No longer one or the other

It used to be that if supermarkets wanted to save energy they had to sacrifice merchandising prowess and possibly sales. The old rule was that if you wanted to put doors on your coolers, for example, expect fewer people to buy milk, yogurt and other refrigerated items. Retailers and equipment suppliers were out in full force in Phoenix to debunk those tired theories at the FMI Energy and Store Development Conference. “The door debate is over,” declared Terry Roberts, director of U.S. market development for Nualight, a provider of LED lighting for cases that works with a number of manufacturers. That pretty much summed it up. Her sentiment was echoed by a number of retailers from Kroger, Buehler’s, Big Y and other retailers I spoke to at the conference who were looking for the next generation of solutions that sustain the environment as well as sales.