top 100 retailers and categories

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insights An annual statistical analysis

2013

Welcome to Retailing Today’s annual Insights issue. This unique product was created to provide a blended look at the performance of the nation’s Top 100 retailers and Top 100

mass market product categories in one convenient format. In addition to offering an abundance of useful statistics, the greater objective was to put the performance in context by providing analysis of key industry developments, insights into market moving trends and a thought-provoking view on where the retail and consumer packaged goods industry is headed in 2013.

To achieve this goal, we worked with our sister publication Chain Store Age to compile a defi nitive ranking of the Top 100 retailers based on sales and profi ts across all industry segments. We also partnered with Nielsen to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive view possible of the performance of the Top 100 mass market product categories, which now includes point-of-sale information from Walmart following the retailer’s decision last year to resume data sharing. In addition to sharing data about sales and unit volume, Nielsen provided insights into retail industry trends, best practices and drivers of future demand.

What emerged from this process is an engaging view of a retail and CPG industry that is highly resilient and able to cope with tremendous levels of uncertainty. Many market participants who hunkered down

during the Great Recession by curtailing new store growth and reducing expenses achieved solid performances during their most recent fi scal year. This was an impressive feat, considering the signifi cant headwinds that persisted in the form of a weak job market, limited wage growth, fuel prices that sapped discretionary spending and an achingly slow recovery in the housing market.

Some companies weathered the Great Recession while others thrived because of it due to their value orientation. Either way, those who have survived are well positioned to see growth accelerate in the coming year given any abatement in some or all of the forces that pressured consumer spending last year. Of course, new challenges and uncertainties always arise. An unprecedented drought in the Midwest this summer destroyed crops and sent corn and soybean prices to record levels that ultimately will be passed through to consumers. Any fl are up of the perpetual political turmoil in the Mideast will create energy price volatility that directly impacts consumer spending. And the prospect of infl ation remains ever present as the Federal Reserve persists with policies that ensure interest rates remain at record low levels.

There are plenty of unknowns for retailers, their trading partners and consumers to ponder in the year ahead, but then life is always fi lled with some level of uncertainty. Perhaps the most positive development for the coming year involves the presidential election. It will fi nally be over and consumers can stop thinking about whether they are better off today than they were four years ago. Such introspection against the backdrop of a weak economy isn’t good for consumer confi dence.

Regardless of who occupies the White House come Jan. 1, consumers and businesses will gain increased visibility into the future, and that is a good thing. Roughly half the population is bound to be disappointed by what they see but at least there will be clarity. ■

Where the growth isEditorial

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By Mike Troy, Editor, Retailing TodayThose [companies] who have survived [the Great Recession] are well positioned to see growth accelerate in the coming year given any abatement in some or all of the forces that pressured consumer spending last year.

WALMARTWith total revenues equivalent to the next six

largest U.S. retailers combined, Walmart domi-nates the U.S retail landscape like no other. A re-turn to core operating principles at Walmart U.S. and increased marketing helped the company resume same-store sales growth. Comps turned positive in third quarter 2011, accelerated during the fourth quarter and again in the fi rst quarter. Undeterred by a slight deceleration in the sec-ond quarter, Walmart maintains its U.S. business is on a growth trajectory and stores are gaining customer traffi c despite dramatic expansion by the likes of Dollar General and Family Dollar.

Walmart’s U.S. business has room to run. The company’s smaller-format stores are said to be generating returns suffi cient to warrant an ac-celerated expansion. And in the e-commerce arena, the company is making acquisitions and experimenting with new initiatives and continu-ing to leverage its multichannel capabilities.

KROGERWalmart’s growth hasn’t fazed second-ranked

Kroger. In fact, the opposite is true. The nation’s largest operator of conventional grocery stores is enjoying a remarkable run of consecutive same-store sales growth that is approaching nine years.

Kroger is all about consistency and its long-run-ning loyalty program is its secret sauce. Roughly 90% of the transactions in Kroger stores involve a loyalty program, and that gives the company a wealth of shopper insights it can leverage to more effectively serve shoppers and drive sales.

Don’t look for Kroger to open large numbers of new stores anytime soon — and why should it? Kroger has shown it can continue to improve the productivity of selling space in the company’s existing 2,435 conventional supermarkets to drive profi tability and keep shareholders happy.

COSTCOThird-ranked Costco’s shareholders are a

happy lot as well because the nation’s favorite warehouse club keeps executing against a com-pelling value proposition that drives member loyalty and record renewal rates. The company is poised for continued success thanks to a dis-ciplined growth strategy and unwavering com-mitment to delivering value to its members.

Don’t look for the company to deviate from its strategy in the wake of the January retirement of co-founder and long-time CEO Jim Sinegal. He was replaced by 28-year Costco veteran Craig Jelinek, who has held the position of head mer-chant, COO and president during his career. In addition, the company’s other co-founder, Jef-frey Brotman, continues to serve as chairman.

Top 10 market movers and the best of the rest

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here’s never a dull moment in the retail industry. That proved to be the case again this year as the nation’s top 100 retailers and their trading partners endured economic weakness, political turmoil and an uncertain spending climate. Through it all, the retail industry soldiered on, serving customers with products they need and want, and attempting to do so in the most effi cient manner possible to maximize profi ts. What follows is a look at some of the key moves made by the nation’s top 10 retailers, along with a look at the best of the rest.

WALGREENSIt was a tough year for fourth-ranked Walgreens

as the company’s business suffered due to a long-running dispute over reimbursement rates with pharmacy benefi t manager Express Scripts. It wasn’t the fi rst time Walgreens publicly squabbled with a payer over reimbursement rates, but past disputes typically were resolved before customers learned Walgreens could no longer fi ll their pre-scriptions. Competitors, such as CVS and Walmart, showed no mercy and were more than eager to accommodate peeved Walgreens customers.

The matter got resolved after the damage was done, and now Walgreens faces the daunting prospect of winning back customers. To that end, the company recently launched a major initiative called Balance Rewards, a points-based system that allows customers to earn unlimited rewards.

HOME DEPOTMore so than any retailer among the top 10,

Home Depot has weathered the roughest patch in the company’s history, which makes its per-formance last year rather impressive. Sales grew roughly 3.7% to $70.4 billion and profi ts grew 16.3% to nearly $3.9 billion, making the company the third most profi table retailer in the top 10, behind only Walmart and CVS Caremark.

