LAS VEGAS -- Supermarket News will honor the top 10 supermarket video-rental operations in a special awards presentation at a breakfast held during the Video Software Dealers Association convention, July 8 to 11, here.
The top supermarkets in video were ranked and profiled in the May 4, 1998, issue in a story titled "SN's Video All Stars." The list was compiled by SN and leading suppliers, and was based on revenues, merchandising aggressiveness and creativity.
The 10, in order, were: Kroger Co., Cincinnati; Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh; Albertson's, Boise, Idaho; Schnuck Markets, St. Louis; Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y.; Randall's Food Markets, Houston; Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif.; Hy-Vee, West Des Moines, Iowa; Smith's Food & Drug Centers, Salt Lake City; and Pathmark, Woodbridge, N.J.
The breakfast for supermarket video executives will be held Friday, July 10, at 8 a.m., in Room N242 of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Attendance is by invitation only, but retailers can obtain more information about the event by calling Gary Rautenberg, VSDA's director of membership, at (818) 385-1500.
The "Third Annual Supermarket Video Issues Breakfast" will be sponsored by Warner Home Video, Burbank, Calif., and hosted by VSDA and Supermarket News. With a panel of top executives and other networking opportunities, Warner plans to engage retailers in a discussion of hot video industry issues such as revenue sharing, copy-depth programs, DVD and catalog sales.
To answer questions, Warner hopes to have a panel of executives from such areas as operations, marketing and sales, as well as representatives of affiliated studios like HBO Home Video, New York, New Line Home Video, Los Angeles, and MGM Home Entertainment, Santa Monica, Calif.
"The people we'll have there are the ones who set policies and programs. It's the right forum, from the retail side and from our side, to get these kinds of things on the table," said John Quinn, Warner's senior vice president, sales.
Also scheduled will be presentations by VSDA's Rautenberg and David Merrefield, vice president, executive editor and associate publisher, Supermarket News, New York.
The convention will feature four full nights of evening entertainment for full registrants, and a total of nine sponsored parties, said Jeffrey P. Eves, VSDA president. A late addition to the lineup is a special screening of the upcoming DreamWorks SKG movie "Small Soldiers" on Thursday, July 9, at 7:30 p.m., at two Las Vegas theaters. Free popcorn and soft drinks will be provided.
