Gravity now available at Wal-Mart
Six years after it first hit supermarket shelves, Campbell is getting some new traction on its gravity-feed system. The design (meant to avoid having product languish at the back of the shelf and to provide a cleaner presentation) is hitting 1,200 (about a third of the total) Wal-Mart stores.
Joe Ruiz, director-merchandising strategies at Campbell, said when the company installed the systems in 2002 it saw an initial sales lift of 5% and a 3% sustainable lift. "It's driven by where we put the system and what the customer base is," said Ruiz. "We've seen lifts as high as 5-8%, but as low as 1-3%."
In 2006, spice maker McCormick rolled out its own gravity-feed system and is now in more than 9000 US grocery stores. Alan Wilson, president and CEO at McCormick, said the company was seeing low-to-mid-single digit sustainable lifts in stores with its system.
Wal-Mart's acceptance of the system was a boost to Campbell. Initially Wal-Mart resisted. Peter Hoyt, executive director at In-Store Marketing Institute commented: "The fact that the company changed its tune would only happen with strong and compelling research. I would take Wal-Mart's acceptance as proof positive that the systems work well."
One downside to the gravity display is commented on by Paco Underhill, CEO of Envirosell: "If a consumer wants to read the label to see the sodium or calorie count, the system may not work. What happens when the product comes off the shelf? It's either discarded or placed in the wrong spot on the shelf and the inventory becomes flawed," he said. Such confusion could hurt Campbell's efforts to sell new low-sodium and low-calorie entries.
Regardless, Campbell's original gravity-feed system for condensed soups will be in some 23,000 stores by the company's fiscal year-end July 31. An expanded system, which includes ready-to-serve and convenience soups, will be in about 6,000 of those stores.
Campbell's system, designed by Gamon International, is available to rivals, who make arrangements with the individual retailers. The system also is available to store brands.
