2010 AWMA Show Updates

March 15, 2010

The new AWMA Show: Kudos from Attendees, Exhibitors Alike

In the first year of a three-year transformation plan, the 2010 AWMA Show won plaudits from both attendees and exhibitors who raved about the 15 hours of educational programming offered and the quality of the business done during the two-day trade show.

“There have been a lot of great changes in the show this year,” said Frank Vignone, manager of trade relations, Altria Sales & Distribution, as he opened the closing Super Session. “There is innovation and many positive changes.”

InfoMetrics Data Program Embraced at the AWMA Show

LAS VEGAS – AWMA’s new InfoMetrics program, a powerful new tool to aggregate distributor product movement data to provide a new source of information for the c-store distribution industry, was demonstrated to a group of distributors and suppliers during the 2010 AWMA Show in Las Vegas March 10.

Marketing & Selling Tobacco Post-FDA

Distributors heard an outstanding presentation Thursday, March 11 at the 2010 AWMA Show on what to expect now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate tobacco products.

A Conversation with Three Leading Convenience Retailers

In Thursday’s closing Super Session, a panel of three top convenience retailers outlined steps their companies have taken to be successful and respond to the needs of their consumers.

When did customer service die?

It wasn’t hard for marketing and branding expert Scott Deming to rouse an early morning crowd during a session that took a lively and succinct look at how companies need to build their image – whether they are selling products or services.

According to Deming, awareness alone cannot build a powerful brand.  What is needed is “emotional branding, which can turn a customer into a raving maniac that is devoted to you for life. Just because the customer knows about your company or product does not mean they want you.”

March 10, 2010

Leading in Tough Times

Distributors were challenged during a Wednesday morning “wake up” session by industry consultant Doug MacKay to focus on innovation as they seek to weather difficult economic times and position their companies for long-term success.

MacKay, president of The Glen Douglas Group, urged company executives to stop doing things the same old way if they hope to achieve better results, and suggested that a good first step would be to “go on the front lines” and visit customers personally to get a good sense of what’s going on.

AWMA 2010: A Focus on Education

LAS VEGAS – AWMA’s new chairman for 2010, Jonathan Burklund, speaking to the association’s members Wednesday morning at the AWMA Show in Las Vegas, served notice that his goal for the year will be to help strengthen education programming to enable members to succeed, now and into the future.

Supermarket Guru Offers Challenges to Distributors

Phil Lempert, the “Supermarket Guru,” one of the leading experts on developments in the food industry – including consumer trends – told distributors in Wednesday’s opening super session that they are in a perfect position to capitalize on an increasing desire of consumers to shop in smaller format stores to benefit from their convenience.

“Consumer trends change and evolve,” Lempert said, “so our job is to continually evolve and change as well. We need to stay in front of those trends.”

The True Cost of a Customer

The industry’s leading profit prophet, Al Bates, president, the Profit Planning Group, walked attendees in a mid-morning educational session through the process of evaluating how to cope with customers that are currently unprofitable and largely responsible for low overall distributor pretax profits and return on assets (ROA).

Focus on Foodservice

Wednesday’s second Super Session focused on strategies for building foodservice sales, and was led by Ira Blumenthal, president, Co-Opportunities, and covered by a panel featuring Andy Revella, chief culinary officer, The Fuzion Food Group; Steve Shing, corporate vice president, sales & marketing, GSC Enterprises, Inc.; and Ray Johnson, operations manager, Speedee Mart, a Las Vegas c-store chain.

Focus on Core Brands Fundamental to Candy, Snack Profits

A panel of experts representing a distributor, a manufacturer, a consultant and an association executive agreed that turning attention to the core brands that sell in c-stores is the first step to increasing candy and snack profits.  

Moderator Scott Ramminger, AWMA president, asked the panelists what they believe is the one strategy the industry should consider as it tries to improve profitability across the supply chain.

Foodservice -- No Longer Just Hot Dogs on the Grill

The past two years of economic strain have slowed growth of foodservice sales across the board.  However, as consumer confidence regains and consumers have more money in their pockets, the opportunities for foodservice growth in c-stores are promising.

Citing Technomic, Inc. research, Timothy Powell, senior manager, told a room full of early risers at the AWMA Show that foodservice sales reached 10.5 billion in 2009.  

On the Show Floor

The 2010 Convenience Distributor EXPO opened Wednesday after the educational sessions to a crowed of buyers seeking deals and looking for new ideas and opportunities at 175 booths featured on the show floor.

Show-only deals, which often provide enough savings for distributors to cover the cost of attending the conference and EXPO, are being offered by about 60 companies with a wide variety of products and services.

The early reaction to the new and improved EXPO during its first day was positive.

On Tap for Thursday

Thursday’s AWMA Show opens at 7:30 a.m. with two concurrent “wake up” sessions, “How to Market and Sell tobacco Post-FDA,” sponsored by RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., and “When Did Consumer Service Die—Does Anyone Remember the Funeral?”

The Closing Super Session, sponsored by Altria Sales and Distribution, will present “A Conversation with Three Leading Convenience Retailers,” who will discuss the challenges that they face and how distributors can help.

March 9, 2010

Opening Reception Draws Enthusiastic AWMA Crowd

The opening reception, sponsored by Altria Sales & Distribution, drew a large and enthusiastic crowd of AWMA member company professionals and suppliers who mingled together and prepared plans for the next two full days of show activity.  Ice sculptures designed in the shapes of Altria products were a conversation topic throughout the evening.

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