The Produce Department

摘要

Here's a story from a retail advisor. It takes place roughly a couple of decades ago and involves the supermarket channel. The challenge: how to put more oomph into the produce department. His clients explained why it was so hard to jazz up this part of the store. Aside from Dole pineapples and Chiquita bananas, there were no brands. There was no packaging. It was all so utilitarian. Produce was a no-name commodity business. And then things began to change. Grocery stores installed misters that every few minutes sprayed lightly over the vegetables, communicating freshness. They started offering precut produce, a time-saving convenience for consumers that also provided an opportunity to introduce attractive packaging. They brought in organics, serving the needs of early adapters to the healthy lifestyle trend -and this at a time when organic was mostly a niche. The story came up after I told him about the wave of exciting and innovative home textiles we've been seeing at recent markets and trade shows. There's all this cool stuff, I said, but home textiles aren't like housewares because there aren't big national brands to lead the way. Mostly, retailers offer private label brands and exclusive brands. Further, the areas where most of the innovation is taking place - sheets, utility bedding and towels - are often merchandised as commodities and therefore heavily price-driven.