SAS Retail Services was recently awarded a major contract to serve as the in-store execution provider for Harris Teeter, a Southeastern grocery chain and subsidiary of The Kroger Company. The program—set to launch on January 4, 2016—will cement SAS’ position as a national leader in merchandising services, serving retail partners all across the country from the West Coast to the East Coast.
The contract was secured through a collaborative effort by SAS and Daymon Worldwide representatives. Under the program, SAS will complete all in-store merchandising and new store remodels in Harris Teeter’s 232 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
The SAS team at Harris Teeter will be made up of approximately 400 associates spread across 66 regional teams. “The teams will visit each Harris Teeter store weekly to complete in-store merchandising projects and provide weekly planogram updates,” explains Steve Harry, SAS Regional Vice President – South.
Planogram writing (creating detailed plans for how to arrange items in the store in order to maximize sales) is a unique addition to the Harris Teeter program. Many of SAS’ other dedicated in-store execution programs focus solely on on-shelf merchandising. But as Harry explains, adding planogram writing into the mix offers several benefits to the retailer.
“In the old model, individual brokers wrote the planogram, so they often promoted the companies they represented,” he says. “SAS, on the hand, doesn’t represent any CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies, so we are unbiased. We will use the information provided by Harris Teeter category managers to promote whatever sells best.”
Combining the planogram and in-store execution services under one program will also create greater efficiencies for Harris Teeter, giving the retailer a single point of contact for all merchandising services.
“Harris Teeter has been great to work with and very engaged in the process,” says Harry. “We are finalizing our teams and are all very excited to launch the program in January.”
To learn more about in-store merchandising new business opportunities, contact Michael Bellman, President – SAS at michaelbellman@sasretailservices.com.