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BRANDS AND SLOTTING FEES

A recent issue of SN (Supermarket News) dealt with the issue of slotting fees. Not surprisingly, there is much stronger support for slotting allowances among retailers than manufacturers.succeeding each year, it's odd that more players on both sides haven't focused on the opportunity vs. the cost of new products.It would seem to me that there is a tremendous number of tools and upside that retailer/brand

A recent issue of SN (Supermarket News) dealt with the issue of slotting fees. Not surprisingly, there is much stronger support for slotting allowances among retailers than manufacturers.

succeeding each year, it's odd that more players on both sides haven't focused on the opportunity vs. the cost of new products.

It would seem to me that there is a tremendous number of tools and upside that retailer/brand collaboration would bring during the formative months of a new product's life. Why not think of the store as an incubator for newborn products? We know that most people make brand-buying decisions there.

Through frequent shopper card databases, retailers know more about consumer "buy-o-graphics" than brand companies. We know that brand manufacturers are chomping at the bit to get their hands on this information, especially during new-product launches. And, finally, we know that consumers tend to buy more of a brand at the store where they first bought it as a new item.

I challenge more retailers and manufacturers to leverage slotting allowances to build the ultimate new product head-start program. A brand is a terrible thing to waste.

Tim Hawkes, managing director of ARC Retail, formerly Chain Reaction, a unit of D'Arcy Marketing Services focused on marketing through retail