Ingles Picked as Pear Bureau NW Top Retailer

Pear Bureau Northwest, the nonprofit marketing organization that represents the 1,600 fresh pear growers of Oregon and Washington, has named Ingles as its 2013 Pear Retailer of the Year for its outstanding merchandising efforts that resulted in an 86 percent comparable sales increase.

“Offering ripe pears on display was one of the top tactics that Ingles used to see pear sales at this level,” said Kevin D. Moffitt, president and CEO of the Portland, Ore.-based Pear Bureau Northwest. The Black Mountain, N.C.-based regional retailer also maintained multi-variety pear displays positioned at the front of the produce department, as well as secondary displays to increase visibility for this high impulse purchase fruit, noted Moffit, adding that Ingles also introduced bagged pears to attract value shoppers.

“We are honored to receive this award, and look forward to continued success in the pear category,” said Jim Ray, Ingles’ VP of produce operations.

As an industry leader engaged in educating shoppers in stores and online with the expertise of their supermarket dietitian, Leah McGrath, RD, “Ingles has demonstrated how good pear merchandising increases sales, and in their case that meant an impressive 86 percent sales increase compared to the previous year,” said Moffit, who will make a formal presentation to Ingles’ produce leaders at the Pear Bureau Northwest/USA Pears booth during the upcoming PMA Fresh Summit in New Orleans, October 18-20, 2013.

The Pear Retailer of the Year Award was established by Pear Bureau Northwest in 2011. Past honorees were Demoulas Market Basket (2011) and Meijer (2012). The Pear Bureau’s team of regional marketing managers selects the annual recipient based on sales performance, creativity in pear merchandising, and overall excellence in supporting the pear category.