SeaFood Business

JAN 2014

SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.

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Photo courtesy of Monahan's Seafood Market What's in Store Resourceful retail Seafood departments lean on promotions, profciency to drive sales BY CHRISTINE BLANK I n nearly every fsh market and supermarket perishable purchasing department, the cry rang out loud and clear in 2013: High prices on shrimp and fsh are hurting business and smarter ways of sourcing, utilizing and selling seafood are needed to remain competitive. As a result, many stores are implementing new promotional programs and sourcing 28 SeaFood Business January 2014 initiatives in an efort to boost sales in 2014. "Te biggest challenges we faced were rising prices — but not availability of good, quality fsh — and competition," says Mike Monahan, owner of Monahan's Seafood Market in Ann Arbor, Mich. "For a town of this size, it is surprising that we have two Whole Foods Markets and a couple of new highend grocery stores. Tey sell a lot of fsh out of those two Whole Foods stores." Executives at Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix Super Markets, which operates 1,080 stores, say product cost and availability, along with their consumers' concerns about imported products, were the top operating challenges they faced in 2013. While shrimp supply and pricing was the biggest thorn in Publix's side last year, the company ran into "general supply issues, especially getting quantity to our specifcations," says Maria Brous, a spokesperson for Publix. However, the Southeastern retailer implemented several programs to boost efciencies and reduce shrink in 2013 that it will carry into 2014. "We work more directly with suppliers, which reduces costs. We have increased delivery frequency and we have reduced [some] pack sizes from 5-pound trays to 2.5-pound trays," Brous says. Publix has also boosted its prepared seafood meals offerings over the past year. Surprisingly, Monahan's didn't experience much of a spike in shrimp prices in 2013, probably because the upscale market has always carried only wild Gulf shrimp. However, wholesale prices on wild fsh and other shellfsh are a diferent story. "We try to deal with all domestic, wild seafood. Wild, domestic [seafood] prices are getting to a point that people are not necessarily willing to pay for it for a Tuesday night dinner," Monahan says. For example, dry-pack North Atlantic sea scallops are becoming price-prohibitive for some customers, retailing for around $20 a pound in December because of the wholesale price of between $12 and $13 a pound, Monahan says. As a result, Monahan's will continue to focus on getting Retailers like Monahan's Seafood Market face continually rising prices. more value out of the wild fsh it buys and run promotions on wild fsh when it is most available. When swordfsh from New England and Canada is running in the fall — and costs around $7 to $8 a pound wholesale — Monahan's runs a big special on the fsh. Likewise, Groomer Seafood in San Antonio, Texas, a wholesaler and retailer, plans to continue with shrimp festivals and other special events. Its Lobstermania sale, held every August and September, is Groomer's most successful promotion. Because of aggressive social media and email marketing, the store sold 13,000 lobsters in six hours last August. Te price of each lobster goes down with a pre-designated number of "likes" on Groomer's Facebook page, so the store's Facebook fans last August whittled the price down to $6.95 a pound for each 1to 1.5-pound lobster. Tis year, co-owner Rick Groomer hopes to break a world record for the most lobsters sold in a 24-hour period. "People will be able to keep track of our truck going up to Boston [to pick up the lobsters], and track our truck coming back," Groomer says. Groomer will have a new sourcing avenue in place later this year, after it purchases fve to eight boats to supply its wholesale and retail operation — and potentially other retailers. "Fishermen have given up on the industry in South Texas, so we are going to invest money in it. Te big thing we will do is develop sustainable species and underutilized species," Groomer says. Contributing Editor Christine Blank lives in Lake Mary, Fla. Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com

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