Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
RAINFORD supermarket won the Best Produce Display contest conducted by the Agricultural Marketing Project in Crimea
On September 11th -13th 2006 the unique contest of the best produce display in Crimean supermarkets was conducted for the first time in AR Crimea. The Specialists of the Agricultural Marketing Project prepared and conducted the event; the rules and conditions of the contest have been worked out by the best specialists on merchandizing and retail trade.
To the opinion of evaluating commission, the supermarket of RAINFORD chain in Simferopol has demonstrated the best produce display. Simferopol supermarket of SILPO chain won the second place, and FURSHET supermarket had the third place (this store is located in Kyivska Street also in Simferopol). The other supermarket of FURSHET chain in Mayakovskiy Street in Simferopol and the supermarket of VELYKA KYSHENYA chain in Yalta were premiated with two encouragement awards. In total, seven supermarkets of various retail chains participated in the contest.
The similar contest was conducted in Cherkasy in 2005 for the first time in Ukraine. At that time the supermarket of FURSHET chain won the contest for the best produce display in Cherkasy. The necessity of such contests was and remains obvious - the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables, produce layout, packing, presentation and other characteristics leave much to be desired in most supermarkets of Ukraine.
Several weeks before the contest the specialists of the Agricultural Marketing Project trained the managers of produce sections in supermarkets - participants of the contest. AMP specialists shared detailed information about the methods to improve produce displays, to make them appealing, and stimulate produce sales. They also presented modern management practices of the produce sections in supermarkets. All participants of the training had an opportunity to visualize the organizational approaches in the supermarkets of the USA and EU countries. And, if needed, the Project consulted everybody interested regarding modern merchandizing of vegetables, fruits and berries in supermarkets. The terms of display contest were also introduced during this training.
The commission of seven people evaluated produce displays. The commission consisted of the specialists of the central and regional offices of the Agricultural Marketing Project, one of produce consumers and one of the farmers - producers of fruits and vegetables.
The displays were assessed by 13 basic criteria. The main attention was paid to vegetables and fruits produced by local farmers. The produce commodities should be fresh, marked with readable price signs, contain full information about their origin. Such factors were also evaluated as politeness and efficiency of the supermarket staff, creativity of the display decoration, etc. It is interesting to mention that absolutely all supermarkets - the participants of the contest - treated this event very seriously. And, as a result, each of them was pleased to record the sales increase in the produce section. In average, sales growth constituted 11-12% during the supermarket contest; however, the contest winners talk about 15-20% sales growth.
To the unanimous opinion of all participants of this contest, such events are very useful both for the supermarkets and for consumers, and even for farmers and wholesalers who has a splendid opportunity to increase sales of fresh produce. It is pleasant that most supermarkets continued maintaining good shape of the displays after the end of the contest. We hope that the contest for the best produce display in Crimea will be another step to improve the quality of fresh produce and to extend its assortment not only in Crimea but also in other regions of Ukraine.