Big Box Producers Losing Ground - Swept by Underwhelming Shopper Satisfaction

Big grocery store shelf names like Kraft Heinz Company, Kellogg Company, and Mondelez International Incorporated had best keep a close eye over their shoulder as newer trends come sweeping by to give their competition the advantage. These are just a few of the big brand names that most of us recall browsing through in search of the next hash mark off of our grocery list. But a new trend is giving those brands a run for their money, filling their dwindling void of shelf space, and saying goodbye to that grocery list almost entirely.

(Before)

Packaged goods have seen their hay day come and pass. Once hailed as the low cost - long shelf life mealtime mainstay, packaged goods have now experienced their fall from grace with sales slipping nearly 2.5% in just the first quarter of 2017. Shoppers’ tastes have refined as they are now more intently searching for the healthy, local, and fresh alternatives. A flame that ignited almost a decade ago, with select grocery stores offering fresh ‘home-made’ meal alternatives for hungry shoppers on the move, has now exploded into the newest grocery status quo. Big name stores are now seeking locally produced, fresh, and organic ingredients to replace the big boxes with the big taste of consumer demand.

(After)

As many readers may have noticed already our traditional grocery store is losing its classical image - stripping itself of bulky metal shelving and replacing the eyesores with sleek stainless serving displays and cookware. Adopting a more welcoming environment for customers has proven successful as sales of fresh produce soar. Hungry shoppers who used to turn to a bag of sodium dense snacks now may opt for the fresh deli indulgence at a comparable cost with the added savings of their health conciseness. Big box names are scrambling for an identity overhaul as their expiration date draws near. In order to stay afloat, packaged product producers need to re-evaluate their consumers, turn back their roots, and employ a fresh product alternative to keep up with the small name trendsetters. In the meantime we will see stores like CVS, HEB, ShopRite, Kroger, and many others continue to re-model and re-build – from the ground up.

Name: Joseph Webb

Class: MKTG 3343

Article: Big-Name Food Brands Lose Battle of the Grocery Aisle

Link to WSJ Article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-name-food-brands-lose-battle-of-the-grocery-aisle-1493596823

Microsoft Cortana-Powered Speaker Challenges Amazon’s Echo With Skype Calls

In the last years, technological advancements have been booming. Microsoft is bringing a new Echo smart speaker from Samsung that can make phone calls. It will be competing with Amazon’s Echo smart speaker, but it will also compete with Alphabet’s google home device. This will be a cooperation between Microsoft and Samsung: the voice controlled-invoke will come from Samsung, and it will use Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant to take commands. Apple also seems to be working on an Echo smart device and Siri will the digital assistant used.

The Microsoft invoke will have the same features as the Amazon invoke: it plays music, can research things for the user. According to Harman’s senior vice president David Rogers, who works for Samsung, the device will have superior audio quality and will be integrated with Microsoft’s skype calling service. This is a new feature that the competitors do not have, but are planning to add to the next generation of their products. The price of the invoke is still unclear, as well as the applications that will be on it.

I believe that this article shows us how the market reacts to consumers. With the technological advancements, this product became so demanded that the biggest companies are all competing to have the lead. That is what happens with all businesses. This article also shows us the power consumers have in the market.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-cortana-powered-speaker-challenges-amazons-echo-with-skype-calls-1494269144

Uber Faces Federal Criminal Probe Over ‘Greyball’ Software

In this article, we are informed on a situation between Uber and federal prosecutors as well as uber’s competitors. The federal department has been investigating uber for used a “Greyball software” that hides the identity of drivers from local regulators.

The Greyball software hides driver’s identity and shows a fake version of the application to local regulators in cities where Uber is banned.

Years ago, Uber had said that they would stop using the software. They were also blamed for using the app to cancel rides from competitors like Lyft. The San Francisco company hasn’t been talkative on the matter, but one of their claims is that they were only using the app to protect the drivers from physical harm, to test their models and prevent fraudulent business.

This federal problem is only one of many things that have been going on with Uber. As it was said in the article “the company is investigating claims of sexism and sexual harassment, as well as claims of a harsh workplace conditions under it’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick.”  The company is also being sued by Alphabet Inc., which blames the company for allegedly stealing some of their plans.

