an annual statistical analysis of the top 100 retailers and categories

7/29/2019 An Annual Statistical Analysis of the Top 100 Retailers and Categories

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An annual statistical analysis

2013


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Welcome toRetailing Todays annual Insights issue. Thisunique product was created to provide a blended look at theperformance of the nations Top 100 retailers and Top 100

mass market product categories in one convenient format. In additionto offering an abundance of useful statistics, the greater objective wasto put the performance in context by providing analysis of key industrydevelopments, insights into market moving trends and a thought-provoking view on where the retail and consumer packaged goods

industry is headed in 2013.To achieve this goal, we worked with our sister publicationChain Store

Age to compile a denitive ranking of the Top 100 retailers based on salesand prots across all industry segments. We also partnered with Nielsento provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive view possible of theperformance of the Top 100 mass market product categories, which nowincludes point-of-sale information from Walmart following the retailersdecision last year to resume data sharing. In addition to sharing data

about sales and unit volume, Nielsen provided insights into retail industrytrends, best practices and drivers of future demand.

What emerged from this process is an engaging view of a retail andCPG industry that is highly resilient and able to cope with tremendouslevels of uncertainty. Many market participants who hunkered down

during the Great Recession by curtailing new store growth and reducingexpenses achieved solid performances during their most recent scalyear. This was an impressive feat, considering the signicant headwindsthat persisted in the form of a weak job market, limited wage growth, fuel

prices that sapped discretionary spending and an achingly slow recoveryin the housing market.Some companies weathered the Great Recession while others

thrived because of it due to their value orientation. Either way, thosewho have survived are well positioned to see growth accelerate inthe coming year given any abatement in some or all of the forces thatpressured consumer spending last year. Of course, new challenges anduncertainties always arise. An unprecedented drought in the Midwestthis summer destroyed crops and sent corn and soybean prices to recordlevels that ultimately will be passed through to consumers. Any are upof the perpetual political turmoil in the Mideast will create energy pricevolatility that directly impacts consumer spending. And the prospectof ination remains ever present as the Federal Reserve persists withpolicies that ensure interest rates remain at record low levels.

There are plenty of unknowns for retailers, their trading partners andconsumers to ponder in the year ahead, but then life is always lled withsome level of uncertainty. Perhaps the most positive development for thecoming year involves the presidential election. It will nally be over andconsumers can stop thinking about whether they are better off today thanthey were four years ago. Such introspection against the backdrop of aweak economy isnt good for consumer condence.

Regardless of who occupies the White House come Jan. 1, consumersand businesses will gain increased visibility into the future, and that is agood thing. Roughly half the population is bound to be disappointed bywhat they see but at least there will be clarity.

Where the growth isEditorial

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By Mike Troy, Editor, Retailing TodayThose [companies] who have survived[the Great Recession] are well positioned

to see growth accelerate in the coming year given any abatement in some or allof the forces that pressured consumerspending last year.


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WALMARTWith total revenues equivalent to the next sixlargest U.S. retailers combined, Walmart domi-nates the U.S retail landscape like no other. A re-turn to core operating principles at Walmart U.S.and increased marketing helped the companyresume same-store sales growth. Comps turnedpositive in third quarter 2011, accelerated during

the fourth quarter and again in the rst quarter.Undeterred by a slight deceleration in the sec-ond quarter, Walmart maintains its U.S. businessis on a growth trajectory and stores are gainingcustomer trafc despite dramatic expansion bythe likes of Dollar General and Family Dollar.

Walmarts U.S. business has room to run. Thecompanys smaller-format stores are said to begenerating returns sufcient to warrant an ac-celerated expansion. And in the e-commercearena, the company is making acquisitions andexperimenting with new initiatives and continu-ing to leverage its multichannel capabilities.

KROGERWalmarts growth hasnt fazed second-rankedKroger. In fact, the opposite is true. The nationslargest operator of conventional grocery stores isenjoying a remarkable run of consecutive same-store sales growth that is approaching nine years.

Kroger is all about consistency and its long-run-ning loyalty program is its secret sauce. Roughly90% of the transactions in Kroger stores involvea loyalty program, and that gives the companya wealth of shopper insights it can leverage tomore effectively serve shoppers and drive sales.

Dont look for Kroger to open large numbers ofnew stores anytime soon and why should it?

Kroger has shown it can continue to improve theproductivity of selling space in the companysexisting 2,435 conventional supermarkets todrive protability and keep shareholders happy.

COSTCOThird-ranked Costcos shareholders are a

happy lot as well because the nations favorite

warehouse club keeps executing against a com-pelling value proposition that drives memberloyalty and record renewal rates. The companyis poised for continued success thanks to a dis-ciplined growth strategy and unwavering com-mitment to delivering value to its members.

Dont look for the company to deviate from itsstrategy in the wake of the January retirement ofco-founder and long-time CEO Jim Sinegal. Hewas replaced by 28-year Costco veteran CraigJelinek, who has held the position of head mer-chant, COO and president during his career. Inaddition, the companys other co-founder, Jef-frey Brotman, continues to serve as chairman.

Top 10 market movers and the best of the rest

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Theres never a dull moment in the retail industry. That proved to be the case again this year asthe nations top 100 retailers and their trading partners endured economic weakness, politicalturmoil and an uncertain spending climate. Through it all, the retail industry soldiered on, servingcustomers with products they need and want, and attempting to do so in the most efcientmanner possible to maximize prots. What follows is a look at some of the key moves made bythe nations top 10 retailers, along with a look at the best of the rest.


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WALGREENSIt was a tough year for fourth-ranked Walgreens

as the companys business suffered due to a long-running dispute over reimbursement rates withpharmacy benet manager Express Scripts. Itwasnt the rst time Walgreens publicly squabbledwith a payer over reimbursement rates, but pastdisputes typically were resolved before customers

learned Walgreens could no longer ll their pre-scriptions. Competitors, such as CVS and Walmart,showed no mercy and were more than eager toaccommodate peeved Walgreens customers.

The matter got resolved after the damage wasdone, and now Walgreens faces the dauntingprospect of winning back customers. To that end,the company recently launched a major initiative

called Balance Rewards, a points-based systemthat allows customers to earn unlimited rewards.