The news got a lot better for Home Depot this year as the conversation about the state of the nation’s housing market has shifted to specu-lation about the arc of the recovery and away from whether the housing market has hit bottom. Same-store sale are poised to surge at Home Depot and rival Lowe’s, if only more people were able to qualify for record low rates that are sure to be the envy of future generations.

TARGETAccelerating improvement of the housing

market may not be enough for Home Depot, and possibly Walgreens, to avoid being overtaken by Target. The nation’s sixth-largest retailer is en-joying solid low- to mid-single digit same-store sales growth and is poised to resume square footage expansion of its traditional discount

stores with expanded fresh food offerings in ad-dition to a new urban format called CityTarget.

A two-year-old loyalty program continues to gain traction and is boosting average transaction sizes. However, the biggest boost to sales in 2013 will come from the company’s entry into Canada. A total of 125 new Target stores are due to open next year in remodeled former Zellers locations. The fi rst wave of those stores is due to open in March, and Canadian expansion is expected to make a major contribution to the company’s goal of achieving $100 billion in sales within fi ve years.

CVS CAREMARKWalgreens’ loss was CVS Caremark’s gain when

it came to the former’s dispute with pharmacy ben-efi t manager Express Scripts. In addition to continu-ing to execute well against its own strategy and provide shoppers with compelling offers via its in-dustry-leading Extra Care loyalty program, CVS was handed a gift of countless customers by Walgreens.

The company enjoyed a strong performance in 2011 and repeatedly exceeded its own guid-ance and analysts’ estimates during 2012. CVS gained signifi cant market share this year, and with increased customer traffi c in its stores, is poised for more gains in 2013.

BEST BUYAmong the nation’s 10 largest retailers, no one

experienced more diffi culty than Best Buy. Aside

from coping with lost momentum as the housing crisis and increased online competition pressured sales of key categories, the company botched a leadership transition.

After only a few months in the top job, CEO Brian Dunn was relieved of his duties after it was revealed he had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. To make matters worse, company founder and chairman Richard Schulze was aware of the situation and failed to act, so he too was relieved of his responsibilities as chairman, even though he is the company’s largest shareholder.

Best Buy promises to remain a hot topic during the coming year, regardless of its performance during the holidays, as Schulze wants to acquire the company outright but needs the backing of other investors willing to assume what appears to be considerable risk.

LOWE’SLowe’s faced all the same housing market relat-

ed challenges as Home Depot, but it didn’t fare as well as its larger rival. Sales grew a meager 2.8% to $50.7 billion while profi ts declined to $1.84 bil-lion from slightly more than $2 billion. This year, Lowe’s undertook a major remerchandising initia-tive in stores and introduced a unique loyalty-type program called My Lowe’s. Reviews are mixed and the effectiveness of the changes have yet to reveal themselves. At the midpoint of the year, Lowe’s is struggling to grow sales and improve profi tability.

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The company also recently abandoned a bid to ac-quire a Canadian home improvement chain.

AMAZONAmazon rounds out the nation’s 10 largest re-

tailers, but not for long. The company grew sales by 40.5% last year to more than $48 billion and it has continued to pile on volume during the current year. Even if sales growth were to slow from the prior year — a possibility given the gains are com-ing on top of a larger base — Amazon is poised to moved up the ranking next year, surpassing Lowe’s, Best Buy, CVS and threatening Target.

The days of this online retailer enabling its cus-tomers to avoid paying sales tax are rapidly com-ing to an end, but that competitive advantage may not matter any more. Amazon has built a lead in the e-commerce arena with a best-in-class user interface soon to be supported with more robust distribution capabilities due to the addition of 18 new facilities this year.

BEST OF THE RESTOne retailer that gets overlooked in the Top

100 ranking is the Sam’s Club division of Wal-Mart Stores. As a stand-alone entity, Sam’s Club’s annual sales of $53.8 billion position it as the na-

tion’s eighth-largest retailer. Now the company is embarking on its most ambitious growth in sever-al years under the leadership of Rosalind Brewer, Walmart’s fi rst African-American division chief.

The resumption of new club growth at Sam’s Club pales in comparison to the rampant expan-sion of 27th-ranked Dollar General and 51st-ranked Family Dollar. Dollar General this year opened its 10,000th store when it entered the California market, and the company contends the market can support 20,000 stores. Dollar General opens an average of nearly two stores per day and Family Dollar isn’t far behind. These two companies, combined with single price point leader Dollar Tree, will open roughly 1,000 new stores this year, and they show no signs of slow-ing their breakneck expansion in 2013 or beyond.

While dollar stores are focused on deliver-ing their brand of value to shoppers focused on convenience and opening price points, a different type of drama is unfolding among leading depart-ment store operators.

The most notable of these is JCPenney, where CEO Ron Johnson has declared the audacious goal of transforming the chain into, “America’s favorite store.” Things haven’t gone well for Johnson since he unveiled a transformation strategy at a major

event in New York, which was supposed to hinge on a simplifi ed pricing strategy. After two consecu-tive quarters of roughly 20% declines in same-store sales, the pricing strategy was modifi ed and other course corrections were implemented. Johnson hasn’t softened his stance, though, and continues to talk a good game, even if results ap-pear to be a long way from materializing.

If shoppers are weary of promotional pricing, someone forgot to tell the throngs of customers frequenting Macy’s. The nation’s leading depart-ment store retailer is hyper promotional and serves customers a mind-numbing offering of discounts, deals and special coupons. And it works.

Shoppers remain focused on the deal, whether it be a percentage discount at an upscale retailer or a special fi nd while combing through the racks at Ross Stores or one of the off-price formats op-erated by the TJX Cos. Both retailers continue to amaze with their mid- to high-single digit same-store sales growth.

Value players have been big benefi ciaries of the nation’s protracted economic weakness, and nowhere has this been more evident than in the growth of the dollar store channel. Dollar General this year surpassed 10,000 units by opening a projected 625 new stores, and its shows no sign of slowing. Neither does rival Family Dollar or sin-gle price point leader Dollar Tree. All three have expanded or continue to expand their offering of food and consumables. Their food initiatives, combined with Target’s addition of fresh food and growth from such value players as Aldi, is placing unprecedented pressure on such conventional supermarkets as Safeway and Supervalu.

