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Face-to-Face with General Merchandise
GMDC’s 2017 General Merchandise Conference is an opportunity for retailers to develop store-specific GM programs.
Craig Levitt
January 1, 2018
10 Min Read
Some of the top general merchandise suppliers in the industry will gather for the Global Market Development Center’s (GMDC) 2017 General Merchandise (GM17) Conference from June 23-27, at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla.
Featuring three unique business-to-business meeting formats—Strategic Executive Connections (SEC), Connect Collaborate Create (CCC) and Market On-Ramp (MOR)—the event, which is not a booth show, provides the opportunity for suppliers, retailers and distributors to collaborate in an environment that is quiet and controlled, say officials from Colorado Springs, Colo.-based GMDC.
SECs are 30-minute, prescheduled, closed-door meetings in which the top leadership from a given supplier presents top-level programs and opportunities to the top leadership from a retailer or distributor. The CCCs are prescheduled 10- or 20-minute meetings that allow both retailers and suppliers to meet with people they may not usually encounter, and is designed for building trading partner relationships.
“GM17 will explore how successful retailers can position non-foods to instantly gratify shoppers on various missions and reveal action steps in preventing online leakage while building basket size and margins for an engaged shopper experience,” says Patrick Spear, president and CEO of GMDC.
For those not able to attend, here is a small sample of what some of the suppliers will be showing and discussing:
American Greetings will be featuring a few of its new card collections including Happy Tails, Spec-tacular Wishes and Pull My Cord.
Happy Tails features cute animals with tails that sway from side to side. Each card is powered by a solar cell on top so that as long as the cards are under a light, they will keep wagging. Spec-tacular Wishes are kids cards that double as a gift, featuring bold, bright lettering designs surrounding a pair of wearable, light-up party glasses. The Pull My Cord line features removable stuffed photo characters that shake and deliver silly one-liners when the cord is pulled.
Officials for the Cleveland-based company will also be emphasizing the value consumers place on the greeting card category. “Greeting cards play an important role in consumers’ lives, which makes the greeting card category important for retailers,” says Tim Tillia, divisional vice president of sales.
“Our research on how and what consumers use to communicate shows that consumers recognize and value higher-quality paid greetings when they want to make more meaningful connections. They see paper cards as one of the most deeply meaningful ways of expressing themselves.”
Big Time Products will be discussing its Rainbrella 2.0 series of umbrellas, as well as its Digz women’s garden glove styles for spring 2018. Officials for the Rome, Ga.-based company say their goal at GM17 is simple: Make contact with customers they do not presently do business with. “We want to solidify our existing business with other customers, and develop new friendships with retailers through participation in outside events,” says Tim Stapleton, president of U.S. and international sales.
“As partners, it is critical for both retailers and vendors to better understand best practices and strategies to include, and increase the higher profit margin general merchandise items to overall store profitability,” he says. “Many basic food items are super competitive, hence lower margin on highest sales items. The GMDC partnership allows these discussions for benefit of all parties involved.”
Bradshaw International will be showing its diversity by presenting its newly developed hydration line called GoBottle, its expanding lunch storage program, a new gourmet tool collection and new, extra-large double bakeware pans. All of these products are marketed under Bradshaw’s main GoodCook brand and represent GoodCook’s growing reach into new categories, as well as continued growth in areas in which they already play.
GoodCook GoBottle is a complete line of acrylic drink bottles and stainless steel thermal bottles aimed squarely at a younger demographic and seeks to connect with their active lifestyles. As an extension of GoodCook Food Storage, the new lunch boxes, snack containers and salad sets feature easy locking lids and compartments to fill the needs of the pack-your-own-lunch trend. GoodCook Gourmet offers classic tools in 18/8 stainless steel and deluxe acacia hardwoods for today’s foodie cook. The line is Bradshaw’s highest price point ever for gadgets, and seeks to introduce high-end quality through its grocery channels.
“In a grocery environment where center store is shrinking, general merchandise is often the place to get cut,” says Scott Bradshaw, senior vice president of sales for the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based company. “It is important for us all to make sure our inline space is optimized and that we continually look for opportunities to cross-merchandise and promote in the perimeter. This will be a big focus for Bradshaw at this year’s GMDC conference. As one of our industry’s leaders, we hope to show attendees that we are always striving to innovate and develop exciting products. We have always provided great value and exceptional service to our customers, and this year we have more to offer than ever.”
Butler Home Products (BHP) will highlight its recently expanded portfolio of cleaning tools and accessories in an effort to offer both retailers and distributors a one-stop shop for all cleaning needs. Categories include cleaning tools, gloves, sponges, lint rollers and laundry accessories.
“Butler’s offering is not only the broadest in the industry—it includes products branded with some of the industry’s top cleaning brands, such as Mr Clean, Clorox, Dawn and Gain,” says Michael Silverman, senior vice president for the Hudson, Mass.-based company. “Emphasis will be on immediate opportunities to cross promote at the store level by utilizing off-shelf display vehicles.”
In addition to showing its expanding portfolio, Silverman says those meetings with Butler will gain a better understanding of how Butler Home Products can be a broad partner to help with product sourcing needs. “Partnering with BHP allows the retailer or distributor to consolidate vendors, as well as make logistics more efficient,” he says. “This can reduce overall costs, allowing them to offer more competitive pricing to their customers.”
