DELI EXECUTIVES SET RESOLUTIONS FOR 1994

ROSEANNE HARPER

Supermarket deli executives have resolved to bring convenience, variety and quality to the next level for 1994 -- and to make money doing it. There will be more emphasis on complete meals and on offering a larger selection of prepared entrees, including more items that are seen as healthy but also taste good, they told SN in interviews.

Service, too, will be important, said most of the 10 retailers polled.

Training deli staff to serve the customer better will be a major concern in 1994 for Fiesta Mart, Houston, said Larry Jones, deli merchandising manager for the 29-unit chain.

"We're looking for people with some experience. The investment [in salaries] will be worth it," he added.

Terry Walsh, marketing director of the Miami division of Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla., said service will be a key focus in the deli. "We're going to work on service. One way will be by making sure departments are well-staffed," he said. He added that Winn-Dixie will give customers more of a choice of meals to go. Another retailer putting a premium on prepared foods is D'Agostino Supermarkets, Larchmont, N.Y.

"A major challenge will be to add variety that will actually increase sales, not just be a trade-off or create shrink," said Jesse Kirsch, director of deli-bakery operations for the chain.

Cheryl Robertson, manager of consumer affairs for Dominick's Finer Foods, Northlake, Ill., said Dominick's will continue to add to the variety of prepared foods, particularly

upscale specialty salads. The chain will continue to address consumers' health-consciousness as well, she said.

"We'll develop more heart-healthy items in our Chef's Collection prepared foods line, and we'll continue to point that out to customers," she added. "We've had success putting nutritional information in our deli ads."

Those who talked to SN stressed they would be focusing on cost controls to improve the bottom line.

"Retailers will have to think of more ways to make money in the deli this year," said Gene R. Johnson, corporate director of bakery-deli operations for Scrivner Inc., Oklahoma City, a wholesaler that owns more than 100 retail stores.

He added that his company would be looking to modify in-store packaging in one of its efforts to control costs.

Going to more scratch preparation in its hot foods program will cut some costs for his company, said Fiesta Mart's Jones. "Not only is it more profitable, we believe the quality is better, and that's what the customer wants," he added.

Several retailers, referring to the new labeling laws, said that nutritional labeling requirements would be a major concern in 1994. They expressed concern about the time they feel it will take to figure out what will be required for their particular operations.

Here's more of what those polled had to say:

Terry Walsh

marketing director Miami division

Winn-Dixie Stores

Miami

Right now we're putting together meal packages that serve three or four people and we'll expand on the variety of those. We've just added a new flavor rotisserie chicken.

The time restraints on people these days make it important to offer them a whole meal they can just heat up and eat.

And the variety we've added over the past six months, we hope, will push sales up this year.

Cheryl Robertson

manager, consumer affairs

Dominick's Finer Foods

Northlake, Ill.

We'll continue to look toward what we can provide customers that tastes good and also meets any dietary concerns.

Our chefs work with the American Heart Association of Metropolitan Chicago on menu items such as our new tomato basil pasta salad. We know people are more and more health conscious. I don't know how much they'll trade taste for nutrition, but they'll try healthy items and, if they like them, they'll come back. We'll continue to emphasize sampling this year.

Kris Sundberg

VP, investor relations, communications

Supervalu

Minneapolis

There may not be any new, unique products in 1994 in the deli, but there'll be a continuation of sensitivity about offering healthy products. What will emerge will be products that are healthy and taste good.

In that same vein, roasted chicken will continue to be popular -- some ethnic foods, too, such as those with rice.

The successful retailers in 1994 will be concerned about meeting their customers' needs and that may mean providing more nutrition education.

Retailers will probably be instructing staffs on how to talk to customers about the healthy aspects of various products.

The new labeling act and how it plays out will naturally be a concern to all of us, too, in 1994.

William Vitulli

VP, community, government relations

A&P

Montvale, N.J.

We'll be expanding our hot food sections in our larger stores, and in new ones. That's in line with the one-stop shopping trend. Working couples are looking for a meal to take home.

Since one of our concerns is operating costs in the service deli, we'll also increase self-service items, the presliced, preweighed items.

Party platters and giant heroes will continue to climb in popularity. We have great sales of these items every Sunday because people get together to watch football. All year long people are buying them for sports and other events.

We see a very bright outlook for the deli because it's a major department that brings customers in if quality and retail prices are attractive.

David Reynolds

deli-seafood specialist

Harp's Food Stores

Springdale, Ark.

The more convenience we can offer the customer in 1994, the better off we'll be.

We'll offer a larger variety of complete meals this year. We'll look at what the manufacturers are doing. Our turkey dinner for the holidays was a huge success. We sold twice what we had projected and I've taken my cue from that. We maybe could offer catfish dinners or chicken Kiev or a 2-pound cooked roast and vegetables for Sunday dinner. It has to be high quality, but at a good price. Our customers expect a good value.

My big concern will be training employees to ensure they prepare a high-quality, safe product. We'll do more about communicating closely with store-level management and em ployees. Where I get the store manager involved we do very well in the deli.

We'll do more of that, and do a better job with merchandising -- decorating the department and getting department managers to work together. Those efforts, we think, will give us a sales increase in 1994.

Larry Jones

deli merchandising manager

Fiesta Mart

Houston

I think sales in the deli will continue to be strong, for us, anyway. We'll get more aggressive with our ads. We're going to have more space in our newspaper ad for deli. We're also going to add variety to our hot foods. Our forte has been Mexican food, but we'll be adding more American dishes, such as baked and fried fish and traditional items like mea loaf.

It's difficult to know what to add, but if you're going to increase sales, you've got to get out of the box and take some risks.

It's going to be a very competitive year in this market. That's one of the reasons we're getting more aggressive with advertising and expanding variety. We're going for volume with lower prices this year.

Ed Boxman

deli merchandiser

Xtra Super Food Centers

Pompano Beach, Fla.

Poultry will continue to grow as a category. People are still looking for healthy items, and manufacturers have come out with more products that taste good. We've started offering a lowfat macaroni and cheese and it does well.

There's even been growth in lowfat cheeses and that, I think, will continue. The taste has been improved. A big concern for the industry will be training, getting the time to train employees so they'll have enough knowledge to answer customers' questions.

Jesse Kirsch

director, deli-bakery operations

D'Agostino Supermarkets

Larchmont, N.Y.

With the deli business pretty flat over the past year or so, retailers are going to be looking for the product category that'll bring people into the deli. They'll go after more of the prepared food business, whether from restaurants or fast-food, and I think there will be more attention paid to making product selection appeal to each store's neighborhood customers. Self-service, too, I think will become more important. Wherever there's room to expand that section, it will be expanded.

Gene R. Johnson

corporate director bakery-deli operations

Scrivner Inc.

Oklahoma City

We're looking for ways to do things less expensively in the deli. Packaging, for example, has gotten out of hand. All the plastic, the domes, look nice and sell product, but they're expensive.

One item that will continue to be big is prepacked sliced meats. Shingled and vacuum-packaged. Another that'll keep going well in 1994 is roasted chickens, because everybody thinks they're going to lose weight and get healthy eating all that poultry.

deli executive

large East Coast chain

There'll be more trading on consumers' quest for convenience. In that regard, we'll see a proliferation of prepared foods in 1994. But quality as well as convenience will be a key word.

Everybody's going to continue to try to sell whole meals. It'll work in some places.