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Food Marketing Insitute - Glossary of Terms Category: Agriculture and Industry Date & country: 13/09/2007, USA Words: 1737

first in, first out (FIFO)
An inventory rotation system to sell older products before newer products.

fiscal year
A 12-month period that a company or government uses for bookkeeping purposes.

fish steaks
A cross-section cut from whole fish in 3/4 to 1-inch thick, skin-on slices.

fixed assets
See assets, fixed.

fixed costs
See costs, fixed.

fixed dating or fixed terms
An accounting term that sets a payment date.

fixture (fixturing)
Displays, such as grocery shelves, a freezer case, a magazine or card rack, used to exhibit merchandise.

flagship store
The prototype for a retail store chain.

flanker
A manufacturer's product modification for an established product., e.g., blue M&Ms.

flash sheet
A manufacturer's promotional summary to promote selected sale products to retailers. Also known as a sell sheet.

flats
Platforms used to store products.

flexible allowance
Choice given to a retailer to select the payment method

float
The amount of time that a check is in circulation; the period between the time a check is written and when it is cashed.

floor care
A specific program designed to keep floors clean and attractive.

floor merchandiser
A movable, free-standing fixture, such as

floor stock
Merchandise stored by a retailer to replenish shelves between deliveries. Also known as back stock.

floor stock protection
An agreement to protect a retailer from a loss if a product's price goes down in a certain time period.

flow through distribution
A form of cross-docking; products are broken down into individual cases which are sorted, transferred and put on pallets to ship to retail stores.

flyer
An advertisement that is mailed or inserted into newspapers.

FMI
Food Marketing Institute.

food broker
An agent who negotiates contracts, buys and sells food and other merchandise to retail food stores.

food cost
A calculation of the price of each ingredient used to prepare foods, such as potato salad.

food guide pyramid
A federal government picture of a healthy diet, with the most essential items, cereals and grains, at the bottom, and the least essential, fats and sweets, at the top.

Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
An international trade association of independent grocers, chain stores and wholesalers. FMI's programs include education, research and public affairs. 655 15th St. ., N.W. Washington, DC 20005 (202) 452-8444

food mass merchandiser
A supercenter that offers a wide variety of food and non-food merchandise. These stores average 150,000 square feet and typically devote 40 percent of the space to grocery items and 60 percent to General Merchandise/Health and Beauty Care (GM/HBC) and other non-food items.

food service
The preparation and sale of ready-to-eat food items, snacks and meals.

food stamps
A federal benefits program for low-income families, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

food stand
A disposable, usually cardboard, floor merchandiser.

food store
A retail operation that sells food products.

food-drug combo
A combination superstore-drug store under a single roof that share checkout lanes. General Merchandise/Health and Beauty Care (GM/HBC) represents at least one-third of the selling area and a minimum of 15 percent of store sales.

footballing
A competitive strategy to rapidly increase sales volume by sharply cutting prices.

footprint
The amount of square footage in a store used by a piece of equipment or display unit.

forced deposit
A fee placed on recyclable bottles to promote bottle returns for a refund.

forced distribution
The total allotment of product that a retail chain automatically distributes to its stores without specific orders. Also called a force out.

forecast
A projection of sales volume.

forklift
A vehicle with projecting prongs that slide under a pallet to move merchandise in a warehouse or store.

forward buy
A retail practice of holding products until the end of a promotion to increase profits. Also known as a buyout.

four-way pallet
A pallet accessible by equipment from all four sides.

frame
A module of text on the World Wide Web, which is used to break up text that is hard to read on a computer screen. The unit of information transferred across a data link.

frame relay network
A local-area, wide-area or global network of computers that uses nodes to send digital messages in pieces back and forth until an open line is found for transmission of a packet of information, which is reassembled in the correct order on delivery.

franchise
A contractual agreement on a brand, service, name, operation or procedure.

franchise store
An independently owned store affiliated with a wholesale group and sharing a common name. A license to use a chain's name.

franchised department
See leased department.

free goods promotion
A manufacturer's incentive to retailers or wholesalers that offers free product in exchange for the purchase of a specific quantity.

free standing
A store located by itself or in an unplanned shopping area.

free standing display
A display built straight from the floor and not attached to a fixture.

free standing insert (FSI)
A manufacturer's advertisement and coupons put into a separate section of a newspaper.

free time period
The time period allocated to load or unload a truck or rail car without incurring additional charges.

free trader
A retailer with access to capital who buys in high volume from many suppliers on a cash basis.

freezer
An enclosed, refrigerated storage area that preserves frozen products below 0 degree F.

freezer burn
The loss of moisture that affects frozen food. The white or gray spots caused by improper packing or food handling.

