DR. SCHOLL'S TAKING STEPS TO BOOST SHARE, PROFITS

MICHAEL SLEZAK

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. -- Dr. Scholl's and its parent company, Schering Plough, plan to use partnerships with retailers to keep inventory levels down and to improve profitability by selling value-added premium products.

The leading foot-care marketer in the United States is staging the second half of its aggressive sales plan to increase the $156.5 million foot-care market in U.S. supermarkets. Last year, Dr. Scholl's introduced the first half of its new foot-care line nationally with a 33% increase in advertising spending, and the company's sales rose 19%, according to Towne-Oller & Associates.

In 1994 Dr. Scholl's will increase ad spending 25% from 1993, for a budget of over $35 million, and will also use freestanding inserts on a variety of its products.

"We know from studies that we've done that eight of 10 adults experience foot pain. But only half of those people now take steps to alleviate that foot pain," said Steve LaMonte, vice president of foot-care marketing at Dr. Scholl's, explaining his company's reasons for increasing ad and promotional spending despite a 52% share of U.S. foot-care dollar volume in food stores (according to Towne-Oller). "Our feeling was if we developed new technologies, we'd be successful in bringing more consumers to the marketplace.

Dr. Scholl's plans to pursue its sales goals by courting food retailers too.

"We have a very comprehensive trade program on display shippers, early-buy allowances and ad activities to go along with the more traditional consumer promotion support activity," said LaMonte.

The new Dr. Scholl's line has begun shipping, but LaMonte said the products and advertising should be completely in place by mid-May.

The new line includes a variety of corn products, four new formulas of Lotrimin AF (jock itch and athlete's foot product), a variety of insoles and inserts, a Revitalizing Footbath and Rough Skin Removing Foot Cream.