On the last Sunday evening of July, 2010 one in four Australians were tuned into their TV, not to watch a sports program, but to watch a cooking program. It was the finals of Masterchef, a series to find the best amateur chef that has generated more profit than any other lifestyle program Australia. At the same time across the water in the USA two of the top ten retailers announced that they were expanding their food offer to the consumer. In fact Target announced it was removing the garden category from their range and replacing it with a food category.

Food is the trend sector to be in. The consumer is looking for new fresh food offers and the industry is providing it. As a result every town seems to want it s own farmers market and restaurants are looking for new ways to provide the offer. This trend has become a concern for many supermarkets who are now promoting locally grown produce as a combat strategy.

Hence new trends keep popping up. (more…)

One of the things that hits me us as we travel up the west coast of the USA is how much more organised the marketing of markets is compared to most parts of the world. There seems to be a lot more cooperation between markets to build the pie for everyone.

Oregon could be classed as one of the homes of the farmers market movement in the USA. The first market was at Salem and that started in the 1940’s.

Oregon, the hazlenut capital of the USA which supplies 100% of Americas hazelnuts, blackberries, raspberries and loganberries, plus 43,100,000 pounds of blueberries, $55,184,000 worth of cherries, $29,175,000 worth of crabs and 30% of the nations peppermint. The State fruit is the pear and 197,000 tonnes are sold to Americans from this State, but the  State also boasts over 800 vineyards. (more…)

Yes, 700  markets are scattered across the State, there are 140 markets in the LA basin alone!

Linda and I spent a Saturday morning at one of them, the Pasadena Market at Sierra Madre Blvd, in downtown Pasadena with the market manager, Gretchen Sterling.

Gretchan operates four markets in the area for the City Council. Stall holders get a site for free, but each week let Grechan know how much they have taken and 6% of the turnover is collected for a fee.  30% of this goes to the city and 70% goes to the operation of the market. (more…)

The changes in retailing seem to be happening at a faster pass than ever. Keeping up can be a real challenge. A new word seems to be creeping into the retail vocabulary … ’shop centric’.

I first noticed the word in reports coming out of mainland Europe, but what is shop centric all about? It is about a shift in thinking processes.  It is about being less concerned about the product being sold and more concerned about providing the right experience for the consumer.

Some organisations are using other words that mean the same thing. Shopping malls are emphasising that they are “Activity Centres” rather than places you just go to shop. Whatever word you use to describe it, the emphasis has turned to creating a shopping experience rather than just selling “stuff”. (more…)