Rep Wars!

[edible_hat]

The planogram thread got me thinking... at my store we don't have planograms, instead the family that own the place decide where everything goes.

At least in theory. In practice, the various reps come in and rearrange everything so their products are more prominent. Then their rivals come in and rearrange it. The prepaid mobile phones were re-arranged 5 times in a week (and there are only 3 phone reps).

Sometimes they bring in new products which they just stick on the shelves. Of course then along come customers who have to try the latest thing. These new products aren't in the system and nobody has any idea how much they cost the store (and therefore how much we should be charging). It gets pretty frustrating sometimes, especially in the holiday seasons.

[Rapscallion]

The big supermarkets over here charge the vendors more for prominent placing. Maybe you should suggest that to your managers?

Rapscallion

[matty]

Sometimes they bring in new products which they just stick on the shelves.

I find it hard to understand how this benefits the reps in the long run. There was really only one retail position I worked where I personally spoke with reps, but I know that the ones I respected the most were those who:

A) Made an effort to understand the basics of the store's policies.
B) Spent a few minutes with the staff explaining the advantages of any new products they brought in/price ranges and other such information.

Indeed, when reps made this effort, then I was far more likely to promote the benefits of their products to customers when the products seemed like a good fit.

[Chevy Nachos]

My company uses a generic UPC for each price point. That way we can send out new items without having to set up a zillion different UPCs. It saves our office and the customer's office a lot of time. It's also easier for the store employees. Peel off the attached sticker and place it on the item, and voila! As long as I stay in my shelf space it's all copacetic.