Traditional national food retailers continue to suffer share losses while the likes of Whole Foods and such emerging players as The Fresh Market gain new converts despite premium pricing.

In other notable industry developments, Autozone surpassed 5,000 units, Bed Bath & Beyond continued to thrive despite the chal-lenging housing market while Staples fi nally succumbed to the pressures of a weak business spending climate that already had negatively af-fected rivals Offi ce Depot and Offi ceMax. ■

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TOP 100 RETAILERSRANK COMPANY 2011 REVENUE* 2010 REVENUE* 2011 NET INCOME* 2010 NET INCOME*

1 Wal-Mart Stores1 $443,854,000 $418,952,000 $15,699,000 $16,389,000

2 The Kroger Co.2 90,374,000 82,049,000 602,000 1,116,000

3 Costco3 87,048,000 76,255,000 1,462,000 1,303,000

4 Walgreens4 72,184,000 67,420,000 2,714,000 2,091,000

5 The Home Depot5 70,395,000 67,997,000 3,883,000 3,338,000

6 Target Corp.2 69,865,000 67,390,000 2,929,000 2,920,000

7 CVS Caremark6 59,599,000 57,345,000 4,912,000 4,537,000

8 Best Buy7 50,705,000 49,747,000 [1,231,000] 1,277,000

9 Lowe’s Cos.8 50,208,000 48,815,000 1,839,000 2,010,000

10 Amazon.com6 48,077,000 34,204,000 631,000 1,152,000

11 Safeway6 43,630,200 41,050,000 516,700 589,800

12 Sears Holdings Inc.2 41,567,000 42,664,000 [3,113,000] 122,000

13 Supervalu9 36,100,000 37,534,000 [1,040,000] [1,510,000]

14 Publix Supermarkets6 26,967,389 25,134,054 1,491,966 1,338,147

15 Macy’s2 26,405,000 25,003,000 1,256,000 847,000

16 RiteAid7 26,121,222 25,214,907 [368,571] [555,424]

17 Ahold USA10 25,072,000 23,523,000 NA NA

18 Staples2 25,022,192 24,545,113 984,656 881,948

19 TJX Cos.2 23,191,455 21,942,193 1,496,090 1,343,141

20 Alimentation Couche-Tard11 22,997,500 18,550,400 457,600 369,200

21 7-Eleven (U.S. & Canada)6 20,350,000 16,800,000 NA NA

22 Delhaize America6 19,230,000 18,807,000 NA NA

23 Kohl’s Department Stores2 18,804,000 18,391,000 1,167,000 1,120,000

24 HE Butt Grocery Co.12 18,000,000 15,500,000 NA NA

25 Pilot Flying J13 17,770,000 17,000,000 NA NA

* In thousands1 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 31, 20122 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 28, 20123 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Aug. 28, 20114 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Aug. 31, 2011

5 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 29, 20126 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 20117 Company reports for the fi scal year ended March 3, 20128 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Feb. 3, 20129 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Feb. 25, 2012

10 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 1, 201211 Company reports for the fi scal year ended April 29, 201212 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Oct. 30, 201113 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 2011

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26 JCPenney14 $17,260,000 $17,759,000 $[152,000] $378,000

27 Dollar General15 14,807,200 13,035,000 766,700 627,900

28 Gap Inc.14 14,549,000 14,664,000 833,000 1,204,000

29 Meijer16 14,400,000 14,200,000 NA NA

30 Apple†,17 14,120,000 9,820,800 NA NA

31 Toys‘R’Us14 13,900,000 13,855,000 149,000 168,000

32 Wakefern Food Corp.18 12,800,000 11,800,000 NA NA

33 Dell Computer†,15 11,900,000 12,357,000 NA NA

34 Starbucks19 11,700,400 10,707,400 1,248,000 948,300

35 eBay20 11,651,654 9,156,274 3,229,387 1,800,961

36 Offi ce Depot20 11,489,533 11,633,094 95,691 [46,205]

37 BJs Wholesale Club21 11,300,000 10,632,947 NA 95,036

38 Verizon Wireless†,22 10,997,000 8,021,000 NA NA

39 Quik Trip23 10,770,000 8,770,000 NA NA

40 Nordstrom14 10,497,000 9,310,000 683,000 613,000

41 Limited Brands14 10,364,000 9,613,000 850,000 805,000

42 Army & Airforce Exchange Service14 10,300,000 8,700,000 277,000 428,500

43 Whole Foods Market24 10,107,787 9,005,794 342,612 245,833

44 Liberty Interactive Corp. (QVC)20 9,616,000 8,932,000 965,000 1,937,000

45 GameStop Corp.14 9,550,500 9,473,700 339,900 408,000

46 Bed, Bath & Beyond25 9,499,890 8,758,503 989,537 791,333

47 Giant Eagle26 9,300,000 8,600,000 NA NA

48 Trader Joe’s27 9,000,000 8,500,000 NA NA

49 Sherwin-Williams20 8,766,000 7,776,000 442,000 462,000

50 Ross Stores14 8,608,291 7,866,100 657,170 554,797

* In thousands † Retail operations only14 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 28, 201215 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Feb. 3, 201216 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Jan. 27, 201217 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Sept. 24, 2011

18 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Oct. 1, 201119 Company reports for fi scal year ended Oct. 2, 201120 Company reports for fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 201121 Estimate for fi scal year ended Jan. 31, 201222 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 2011

23 Company reports for fi scal year ended April 30, 201224 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Sept. 25, 201125 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Feb. 25, 201226 Estimate for the fi scal year ended June 30, 201227 Estimate for the fi scal year ended July 1, 2012

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51 Family Dollar Stores28 $8,547,835 $7,866,971 $388,445 $358,135

