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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Waukesha, Wisconsin, February 27, 2018 – Hamacher Resource Group, Inc.’s (HRG’s) New Item Review team, in its ongoing evaluation of products suitable for the independent pharmacy channel, evaluated 2,485 new health, beauty, and wellness items in 2017. The number of items reviewed was down roughly 1% over the 2016 figure of 2,685. The three-year average of new items reviewed by HRG is 2,525.
Using the company’s Star Rating System, the team awarded one to three Stars to 196 of those products believed to have the highest potential for success in independent pharmacies. Beauty products entering the market had the highest number of new item entries – which has been true the last three years – with 1,257 products reviewed and 27% earning Stars, compared to 20% in 2016. While items classified as OTC had the lowest quantity of new products introduced at 307, they had the highest percentage of Stars awarded at 33%, as they did in 2016 with 49% of the Stars awarded. In the wellness segment there were 921 products reviewed and 40% received HRG Stars, up from 32% in 2016.
Of the top five categories in independent pharmacy (Diabetes, Pain Relief, Digestive Health, Cold & Allergy, and Vitamins & Dietary Supplements), 614 new items were reviewed, and from those items, 14.5% received a HRG Star Rating. Three of those items were awarded HRG’s coveted Three-Star Rating. Colleen Volheim, category research and analysis manager at HRG, commented, “Independent pharmacies should add the products that received a One-, Two-, or Three-Star Rating to all appropriate size departments without delay to take advantage of the sales potential they offer.”
Volheim continued, “As in 2017, products that are trending hot out of the gates for 2018 are items containing lidocaine. The addition of lidocaine to new products has extended into categories beyond Pain Relief, such as Digestive Health. These products continued to stimulate sales, as did Rx-to-OTC launches in the Cold & Allergy category.”
HRG analysts take a completely objective approach to reviewing new items. Whether a product receives one or more Stars is based on an analysis against five criteria: product innovation, promotional support, category growth, product orientation, and earning potential. For an item to receive at least one HRG Star, the product must be well-rounded and achieve high scores in most of the five areas.
About Hamacher Resource Group
Hamacher Resource Group focuses on improving results for product manufacturers, healthcare distributors, retailers, technology partners, and other organizations by addressing dynamic needs such as assortment planning and placement, retail execution strategy, fixture coordination, item database management, brand marketing, and analytics. Founded in 1980, HRG is a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise headquartered in Greater Milwaukee, and was named a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s 2017 Top Workplace. Visit hamacher.com for more information.
