Trading Partners

Simon Hay, the chief executive who helped dunnhumbyUSA dramatically expand its presence and portfolio, has stepped down to assume broader responsibilities with the company’s London-based operations. Former Safeway executive Stuart Aitken has been named as the company’s new COO while former Procter and Gamble executive Gary Cofer has been named new global EVP/manufacturer practice leader.

Stevia was one of the stars at last week’s Natural Products Expo East. Hundreds of new products making use of the all-natural and calorie-free sweetener are expected to hit the market in the coming months.

Schenectady, N.Y.-based Price Chopper's overall excellence with brand messaging, special selling events and in-store activities, among others, enable the regional retailer to obtain Retail Marketer of the Year honors from Certified Angus Beef LLC. Training programs reached staff from front-end managers to meat department personnel; a three-month meat manager promotion focused on sales, freshness and customer service. With these efforts, Price Chopper also achieved the Top Sales Volume Increase award, boasting a fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth. This 15-year partner was the No. 2 Top Sales Volume Large Chain Retailer (for chains with more than 50 stores).

Sustainability means different things to different people. Asked to identify what the term means to them, consumers most frequently respond “the ability to last over time” (76 percent) and “the ability to support oneself.” Sustainability is also strongly associated with environmental concerns, whereby consumers are being challenged to develop and express an “eco-consciousness” in their daily habits and purchases. Thus, nearly half of consumers associate sustainability with conserving natural resources and with recycling.

The food industry continues to provide U.S. consumers with valuable information on staying healthy. But the challenge remains in the retailers’ hands to help those consumers — retail customers — determine which message, which lifestyle, which choice is right for them.

Overall wine consumption in the United States increased 0.9 percent in 2008 to 294.7 million 9-liter cases, according to the Beverage Information Group’s recently released 2009 Wine Handbook. Although the growth rate has slowed a bit, this is the 15th consecutive year of case gains. Because of the recession, consumers have become more frugal in their purchases, trading down to value-priced wines in both on- and off-premise venues.

Organizing its customer base into a number of individual “clusters” with specific characteristics is at the heart of Food Lion’s strategy that has seen creation of the chain’s new Bloom and Bottom Dollar banners to attract both upscale and price-conscious customers, the company’s chief operating officer, Cathy Green, told a snack industry conference last week.

Retailers are boosting the speed at which their fleets move in and out of the yards and off to the stores, but don’t be alarmed -- the trucks aren’t moving faster to accomplish this.