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As seen in IN MERCHANDISING Scores of consumer product manufacturers and retailers are represented in this year’s list of noteworthy merchandising professionals, all of whom are developing in-store solutions that stand up to the challenges of today’s dynamic retail environment. THE HERSHEY CO.: RICK PRICE, Senior Manager, Merchandising Center of Excellence R Photo by Jennifer Stumbaugh ick Price loved Reese’s peanut butter cups as a kid, but little did he know that he would spend his career marketing his favorite brand. Fresh out of college, the marketing major joined The Hershey Co. in 1982 and has since held a wide variety of roles, from research, sales and marketing to advertising, merchandising and center-store evolution before taking on his current role, which he assumed two years ago. “There’s always been that psychology of the consumer/shopper that I love and trying to dig deep into how can we solve her problems – that’s where I am today,” he says, adding that he sees himself more as a consultant to retailers, trying to help solve shoppers’ problems and frustrations. The Merchandising Center of Excellence team was designed to do just that – solve shopper and retailer problems, with a focus on creating convenient, fun and engaging shopper experiences to re-energize the center store. As senior manager, Price oversees this group. Knowing that trips to the store are declining, his team is working with retailers to find solutions that will make shopping more convenient and help build bigger baskets. The perfect example is the company’s gold standard – s’mores one-stop-shop solution centers that merchandise Hershey bars, marshmallows and graham crackers. “Shoppers are time-starved, so when these are merchandised together, it’s a win-win-win,” Price says. “Retailers build bigger baskets, the shopper experience is enhanced and the items featured all produce sales growth.” He says it’s critical that both his team and their retailer partners understand the problem to be solved going into any project. “We then align upfront on the key deliverables and scorecard performance against aligned KPIs. It’s just about solving problems,” he reiterates. “If everyone doesn’t know the objectives up front, we’re going to have a hard time solving it and aligning on success metrics. And if we try to do it after the fact, we’ll be in trouble.” Price says a POPAI study conducted in 2014 showed that while consumers have a love and passion for confection like no other category, there is a major disconnect. Shoppers reported their frustration in shopping for candy and rated it the worst in terms of shoppability and findability and very low in terms of inspiration. Since those insights were uncovered, Price’s team set out to change that and has found some recent successes. With regard to organization structure, Price says the Merchandising Center of Excellence team represents the “voice of the shopper” and works collaboratively with the company’s shopper insights team to help solve shopper problems with a focus on creating an immersive and engaging shopper experience. Collaboration with retailers will continue to be a key focus. Leveraging case study results that are grounded in shopper insights, the team has built a menu of proven in-store solutions and capabilities, he says. 2 7-ELEVEN , Senior Director, Merchandising, Non-Alcohol Beverages Burkemper is the U.S. strategic business unit leader for 7-Eleven’s multibilliondollar non-alcohol beverage portfolio. Categories include energy, soft drinks, waters, isotonics, juices, coffees, teas and functional beverages. n Tom Burkemper Career achievement In partnership with Winn-Dixie, The Hershey Co. created its Hershey’s Candy Experience in late 2014 (see image on page 1). The concept replaced the traditional candy aisle at Winn-Dixie’s newly renovated store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The key focus, says Price, was to solve a shopper’s problem and retailer’s opportunity. “Seventy-six percent of shoppers aren’t happy with clutter in the candy aisle resulting in 25% of shoppers walking away without any confection in their basket,” Price says. “Our reimagined candy aisle addresses these challenges and makes candy shopping convenient and memorable.” This design moved the entire 24 feet of the candy aisle out of center store and into a more shoppable, convenient and visually appealing area that commands 27 by 27 feet of space. The permanent candy section proved successful, garnering positive consumer feedback and posting a 25% lift in confection category sales at this Winn-Dixie location. The solution is showcased in Hershey’s Customer Innovation Center and Price says retailers are lining up to consider this for their stores. “We’re seeing fantastic results from this, and it’s only just begun.” Recent achievement For retailers that don’t have adequate space to create a Candy Experience destination, Price says the company’s Branded Experience Pods can get them in the game. “This is the next evolution,” he says. “We talked to shoppers and we know they will pay full margin revenue for