It is no secret to chain drug retailers that front-end sales are key ingredients of growth and profitability. What is less well-known is the power of consumer electronics accessories to drive front-end sales, profits and, more important, traffic.

Maxell’s experience with some of the largest and fastest-growing drug chains has shown us that consumer electronics accessories, such as care and maintenance products, headphones and media storage solutions have been transformed from convenience items to destination products, driving consumers into chain drug stores. What’s more, in the age of the iPod, new accessories for those hot music players are proving to be an even bigger draw, especially to younger consumers who want to add flexibility to their portable music experience.

Why are consumer electronics accessories such a powerful engine for the front end? For one thing, they add a sense of entertainment to a department largely dominated by packaged goods and household necessities. They impart an aura of fun to the front end of the chain drug store. As such, they are very attractive to advertise in weekly flyers, driving additional traffic. And they relate naturally to one of chain drug’s most important departments, photo finishing. Many of our accessories relate directly to saving and caring for digital imaging, one of the fastest areas of the photography business.

Chain drug executives, however, can’t merely purchase and stock consumer electronics accessories to be successful. Our most successful chain drug retail partners employ simple but powerful marketing and merchandising strategies to drive their success.

They recognize that specific advertised items create traffic and sales for destination products. But, they also create tremendous opportunities for impulse item sales. And despite the fact that they’re advertised at attractive prices to draw traffic, the margins remain strong.

Together, our retail partners and we have learned additional powerful strategies to insure success with consumer electronics in the front end.

Merchandise aggressively. In addition to weekly advertising supplements, use in-store communication techniques to provide exposure for featured merchandise and special promotions. This is especially important in light of the fact that other retail channels have drastically curtailed aggressive merchandising of electronics accessories. The drug channel can gain an advantage here.

Do not be afraid of new technologies. Be aggressive with them. The chain drug channel has embraced DVD and iPod early and has been receptive to new DVD and iPod technologies as they have come to market, including printable and rewritable DVD products and iPod nano accessories. Of course, these are not the only new technologies that the chain drug channel has embraced, but they are the most prominent.

Exploit the natural connection between camcorder products and one of chain drug’s premier services–photo finishing. Consumers connect the two, and retailers who have understood this with aggressive merchandising and strategic product placement have been very successful. This also is true of digital photography accessories.

The creation of a robust front end in chain drug stores has been one of the channel’s greatest successes. Even greater growth and success, however, depends on continuous innovation in product selection and merchandising. Many in the channel have found consumer electronics accessories one such innovation.