Supermarket strategies must be harnessed by retail markets in order to secure the long-term future of their offer, market representatives were warned last week.
Chris French, a partner at The Partnering Group, told the NABMA conference that retail markets must use the principles of category management to carve a clear point of difference for themselves.
He said markets could either opt for a competitive or a complementary strategy to hold onto their market share and that the latter would give them a good shot in “attracting shoppers in ways that supermarkets such as Tesco cannot”.
This follows a consultation that the retail consultancy has undertaken with Bolton Council, for which it visited its markets and noted the opportunities that they have for raising their game.
French said: “To do this, you need to know how supermarkets such as Tesco operate. Category management is one of the key parts of their way of working. On a basic level, this involves looking at what products need to be stocked, what promotions are needed and which price points should be adhered to.
“The key is understanding how your customers shop and what prompts them to buy, so you can align your offer.”
He added: “Your competitors are changing very quickly and you need to change, because your rivals are moving very quickly - but you are under the radar, so it may be that that you can do things without your competitors noticing.
“If you are going to challenge the multiples, you will have to be really clear about your proposition and what you want to be famous for. Then, you must identify your most important categories and make sure they are right there at the front.”
However, French stressed that the most important thing about markets “fighting the big fight” against the supermarkets is that they come together to look at the wider competition rather than remain “one fruit and vegetable stall holder scrapping with another”.