their favorite brands if we can help them find what they’re looking for and give them something more experiential.” Price says his primary interaction is with the shopper and working with the company’s shopper engagement team to find a solution for the particular retailer. These branded pods are not the full experience, he says. “Candy is a fun category and Hershey has fantastic iconic brands – the Reese’s, Kisses and Hershey’s brands have strong emotional connections. We’re always working to develop solutions leveraging these insights to surprise and delight the brand lovers. These branded pods bring that experience to life in the retail environment.” A ACCO BRANDS , U.S. Marketing, Retail Merchandising Manager Lazicki leads the strategy and implementation of in-line category destinations as well as promotional product displays that incorporate shopper marketing and brand-based strategies for the school and office product portfolios. n Gary Lazicki , Senior Leader, Visual Display & Merchandising n Ryan Tesiero ACE HARDWARE , Category Manager – International Cohen leads the category management strategy and execution across all categories for Ace International retailers. He is responsible for retail product recommendations, including optimal assortment, retail pricing and space management. n Lorne Cohen , Category Strategy & Operations Manager n Elyse Sanneman , Director of Category Management & Retail Development n Andy Voelker Photo by Jennifer Stumbaugh 3 ACH FOOD COS. n Paul Rearick Engineer , R&D Packaging ADVANCE AUTO PARTS , Vice President, Visual Merchandising, In-Market Assortment and Transportation n Kevin Conniff AHOLD USA , Director of Retail Nolter is responsible for the strategic direction and tactical execution of retail for Asics in the Americas, including operations, real estate, merchandising, store design and talent. n Casey Nolter AVERY PRODUCTS , n Tonya Herring Senior Vice President, Merchandising, Non-Perishables Herring leads the merchandising teams to build programs that include optimal assortment, pricing strategies and space management. ALCON LABORATORIES , Manager, Displays & Special Packs Olson is responsible for point-of-sale displays and special packs from development to delivery to all key customers. n Ashley Olson AMERICAN EXPRESS , Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications Burg develops and launches merchant experiences that encourage point-ofpurchase signage placement, improve merchant satisfaction and drive merchant and member engagement. n Suzanne Burg ASICS AMERICA , Director, Visual Merchandising (See profile on page 14) n Kimberly True B BAYER HEALTHCARE , Senior Manager, Visual Merchandising n Peter Davidson , Director, In-Store Merchandising n John Pender , Senior Manager, Visual Merchandising Smith is responsible for the design and development of secondary-placement displays for mass, drug and club retailers. Brands include Claritin, Miralax, Coppertone and Afrin. n Michele Smith BEAM SUNTORY n Jeanette BEHR PROCESS CORP. , Vice President of Retail Experience n Sarah Furnari BEIERSDORF , Merchandising n Kristine Koehler Manager BEST BUY , Director of Store Design Brandewie leads the creative design team focusing on store layout, architecture, displays and fixturing. n Chris Brandewie , Director, Visual Merchandising n Toni Engebretsen BLUE BUFFALO Stankevich, Senior Director, Channel Marketing Stankevich leads the marketing efforts for Blue Buffalo’s regional and independent retail accounts within the pet specialty channel, supporting stores with channel tools and merchandising solutions. n Craig BOSE CORP. Koklamanis, Senior Procurement Agent (POS) Koklamanis is responsible for strategic sourcing by using a collaborated approach to deliver the best products at the best value. Her focus is on cost savings based on analysis and market intelligence. 4 , Senior Manager, Merchandising n John Devine , Global Display Category n Eric Green Manager BURT’S BEES CLOROX CO. n Theresa n Tim Roberts Champaigne, Merchandising Manager Champaigne leads the development and implentation of all promotional merchandising for Burt’s Bees. She’s tasked with creating insights-based solutions that maximize brand impact at the point of decide. , Merchandising n Tiffany Pieja Manager C CAMPBELL SOUP/ PEPPERIDGE FARM , Senior Customer Development Manager, Innovation Cerritelli works with the breakthrough innovation brand team, acting as the single point of contact to ensure all customer development aspects are incorporated into the commercialization process of Campbell’s new product launches. n Justin Cerritelli , Senior Manager, Merchandising Cogan’s team strives to deliver on point-of-sale, retail shelving and other customer-related orders. n Chris Cogan CENTRAL GARDEN & PET , Vice President, Retail Sales and Service Mosshart heads a team of merchandising professionals that works across diverse categories such as grass seed and nutrients with Pennington Seed, pet & wild birdfood led by the Kaytee brand, and a portfolio of brands in the weed and pest control category. n Roger Mosshart , Director, NRS Merchandising Solutions, Channel Planning & Development Staten leads CocaCola North America’s U.S. retail merchandising team with responsibilities for supporting commercial strategies across brands, channels, franchise partners and key customers as well as advancing a future state shopper-focused merchandising strategy. n Richard Staten , National Retail Operations Manager COCA-COLA CO. , Group Director, Channel Planning and Development Basciani leads a team in driving the commercial strategy for the large store channel, identifying highest leverage opportunities for category growth and delivering shopper solutions for key consumption occasions and missions. n Pamela Basciani , Vice President, Channel Planning and Development, SM Capability n Karyn Froseth , Group Director, Channel Planning and Development Merino leads the team responsible for developing commercial strategy and planning for convenience, drug and dollar stores channels across the Coca-Cola North America business unit. n Oliver Merino , Group Director, Equipment & Commercialization Rohde leads a team responsible for the development and commercialization of Coca-Cola North America’s cold drink equipment portfolio including cold drink equipment commercial strategy, equipment development/design, graphics and features that engage shoppers. n Mark Rohde 5 CONAGRA FOODS , Director of Retail Innovation Brignac leads the retail innovation team that drives ConAgra’s in-store strategy including innovation agenda and display execution at retail. n Rene Brignac , Manager – Retail Innovation n Tim Brogan , Manager – Retail Innovation n Jamie Hall COTY U.S. , Senior Director, Wall Strategy and Logistics Group n Dimitri Foutres , Manager, Visual Merchandising/Space Planning n Dana Ocampo MARS CHOCOLATE NORTH AMERICA: RANDALL RODRIGUEZ, Senior Merchandising Manager R andall Rodriguez believes that as senior merchandising manager he has to “make every store visit count,” so it’s no surprise that he has made every one of his 16 years with Mars count. He has learned nearly all aspects of the business in his roles in IT, finance, sales, supply chain, research & development and marketing. And he now draws from those varied assignments in guiding the in-store presence of Mars Chocolate North America. “These experiences have given me a broad perspective of our business and what it takes to enable cross-functional groups to work toward a common goal and be successful,” says Rodriguez. “With my foundation being in technology, I was able to learn and master project and business process management principles. “My experiences in supply expanded that foundation to include lean thinking and Six Sigma skills that serve me every day. After leading various critical programs for Mars Chocolate from supply chain transformation to improving product freshness, I developed a passion for our customers, brands and in-store conditions.” Rodriguez emphasizes each store visit’s value because modern technology’s effects on shopping behavior and the future of brick-and-mortar stores is not to be feared, he says. The number of consumers visiting physical locations is still sizable enough to make in-store influences important. The rise in online shopping has also led to a rise in store pickups. “Retailers will use their stores as distribution centers and continue to drive traffic to their stores,” he says. “This provides an additional option for shoppers getting merchandise faster.” Once shoppers visit, it’s up to the magic of merchandising to sway them. Rodriguez says nothing online replaces in-person thought provocation. “Whether through creating nostalgia, interactivity or simply a pleasant shopping experience, retailers will find ways to reinvent themselves and create reasons for shoppers to want to physically interact with products before purchasing them. Given this, in an impulse category such as chocolate, we need to make every visit count.” Rodriguez says merchandising has changed because shoppers’ attention is divided by mobile devices in the store. An intriguing display in the right place is no longer enough, he says. “Another critical trend is reinventing the aisle to create a store within a store,” says Rodriguez. “Only one in five shoppers ever travel down the candy aisle, and creating an inviting environment that connects with them becomes that much more important.” Creating eye-catching and effective displays takes a team working with other teams, Rodriguez says, and input from Mars’ customers is crucial to effective merchandising. He says the status of Mars Chocolate North America means it has invaluable consumer insight to share with retailers to maximize sales and velocity. “We put our customers, the retailers, at the heart of everything we do,” he says. “Our goal is to drive growth not just for Mars but the retailer and the entire chocolate category. Transparency and trust are the most important characteristics to make a mutually Photo by Steve Hockstein beneficial relationship. For the manufacturer, it can mean being a steward of the category and being able to make decisions beyond your sole business objectives if it’s the right thing to do for the retailer and their shoppers.” He