The VendingMarketWatch Blog is a forum for insights into the vending, micro market and coffee service industry from Automatic Merchandiser Editor Emily Refermat and featured industry guests. Published weekly, the topics vary from regulatory issues to social media marketing, all related to the vending industry and honing in on the specific aspects of vending, micro markets and office coffee service.
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Ode To The Family Business
By Emily Refermat - Thursday May 16, 2013
Many people feel nostalgic about a family business. They dream of spending time with their loved ones everyday while also providing for them financially. They believe it will cement relationships, foster a positive sense of morale and produce a strong organization with people who all have the same goal. Not to mention lead to a legacy that can be passed on to the next generation. For some, this is the case. However, my experience with a family business has taught me that relatives and employment shouldn’t mix. For one thing there are the holiday dinners. Over turkey, three individuals are discussing the day’s sales, the problem customers and arguing about marketing strategies. They do this while other members sip wine and try... -
Slender Vender Criticism Uncalled For
By Alfonso Flores - Thursday May 9, 2013
Recently Coca-Cola released a 7-inch width Diet Coke vending machine cleverly named the “Slender Vender.” The ad accompanying the ultra-thin machine depicted it in places such as between treadmills at gyms and between lanes at bowling alleys, among others. The first thing that came to mind when seeing the “Slender Vender” was its unique design. The design of a soda machine has been the same for a number of years. Sure, things have been added for convenience and they have been modified to look more modern, but the size has pretty much been the same forever. When I saw the Slender Vender, I thought a machine like this could really benefit the vending industry. It could lead to a more versatile machine that is sleek and eye-catching... -
Just What We Need – More Competition!
By Paul Schlossberg - Tuesday May 7, 2013
The Columbus Dispatch featured an article “ Drugstores become shopping ‘destinations,’ with fresh food and more ” about this relatively new development. According to Rite Aid’s chief operating officer, Ken Martindale, “Drugstores are trying to figure out what their role is. We’re in a new environment where everyone is selling everything.” Walgreens, including their Duane Reade chain, is creating destination drug stores offering a wide array of product and services. They have six flagship stores across the country. I’ve been to the Duane Reade store at 40 Wall Street in New York’s Financial District. It is a retail wonder. You can see what they’ve accomplished from a video report of their grand opening reception... -
A Point Of No Return
By Emily Refermat - Thursday May 2, 2013
This year’s NAMA OneShow was filled with optimism. As I walked around and talked to attendees, I got the sense that we’ve reached a turning point as an industry. Gone are the days when an operator would stop, and during our discussion about payment systems, say: “Cashless is stupid, these young people just need to learn to carry cash.” An operator actually did say this to me at one of my first tradeshows. Instead, operators filled the room at the V-engineering session to learn about the technological innovations in the vending industry. I spoke with a number of operators who came to the show to investigate telemetry units, the return on investment for cashless, micro market systems and several other vending industry... -
Don't Give Up On Vending
By Emily Refermat - Thursday April 18, 2013
Fact of life No. 71: everyone likes new and exciting. Because of that fact, we hear (or in my case report) a lot on the new stuff in the industry. Lately, it has been micro markets, and don't get me wrong -- they are terrific. In the right location with the right service, they can really increase revenues. And they are nothing but new and exciting for operators and locations alike. But in my opinion, micro markets will never take over the quintessential vending machine -- the hero of the late night cramming college student or starving office worker who has 10 minutes before the next meeting. Why won't vending machines fade to be some obscure piece of equipment we see in reruns – like the rotary landline telephone? First and foremost...
