NACDS Successful Selling event guides new vendors to the market

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. —Underscoring its commitment to helping small- and mid-sized companies successfully develop their business at retail, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores hosted in February its second Successful Selling Conference.

The sold-out event, coordinated with Walgreens’ “New Vendor Days” program, attracted more than 400 people, including nearly 200 vendors, more than 60 brokers and sales and marketing companies, and about 40 Walgreens executives.

The conference not only included a line up of speakers to arm attendees with the fundamentals of bringing products to market, but it also provided a platform for vendors to meet one-on-one with members of the Walgreens purchasing team. In fact, it resulted in 277, 20-minute meetings. NACDS stated that it also has extended this partnership opportunity to other retail members.

“I think it is a very valuable industry service. We want to brand NACDS as a resource for learning how to bring product to market and want to take it to the next level,” Fitz Elder, NACDS chief member relations officer, told Drug Store News.

The program was provided as a service of the NACDS Advisory Board through the Outreach and Business Development subcommittee to emerging niche manufacturers and others interested in entering or gaining additional traction at food, drug and mass. NACDS held its first Successful Selling event in March 2007 in Chicago.

This year’s program, held at the Lincolnshire Marriott, officially kicked off the morning of Feb. 11 with an “Industry Overview” by Jay Forbes, vice president of Lebhar-Friedman, the parent company of Drug Store News. The event concluded Feb. 12.

Forbes’ presentation was followed by a lineup of speakers, many from the Walgreens headquarter office, who shared business practices and the expectations of Walgreens as niche players work to bring their products to market.

Among the highlights was a presentation by George Riedl, executive vice president of marketing for Walgreens, on “The Walgreens Story” and David Van Howe, corporate vice president of purchasing for Walgreens, who offered “The Retail Perspective.” In addition, Catherine Lindner, divisional vice president of marketing development of Walgreens, and Carrie Merritt, consumer marketing manager of Walgreens, discussed “Building Consumer Awareness and Consumption—Getting it Rung at the Register, The Role of Advertising and Promotion.” Mike Olson, director of merchandising/purchasing for Walgreens, discussed “In-Store Displays,” and Ron Otto, president of National Sales Solutions, talked about “Business Practices—The Hoops and Hurdles.”