says his company defines success in terms beyond sales. It takes its role as category captain seriously; Rodriguez’s display and equipment team is organized to work with customers of large outlets and small outlets, focusing on semi-permanent displays, seasonal displays and national promotional point-of-sale materials. Their efforts include pre-packed displays and customer-specific shopper marketing programs. Close collaboration ensures consistent in-store messaging all year, and the insights group helps display strategy by refining where and when displays are most effective, he says. “The goal is to match mental and physical availability to bring smiles and moments of joy to shoppers and consumers,” says Rodriguez. “We are successful when we can make the connection with shoppers on the role of chocolate in specific moments or traditions. If we are able to properly make those moments come to life at retail and lift not only Mars Chocolate but the entire category, then we know we have been successful.” 6 CRAYOLA , Manager, Merchandising Ondush manages the development and execution of pointof-purchase activity, both permanent and temporary, across key accounts and channels. n Beth Ondush Career achievement Rodriguez “borrowed” this display from his European colleagues. The color mix concept uses clear cylinders to show the colors and graphics of the packaging of several brands. “Given the success we had seen in Europe, I made this program a top priority for my team,” says Rodriguez. “We partnered with various account teams and delivered great successes in the mass, grocery and drug channels. The results have been significant, with sustained double- and triple-digit unit sales increases.” , Vice President of Customer Solutions (See profile on page 10) n Rick Stringer D DICK’S SPORTING GOODS , Director, Visual Presentation & Store Environments n Rick Neira E EDGEWELL PERSONAL CARE , Merchandising & Display Manager, Wet Shave Mallone leads Edgewell’s U.S. wet shave in-store merchandising and display initiatives across all classes of trade. n Natalie Mallone Recent achievement Rodriguez says the creation and deployment of the 2015 Halloween point-of-sale materials is the most successful merchandising project he’s been involved with. There was a 10% to 20% better sell-through in stores with the Halloween display than those without. “My role was to drive my team’s collaboration with our marketing team, our display partner and our graphics partner,” he says. “My team managed the program’s execution to ensure our retail teams had all the materials they needed. I knew we had a success on our hands the day I walked into a retailer and saw multiple people taking pictures with our displays.” 7 , Merchandising & Display Manager, Sun Care n Davi Tash F FOOD LION , n Karen Fernald VP of Fresh Category, Merchandising & Pricing FOOT LOCKER JOHNSON & JOHNSON H , Director, Visual Merchandising, In-Store Experience Landman is responsible for the creative strategy for the Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker brands. , Director, In-Store Strategy & Innovation n Brian Landman n Steven Hecht HEINEKEN USA n Susan Mastrogiacomo, Commercial Marketing Services Director Mastrogiacomo leads a team that is responsible for identifying and developing channel-relevant merchandise and displays in order to maximize brand impact at point of purchase. G GARMIN INTERNATIONAL n Ronnie Lamendola, Senior Manager, Retail Marketing Lamendola oversees a retail marketing team that touches unique and custom retail merchandising initiatives from in-store and online merchandising in the USA and globally. He also leads Garmin’s Miami and Chicago storefronts merchandising activities. , Director In-Store Design/Special Pack n Bob Myers , Director, Packaging and Merchandising Design and Commercialization n Jeanne Figo Comar , Senior Manager, Merchandising & Print Services n Megan Phelan , Director, Merchandising & Retail Innovation Collins leads the in-store visual merchandising team and strategy across all U.S. channels, which includes creative and industrial design, brand shop innovation, secondary displays, POS and retail activation. n Don Collins , Director, Merchandising Center of Excellence n Scott Dunkley , Senior Manager, Merchandising Center of Excellence (See profile on page 2) n Rick Price , Global Retail & Merchandise Manager n Frank Sheehe HUNTER DOUGLAS , n Maureen Marrone Director of Visual Merchandising GLAXOSMITHKLINE KELLOGG CO. KEURIG GREEN MOUNTAIN HERSHEY CO. GENERAL MILLS K KIMBERLY-CLARK , Senior Director, n Dayton Henderson Global Design , Displays Manager n Margaret Farrell KRAFT HEINZ CO. , Associate Director, Displays/Special Packs n Stephen Kamp GODIVA CHOCOLATIER , Director of Visual Merchandising n Jose Padron GOPRO , Senior Manager, Global P-O-P Operations n Gabriel Mendez , Senior Director, Sales Operations n John Jaffke J JACK LINK’S , Packaging Engineering Manager n Kent Oakland JOCKEY INTERNATIONAL n Mark Fedyk Officer , Chief Merchandising 8 , In-Store Merchandising Strategy Lead n Diane Rogers L MEIJER L’OREAL USA n Dave Clark , Vice President of n Michael Arecchi