Supervalu Launches National Sales Expo
Superalu Inc. will welcome more than 3,900 grocery industry professionals to St. Paul, Minn., this week for the company’s first-ever national sales expo, a three-day trade event.
The expo, "Sales 4 All Seasons," will feature more than 20 educational sessions and 330 expo booths, providing independent grocery retailers from more than 1,250 stores the opportunity to gain valuable insights, innovative merchandising ideas and best-in-class grocery retail solutions from industry experts.
The expo runs Tuesday through Thursday at downtown St. Paul's RiverCentre convention center.
“We are thrilled to invite many of the grocery retail industry’s finest to our inaugural national sales expo,” said Janel Haugarth, Supervalu EVP and president of independent business and supply chain services. “The Sales 4 All Seasons event was created specifically for our independent grocery retailers. Along with unprecedented opportunities to network and share best practices with their peers, the expo will offer our retailers a one-stop resource to drive sales, build loyalty and grow their businesses.”
Exclusive Access to New Products
Sales 4 All Seasons will be the company’s largest, most comprehensive selling expo to date and will feature booths staffed by category experts on everything from fresh produce, meat and seafood to center store, frozen, bakery and deli. Seasonal merchandise offerings, consumer packaged goods suppliers and service providers from across the country will offer diverse solutions for Supervalu’s expansive independent retailer base. Expo guests will also have exclusive access to new products and Supervalu’s innovative private brand lines, as well as limited-time promotional buying opportunities.
In addition to a chance to join their peers to discuss the state of grocery retail and what lies ahead for the industry, expo visitors will have the opportunity to attend some of the more than 20 educational sessions during the Sales 4 All Seasons “Education Day” on Tuesday. Sessions will explore a range of diverse, on-trend topics, such as how to drive sales through gluten-free products and smarter snacking options, and the impact of new technologies on the retail industry.
Headlining the expo’s Education Day is keynote speaker and best-selling author Jason Dorsey. Known as "The Gen Y Guy," Dorsey wrote his first best-selling book at 18 and has been featured on TV programs such as "60 Minutes," "20/20," "The Today Show," "The View" and "The Early Show." Dorsey will deliver unique insights and research on millennial shoppers, an increasingly important and unique demographic in grocery retailing.
Adding to the Sales 4 All Seasons experience, Supervalu has also launched a mobile app to assist attendees as they navigate the convention hall. The expo app, available for all iOS and Android-compatible devices, will provide an easy-to-use event map, a schedule of educational sessions and activities, articles related to topics discussed throughout the event and more.
Additionally, Supervalu will announce the winners of its 2014 Master Marketer Competition on Wednesday evening. The competition recognizes and celebrates the top marketing campaigns led by the company’s independent retailers across the country.
“The Sales 4 All Season expo is not only an excellent opportunity to come together and share the latest innovations in grocery retailing, it is also a chance to acknowledge and commend the industry’s best work from the past year,” Haugarth said. “The Master Marketer Competition is a way to acknowledge the exemplary work of our independent retailers, who go above and beyond each day to grow their business.”
Minneapolis-based Supervalu Inc. operates a network of 3,320 stores composed of 1,805 independent stores serviced primarily by the company’s food distribution business; 1,325 Save-A-Lot stores, of which 931 are operated by licensee owners; and 190 traditional retail grocery stores.