A Dog of a Deal

As a producer of displays and retail merchandising fixtures, VI often finds new business opportunities when members of its sales force visit retailers and walk through the store examining in market displays and other merchandising vehicles. This approach led them to their most recent partnership with Royal Canin breed-specific dog and cat foods. 

Aaron Rooney, account executive for VI’s Southwest region, was performing site visits and conducting research in Fort Smith, Ark., when he stumbled across a bag of Royal Canin in a small veterinary clinic he was visiting looking for distribution on another companies products. “I pulled the bag off a small, rickety wire display, turned it over, and realized the brand marketer was in my territory,” Rooney said. He wasted no time contacting the display manager, Rob Snead, at Royal Canin to make an appointment.

Rooney showed Snead VI’s Flash sales presentation and suggested a couple of improvements for Royal Canin"s display presence at retail. At that point, Snead looked up with a big smile and said, "I think your timing is really great."

After listening to the customer’s needs, VI’s engineering group, led by Jim Bell, produced a display that met Royal Canin’s complex criteria:

• Must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Must fit through ADA single doors while fully assembled
• Must have casters to allow the display to be rolled in and then moved for routine floor cleaning
• Must have large logos to get shoppers’ attention
• Must have a flexible literature system for changing out educational materials about pet nutrition
• Must have an adjustable lighted cornice for reading the literature while allowing for varying ceiling heights.

Ultimately, VI’s ability to develop a custom display and provide superior service edged them past a key rival and resulted in a partnership with Royal Canin. “VI’s display had proven more durable within retail venues and exceeded the marketing team"s vision of projecting the brand image by means of a merchandising vehicle,” Pagan said.

The next time you are out shopping for pet food at a retail store or visiting a veterinary clinic and see the red Royal Canin unit, you will know how it got there. Pet lovers, buy a few bags of the Royal Canin brand pet foods and support the companies that support EBSCO!