Taming the evil empires

An interesting article in the Financial Times (registration req'd) today, suggests that maybe supermarkets are not quite as evil as they are often portrayed, especially for the small producer.  Talk about counter-intuitive.

The article focuses on Gü, W. Jordan Cereals and James White Drinks as case-studies of small companies that have focused their marketing efforts on supermarkets and thrived as a result.  In the three examples given, the CEOs argue that for small producers of high-quality food items, supermarkets can be the ideal outlet.  The most attractive element of supermarkets for producers are the potential sales.  These are helped along by the more-or-less centralised procurement process: If a supermarket wants to stock a particular line, the producer is assured of sales in multiple stores around the country.

We regularly hear that supermarkets are not good for small producers.  However, as I have written previously, producers, especially farmers, need to take some responsibility for their problems.  As the examples in the FT article demonstrate, savvy marketing goes a long way.

None of the producers quoted in the article say that dealing with supermarkets is a walk in the park.  One of the biggest problems appears to be the ability to scale-up production to meet supermarket demand.  However, they also make clear none of the problems are insurmountable, they simply require careful thought.  The rewards for this seem obvious.

I was particularly interested by a quote from Bill Jordan, CEO of W. Jordan Cereals, in the article, where he cautions against allowing supermarkets to walk all over suppliers.  He suggests that "There are some situations where you have to say:'Sorry, I can't do it.'" If you read books like Joanna Blythman's Shopped, you get the impression this is all but impossible when dealing with a supermarket buyer.  However, if a cereal maker can do it, surely a farmer can as well.

Comments

[Trig]

The Black Farmer is a good example, although I suspect the fact that he's both a marketing expert and a Tory prospective candidate may have swayed a few supermarket directors. Good sausages, though.

[Silverbrow]

Trig, thanks for that. I'm not sure about the political affiliations, but I'm sure his marketing know-how has played a part.

[Joel]

I would argue that Jordan's is not such a small company though... I come from a family farm and it's pretty hard dealing with the supermarkets as a lone operator as they can just ride rough-shot over you Farmers have to club to gether into co-operatives to have any clout with the supermarkets, but they often find this hard to do...I think Farmer's Markets for great niche produce is the best way forward and the fairest for quality British farmers.

[Silverbrow]

Joel, I agree that it's tough and I know the supermarkets do ride rough-shod, but clearly there are examples where small suppliers can work with the supermarkets.

I also agree that farmers markets are great, but I can appreciate that not all farmers will want to use them. I would have thought some sort of co-op, maybe by region, or product, should be able to work, if there is the desire.