Pear Bureau Northwest names Publix Pear Retailer of the Year

Pear Bureau Northwest, the nonprofit marketing organization that represents the 1,600 fresh pear growers of Oregon and Washington, has named Publix as the 2014 Pear Retailer of the Year for its outstanding pear merchandising activities. 

Publix is being recognized with this award due to their successful implementation of pear merchandising tactics that resulted in substantial increases in pear sales and volume over the past year. By implementing proven pear merchandising strategies, Publix has taken advantage of the profit opportunity that pears offer at retail. 

According to Kevin D. Moffitt, president and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest, Publix achieved this outstanding level of success in the category by implementing several innovative pear merchandising tactics. “Offering shoppers two green pears simultaneously, Bartlett and Anjou, was one of the top tactics that Publix introduced over the past year to see their pear sales really soar,” said Moffitt. “Recent research that we conducted shows that retailers that carry these two varieties at the same time results in a 7% sales increase over stores that offer only one green pear.”

Moffitt also noted that Publix implements other pear merchandising best practices, like offering ripe pears on display, maintaining large multi-variety pear displays positioned at the front of the produce department, and utilizing secondary displays to increase visibility for this high impulse purchase fruit. In addition, they offer bagged pears to attract savvy shoppers. “Publix has shown how good pear merchandising increases sales, and in their case that meant substantial increases in pear sales over the past year,” said Moffitt.

Garry Bergstrom, Business Development Director of Produce and Floral at Publix, accepted this award on behalf of the company. “It is an honor to be the recipient of this award, and we look forward to continued growth and success in the pear category in the future.” 

The Pear Retailer of the Year Award was established by Pear Bureau Northwest in 2011. Past honorees were Demoula’s Market Basket (2011), Meijer (2012), and Ingles (2013). The Pear Bureau’s team of regional marketing managers selects the annual recipient based on sales performance, creativity in pear merchandising, and overall excellence in supporting the pear category. The Pear Bureau also celebrates “Top Performers” in the pear category, and honorees for 2014 are Ahold USA Inc., Big Y Supermarkets, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Dierbergs Markets, Hannaford Bros. Company, Hy-Vee Food Stores, The Kroger Co., Rouses Supermarkets, Sprouts Farmers Market, Wegmans Food Markets, and WinCo Foods.

Pear Bureau Northwest partners with grocery retailers nationwide in an effort to increase overall success with the pear category. The organization provides marketing and merchandising expertise that is customized specifically for each retail organization, using its pear consumer research findings as well as individual store analysis using an in-house data system that measures pear category performance nationwide.

Pear Bureau Northwest is a non-profit marketing organization established in 1931 to promote the fresh USA Pears grown in Washington and Oregon, home to 84% of the US fresh pear crop. The Bureau represents 1,600 growers and develops national and international markets for Northwest pear distribution. 

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