I recently read that the summer of 2010 at the New Jersey shore was deemed a “trifecta.” That is when the three major holidays, Memorial Day, the July 4th holiday and Labor Day all had good weather. That should also mean the businesses down the shore shared in this perfection. However, the bad economy and people’s shift in spending habits have left the shore business owners asking where’s the dough? Not to say the whole summer was a washout, it just could have been better. The relaxing summer days seem to have all but vanished with school starting and the Jewish high holidays coming very early this year. Fall golf outings have begun along with college and professional football, the Phillies going for the playoffs once again (woohoo!) and of course speculation of what the upcoming months will hold for A&P, Acme and Genuardi.
After fifty plus years of servicing customers from the south Philadelphia facility, the newly named Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market (PWPM) is planning to open its doors in January 2011. The name was developed strategically to position the new facility as a “wholesale produce market” capable of servicing customers within a 500 mile radius of the new location. Boasting over 700,000 square feet of merchant display units, cooling facilities and loading areas, the PWPM aims to serve customers in a greater capacity than ever before.
“Our facility in south Philadelphia near the stadiums is limiting our ability to conform to the needs of our customers,” said Sonny DiCrecchio, CEO of PWPM. “In the new facility, we will not only exceed our customers’ needs in terms of freshness, availability and variety, we’ll also have the opportunity to provide them with a level of customer service that isn’t possible in our current facility. Of course we are anxious to move to the new facility, but for now, we’re taking every step possible to ensure that the building is in perfect condition at the time of move-in for both our merchant’s and our customer’s benefit.” Equipped with technologically advanced cooling systems and efficiencies, the PWPM will obtain fresh products from the same valued growers and suppliers that have provided the market with products for over five decades, but in the new facility, will have the ability to maintain the cold chain more effectively. By doing this, customers of the PWPM will experience fresher products with a longer shelf life. Equipped with technologically advanced cooling systems and efficiencies, the PWPM will obtain fresh products from the same valued growers and suppliers that have provided the market with products for over five decades, but in the new facility, will have the ability to maintain the cold chain more effectively. By doing this, customers of the PWPM will experience fresher products with a longer shelf life. For more information about the PWPM go to www.pwpm.org .
Building off the success of ShopRite’s iPhone App, MyWebGrocer and ShopRite supermarkets have teamed up again to launch a new Android Application, ShopRite Weekly Specials™. The new App, which is free and available now through Android’s Market, is the first App dedicated to weekly grocery specials on Android’s Operating System. ShopRite’s customers are spending more time on their mobile devices and this App is yet another way to make ShopRite’s customers’ lives easier. The App is a portable circular and pre-store planning tool that invites consumers to “start saving” by browsing hundreds of items instantly. Among its many groundbreaking features, ShopRite Weekly Specials enables consumers to see what’s on sale in real time at their neighborhood ShopRite store. Once they select an item, it is added to their shopping list, which is neatly organized by category with pictures, descriptions and real time prices. Shoppers can also use the voice command to add items to their list by speaking into the App. The App syncs and downloads store specials directly to any Android mobile device and can even sync with customers’ shopping list at ShopRite.com.
MyWebGrocer CEO Rich Tarrant said, “Our goal is to help our clients engage with their customers where ever they are in the digital space. We are very pleased to deliver an Android mobile solution for ShopRite. Ever since the early success of their iPhone savings app, we knew that a mobile strategy for multiple platforms made sense.”
Now that the Labor Day holiday has brought with it the end of summer, the event season is heating up. The NJFC has announced that Phil Scaduto, vice president, administration and marketing, of Food Circus Supermarkets will be honored with the 2010 Food Council Committee for Good Government (FCCfGG) Award at the 37th Annual Good Government Breakfast to be held at the Woodbridge Hilton, Iselin, New Jersey on September 24, 2010, 8:30 a.m. Presented annually, the “Good Government” Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates the spirit of public policy leadership and effective government advocacy. As the vice chairman of the New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) and one of NJFC’s most active members in the area of public policy, Mr. Scaduto is a deserving recipient of this honor. “Phil is one of our most active members, especially in the public policy forum,” stated NJFC president Linda Doherty. “His tireless work helping to offer common sense solutions to prevent plastic bag mandates and increase consumer education was vital to the industry during this economic downturn,” she said.
