WOOSTER, Ohio -- Several retailers who have achieved remarkable sales performance with Certified Angus Beef were honored at CAB's annual conference.
included extensive advertising and participation in community events, including consumer food shows, women's expos and NASCAR races. In addition, meat department managers supported the efforts with employee training that covered the qualities of the CAB brand.
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle earned the 2004 Retail Advertiser of the Year award for its far-reaching advertising campaign. Operating more than 200 stores, the company calls attention to the beef brand in TV and radio commercials that show the shopping experience consumers typically have at Giant Eagle's stores. The CAB brand is also highlighted in weekly store circulars, on the retailer's Web site, and through custom store signs.
Buehler Food Markets, the 11-store chain based here, received the 2004 Retail Value-Added Products Marketer of the Year award. The chain was cited for aggressive marketing of CAB's value-added products, including CAB deli meats, franks, frozen burgers and heat-and-serve products. Simple, but effective, marketing tactics that included printed deli bags, sampling and serving the products at community events helped Buehler boost sales. CAB's convenience items complement the branded whole cuts that are sold in Buehler's fresh meat cases.
Ukrop's Super Markets earned the 2004 Retail Commitment to Integrity award for working diligently to present the CAB brand properly. CAB officials noted the Richmond, Va.-based chain of 29 stores did many things correctly, including educating staff, properly using brand materials and signs, and correctly handling consumers' questions about the brand, in both the fresh meat and deli departments.
The Retail Rising Star award, a new honor created to recognize CAB's new retail partners, went to Ray's Food Place, Brookings, Ore. In rolling out the beef brand at its 41 stores, the retailer used a three-month campaign that included training all store meat managers on the qualities of CAB products. The advertising side of the campaign included TV and radio commercials, in-store announcements and direct-mail pieces. Ray's also conducted a successful one-day meat sale to encourage trial.
CAB also acknowledged 10 retailers as the top retail sales volume leaders. Starting with the top leader, the top 10 were: Schnuck Markets, St. Louis; Meijer, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Stop & Shop, Quincy, Mass; Raley's, Sacramento, Calif.; Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh; Giant Food Stores, Carlisle, Pa.; K-VA-T, Abingdon, Va.; Shoprite Supermarkets, Edison, N.J.; Quality Food Centers, Bellevue, Wash.; and Giant Food, Landover, Md.
Shoprite also received the Top Retail Sales Volume Increase award by achieving a 45% increase in year-over-year sales. Strack & Van Til's Ultra Foods, Highland, Ind., was honored for achieving the Top Retail Volume Per Store award for having the highest CAB sales by pound.
Supervalu, the Mechanicsville, Va.-based distributor, earned the Top Volume Purchaser/Retail Distributor sales award. Skokie, Ill.-based Topco Associates was recognized in a new category: Top Sales Volume Cooperative. Topco tripled sales of its CAB heat-and-serve products under the cooperative's Dining In line.
