Riad Beladi Revisits the Buyer’s View: What Really Gets a Product Onto the Shelf
Supermarket buyers rarely get the attention given to retailers, brands or CEOs, yet their decisions can determine which products consumers actually see on the shelf.
International Supermarket News has previously spoken with Jean-Pierre Dubois, a former E.Leclerc buyer, about how products are assessed, how local suppliers can gain access to stores and what buyers really look for before putting a product into the range. His earlier interview highlighted an important point: price and margin matter, but they are only part of the decision. Quality, reliability, supply capacity, consumer demand and the ability to deliver consistently all have to come together.
For this updated conversation, Riad Beladi returned to the subject to look beyond the basic buying process and examine how the role itself is changing.
The modern buyer is no longer simply deciding whether a product should be listed. Buyers are increasingly working with consumer data, market information and changing shopper expectations while still relying heavily on personal knowledge of suppliers and products. That creates a difficult balance: retailers want efficiency and competitive pricing, but they also need products that are distinctive, reliable and relevant to local shoppers.
Riad Beladi, Editor of International Supermarket News, comments:
“I have interviewed buyers from different retail markets over the years, and one thing keeps coming through. The buyer sees the supermarket from a completely different angle. A supplier may believe that having a good product is enough, but the buyer is looking at the complete picture — who will buy it, what makes it different, whether the supply can be trusted and whether the economics work for the retailer. That is why I wanted to revisit this conversation. The buyer’s role is changing, but the fundamentals of good buying remain remarkably consistent.”
The E.Leclerc experience is particularly interesting because its model allows local and regional sourcing to play an important role alongside wider purchasing agreements. That gives buyers and stores a closer connection with producers and local consumer demand.
For suppliers, the message is straightforward: do not approach a supermarket buyer simply to sell a product. Understand the retailer first. Know the consumer, know the category, understand the competitive environment and be able to demonstrate that the business can deliver consistently.
That is where the conversation with buyers becomes valuable. Behind every supermarket shelf is a series of decisions that shoppers rarely see — and those decisions are increasingly shaping the future of food retail.
