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SUPERMARKET EXECUTIVES BREAKFAST IS A VSDA HIT

LOS ANGELES -- A breakfast meeting for supermarket video executives held during the Video Software Dealers Association convention here earlier this month drew strong attendance that substantially exceeded the organizers' expectations. The event was hosted by VSDA here and Supermarket News, and sponsored by MCA/Universal Home Video, Universal City, Calif. It drew well over 100 people. The vast majority

LOS ANGELES -- A breakfast meeting for supermarket video executives held during the Video Software Dealers Association convention here earlier this month drew strong attendance that substantially exceeded the organizers' expectations. The event was hosted by VSDA here and Supermarket News, and sponsored by MCA/Universal Home Video, Universal City, Calif. It drew well over 100 people. The vast majority were retail representatives, many from the nation's largest chains. Among the more prominent supermarket companies at the event were Albertsons, Baker's, City Markets, Coborn's, Dillon, Genuardi's, Glen's, Hannaford Bros., Harps, Hy-Vee, Ingles, K-VA-T, Kroger Co., Nash Finch, National, Price Chopper, Roundy's, Safeway, Schnuck, Seaway Food Town, Stop & Shop and Wegmans. Numerous representatives from independent retailers, large rack jobbers and leased space operators like Blowout Entertainment also were in attendance. Of several past attempts to gather supermarket video executives to a national forum, this breakfast was clearly the most successful, noted observers. "The attendance at the supermarket breakfast far exceeded what I expected," said Mark Fisher, video sales and operations manager at Stop & Shop, Quincy, Mass. Fisher, a member of the VSDA board of directors, chairs a task force charged with increasing supermarket participation in the association. "If that was an indication of interest, then with the follow-up of our membership department, we will be able to continue to grow and represent the whole industry," said Fisher. "This was the first time that we've ever done a breakfast with supermarkets and it was very well attended," said Jeffrey Eves, VSDA's president. "It was an excellent opportunity to have a dialogue with the supermarket sector," he said. "The welcome mat is clearly out from VSDA's point of view. We want to be the one voice of the industry and we cannot be that one voice without supermarkets' participation," said Eves. The main purpose of the event was to encourage supermarket membership in VSDA, but another purpose was to disseminate marketing information and provide a networking opportunity for the executives. Bill Glaseman, video specialist at Bashas', Chandler, Ariz., said he benefited from meeting with counterparts from other companies."It was just great meeting with them. They were very cooperative and we exchanged some very, very good ideas," he said. During his presentation, Stop & Shop's Fisher said supermarkets in the video business have the same needs and concerns as other video retailers. This was confirmed by a recent survey conducted by the task force, he said. "There are very few differences between supermarkets' needs and those of the rest of the video industry, especially today as the industry's professionalism is growing," he said. VSDA is now trying to get the studios to lengthen pay-per-view windows, something that will benefit all video retailers, including supermarkets, Fisher noted. "VSDA is working hard to battle the black box [for illegal cable access] problem. That is a problem that we all have and is no different from the rest of the industry," he said. "Joining VSDA offers you not only direct benefits, but it also adds to the clout that VSDA has in Washington and Hollywood," he said. Stop & Shop participates in VSDA at the national and local levels, he said. For example, Fisher encourages department managers to attend VSDA chapter meetings whenever possible "to learn and to network. They can learn things there that we can't teach them," he said. An annual educational forum held by the New England chapter is also important to Stop & Shop. "That is a true training ground for our people and a very inexpensive way to educate our staff," said Fisher. Andrew Kairey, senior vice president of sales and marketing at MCA/Universal Home Video, predicted a reversal of the downturn that hurt the rental business last year and continued double-digit growth for sell-through. The theatrical movie business is seeing one of its biggest years ever, he noted. "That means a bright future for us because that will eventually be our product. If you look at what is happening at the box office right now, I think we will have an exciting fourth quarter and 1997," he said. MCA/Universal now is looking at video in terms of category management, which is important to supermarkets, Kairey said. "But we look at it as being the entertainment category, not just the video category," he said. "We look at category management as a tool that will allow us to partner and build relationships with retailers," he said. By sharing information, the supplier and retailers can make "fact-based decisions. It also allows us the opportunity to bring customized promotions to retail," he said.