W. Newell expo brings together customers and suppliers
W. Newell expo brings together customers and suppliers
W. Newell & Co., based in Champaign, IL, brought together many of its vendors and retail customers for an expo Sept. 9-10 that featured education seminars, entertainment, an exhibition and sales opportunities.
National Vice President of Operations John Aune said that the day-and-a- half, produce-only event featured 92 vendors and close to 200 customers. "We have a two-fold purpose," he said. "It is a sales opportunity, but it is also an opportunity to educate our customers on produce industry and consumer trends."
Seminar topics included organic produce, floral merchandising and food safety. "The seminar geared toward organic produce discussed benefits of organic produce, sales opportunities and growth trends," Mr. Aune said. "We shared how W. Newell became a certified organic supplier, and we told the retailers how they could become certified retailers."
The Newell executive said that the floral seminar was well received, as these mostly produce department heads were very interested in merchandising tips to help them sell more bouquets and other floral products.
The food-safety seminar focused on traceability and how to handle product recalls. Mr. Aune said that the latest produce industry food-safety issue involving tomatoes was discussed at length.
He said that the vast majority of attendees are produce managers or store owners from small independent retailers, "but our corporate customers are also invited, and they do attend."
W. Newell, which is owned by Supervalu in Minneapolis, services about 500 individual retail stores spread over eight states from its Champaign facility, including corporate stores owned by its parent company. It also serves as the produce buying arm for a handful of Supervalu divisions in the Midwest and Southeast.
This is the third year the company has held this expo, which took place at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Mr. Aune said that it is a fairly central location for its many customers. The firm provided transportation, via motor coach, for the customers with pickup points throughout the Midwest. "We brought the store owners in, put them up for one or two nights in a couple of different Indianapolis hotels, and provided them with a day-and-a- half of selling, education and socializing."
The event opened Sept. 9 with a cocktail reception, dinner, entertainment and a dessert party.
During the exhibition part of the event, Mr. Aune said that special sales offers were announced that allowed these customers to book future buys at discounted rates. The buying opportunities were designed to be far enough in the future so they would not conflict with sales already on the books.
"I think it is a very good opportunity for us and our vendors to meet the customers face-to-face," Mr. Aune said. "We do see a pretty considerable sales lift because of the expo. I visited each of the 92 vendors during the expo and I believe each of them would say they saw a sales lift in at least one of the items that they were selling."
Mr. Aune said that vendors also use this event as an opportunity to introduce new products to these potential buyers letting them see and taste what they have to offer. He said a very diverse cross section of vendors attended, including Dole, Sunkist, Chiquita, Green Giant and Potandon Produce.
Mr. Aune said that W. Newell will hold the event again next year and is currently negotiating with regard to the date and the venue. "We expect to firm that up within the next three weeks so both the vendors and the customers can get it on their calendars," he said.
(Photos from the event appear in the Sept. 22 issue of The Produce News.)
National Vice President of Operations John Aune said that the day-and-a- half, produce-only event featured 92 vendors and close to 200 customers. "We have a two-fold purpose," he said. "It is a sales opportunity, but it is also an opportunity to educate our customers on produce industry and consumer trends."
Seminar topics included organic produce, floral merchandising and food safety. "The seminar geared toward organic produce discussed benefits of organic produce, sales opportunities and growth trends," Mr. Aune said. "We shared how W. Newell became a certified organic supplier, and we told the retailers how they could become certified retailers."
The Newell executive said that the floral seminar was well received, as these mostly produce department heads were very interested in merchandising tips to help them sell more bouquets and other floral products.
The food-safety seminar focused on traceability and how to handle product recalls. Mr. Aune said that the latest produce industry food-safety issue involving tomatoes was discussed at length.
He said that the vast majority of attendees are produce managers or store owners from small independent retailers, "but our corporate customers are also invited, and they do attend."
W. Newell, which is owned by Supervalu in Minneapolis, services about 500 individual retail stores spread over eight states from its Champaign facility, including corporate stores owned by its parent company. It also serves as the produce buying arm for a handful of Supervalu divisions in the Midwest and Southeast.
This is the third year the company has held this expo, which took place at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Mr. Aune said that it is a fairly central location for its many customers. The firm provided transportation, via motor coach, for the customers with pickup points throughout the Midwest. "We brought the store owners in, put them up for one or two nights in a couple of different Indianapolis hotels, and provided them with a day-and-a- half of selling, education and socializing."
The event opened Sept. 9 with a cocktail reception, dinner, entertainment and a dessert party.
During the exhibition part of the event, Mr. Aune said that special sales offers were announced that allowed these customers to book future buys at discounted rates. The buying opportunities were designed to be far enough in the future so they would not conflict with sales already on the books.
"I think it is a very good opportunity for us and our vendors to meet the customers face-to-face," Mr. Aune said. "We do see a pretty considerable sales lift because of the expo. I visited each of the 92 vendors during the expo and I believe each of them would say they saw a sales lift in at least one of the items that they were selling."
Mr. Aune said that vendors also use this event as an opportunity to introduce new products to these potential buyers letting them see and taste what they have to offer. He said a very diverse cross section of vendors attended, including Dole, Sunkist, Chiquita, Green Giant and Potandon Produce.
Mr. Aune said that W. Newell will hold the event again next year and is currently negotiating with regard to the date and the venue. "We expect to firm that up within the next three weeks so both the vendors and the customers can get it on their calendars," he said.
(Photos from the event appear in the Sept. 22 issue of The Produce News.)