Merchandising , Vice President, Promotional Development & Procurement, Consumer Products Division n Laurie Houlihan , Director, Retail Innovation & Promotional Development n Christina P. Ragazzini LG ELECTRONICS , Shopper Marketing and Merchandising Manager Olson is responsible for developing and implementing insights-based, breakthrough in-store experiences and solutions. , Vice President, Brand & Product Development , Director, Merchandise Presentation n Shelly Huisken , Vice President of Brand Development & Marketing n Nicole Laughlin , Director, Merchandise Presentation n Doug Robertson , Vice President, Merchandise Presentation and Pricing n Adam Whitney n Rachel Olson LOGITECH MICROSOFT CORP. , Director of Retail Digital Marketing and Visual Merchandising n Jason Floyd , Retail Marketing n Cynthia Bowens Manager , Acting Group Manager, Visual Merchandising n Timi Mafua M MARS CHOCOLATE U.S. , n Adrienne Mattar Merchandising Manager, Merchandising Center of Excellence Mattar’s group is responsible for developing and executing pre-pack merchandising vehicles by collaborating with brands, sales associates and customers to identify and address display penetration barriers. , Senior Merchandising Manager, Shopper Merchandising Solutions Petroski leads a merchandising team responsible for the design, development and execution of temporary displays and POS. n Robyn Petroski n Dwain (Jake) Jacobsen, Senior Retail Demo Manager , Director, Shopper Merchandising Solutions Zoellner leads the strategic merchandising function, and his team is responsible for all designing and producing of Mondelez display material as well as all aisle-reinvention projects. n Steve Zoellner N NBC UNIVERSAL STUDIOS , Director of New Release Planning Khachikyan is responsible for the new release procurement and production planning for Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. n Mary Khachikyan NESTLE PURINA , Senior Merchandising Display Specialist Kambol works directly with the marketing group to design, develop and implement in-store marketing solutions in the form of displays and special packs. n Bill Kambol MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL , Manager, Merchandising Materials, In-Store Merchandising Center of Excellence n Kelly O’Brien , Senior Merchandising Manager (See profile on page 6) n Randall Rodriguez 9 CRAYOLA: RICK STRINGER, Vice President of Customer Solutions W hen Rick Stringer walks into a store during backto-school or any holiday season and sees a Crayola pallet train or new planogram, he typically thinks back to the testing that went into it and how it was determined that a particular product is where it is on the shelf. “Occasionally I’ll harken back to a mom who maybe made a comment that drove that,” he says. “That’s the really fun stuff and the exciting part of the job.” As Crayola’s vice president of customer solutions, Stringer has four groups that report to him: merchandising, business intelligence, category management and strategic planning. “We’re responsible for triangulating consumer, shopper and trade marketing insights into actionable recommendations that meet our customers’ strategic objectives for the category,” he says. The customer solutions group was newly formed when he assumed his role last spring. Having started his career in sales at Schering-Plough and moving through a variety of functions from account management to product marketing, Stringer says his passion has always been in consumer packaged goods. He’s held many positions within Crayola, starting as a trade promotion manager and then moving into education marketing, where his team was constantly finding ways to nurture the relationship the company has with teachers and helping them use its products as well as visual arts as a cross-curricular resource. He served as the general manager of the company’s European business for two years after that, then headed customer leadership, worked in regional sales management and led the sales group prior to assuming his current post. Stringer thrives on working collaboratively and cross-functionally with Crayola’s creative, engineering and procurement groups. The group also works very closely with the market research department on identifying learning objectives specific to shopper, to channel and to customers. “Our category is interesting in that it’s really driven by occasion,” he says. “There are so many solutions in children’s art and stationery that we provide mom based on those different occasions, and understanding that really has been a major area of focus for us. We’re taking those insights and moving them into customer-specific solutions.” Crayola’s new Sky Blue merchandising lab has enabled Stringer and his group to be much more proactive in the work they do. Using what he calls a “scrappy approach,” the company is bringing in moms and dads, kids and grandparents alike to garner its directional insights and then engaging with retailer partners to localize programs to their specific shoppers or visual merchandising needs. “It’s been very impactful,” he says. “It’s designed to say to our customers, ‘Here are some directional