HOME DEPOTMore so than any retailer among the top 10,

Home Depot has weathered the roughest patchin the companys history, which makes its per-formance last year rather impressive. Sales

grew roughly 3.7% to $70.4 billion and protsgrew 16.3% to nearly $3.9 billion, making thecompany the third most protable retailer in thetop 10, behind only Walmart and CVS Caremark.

The news got a lot better for Home Depot thisyear as the conversation about the state of thenations housing market has shifted to specu-lation about the arc of the recovery and away

from whether the housing market has hit bottom.Same-store sale are poised to surge at HomeDepot and rival Lowes, if only more people wereable to qualify for record low rates that are sureto be the envy of future generations.

TARGET Accelerating improvement of the housing

market may not be enough for Home Depot, andpossibly Walgreens, to avoid being overtaken byTarget. The nations sixth-largest retailer is en-

joying solid low- to mid-single digit same-storesales growth and is poised to resume squarefootage expansion of its traditional discount

stores with expanded fresh food offerings in ad-

dition to a new urban format called CityTarget. A two-year-old loyalty program continues to

gain traction and is boosting average transactionsizes. However, the biggest boost to sales in 2013will come from the companys entry into Canada.

A total of 125 new Target stores are due to opennext year in remodeled former Zellers locations.The rst wave of those stores is due to open in

March, and Canadian expansion is expected tomake a major contribution to the companys goalof achieving $100 billion in sales within ve years.

CVS CAREMARK Walgreens loss was CVS Caremarks gain when

it came to the formers dispute with pharmacy ben-et manager Express Scripts. In addition to continu-

ing to execute well against its own strategy andprovide shoppers with compelling offers via its in-dustry-leading Extra Care loyalty program, CVS washanded a gift of countless customers by Walgreens.

The company enjoyed a strong performancein 2011 and repeatedly exceeded its own guid-ance and analysts estimates during 2012. CVSgained signicant market share this year, andwith increased customer trafc in its stores, ispoised for more gains in 2013.

BEST BUY Among the nations 10 largest retailers, no one

experienced more difculty than Best Buy. Aside

from coping with lost momentum as the housing

crisis and increased online competition pressuredsales of key categories, the company botched aleadership transition.

After only a few months in the top job, CEOBrian Dunn was relieved of his duties after it wasrevealed he had an inappropriate relationship witha subordinate. To make matters worse, companyfounder and chairman Richard Schulze was aware

of the situation and failed to act, so he too wasrelieved of his responsibilities as chairman, eventhough he is the companys largest shareholder.

Best Buy promises to remain a hot topic duringthe coming year, regardless of its performanceduring the holidays, as Schulze wants to acquirethe company outright but needs the backing ofother investors willing to assume what appears

to be considerable risk.

LOWESLowes faced all the same housing market relat-

ed challenges as Home Depot, but it didnt fare aswell as its larger rival. Sales grew a meager 2.8%to $50.7 billion while prots declined to $1.84 bil-lion from slightly more than $2 billion. This year,Lowes undertook a major remerchandising initia-tive in stores and introduced a unique loyalty-typeprogram called My Lowes. Reviews are mixed andthe effectiveness of the changes have yet to revealthemselves. At the midpoint of the year, Lowes isstruggling to grow sales and improve protability.

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The company also recently abandoned a bid to ac-quire a Canadian home improvement chain.

AMAZON Amazon rounds out the nations 10 largest re-

tailers, but not for long. The company grew salesby 40.5% last year to more than $48 billion and ithas continued to pile on volume during the current

year. Even if sales growth were to slow from theprior year a possibility given the gains are com-ing on top of a larger base Amazon is poisedto moved up the ranking next year, surpassingLowes, Best Buy, CVS and threatening Target.

The days of this online retailer enabling its cus-tomers to avoid paying sales tax are rapidly com-ing to an end, but that competitive advantage may

not matter any more. Amazon has built a lead inthe e-commerce arena with a best-in-class userinterface soon to be supported with more robustdistribution capabilities due to the addition of 18new facilities this year.

BEST OF THE RESTOne retailer that gets overlooked in the Top

100 ranking is the Sams Club division of Wal-Mart Stores. As a stand-alone entity, Sams Clubsannual sales of $53.8 billion position it as the na-

tions eighth-largest retailer. Now the company isembarking on its most ambitious growth in sever-al years under the leadership of Rosalind Brewer,Walmarts rst African-American division chief.

The resumption of new club growth at SamsClub pales in comparison to the rampant expan-sion of 27th-ranked Dollar General and 51st-ranked Family Dollar. Dollar General this year

opened its 10,000th store when it entered theCalifornia market, and the company contendsthe market can support 20,000 stores. DollarGeneral opens an average of nearly two storesper day and Family Dollar isnt far behind. Thesetwo companies, combined with single price pointleader Dollar Tree, will open roughly 1,000 newstores this year, and they show no signs of slow-

ing their breakneck expansion in 2013 or beyond.While dollar stores are focused on deliver-

ing their brand of value to shoppers focused onconvenience and opening price points, a differenttype of drama is unfolding among leading depart-ment store operators.

The most notable of these isJCPenney, whereCEO Ron Johnson has declared the audacious goal

of transforming the chain into, Americas favoritestore. Things havent gone well for Johnson sincehe unveiled a transformation strategy at a major

event in New York, which was supposed to hingeon a simplied pricing strategy. After two consecu-tive quarters of roughly 20% declines in same-store sales, the pricing strategy was modiedand other course corrections were implemented.Johnson hasnt softened his stance, though, andcontinues to talk a good game, even if results ap-pear to be a long way from materializing.

If shoppers are weary of promotional pricing,someone forgot to tell the throngs of customersfrequentingMacys. The nations leading depart-ment store retailer is hyper promotional and servescustomers a mind-numbing offering of discounts,deals and special coupons. And it works.

Shoppers remain focused on the deal, whetherit be a percentage discount at an upscale retailer

or a special nd while combing through the racksat Ross Stores or one of the off-price formats op-erated by the TJX Cos.Both retailers continue toamaze with their mid- to high-single digit same-store sales growth.

Value players have been big beneciaries ofthe nations protracted economic weakness, andnowhere has this been more evident than in the

growth of the dollar store channel. Dollar Generalthis year surpassed 10,000 units by opening aprojected 625 new stores, and its shows no signof slowing. Neither does rival Family Dollar or sin-gle price point leader Dollar Tree. All three haveexpanded or continue to expand their offeringof food and consumables. Their food initiatives,combined with Targets addition of fresh food and

growth from such value players as Aldi, is placingunprecedented pressure on such conventionalsupermarkets as Safeway and Supervalu .

