From an In-Depth Industry Study of Best Practicesby Dechert-Hampe & Co.

Commitment to Category Leadership

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, TDS, and MASTERFOODS USA are more than just leaders in the Confectionery and Magazine categories. All three companies have demonstrated a commitment to the principles and process of consumer-based category development. Whether the issue involves product assortment, merchandising, promotion strategy or replenishment, TDS, MASTERFOODS USA, and the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company will be found in the forefront with new ideas, methods and tools built on a strong foundation of consumer insights.

Front-End Focus represents a commitment to addressing key business opportunities through alliances with leading retailers. The learning from this study will be used to identify opportunities for profitable category growth.

Bringing the Front-End into Focus

Front-End merchandising is a critical element in store performance and customer satisfaction. The past decade has seen significant changes in the retail store environment, driven by consolidations and changes in the retailer, manufacturer and broker communities. These, coupled with changes in consumer shopping patterns, have had a major influence on Front-End merchandising. The advent of self-scanning systems has further changed the landscape at the checkout.

Front-End Focus is a major initiative sponsored by Masterfoods USA (A division of Mars, Incorporated), Time Distribution Services (TDS), a division of Time Warner, and the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, in partnership with Dechert-Hampe & Co. (DHC), an independent consulting firm.

The group will partner with retailers to define Best Practices in Front-End merchandising, which will maximize consumer shopping satisfaction, and Front-End performance.

Front-End Focus is supported by a comprehensive program of research including:

In-Store research conducted with over 1,500 shoppers relative to attitudes and purchase behavior at Regular, Express, and Self-Checkout lanes.

Research was conducted in cooperation with eight leading retailers representing over 5,500 stores and 20% of U.S. Grocery volume.

Retailers provided SKU level data for over 20 checkout categories at approximately 500 stores over a six month timeframe.

Checkout planograms were collected and all stores were audited at the lane level to identify merchandising conditions.

The research and analysis was performed by Dechert-Hampe & Co. in order to ensure objective conclusions.

The Front-End Opportunity

Front-End Focus has identified a $2 Billion industry wide opportunity from improved checkstand merchandising. The study details the relative contribution of each category at the Front-End and identifies key opportunities for improvement. Following the best practices outlined in the study can help retailers realize significant improvements in sales and productivity at the Front-End. Take advantage of the Front-End opportunity by working with sales representatives of the sponsor organizations. We welcome your participation and look forward to sharing the learning from Front-End Focus.

Photographs Shown Are Not Meant To Represent Best Practices.

For more information about Front-End merchandising visit �www.front-endfocus.com

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Commitment to Category Leadership

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, TDS, and MASTERFOODS USA are more than just leaders in the Confectionery and Magazine categories. All three companies have demonstrated a commitment to the principles and process of consumer-based category development. Whether the issue involves product assortment, merchandising, promotion strategy or replenishment, TDS, MASTERFOODS USA, and the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company will be found in the forefront with new ideas, methods and tools built on a strong foundation of consumer insights.

Front-End Focus represents a commitment to addressing key business opportunities through alliances with leading retailers. The learning �from this study will be used to identify opportunities for profitable category growth.

Front-End Focus is designed to help retailers and manufacturers work together to:

Gain new insights on consumer attitudes and buying behavior relative to the front-end checkstand.

Determine the impact of new developments such as self-scanning on consumer buying behavior and product sales.

Identify opportunities to maximize sales and profit performance at the front-end based upon implementation of Best Practices.

Improve the overall management of the Front-End through collaboration among all the major stakeholders.

Create intelligence necessary to allow the checkstand to be managed as a department.

Front-End Focus is designed to help retailers and manufacturers work together to:

Gain new insights on consumer attitudes and buying behavior relative to the front-end checkstand.

Determine the impact of new developments such as self-scanning on consumer buying behavior and product sales.

Identify opportunities to maximize sales and profit performance at the front-end based upon implementation of Best Practices.

Improve the overall management of the Front-End through collaboration among all the major stakeholders.

Create intelligence necessary to allow the checkstand to be managed as a department.

MASTERFOODS USA, (A division of Mars, Incorporated) the United �

States food, snack and petcare opera-tions of Mars, Incorporated, is one of

the world's leading food manufac-turers. The combined food, petcare

and snack segments are a symbol of excellence for quality brands.

Headquartered in New York City, TDS, a Division of Time Warner, is the sales and marketing arm for the popular magazines of

Time, Inc. and Meredith.

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company is a recognized leader in the confec-

tionery field and the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of

chewing gum. Founded in 1891, �the Company is headquartered �

in Chicago.

Dechert-Hampe & Co. is a leading industry consulting firm with �offices in Northbrook, Illinois, Trumbull, Connecticut, and �

Mission Viejo, California.

For more information about Front-End merchandising visit www.front-endfocus.com

© 2004 Masterfoods USA, Time Distribution Services, the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company and Dechert-Hampe & Co . All Rights Reserved.