52 The Pantry29 8,138,500 7,265,300 9,800 [165,600]

53 AutoZone28 8,072,973 7,362,618 848,974 738,311

54 Cumberland Farms30 8,020,000 6,570,000 NA NA

55 Aldi31 8,000,000 6,800,000 NA NA

56 Hy-Vee32 7,300,000 6,850,000 NA NA

57 Menard’s33 7,170,000 8,300,000 NA NA

58 Barnes & Noble34 7,129,199 6,998,565 [68,867] [73,920]

59 Offi ceMax35 7,121,200 7,150,000 32,800 68,600

60 WaWa31 6,990,000 5,890,000 NA NA

61 Casey’s General Store36 6,987,804 5,635,240 116,791 94,623

62 The Great Atlantic & Pacifi c Tea Co.37 6,700,000 8,078,455 NA [598,575]

63 Dollar Tree38 6,630,500 5,882,400 488,300 397,300

64 AT&T Wireless†,31 6,486,000 4,990,000 NA NA

65 Dillard’s38 6,263,600 6,120,961 463,909 179,620

66 Wegmans Food Markets35 6,200,000 5,600,000 NA NA

67 Advance Auto Parts35 6,170,462 5,925,203 394,682 346,053

68 PetSmart38 6,113,304 5,693,797 290,243 239,867

69 Defense Commissary Agency29 5,900,000 5,800,000 NA NA

70 O’Reilly Automotive35 5,788,816 5,397,525 507,673 419,373

71 Sheetz29 5,775,000 4,525,000 NA NA

72 Racetrac Petroleum31 5,750,000 4,700,000 NA NA

73 FootLocker38 5,623,000 5,049,000 281,000 173,000

74 Dick’s Sporting Goods38 5,211,802 4,871,492 263,906 182,077

75 Big Lots Inc.38 5,202,269 4,952,244 207,064 222,524

* In thousands † Retail operations only28 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Aug. 27, 201129 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Sept. 30, 201130 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Sept. 30, 2011

31 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 201132 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Oct. 2, 201133 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Jan. 30, 201234 Company reports for the fi scal year ended April 28, 2012

35 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 201136 Company reports for the fi scal year ended April 30, 201237 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Feb. 25, 201238 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 28, 2012

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76 WinCo Foods39 $5,200,000 $4,500,000 NA NA

77 Susser Holdings40 5,194,168 3,930,630 47,500 800

78 IKEA North America°41 5,077,000 4,404,000 NA NA

79 BI-LO Holdings42 4,943,119 6,880,776 NA [70,000]

80 Luxottica Group†°43 4,880,000 3,900,300 NA NA

81 Coach Inc.44 4,760,000 4,158,507 1,040,000 880,800

82 Save Mart45 4,600,000 4,900,000 NA NA

83 RadioShack43 4,378,000 4,265,800 72,200 206,100

84 Neiman Marcus Group46 4,340,000 4,002,300 NA 31,600

85 Harris Teeter47 4,285,565 4,099,353 91,247 112,041

86 Tractor Supply Co.43 4,232,743 3,638,336 222,740 167,972

87 Michaels Stores48 4,210,000 4,031,000 176,000 103,000

88 Abercrombie & Fitch48 4,158,058 3,468,777 127,658 150,283

89 Burlington Coat Factory48 3,887,531 3,701,089 [6,272] 30,998

90 Roundy’s43 3,841,984 3,766,988 48,048 46,194

91 Bass Pro Shops45 3,830,000 3,650,000 NA NA

92 Signet Jewelers48 3,749,200 3,437,400 324,400 200,400

93 Williams-Sonoma48 3,720,895 3,504,158 236,931 200,227

94 Stater Bros. Markets49 3,700,000 3,600,000 NA NA

95 Belk48 3,699,592 3,513,275 183,148 127,628

96 Systemax43 3,682,039 3,589,989 54,400 42,600

97 Tiffany & Co.50 3,642,937 3,085,290 439,190 368,403

98 Price Chopper/Golub Corp.51 3,600,000 3,500,000 NA NA

99 Ingles Markets49 3,559,921 3,390,051 39,060 30,842

100 Collective Brands48 3,461,700 3,375,700 [149,800] 122,600

* In thousands † Retail operations only° Currency reported converted to U.S. dollars based on exchange rate as of date of company’s fi scal year end39 Estimate for the fi scal year ended March 31, 201240 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 1, 201241 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Aug. 31, 2011

42 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 201143 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Dec. 31, 201144 Company reports for the fi scal year ended June 30, 201245 Estimate for the fi scal year ended Dec. 25, 201146 Estimate for the fi scal year ended July 28, 201247 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Oct. 2, 2011

48 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 28, 201249 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Sept. 25, 201150 Company reports for the fi scal year ended Jan. 31, 201251 Estimate for the fi scal year ended April 30, 2012

Robust databases fi lled with petabytes of point of sale information, gleaned from an expanded universe of retail companies, provide Nielsen with an unrivaled view of category sales trends. However,

the true value of the company’s vast data repository lies in the insights that are generated when combined with economic trends, demographic variables and other societal factors to more fully understand shopper behavior and develop actionable strategies to drive category growth.

What follows are some of the key fi ndings from Todd Hale, Nielsen’s SVP consumer and shopper insights, and the most recent version of a report titled “Retail 2016”:

• Current economic conditions have produced a wide range of im-pacts on consumer spending. More people are renting homes and that has an infl uence on what people buy, but they have to be will-ing to spend in the fi rst place. Nielsen research showed that saving and paying off debt are top priorities for most Americans who were asked what they do with spare cash after they cover essential living expenses. The bad news is nearly one-third of those surveyed said they don’t have any spare cash.

• Energy price volatility has made it challenging for retailers and CPG companies to forecast sales. Gasoline prices back in April were ap-proaching a national average of $4 a gallon before falling to a low around $3.36 in July and then roaring back more recently. Who knows where they are headed next? But if they head higher, retail-ers can know with a high degree of certainty that shopper behavior will fall into a familiar pattern of trip consolidation, less eating out, a greater focus on value and increased coupon usage. Supermarket retailers — those that sell gas, anyway — are able to capitalize on the trend by linking their reward programs to gas incentives. The number of shoppers who said they are buying more gas where they buy food has risen to 32% from 19% in 2007.