learnings, now let’s focus in on your specific shopper insights.’” Retail assets have to work harder, he adds, but with the business intelligence and advanced analytics retail customers have today, they can measure the data more accurately than ever before. “So that means that the collaboration to ensure that we’re strategically aligned with the Photo by John Kish IV customer’s objectives is a bigger deal. Something that goes up quickly and easily is really becoming a major imperative.” As shoppers have more “stepping stones” along the path to purchase, Stringer believes it will be critical to continue digging into the different occasions when consumers buy Crayola products and the key points of influence that drive decision-making. “We’ve done shopper segmentation work to understand different shoppers’ approaches and behaviors when shopping,” he says. “We know there’s a strong emotional connection to the brand, and sometimes it’s just ensuring that it stays top of mind. But we also want shoppers to recognize that we provide great solutions for all their needs throughout the year.” Beyond the normal success metrics, Stringer emphasizes that programs have to be seen as efficient in the retailer’s eyes. With the emergence of the omnichannel shopper, he believes consistent threads that weave through the entire path to purchase will help drive conversion in-store. He sees the Holy Grail in merchandising as the integration of mobile and digital technology at shelf, and his group will continue its exploration of engaging the shopper in a meaningful way. 10 , Director, Retail Presentation, North America Norsworthy’s primary objective is to create enhanced shopping experiences at the category and brand level. n Greg Norsworthy Career achievement Over the last 10 years, Crayola has placed a large focus on the back-to-school seasonal set, not only understanding how the list impacts the way mom shops and the role of the brand but also optimizing product placement and flow. “That is work that we continue to refine,” Stringer says, noting that it includes understanding how to ensure the company is meeting the core basic needs of the shopper while at the same time continually refining insights to find transaction-building opportunities, trade-up opportunities and speed of shop. “That profiling work is so important to understand the different types of back-to-school shoppers and how to find executable merchandising plans for our customers to actually roll out. It’s a big deal.” The teams conduct a variety of annual studies and have boosted efforts within its new lab. “We’re building merchandising vehicles with an eye on the holding power required and having the right items in place at the right times,” he says. “That can be very impactful as well. It’s the basic and simple stuff that really impacts the business.” , Senior Display and Merchandising Specialist n Pam Venn NESTLE USA , Merchandise Manager, Confections & Snacks Division n Thomas Kobayashi , Team Lead, Communications Department Wofford’s team collaborates and coordinates with the brand teams in determining the key priorities for Nestle’s retail sales teams that include selling and merchandising in stores across America. n Cory Wofford NIKE INC. Manager , Director, Global Procurement, Retail & Corporate Facilities Kelly’s mission is to maximize consumer impact by leveraging Nike’s suppliers and scale to help provide world-class experiences and environments. n Matt Kelly Recent achievement Based on learnings garnered through ethnographic work and formal shopalongs, Crayola in October implemented a complete aisle redesign at Meijer that went across all of the chain’s stores at the same time. It was time to “freshen things up,” Stringer says, and it started at the ground level and moved up to the Sky Blue lab, where testing of four different full planogram executions took place, with three different iterations. “We leveraged the Crayola brand and it was designed around wayfinding and the proper segmentation flow,” he says. “We’re really pleased with the results of that and very pleased with the execution.” 11 , Senior Visual n Kenneth Edwards P PFIZER PEET’S COFFEE & TEA n Chris Beley , Director of Visual n Adam O’Connell Merchandising S , Display Team Lead POST CONSUMER BRANDS , Visual Presentation & Merchandising Manager Collette leads the strategy and design of in-line merchandising as well as all displays in North America, driving consumer perception across Post’s full portfolio of brands. n Steve Collette PEPSICO , Senior Manager, Small Format Merchandising Innovation, Frito-Lay n Karl Flowers , Sales Strategy & Planning, Merchandising, Frito-Lay Ivy manages design and development for Frito-Lay’s permanent equipment solutions in the largeformat channel. n Jim Ivy , Senior Director of Merchandising & Execution Kelly leads the Merchandising Center of Excellence for the Pepsi Beverages Co. (PBC), PepsiCo’s beverage manufacturing, sales and distribution operating unit in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. PRICE CHOPPER SUPERMARKETS n Blaine Bringhurst Senior Vice President, Sales, Merchandising and Marketing , , Vice