I chose the article because I believe that it is wrong for Uber not to follow laws, but i also think it is interesting to go see the lengths to which companies would go to get ahead of their competition. Some people would probably

https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-faces-federal-criminal-probe-over-greyball-software-1493948944?mg=id-wsj

Pop-Ups, The New Wave

Customers are beginning to prefer pop-ups over storefronts. It's been bringing in more revenue for many companies and the costs of starting one up are costing them less. Pamela Barsky shares her cost for a 10x10 foot booth at $7,300 a month, with sales ranging from $40,000 to $100,000. She also brings in enough revenue so that she is able to 15 employees.

FAD market in Brooklyn is a weekend showcase of pop-ups for independent artists and designers that have doubled in vendor numbers and 2,000 visitors a day, tripling in attendance. Jen Bailey, the director, says that the market is so appealing that people love it so much and even volunteer to help set up table, hand out fliers, and greet shoppers.

Artists & Fleas is opening a new 5,000 sqft. in Soho, in replacing the former home of Armani Exchange, on Friday. Their location in Chelsea attracts up to 10,000 shoppers on peak days, attracting merchants to be willing to pay $65,000 a year for a 50 sqft. booth. Merchant, Andrew Cheung, says he averages $50,000 in sales a month. There is also a $500 "marketing and merch. fee" and a $25 fine if you are not supervising your booth during market hours.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pop-ups-markets-generate-big-bucks-for-retailers-1494322201

Alan Nguyen
MKTG 3343

twitter & live videos deals

The social network revealed its partnerships with companies BuzzFeed, Vox Media, MLB Advanced Media and Live Nation to produce a live-streaming content for the platform.The announcements come as Twitter attempts to positions themselves as a video provider for professionally-produced live video content and tap into advertising budgets typically reserved for TV.

Twitter faces competition with other already successful and commanding forces in live video content and music providers, like facebook and youtube, so twitter will have to come up with a marketing strategy to get the target market they are after.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-announces-more-live-video-deals-1493681017

jessy perez

MKTG 3343

‘American Idol’ Returns to TV, This Time on ABC

Music-competition show aired on Fox for more than a decade until cancellation last year

ABC says it will revive “American Idol” after it has spent only one year off the air.

The network said Tuesday that the music-competition show will begin sometime in the next TV season around September. The series originally aired on Fox and got cancelled a year ago after years of fading ratings. But ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey called it a “pop culture staple that left the air too soon.”

Bringing back the show will be a challenge for ABC. If the show was losing ratings on FOX just a year ago, what is it that ABC can do in order to make the show different and better? They already face competition with other music shows like The Voice and The X Factor, so ABC has to find some strategy to show American Idol is different and get their target market engaged.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-idol-returns-to-tv-this-time-on-abc-1494334759

Janelle Mendez

MKTG 3343

Make the "Whole Foods" at Half Prices

Whole Foods Aims to Cut Prices but Keep Its Cachet

Firms and corporations alike are in the business to increase their profits and sell a product. Whole Foods brand, for example, promises high quality produce for a price. Since it’s founding, Whole Foods has always been recognized for its high prices and organic foods. As others saw that this “organic food” trend was growing, many big box grocery stores opted to include foods like these onto their store shelves. By doing so they also took a cut of Whole Food’s profit, something that is becoming more evident to Whole Foods and its investors. As a company with investors, it had to keep them happy and as such has to find alternatives to keep being profitable.

Although investors are an important part of a corporation we can’t rely on them all the time to remain profitable. A suggestion to Whole Foods was in order to reduce costs whole foods should become reliant on a more cost-effective distribution network that would reduce costs because all of the Whole Foods stock would be the same. This reduction in costs would allow Whole Foods to cut its prices which in turn would supposedly drive consumers to Whole Foods. The issue with this suggestion is that other Big-Box Retailers already offer organic foods at lower prices. Whole Food’s need to understand that their target market is not necessarily the average consumer but those who buy specialty items in their store and go out of their way to shop at the non-traditional grocery store.

While some fear that this change can present a threat to the Whole Foods image others like the “Chief Executive John Mackey said his chain remains a specialty store even as it adopts more conventional techniques”. He claims his store can still remain unique while integrating ideas from Big Box retailers. Although its still not a definitive decision Whole Foods should take into consideration their product, and realize what it is they are truly trying to sell. As Henry Chan, Communications Manager at Ardent Global, once said: “You have to know what it is you want to accomplish first before anything else.” In this case Whole Foods has to define their business model and ask themselves if consumers or investors drive their decisions. 

Photo

WSJ Article

Carlos Gutierrez

MKTG 3343