He adds that Butler’s vast product offering also provides retailers and distributors an opportunity to create an assortment that differs from that in mass retailers, thereby helping them compete better.
Design Design will debut two new product categories, party goods and scented candles. The party goods line includes celebratory banners and tassels, cake toppers, party hats, cupcake liners and balloons; created to coordinate with the company’s everyday paper tableware collections.
The scented candle line is called “Essence-scents for your soul,” says Phil Cowley, CMO of the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company. “Each of the 22 blended, custom fragrances are hand-poured by our team of artisans on site at our distribution center,” he says. The line is available in four fragrance families: Fresh Blends, Garden Bloom, Artisan Medley and World Journey.
“With these new category additions, we are now thrilled to provide high-quality, trend-driven product in eight core categories, including greeting cards, paper tableware, party goods, birthday candles, cocktailing, gift packaging, stationery gifts and scented candles,” says Cowley.
Along with its new products, Cowley says Design Design will be highlighting its ability to be a single-source solution focused on growing and elevating retail space in the social expression category.
“Our goal at the conference is no different than the mission of our company, to connect people to people,” he adds. “We look forward to reuniting with our current valued partners, listening to their needs, developing solutions for them, meeting new people and building new relationships.”
Hallmark will feature a new check stand program at GM17. “We are working closely with a few of our grocery partners to test this program and we’re very pleased with the results so far,” says Stacey Howe, vice president/general manager of national accounts, for the Kansas City, Mo.-based company.
“By placing greeting cards at the checkout stand of a grocery store, we are engaging with a captive audience, driving impulse purchases, reminding the shopper of her greeting card needs and encouraging her to visit the full greetings department in store.”
Also on display will be Virtual Reality (VR) cards and a graduation collection, Fly Off Hats. The VR cards feature Hallmark’s exclusive VR viewer and four 360-degree videos intended to take the recipient down a roller coaster, on a hot air balloon ride, racecar driving, skydiving and more. Fly Off Hats feature proud animal graduates on the cover.
Hallmark has also expanded its Signature statement, which now includes new Signature Spanish cards, and innovative gift-wrap. In time for summer, Hallmark’s licensing portfolio features characters from Despicable Me 3, Cars 3, Spiderman, Wonder Woman and Transformers.
“We appreciate GMDC’s commitment to moving this industry forward,” says Howe. “Hallmark invests in research, data and analytics to help drive our business decisions so we recognize the work that GMDC does on behalf of the grocery industry to cultivate a more competitive and productive retail environment.”
Some of IMUSA’s best sellers at grocery are tamale steamers and calderos, and both will be featured at GM17. Victoria Rodriguez, marketing director for the Doral, Fla.-based company, says supermarkets in certain areas are addressing the Hispanic shopper and are offering tamale steamers in a variety of capacities including 20-, 32-, and 52-quart, as well as calderos as large as 17.9-quarts.
“Hispanics tend to purchase cookware at the grocery store,” she adds. “There is the convenience factor, plus the Hispanic shopper visits the grocery store more often than the non-Hispanic shopper, creating substantial opportunities for supermarkets.”
Beyond tamale steamers and calderos, IMUSA has a tools and gadgets line, which includes can openers, lemon squeezers, salsa bowls, chopsticks, bean mashers and a garlic press, which Rodriguez says are ideal for impulse buys, cross merchandising and J-hook programs. Also available is a cleaning line featuring an assortment of sponges, scrubbers, mops, buckets and brooms.
“IMUSA really targets the Hispanic and ethnic market,” says Rodriguez. “We develop unique programs for supermarkets based on specific regional needs, and understanding local markets is essential. Each culture cooks differently and uses different tools, so the more you tailor the offering to match the community’s needs, the easier it is for the customer to make a decision.”
With a multi-part general merchandise line covering travel-size necessities, eyewear, mobile electronics accessories, barware, kitchenware, and home and office supplies, Navajo has plenty to show at GM17.
The Denver-based company’s recent sunglasses lines include Bamboo, which feature eco-friendly bamboo construction; and Stingray, sports sunglasses that focus on flexibility, durability and activeness.
Hottips! are charging cables that have DuraArmor technology, while the Handy Solutions division partners with many well known brands to package the best of health and beauty in travel-ready sizes, say company officials.
“Whether it’s packaging, merchandising solutions, sourcing and designing products, or distribution, Navajo covers all the channels needed to bring products to any retailer’s space,” says Mark Deuschle, president. “We focus on adapting to the industry, meeting the retailer’s needs and producing quality goods for the consumer.”
Whink Products Co. will be highlighting a new and improved Rust-Oxy along with Whink Lime and Rust Remover, which officials for the Eldora, Iowa-based company say work much faster and with less effort than those of the competition. Whink will also show a new, small appliance cleaner designed to work on a number of small appliances that have hard water issues.
“Whink is 70 years young this year and continues to develop new products that catch the shopper’s attention,” says Steve Throssel, CEO. “We deliver cleaning solutions that work and keep consumers coming back for more.”
He adds that Whink’s mission at GM17 is to emphasize the importance of the company’s multiple purchase rebate coupon programs and its 4-pack combo box that, he says, drives more sales, even in stores with declining shopper traffic.
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