President, Visual n Tim Swanson Presentation PETSMART , Vice President, Store Design and Visual Merchandising n Shane McCall , Director, Sales n Pete Loizzo Operations SARGENTO FOODS , Senior Director of Retail Merchandising Bottomley is responsible for retail merchandising excellence across all channels of trade. n John Bottomley , Vice President, Sales Services n Michael Sokol , Director, Marketing and Merchandising n Michael Vaszily SC JOHNSON & SON INC. , Director, Sales Operations n Lute Rasavong n Brian Kelly PETCO ANIMAL SUPPLIES SABRA DIPPING CO. , Vice President of Corporate Brands n Michael Cormier SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO. , Director, In Store Marketing n Scott Evans n Paul Cobb PROCTER & GAMBLE SKULLCANDY , Group Vice President, Merchandising , Operations Leader, Health & Well-Being and Beauty, North America n Andy Monaco , Pet Care Display n Don Overton Leader R REEBOK INTERNATIONAL , Vice President, Head of U.S. Marketing & Merchandising n John Lynch 12 , Director of Retail Product Marketing and Visual Merchandising n Jeff Chuh SONY ELECTRONICS , Retail Marketing, Visual Merchandising Manager n Anne Lips , Senior Manager, Retail Merchandising and Strategy Shinker leads and manages all retail merchandising and display initiatives, including strategy and development for Sony’s sound division. n Tony Shinker , Senior Director – Merchandising Strategy & Transformation n Lisa Roath , Vice President, Merchandise Operations n Ted Smetana , Senior Design Lead Stafford is responsible for the design of store environments and fixture and lighting development. n Bill Stafford , Senior Fixture Designer Theisen is responsible for the design of fixtures and store environments for the health & beauty, electronics & entertainment and household commodities divisions. n Jen Theisen STAPLES , Vice President, Visual Merchandising n Robert Madill STARBUCKS , Vice President, Global Creative Studios n Jennifer Berger , Director, Shopper Innovation & Experience n Kelly Marsh , Vice President, Global Creative Studios n Jennifer Quotson T TARGET CORP. , Senior Director, Divisional Merchandise Manager n Sarah Arnold , Manager – In-Store Marketing, New Formats Rinkleff’s focus is on the planning and implementation of the in-store experience of Target’s smaller format stores and other high-level innovation projects. n Erika Rinkleff TIMBERLAND CO. , Senior Director, North America Merchandising, Footwear & Apparel n Jackie LaLime U UNILEVER , Team Lead – U.S. Category Strategy Gioielli’s team develops and leads consumer and shopper insight-based assortment and shelving strategies for all of Unilever’s categories. n Tom Gioielli W WALGREEN CO. , Director, Space Management, Visual Merchandising Dorado’s team brings to life planograms, floor-plan execution and promotional space at the more than 8,100 Walgreens stores. n Louis Dorado n Mike Hattenschweiler, Director, In-Store Marketing Design TIME INC. RETAIL , Director of Retail Operations & Display n Troy Stratton TYSON FOODS , Manager, Strategic Merchandising & Mix n Katherine Tai 13 , Group Vice President, Well Experience Implementation & Space Planning Jensen is responsible for developing and leading store formats and the creation of new business programs. His team is also responsible for space planning relating to macro space allocation, category display plans and promotional activities. n Jim Jensen AVERY PRODUCTS: KIMBERLY TRUE, Director, Visual Merchandising K imberly True’s first career mentor was her stepfather, Jim Willey, a former vice president of sales and marketing with then Anheuser-Busch division Merico. And while she continues to heed Willey’s advice, True is now more than capable of offering her own after stops at leading companies like Nestle USA, Masterfoods USA, Sony Pictures Entertainment and now Avery Products. “Some of the most valuable lessons I learned along the way are: collaborate with the cross-functional team on projects; forecasting is not an exact science; learn to write a great creative brief; and identify what risk you have in the plan and have counter measures in place,” she says. In high school, True worked at a grocery store and learned a bit about in-store operations, planograms, and off-shelf and front-end displays. After earning a marketing degree at California State Polytechnic University (Pomona), True joined the logistics group at Nestle in 1991. “The club store channel was just getting traction, and one of my key responsibilities was converting retail packs into club pack pallet displays,” she says. “That’s where it all started.” She was promoted to the merchandising group in the confections division, where she created promotional display programs and national permanent display fixture programs while defining ROI methods with key customers and integrating consumer insights. Rene Alvarez, then the merchandising manager for the confections division, taught True to emphasize “stopping power” in her display work. True then climbed the leadership ladder – at Masterfoods (Mars Inc.) as in-store presence manager for brands like Whiskas and Uncle Ben’s, and at Sony as director