Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble rose to the top of the charts once again as the “best of the best” in Cannondale Associate’s annual survey of retailers and manufacturers.
For the ninth year in a row, Wal-Mart took the No. 1 spot in retailer rankings, despite a 7.1-point decline from 2006, the survey “Local Vigor” found.
Meanwhile, retailers like Target and Kroger were among the biggest gainers. Target, which took the second spot, rose 4.9 points this year and Kroger, which earned the No. 3 spot, jumped 4.5 points.
The companies are credited with making dramatic changes in store including launching new initiatives in consumer segmentation and targeting shoppers.
“Retailers continue to focus on customer segmentation, alternative store formats and reaching their customers in ways that didn’t exist even five years ago with in-store media and shopper cards,” said Ken Harris, managing director, Cannondale Associates, Inc., in a statement.
Retailers were ranked in eight areas: Clearest company strategy; best at store branding, projected power retailers; best retailers with which to do business; best category management/buying items; most innovative consumer marketing/merchandising; best supply chain management and best practice management.
While Wal-Mart was tops overall, Target replaced the chain in terms of store branding. Target rose 6.6 points, while Wal-Mart dropped 10 points, the report found.
As for the manufacturers—beyond P&G’s No. 1 ranking—Kraft and PepsiCo took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, despite a slight dip in their scores. Firms that gained ground included Kimberly-Clark (up 2.5 points, which took the No. 8 spot) and Coca-Cola (up .8 points), ranking No. 9. Others, like Kraft and General Mills stabilized declines.
“Performance shifts in many top 10 manufacturers in 2007 are an eye-opener to the changing CPG retail landscape,” Harris said. “As the environment becomes increasingly shopper-centric, retailers are raising the bar and demanding that manufacturers bring new, focused insights to the store.”
CPG firms were ranked on the following categories: Clearest company strategy; Most important consumer brand for retailers; Best combination of growth and profitability; Bets sales force/customer teams; Most innovative marketing programs; Most helpful consumer/shopper insights and category management; Best supply chain management and Best shopper marketing program.
The report, released last week, is designed to help manufacturers and retailers gain insight about one another. Cannondale Associates sent questionnaires this spring to food, drug and mass merchandise companies and manufacturers in food, general merchandise and HBC. The measures are based on a rolling two-year basis.
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