Supermarkets streamline to constrain shrink

As the culprit of millions of dollars in annual losses in fresh seafood departments, shrink is proba…

As the culprit of millions of dollars in annual losses in fresh seafood departments, shrink is probably retailers’ most elusive problem. As a result, many seafood retailers — along with their distributors — have developed programs and techniques to combat waste.

Things began to turn around in the world of fresh seafood shrink after the 2008 economic crash forced the issue. Reducing waste in every facet of retail became an absolute necessity.

As a result, many supermarket chains began carrying fewer varieties of fresh seafood, cut down on the amount of seafood purchased or both. They stepped up their use of technology to track seafood purchases and shrink. Whereas in the past, supermarket seafood departments offered nearly every kind of seafood item their customers might request, seafood directors and buyers now understand that it is OK for customers to wait on a unique item that needs to be special-ordered.

“We tried to be all things to all people. If two or three customers asked for Dover sole, we would start carrying it,” says Scott Nettles, senior director of perishables for Lubbock, Texas-based United Supermarkets.

But around two years ago, United undertook a massive “SKU rationalization” effort in its fresh seafood department, examining the volume of each species sold weekly. “We used to have 70 to 80 different SKUs in some of our cases and we have cut back to around 30 items. We now carry the best-selling items, which made our sales go up and increased our [product turnover],” Nettles says.