of operations, leading a group in the operational aspects of DVD display production, specialty DVD packaging development and materials management. At Avery since 2006, True leads the retail and commercial teams that are account focused on retail displays and trade shows, and commercial customers’ online and print catalogs. She heads all category merchandising solutions, retail test merchandising and trade advertising assets. “Within my role, I also aid the sales organization with ensuring the sales tools needed for market activation are developed and available such as collateral, online digital assets, retail planograms and displays or commercial promotional programs,” she says. True’s team is part of the customer marketing group within Avery’s sales organization, and is split into retail and commercial catalog focuses. They work with the consumer insights group to learn shopping behavior and user behavior for Avery products. “Our product marketers, consumer insights and digital Photo by George DeLoache marketing teams within our marketing group collaborate with our category business managers, account sales teams and visual merchandising team within our sales group to develop programs to drive the business,” she says. True says she enjoys working with teams from Avery partners. Collaboration within leads to collaboration without. “I have found that when we have the ability to bring together the right team, decision makers and area experts between the retailer and the brand, it aids in the ability to create a successful program and bring it to market more quickly,” she says. “Key players that drive this are our retailer merchants with their marketing and store operation and visual teams, the brand marketers with their account sales team, category business managers, insights and visual teams. I also find it integral to include in the process the supplier/thought partner that will be producing the program.” Now in her third decade of merchandising, True says recent years have brought change. It’s become more instantaneous, she says – faster delivery to store, quicker turns, and retailers wanting the easiest in-store setup to maximize compliance. And she’s noticed in-store promotional windows are shorter with more frequent display programs. “I’ve noticed more category management solutions over the last five years or so, more loyalty cardbased signage and integrating mobile-friendly content with less instant on-pack promotions,” she says. “Also, in some categories, I see lighting transforming the retailer’s in-store environments, which is very engaging. For office supplies, key trends in the marketplace are about inspiring the consumer with solutions and the products that can make their project successful. “Brands are achieving this with inspiring visuals, on-target messaging and the use of various types of materials/printing techniques to create that inspiration and stopping power, both online and in-store.” 14 WALMART STORES , Senior Director – Visual Merchandising / Merchandise Execution n Mark Brodeur , Director, Apparel Visual Merchandising n Paul Kilsch Career achievement , Senior Director, Visual Merchandising n Barbara Magstadt True says that one of the more successful broad market merchandising projects she has worked on was a new line of specialty labels in unique shapes, textures and sizes. Website analytics provided a target market of small businesses that could use these products to brand and promote their products. To inspire small business owners, Avery needed to show them what the materials looked like – printed – and needed to communicate how easy it was to get great results. “Our cross-functional Avery team brought forth to market category solution signage, merchandising solutions and a few test vehicles to gain additional consumer insights and shopping behavior on this line of products,” says True. “This line continues to gain momentum with line extensions and performance for the category.” , Senior Director, Visual Merchandising Marketing Rogers leads the visual merchandising services team and is responsible for in-store marketing programs for Walmart U.S. n Steve Rogers WONDERFUL BRANDS , Vice President, Merchandising n Dave Churchill WORLD KITCHEN , Senior Director, Visual Merchandising n Chuck Schneider Recent achievement Avery worked on the labels category with superstore merchants at Staples and Office Depot/OfficeMax. Each of the retailers’ objectives was independent, and True’s team was able to collaborate with them to create planograms that are visually compelling and meet many of the outlined objectives set forth for each account. “At Staples, the labels set was increasing the shelving density and we needed to improve the category performance of our specialty labels by increasing the presence of those products in the set,” says True. “At Office Depot/OfficeMax, our objectives were about harmonizing the assortment, improving category navigation, and creating a product presentation to drive trade-up.” 15 Y YANKEE CANDLE CO. , Director of Merchandising and Promotions, Retail Stores n Brian Chaisson , Vice President/ GMM Retail Activation n Debbie Ter Doest