By Dave Wendland, vice president strategic relations, as seen in Drug Store News December 21, 2018 For my final Drug Store News contribution for 2018, I wanted to wrap up my series on “The ideas I haven’t thought of yet,” with a focus on the topic of retail innovation. Each day there’s another headline announcing additional store closures, … Read More
Modern Day Fortune Tellers
By Dave Wendland, as seen in HealthCare Distributor magazine, “Out of the Box” column, November/December 2018 Predicting the future has never been delivered with a 100 percent guarantee, yet countless palm readers, crystal ball gazers, and tarot card experts have made a living from it. In fact, knowing what has not yet happened is some-thing I believe virtually everyone … Read More
Branding Starts With Consistency
By Dave Wendland, CommunityVoice for Forbes Agency Council, as appeared on Forbes.com November 27, 2018For any consumer product, consistency is essential each time a consumer comes into contact with any of its attributes or features. It is through consistent interaction that a brand perception is formed.For this article, I will examine three of the many elements that can … Read More
The time is right for a new approach to fixture sets and resets
By Dave Wendland, vice president strategic relations, as seen in Mass Market Retailer Adjustments to traditional approaches of beauty fixture sets and resets have become necessary to adapt to the new normal of today’s experiential-driven retail market. This was unanimously confirmed by attendees of the recent SHOP! Association Business Leader Forum, where Hamacher Resource Group presented “Producer Savings Through … Read More
Making waves
By Dave Wendland, vice president strategic relations, as seen in Drug Store News I’ve been pondering something. What if a business had a fitness tracker (e.g., Fitbit) gauging its activity? Although that may sound rather ridiculous, here are a few factors that I feel should be evaluated and monitored. Busyness versus good business Numerous companies seem … Read More
How to Navigate the Natural Space
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager, as seen in Mass Market Retailer Development of health, beauty and wellness products tends to be steered by symptom-driven or situational consumer needs. The natural space is more complicated, however, because needs are also driven by alternative or functional medicine modalities, lifestyle diets and emerging plant-based science, which … Read More
A product’s earning potential is about the long haul
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, as seen in Chain Drug Review A new product innovation with a large promotional spend does not automatically equal success in the retail marketplace. Too often, brands release a product with a new technology, form, ingredient or positioning, or a product that addresses an unmet consumer need, without fully considering the product’s … Read More
How Chains Can Tap the Natural Products Boom
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager, as seen in Mass Market Retailer The fledgling natural products industry was worth only $1.9 billion in 1980, but by 2016 it had grown to $141 billion in sales. And New Hope Network reported that 44% of those sales were in conventional retailers versus only 39% in natural … Read More
Four Essentials For Attracting Top-Notch Talent
By Dave Wendland, CommunityVoice for Forbes Agency Council, as appeared on Forbes.com August 20, 2018 Although there are numerous factors that potential hires may consider when seeking employment, in today’s competitive marketplace, there are four essential areas that must never be overlooked by potential suitors: people and culture, environment, integrity and purpose. Flexible work scheduling, regular company-sponsored lunches … Read More
Let’s get relevant
By Dave Wendland, vice president strategic relations, as seen in Drug Store News, August 24, 2018 Are you seeing what I’m seeing? An increasing number of boarded up buildings, store closing signs, and empty retail storefronts and commercial real estate. Is it true? Is brick-and-mortar really dying and are we all destined to shop online and have … Read More