Category management:: Strengths, limits and developments

Category management is a real breakthrough in trade practices. Therefore, it generates many critics and there is still a lot of confusion concerning the process. Even if results are not always conclusive, Category Management is expanding across product categories on a world-wide scale. An objective review of this radical shift from brand management to category management is the purpose of this article. Definitions, objectives, assumptions, implementation successes and also pitfalls are examined. Some thoughts on future scenarios of development are also presented. A link with on-line marketing, another new revolution in the distribution era, is established. Opportunities and threats for trading partners are described.

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