MacNaughton Outlines Plan for Turning Lights Back On

LAS VEGAS -- Supervalu's executive vice president of merchandising and marketing Duncan Mac Naughton detailed the company's plan for changing the way consumers eat during the presentation "Turning The Dining Room Lights Back On" here Wednesday. It was part of Information Resources Inc.‘s “Changing the Game” Summit. “We talked to restaurateurs and found out that when they drive down the street between the hours of 5:00 and 7:30 and see dining room lights on, it infuriates them,” said Mac Naughton. “We want to get consumers to turn their dining room lights back on. When they go out to eat, it‘s a completely different experience, and retailers haven‘t made [eating at home] easy for them.” Fresh, healthy and convenient restaurant-quality meal solutions, such as those grouped in Supervalu merchandising units identified as “The Salad Place,” have lifted sales substantially, Mac Naughton said. “Items that we may have only sold one or two of, we‘re now selling cases of,” he said. Components of meals such as grilled Asian sesame chicken salad are cross-merchandised in the area. “Normally, it would take a customer 25 minutes to visit eight areas in the store to collect all of these ingredients, but we put them all in one place,” said Mac Naughton. “Customers want taste, convenience and components, not ingredients.” Supervalu, which became the No. 3 U.S. grocery chain after its acquisition of Albertsons, derives 73% of its sales from markets with a No. 1 or No. 2 share, according to Mac Naughton. -- Julie Gallagher