TRENDS, HOUSEKEEPING TOP RETAILERS' GMDC AGENDAS

JOEL ELSON

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Identifying new-product trends and maintaining vendor relations top the to-do lists of retailers attending the General Merchandise Distributors Council's fall general merchandise marketing conference here Sept. 11 to 16.

George Satterwhite, director of nonfood at Affiliated Foods, Amarillo, Texas, said he plans to discuss promotional opportunities during networking sessions with suppliers.

"We're pretty much wide open [for promotions] in all categories," he said. "All the major industry players will be assembled there, which offers an opportunity to explore what's available."

Imperial Distributors, Auburn, Mass., will send five executives to the conference to look for new general-merchandise products and category trends. They will also sit down with vendors to thrash out any unresolved operational and merchandising issues, said Michael Sleeper, president.

"The conference basically gives us a chance to see vendors about issues that we haven't managed to resolve locally, like completeness or incompleteness of orders and deliveries, timeliness of shipping, shortages and billing."

The GMDC, Colorado Springs, Colo., has slated several educational and business sessions for the conference, which will be held at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort.

A morning session Sunday, Sept. 13, "GMDC Pulse '98 . . . Shaping Tomorrow Today," will outline imminent challenges, trends and opportunities facing supermarket general-merchandise and health and beauty care executives.

This session will highlight a GMDC-sponsored report identifying important trends and their implications for supermarkets, wholesalers and suppliers. Issues to be examined include "The New Consumer," do-it-yourself-health and technology.

The GMDC's Educational Foundation will sponsor three concurrent workshops Tuesday, Sept. 15: "Multi-Cultural Marketing," "Seasonal Best Practices: Maximizing Seasonal Sales" and "Learn How to Manage Your Magazine Category."

Sunday's general business session will be co-hosted by GMDC chairman Paul Stillwell, former president of A&P's Supermarket Service Corp. nonfood subsidiary, Montvale, N.J., and Bob Birzell, national sales manager for GE Lighting, Cleveland.

The general business session will also feature a speech by TV newsman David Brinkley.