Traditional national food retailers continue tosuffer share losses while the likes ofWhole Foodsand such emerging players as The Fresh Marketgain new converts despite premium pricing.

In other notable industry developments, Autozone surpassed 5,000 units, Bed Bath &Beyond continued to thrive despite the chal-lenging housing market while Staples nallysuccumbed to the pressures of a weak businessspending climate that already had negatively af-fected rivalsOfce Depot and OfceMax.

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Powered byinsightsTOP 100 RETAILERS

RANK COMPANY 2011 REVENUE* 2010 REVENUE* 2011 NET INCOME* 2010 NET INCOME*

1 Wal-Mart Stores1 $443,854,000 $418,952,000 $15,699,000 $16,389,000

2 The Kroger Co.2 90,374,000 82,049,000 602,000 1,116,000

3 Costco3 87,048,000 76,255,000 1,462,000 1,303,000

4 Walgreens4 72,184,000 67,420,000 2,714,000 2,091,000

5 The Home Depot5 70,395,000 67,997,000 3,883,000 3,338,000

6 Target Corp.2 69,865,000 67,390,000 2,929,000 2,920,000

7 CVS Caremark 6 59,599,000 57,345,000 4,912,000 4,537,000

8 Best Buy7 50,705,000 49,747,000 [1,231,000] 1,277,000

9 Lowes Cos.8

50,208,000 48,815,000 1,839,000 2,010,00010 Amazon.com6 48,077,000 34,204,000 631,000 1,152,000

11 Safeway6 43,630,200 41,050,000 516,700 589,800

12 Sears Holdings Inc.2 41,567,000 42,664,000 [3,113,000] 122,000

13 Supervalu9 36,100,000 37,534,000 [1,040,000] [1,510,000]

14 Publix Supermarkets6 26,967,389 25,134,054 1,491,966 1,338,147

15 Macys2 26,405,000 25,003,000 1,256,000 847,000

16 RiteAid7 26,121,222 25,214,907 [368,571] [555,424]

17 Ahold USA 10 25,072,000 23,523,000 NA NA

18 Staples2 25,022,192 24,545,113 984,656 881,948

19 TJX Cos.2 23,191,455 21,942,193 1,496,090 1,343,141

20 Alimentation Couche-Tard11 22,997,500 18,550,400 457,600 369,200

21 7-Eleven (U.S. & Canada)6 20,350,000 16,800,000 NA NA

22 Delhaize America6 19,230,000 18,807,000 NA NA

23 Kohls Department Stores2 18,804,000 18,391,000 1,167,000 1,120,000

24 HE Butt Grocery Co.12 18,000,000 15,500,000 NA NA

25 Pilot Flying J13

17,770,000 17,000,000 NA NA

* In thousands1 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 31, 20122 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 28, 20123 Company reports for the scal year ended Aug. 28, 20114 Company reports for the scal year ended Aug. 31, 2011

5 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 29, 20126 Company reports for the scal year ended Dec. 31, 20117 Company reports for the scal year ended March 3, 20128 Company reports for the scal year ended Feb. 3, 20129 Company reports for the scal year ended Feb. 25, 2012

10 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 1, 201211 Company reports for the scal year ended April 29, 201212 Estimate for the scal year ended Oct. 30, 201113 Estimate for the scal year ended Dec. 31, 2011


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26 JCPenney14 $17,260,000 $17,759,000 $[152,000] $378,000

27 Dollar General15 14,807,200 13,035,000 766,700 627,900

28 Gap Inc.14 14,549,000 14,664,000 833,000 1,204,000

29 Meijer16 14,400,000 14,200,000 NA NA

30 Apple,17 14,120,000 9,820,800 NA NA

31 ToysRUs14 13,900,000 13,855,000 149,000 168,000

32 Wakefern Food Corp.18 12,800,000 11,800,000 NA NA

33 Dell Computer,15 11,900,000 12,357,000 NA NA

34 Starbucks19

11,700,400 10,707,400 1,248,000 948,30035 eBay20 11,651,654 9,156,274 3,229,387 1,800,961

36 Ofce Depot20 11,489,533 11,633,094 95,691 [46,205]

37 BJs Wholesale Club21 11,300,000 10,632,947 NA 95,036

38 Verizon Wireless,22 10,997,000 8,021,000 NA NA

39 Quik Trip23 10,770,000 8,770,000 NA NA

40 Nordstrom14 10,497,000 9,310,000 683,000 613,000

41 Limited Brands14 10,364,000 9,613,000 850,000 805,000

42 Army & Airforce Exchange Service14 10,300,000 8,700,000 277,000 428,500

43 Whole Foods Market24 10,107,787 9,005,794 342,612 245,833

44 Liberty Interactive Corp. (QVC)20 9,616,000 8,932,000 965,000 1,937,000

45 GameStop Corp.14 9,550,500 9,473,700 339,900 408,000

46 Bed, Bath & Beyond25 9,499,890 8,758,503 989,537 791,333

47 Giant Eagle26 9,300,000 8,600,000 NA NA

48 Trader Joes27 9,000,000 8,500,000 NA NA

49 Sherwin-Williams20 8,766,000 7,776,000 442,000 462,000

50 Ross Stores14

8,608,291 7,866,100 657,170 554,797

* In thousands Retail operations only14 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 28, 201215 Company reports for the scal year ended Feb. 3, 201216 Estimate for the scal year ended Jan. 27, 201217 Estimate for the scal year ended Sept. 24, 2011

18 Estimate for the scal year ended Oct. 1, 201119 Company reports for scal year ended Oct. 2, 201120 Company reports for scal year ended Dec. 31, 201121 Estimate for scal year ended Jan. 31, 201222 Estimate for the scal year ended Dec. 31, 2011

23 Company reports for scal year ended April 30, 201224 Company reports for the scal year ended Sept. 25, 201125 Company reports for the scal year ended Feb. 25, 201226 Estimate for the scal year ended June 30, 201227 Estimate for the scal year ended July 1, 2012


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51 Family Dollar Stores28 $8,547,835 $7,866,971 $388,445 $358,135

