PHOENIX — General merchandise is seriously lagging other aspects of retail in category management, which is resulting in a loss of space, corporate inattention and declining sales, said Eric Togneri, principal, CPG CatNet, of Atlanta, a trade association. Speaking at a workshop during the GM Marketing Conference here this month of the Global Market Development Center, Colorado Springs, widely known as GMDC, Togneri said GM companies that do category management well are a rare exception. “The general merchandise companies that embrace category management will dramatically differentiate themselves from their competitors, because very few among the general merchandise folks are doing it,” he told SN after the workshop. Retailers value category management, and supermarket companies value it most of all, he said. A study showed that 86% of grocery retailers said it was important, while an average of 82% across all channels said the same, Togneri noted.
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