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 Cover Story - March/April 2008  |
Marvin Benjoya:
Marv Benjoya possesses a keen understanding of the key factors that have driven the growth of store brands in the consumer marketplace. He has spent 38 years of his 46-year business career in various sales and marketing positions for a number of leading private label manufacturers.
Of all these factors, Benjoya says PLMA has played the most pivotal role in the success of store brands during the course of his career. “Prior to the advent of PLMA in 1979 there was total chaos in the private label market” notes Benjoya. “It was a constant struggle to keep product on the shelf, to get customers and to keep them.” In the early 1970s, Benjoya was one of the pioneers in the fight for adoption of national brand equivalency for private label products. “We would try selling health and beauty care products to retailers on the basis of national brand equivalency by showing them the chemical analysis of our HBC products along with performance specifications and all of the characteristics of our products compared to the national brands. Then, of course, we had to show the price and that was the big stumbling block. Whenever you did that you were always going to be selling it at a price that was much higher compared to a product that was thrown together with no regard to national brand equivalency.” Benjoya on his part remained persistent and persuasive in his quality message and he started to realize some success stories among retailers in key regions of the country.
“When retailers would ask me where they could go to see successful private label programs, I would tell them to visit the Washington, DC market which at the time included retailers like Dart Drug, Drug Fair, Peoples Drug and Giant Food Stores. The private label break-through occurred as a result of competitive pressure. When one retailer became successful in selling private label, the other retailers in the market followed suit. This market began selling enormous quantities of private label products and they were very broad based in terms of product categories penetrated.” Benjoya singles out Walgreens in the Midwest for driving the drug store business into private label. “In my experience, Walgreens was the first major drug store chain to embrace and really merchandise it in unique ways,” says Benjoya. PLMA Pioneer In 1979 Benjoya joined the initial group of private label manufacturers at the first membership recruiting meeting. It was held in St. Louis. “That was the beginning of a total commitment and involvement in working to help PLMA become the kind of supportive association that the Industry needed,” he says. “It was obvious at this point that everyone in the business of manufacturing and marketing private label would benefit from a strong unified Industry voice and platform of credibility.” On the topic of national brand equivalency, Benjoya recalls: “For many years, it was a constant challenge discussed by PLMA board members about how do we promote quality and how do we communicate the concept that NBE is the future of private label.” Over the next 30 years, Benjoya served several terms on the PLMA board of directors and was elected to serve as chairman of the board of directors in 1989. During this period, PLMA initiated its annual Washington Conference. During his 30 years of PLMA service, Benjoya served on, or chaired almost every operating committee in the association. “Although there have been many rewarding aspects in my career, one of the things that gives me great satisfaction is working with a dedicated, talented group of people and playing a small part in taking a fledgling PLMA and helping it grow into a truly dynamic, constructive, driving force for our industry.” Benjoya Milestones 1954-1956 Served in the U.S. Air Force. 1956-1960 Attended Columbia College School of Broadcasting/ Communication, in Chicago, IL (night school). During this period, he married his Lifetime partner, Joyce, in 1957 and worked in the wholesale drug business for the Health-a-teria/Sherwin-Gail Co., first in purchasing, and then in sales. During the eight years at Sherwin Gail, from 1957 to 1965, his responsibilities continued to grow, including sales management of our sales force. He then was promoted to vice president of the company’s discount drug store division. In 1963 he was transferred to Indianapolis to manage a newly acquired subsidiary, as senior vice president, Indiana Merchandise Co. After re-organizing this company, it was merged into the Chicago parent company and Benjoya was relocated back to Chicago office. 1965-1972 Joined Chase Products Co. as vice president, private label sales for aerosol HBC, household, and paint product lines. This was a very significant experience for Benjoya during the beginning of the growth and evolution of private label. Chase was a very important factor as a private label aerosol supplier. 1972-1993 Vice president, sales and marketing, for Evron Industries Ld. Although Evron was a small company when he joined them, the company became a major supplier of private label toiletries to the food, drug and mass retail markets over the next 20 years. Evron was a pioneer in multi-level private label marketing with premium product lines as well as generic programs. This was a very heavy growth period for private label. With Benjoya’s help, the company was completely involved at all levels of the expansion within its product categories. 1993-2003 Vice president, sales and business development, Perrigo Co. Says Benjoya of his service at Perrigo: “In 1993, I made one of the best decisions in my life, when I accepted a position with the Perrigo Co. As a part of my responsibilities I represented Perrigo to the major trade associations. I also served on the GMDC HBC supplier advisory board from 1997 to 2003. My years at Perrigo represented the most gratifying period in my career, both professionally and personally. I feel privileged to have had that experience and relationship to remember.” 1993 Benjoya retired from Perrigo in June 1993. |