• There has been plenty of talk about the plight of the middle class during the presidential election, and for good reason. There is a growing disparity between upper and lower income levels, with 1-in-7 Americans relying on supplemental nutrition assistance pro-grams, and 15% of U.S. households earning less than $15,000 per year. As of June 2012, there were 46.7 million people receiving food assistance benefi ts, compared with 30.8 million in October 2008. Retailers, such as Dollar General and Family Dollar, that appeal to lower-income shoppers can’t open stores fast enough. Meanwhile, retailers at the other end of the spectrum — Nordstrom, Whole Foods and Macy’s, to name a few — also are enjoying success.

• Sales may be growing but consumption of key categories isn’t nec-essarily increasing due to price infl ation that creates the appear-

New dynamics affect category growth

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insights Identifying the most successful consumer packaged goods com-panies isn’t hard to do, but determining why they are successful is another matter. Leading CPG companies rely on a common set of traits and business practices to deliver growth in a changing busi-ness climate, and it was the goal of the 2012 Customer and Chan-nel Management Survey to identify the best practices. The major research undertaking, conducted by the Grocery Manufacturers As-sociation, Nielsen and McKinsey & Co., involved participation from 220 executives at 50 major CPG companies with total U.S. sales of roughly $160 billion across a broad range of product categories.

With the objective of identifying winning practices of top-perform-ing companies, the common theme that emerged was a high level of focus in the following areas:

• Placing forward-looking strategic bets;• Leveraging data and advanced analytics to drive decision-making;• Collaborating more effectively with top retail customers; and• Building industry-shaping capabilities.The study’s authors are the fi rst to admit these broad practices

are straightforward and already in place at many companies; how-ever, winning CPG companies have a tendency to deploy such prac-tices throughout their organizations with greater consistency and magnitude.

For example, with regard to placing strategic bets, the research determined CPG leaders were more likely to invest in emerging retail channels, Amazon, the Hispanic market and sales technology.

In terms of analytics and decision-making, CPG leaders are more likely to use pricing diagnostic, optimization and trade promotion management tools that help analyze total category performance as well as their own sales.

With respect to collaboration, defi nitions can vary widely. Those who do so effectively view it as a strategic priority and are more likely to share new product details with partners 18 months prior to launch.

As for building industry-shaping capabilities, talent development is the key area of focus for CPG leaders. Sales leadership at top-per-forming companies spend twice as much time as their peers at lower-performing companies on talent development and talent management.

These winning practices enable leading CPG companies to opti-mize their current performance while looking ahead and planning for future growth, according to the study’s authors. ■

Habits of successful CPG cos.

ance of growth even though unit volumes are down. Infl ation trends of late have begun to moderate somewhat from the mid-single digit levels seen in 2011, but unit volumes still are negatively affected and have declined for three consecutive quarters. Price increases have been the highest in fresh meat, dairy, fresh produce and packaged meat. In most of those departments, increased pricing is leading to dollar sales gains. As for the recent drought, concerns about the im-pact of weak crop yields on food prices are overblown. In fact, com-modities make up about 14% of the average retail food purchase with such factors such energy and transportation costs, labor costs, pro-cessing and marketing costs all playing a more signifi cant role.

• Economic weakness and price-sensitive shoppers fueled a private-la-bel boom, but even so the sky hasn’t fallen on brands. Since the end of 2008, store-brand share growth has been fairly fl at as brands stepped up their promotion support and innovation efforts. That said, private brands are signifi cant as sales reached $107.5 billion for the 52-week period ended Aug. 4, more than 14% greater than $94 billion in calen-dar 2009. Brand sales during the same period reached $518.6 billion and grew 5.7% since calendar 2009. In terms of unit volumes, brands captured 78.9% of consumer packaged goods unit sales and 82.8% of dollar sales for UPC-coded product categories tracked by Nielsen. Private brands captured 21.1% of unit sales and 17.2% of dollar sales.

• Shoppers looking for deals continue to rely on the trusty weekly ad pub-lished by many retailers. Traditional print circulars remain infl uential in helping shoppers choose where to shop, and this is true across young and old generations. Most consumers would like access to paper cir-culars in the future, and they are leveraged primarily by deal seekers to fi nd sales on the items they prefer to buy. On the digital front, cur-rent methods have rather low reach, but high weekly conversion or use among those who use them. Predictably, younger consumers, particu-

larly Millennials, are big fans. Because consumers go to sites they are familiar with, digital circular users have loyal shopper tendencies.

• Demographic factors are fueling change and the growth of Hispanic shoppers and aging Baby Boomers are well-established trends. Less noticeable is the impact an increasingly diverse U.S. population is having on new product introductions and mainstream access to more exotic fl avor profi les. While increased diversity brings expanded prod-uct offers, growth of older population segments is causing a shift in pack sizes and packaging. Pack sizes are shrinking and print is getting larger on products geared toward older Americans. Meanwhile, CPG companies remain on a never-ending quest to shift food preparation upstream to deliver time-starved shoppers the increased convenience of fully cooked and ready-to-consume offerings.

• The growth of online retail remains on an upward trajectory with no limit in sight. Online sales currently account for only about 5% of total retail sales, so pure-play companies, as well as conventional retailers, have ample digital growth ahead. Even so, physical store expansion also remains intact for many retailers, with such sectors as warehouse clubs, supercenters, dollar stores and c-stores adding the most units since 2005. Lately the look of expansion has changed, with more ex-perimentation occurring with such small formats as Petco Unleashed, Cabela’s Outpost, CityTarget, Walmart Express and Sports Authority Elite, just to name a few.

• Looking forward, the days are long gone when retailers and CPG companies need only concern themselves with direct competitors. Now it is equally important, if not more so, for retailers and CPG com-panies to understand how companies founded or led by folks with such recognizable last names as Jobs, Zuckerberg, Brin and Bezos are enhancing or disrupting the future of the retail industry and alter-ing the way companies engage with shoppers. ■

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Sorry baseball, America’s new national pas-time is searching for deals.

This is especially true online, where Nielsen’s exhaustive “Global Survey of Digital’s Infl uence on Grocery Shopping” showed the top monthly activities for U.S. shoppers included looking for deals and coupons (43%) and price checking/consumer reviews (37%). The highest-ranked daily activities were using digital shopping lists (39%) and looking for deals online (31%).

“Connected consumers and their devices are providing consumer packaged goods mak-

ers and retailers with options to differentiate their brands and stay relevant,” said Todd Hale, Nielsen’s SVP consumer and shopper insights. “Those who can keep up with what matters most to digital shoppers will be well positioned for the short and long term.”

