RTM:  How do you see relationships with retailers changing?  Many people talk about a move towards a win/win situation and away from price negotiations but, in reality, in most industries price still seems to be the number one issue for many retailers.

FM:  Well, price is important, but I don’t see it as the primary request.  There are many other things we can deliver apart from a product at a price. And I do see a shift among retailers towards a more collaborative approach.

RTM: What kind of things are we talking about?

FM: Well, it can take a number of forms.  The retailer may want to understand the category dynamics around a particular brand.  In many cases the brand manufacturer has significant information on how and why consumers shop for a particular brand.  We need to marry that up to the needs and go-to-market strategy of the retailer.

RTM: Can you give an example?

FM: A lot of our work is around helping the retailer to sell a solution, rather than simple products. So someone who has a cold might want to buy several items.  This may include items that you would not normally expect to see on sale in a pharmacy, such as a vaporizer to provide relief in the room.

RTM: Umm, I see. I suppose people with a heavy cold, who might once have just bought paracetamol, are happy to spend $10 or more if they can see a solution which will help them go to work, sleep properly and ensure that they look good.

FM: Absolutely. Colds or the upper respiratory category were once considered seasonal products. But there is a tremendous amount of lasering you can do relative to the brands in that category.  This allows us to pinpoint action steps that the manufacturer can offer.

RTM: It is interesting, what you said about seasonality.

FM: Yes, we now have a lot of learning that shows that the chronic, everyday sufferer has a very different set of needs from the episodic sufferer.  If retailers can understand this difference and pinpoint the chronic sufferers, they can start to meet their needs.

RTM: So you really are having a discussion with the retailer which has little to do with price?

FM: Oh absolutely. The retailer becomes the supplier of a solution to his customers. The value of the sale climbs very steeply, and the nature of the relationship between the customer and the retailer, and between us and the retailer, changes completely.

RTM: Doesn’t this kind of co-operation with different retailers lead to conflicts of interest?  Isn’t there a risk that you are seen to be helping one retailer rather than another, or a danger that you end up encouraging them all to have the same retail format?

FM: No, we don’t see it like that. We don’t adopt a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all strategy. On the contrary, we have conversations based on the readiness and desire of the retailer to address what he sees as his customers’ needs. They tend to be very different conversations!