ESOMAR Retail conference in Valencia: A look into the future of retailing and the consequences for FMCG manufacturers

Wolfgang Frost, Sara Lee and Dr. Thomas Rodenhausen, MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting present paper "Nor more sitting on the fence: Balancing the right shelf space for multinational product ranges"

Hamburg, 28. February 2007 – The ESOMAR Retail conference took place in Valencia 19. – 21. February 2007. The spotlight of the conference was on the future of retailing with its chances and difficulties. For FMCG manufacturers the retailing scene is where it all starts and ends. It is the acid test of interaction between consumer and product. It is where research, product development and marketing efforts either fail or succeed.

The conference was framed by the keynotes of Ethan S. Sinick of Management Ventures and Anne Lise Kjaer of kjaer global. The conference was structured into six topic: Latest methodologies have been presented as well as cultural insights and shoppers. Alongside strategies for winning on-shelf and the return of category management were discussed. Additionally new media opportunities and research at work were presented. Approximately 140 institutional and industrial market researcher from around the globe were present to listen to the presentations and attend to the booths.

The only presentation from the German market research scene was given by Wolfgang Frost of Sara Lee and Thomas Rodenhausen of MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting. The topic of the presentation was "No more sitting on the fence – The right shelf space balance for multinational product ranges".

The presentation addressed the challenge of multinational manufacturers to optimize product ranges across countries constrained by regional requirements. For Sara Lee, a manufacturer active on 200+ national markets, this was the situation in Europe with only minimal overlap of Sara Lee's country-specific portfolios in several categories. MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting developed a novel approach to help Sara Lee to face this challenge successfully, combining tracking of shopping behavior on a virtual shelf with conventional concept testing elements and a subsequent analytical line-optimization technique. Results for harmonizing the portfolio while keeping cannibalization at minimum were presented. Additionally, interactions with the competitive in-store environment and the current product range are analyzed. Furthermore an analysis differentiating between distribution channels can be done. This offers valuable arguments for negotiations with retailers. The design of the study can be generalized to all situations where a product range has to be optimized in the international competitive environment under the constraint of limited shelf space.

"Online market research is the best way to implement such multinational studies for product line optimization", says Dr. Thomas Rodenhausen, Head of market research at MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting. "No physical prototypes are needed. Simultaneously equal research conditions across countries can be facilitated." Wolfgang Frost, Global Market Research Bath & Shower and Body Care und Head of Market Research Germany at Sara Lee, agrees: "To answer such broad research questions in several countries simultaneously is a serious effort. The risk of wasting time and research budget is immense. Online research helps to minimize this risk." The implemented design of the study was approved by Sara Lee and has already been utilized for several other problems and product categories by now.


About MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting

Founded in 1996 MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting specializes in online market research. Worldwide online panels allow MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting to offer clients from many different industries such as consumer and durable goods, telecommunications, financial services and automobile international market research, one stop. We provide competent and flexible support for our customers throughout the entire marketing process.

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MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting
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