HOLIDAY HOOPLA 1997

MARYELLEN LO BOSCO

As holiday promotions move into high gear, retailers are anticipating winter windfalls.

Some buyers consider December to be the prime time for Christmas sales, but others look at holiday activity as a two-month period that begins a few weeks before Thanksgiving.

"Most promotions run four weeks, and some are continued from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day," said Eleanor Bennett, manager of deli/frozen food purchasing at Certified Grocers of California, Los Angeles.

"Grocery items are promoted throughout the month of December," explained Paul Coleman, vice president of advertising and marketing for Farmer Jack, Detroit, a division of A&P, Montvale, N.J.

At Buehler Foods, Jasper, Ind., holiday promotions began in mid-November and will run through the Christmas holidays, said Debbie Goulding, grocery department manager and category manager.

Minyard Food Stores, Coppell, Texas, begins some promotions as early as the first week of November, said Joe Tarver, vice president of purchasing.

Sterks Super Foods, Hammond, Ind., starts Nov. 1, according to Kevin Copper, vice president of merchandising.

Brian Sikkema, category manager at D&W Food Centers, Grand Rapids, Mich., also views the promotional season as a two-month period.

"For the last couple of years, we've been starting right after Halloween," Sikkema said. "We promote lots of baking items starting in the beginning of November. For the Christmas period, some items might change, but we view it as an entire season."

As for the length of the season, Sikkema went as far as saying, "Halloween is becoming a holiday in itself, so the season is almost from mid-October until the end of the year."

Certified Grocers produces a marketing guide in November that it distributes to its members, said Larry Rice, retail advertising specialist. The guide includes holiday deals, as well as merchandising tips and high-volume items in each category.

Certified also offers an eight-page full-color direct-mail circular that features canned vegetables and juices; baking ingredients, such as spices, nuts, sugar and Nestle morsels; hominy; paper products; cookies; snacks; fire logs; soda; champagne; beer and wine; and chips.

In the frozen-food department, pizza, toppings, vegetables, waffles and orange juice are on promotion. In total, Certified has nearly 200 grocery stockkeeping units and about 65 frozens SKUs on special for the holiday period.

Private label also plays a major role in Certified's holiday plans, with promotional activity beginning the last full week of October, according to Barry Jaynes, manager of the private brands division.

About 170 private-label grocery items and 40 frozens items are being promoted over the holiday period, in addition to brands. These are both seasonal- and traditional-volume products.

Like Certified, Farmer Jack sends out an eight-page direct-mail circular. In addition, advertising appears in the local paper, explained Coleman. While the store is noted for fresh items such as party and deli trays during this time of year, it also promotes stuffing, canned and frozen vegetables, pies and frozen dessert toppings.

Some chains are running unique in-store promotions to create excitement for the holidays. Wild Oats, Boulder, Colo., hosted a free holiday tasting fair in its eight Denver stores last month. An advertisement in the Denver Post publicized the event. "Festive, healthy holiday foods galore. Bring your appetites. From natural turkeys to groovy desserts."

Minyard, Buehler and D&W all use circulars, which appear in-store and in the newspaper, as well as TV and radio advertising.

A D&W newspaper insert promotes a holiday flier, which has coupons, special offers, price points and recipes, that consumers can obtain in-store, said Sikkema. Most retailers shared the view that grocery and frozen-food items in demand for Thanksgiving remain popular for Christmas.

Cranberry sauce, canned pumpkin, coconut, chocolate chips, frozen pies, apple juice, Marischino cherries, olives and packaged gravy are all in the limelight for the season.

Goulding mentioned broths, pies, baking ingredients, juices and frozen and canned vegetables as being popular items to promote for both holidays.

Sikkema also noted that baking ingredients in particular, flat or declining most of the year, get a sales boost during Christmas.

"Beverages are huge and continue to be a good draw for the store. There's a shift in size, from 12-ounce cans to two-liter bottles," he said.

He also mentioned that whipped toppings, pies and frozen concentrated juices all sell well during the holidays, with frozen pizza and entrees also showing spikes.

"The consumer is looking for convenient items to feed to the family so she can get out and go [gift] shopping again," Sikkema said. "Pizza is a huge item, but it's even bigger this time of year because people are time-pressed."

Copper of Sterks agreed that items change only slightly from Thanksgiving to Christmas, noting that pumpkin pie and cranberries are more popular for Thanksgiving, while baking items are more in demand in December.

Retailers typically pay more attention to in-store displays at the end of the year, and some even do holiday decorating.

"Displays are encouraged on key holiday items," said Rice. Most of Certified's displays are up from Nov. 1 through the holiday season.

"Certified supplies some display modules or pallet modules to assist our retailers. Signage is done by our retailers, unless they are in one of our advertising groups, such as BIG [Better Independent Grocers]," she continued.

Holiday kits for decorating are available through the Grocers Equipment division, and stores often decorate for the holiday season and "offer customers a warm and friendly shopping experience," said Rice.

"Cross merchandising is encouraged through in-store displays, and care is taken to be sure that the weekly circular moves customers through the entire store and all departments," Rice continued.

Major vendors plan extra holiday demos to maximize sales. In-ad manufacturer and/or store coupons are also part of many holiday circular programs.

According to Tarver, kits containing Christmas decorations that can be hung from the ceiling and put on windows are sent to all Minyard stores.

"We've got holiday baskets and fruit baskets that you see right as you come in at the front of the store, and that creates a holiday feel," said Sikemma of D&W.

Solution selling is another holiday merchandising strategy. In the baking category, for instance, some chains group together spices, flours and similar products. D&W and other chains use a Wall of Values in some stores.

Most stores engage in some charitable activities, as well. Coleman of Farmer Jack mentioned that his stores are working with the Salvation Army. Bell ringers have been invited to come to store locations and stand in the vestibule, rather than outside. Further, every customer who gives a donation gets a free apple.

All the retailers SN polled expect sales spikes this month.

Certified Grocers projects a 25% increase in sales overall due to marketing efforts for Christmas, according to Bennett. Similarly, Certified expects a 20% to 25% increase in overall sales for private label, according to Jaynes.