52 The Pantry29 8,138,500 7,265,300 9,800 [165,600]

53 AutoZone28 8,072,973 7,362,618 848,974 738,311

54 Cumberland Farms30 8,020,000 6,570,000 NA NA

55 Aldi31 8,000,000 6,800,000 NA NA

56 Hy-Vee32 7,300,000 6,850,000 NA NA

57 Menards33 7,170,000 8,300,000 NA NA

58 Barnes & Noble34 7,129,199 6,998,565 [68,867] [73,920]

59 OfceMax35

7,121,200 7,150,000 32,800 68,60060 WaWa31 6,990,000 5,890,000 NA NA

61 Caseys General Store36 6,987,804 5,635,240 116,791 94,623

62 The Great Atlantic & Pacic Tea Co.37 6,700,000 8,078,455 NA [598,575]

63 Dollar Tree38 6,630,500 5,882,400 488,300 397,300

64 AT&T Wireless,31 6,486,000 4,990,000 NA NA

65 Dillards38 6,263,600 6,120,961 463,909 179,620

66 Wegmans Food Markets35 6,200,000 5,600,000 NA NA

67 Advance Auto Parts35 6,170,462 5,925,203 394,682 346,053

68 PetSmart38 6,113,304 5,693,797 290,243 239,867

69 Defense Commissary Agency29 5,900,000 5,800,000 NA NA

70 OReilly Automotive35 5,788,816 5,397,525 507,673 419,373

71 Sheetz29 5,775,000 4,525,000 NA NA

72 Racetrac Petroleum31 5,750,000 4,700,000 NA NA

73 FootLocker38 5,623,000 5,049,000 281,000 173,000

74 Dicks Sporting Goods38 5,211,802 4,871,492 263,906 182,077

75 Big Lots Inc.38

5,202,269 4,952,244 207,064 222,524

* In thousands Retail operations only28 Company reports for the scal year ended Aug. 27, 201129 Company reports for the scal year ended Sept. 30, 201130 Estimate for the scal year ended Sept. 30, 2011

31 Estimate for the scal year ended Dec. 31, 201132 Estimate for the scal year ended Oct. 2, 201133 Estimate for the scal year ended Jan. 30, 201234 Company reports for the scal year ended April 28, 2012

35 Company reports for the scal year ended Dec. 31, 201136 Company reports for the scal year ended April 30, 201237 Estimate for the scal year ended Feb. 25, 201238 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 28, 2012


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76 WinCo Foods39 $5,200,000 $4,500,000 NA NA

77 Susser Holdings40 5,194,168 3,930,630 47,500 800

78 IKEA North America41 5,077,000 4,404,000 NA NA

79 BI-LO Holdings42 4,943,119 6,880,776 NA [70,000]

80 Luxottica Group43 4,880,000 3,900,300 NA NA

81 Coach Inc.44 4,760,000 4,158,507 1,040,000 880,800

82 Save Mart45 4,600,000 4,900,000 NA NA

83 RadioShack 43 4,378,000 4,265,800 72,200 206,100

84 Neiman Marcus Group46

4,340,000 4,002,300 NA 31,60085 Harris Teeter47 4,285,565 4,099,353 91,247 112,041

86 Tractor Supply Co.43 4,232,743 3,638,336 222,740 167,972

87 Michaels Stores48 4,210,000 4,031,000 176,000 103,000

88 Abercrombie & Fitch48 4,158,058 3,468,777 127,658 150,283

89 Burlington Coat Factory48 3,887,531 3,701,089 [6,272] 30,998

90 Roundys43 3,841,984 3,766,988 48,048 46,194

91 Bass Pro Shops45 3,830,000 3,650,000 NA NA

92 Signet Jewelers48 3,749,200 3,437,400 324,400 200,400

93 Williams-Sonoma48 3,720,895 3,504,158 236,931 200,227

94 Stater Bros. Markets49 3,700,000 3,600,000 NA NA

95 Belk 48

3,699,592 3,513,275 183,148 127,62896 Systemax43 3,682,039 3,589,989 54,400 42,600

97 Tiffany & Co.50 3,642,937 3,085,290 439,190 368,403

98 Price Chopper/Golub Corp.51 3,600,000 3,500,000 NA NA

99 Ingles Markets49 3,559,921 3,390,051 39,060 30,842

100 Collective Brands48 3,461,700 3,375,700 [149,800] 122,600

* In thousands Retail operations only Currency reported converted to U.S. dollars based onexchange rate as of date of companys scal year end39 Estimate for the scal year ended March 31, 201240 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 1, 201241 Estimate for the scal year ended Aug. 31, 2011

42 Estimate for the scal year ended Dec. 31, 201143 Company reports for the scal year ended Dec. 31, 201144 Company reports for the scal year ended June 30, 201245 Estimate for the scal year ended Dec. 25, 201146 Estimate for the scal year ended July 28, 201247 Company reports for the scal year ended Oct. 2, 2011

48 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 28, 201249 Company reports for the scal year ended Sept. 25, 201150 Company reports for the scal year ended Jan. 31, 201251 Estimate for the scal year ended April 30, 2012


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Robust databases lled with petabytes of point of sale information,gleaned from an expanded universe of retail companies, provideNielsen with an unrivaled view of category sales trends. However,the true value of the companys vast data repository lies in the insightsthat are generated when combined with economic trends, demographic

variables and other societal factors to more fully understand shopperbehavior and develop actionable strategies to drive category growth.

What follows are some of the key ndings from Todd Hale, NielsensSVP consumer and shopper insights, and the most recent version of areport titled Retail 2016:

Current economic conditions have produced a wide range of im-pacts on consumer spending. More people are renting homes andthat has an inuence on what people buy, but they have to be will-

ing to spend in the rst place. Nielsen research showed that savingand paying off debt are top priorities for most Americans who wereasked what they do with spare cash after they cover essential livingexpenses. The bad news is nearly one-third of those surveyed saidthey dont have any spare cash.

Energy price volatility has made it challenging for retailers and CPGcompanies to forecast sales. Gasoline prices back in April were ap-proaching a national average of $4 a gallon before falling to a low

around $3.36 in July and then roaring back more recently. Whoknows where they are headed next? But if they head higher, retail-ers can know with a high degree of certainty that shopper behaviorwill fall into a familiar pattern of trip consolidation, less eating out,a greater focus on value and increased coupon usage. Supermarketretailers those that sell gas, anyway are able to capitalize onthe trend by linking their reward programs to gas incentives. Thenumber of shoppers who said they are buying more gas where theybuy food has risen to 32% from 19% in 2007.

