source: (Fortune.com June 15, 2015)

When it comes to work, there will never be enough hours in the day. Between meetings, phone calls, and the slew of emails flooding our inboxes, the distractions are endless. Even the most disciplined employees have trouble staying on task. However, I have found a few things that I can do on a daily basis to help me prioritize and make the most of my time in the office.Learn more

I had previously mentioned a conversation/experience I had with Fred who is 81, and owns a small grocery nearby. I made mention to the concept of Reliance vs. Loyalty when it comes to the relationship between shoppers/consumers and Retailers. The just announced transaction of CVS Health purchasing Target Pharmacies will leverage the concept of “reliance” further. CVS Health has positioned itself as a focused expert on comprehensive pharmacy care, and this frees up tremendous resources (salaries, inventory, legal, etc.) for Target. Target will be better positioned to enable the guest relationship, by having shoppers rely on their stores for specialists, and may still leveraging every aspect of the trading partner relationship, threading the health concept through the stores, their people, and each community served.

Ultimately your customers rely on you for knowledge of their unique needs, your products, and consistency in communications, pricing, and your commitment to service excellence. Mariano’s knows their customers, works with vendors on product knowledge, and communicates that experience to their customers. Eataly in NYC and Chicago play where they play best, and their customers rely on them for their unique assortments, and Sean Baker, CEO at Cabela’s described going beyond a loyalty program as;”You need to focus around the customer experience. Anybody can offer points or rewards — that’s easy. What is going to differentiate you and give your customer a reason to increase their brand affinity with you? The only way to do that is to build common experiences and values.

The most important thing you can do to have customers rely on your stores is as obvious as it is overlooked: improve customer service. No matter how great your product/assortment is or how talented your staff is, one of the things that customers are most likely to remember is the direct interaction they have with your company (regardless of channel).

A strong company will already have great customer relationships. But a smart company will always be asking “What is good customer service, and how it is consistently delivered (in person, via mobile/social, via digital)?” This has always meant getting personal (like Fred, or CVS Health). Your customers want to know they have access to real people. Offer more than just automated email responses, taking full advantage of social media and write responses when your customers post on your page. This shows your customers that you are real people working on their behalf.

Creating communities… Your customers will feel even more valued if you treat them as important members of a community. You can bring various customer segments together in numerous ways, including webinars, interactive websites, social media, cooking classes, education, etc. And don’t forget that while your customers come to these forums to learn from you, you must learn as much-if not more-from them on how to continuously improve your relevance, and what ensures their reliance on you.

The Target CVS Health relationship will be an extraordinary collaboration to watch going forward, as it will be fascinating to see where the customer relationship is served by the store within a store, but more importantly, how long term customers will rely on both Target and CVS, or one versus the other. It’s a bold move centered on strengths, and focus.

Join today as a member of POI.

Have a sensational week!

Michael Kantor
CEO & Founder
Promotion Optimization Institute, LLC
mkantor@p-o-i.org

www.POInstitute.com