Is Popeye’s Cheryl Bachelder 2012 Food Merchant of the Year?

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Leveraging consumer focused migration marketing informationduringits most recent quarter; Popeye’s’ same-store sales increased 8.1%. Shares ofPopeye’s parent company AFC Enterprises Inc. increased 52% over thelast 12 months.  How is your food retail companydoing?  Are you ready for some successclues?Ms. Bachelder is a seasoned C-level chainexecutive with a keen focus on the consumer. Leveraging menu innovation and new points of food distribution (the suburbs) hasempowered additional consumer choice and the choice was Popeye’s. The resultsare in and they are clear.  Sale are updouble the industry average, growth for this company founded in 1972 is backand will lead the industry for several years to come.Popeye’s ability under Ms. Bachelder to bundle distinctivedifferentiated food consumable’s as an entitywith identity by day part, in a mix and match meal component format,leverages the success of the grocerant niche for long term success. NPDGroup reported that there were 12.4 billion drive-thru visits in 2011 that wasup 2% from 2010.  There is no doubt thatthe number will simply continue to grow. Growing Popeye’s in the suburbs is a perfect matchof corporate planning meets food consumption trends. Food Portability drivestop line sales and bottom line profits Bachelder understand both the industryand consumer.
 Popeye’s menu allows Meal time to become atime of convenient meal participation,with differentiation andindividualization for the entire family.   Ifyou are interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify yourretail food brand while creating a platform for consumer focused convenientmeal participation, differentiation andindividualization contact Foodservice Solutions®.Cheryl Bachelderunderstands that retail food consumers are dynamic not static. Consumers on theother hand have a plethora of universal commonalities that indicate just wherethey may be headed next when buying, Bachelder has tapped into thosecommonalities for success. She understands that Channelblurring is not in the mind’s eye of the consumer.  Channel blurring is only in the mind’s eye ofthe legacy marketing managers in legacy companies. My vote for Food Merchant of2012 is tilting at Popeye’s and Cheryl Bachelder.
For international corporate presentations,educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru atTacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions. His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator,consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leavesuccess clues for all. Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

By By Grocery Store Hello Grocerant

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Dollarstores have cherry picked the “center of the store” (grocery aisle shelf stablegoods) for 15 years.  Consumers haveresponded with frequent trips to Dollar stores buying shelf stable products forless.  Even more important consumers canget in and out of Dollar stores fast. While legacy grocery stores continuefocusing on legacy metric’s the ilk of “basket size”.  Consumers have wondered on, looking for freshprepared ready-2-eat and or fresh prepared heat-N-eat food aka grocerant food.
Foodindustry analysts have not been surprised by the volume of sales declines overthe last two quarters of many “center of the store” items. “Heinz reported adrop of 2.4 percent in its second quarter. Kraft unit sales were down 2.8percent in its first quarter, and at Kellogg, its North American volumes were down1.7 percent in its second quarter.” These analysts continually report on thesuccess of the fresh food stations at Whole Foods, the sales per square foot atTrader Joe’s filled with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food.  Is your company doing what is has alwaysdone?  Are you waiting for consumers tocome back?  Consumers move forward.
Consumerstalk about cooking from scratch but when probed it’s clear a “home cooked” mealfor a family of four with the parents under 40 is typically a bagged salad,rotisserie chicken, and vegetable or desert bought from a store.  Bundling meal mix and match components fromfresh prepared ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat food into a customized family meal isfast replacing cooking from scratch.
Legacyfood retailers must evolve with the consumer. It they do not they risk becoming the next Tower Records, BlockbusterVideo or Burger Chef.  Is your companyready to move forward?
Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete agrocerant program assessment, brand, product placement or positioningassistance.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the globalleader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson,Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.

Restaurateur’s Read Rest Reap Rewards

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Food retailerstypically come mid-August review sales from the first half of the year and makeadjustments.  Consumers have left cluesas to the direction of retail sales in 2012. One clue that highlights all this years is the success of retail freshprepared food sales in non-traditional avenues of distribution.
Here is our list ofbooks and blogs to read this summer and fall prior to the end of the year.Success does leave clues and this reading list is one of them.
Thinking, Fast andSlow by Daniel Kahneman
Building Stories byChris Ware
Fundamentals: 9 Waysto Be Brilliant at the New Basics of Business by Jim Sullivan
Grocerants.blogspot.com
For international corporate presentations,educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru atTacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions. His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator,consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leavesuccess clues for all. Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Burger Chains are Moving Forward with Consumers.