The top weekly U.S. activities related to gro-cery shopping on a connected device (PC, mo-bile phone, tablet, etc.) included reading online grocery circulars (62%), looking for coupons online (55%) and browsing a manufacturer’s website for a grocery category (55%).

When asked which factors infl uenced their grocery purchase decisions compared with a year ago, U.S. respondents identifi ed rising food prices (49%), such health factors as heart/cho-lesterol/weight (28%) and increased transpor-tation costs (28%) as having a “major impact” on their decisions. Food labeling (25%) and re-tailer loyalty programs (24%) rounded out the top fi ve U.S. “major impact” categories.

Nielsen surveyed more than 28,000 shoppers in 56 countries in North America, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. ■

Hunting for deals dominates online grocery activity

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TOP 100 PRODUCT CATEGORIESRANK CATEGORY

SALES* UNITS*2012† 2011° % CHG 2012† 2011° % CHG

1 FRESH PRODUCE $21,889.4 $20,951.6 4.5% 8,548.7 8,314.0 2.8%

2 CARBONATED BEVERAGES 21,459.2 21,307.6 0.7 10,086.6 10,633.5 -5.1

3 SNACKS 20,930.7 19,508.4 7.3 8,469.1 8,335.3 1.6

4 PAPER PRODUCTS 20,923.0 20,428.5 2.4 5,411.6 5,507.1 -1.7

5 BREAD & BAKED GOODS 20,913.2 20,368.9 2.7 8,808.7 8,934.2 -1.4

6 PACKAGED MEAT 17,201.8 16,736.6 2.8 5,332.1 5,363.7 -0.6

7 CHEESE 15,816.7 14,806.1 6.8 4,962.3 4,969.9 -0.2

8 CANDY 15,074.1 14,294.3 5.5 8,449.1 8,607.2 -1.8

9 PREPARED FOODS-FROZEN 14,012.8 13,809.2 1.5 4,367.7 4,485.4 -2.6

10 PET FOOD 13,576.2 13,203.3 2.8 4,862.7 4,871.5 -0.2

11 BEER 13,010.7 12,522.6 3.9 1,401.2 1,362.3 2.9

12 MEDICATIONS/REMEDIES 12,657.7 12,299.8 2.9 1,878.3 1,819.9 3.2

13 JUICES DRINKS-SHELF STABLE 11,232.9 11,417.0 -1.6 5,278.7 5,430.3 -2.8

14 CEREAL 10,823.4 10,704.7 1.1 3,479.5 3,595.8 -3.2

15 TOBACCO & ACCESSORIES 10,482.2 10,525.3 -0.4 1,650.6 1,636.4 0.9

16 DETERGENTS 9,762.4 9,604.2 1.6 1,817.0 1,843.5 -1.4

17DRESSNG/SALAD/PREPARED FOOD-DELI

9,351.8 9,152.5 2.2 2,749.2 2,766.6 -0.6

18 VITAMINS 9,024.2 8,317.9 8.5 1,098.0 1,012.2 8.5

19 WINE 8,797.9 8,255.6 6.6 1,042.5 983.8 6.0

20 CONDIMENTS/GRAVIES/SAUCE 8,589.5 8,587.8 0.0 4,512.1 4,597.1 -1.8

21 BOTTLED WATER 8,449.4 7,839.6 7.8 4,283.0 4,083.6 4.9

22 HOUSEWARES APPLIANCES 8,233.9 7,646.2 7.7 351.6 349.9 0.5

23 COFFEE 8,205.2 6,870.4 19.4 1,252.0 1,180.0 6.1

24COMPUTER/ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

7,921.7 8,564.0 -7.5 564.2 589.9 -4.4

25 HAIR CARE 7,826.0 7,604.9 2.9 1,816.2 1,798.4 1.0

* In millions † For the 52 weeks ended Aug. 4, 2012 ° For the 52 weeks ended Aug. 6, 2011 Source: Nielsen

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26 OFFICE/SCHOOL SUPPLIES $7,037.6 $7,001.1 0.5% 2,642.0 2,645.4 -0.1%

27 ORAL HYGIENE 6,700.0 6,563.2 2.1 1,808.3 1,804.7 0.2

28 COOKIES/ICE CREAM CONES 6,677.8 6,317.3 5.7 2,723.3 2,683.7 1.5

29 YOGURT 6,366.7 5,814.5 9.5 4,838.9 4,967.2 -2.6

30 COUGH AND COLD REMEDIES 6,359.1 6,189.1 2.7 1,029.1 1,031.6 -0.2

31 PIZZA/SNACKS-FROZEN 5,921.2 5,933.2 -0.2 1,793.0 1,844.9 -2.8

32 PREPARED FOODS-DRY MIXES 5,822.1 5,637.7 3.3 3,440.8 3,459.3 -0.5

33 SKIN CARE PREPARATIONS 5,791.0 5,703.3 1.5 856.0 842.8 1.6

34 SOUP 5,741.7 5,653.9 1.6 4,682.2 4,831.4 -3.1

35UNPREPARED MEAT/SEAFOOD-FROZEN

5,674.1 5,565.0 2.0 771.7 782.7 -1.4

36 COSMETICS 5,555.9 5,173.3 7.4 1,114.5 1,028.9 8.3

37 PREPARED FOODS-READY SERVE 5,474.3 5,330.2 2.7 3,084.2 3,129.1 -1.4

38 JUICES & DRINKS-REFRIGERATED 5,407.8 5,319.6 1.7 1,849.4 1,883.2 -1.8

39 BABY FOOD 5,304.8 5,192.8 2.2 1,458.6 1,520.6 -4.1

40 VEGETABLES-FROZEN 5,269.2 5,172.7 1.9 2,447.6 2,500.6 -2.1

41 VEGETABLES-CANNED 5,202.0 5,206.0 -0.1 5,041.4 5,324.3 -5.3

42 ICE CREAM 5,105.2 4,859.2 5.1 1,397.4 1,428.5 -2.2

43WRAPPING MATERIALS AND BAGS

5,037.1 4,827.5 4.3 1,380.0 1,402.1 -1.6

44 CRACKERS 4,923.5 4,783.7 2.9 1,891.9 1,902.7 -0.6

45 LIQUOR 4,770.7 4,402.2 8.4 375.0 332.0 12.9

46 DISPOSABLE DIAPERS 4,769.9 4,852.9 -1.7 330.4 347.0 -4.8

47 FRESH MEAT 4,698.5 4,358.3 7.8 898.8 899.3 0.0

48 EGGS-FRESH 4,662.6 4,334.5 7.6 2,089.8 2,106.2 -0.8

49 NUTS 4,645.8 4,161.5 11.6 1,176.3 1,174.4 0.2

50 PERSONAL SOAP/BATH NEEDS 4,584.1 4,393.5 4.3 1,406.9 1,377.9 2.1


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51 PET CARE $4,539.2 $4,200.0 8.1% 785.6 767.2 2.4%

52 BREAKFAST FOODS 4,462.9 4,339.6 2.8 1,567.1 1,586.1 -1.2

53 LAUNDRY SUPPLIES 4,375.8 4,334.8 0.9 1,200.5 1,233.8 -2.7

54 SALAD DRESSINGS/MAYO/TOP 4,305.0 4,112.9 4.7 1,511.3 1,513.9 -0.2

55 TEA 4,071.8 3,852.1 5.7 1,668.2 1,596.8 4.5

56 BUTTER & MARGARINE 3,876.7 3,780.6 2.5 1,493.1 1,521.9 -1.9

57 KITCHEN GADGETS 3,825.4 3,596.5 6.4 1,090.1 1,068.5 2.0

58 SHAVING NEEDS 3,710.9 3,626.2 2.3 603.9 609.0 -0.8

59 HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS 3,699.7 3,663.0 1.0 1,142.4 1,163.6 -1.8

60 SHORTENING/OIL 3,610.4 3,382.4 6.7 786.8 792.8 -0.8

61 FROZEN NOVELTIES 3,603.5 3,490.9 3.2 1,158.5 1,192.4 -2.8

62 PAIN REMEDIES 3,563.3 3,722.3 -4.3 672.6 691.2 -2.7

63 PACKAGED MILKS & MODIFIERS 3,560.2 3,323.5 7.1 1,402.2 1,426.6 -1.7

64 JAMS/JELLIES/SPREADS 3,322.8 2,850.0 16.6 967.4 976.8 -1.0

65 BATTERY/FLASHLITE/CHARGE 3,236.5 3,147.5 2.8 537.5 551.6 -2.6

66 SPICES/SEASONING/EXTRACT 3,231.4 3,086.0 4.7 1,367.9 1,375.5 -0.6

67 HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES 3,070.2 3,065.5 0.2 765.5 783.6 -2.3

68 SUGAR/SUGAR SUBSTITUTES 2,909.0 2,803.8 3.8 937.2 938.1 -0.1

69 BAKING SUPPLIES 2,864.4 2,754.6 4.0 1,386.8 1,391.3 -0.3

70 IRST AID 2,798.5 2,733.6 2.4 800.7 797.6 0.4

71BUCKETS/BINS/BATH ACCESSORIES

2,772.0 2,690.8 3.0 438.2 438.1 0.0

72LIGHT BULBS TELEPHONE ACCESSORIES

2,700.4 2,451.5 10.2 356.2 371.4 -4.1

73 FRESHENERS/DEODORIZERS 2,659.5 2,574.9 3.3 1,005.2 979.8 2.6

74 BREAKFAST FOODS-FROZEN 2,651.4 2,465.9 7.5 826.7 818.9 1.0

75 DEODORANT 2,649.8 2,606.9 1.6 782.7 787.3 -0.6


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76 SANITARY PROTECTION $2,632.9 $2,581.7 2.0% 600.1 605.4 -0.9%

