Seafood department managers have one of the toughest retail jobs. They are tasked with ordering the correct amount of fresh seafood daily and keeping their department’s costs down, while posting profits. In the last two years of a tough economy, many developed new marketing programs and sourced different products to grow sales.
Among the most challenging responsibilities for retail seafood buyers is keeping seafood prices low for customers, even as grocers’ expenses — including labor and commodities — rise. Seafood managers recognize that, once prices hit a certain level, many shoppers cut back on seafood purchases or switch to other proteins altogether.
“With salmon, for example, if we break the $10-a-pound barrier, that will hurt our sales. For fresh tuna, we are scared to break the barrier of $20 a pound,” says Scott Nettles, meat and seafood director for United Supermarket of Lubbock, Texas.
Steady seafood pricing is necessary to keep long-term business, some grocers say. “Retailers must keep prices affordable: The business cannot grow long-term with unit decreases. At times you must sacrifice to maintain units and look at the business over the long term and not on an annual basis,” says Maria Brous, a spokesperson for Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix Super Markets.
Out of all the perishable departments in U.S. grocery stores, seafood prices remained the steadiest in 2010, falling 0.3 percent for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 25, according to The Perishables Group in Chicago. Prices in the deli, meat and produce departments also remained flat or decreased only slightly, while bakery department prices increased slightly at 0.9 percent.
Supermarket executives say they kept most seafood retail prices steady or lower in 2010 to spur sales and eliminate waste.
“Seafood is one of our higher shrink departments. If you go up [in price] too much, there is too much shrink,” says Nettles.
Click here to read the rest of the feature on controlling seafood costs at the retail level. Written by SeaFood Business and SeafoodSource Associate Editor Christine Blank, the story appeared in the February issue of SeaFood Business magazine.
