Q&A: Jim Marini, Matrixx Initiatives

NEW YORK The H1N1 virus has impacted cough-cold with increased awareness and illness. To get a sense of cough-cold performance at the halfway point, Drug Store News talked to Jim Marini, VP sales for Matrixx Initiatives.

Drug Store News: Retailers had been dialing down their cough-cold inventory the past few seasons; how is that playing out this year?

Marini: The 2009-2010 cold-flu season reversed [recent stocking] trends, primarily driven by the outbreak of H1N1. … In the summer, we adjusted our calendar third-quarter estimate, [and] after several meetings with our key retail partners, we developed a strategy to support the anticipated early season demand. … The H1N1 media attention increased overall consumer awareness of the cold-flu season, [enhancing] the significance of the cold-flu preparedness merchandising programs. … The strong vendor/retailer partnership was instrumental in preparing for the early seasonal demand. Without these collaborative efforts, we would have experienced dissatisfied consumers, and would have lost opportunities had adequate product not been available.

DRSN: What is the rate of illness with colds so far as compared to last year?

Marini: We believe we have experienced the peak of the H1N1 impact on the category and will begin to experience a rise in normal cold-flu incidences heading into next quarter. Overall, we are planning on illness levels of up to a 17% increase over year ago.

DRSN: In light of Matrixx’ product recall earlier this year, how has the Zicam brand name fared?

Marini: The retailers’ support of the Zicam brand … allowed us the opportunity to aggressively go after our primary marketing goal of converting Zicam nasal cold remedy consumers to our Zicam oral cold remedy product line. We are pleased with the early season results.