Green Shield Risk Solutions’ Post

It is with great pleasure that CCA Global Partners spotlights another one of our influential leaders within ProSource Wholesale, Vice President, Product & Merchandising, Neal Ross! Since joining ProSource Wholesale for its unique business model over 18 years ago, Neal suggests that adaptability is the most important trait in those who build success, explaining, "Market, societal, and industry changes have been extreme over the last five years and those people that have adapted best to those changes have come out on top." In addition to his everyday tasks & adventures in merchandising, Neal touches upon something his team does that most people don't guess, revealing, "Our team is hands-on. Literally. When convention time comes around, everyone's hands get dirty and that can include installing flooring, building walls, or anything that needs to get done to create the envisioned convention experience for our franchisees." ProSource recently wrapped up another successful annual convention in January. Outside of work, Neal I'm is an avid generalist; enjoying much of everything. "You'll find me at live music, on the golf course, hiking trails, traveling, and spending time with family. I also like to seek out new places to eat & drink with an emphasis on the three B's: Barbecue, Bakeries, and Beer." #TheCCAWay #ProSource #franchise #employeespotlight #leadership #leader #merchandising #product #VP #inspiration #spotlight

During and post-COVID, the #distribution sector has navigated a dynamic market landscape characterized by both challenges and opportunities. Private-label products allow distributors to mold their offerings to customers' needs and desires from start to finish, which is not possible with traditional distribution models. By defining a clear, bold objective and deploying the right team and customer-centric strategy, a private-label business can enjoy both low costs and high margins and set a steady course for success in an often unpredictable marketplace. This can be a critical factor in remaining competitive in an ever-shifting industry. #McKinsey #Distributors #Insights

During and post-COVID, the #distribution sector has navigated a dynamic market landscape characterized by both challenges and opportunities. Private-label products allow distributors to mold their offerings to customers' needs and desires from start to finish, which is not possible with traditional distribution models. By defining a clear, bold objective and deploying the right team and customer-centric strategy, a private-label business can enjoy both low costs and high margins and set a steady course for success in an often unpredictable marketplace. This can be a critical factor in remaining competitive in an ever-shifting industry. #McKinsey #Distributors #Insights

Keep in mind that most stores will use a 2.4% margin from wholesale to retail. Make sure your website prices are the same. You never want to undersell your stores. Offer discounts and specials for your online shoppers instead. For more info click here to learn more about working with Sarah https://lnkd.in/dWnyYs6p #sarahshawconsulting #entreprenette #beyourownboss #femaleentrepenuer #femaleentrepenuerlifestyle #womaninbusiness #bossbabe #productresearch #productdevelopment #mistakeshappen #smallbizcoach #businessgoals #businessstrategy #growyourbusiness #businessplanning #momsinbusiness #mompenuers #solopenuer #entrepenuerwoman #businessbuilding #coachingbusiness #businesstraining #leadership #femalebusinesscoach #onlinebusinesscoach #leadersinheels #ceoofmylife #thehustleisreal #confidencecoach #productcoach

Keep in mind that most stores will use a 2.4% margin from wholesale to retail. Make sure your website prices are the same. You never want to undersell your stores. Offer discounts and specials for your online shoppers instead. For more info click here to learn more about working with Sarah https://lnkd.in/dWnyYs6p #sarahshawconsulting #entreprenette #beyourownboss #femaleentrepenuer #femaleentrepenuerlifestyle #womaninbusiness #bossbabe #productresearch #productdevelopment #mistakeshappen #smallbizcoach #businessgoals #businessstrategy #growyourbusiness #businessplanning #momsinbusiness #mompenuers #solopenuer #entrepenuerwoman #businessbuilding #coachingbusiness #businesstraining #leadership #femalebusinesscoach #onlinebusinesscoach #leadersinheels #ceoofmylife #thehustleisreal #confidencecoach #productcoach

