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Retailers and Suppliers Connect Through Federated Show

The Federated Show, held July 21-23 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, is a place for retailers to connect with their suppliers through Federated, but it offers more than networking opportunities.

Doug Sheets
Doug Sheets

At the show suppliers get the chance to meet with 40 customers in just two days, making it a cost-effective venue for them, Doug Sheets, COO for Federated, tells Geoff Welch of The Shelby Report.

“Having an opportunity to come to this show, meet with these customers in 15-minute increments—It’s a pretty busy day, but over time…it ends up clicking,” Sheets says.

Federated provides more than a venue for suppliers to meet with their customers; the company offers several vertically integrated private-brand services, including a finished goods consolidation facility—Golden Bay Foods—that can make buying more efficient. According to Sheets, customers who use Golden Bay Foods routinely create purchases that have the products from 16 suppliers with up to 68 line items.

“We’re able to ship bulkhead, combining dry and frozen,” he says. “It’s a supply chain efficiency that ends up creating a lot of value, particularly for small- to medium-sized customers who benefit from the consolidation of suppliers and items.”

In terms of marketing, Federated’s creative arm, SailPointe Creative Group, puts design at the forefront to make private- label brands appealing.

“They do all of our proprietary package design,” Sheets says. “I’m not talking about the engineering components; I’m ­referring to the creative side of things. Our suppliers provide the package die lines and our SailPointe Creative Group ends up creating the design and applying it to the die lines.”

While trends in private label are similar to those in other segments, Sheets says it’s a good time to be in private label ­because of the increased demand from consumers. “Obviously, we’re very fortunate to be in this industry as it continues to evolve and actually grow,” Sheets tells the Report. “It’s gaining more traction. Consumers are becoming more aware and ­accepting, and that’s a critical component of it.”

Sheets adds that the trend toward private label isn’t isolated to chain stores; retailers of all sizes are “recognizing that having a private brand is critical for them to gain some greater margins, but also to create some kind of loyalty with that ­consumer, differentiate their store from someone else.”

In January, Federated will host its winter show in January at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

“We always look forward to our shows,” Sheets says. “It just creates a great venue for everybody to get together and ­establish the relationship but also get a lot of business done.”

Featured Photos

Featured Photo PLMA Annual Private Label Trade Show
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Chicago, Illinois
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