PROFILE
David Biernbaum
Founder & President, David Biernbaum & Associates LLCDAVID BIERNBAUM is a consultant, master broker, national retail sales and business development professional, and marketing expert for consumer goods in the mass markets.
David Biernbaum…
Since 1977, is a consumer packaged goods professional in the field of marketing, retail sales, broker management, and business development.
Has a far-reaching background and resilient career building equity for major consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies…
…And also several start up’s and young companies, with national brands, niche brands, licensed, private label, and all types of specialty brands in HBC, OTC, GM, Oral Care, Non-Foods, and consumer electronics.
- At (GSK) Beecham; led initial launch of Aquafresh toothpaste, a major global brand.
- National leadership and new licensing agreements elevated Zooth Inc. to its market dominance leading to it’s acquisition by the Gillette Co. and then Procter and Gamble.
- As Senior VP, led Vi-Jon Laboratories to become a major force in HBC private label leading to its highly profitable merger and industry dominance the company still builds on even today.
- At The Gillette Company’s Oral B Laboratories; led sales forces through high-impact maneuvers often shattering record sales and breaking competition.
- Highly successful development of several niche and specialty brands; examples include TheraBreath, Fresh & Go, Milkscreen nursing products, Mineral Ice, and others.
- For major national companies such as Abbott Laboratories and Beecham Products; led regional launches for brand names such as Selsun Blue, Murine, Faultless, Tronolane, Cling Free Sheets, Calgon, Massengill, and Fruit Fresh.
- As a transition consultant for a new owner at Medallion Foods; took over as interim president then re-staffed the company with great results and lasting success.
- As COO at Ultradata Systems, Inc; licensed travel information computers to companies such as Rand McNally, AAA, Lucent Technologies, etc.
- Launched several oral care products in the mass markets to raise funds for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research organization.
David Biernbaum has written hundreds of columns for trade magazines such as MMR, Chain Drug Review, and PL Buyer, and currently David is a “BrainTrust” panel member at Retailwire.com, the very popular blog read every day by hundreds of retail executives.
Working directly with retail executives on numerous industry committees, David is also an instructor at colleges and he is a frequent speaker for industry seminars and panels.
Recently, David founded and developed the CPG Retail Professionals social networking group on LinkedIn. Services Performed:
- Sales, Marketing, Business Development and Consulting
- Master Broker: Chain Drug, Supermarket, Mass Merchandisers
- Complete All-In-One Sales/Management
- Hiring of all brokers nationwide and total broker management
- Expert sales presentation development
- Hands-On Retail Sales support
- Expert Consumer Goods Marketing
- Expertise with Market Analysis, Retail Planning, CPG Package Design, and Essential Sales materials.
- Comprehensive Business Planning
- Complete brand equity development
- Trade Shows development with expertise for ECRM, NACDS Marketplace, GMDC, and PLMA.
Consulting available by phone, e-mail, on-line. Consulting available at David’s office or client’s facility.
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- Posted on: 03/08/2023
Target makes it easier for customers to stay in their cars
This is an excellent move for Target, and for a period of time, at least until other retailers follow their lead, it will influence the choice consumers make to purchase products. - Posted on: 01/27/2023
Has it gotten harder to find a top notch retail CEO?
I think it might be harder to recruit a top-notch CEO because retail is changing so rapidly that almost nobody has the right experience. - Posted on: 01/27/2023
Is it time for retailers to radically rethink their business models?
Not all retailers need radical change but to survive long term, some do. What is critical to know, is which post-pandemic, and which generational trends, are likely to be long-term, vs. which are strictly in the "right now." Many times, trends that once appeared to be solid, came and went. Others stuck around “forever.” Trends likely to be here for at least a decade or two include the shift to e-commerce, door-delivery of foods and other consumer goods, and big department stores scaling down to smaller stores in strip malls. Private label tends to trend with the economy shifts, however, consumers are becoming better educated about “sameness” with national brands (in most cases, not all) and national brands are losing their edge on innovation, perception of higher quality, and exposure, because advertising is more difficult and complicated than it once was, due to changing trends in television usage, apps, digital, and a great deal more convolution of messaging. Trends tend to bounce back in time. I’m imagining that thirty years from now an indoor mall will pop up somewhere. New generations of shoppers will be amazed with the convenience of shopping several stores under one roof and trying on clothes and having personal service right on the spot. Times are a changing but often what goes around come back around. - Posted on: 01/27/2023
Has luxury retailing become more recession-resistant?
