Commentary

Commentary From Our President The New Year will bring more Quality Control and Product Safety for Non-Foods Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. The year 2010 was the worst in history for product recalls in non-foods.  Categories included HBC, toys, cosmetics, plastics and others amounting to millions of dollars in extra cost, [...]

Commentary From Our President Celebrate the Holidays with Supermarket Non-Foods Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. This year’s holiday store traffic is expected to be the best it’s been in a long time, and there’s plenty of opportunity to help customers celebrate the season. Supermarkets are a good source for gift buying. [...]

Commentary From Our President General Merchandise: Still Bringing in Sales & Profits in a Big Way Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. Pet food is a $6.2 billion/yr. business in supermarkets, outranking such major categories as cold cereals, frozen dinners and bottled water. The total pet industry claims a figure of $10 [...]

Commentary From Our President General Merchandise: Still Bringing in Sales & Profits in a Big Way Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. Though General Merchandise continues to be an important contributor to supermarket sales and profits, three dynamics are challenging General Merchandise categories with increasing intensity: Products outdated by technology, a tougher [...]

Commentary From Our President Fond Memories of Gerry D’Amour Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. I was first introduced to Gerry D’Amour in the late fifties by my father’s younger brother Arnold Sleeper, who owned a Health and Beauty Aid rack jobbing business in Springfield, Mass.  Both he and Gerry returned home [...]

Commentary From Our President New Items Create Sales Gains and Excitement in Non-Foods Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. New product launches have been scarce for non-foods over the past few years.  Although line extensions with product enhancements have been significant, HBC has not seen new block-buster items, while GM has had winners [...]

Commentary From Our President Helping Non-Foods Become a Better Category Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. Sometimes I feel General Merchandise and Health & Beauty Care isn’t getting as much attention these days as it should. Even a highly rated consultant, whom we admire, hardly ever mentions GM/HBC in his dispatches to [...]

Commentary From Our President 3 Steps to Boost HBC Performance Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. Unless you are highly focused on your Health & Beauty Care (HBC) department, you might think the department’s sales are satisfactory, especially considering the state of the economy. But the reality is that supermarkets are losing HBC [...]

Commentary From Our President Congratulations to Ralph Crowley Jr, MFA Person of the Year Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. One of Worcester’s favorite sons, Ralph Crowley Jr., CEO of Polar Beverages, is incredibly deserving and a wonderful choice to receive this year’s MFA Person of the Year Award which will be [...]

Commentary From Our President Breathing New Life into HBC/GM and Seasonal Non-Foods…. It CAN be Done!!! Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc. In a recent business review for a strong six store independent, I was extremely pleased to see same store, year-over-year Non-Food sales up by 10%. The results were even more stunning [...]