The ultimate guide to Category Management

Retail is changing faster than ever this decade. The power has shifted to the shopper, and only strong retail brands, with professional Category Management and excellent execution will be able to grow profitably. Category Management is needed to build a strong retail format and brand. Categories fulfill different roles from traffic builder to routine or destination category and must add value to the retail brand.

We believe that intensive cooperation between retailers and suppliers is necessary to perform this task well. This requires understanding and skills from both parties. And with The guide to Category Management, we offer a guideline to professionalize your Category Management. Whether you are a category manager, format manager, sales manager, marketer or a trade marketer, you have to deal with the retailer’s Category Management. We look at this specialism from the retailer’s perspective, and that is why it is also very suitable for anyone who wants to do business with that retailer. We discuss all aspects that have to do with Category Management. This leads to sharp observations and spicy conclusions.

Hundreds of international companies made Category Management into what it is today. Our first guidebook was initially written in 2006, around the 10th anniversary of ECR Netherlands (part of GS1) – with the help of dozens of specialists from retailers and suppliers. In 2014, this book has been completely revised and updated with new cases and insights. Among other things, the growing role of online shopping and more detailed information about the shopper added an extra dimension and emphasized growth opportunities. In 2017 this international edition is published.

For this book, the authors Jan-Willem Grievink (food-chain expert) and Evelyn van Leur (Category Management and Trade Marketing expert) have linked their expertise to the practical experiences of many Category Management specialists from food and non-food retail chains.