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merchandising review tomatoes
Procacci Brothers’ Feighery notes, though, mainstays used to be 80 percent of sales and took up 80 percent of the space; things have changed. “Now we see only 50 percent of the real estate used for those 80 percent of sale items,” he says. “More and more space is dedicated to the varietal items because these are the items that create conversation.”
Cox explains K-VA-T creates excitement with planned lobby or entrance displays each week. “If we have a tomato on ad that week, we’ll do a 4-foot by 4-foot bin of that item so as shoppers enter the store, they see a nice
tomato at a good price point,” he says. Retailers who don’t devote sufficient space to the category may be losing out. “We are always truly disappointed when the same space is allocated to tomatoes in some supermarkets as was 20 years ago,” says Weis Buy’s Weisinger. “This cuts the space for more variety and more
potential sales to a minimum.”
4: MAKE IT APPEALING
An attractive tomato display yields greater customer response. “Visual appeal is key for consumers when choosing their tomatoes,
so retailers should keep tomato displays full, clean, and well organized,” says Christou. “Red, ripe tomatoes should be placed in the front of displays since they move quicker and bruise easier, and overripe fruit should be removed. Large bulk displays help convey an image of freshness to consumers.”
Color and variety are easy tools to utilize with this category. “Tomato displays offer a variety of colors, sizes and textures,” says Red Sun’s Paivarinta. “Each retailer will adjust selection to meet customer needs, but there is always a range from TOV’s to snacking vari- eties in both conventional and organics.”
Christou advises placing other produce in the display, such as avocados, helps vary the color and improve the eye appeal. “By adding other complementary produce items, retailers create a customer-friendly, one-stop opportu- nity where shoppers find all the ingredients for their favorite recipes and help promote related products,” he says.
An appealing tomato display is founded on quality, and Harbortown Market’s Marrogy cautions stores to manage displays well. “You must pay close attention to quality, handling and rotation to ensure tomatoes aren’t going bad or getting damaged on the bottom,” he says. “I only put out one or two layers on tables and keep the rest in the cooler. Be careful not to overload displays.”
Stores may organize displays from a shrink perspective. “It’s all dependent on the accept- able level of shrink for each retailer,” says Feighery. “Items that are 20 percent of sale will have a higher shrink because they may not have the turn. You have to test everything, but in the end keep and manage the items that work.”
5: THINK “OUT-OF-THE-BOX”
Getting tomatoes out of the display and into secondary locations stimulates sales. “Tomatoes should be cross-merchandised throughout the store,” says Mucci Farms’ Spano. “Merchandize in the cheese depart- ment near the Buffalo Mozzarella, or put four- or five-pound boxes next to the steaks in the summer months. The beauty of the packaging we have now is you can take pints and bags and put them any where you want.”
Secondary displays are very important says Cox. Stores improve per-week sales with secondary displays, even if not on ad. “And when we do ads, we put a secondary display of that particular item for the week to showcase it and drive even more sales,” he says.
Christou suggests cross-merchandising tomatoes outside the produce department with
78 / APRIL 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS