Supermarkets are cleaning house in most confectionery categories, but when it comes to seasonal items, the other classes of trade are mopping up.
For the last couple of years, mass merchandisers have continued to grow their share of the confectionery market.
This year for Halloween, Big Y, Springfield, Mass., plans to give deep sale retails on some of its better-selling 14-ounce bagged chocolate items said Tom Yarrows, category manager. For the year ended June 16, mass merchandisers and drug chains, combined, accounted for 70% of the total share of seasonal dollar sales, according to numbers compiled by Information Resources Inc., Chicago.
The numbers also indicated that mass merchandisers and drug chains, respectively, beat out supermarkets at Halloween, Valentine's and Easter. Mass merchandisers sell more dollars than grocers or drug store operators at Christmas.
