Supervalu Announces 4th Annual Expo
Supervalu Inc.'s fourth annual National Expo for independent grocers, scheduled for July 25-27, will contain a full day of educational workshops, including a keynote by bestselling author and graffiti artist Erik Wahl.
The three-day expo, set to take place at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minn., offers attendees the chance to gain new business insights, see the latest product and in-store innovations, and participate in networking opportunities. Additionally, singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat will headline the year’s annual fundraising event for Feeding America, scheduled for the evening of July 26.
“Education Day at the expo is always a highlight for retailers because it provides an up-to-date look at the latest grocery industry trends and best practices, while offering new ideas, innovations and solutions for developing, implementing and measuring programs that meet their customers’ needs,” said Mike Stigers, EVP, wholesale at Supervalu. “Retailers can expect to be inspired from day one of the expo after hearing Erik’s remarks on instilling creativity in the workplace and participating in our lineup of educational workshops.”
In his “Disruption is the New Normal” keynote, Wahl, an internationally recognized artist, TED speaker and writer, will create a dynamic multidimensional metaphor for how to systematically embrace innovation and risk. Wahl’s presentation will encourage organizations to be increasingly agile and outline how to use disruption as a competitive advantage.
Also on Education Day, retailers will be able to choose from more than a dozen workshops designed to help them further enhance their business. Topics will range from understanding the importance of natural, organic, specialty and ethnic food solutions, to navigating the changing competitive marketplace in the grocery category.
Throughout the expo, retailers will have access to more than 300 vendors across nearly 130,000 square feet of exhibit space featuring new items, merchandising solutions and in-store concepts spanning all aspects of grocery retailing. On the closing day, July 27, Supervalu will present the Master Marketer Awards, recognizing the best merchandising, marketing and community relations initiatives from its independent retailers over the past year.
Based in Eden Prairie, Minn., Supervalu serves customers across the United States through a network of 2,363 stores, including 1,902 stores operated by wholesale customers serviced primarily by the company’s food distribution business and 217 traditional grocery stores operated under five banners in six geographic regions.