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| face-up | A shelf's-edge arrangement of merchandise to make a display shelf look full. |
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| faced | The pulling forward of product to the edge of the gondola shelf to make the display appear fully stocked. Also known as face-up or facing up. |
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| facings | The number of units in width an item occupies on the front row of a store shelf. |
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| fact sheet | A manufacturer's promotional sheet for sales calls. |
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| factory pack | A standard-sized shipping carton. |
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| failure fee | A manufacturer's payment to retailers for merchandise that does not sell as expected and is being dropped from the retailer's inventory. |
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| fancy foods | Gourmet, specialty, or special-occasion foods. |
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| fat content | The amount of fat in a particular product. |
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| FDA | Food and Drug Administration. |
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| FDI | Food Distributors International. |
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| featured special | A product featured in advertisements. |
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| features | Products featured in a current advertising promotion to attract customers. |
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| FEIF | Food Executives International Foundation. |
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| fermentation | A breakdown in organic compounds caused by a leavening agent, such as the effect of yeast on flour. |
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| FF&D standards | Federal Food & Drug Standards are federal rules that address quality standards of foods and drugs for human consumption. |
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| field broker | A fruit and vegetable grower's representative who sells and ships produce. |
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| field representative | A manufacturer's or wholesaler's representative who sells products and services accounts. See supervisor. |
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| FICA | Federal Insurance Contributions Act, a mandatory withholding used for Social Security. |
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| FIFO | First in, first out. |
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| fill-ins or fill-in order | A supplementary order needed to replace product that was either forgotten, not delivered or out-of-stock. |
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| fillet | A boned, trimmed, lean piece of fish. |
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| final order date | The last date to place an order to receive product allowances. |
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| final ship date | The last date to ship an order to qualify for product allowances. |
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| first in, first out (FIFO) | An inventory rotation system to sell older products before newer products. |
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| fiscal year | A 12-month period that a company or government uses for bookkeeping purposes. |
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| fish steaks | A cross-section cut from whole fish in 3/4 to 1-inch thick, skin-on slices. |
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| fixed assets | See assets, fixed. |
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| fixed costs | See costs, fixed. |
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| fixed dating or fixed terms | An accounting term that sets a payment date. |
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| fixture (fixturing) | Displays, such as grocery shelves, a freezer case, a magazine or card rack, used to exhibit merchandise. |
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| flagship store | The prototype for a retail store chain. |
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| flanker | A manufacturer's product modification for an established product., e.g., blue M&Ms. |
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| flash sheet | A manufacturer's promotional summary to promote selected sale products to retailers. Also known as a sell sheet. |
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| flats | Platforms used to store products. |
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| flexible allowance | Choice given to a retailer to select the payment method. |
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| 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. |
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| floor care | A specific program designed to keep floors clean and attractive. |
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| floor merchandiser | A movable, free-standing fixture, such as: a spinner, which revolves; a rack; a fixed, portable unit; a floorstand; a disposable, cardboard unit; a prepack; a disposable display with products inside; and folding tables; for special displays. |
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| floor stock | Merchandise stored by a retailer to replenish shelves between deliveries. Also known as back stock. |
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| floor stock protection | An agreement to protect a retailer from a loss if a product's price goes down in a certain time period. |
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| 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. |
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| flyer | An advertisement that is mailed or inserted into newspapers. |
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| FMI | Food Marketing Institute. |
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| food broker | An agent who negotiates contracts, buys and sells food and other merchandise to retail food stores. |
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| food cost | A calculation of the price of each ingredient used to prepare foods, such as potato salad. |
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| 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. |
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| Food Distributors International (FDI) | (formerly NAWGA) 201 Park Washington Court Falls Church, VA 22046 (703) 532-9400 |
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| Food Executives International Foundation (FEIF) | P.O. Box 2730 Bethesda, MD 20827 (301) 469-8716 |
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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| 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 oth |
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| food service | The preparation and sale of ready-to-eat food items, snacks and meals. |
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| food stamps | A federal benefits program for low-income families, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. |
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| food stand | A disposable, usually cardboard, floor merchandiser. |
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| food store | A retail operation that sells food products. |
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| footballing | A competitive strategy to rapidly increase sales volume by sharply cutting prices. |
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| footprint | The amount of square footage in a store used by a piece of equipment or display unit. |
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| forced deposit | A fee placed on recyclable bottles to promote bottle returns for a refund. |
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| forced distribution | The total allotment of product that a retail chain automatically distributes to its stores without specific orders. Also called a force out. |
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| forecast | A projection of sales volume. |
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| forklift | A vehicle with projecting prongs that slide under a pallet to move merchandise in a warehouse or store. |
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| forward buy | A retail practice of holding products until the end of a promotion to increase profits. Also known as a buyout. |
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| four-way pallet | A pallet accessible by equipment from all four sides. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| franchise | A contractual agreement on a brand, service, name, operation or procedure. |
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| franchise store | An independently owned store affiliated with a wholesale group and sharing a common name. A license to use a chain's name. |
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| franchised department | See leased department. |
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| franchised label or franchised brand | A label, name, or design that a sectional distributor may use as its private label in an assigned area. |
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| free goods promotion | A manufacturer's incentive to retailers or wholesalers that offers free product in exchange for the purchase of a specific quantity. |
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| free standing | A store located by itself or in an unplanned shopping area. |
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| free standing display | A display built straight from the floor and not attached to a fixture. |
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| free standing insert (FSI) | A manufacturer's advertisement and coupons put into a separate section of a newspaper. |
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| free time period | The time period allocated to load or unload a truck or rail car without incurring additional charges. |
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| free trader | A retailer with access to capital who buys in high volume from many suppliers on a cash basis. |
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| freezer | An enclosed, refrigerated storage area that preserves frozen products below 0 degree F. |
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| freezer burn | The loss of moisture that affects frozen food. The white or gray spots caused by improper packing or food handling. |
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| freezer life | The length of time a product can be stored at 0 degree F and retain good proofing and baking characteristics. |
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| freight bill | A receipt showing the total cost of a shipment. Shippers pay for prepaid freight bills and receivers pay destination freight bills. |
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| freight paid | An expense added to a product's retail price. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| fresh pack | Seasonal food products processed quickly; usually at the growing location. |
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| freshness control | A program to liquidate short-coded, overstocked merchandise to prevent its accumulation. |
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| front desk | A service counter. |
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| 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. |
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| fronts | The number of shelf facings for a product. |
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| frozen assets | See assets, frozen. |
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| frozen food distribution center | A refrigerated warehouse for the storage and distribution of frozen foods. |
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| frozen foods | Food preserved by freezing, such as fruits, vegetables, specialty foods, dinners and ice cream. |
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| fryer | A term for a whole chicken. |
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| FSI | Free-standing insert. |
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| full-line drug | A store that sells general merchandise (GM), health and beauty care (HBC), over the counter (OTC) and prescription drugs. |
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| 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. |
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| full service | Merchandiser arrangements with retailers in which product prices include all services, such as order writing, prepricing, delivery, shelf merchandising and guaranteed sales. |
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| full truck | See truckload order. |
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| 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. |
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