freezer life
The length of time a product can be stored at 0 degree F and retain good proofing and baking characteristics.

freight bill
A receipt showing the total cost of a shipment. Shippers pay for prepaid freight bills and receivers pay destination freight bills.

freight paid
An expense added to a product's retail price.

freight rate
The transportation costs for shipping products by rail, truck or other means that may be based on a formula of total weight, revenue and mileage.

frequent shopper program
An electronic marketing program designed to reinforce customer loyalty. A scan card used to capture customer shopping patterns and to generate product discounts (clipless coupons). See electronic marketing.

fresh
Just picked, gathered, produced, live or unprocessed, not stale, food. A term associated with perimeter departments, including produce, deli, bakery, or floral. Also unfrozen.

fresh pack
Seasonal food products processed quickly; usually at the growing location.

freshness control
A program to liquidate short-coded, overstocked merchandise to prevent its accumulation.

front desk
A service counter.

front end
The designated area of a retail store for customer checkouts and bagging stands. It may include a Service Center, Counting Room for Monies, MIS Office and Manager's Office.

fronts
The number of shelf facings for a product.

frozen assets
See assets, frozen.

frozen food distribution center
A refrigerated warehouse for the storage and distribution of frozen foods.

frozen foods
Food preserved by freezing, such as fruits, vegetables, specialty foods, dinners and ice cream.

fryer
A term for a whole chicken.

FSI
Free-standing insert.

full service
Merchandiser arrangements with retailers in which product prices include all services, such as order writing, prepricing, delivery, shelf merchandising and guaranteed sales.

full truck
See truckload order.

full-line drug
A store that sells general merchandise (GM), health and beauty care (HBC), over the counter (OTC) and prescription drugs.

full-line wholesale grocer
A wholesaler who provides a complete selection of products and services to retailers, such as accounting services, retail training modules and services, MIS information and reporting and newspaper ad layouts.

future order
An order for perishable products before the beginning of a season; future orders are often used as collateral for loans by packers/manufacturers. See field broker.

garnish
A decoration on salads, such as sprigs of watercress, lettuce or other colorful items

gateway
The computer system used in a store to transmit orders and payroll to the Office/Distribution Center and receive price changes, PPUM Tags and delivery schedules from the Office/Distribution Center.

general line wholesaler
A wholesaler who only sells dry grocery products.

general merchandise (GM)
Products other than food that are sold in supermarkets and require special buying, warehousing and servicing; GM classes are

generally recognized as safe (GRAS)
A food safety FDA term that indicates that all ingredients are approved for human consumption.

generator
The large motor designed to run cash registers and emergency lighting when normal power is lost. This unit is usually powered by natural gas.

gills
The breathing organs of fish, which are removed during processing since they decompose rapidly and may contaminate the fish.

giveaway
A promotion of an item in which customers get one free if they buy one or more products. See loss leader.

GMA
Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc.

GMDC
General Merchandise Distributors Council.

GNP
Gross national product.

go backs (backshop)
The products that accumulate around a checkstand and require reshelving. Also known as back shop, shop backs and returns.

gondola
Display shelves and racks that form aisles in a retail store. See wall shelving.

gourmet foods
Specialty and imported food products.

gourmet supermarket
A supermarket offering gourmet and high-end products, as well as standard grocery items. Emphasis is on customer service, fresh foods, take-out meals and catering.

grade
A food industry classification system or standard that indicates a quality level, such as, Grade A, Prime, or Extra Fancy.

graphical information system
A computer program that analyzes trade areas to help select a site to build or buy a store.

graphical user interface (GUI)
A user-friendly, non-text way to present and to navigate World Wide Web pages using icons and pictures and to hyperlink to other Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

GRAS
Generally Recognized as Safe.

gravity feed
A display fixture that uses a product's weight to drop products down or move them forward as an item is removed.

green sheet
A weekly, in-store ad sheet of specials, located at the front of a store for customers' convenience. The Green Sheet may include coupons.

greengrocer
A retailer who only sells fruits and vegetables.

grocery gross
See gross margin.

grocery inventory
A count of all grocery items on hand in a store; also refers to the process of counting products.

grocery store
A retail store that sells a variety of food products, including some perishable items and general merchandise.

grocery wholesaler
A middleman who buys food and supplies from manufacturers to resell them in smaller quantities to retailers; cooperatives and voluntaries are the two major types.

gross
A unit of measure for packaged products; 144 items or 12 dozen.

gross margin
An accounting term that refers to the difference between retail selling price and the cost of goods sold, expressed as a dollar amount or as a percent of retail sales. Gross margin percentage is computed by dividing gross margin dollars by retail sales dollars. The terms 'gross margin', 'margins' and 'gross profit' are often used synonymously.