GM GETS HEALTHY

DAN ALAIMO

With an aging population and an increasing preoccupation with health by all customers, retailers need to turn their attention to the wellness aspects of general merchandise.

During the recent GM Marketing Conference of the Global Market Development Center, Colorado Springs, speakers and participants said they are focusing more now on GM products that relate to health — as well as sustainability, which has an indirect connection to wellness, but is no less important to the quality of people's lives.

Health-oriented GM products getting noticed during the event, held last month in Orlando, Fla., were fitness products, such as yoga mats; aromatherapy items, including candles; books, magazines and DVDs with wellness themes; compact fluorescent light bulbs containing lower levels of mercury; and containers made of nontoxic materials. On the sustainability side, CFLs remained a hot product area, more rechargeable batteries were presented, and there were also more items made of bamboo, including a variety of textile products.

“General merchandise always seems to be the last thing that people look at when they're thinking about wellness, and it really needs to be incorporated with the total plan,” said Terry Cerwick, senior category manager, non-edibles, Bi-Lo, Greenville, S.C.

Chris DePetris, GMDC's director of wellness programs, said the concept of wellness in GM is much broader than just sustainability products like CFLs. He recently joined GMDC after five years with Wild Oats Markets, which was acquired by Whole Foods last year. DePetris conducted a workshop on “Wellness Opportunities in General Merchandise.” He pointed to aromatherapy as an example of a GM wellness product. “One of the ways that the natural channel utilizes aromatherapy is to put the essential oils into candles, so when you burn a candle, you get the benefits of the aromatherapy.”

Fitness and exercise products are another area offocus for retailers. “Yoga, meditation and tai chi are concepts that have been around for many years, but are now being utilized as part of a wellness strategy,” DePetris said. He noted that stretching during yoga exercises can help improve osteoporosis, while exercising with resistance bands strengthens muscles, thus giving seniors greater mobility, and reducing the incidence of hip fractures.

Kitchen gadgets are another category with potential wellness benefits for those with arthritis, he said. Manufacturers are starting to come out with items that have larger and softer handles, making them easier to hold and use.

Concerns raised recently about baby bottles with plastics containing bisphenol A, a chemical said to be toxic to infants, has triggered a move back to glass bottles, he noted. This brings two benefits. “The consumer gets the health benefit for the child, while the environment gets the benefit of recycling.”

Meanwhile, “many of these products from the natural channel actually have higher margins, and consumers are willing to pay a higher retail for them. So not only are we improving the health of the earth and the health of consumers, but we are improving the financial health of the grocery retailers' bottom line,” DePetris said.

While many retailers and wholesalers said the concept of linking GM and wellness was limited, they are starting to recognize it in products they carry. In many cases, this relates to fitness products and informational items like magazines, books and DVDs.

“There's a social responsibility to try to at least inform the consumer on what products are good, what products are not so good and let them make the educated choice,” said a nonfood executive with a Northeast retailer.

HEALTH INFORMATION

Buehler's Food Markets, Wooster, Ohio, is working with its magazine distributor to put more informational items near the pharmacy, particularly those focusing on diabetes and heart health, said Christina Melillo, merchandiser of grocery and nonfoods.

“We've got racks at all our pharmacies with Shape magazine and Healthy Living magazine and similar titles. That's a big focus for us: information materials and a real tie-in with the pharmacy,” she said.

“Consumers are looking for someone to help them find a solution: ‘If I am a diabetic, what do I do?’” said Bi-Lo's Cerwick. “A lot of general merchandise products fit in with that — exercise equipment and videos, for example — and a lot of educational pieces. There's a lot more we can do as retailers to put the whole package together.”

“We have quite a number of stores with pharmacies and we believe that there are a lot of synergies between our pharmacy business, and our HBC business and wellness,” said Dewayne Rabon, vice president, GM and HBC procurement and sales, Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla.

Rabon recently had a meeting with Winn-Dixie's new vice president of pharmacy, John Fegan, who joined the company last month from Ahold USA, on how to make this work. “As we grow and we continue to offer the organics, naturals and wellness type items, we need to leverage our pharmacy business, leverage that OTC business. That platform has a lot of legs and I think it will be around for some time. I don't think it is a fad. I believe it is here to stay,” Rabon said.

Unlike food and HBC, many GM categories have little to do with wellness, said the Northeast executive. However, “exercise equipment is wellness, and so is providing the information to the consumer on the benefits of the product. That allows them to make the educated decision on what they want,” he said.

Getting the pharmacist involved to help educate shoppers about products is another important factor, said Mike O'Shell, director of GM/HBC, Penn Traffic Co., Syracuse, N.Y. “It's kind of a big circle that ties together educational and promotional awareness.”

“Some people will commit and do something about it, and some people will just talk about it, but even the ones that just talk about it will buy the products,” said Charles Yahn, vice president of sales, retail development, customer service and pharmacy, Associated Wholesalers Inc., Robesonia, Pa.