Annex 1 - Questions for market research

Checklist for shop observations

_Ö_	What brands of the product are presently sold?
_Ö_	In what market segments?
_Ö_	In what size units?
_Ö_	In what quality?
_Ö_	What are the prices for each brand and size?
___	If similar products are on sale (e.g. if you are planning to sell orange juice - other types of fruit juice; if you are planning to sell potato chips or crisps - other types of snack food) what are the sizes, brands and prices of those?
___	Are the shelves full or does the product appear to be in short supply?
___	Are any promotions being done for the product you plan to produce or for similar products?
___	Is there any advertising for these products?
___	What type and quality of packaging is used by other brands?
___	What information is provided on the packages or labels?
___	What is your overall impression of the shop (including the staff)? Would it be a good place to sell your products?

Checklist for retailer interviews

Opening statement. “I am carrying out a study for the ABC company, which is thinking of producing a new product and selling it in this area through shops such as yours. As you sell this type of product do you mind if I ask you some questions, which will help our company decide whether or not to start producing it and, if so, where to sell it. Any information you give will be treated as confidential and only used to help us make a decision on whether or not to produce and how to market our products. Let me begin by asking...”

_Ö_	What products of this type do you sell?
_Ö_	Approximately what quantities of the product did you sell in the last 12-month period?
_Ö_	Do you sell more than one brand? If so can you say approximately how much of each brand you sold in the last 12 months?
_Ö_	How much of the product do you presently have in stock now?
_Ö_	In the last five years have your sales of this product been increasing or decreasing. If so, by how much? If there is an upwards or downwards trend in the overall total or for particular brands, can you suggest the reasons for this?
___	If you sell more than one size, can you say approximately how much of each size you sold in the last 12 months?
___	Do you stock all available sizes? If not, why not?
___	How do you get your supplies of this product? From the producer/importer, a wholesaler(s) (could you name them please?), other retailers? If you use more than one channel, what is your preferred method?
___	Approximately what quantities of similar products (e.g. all snack foods; all fruit juices) did you sell in the last 12 months?
___	Do sales of the product vary according to the time of the year? What are the reasons for this? Can you provide monthly sales figures?
___	Can you get enough of the product, or competing products, or is there sometimes a shortage? If the latter, do your suppliers give you any reasons for this?
___	Is the shortage said by suppliers to be a long-term problem or just temporary?
___	Are you aware of plans by producers or importers of similar products to increase the supply?
___	Would you be interested in stocking a new brand of the product? Under what conditions would you sell a new brand?
___	What do consumers say to you about the existing brands that you sell? Do they ever complain about the quality/packaging, etc. Do you think that a new product could sell well?
___	Which of the brands you sell do people prefer, and why do you think this is (quality, price, product appearance, packaging)?
___	What is the most important consideration for your customers? (price? quality? convenience? size?)
___	What do you pay your existing suppliers at present for each brand, size and quality?
___
___	At what prices do you sell these products?
___	Do you decide on the selling price or do you follow your suppliers’ recommendations? If you decide, how do you calculate your selling price? Do you follow the same mark-up for all products/brands or does the mark-up vary?
___	What mark-up would you apply to a new product?
___	What type of packaging would you prefer for this new product? Why?
___	Do you get complaints from customers about the containers used for other brands?
___	Would customers buy the product in different packaging, such as?
___	Do the brands you sell have “sell-by” or “use-by” dates? How long do they last? If so, what do you do with products if the date has expired? Can you return them to your supplier? Under what terms and conditions?
___	What quantities of your existing brands of the product do you take delivery of at any one time? How frequently do you receive deliveries?
___	If you agreed to sell a new brand of this product what are the minimum and maximum quantities of each size and type that you would accept delivery of at any one time?
___	How often would you expect deliveries to be made?
___	In what size of distribution containers (e.g. cardboard boxes) are other brands packed? How many retail packs are supplied in one container? Would you accept containers with less/more retail packs?
___	Do you accept deliveries at all times or only at certain times/on certain days?
___	When do you pay your suppliers? On delivery, at the next delivery, etc? How do you pay (cash, cheque)? If your suppliers give you credit, for how long?
___	In the past year, have any existing brands of the product carried out any form of promotion that you participated in, such as: · price reductions? · advertising? · free samples? · in-store displays? · other?
___	If so, please describe the arrangements under which you participated.
___	If the store displays advertisements you might ask... please explain why you display advertisements for these products and not others?

Checklist for wholesaler interviews

_Ö_	What area or “territory” do you cover? Are there similar wholesalers covering the same area?
_Ö_	What quantities of the product for each size unit and brand did you sell in the last 12-month period?
_Ö_	How much do you presently have in stock?
_Ö_	In the last five years have your sales of this product been increasing or decreasing. If so, by how much? If there is an upwards or downwards trend in the overall total or for particular brands, can you suggest the reasons for this?
_Ö_	Do you stock all available sizes? If not, why not?
___	What quantities of similar products (e.g. all snack foods; all fruit juices) did you sell in the last 12 months?
___	Can you get enough of the product, or competing products, or is there sometimes a shortage? If the latter, do your suppliers give you any reasons for this? Is the shortage said by suppliers to be a long-term problem or just temporary?
___	Are you aware of plans by any producers or importers of this product to increase the supply?
___	Would you be interested in stocking a new brand of the product? Would you attach any special conditions to selling a new brand?
___	If there is more than one wholesaler in the area you might ask... do you expect to be the only distributor of a particular brand?
___	Do you allow your suppliers to supply some retailers or caterers directly? If so, under what conditions?
___	What do retailers say to you about the existing brands of the product that you sell? Do they ever complain about the quality/packaging, etc. Do you think that a new product could sell well?
___	What do you pay your existing suppliers for each brand, size and quality?
___	At what prices do you sell these products?
___	Do you decide on the selling price or do you follow your suppliers’ recommendations? If you decide, how do you calculate your selling price? Do you follow the same mark-up for all products/brands or does it vary?
___	What mark-up would you apply to a new product?
___	If you agreed to sell a new brand what are the minimum and maximum quantities of each size and type that you could accept delivery of at any one time?
___	How often would you expect deliveries to be made?
___	In what size of distribution containers are other brands packed? How many retail packs are supplied in one container? Would you accept containers with less/more retail packs?
___	Do you accept deliveries at all times or only at certain times or on certain days?
___	When do you pay your suppliers? How do you pay (cash, cheque)? Do you expect your suppliers to give you trade credit? If so, for how long?
___	In the past year, have any existing brands of the product carried out any form of promotion that you participated in. If so, please describe the arrangements under which you participated.