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TheHamburger is ready-2-eat, hand held and prepared to eat on the run, convenient,simple and affordable. Contrary to popular belief Americans do not eathamburgers daily, not most Americans anyway. Versatile, convenient,made to order burgers have been the mainstay of chains but now sandwiches,wraps fresh coffee with personalization, and portability are driving growth.   Duringthe past 4 decades hamburgers drove sales and propelled the overall OSR sectorof the restaurant industry. Without a doubt the hamburger is now globallyrecognized as a penultimate American food. Industry leader McDonalds is evolving from burger chain to restaurant café/chainand is leading the way.

McDonalds with innovative new products,continually reimaging stores and a focus on the consumer is the global leaderin restaurant sales. In the United States the undercurrents of a burger sectorin upheaval and transition is emerging for every position within the burger QSRsector except the top spot.
McDonaldsis and will remain number one for many years to come after recently expandingits coffee and beverages offerings successfully.  They are now testing meaty chicken wings inthree different flavors McDonalds is again expanding day-part reach andseasonal opportunity.  Will McDonaldscater your Super Bowl Party? They soon just might.

The upstarts Five Guy’s, Smashburger, Fatburgerare garnering market share from largely legacy second tier players burgerplayers.  Each is offering the consumersomething new, fresh and “better for you”.  The next company in the burger QSRniche to watch will be In-N-Out Burgers. If In-N-Out Burgers does half as wellin Texas as they do in California and Nevada they will accelerate growth andwatch out. In-N-Out had a Pop-Up restaurant in Singapore last week.  In-N-Out sold out of product in five minutes.  Will In-N-Out follow Darden’s lead andfranchisee internationally? Will remodeling or copy-cat menus be enough topropel legacy players?
Red Robin and Fuddruckers are fast getting ontrack and gaining back market share. The Hard Rock Café and TGI Fridays are tryingto pull away from the burger category.  Will that work for them? We may have seen thetipping point at the mid-priced burger category now that seemingly allcelebrities including the likes of, Bobby Flay, Emeril Legasse each have openedand are more and more gourmet burger restaurants.

Burger chains are moving forward with consumersare you? What are you selling and to whom this year?  What will your customers expect from you nextyear?  Who is interpreting yourcompetitive market intelligence? Out-side eyes can make all the difference inTop line Sale and Bottom line Profits.
Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete agrocerant program assessment, brand, product placement or positioningassistance.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the globalleader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson,Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.

Are Metro AG, The Tengelmann Group, and Marks & Spencer looking at United States for Growth?

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“Shallow Shoppers” pose an additional risk for Safeway, Supervalu andKroger. Three of the United States largest grocery store chains faced withunderfunded multiemployer pension plans have a growing drain on cash flow andearnings reported Jon Springer in Supermarket News.  When combined with an exposure to “ShallowShoppers” the risk of takeover would appear even greater.
Safeway, Supervalu and Kroger just might begetting another look from Metro AG, Marks & Spencer, Carrefour, or The TengelmannGroup.  While Europe’s largest retailersprepare for an economic slowdown on their home turf could they be looking at Supervaluas the next opportunity? 
The Tengelmann Group has learned lessons ofretailing in the United States and now understands what it takes to convert alegacy chain that is out of step with consumers into one with contemporaryrelevance.  Tengelmann Group is anoutstanding multi-concept food retailer with a global reach.  If not Supervalu, Kroger are they looking at Safeway?
Metro’s new CEO Didier Fleury islooking for growth as well.  Will thesethree chains in the United Sates all with “Shallow Shoppers” be a target?  Don’t forget that the Carrefour Group isrepositioning for growth right now as well.
Shallow Shoppers as defined in “The CommitmentEconomy” survey of over 39,000 people in 17 markets as “consumers which wouldlove to shop at a better quality retailer, but who are unable to because ofalternatives are too far away or too expensive”.  Leveraging new ownership with grocerant nichepositioning will provide the platform for shallow shopper conversion.
All retail food brand managers will become more andmore familiar with the term Shallow Shoppers as they target additional marketshare.  Growth in top line sales andbottom line profits are realized by making a quality differentiated product withconsumer relevance accessible to additional markets and consumers. Do you haveShallow Shoppers?  Why? What are you doingto edify your brand and products with consumers? 
For international corporate presentations,educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru atTacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions. His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator,consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leavesuccess clues for all. Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant