Unichem Ltd, in association with Procter & Gamble and Nutricia, has launched a campaign for members of its Community Pharmacy Initiative entitled "baby come back" which is aimed at increasing the market share of baby care products held by pharmacies. Unichem says its initial tests in pharmacies show that the programme can increase sales.
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Unichem says that trials of the programme show it can increase sales of baby products |
Mr Carruthers and Mr Sturton pointed out that pharmacy was taking a declining share of a growing baby care market. The market was worth £1.2bn but pharmacy had only 6.1 per cent of it. The new programme aimed to increase consumer awareness of the baby category, increase footfall by building loyalty, increase sales within the baby category and, as a result, increase sales across the whole pharmacy.
The "baby come back" programme was linked by strong point of sale and display materials. Participating pharmacies would be remerchandised using agreed planograms. The baby section was divided into baby food, baby bath, changing and accessories categories, each colour coded and clearly marked.
A number of promotional offers would be made through the programme and these would be supported by customised local advertising and in-store displays.
The programme has been on test since May in five community pharmacies. Two of the participants in the testing described the results in their pharmacies. Mr Mike Cox of Nuneaton said that he had seen immediate growth in baby category sales after the test started, reversing a previous decline. Promotions had resulted in strong growth for the products chosen. There had also been sales increases in other product categories including toiletries.
Mr Andrew Gush of Bridgend said that the test had had "a tremendous effect" on his pharmacy with large sales increases in baby food and nappies. There had been an overall 23 per cent increase in sales from his business
Further details of the programme are available from Unichem on 020 7371 0404.