Productivity improvements are not long-term. And they shouldn't be relied on as such. In fact, while they may increase output and reduce costs, those benefits only go to the shareholders unless there is a strategy to put them to good use. Even then, they create no barrier to competition. The productivity improvements commissioned by the executive team at Rubbermaid did not coincide with the CEO's strategy. Wolfgang Schmitt wanted a new product from each division every day. Productivity improvements were to increase capacity and reduce costs. Operations and product development teams rarely met. After a number of successful improvement events, the 'bean counters' weren't seeing a whole lot of savings. That's when we started tying improvement efforts to the supply-chain and the Voice of the Customer critical to quality opportunities. We ended up chasing inventory out the door and producing what the customer wanted when they wanted it. Operations had to create their own strategy that had little to do with the corporate strategy. While productivity improvements helped increase the sales price to Newell, it was the product engineering team that created Little Tikes' uniqueness in the market. Schmitt tried to capitalize on product engineering with a wholesale approach. Operations tried a localized approach to steer the corporation. The failure of these efforts gave Rubbermaid no other option but to sell to Newell. Little Tikes is now in the hands of leadership who know the toy industry. To read more of my adventures with Little Tikes: #productivity #product #innovation https://lnkd.in/gW_ngpBe

Keep in mind that most stores will use a 2.4% margin from wholesale to retail. Make sure your website prices are the same. You never want to undersell your stores. Offer discounts and specials for your online shoppers instead. For more info click here to learn more about working with Sarah https://lnkd.in/dWnyYs6p #sarahshawconsulting #entreprenette #beyourownboss #femaleentrepenuer #femaleentrepenuerlifestyle #womaninbusiness #bossbabe #productresearch #productdevelopment #mistakeshappen #smallbizcoach #businessgoals #businessstrategy #growyourbusiness #businessplanning #momsinbusiness #mompenuers #solopenuer #entrepenuerwoman #businessbuilding #coachingbusiness #businesstraining #leadership #femalebusinesscoach #onlinebusinesscoach #leadersinheels #ceoofmylife #thehustleisreal #confidencecoach #productcoach

As Washington and Michigan prepare to do battle for the National Championship on the football field Monday evening the burning question that is going through most people’s mind is, “How do the two schools fuel markets match up?” It is a fantastic question and one that can be answered with the OPIS RetailSuite. The average gasoline margin in 2023 in Seattle was 86.2cts/gal which was the 6th highest rack-to-retail spread out of nearly 400 markets.  Ann Arbor, MI saw a margin of 48.4cts/gal resulting in a ranking of 78th. Same-store volumes were down 4.7% in Washington vs last year, while Michigan was off 4.2%.  Compared to 2019 Washington was down 28.6% while Michigan was off 21.6%. Ann Arbor saw overall branded market share at 43.5% with BP leading traditional brands with 13% of the traffic.  However, it had more than 18% of the outlets so its efficiency was just 0.71.  Meijer and Costco led the big box market share with 11.9% of total visits, but Meijer accomplished that with 3 stores while Costco did it with just 1. Costco’s efficiency rating (market share divided by outlet share) is a whopping 12.3. Speedway dominates the convenience store brands with just under 15% of the traffic. In Seattle, overall branded market share is a similar 44.7%, with Chevron leading the traditional brands with almost 13% of all visits.  However, Chevron, with around 150 stations, has more than 20% of all the outlets in the market indicating small throughputs per site. With only 13 outlets, Costco is seeing over 19% of all visits. Costco’s efficiency rating is similarly large here at 10.4. 7-Eleven has the largest market share of the convenience store chains.  Fore more details on these and other markets: https://lnkd.in/d4Exm_XX #gasprices #conveniencestores #convenienceretail #economy #bigoil #bigbox #washington #michigan #annarbor #seattle #gasstations #fleets #connectedcars OPIS, A Dow Jones Company

The increase in margins is offset somewhat by the overall decrease in volumes.  These numbers are fascinating.  Many areas in CT are experiencing extreme margin erosion.  I think Q1 is going to be tough sledding for retailers.

ALDI DOUBLES DOWN ON THE US #aldi announced that in the next 5 years, it will add another 800 US stores to its existing 2400 stores. Aldi’s expansion is achieved by greenfield operation and by converting Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores to Aldi stores. The Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores are part of Aldi’s acquisition of Southeastern Grocers. This conversion is part of Aldi’s strategy to use only one banner to allow for retail efficiencies—Aldi (TJ’s being the exception but the other Aldi branch owns them).   This expansion plan is bold, very bold. Although Aldi’s store print is extensive, its success is market share remains more elusive. While trade magazine Progressive Grocer named Aldi Retailer of the Year for 2023, it is only no. 26 on the PG 100 list of grocery retailers in the US. The store is invariably sparsely populated whenever I go to my local Aldi.   What are your thoughts? Is Aldi on the cusp of a major breakout? If you enjoyed this, share it with others and follow me Jan-Benedict Steenkamp for more writing. #business #leadership #grit #history #executivedevelopment