Time is running out to register to attend Convenience Store Decisions’ 2007 Foodservice Show, which kicks off June 4 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas.
CSD’s Food Show is the only foodservice event in the convenience store and petroleum industry targeted directly to retailers and suppliers managing the fast-growing foodservice category. This show attracts a wide-range of foodservice purveyors from across the retail spectrum including supermarket and grocery, drug and dollar stores, military stores and mass merchandisers so it’s no surprise that attendance at this critical educational conference and trade show continues to grow annually.
The agenda for this year’s show is among the strongest ever, showcasing a talented mix of retailers and food industry experts that have one goal in mind: to help attendees elevate their foodservice offering. The keynote address on “Foodservice Insight and Innovation” will be delivered by Louis Sheetz, vice president of sales for Sheetz Inc.
Louie Sheetz leads all areas of marketing, sales and product development for the Altoona, Pa.-based convenience store chain, which owns and operates more than 320 stores in six states—Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. With 2005 revenues exceeding $3.4 billion, Sheetz ranks No. 87 on the Forbes list of Top Private U.S. Companies.
A panel of venerable retailer experts will be featured in the “Controlling Foodservice Costs” education session. Panelists include:
* John MacDougall, Chairman and CEO of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes Inc., Canastota, N.Y.
* Tariq Khan, Chairman of the National Coalition of 7-Eleven Franchisees, Rockville Centre, N.Y.
* Sam Gibson, President of GoCo Ltd., Butler, Ala.
The opening general session, which will be delivered by David Bishop, of Willard Bishop, will focus on “The State of Foodservice in 2007 and Beyond.” Other presenters include Marsha Robbins (foodservice safety and sanitation), John Matthews (foodservice marketing) and Mel Kleiman (labor and training).
In addition to the educational sessions, the 2007 Foodservice Show will include lunchtime roundtable discussions to promote category-specific dialogue, strategic one-on-one buying sessions for retailers and suppliers and an awards ceremony to honor a two distinct chains for their foodservice efforts. This year’s Best in Class honors go to Exxon Mobil Corp. and Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes Inc.
Then there is the trade show, which showcases the new products and innovation suppliers routinely contribute to this lucrative category. Supplier companies range from food manufacturers to coffee and beverage suppliers, from technology companies that make POS ordering systems, to packaging manufacturers that provide the paper and plastic customers eat off of, and everyone in between.
Why Attend?
Foodservice sales are hot. The National Association of Convenience Stores’ (NACS) 2007 State of the Industry (SOI) report quantified just how important the foodservice category is to the convenience store industry. Food sales soared 5% last year to $18.8 billion with a gross margin percent of 49.8%.
With fuel prices soaring to record highs and credit card processing fees eating away at industry profitability, retailers hoping to boost foodservice sales and margins cannot afford to miss this year’s show. By attending this premier CSD event, you will be among the resourceful managers to realize just how important the foodservice segment has become, not only to growing your bottom line, but to satisfying the consumers’ needs on a daily basis. For registration information visit www.cstoredecisions.com/foodservice or contact conference manager Celeste Warf at (303) 998-9222.
