ANTI-SMOKING PRODUCTS MAY BE CHALLENGE FOR RETAILERS

PETER MALBIN

A newly introduced prescription to the over-the-counter category appears to be a mixed blessing for supermarkets.

Several months after the release of smoking-cessation products -- Nicorette, Nicoderm CQ and Nicotrol -- some retailers are reporting they are not stocking these products for fear of pilferage.

"We have not put them in yet," said Randall King, health and beauty care buyer for Byrd Food Stores, Burlington, NC. "Fifty dollar retail -- you do not put it on the shelf," he said. King said the chain was considering putting the products under lock and key.

"We decided not to carry the products because of theft problems," said Roger Burks, HBC buyer, Mad Butcher, a supermarket chain headquartered in Pine Bluff, Ark. "The drugstores and discount stores that I have been in are putting bar codes on the anti-nicotine products," he said. Burks says Mad Butcher is not set up for putting bar codes on products.

"It's harder to police supermarkets," noted David Spohr, category manager, Fleming GMD, a division of Fleming Cos., Oklahoma City.

There's a big potential theft problem in supermarkets with the high-priced anti-smoking products, said Steve Lauder, health care category manager, SuperValu, Minneapolis, Minn. "People will steal a two-dollar item for their own personal use. When you are looking at a twenty-five to fifty-dollar item, people will steal these for quick cash and take them to another retailer and ask for their money back."

But Burks said Mad Butcher will not refund money unless customers have a valid register receipt. "A lot of supermarkets have the same policy," he said.

Many grocery stores are not stocking the anti-smoking products because they have to keep them behind the counter, said Charles Page, a HBC coordinator for Dixie Saving Stores, a warehouse in Chatanooga, Tenn., that supplies independent grocery stores.

And those stocking them behind the counter report that sales have been relatively disappointing so far. Of course, this presents a Catch-22 situation: If the products were more accessible to customers, then sales would probably increase; but then so would the possibility of theft.

SmithKline Beecham launched Nicorette, a smoking-cessation gum, over the counter, in April. It had been prescription-only since 1984. McNeill Consumer Products Co., a Johnson & Johnson company, released its first nicotine patch, Nicotrol, in July, and SmithKline's own patch, Nicoderm CQ, followed in August. Nicotine patches had been available by prescription only since 1991.

Smoking-cessation products, which come in varying stockkeeping units, retail for between $25 and $50. Treatments often require repeat-purchases or refills.

Executives interviewed by SN said there was some reluctance to display such high-ticket items in a food store. Those stocking these items are debating where best to merchandise them. Some supermarkets that have pharmacies are merchandising anti-smoking products in the pharmacy section, either behind the counter or within visibility of the pharmacist or customer-service person.

"I think the supermarket merchandiser has to make a decision about how aggressive they want to be in this market," commented Bill Bishop, a retail consultant for Willard, Bishop Consulting in Barrington, Ill., who has consulted for SmithKline Beecham, the manufacturer of Nicorette and Nicoderm. "It's a tough decision for the supermarket. The product has to be subject to some additional security consideration. That means being sold in a high-visibility area." Bishop also noted that products sold on a self-service basis sell 40% better.

At many supermarkets, anti-smoking products are now being stored behind locked cases, and customers have to request them from personnel.

Some people in the industry think this makes these products less accessible to customers.

"We recommend to our stores to keep it (the products) on the shelves where consumers can see it," Spohr said. "We believe the benefit of offering it OTC in an accessible manner outweighs the risk of theft."

"Supermarkets are making it tough for consumers to find. If customers don't want to speak to a customer-service person or a pharmacist, they will go somewhere else to find it," he said.