Keep Retail Options Open at Medtrade Spring

ATLANTA — For HME providers weary of a long winter of
concerns about reimbursement cuts and competitive bidding, better
times beckon at Medtrade Spring, where
possibilities for more retail business will be in full bloom.

“Some providers dabble in retail, but we want them to become
fully engaged with both feet in the water to expand their revenue
base and offset challenges in the industry,” said Cy Corgan, Pride
Mobility Products’ national sales director, retail mobility.

On the exhibit floor at the show, which takes place May 11-13 at
the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Pride’s cash
sale items include a new lift chair that mimics the look of a media
chair, the Go-Go Elite Traveller scooter, a new Pursuit PMV for the
outdoor scooter market and the Victory 9 PS scooter, which has an
elevated power seat that enables users to reach cupboards, sit
comfortably at a table or even converse closer to eye level.

In addition to looking at new products, attendees should
consider adopting a new mindset about retail, Corgan said. “The
psychology of the buyer is that they want selection, availability,
price and quality. There needs to be well-trained staff including
someone who is a retail mobility champion, who ‘owns’ that showroom
and will educate someone when they come in the door.” Along with an
assortment of marketing materials, banners, hang tags and posters,
“we will consult with an HME provider to help them lay out the
showroom and talk them through what their needs are,” Corgan
notes.

Another important component of cash sales is consumer financing,
which Corgan said can “make the difference whether I buy it today.”
He added that “this is the ideal time — scooter selling
season. People are coming out to look for these products.”

Another longtime Medtrade Spring exhibitor, Nova Ortho-Med, is
also hoping to raise awareness of retail opportunities. The company
has exhibited at Medtrade for 16 years and has seen a lot of
changes related to retail sales. “What I have seen in the last few
years is that the providers going to these shows are becoming more
entrepreneurial,” said Sue Chen, president/CEO. “They are looking
for more creative ways to get the products to the customer.”

Nova Ortho-Med supplies mobility and bath safety products such
as canes, walkers, transport chairs and bath benches. At Medtrade
Spring, the company is introducing several new products and a new
approach for the HME market: an emphasis on being stylish and
fashionable. The company will roll out a new logo and branding that
convey ideas of “hope, transition and quality of life” for
consumers, said Chen. “The focus needs to get back to the consumer.
The consumer is fun, hopeful and stylish.” An example is the
company’s new mobility bags that come in prints and styles. The
bags can attach to a walker, bed rail, scooter or wheelchair and
can also be carried like a purse.

Nova Ortho-Med’s retail program includes merchandising, reorder
tags and marketing supplies such as header signs and posters along
with pre-set or custom planograms to fit available space. Other
components include training on how to sell the products and a
consumer outreach program that includes a website and PR through
Twitter and blogs. All the media will refer potential customers
back to the local provider.

“Our industry has been about a product in a brown box, delivered
to someone’s home in a truck or van. It has not been about a
consumer coming to your door,” said Chen. “That has got to
change.”

Another exhibitor in search of providers seeking to expand their
cash sales is Janska. The supplier of “comfort clothing” exhibited
for the first time at Medtrade Spring a year ago and recognized a
growing desire among providers to find cash items for their
stores.

Janska offers warm, soft and comforting garments that are
easy-on, easy-off and have features such as larger buttons and
armholes. The garments are suitable for people who are either in a
medical crisis or are older and tend to have less body warmth. Made
of Polar fleece to be soft, lightweight and to wick away moisture,
the garments are wash-and-wear. “If you design for the least-abled
person, then anyone can use it,” said Jan Erickson, owner/president
of Janska, whose slogan is “Clothing that comforts.” The line
features bright colors and designs flattering to the body so they
don’t look adaptive. “We believe people want to look better in
order to feel better,” said Erickson.

This year, the company will offer various options for stores to
get started, including a selection of Janska’s five top-selling
garments in a variety of colors and sizes. Each garment is
individually packaged and can either be hung on slatwall or
merchandised on shelving. Janska also provides graphics and
information for customers, including photography that could be
included on a provider’s website. An HME store in Denver, YouCan
TooCan, has been selling the line for four years, the longest time
among Janska’s HME market retailers.

“We know that selling clothing is new for many, so we offer
training to sales staff to learn the features, benefits and
versatility of each garment,” said Erickson. The company also
offers free catalogs, postcard inserts, a header graphic, a disk of
graphics that can be loaded on the store’s website and a listing in
the ‘Where to Buy’ section of its website.

“We strongly believe that we have an item that people are
looking for,” said Erickson. “The captive audience coming to HME
stores are looking for these items and will have to go someplace
else to find them.”

Mike Mallaro, CFO of VGM Group, previously worked five years for
Gordmans, a 60-store retail chain in the Midwest, where he handled
merchandise planning and allocation. “One of the things HMEs need
to do if they want to get into retail is to copy what the best
retail businesses are doing, and to do that you have to look
outside the HME market,” he said.

Mallaro suggests looking to a retailer like Lowe’s, which does
an outstanding job of communicating the possibilities of a product
through store displays and merchandising. “Look at the Medtrade
booths through the eyes of a consumer,” Mallaro advises. “What is
on display at Medtrade that could be displayed in my store and
appeal to consumers? Look at the packaging of product, signage, how
it can be displayed.”

Another lesson from Lowe’s and similar retailers is the need to
offer a price continuum; that is, items in the “good, better and
best” categories. The HME industry is oriented toward the
minimalist needs of what can be billed off a doctor’s order, but
some consumers want better quality, said Mallaro. “Some people want
the high-end nebulizer and they want to pay for it,” he said.
Medtrade Spring is a good opportunity to look for higher-priced
products with added features to expand offerings for more retail
sales.

The best bet for providers looking to start out small is to go
“narrow and deep” in a particular category, Mallaro said. For
example, a company wanting to become the “bath safety headquarters”
could look for a breadth of products to expand their lines. “You
want to make sure consumers know you are in the business,” he said.
“If you only have three styles of shoes, they will not know you are
in the shoe business. To be in the bath safety business, you need
more than one grab bar and a walk-in tub.”

The biggest obstacle to retail success is mindset, Mallaro
believes. Thinking differently includes something as simple as
extending business hours or relocating to a more well trafficked
part of town. Too many HMEs are stuck in the mindset of a
referral-based business in response to an order. Where better than
at Medtrade Spring to reconsider?

Check out these sessions on HME retail at Medtrade
Spring:

Tuesday, May 11, 2:45-3:45 p.m.: “How to Grow a
Million Dollar HME Retail Business” presented by provider Jim
Greatorex, president and CEO, Blackbear Medical.

Wednesday, May 12, 8:00-10:00 a.m.:
“Opportunities and Pitfalls in HME Retail/Cash Sales,” a panel
presentation including Colette Weil, managing director, Summit
Marketing, with providers/HME retailers B.J. Bowser, vice
president, Sunshine Pharmacy; Jim Greatorex, president and CEO,
Blackbear Medical; Cliff Woolard, president and CEO, Home Med-Equip
Co.; Erika Feinberg, CEO, ActiveForever.com; and Tammy Zelenko,
president and CEO, AdvaCare Home Services.

Thursday, May 13, 8:00-9:00 a.m.: “Become an
Effective HME Retailer” presented by Cy Corgan, national sales
director, retail mobility, Pride Mobility Products Corp.

For more information, see www.medtradespring.com. Check
with any exhibitor for free passes to the Expo hall, and use Code
HOME2000 for $50 off the Medtrade Spring conference fee, good until
May 10.