There has been plenty of talk about the plight of the middle classduring the presidential election, and for good reason. There is agrowing disparity between upper and lower income levels, with1-in-7 Americans relying on supplemental nutrition assistance pro-grams, and 15% of U.S. households earning less than $15,000 peryear. As of June 2012, there were 46.7 million people receiving foodassistance benets, compared with 30.8 million in October 2008.Retailers, such as Dollar General and Family Dollar, that appeal tolower-income shoppers cant open stores fast enough. Meanwhile,retailers at the other end of the spectrum Nordstrom, WholeFoods and Macys, to name a few also are enjoying success.

Sales may be growing but consumption of key categories isnt nec-essarily increasing due to price ination that creates the appear-

New dynamics affect category growth

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Identifying the most successful consumer packaged goods com-panies isnt hard to do, but determining why they are successful is

another matter. Leading CPG companies rely on a common set oftraits and business practices to deliver growth in a changing busi-ness climate, and it was the goal of the 2012 Customer and Chan-nel Management Survey to identify the best practices. The majorresearch undertaking, conducted by the Grocery Manufacturers As-sociation, Nielsen and McKinsey & Co., involved participation from220 executives at 50 major CPG companies with total U.S. salesof roughly $160 billion across a broad range of product categories.

With the objective of identifying winning practices of top-perform-ing companies, the common theme that emerged was a high level offocus in the following areas:

Placing forward-looking strategic bets; Leveraging data and advanced analytics to drive decision-making; Collaborating more effectively with top retail customers; and Building industry-shaping capabilities.The studys authors are the rst to admit these broad practices

are straightforward and already in place at many companies; how-ever, winning CPG companies have a tendency to deploy such prac-tices throughout their organizations with greater consistency andmagnitude.

For example, with regard to placing strategic bets, the researchdetermined CPG leaders were more likely to invest in emerging retailchannels, Amazon, the Hispanic market and sales technology.

In terms of analytics and decision-making, CPG leaders are morelikely to use pricing diagnostic, optimization and trade promotionmanagement tools that help analyze total category performance aswell as their own sales.

With respect to collaboration, denitions can vary widely. Thosewho do so effectively view it as a strategic priority and are more likelyto share new product details with partners 18 months prior to launch.

As for building industry-shaping capabilities, talent development isthe key area of focus for CPG leaders. Sales leadership at top-per-forming companies spend twice as much time as their peers at lower-performing companies on talent development and talent management.

These winning practices enable leading CPG companies to opti-mize their current performance while looking ahead and planning forfuture growth, according to the studys authors.

Habits of successful CPG cos.


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ance of growth even though unit volumes are down. Ination trendsof late have begun to moderate somewhat from the mid-single digitlevels seen in 2011, but unit volumes still are negatively affected andhave declined for three consecutive quarters. Price increases havebeen the highest in fresh meat, dairy, fresh produce and packagedmeat. In most of those departments, increased pricing is leading todollar sales gains. As for the recent drought, concerns about the im-pact of weak crop yields on food prices are overblown. In fact, com-

modities make up about 14% of the average retail food purchase withsuch factors such energy and transportation costs, labor costs, pro-cessing and marketing costs all playing a more signicant role.

Economic weakness and price-sensitive shoppers fueled a private-la-bel boom, but even so the sky hasnt fallen on brands. Since the end of2008, store-brand share growth has been fairly at as brands steppedup their promotion support and innovation efforts. That said, privatebrands are signicant as sales reached $107.5 billion for the 52-week

period ended Aug. 4, more than 14% greater than $94 billion in calen-dar 2009. Brand sales during the same period reached $518.6 billionand grew 5.7% since calendar 2009. In terms of unit volumes, brandscaptured 78.9% of consumer packaged goods unit sales and 82.8%of dollar sales for UPC-coded product categories tracked by Nielsen.Private brands captured 21.1% of unit sales and 17.2% of dollar sales.

Shoppers looking for deals continue to rely on the trusty weekly ad pub-lished by many retailers. Traditional print circulars remain inuential in

helping shoppers choose where to shop, and this is true across youngand old generations. Most consumers would like access to paper cir-culars in the future, and they are leveraged primarily by deal seekersto nd sales on the items they prefer to buy. On the digital front, cur-rent methods have rather low reach, but high weekly conversion or useamong those who use them. Predictably, younger consumers, particu-

larly Millennials, are big fans. Because consumers go to sites they arefamiliar with, digital circular users have loyal shopper tendencies.

Demographic factors are fueling change and the growth of Hispanicshoppers and aging Baby Boomers are well-established trends. Lessnoticeable is the impact an increasingly diverse U.S. population ishaving on new product introductions and mainstream access to moreexotic avor proles. While increased diversity brings expanded prod-uct offers, growth of older population segments is causing a shift in

pack sizes and packaging. Pack sizes are shrinking and print is gettinglarger on products geared toward older Americans. Meanwhile, CPGcompanies remain on a never-ending quest to shift food preparationupstream to deliver time-starved shoppers the increased convenienceof fully cooked and ready-to-consume offerings.

The growth of online retail remains on an upward trajectory with nolimit in sight. Online sales currently account for only about 5% of totalretail sales, so pure-play companies, as well as conventional retailers,

have ample digital growth ahead. Even so, physical store expansionalso remains intact for many retailers, with such sectors as warehouseclubs, supercenters, dollar stores and c-stores adding the most unitssince 2005. Lately the look of expansion has changed, with more ex-perimentation occurring with such small formats as Petco Unleashed,Cabelas Outpost, CityTarget, Walmart Express and Sports AuthorityElite, just to name a few.

Looking forward, the days are long gone when retailers and CPG

companies need only concern themselves with direct competitors.Now it is equally important, if not more so, for retailers and CPG com-panies to understand how companies founded or led by folks withsuch recognizable last names as Jobs, Zuckerberg, Brin and Bezosare enhancing or disrupting the future of the retail industry and alter-ing the way companies engage with shoppers.

Powered byinsights

Sorry baseball, Americas new national pas-time is searching for deals.

This is especially true online, where Nielsensexhaustive Global Survey of Digitals Inuenceon Grocery Shopping showed the top monthlyactivities for U.S. shoppers included looking fordeals and coupons (43%) and price checking/ consumer reviews (37%). The highest-rankeddaily activities were using digital shopping lists(39%) and looking for deals online (31%).

