Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart Stores continue to lead Cannondale Associates’ annual PoweRanking survey, but non-food manufacturers and non-grocery retailers are edging higher in the ranks.
Retailers rated P&G as the top packaged goods manufacturer in the 2005 PoweRanking Survey, while Wal-Mart got top marks from CPGs. Each year, Cannondale asks hundreds of retailers and CPGs to rate each other on several criteria, including company strategy; branding; growth and profitability; sales force and buying teams; category management; supply-chain management; and marketing innovation.
P&G earned high marks for working with retailers to reinvent aisles and enhancing the shopping experience.
Wal-Mart tops the retailer rank for the seventh straight year, rated in the Top 3 by nearly 70% of CPGs in the survey. But its overall score fell 5 percentage points. Some say it signals “the end to Wal-Mart’s dominance of the retailer rankings, while others see this as a testament to its resilience in the face of unfavorable press,” per Cannondale.
Target Stores ranked No. 2, cited by 35% of CPGs, and Kroger ranked No. 3 with a 23% score. “Super regional” grocers Publix, Wegmans and HEB stayed in the Top 10 and continue to challenge Wal-Mart in specific markets.
Among CPGs, Kraft Foods, General Mills and Pepsi-Cola ranked behind P&G (cited as a Top 3 manufacturer by 48% of retailers). Unilever and Clorox rose in the ranks, and Kellogg broke into the Top 10. Fallen from the Top 10: Frito-Lay, Campbell Soup Co. and Quaker-Tropicana-Gatorade.
“This year marks a shift from food to non-foods companies. Retailers indicated that non-food companies are becoming more important to them, [while] retailers outside of the traditional food channel are becoming more important to both food and non-food manufacturers. This is a time of dynamic change in the industry. Companies are working diligently to differentiate product offerings to consumers through products, packages, store formats and experiences,” said Cannondale Managing Director Ken Harris in a statement.
The survey also reflects manufacturers’ and retailers’ growing appreciation for collaboration at “the point of contact,” per Cannondale. Working together while focused on the point of contact lets retailers and CPGs address their common concerns, enhance shoppers’ experience and build loyalty.
“There is a new spirit of cooperation that reflects the necessities of today’s marketplace. Retailers and manufacturers are discovering that collaborating to focus on the consumer with the best products, programs and shopping environments can generate the best results,” Harris said.
Network
