SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- At the age of 100, the California Grocers Association here is still a work in progress. Rather than simply resting on its century-old laurels, it is continuing to evolve by reinventing its annual convention with a more regional approach and widening its base among chain-store members. The CGA also maintains its primary role as the industry's voice in state and local government.
Interviewed just prior to the association's 99th annual convention -- scheduled this week in Reno, Nev. -- Peter Larkin, CGA president, talked about the association's past and future.
The key to future success is providing added value in all that the CGA does, Larkin said.
"As the industry consolidates, everyone is looking at return on investment," he said, "and when it comes to state associations, everyone wants to know what value they will receive for their partnership in CGA.
"Few companies will participate only for 'the good of the industry.' There has to be a more certain payback. And as the industry changes, we as a trade association must change to make sure we continue to provide value.
"So we had to ask ourselves, if we expect retailers and suppliers to attend our convention and support our association, what will be their return? How can we give them something valuable that they can use everyday in business to do their job?
"Our solution was to reinvent the convention with a focus on educational programming. This year, even more so than last year, we have a great lineup of speakers and workshops on the most timely subjects in the industry.
"And if we want to attract the kinds of speakers we want from across the U.S., all of whom are experts in their fields, then we've got to be able to deliver a crowd.
"Offering top-notch speakers and first-rate workshops are values we can sell to the retailers and show them there is a return on their investment. And if we can bring retailers for the educational program, then the exhibitors are also taken care of because of the value retailers and exhibitors get from talking to each other.
"In two short years we've proved this formula works," Larkin said, noting that attendance was up 75% last year (from 2,000 attendees in 1996 to 3,500 at the 1997 convention) and exhibitor sales rose 19% a year ago. He said he was uncertain about this year's final figures, although he said attendance is running about even with last year, pending anticipated on-site registration, and exhibitor sales are up 6% to 10% so far this year.
For the first time ever, this year's CGA convention will be more of a regional show, Larkin said.
"We've found that if we continue to provide a quality educational program, then retailers from out of state will come. And if the retailers come, then our exhibit floor will continue to grow, and the convention will evolve into more of a Western regional show as supplier-exhibitors follow retailers to CGA.
"So we've been working with other state associations to promote our show and seek more participation from their members," he said. Larkin said the CGA has been working closely with state associations in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Utah to promote attendance at the California show. The CGA also expects support from state association members in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, he said.
"Five to seven years ago most of the state associations in the Western United States had conventions with trade shows," Larkin told SN. "But California is probably the only one that still holds a trade show, so our convention has started to attract more attention from other states." He said the vast majority of registrants at the CGA convention will always be from California -- and more so this year because of the centennial. "But as we expand the show over the next several years, we will start to see more attendance from surrounding states," Larkin said.
Another slightly new twist this year will be greater chain participation, Larkin said. Although chains have always been CGA members, the convention over the last 10 years has always attracted and been programmed primarily for independent grocers, with few chains represented, he said.
"However, I have met personally with member chains to talk about the workshops, the caliber of speakers, the value and the return they'll get if they invest money to send their people to Reno, and it appears to have sunk in because chain attendance this year is very strong -- stronger than it's been for a lot of years," Larkin told SN.
Adding emphasis to the association's commitment to serving large as well as smaller operators was the choice of keynote speaker for this year's convention -- Steve Burd, president and chief executive officer of Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif.
"Everyone wants to hear what he has to say," Larkin said.
Larkin said the CGA convention is likely to alternate between Reno and Las Vegas for the next few years.
Asked why a state convention is meeting outside the state, Larkin said, "Anytime you're bringing in 3,000 to 4,000 people for a convention, it's important to get them away from their homes and businesses, even for just a few days.
"Bringing the industry to a destination is more effective in creating a mood of gathering for a common purpose. When we were in Long Beach in 1996, people who worked in southern California tended to come in for a morning session, then go to work in the afternoon and maybe come back in the evening, but there was no sense of everyone gathered together in one location.
"In addition, if you're trying to attract people from a larger radius, Reno and Las Vegas are very easy, convenient places to get to and hotel rooms are less expensive, so we can bring more people together and create a feeling the industry has gathered.
"Finally, we would like consistency -- the idea of people knowing that every year in mid-October the convention will happen in Las Vegas or Reno, like people know the first week in May is the Food Marketing Institute convention in Chicago."
Legislative issues remain at the core of the CGA's purpose, Larkin said. "It comes as no surprise that the reason the association was started, and the common theme over the past 100 years, was bringing the industry together so it could speak with one voice in government relations," he said.
"Representing the industry here in the state capital, as well as at the city and county levels, is a strong, strong thread that weaves throughout CGA's history."
What's changed, he said, is the way state associations like the CGA interact with their members and what kinds of services they provide.
"There was a time the association played a role in product procurement -- it's even possible the association did some buying at one time in the 1920s and 1930s. We know this because the association magazine used to run price lists. But that was all before passage of the Robinson-Patman Act."
Asked about current issues of concern to the California industry, Larkin cited two measures, both of which were passed by the legislature but vetoed by California Gov. Pete Wilson.
One is a recycling measure that would have succeeded legislation passed 10 years ago that set up a California redemption value for all containers and required the creation of convenience zones with recycling centers within a mile of every supermarket in the state. Portions of that law will expire at the end of 1998, and, in trying to extend it, the state legislature proposed reducing the handling fees paid to recyclers for unclaimed CRVs.
However, that bill was vetoed by Governor Wilson late last month, in part because the new law would have raised the CRV 2.5 cents to 5 cents on a 20-ounce container, the same as for a 24-ounce container, which Larkin said seemed like a tax increase to the governor.
With the proposal vetoed and the legislature out of session till January, "it's anyone's guess what will happen when the current law expires, and I'm not looking forward to finding out," Larkin said. He said the CGA has begun meeting with various stakeholders in the situation "to figure out a solution prior to Jan. 1."
Another bill that was vetoed by Gov. Wilson involved the amount of ephedrine contained in over-the-counter flu and cold products. According to Larkin, some drug addicts were buying large quantities of products with ephedrine to use as an ingredient in manufacturing meathamphetimines, which led several local governments to pass laws restricting the sale of OTC products with ephedrine.
"To crack down, well-meaning law- enforcement groups and city officials imposed sales restrictions, which left the industry with different versions of the law. We wanted the legislature to solve the problem once, so several trade associations drafted a bill that preempted local ordinances, and that was passed by the legislature and sent to the governor.
"However, the governor vetoed the bill after the Narcotics Officers Association said at the last minute that the amount of ephedrine should be limited to 3 grams per package instead of limiting sales to four packages per customer. The problem is the amount could vary because each package size and count has a different gram total."
Larkin said the CGA plans to regroup and work out its strategies.
While the CGA does not win all its fights, Larkin said he is thrilled to be part of an entity that has reached the century mark.
"I would wager a guess there are very few trade associations that have made it to their 100th anniversary, so CGA's sheer survival is quite a feat in itself," Larkin said.
Reviewing the convention program with SN, Larkin noted that general session speakers besides Burd will include Neil Stern, a partner in McMillan/Doolittle, Chicago, on innovative ideas in merchandising, marketing and store design. Stern spoke at a workshop last year, "and everyone who heard him said he should be a general session speaker this year," Larkin said.
Other keynoters will be Herman Cain, chairman of Godfather's Pizza and president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association, and Fergal Quinn, chairman of Superquinn, Dublin, Ireland.
Workshops will consider recruitment, loyalty cards, consumer habits, category management, loss prevention, meal solutions, efficient assortment and specialty foods.