Connected consumers and their devicesare providing consumer packaged goods mak-

ers and retailers with options to differentiatetheir brands and stay relevant, said Todd Hale,Nielsens SVP consumer and shopper insights.Those who can keep up with what mattersmost to digital shoppers will be well positionedfor the short and long term.

The top weekly U.S. activities related to gro-cery shopping on a connected device (PC, mo-bile phone, tablet, etc.) included reading onlinegrocery circulars (62%), looking for couponsonline (55%) and browsing a manufacturerswebsite for a grocery category (55%).

When asked which factors inuenced theirgrocery purchase decisions compared with ayear ago, U.S. respondents identied rising foodprices (49%), such health factors as heart/cho-lesterol/weight (28%) and increased transpor-tation costs (28%) as having a major impacton their decisions. Food labeling (25%) and re-tailer loyalty programs (24%) rounded out thetop ve U.S. major impact categories.

Nielsen surveyed more than 28,000 shoppersin 56 countries in North America, Asia, Europe,Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

Hunting for deals dominates online grocery activity


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Powered byinsightsTOP 100 PRODUCT CATEGORIES

RANK CATEGORYSALES* UNITS*

2012 2011 % CHG 2012 2011 % CHG

1 FRESH PRODUCE $21,889.4 $20,951.6 4.5% 8,548.7 8,314.0 2.8%

2 CARBONATED BEVERAGES 21,459.2 21,307.6 0.7 10,086.6 10,633.5 -5.1

3 SNACKS 20,930.7 19,508.4 7.3 8,469.1 8,335.3 1.6

4 PAPER PRODUCTS 20,923.0 20,428.5 2.4 5,411.6 5,507.1 -1.7

5 BREAD & BAKED GOODS 20,913.2 20,368.9 2.7 8,808.7 8,934.2 -1.4

6 PACKAGED MEAT 17,201.8 16,736.6 2.8 5,332.1 5,363.7 -0.6

7 CHEESE 15,816.7 14,806.1 6.8 4,962.3 4,969.9 -0.2

8 CANDY 15,074.1 14,294.3 5.5 8,449.1 8,607.2 -1.8

9 PREPARED FOODS-FROZEN 14,012.8 13,809.2 1.5 4,367.7 4,485.4 -2.6

10 PET FOOD 13,576.2 13,203.3 2.8 4,862.7 4,871.5 -0.2

11 BEER 13,010.7 12,522.6 3.9 1,401.2 1,362.3 2.9

12 MEDICATIONS/REMEDIES 12,657.7 12,299.8 2.9 1,878.3 1,819.9 3.2

13 JUICES DRINKS-SHELF STABLE 11,232.9 11,417.0 -1.6 5,278.7 5,430.3 -2.8

14 CEREAL 10,823.4 10,704.7 1.1 3,479.5 3,595.8 -3.215 TOBACCO & ACCESSORIES 10,482.2 10,525.3 -0.4 1,650.6 1,636.4 0.9

16 DETERGENTS 9,762.4 9,604.2 1.6 1,817.0 1,843.5 -1.4

17 DRESSNG/SALAD/ PREPARED FOOD-DELI 9,351.8 9,152.5 2.2 2,749.2 2,766.6 -0.6

18 VITAMINS 9,024.2 8,317.9 8.5 1,098.0 1,012.2 8.5

19 WINE 8,797.9 8,255.6 6.6 1,042.5 983.8 6.0

20 CONDIMENTS/GRAVIES/SAUCE 8,589.5 8,587.8 0.0 4,512.1 4,597.1 -1.8

21 BOTTLED WATER 8,449.4 7,839.6 7.8 4,283.0 4,083.6 4.9

22 HOUSEWARES APPLIANCES 8,233.9 7,646.2 7.7 351.6 349.9 0.5

23 COFFEE 8,205.2 6,870.4 19.4 1,252.0 1,180.0 6.1

24 COMPUTER/ ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS 7,921.7 8,564.0 -7.5 564.2 589.9 -4.4

25 HAIR CARE 7,826.0 7,604.9 2.9 1,816.2 1,798.4 1.0

* In millions For the 52 weeks ended Aug. 4, 2012 For the 52 weeks ended Aug. 6, 2011 Source: Nielsen


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2012 2011 % CHG 2012 2011 % CHG

26 OFFICE/SCHOOL SUPPLIES $7,037.6 $7,001.1 0.5% 2,642.0 2,645.4 -0.1%

27 ORAL HYGIENE 6,700.0 6,563.2 2.1 1,808.3 1,804.7 0.2

28 COOKIES/ICE CREAM CONES 6,677.8 6,317.3 5.7 2,723.3 2,683.7 1.5

29 YOGURT 6,366.7 5,814.5 9.5 4,838.9 4,967.2 -2.6

30 COUGH AND COLD REMEDIES 6,359.1 6,189.1 2.7 1,029.1 1,031.6 -0.2

31 PIZZA/SNACKS-FROZEN 5,921.2 5,933.2 -0.2 1,793.0 1,844.9 -2.8

32 PREPARED FOODS-DRY MIXES 5,822.1 5,637.7 3.3 3,440.8 3,459.3 -0.5

33 SKIN CARE PREPARATIONS 5,791.0 5,703.3 1.5 856.0 842.8 1.6

34 SOUP 5,741.7 5,653.9 1.6 4,682.2 4,831.4 -3.1

35 UNPREPARED MEAT/ SEAFOOD-FROZEN 5,674.1 5,565.0 2.0 771.7 782.7 -1.4

36 COSMETICS 5,555.9 5,173.3 7.4 1,114.5 1,028.9 8.3

37 PREPARED FOODS-READY SERVE 5,474.3 5,330.2 2.7 3,084.2 3,129.1 -1.4

38 JUICES & DRINKS-REFRIGERATED 5,407.8 5,319.6 1.7 1,849.4 1,883.2 -1.8

39 BABY FOOD 5,304.8 5,192.8 2.2 1,458.6 1,520.6 -4.1

40 VEGETABLES-FROZEN 5,269.2 5,172.7 1.9 2,447.6 2,500.6 -2.1

41 VEGETABLES-CANNED 5,202.0 5,206.0 -0.1 5,041.4 5,324.3 -5.3

42 ICE CREAM 5,105.2 4,859.2 5.1 1,397.4 1,428.5 -2.2

43 WRAPPING MATERIALS

AND BAGS5,037.1 4,827.5 4.3 1,380.0 1,402.1 -1.6

44 CRACKERS 4,923.5 4,783.7 2.9 1,891.9 1,902.7 -0.6

45 LIQUOR 4,770.7 4,402.2 8.4 375.0 332.0 12.9

46 DISPOSABLE DIAPERS 4,769.9 4,852.9 -1.7 330.4 347.0 -4.8

47 FRESH MEAT 4,698.5 4,358.3 7.8 898.8 899.3 0.0

48 EGGS-FRESH 4,662.6 4,334.5 7.6 2,089.8 2,106.2 -0.8

49 NUTS 4,645.8 4,161.5 11.6 1,176.3 1,174.4 0.2

50 PERSONAL SOAP/BATH NEEDS 4,584.1 4,393.5 4.3 1,406.9 1,377.9 2.1



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2012 2011 % CHG 2012 2011 % CHG

