Cross-merchandising propels licensed goods - Retailing & Entertainment

Discount Store News, June 19, 1995 by Yaquoi Moore

Entertainment ideas are turning into great cross-merchandising campaigns. Creative ideas are coming from movies and television concepts. With the help of cross-merchandising, retailers and vendors, as well as customers, are reaping the benefits of this collaboration.

Licensed properties are one of the hottest factors in cross-merchandising. "Licensing products can sell through more quickly than the average branded product that retailers will carry. It is much more of an impulse buy because you want to collect the whole set and not just one piece of the product program," said Jean Wyman, executive director of domestic licensing for Twentieth Century Fox.

Cross-merchandising is the most efficient tool for exposing a product to a tremendous amount of consumers. By forging partnerships, both retailers and vendors can increase sales and add to their consumer base. However, not every product can be cross-merchandised.

The benefits for vendors and retailers that cross-merchandise are numerous. "Cross-merchandising is good for retailers for the same reason it is good for licensors, it gives a better look to the display of products, encourages sales and shows consumers that there is commitment to the product. It encourages consumers to buy more," said Wyman.

Cross-merchandising means not only more add-on sales for retailers and manufacturers, and even more exposure for products or properties, but it allows a manufacturer and a retailer to be creative and pull more customers into the stores.

"Cross-merchandising helps because the impact of the products is much stronger when different categories are displayed. It shows the customer the scope of the property," said Wyman.

If grabbing the attention of customers is important to retailers, then getting the attention of retailers is of equal importance to suppliers. "Cross-merchandising is so important because shelf space is so dear now. Buyers are very careful as to what products they will put on the shelves because space is of value," said Neil Newman, vp of consumer products for Viacom, whose new property, "Congo The Movie," was released June 9.

As a result, vendors now more than ever must have a program in place before they go to retailers.

"We involve retailers in the beginning of the solicitation stage where licensees are being sought. Retailers are conservative, but a good product is a good product, and you just have to convince them that the product will do well," said Newman.

Also, if consumers don't spend their money, neither will retailers. At a time when consumers are constantly watching their purse strings, partnerships between vendors and retailers must be formed to find exciting new alternatives to persuade customers to buy certain products. Bradlees and X-AM are doing exactly that. Bradlees and X-AM parent company Sun Apparel will be rolling out two X-AM shops, one in New York City and the other in Yonkers, N.Y.

"Bradlees was looking for something to differentiate them in the product mix from other retailers, and we were looking at the fact that we wanted real estate and creativity," said Michelyn Camen, executive vp of marketing for Sun Apparel. The New York X-AM shop opened for Father's Day and the Yonkers shop won't be far behind.

"The idea for the shops is that Bradlees wanted to be the first to have a full-size shop. It was done in other stores, but not on a large scale," said George Bruce, senior vp of store design and visual merchandising for Bradlees.

The X-AM shops mix the concept of one stop shopping with the wide range of products that are a part of young people's lives.

The shops will involve the cross-merchandising of "men's and women's multi-lifestyle products such as music CDs, magazines, DC comics, and in the ladies' area, magazines such as Sassy, Teen and music and cosmetics like Jane," as well as jeans and T-shirts, said Camen. There will be two shops, one catering to young men and the other geared towards young women.

The focus of the shops will be apparel, noted Camen. But at the same time, "what we want to accomplish is tying into the successes of other important marketers offering consumer lifestyle in one stop."

Retailer involvement is crucial to most cross-merchandising success. "To ensure that the products will sell, we have an ongoing process where we are updating buyers as to what is happening with the movie because the earlier retailers know about the properties, the better they will understand it," said Newman.

"The retail presentations we are offering will be different for everyone to suit their needs. We have planned a nationwide themed contest in conjunction with Sailor Moon appearances--these are all in the presentation process," said Joy Tashjian, president of worldwide merchandising for DIC Entertainment LP.

"Sailor Moon" is a syndicated animated adventure series DIC is launching that will premier the second week of September. "Sailor Moon" is revolutionary in the sense that young girls are the primary audience.

Comparisons to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will inevitably be made. However, unlike Power Rangers, which is skewed to both girls and boys, Sailor Moon is aimed at girls. "Sailor Moon is targeted to young girls between the ages of 3 to 8 or 9," said Tashjian.