Pharmacy chain Walgreen Co. is cutting the types of superglues it carries to 11 from 25. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has decided that 24 different tape measures is 20 too many. Kroger Co. has tested stripping out about 30 percent of its cereal varieties.
In the next year or so, these and a few of the other largest retailers are expected to slice the assortment of products in their stores by at least 15 percent, industry executives and analysts say.
"All that go-go 1990s where we were adding items in and adding items in, and people wanted more, more, more, more choice... just didn't pay off," said Catherine Lindner, Walgreen's divisional vice president for marketing development, at a recent conference. Looking at store shelves, "people say, 'Whoa, you're bombarding me. Help me figure out what I need.'"