51 PET CARE $4,539.2 $4,200.0 8.1% 785.6 767.2 2.4%

52 BREAKFAST FOODS 4,462.9 4,339.6 2.8 1,567.1 1,586.1 -1.2

53 LAUNDRY SUPPLIES 4,375.8 4,334.8 0.9 1,200.5 1,233.8 -2.7

54 SALAD DRESSINGS/MAYO/TOP 4,305.0 4,112.9 4.7 1,511.3 1,513.9 -0.2

55 TEA 4,071.8 3,852.1 5.7 1,668.2 1,596.8 4.5

56 BUTTER & MARGARINE 3,876.7 3,780.6 2.5 1,493.1 1,521.9 -1.9

57 KITCHEN GADGETS 3,825.4 3,596.5 6.4 1,090.1 1,068.5 2.0

58 SHAVING NEEDS 3,710.9 3,626.2 2.3 603.9 609.0 -0.8

59 HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS 3,699.7 3,663.0 1.0 1,142.4 1,163.6 -1.8

60 SHORTENING/OIL 3,610.4 3,382.4 6.7 786.8 792.8 -0.8

61 FROZEN NOVELTIES 3,603.5 3,490.9 3.2 1,158.5 1,192.4 -2.8

62 PAIN REMEDIES 3,563.3 3,722.3 -4.3 672.6 691.2 -2.7

63 PACKAGED MILKS & MODIFIERS 3,560.2 3,323.5 7.1 1,402.2 1,426.6 -1.7

64 JAMS/JELLIES/SPREADS 3,322.8 2,850.0 16.6 967.4 976.8 -1.065 BATTERY/FLASHLITE/CHARGE 3,236.5 3,147.5 2.8 537.5 551.6 -2.6

66 SPICES/SEASONING/EXTRACT 3,231.4 3,086.0 4.7 1,367.9 1,375.5 -0.6

67 HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES 3,070.2 3,065.5 0.2 765.5 783.6 -2.3

68 SUGAR/SUGAR SUBSTITUTES 2,909.0 2,803.8 3.8 937.2 938.1 -0.1

69 BAKING SUPPLIES 2,864.4 2,754.6 4.0 1,386.8 1,391.3 -0.3

70 IRST AID 2,798.5 2,733.6 2.4 800.7 797.6 0.4

71 BUCKETS/BINS/ BATH ACCESSORIES 2,772.0 2,690.8 3.0 438.2 438.1 0.0

72 LIGHT BULBSTELEPHONE ACCESSORIES 2,700.4 2,451.5 10.2 356.2 371.4 -4.1

73 FRESHENERS/DEODORIZERS 2,659.5 2,574.9 3.3 1,005.2 979.8 2.6

74 BREAKFAST FOODS-FROZEN 2,651.4 2,465.9 7.5 826.7 818.9 1.0

75 DEODORANT 2,649.8 2,606.9 1.6 782.7 787.3 -0.6



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2012 2011 % CHG 2012 2011 % CHG

