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The reordering of mass retailing, which is rapidly transforming the industry and making old definitions obsolete, is quickly accelerating. So it is that such traditional drug chains as Walgreens and CVS are transitioning into health care providers. The retail outlets once easily identified as discount stores are now challenging traditional food retailers for leadership in that basic category.
As to those grocery retailers long identified by their food assortments, they have recently begun to effectively compete in the health care arena, proving once again that, yes, a good supermarket retailer can convince consumers to fill their prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications in a grocery store.
Not coincidentally, the mass retailing store can no longer be identified by the simplistic but accurate label that one size fits all. So it is that Target has effectively downsized its model by building a 32,000-square-foot unit in Brooklyn, N.Y. And so it is as well that supermarket retailers that once fielded cookie-cutter stores that varied little from one location to the next now routinely open “urban” units that cater, almost exclusively, to city center residents by selling food items designed to be consumed shortly after the customer exists the store. A perfect example is Kroger’s downtown supermarket that effectively markets to the urban shopper looking to purchase food items for today’s lunch.
The downside of all this activity (if, indeed, it can be classified as a downside) is that the industry’s trade associations have not effectively anticipated these stunning changes — or even stayed abreast of them. True to the nature of retail trade organizations, such familiar icons as FMI – The Food Industry Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores have comfortably remained true to what they have long been known for: Conducting the industry’s business.
This is not to condemn these organizations. They long have effectively performed the indispensable function of bringing buyers and sellers together while keeping their retailing communities abreast of recent developments. However, it is quickly becoming apparent that members of the mass retailing community are coming to believe that this is no longer enough.
So it is that retail trade organizations old and not so old are rushing to fill the void. Several come to mind, but three merit special mention. The first is the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, or CHPA to those who prefer industry shorthand. It has long served to fill a gap in an industry that has for perhaps too long emphasized its retail members rather than the suppliers who serve them. CHPA is altering that metric, to the benefit of both parties.
Then there’s that annual Las Vegas entry, the Consumer Electronics Show. To those industry people who have not been paying attention, it has become much more than a display vehicle for consumer electronics. As such, it is, as particularly savvy mass retailers have already discovered, a breath of fresh air to enliven the dreary months of winter.
Finally, we have that traditional January affair in New York City, the National Retail Federation’s Retail’s Big Show. Long viewed with indifference by mass retailers, due in large part to its inability or unwillingness to correctly define itself, it has at last found its way into the 21st century. In the process, it has become a must-go-to event for a growing body of mass retailers and suppliers, a can’t-miss event where the only losers are those sleepy heads who pass it by.
The message here is that, as with all things, mass retailing is changing. And those who plan to be around tomorrow would be wise to use today as a time of change.