77MOTOR/VEHICLE CARE/ACCESSORIES

2,599.6 2,454.7 5.9 424.7 448.2 -5.2

78 DESSERTS/GELS/SYRUPS 2,308.0 2,279.3 1.3 1,436.1 1,478.0 -2.8

79 GUM 2,232.4 2,340.5 -4.6 1,441.3 1,509.9 -4.5

80 PASTA 2,218.4 2,151.9 3.1 1,559.4 1,620.2 -3.8

81 PICKLES/OLIVES/RELISHES 2,189.3 2,206.9 -0.8 1,025.2 1,043.8 -1.8

82 GROOMING AIDS 2,149.3 2,028.7 5.9 739.5 712.0 3.8

83 SEAFOOD-CANNED 2,145.7 2,087.7 2.8 1,365.0 1,479.4 -7.7

84 BAKING MIXES 2,126.3 2,043.3 4.1 1,291.1 1,334.1 -3.2

85 BAKED GOODS-FROZEN 2,101.1 2,036.9 3.2 667.7 675.3 -1.1

86 SOFT DRINKS-NON CARBONATED 2,045.5 1,975.1 3.6 1,525.4 1,540.7 -1.0

87 BABY NEEDS 1,940.1 1,990.8 -2.5 305.5 319.2 -4.3

88 FRUIT-DRIED 1,913.8 1,886.9 1.4 725.3 743.2 -2.4

89 FRUIT-CANNED 1,758.4 1,790.2 -1.8 1,132.3 1,215.3 -6.8

90 DESSERT/FRUIT/TOPS-FROZEN 1,723.8 1,595.8 8.0 547.0 544.3 0.5

91 VEGETABLES & GRAINS-DRY 1,620.1 1,551.2 4.4 587.3 601.4 -2.3

92 COOKWARE 1,398.5 1,373.3 1.8 273.5 274.2 -0.3

93 MAGAZINES SELECTED TITLE 1,385.0 1,539.7 -10.1 363.9 414.2 -12.1

94CANDLES/INCENSE & ACCESSORIES

1,340.2 1,344.1 -0.3 512.0 535.0 -4.3

95 CHARCOAL/LOGS/ACCESSORIES 1,153.1 1,207.3 -4.5 197.7 218.2 -9.4

96 INSECTICIDES REPELLANTS 1,101.2 1,090.7 1.0 229.7 232.4 -1.2

97 FAMILY PLANNING 943.2 919.3 2.6 83.8 83.2 0.7

98 FILM & CAMERAS 943.1 1,070.0 -11.9 27.9 36.5 -23.5

99 FRAGRANCES – WOMEN 869.4 800.6 8.6 100.7 91.5 10.1

100 FLOUR 849.7 777.8 9.2 322.3 330.3 -2.4


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2012* % CHG

1 COFFEE $8,205.2 19.4%

2 JAMS/JELLIES/SPREADS 3,322.8 16.6

3 NUTS 4,645.8 11.6

4 LIGHT BULBS TELEPHONE ACCESSORIES 2,700.4 10.2

5 YOGURT 6,366.7 9.5

6 FLOUR 849.7 9.2

7 FRAGRANCES - WOMEN 869.4 8.6

8 VITAMINS 9,024.2 8.5

9 LIQUOR 4,770.7 8.4

10 PET CARE 4,539.2 8.1

11 DESSERT/FRUIT/TOPS-FROZEN 1,723.8 8.0

12 FRESH MEAT 4,698.5 7.8

13 BOTTLED WATER 8,449.4 7.8

14 HOUSEWARES APPLIANCES 8,233.9 7.7

15 EGGS-FRESH 4,662.6 7.6

16 BREAKFAST FOODS-FROZEN 2,651.4 7.5

17 COSMETICS 5,555.9 7.4

18 SNACKS 20,930.7 7.3

19 PACKAGED MILKS & MODIFIERS 3,560.2 7.1

20 CHEESE 15,816.7 6.8

21 SHORTENING/OIL 3,610.4 6.7

22 WINE 8,797.9 6.6

23 KITCHEN GADGETS 3,825.4 6.4

24 GROOMING AIDS 2,149.3 5.9

25 MOTOR/VEHICLE CARE/ACCESSORIES 2,599.6 5.9

* In millions; for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 4, 2012 Source: Nielsen

Glaceau Vitaminwater Zero, Chobani, Prevacid, Bud Light Lime, Zyrtec and Arnold Select Sandwich Thins are six

very different products unifi ed by one impor-tant trait — they all achieved the highest level of new product success on Nielsen’s recent “Breakthrough Innovation Report.”

The fi rm analyzed 11,000 new product in-troductions in the United States from 2008 to 2010 to gain insight into why the vast majority of products fail and others — 34 to be exact — go on to achieve success. The items men-tioned above fall into the latter camp because they generated two-year cumulative sales in excess of $200 million and were designated as Platinum innovation leaders.

Sixteen other products were designated as Gold innovation leaders thanks to two-year sales in the range of $100 million to $200 mil-lion. Another 12 other products with sales in the $50 million to $100 million range were desig-nated as Silver. Regardless of which precious metal is used to signify innovation, Nielsen de-termined each product on the elite list satisfi ed four essential innovation requirements:

• Distinctiveness: Breakthrough innova-tion requires delivering on a new value proposition, which is why Nielsen exclud-ed from its assessment brand restages, ingredient reformulations, line extensions and packaging and size changes.

• Relevance: To even be considered as a Breakthrough Innovation Leader, a prod-uct had to generate fi rst-year sales in excess of $25 million.

• Category Impact: Innovation leaders had to outperform the sales velocity of the av-erage product in their category and either help grow the overall category or mean-ingfully alter the competitive landscape.

• Endurance: Breakthrough innova-tion isn’t a one-year proposition from

Nielsen: New products’ path to glory50 FASTEST-GROWING CATEGORIES

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2012* % CHG

26 COOKIES/ICE CREAM CONES $6,677.8 5.7%

27 TEA 4,071.8 5.7

28 CANDY 15,074.1 5.5

29 ICE CREAM 5,105.2 5.1

30 SPICES/SEASONING/EXTRACT 3,231.4 4.7

31 SALAD DRESSINGS/MAYO/TOP 4,305.0 4.7

32 FRESH PRODUCE 21,889.4 4.5

33 VEGETABLES & GRAINS-DRY 1,620.1 4.4

34 WRAPPING MATERIALS AND BAGS 5,037.1 4.3

35 PERSONAL SOAP/BATH NEEDS 4,584.1 4.3

36 BAKING MIXES 2,126.3 4.1

37 BAKING SUPPLIES 2,864.4 4.0

38 BEER 13,010.7 3.9

39 SUGAR/SUGAR SUBSTITUTES 2,909.0 3.8

40 SOFT DRINKS-NON CARBONATED 2,045.5 3.6

41 FRESHENERS/DEODORIZERS 2,659.5 3.3

42 PREPARED FOODS-DRY MIXES 5,822.1 3.3

43 FROZEN NOVELTIES 3,603.5 3.2

44 BAKED GOODS-FROZEN 2,101.1 3.2

45 PASTA 2,218.4 3.1

46 BUCKETS/BINS/BATH ACCESSORIES 2,772.0 3.0

47 CRACKERS 4,923.5 2.9

48 MEDICATIONS/REMEDIES 12,657.7 2.9

49 HAIR CARE 7,826.0 2.9

50 BREAKFAST FOODS 4,462.9 2.8

* In millions; for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 4, 2012 Source: Nielsen

Nielsen’s perspective. That’s why the elite group of products recognized as leaders were required to show staying power by achieving at least 90% of their fi rst-year sales in the second year.

This last point arguably is the most impor-tant because it weeds out products that start strong but don’t fi nish. The emphasis on en-durance also differentiates Nielsen’s assess-ment of innovation from other reports on new product success, which tend to focus on fi rst year sales. However, only one-third of new products are able to sustain their sales from year one, according to Vicki Gardner, the In-novation Report’s co-author and Nielsen SVP product innovation. She contends there is too much focus in the industry on fi rst-year sales as the benchmark of success.

“You should not hold up year one success as a good example of innovation,” Gardner said. “Year two is the most important year of innovation.”

That’s why Nielsen’s “Breakthrough Inno-vation Report” only refl ects industry standouts through the end of 2010. Products launched in 2011 can be measured on such attributes as distinctiveness, relevance and category impact, but their endurance won’t be known until the end of 2012 when second-year sales are tallied. ■

You should not hold up year one success as a good example of innovation. Year two is the most important year of innovation.

— Vicki Gardner, Nielsen

50 FASTEST-GROWING CATEGORIES

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