76 SANITARY PROTECTION $2,632.9 $2,581.7 2.0% 600.1 605.4 -0.9%

77 MOTOR/VEHICLE CARE/ ACCESSORIES 2,599.6 2,454.7 5.9 424.7 448.2 -5.2

78 DESSERTS/GELS/SYRUPS 2,308.0 2,279.3 1.3 1,436.1 1,478.0 -2.8

79 GUM 2,232.4 2,340.5 -4.6 1,441.3 1,509.9 -4.5

80 PASTA 2,218.4 2,151.9 3.1 1,559.4 1,620.2 -3.8

81 PICKLES/OLIVES/RELISHES 2,189.3 2,206.9 -0.8 1,025.2 1,043.8 -1.8

82 GROOMING AIDS 2,149.3 2,028.7 5.9 739.5 712.0 3.8

83 SEAFOOD-CANNED 2,145.7 2,087.7 2.8 1,365.0 1,479.4 -7.784 BAKING MIXES 2,126.3 2,043.3 4.1 1,291.1 1,334.1 -3.2

85 BAKED GOODS-FROZEN 2,101.1 2,036.9 3.2 667.7 675.3 -1.1

86 SOFT DRINKS-NON CARBONATED 2,045.5 1,975.1 3.6 1,525.4 1,540.7 -1.0

87 BABY NEEDS 1,940.1 1,990.8 -2.5 305.5 319.2 -4.3

88 FRUIT-DRIED 1,913.8 1,886.9 1.4 725.3 743.2 -2.4

89 FRUIT-CANNED 1,758.4 1,790.2 -1.8 1,132.3 1,215.3 -6.8

90 DESSERT/FRUIT/TOPS-FROZEN 1,723.8 1,595.8 8.0 547.0 544.3 0.5

91 VEGETABLES & GRAINS-DRY 1,620.1 1,551.2 4.4 587.3 601.4 -2.3

92 COOKWARE 1,398.5 1,373.3 1.8 273.5 274.2 -0.3

93 MAGAZINES SELECTED TITLE 1,385.0 1,539.7 -10.1 363.9 414.2 -12.1

94 CANDLES/INCENSE & ACCESSORIES 1,340.2 1,344.1 -0.3 512.0 535.0 -4.3

95 CHARCOAL/LOGS/ACCESSORIES 1,153.1 1,207.3 -4.5 197.7 218.2 -9.4

96 INSECTICIDES REPELLANTS 1,101.2 1,090.7 1.0 229.7 232.4 -1.2

97 FAMILY PLANNING 943.2 919.3 2.6 83.8 83.2 0.7

98 FILM & CAMERAS 943.1 1,070.0 -11.9 27.9 36.5 -23.5

99 FRAGRANCES WOMEN 869.4 800.6 8.6 100.7 91.5 10.1

100 FLOUR 849.7 777.8 9.2 322.3 330.3 -2.4



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Powered byinsights

RANK CATEGORYSALES

2012* % CHG

1 COFFEE $8,205.2 19.4%

2 JAMS/JELLIES/SPREADS 3,322.8 16.6

3 NUTS 4,645.8 11.6

4 LIGHT BULBS TELEPHONE ACCESSORIES 2,700.4 10.2

5 YOGURT 6,366.7 9.5

6 FLOUR 849.7 9.2

7 FRAGRANCES - WOMEN 869.4 8.68 VITAMINS 9,024.2 8.5

9 LIQUOR 4,770.7 8.4

10 PET CARE 4,539.2 8.1

11 DESSERT/FRUIT/TOPS-FROZEN 1,723.8 8.0

12 FRESH MEAT 4,698.5 7.8

13 BOTTLED WATER 8,449.4 7.8

14 HOUSEWARES APPLIANCES 8,233.9 7.7

15 EGGS-FRESH 4,662.6 7.6

16 BREAKFAST FOODS-FROZEN 2,651.4 7.5

17 COSMETICS 5,555.9 7.4

18 SNACKS 20,930.7 7.3

19 PACKAGED MILKS & MODIFIERS 3,560.2 7.1

20 CHEESE 15,816.7 6.8

21 SHORTENING/OIL 3,610.4 6.7

22 WINE 8,797.9 6.6

23 KITCHEN GADGETS 3,825.4 6.4

24 GROOMING AIDS 2,149.3 5.9

25 MOTOR/VEHICLE CARE/ACCESSORIES 2,599.6 5.9

* In millions; for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 4, 2012 Source: Nielsen

Glaceau Vitaminwater Zero, Chobani,Prevacid, Bud Light Lime, Zyrtec and Arnold Select Sandwich Thins are sixvery different products unied by one impor-tant trait they all achieved the highest level

of new product success on Nielsens recentBreakthrough Innovation Report.

The rm analyzed 11,000 new product in-troductions in the United States from 2008 to2010 to gain insight into why the vast majorityof products fail and others 34 to be exact go on to achieve success. The items men-tioned above fall into the latter camp because

they generated two-year cumulative sales inexcess of $200 million and were designated asPlatinum innovation leaders.

Sixteen other products were designated asGold innovation leaders thanks to two-yearsales in the range of $100 million to $200 mil-lion. Another 12 other products with sales in the$50 million to $100 million range were desig-

nated as Silver. Regardless of which preciousmetal is used to signify innovation, Nielsen de-termined each product on the elite list satisedfour essential innovation requirements:

Distinctiveness: Breakthrough innova-tion requires delivering on a new valueproposition, which is why Nielsen exclud-ed from its assessment brand restages,ingredient reformulations, line extensionsand packaging and size changes.

Relevance: To even be considered as aBreakthrough Innovation Leader, a prod-uct had to generate rst-year sales inexcess of $25 million.

Category Impact: Innovation leaders hadto outperform the sales velocity of the av-erage product in their category and eitherhelp grow the overall category or mean-ingfully alter the competitive landscape.

Endurance: Breakthrough innova-tion isnt a one-year proposition from

Nielsen: New products path to glory50 FASTEST-GROWING CATEGORIES


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Powered byinsights

RANK CATEGORYSALES

2012* % CHG

26 COOKIES/ICE CREAM CONES $6,677.8 5.7%

27 TEA 4,071.8 5.7

28 CANDY 15,074.1 5.5

29 ICE CREAM 5,105.2 5.1

30 SPICES/SEASONING/EXTRACT 3,231.4 4.7

31 SALAD DRESSINGS/MAYO/TOP 4,305.0 4.7

32 FRESH PRODUCE 21,889.4 4.533 VEGETABLES & GRAINS-DRY 1,620.1 4.4

34 WRAPPING MATERIALS AND BAGS 5,037.1 4.3

35 PERSONAL SOAP/BATH NEEDS 4,584.1 4.3

36 BAKING MIXES 2,126.3 4.1

37 BAKING SUPPLIES 2,864.4 4.0

38 BEER 13,010.7 3.9

39 SUGAR/SUGAR SUBSTITUTES 2,909.0 3.8

40 SOFT DRINKS-NON CARBONATED 2,045.5 3.6

41 FRESHENERS/DEODORIZERS 2,659.5 3.3

42 PREPARED FOODS-DRY MIXES 5,822.1 3.3

43 FROZEN NOVELTIES 3,603.5 3.2

44 BAKED GOODS-FROZEN 2,101.1 3.2

45 PASTA 2,218.4 3.1

46 BUCKETS/BINS/BATH ACCESSORIES 2,772.0 3.0

47 CRACKERS 4,923.5 2.9

48 MEDICATIONS/REMEDIES 12,657.7 2.9

49 HAIR CARE 7,826.0 2.9

50 BREAKFAST FOODS 4,462.9 2.8

* In millions; for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 4, 2012 Source: Nielsen

Nielsens perspective. Thats why the elitegroup of products recognized as leaderswere required to show staying power byachieving at least 90% of their rst-yearsales in the second year.

This last point arguably is the most impor-tant because it weeds out products that startstrong but dont nish. The emphasis on en-durance also differentiates Nielsens assess-ment of innovation from other reports on newproduct success, which tend to focus on rstyear sales. However, only one-third of new

products are able to sustain their sales fromyear one, according to Vicki Gardner, the In-novation Reports co-author and Nielsen SVPproduct innovation. She contends there is toomuch focus in the industry on rst-year salesas the benchmark of success.

You should not hold up year one success as agood example of innovation, Gardner said. Year

two is the most important year of innovation.Thats why Nielsens Breakthrough Inno-vation Report only reects industry standoutsthrough the end of 2010. Products launchedin 2011 can be measured on such attributesas distinctiveness, relevance and categoryimpact, but their endurance wont be knownuntil the end of 2012 when second-year salesare tallied.

You shouldnot hold up yearone success as agood example of

innovation. Year twois the most important

year of innovation. Vicki Gardner, Nielsen

50 FASTEST-GROWING CATEGORIES


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an annual statistical analysis of the top 100 retailers and categories

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