02/07/05 Category management and fruit sales, Pt.1

Sales have always been one of the most significant aspects of the tree fruit industry. But as Warren Morgan of Double Diamond Fruit points out, there are some, he included, that believe sales has a negative connotation in the mind of buyers and consumers, kind of the used car salesman syndrome. And it is a stereotype Morgan believes the tree fruit industry much try to break out of. MORGAN: I think what we have to do today is take very good products and move them into retail environments where consumers come in and buy those products and buy them again and again and again. That's how we're going to stay in business. We're not going to stay in business by selling people some poor quality apple and hoping that they take it off the shelf and then go home and think they've been tricked. And that led Morgan along with organizers of the Washington State Horticultural Association annual meeting to discuss some of the tactics and activities being used by sales and merchandising programs with some of the major players of the tree fruit industry. And that led first to a discussion on category management. So what is category management? Just ask any major retail produce department, they will tell you it involves the analysis of retails sales data to find ways to improve the results. But does the sales desk of major tree fruit shippers believe in using category management in their own shops, and does it work for them? The answer is yes. Specific details are coming up on our next program.