Retail Merchandising Strategy on cards

One of the main factors undermining the purchase of local produce is poor visibility in-store and on-shelf as said by Team Namibia in their latest report for September 2014 following accumulation of information derived from their 2013 Stakeholder Survey.
Team Namibia said that although 83.5% of respondents in their survey declared they would buy the Namibian option of products, 47% of customers indicated that they were unaware which products or services were indeed Namibian.
Team Namibia said, “Through the Namibia Trade Forum, the proposed Namibian Retail Charter seeks to increase market access, while retailers have, according to the Namibia Competition Commission’s 2014 Retail Sector Study, welcomed the ‘Buy Namibian’ initiative as marketing support.”

In response to the plight,Team Namibia has responded by developing a ‘Retail Merchandising Strategy’, with the objective of gaining a sustainable competitive advantage for Namibian products and services, by creating a captivating and impactful shopping experience that inspires consumer pride, preference and ultimately, purchase.
For the strategy to come into play a process of inclusive industry consultation is required to determine the needs and parameters that will guide execution. Stakeholders have been invited to a consultative workshop which will take place on 23 October at the Polytechnic Hotel School.
Meanwhile, Team Namibia endeavours to go to market with the pilot strategy, December 2014. The piloting retailers will be selected voluntarily, initially limited to the Fast-Moving-Consumer-Goods industry, in three regions namely Khomas, Erongo and Oshana.