& Dollars Sense 14 Spray December 2015 AvA CAridAd Editorial director A U.S. filler markets directly to the Dollar Store channel Over the past decade, the top three dollar store retailers have seen an average rate of 10% annual growth in sales, and their total store count has gone from 13,000 in 2003 to over 21,000 in 2013 and growing, according to market analyst McKinsey & Co. It’s expected that the category will grow by another $12 billion by 2016, an annual rate of 8.1% compared to 4.2% for grocery and 3.7% for Walmart. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just shoppers in the lower reaches of the economic spectrum who find dollar stores appealing. During the economic downturn, the dollar channel not only attracted low income consumers, but also those in higher tax brackets, as these consumers experimented with lower price alternatives to their normal stores. According to McKinsey’s September 2012 Consumer Economic Sentiment survey, 14% of Americans earning $75,000 a year and up say they are spending more at dollar stores, while greater numbers are spending less at other venues. That’s the good news. In February, the Louisville, KY Business Insider published an article on Family Dollar, 99 Cents Only, Dollar Tree and Dollar General stores that stated that products sold at the stores had, “up to 81% toxic” products out of 100. The research on the toxic levels of merchandise sold at Family Dollar and Dollar General was spear-headed by The Campaign for Healthier Solutions. The organization tested stores to complete its study and found that 133 of 164 randomly selected products contained toxic substances. Dollar Stores embrace sustainability score cards According to Kieran Callahan, Business Development Manager at UL I&I, there is enormous pressure on industry for safe, sustainable products, resulting in a rapid expansion of sustainability programs that often include “sustainability scorecards.” In his presentation at the recent Southern Aerosol Technical Association (SATA) Fall Meeting, Callahan explained the pressure on retailers, who are the ultimate pinch point for non-government organization (NGO) safety campaigns. Additionally, retailers are also under pressure to cut cost and increase sales. Major national brands are driving their own sustainability programs in reaction to retail sustainability programs. There is also pressure on suppliers as questionnaires being driven from the top down the supply chain make it difficult and costly to respond to data requests. Safety consulting and certification company UL’s WERCSmart (Supply-chain Management & Reporting Technology) was developed to provide major big-box retailers with quick access to comprehensive regulatory compliance data needed to better manage the chemical supply chain. This entails a centralized platform that enables a flow of regulatory data to and from the manufacturer. The WERCSmart proprietary regulatory engine then assesses the completeness of data and fills in the gaps to maintain local, national, and global regulatory compliance. However, it’s not just big-box retailers that utilize this information anymore. Participating retailers in the WERCSMart Platform now include Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores, according to Callahan. One filler responds… SPRAY spoke to Judy Albazi, President & CEO of aerosol filler Chase Products Co. of Broadview, IL about the company’s foray into filling products Ant & Roach Killer is one of several in the KillZone collection.
Spray December 2015
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