Supervalu Sets Expo Agenda

Supervalu has invited its independent retail customers to experience “education, inspiration and innovation” during its fifth annual National Expo, taking place July 24-26 at the River Centre in St. Paul, Minn.

The Expo will feature a full schedule of events designed to help retailers gain valuable business insights, drive sales and best serve their customers in today’s grocery retail environment, while shopping special deals and promotions on merchandise available at the show, the distributor said.

In addition to a full day of education sessions and workshops, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, best known for serving as captain of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 during what has been called the “Miracle on the Hudson,” will give the keynote speech July 24. Multiplatinum-selling singer Gavin DeGraw will headline the annual fundraising event for Feeding America, which will be held July 25.

“As one of the nation’s largest grocery distributors, we are committed to helping independent retailers succeed,” said Mike Stigers, Supervalu’s EVP of wholesale, in a statement. “Anyone who owns, manages or supports any aspect of a grocery retail business will find our National Expo to be the go-to resource to stay on top of new developments and best practices for success today. This year, we are bringing together our independent retail customers from across the entire United States, as well as our huge vendor network and the Supervalu East, West and Central region teams to create one of the largest, must-attend events in the industry.”

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Attendees will find more than 133,000 square feet of exhibits featuring new products and services, merchandising solutions and in-store concepts from more than 600 vendors. Also added to the show floor for 2018 is an entire hall dedicated specifically to ethnic, natural, organic and specialty products, presented by Supervalu’s Market Centre.

In addition, retailers will have access to special deals and promotions throughout the show, including the Expo’s Monster Buys and Auctions, where prices on merchandise continue to drop as more quantities are purchased.

Supervalu will also present its annual Master Marketer Awards, which recognize the best merchandising, marketing and community relations initiatives from its independent retailers across the country over the past year.