Luxury retailing is always less susceptible to economic downturns for three reasons: 1. Many consumers of luxury items are sold to consumers who are not affected much, if at all, by economic downturns. 2. Despite weaker economies, middle-income consumers will still purchase "affordable luxury" items, such as clothes, shoes, jewelry, and even cars, because they believe they can pay for these items over time in affordable amounts. 3. Retailers of luxury consumer goods are not reliant on nearly as much “traffic” as are merchandisers of mass marketed products. Luxury items tend to be destination items. Exceptions exist to every theory; however, these factors are trends proven over time. - Posted on: 11/30/2022
Claire’s sets up shops inside of Macy’s stores
The stores-within-a-store concept isn’t new but it needs to grow and expand if department stores are to survive and thrive. Stores must provide products and services not easily purchased via e-commerce. Piercing is one good example. Perfumes are another. Certain brands of clothes that require service and individual assistance and customer attention is another. - Posted on: 11/30/2022
Was the high-traffic Thanksgiving weekend a promise of things to come?
Most trends remain volatile and unstable for the present and foreseeable future. The pandemic has long-term implications which remain volatile. - Posted on: 11/30/2022
Can Alexa find a path to monetization?
Consumers need to see products and choices on first-time purchases but once they are in the habit of purchasing a certain brand and item, they might re-order via voice -- if they are confident Alexa is offering the best of the available prices and values. Amazon has more work to do in building consumer confidence. - Posted on: 09/23/2022
Did Target just move Black Friday up to October 7?
"Black Friday" will continue to be the year's largest retail event, even if spread thinner by early and late starts a few days before and after. However, an event as early as October is a separate promotion that does not replace Black Friday. Target, and other retailers, will still have Black Friday when the time comes. Also, consider that most consumers are not purchasing for the holidays in October, regardless of sales. - Posted on: 09/23/2022
Is an influencer a legit career?
Being an influencer is potentially a legit career if it's approached, practiced, and executed as a real business. However, the opportunity was much greater, and easier too, a few years back when influencer-competition was a fraction of what it has become, and before most consumers realized as much as they do today, that an influencer is paid by the brands which they influence. It's often regarded today the same as advertising. - Posted on: 09/23/2022
FTC commissioner says it’s time to enforce the Robinson-Patman Act
My response might be unpopular, but Robinson-Patman Act was written by governmental people who were clueless how the retail and consumer products business, and the flow of money, actually works. First off, Robinson-Patman was almost strictly about pricing. It didn’t take in consideration many types of vendor promotion, rebates, BOGOs, accrual, co-op, or other forms of discounting that affects pricing. Secondly, with all due respect to the mom and pop stores, pricing is affected by volume, economies of scale, and efficiencies, as noted, and as it should be. Any supplier will tell you that the cost of doing business with a small retailer is often far more expensive than with the large ones. Next, Robinson-Patman will be virtually impossible to manage, or enforce, on Amazon, and its third parties. There are far too many variables to watch, monitor, or control. - Posted on: 08/09/2022
Should marketing have more control over pricing?
As product, placement, and promotional decisions are fundamentally tied to pricing, marketing should consider them. However, not all pricing decisions are created equal. In CPG, strategic pricing decisions include price positioning for new products, price management throughout the product's life cycle, price discounting, and competition. The strategic pricing decisions involve multiple data inputs and rely on multiple analytical methodologies. Decisions of this nature are relatively low-frequency but high-impact. Pricing and discounting decisions related to specific sales opportunities are tactical pricing decisions. Salespeople managing specific sales situations may find it difficult to explain that understanding to their boss, much less to the rest of the company, in order to make tactical pricing decisions well. But it must be done. - Posted on: 04/20/2022
Has Barnes & Noble turned the page?
James Daunt and his new team have combined some of what's old with some of what's new. The Barnes & Noble "experience" can't be duplicated by e-commerce. The stores provide readers with a well-lit walking library atmosphere, as well as a smell of freshly brewed lattes and books. Millennials are now enjoying Barnes & Noble, perhaps for the first time, and Boomers and Gen Xers have returned. Although it’s a national retail chain, where assortment was once very standard, Barnes & Noble has transformed well into also being the local book store. During the post-pandemic period, Barnes & Noble served as a relatively "safe place" to shop and spend some time out of the house. - Posted on: 01/10/2022
Has BOPIS lost its pandemic boost?
All bets are off once again while Omicron continues to build momentum. However as convenient as BOPIS might be, it's not nearly as convenient as having goods delivered to your front door. In addition, with a labor shortage still existing, curbside pick up has slowed or has even been suspended in some situations. - Posted on: 12/14/2021
Should retailers do more to protect frontline workers?
All good suggestions, however, the notion that these are coming from a union causes me to wonder if this might be an introduction to actions or issues. In all the chains I’m regularly in contact with, it seems that the private sector management teams are already doing all they possibly can to protect employees, except some do not require vaccines, because government mandates are shunned by much of the public, including store-employees. Nonetheless, the frontline workers are taking a big risk for us each and every day, because as we know, a great many customers they come into contact with remain unvaccinated. - Posted on: 12/13/2021
Should gig workers choose flexibility or protections?
One of the reasons GIG is successful is because of what it's not. Strictly from a consumer perspective, once the concept transforms to employment, unions, and other developments that cause the service to be less flexible, more expensive, and more restrictive, it will start to lose some of its appeal. I'm sorry, but it's true.