During the event, the FCCFGG board of governors will continue to honor the memory of longtime NJFC consultant Tom Kelly. The Thomas W. Kelly Government Service Award will be presented to Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno for her significant role in the creation and implementation of the Red Tape Review Commission. Also, outstanding legislator awards will be presented to Senator Michael Doherty (no relation to Linda) and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who both have clearly identified themselves as pro-business proponents and allies of the industry during this legislative session.
AMR/MAFTO has a full agenda of events that has already begun with Jeff Martin, EVP AHOLD USA addressing the trade on September 16 in Harrisburg. In addition, on Wednesday, September 30, Hank Mullany and Lance de la Rosa of Wal-Mart will speak at the Radisson in Valley Forge, PA. The weekend of November 5-7 Jeff Brown, president and CEO of Brown’s Super Stores will be feted at the 6th annual Person of the Year weekend extravaganza. It’s not only a chance to come out and show your appreciation for all the work Jeff and all his organization do for the Philadelphia community, it will be a great weekend getaway before the holidays get into full swing. AMR/MAFTO is all about making money to give it away. The generosity of the Philadelphia food industry is most evident when AMR/MAFTO gives away money for toys to children who would otherwise have no gifts to celebrate the multi-cultural holidays that span the month of December. Thus, the final event of AMR/MAFTO’s 2010 calendar will be the Christmas for all Kids dance party and Monte Carlo Night to be held Friday, December 3. This event was started in the early 1980s by the then Tri-State Dairy Deli Association with Anthony L. Maglio of Maglio Sausage Co. and his committee made this event a success from year one. Christmas for All Kids is still going strong 28 years later! Come out and kick off the holiday season by helping AMR/MAFTO give holiday gifts to children in the Tri-State area. For more information, go to www.amrmafto.org .
How much do you know about social networking? Do you facebook and tweet? Do you know how many companies do? On October 5 at the Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, NJ, the EPPA is holding a seminar and dinner designed to expose you to the exciting world of Social Networking Sites and how you can use them to communicate with your customers, clients and associates. This will be very informative and great for procurement executives, HR managers and sales and marketing professionals.
By now you all know how I feel about reusable shopping bags; I love them and use them for much more than just supermarket expeditions. If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, here’s some information that will make you take the leap. Since 2007, when Wegmans introduced reusable bags, the company has cut the number of plastic bags handed out at checkouts by 30 percent. Before reusable bags were introduced, Wegmans stores were handing out one million bags per day. Are they still handing out plastic bags at Wegmans? Yes, but the bags are denser thereby allowing more products to be packed in the bags and ultimately using less bags overall. The reusable shopping bags are made of 95 percent recycled woven polypropylene to boot! One, two, three jump! It’s easy…just remember to take the bags out of the trunk before you go into the market.
Birthday shout-outs for the month of September go to: Nate Ostroff, Network Food Brokers; Janine Marano, wife of Mike Marano, AMG Force One; Linda Szybowski, Acme Markets; Charles Genuardi, who celebrates 101 years; and my mom, Rosalie Maggio. Buon compleanno a tutti!
Happy anniversary wishes to: Elaine and Jeff Bilk, Burris Logistics; Elaine and Neil Brassell, Johanna Foods; Frank and Mary Frazier, retired Cargill; Mike and Janine Marano, AMG Force One Marketing; Bill and Laverne Todd, Seltzer’s Meats; Maurice and Gina Cicotelli Christino, Cento Foods; Michael and Jessie Scaduto Riley, Food Circus. Congratulations!
Quote of the month: “We learn simply by the exposure of living. Much that passes for education is not education at all but ritual. The fact is that we are being educated when we know it least.” David P. Gardner, American academic leader
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