QFC Delists Locals for National Brands and Private Label
The QFC division of Kroger is delisting local vendor products in favor of national and private label brands, says the Puget Sound Business Journal of Seattle.
Local vendors such as Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream are being dropped from QFC’s 86 stores. A lack of slotting funds and the role of manufacturer category captains is said to be to blame.
Barry Bettinger, co-owner of Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream claims that the company’s brand was limited to a few facings in the frozen case that were visually obstructed by signage.
QFC eventually delisted Snoqualmie due to slow sales. Since then, the ice cream manufacturer has focused its sales and marketing efforts on smaller, local stores. Mr. Bettinger claims that grocers such as Larry’s Markets provide Snoqualmie with a full freezer door. In this scenario, he says his brand outsells Haagen-Dazs.
A spokesman for QFC, Dean Olson, said “local vendors who are eliminated or cut back are underperforming the company’s own sales targets. The chain introduces some 10,000 new products annually, and must make room to try out new foods that might become consumer favorites.”
Moderator’s Comment: What does a retailer need to do
to properly assess the why behind a product’s success or failure? Should the
retailer even care or is it up to the manufacturer to remedy any challenges?
Smaller, in this case local, brands are said to be delisted
because they are not producing enough terms, profit margins, etc. The question
becomes, is this failure primarily because consumers don’t want the item or
is it because the retailer has not adequately supported the smaller manufacturer’s
brand? [George
Anderson – Moderator]