The most educational part of visiting different cities is touring different retailers. In some stores, I get the feeling that every single item has been curated with love. In others, I feel the retailer is displaying the top three varieties in each category and saying “This is what we have today at the best price point. Like it or not.”

The point is that every retailer has a distinct culture. Some category managers are working several weeks ahead of their competition. Suppliers need to be in sync with each of these cultures to service them at a high standard.   

Speak their language

Each retailer has their own terminology for the same things. I was always used to the Loblaw term of ‘in stores’ for in-store specials. The definition: a temporarily reduced price to drive volume and perhaps warrant some over and above merchandising. If you are talking to Sobeys this is a ‘save cycle’ and if you are talking to Walmart, it is a ‘roll back’. Essentially, all the same thing -- a supplier-funded temporary discount.

If you are talking to Costco, they do not have customers, only members. They also do not have stores, they have warehouses.

Another unique feature for each retailer is their fiscal year. They have different year ends which means they operate with an internal calendar that does not follow the traditional January 1st-December 31st. Week 1 at Loblaw is different than week 1 at Walmart. 

It is important to understand the cultural language and to keep track of the differences. You do not want to plan a promotion for week 40 on the calendar when it is really week 27 for Walmart.

Understand what works with each one

Produce suppliers are experts at growing their product but not necessarily at selling it. If you don’t have personal time to improve your sales pitch, then consider hiring the expertise. Identify promotional or merchandising opportunities. Remember to make sure the idea fits within the retailers’ go-to-market strategy.

When you do have a win, share the results with your customer. If they know you exceeded the sales projection, they will be more likely to offer an opportunity again.

Watch the category. Watch other categories with similar consumers. Learn from what you see in other stores and build a unique plan for each customer, based on their way of selling produce.

Identify resources  

Retailers continue to push more work onto suppliers. It is a reality, no different than booking an airline ticket or dealing with a bank. Suppliers need to have the resources within their business to do this work. It is not easy and is time-consuming. It can be challenging because the production side of the business can point to a pallet of product as mission accomplished. In the sales department, a spreadsheet submitted to a retailer does not generate the same feeling of satisfaction. But just the same, the paperwork needs to be done correctly. 

Accept that each retailer has distinct ways of doing business and put the resources in place to get the work done. The most important thing is to understand them and treat each one like they are the only one.