IGA Coca-Cola Institute To Conduct Spring Session Supermarket Management Class

Chicago, IL - The IGA Coca-Cola Institute's spring session of the Supermarket Management Class (SMC) will be held this year at the Downtown Marriott in Providence, R.I., March 19th-24th.

Independent retailers from around the world are invited to attend this weeklong class where participants learn from a faculty of distinguished professors, practitioners, award-winning authors and entrepreneurs about consumer and market trends, category management, technology as it applies to retail, retail management, and how to improve their deli, produce, bakery and meat departments. During this classroom style training, new and seasoned independent grocery store managers, owners, and department supervisors come together to discover new ways to distinguish their store.

Students will participate in interactive sessions led by retail experts, and will also experience new and innovative store formats through visits to local area supermarkets. The class, which is open to both IGA and non-IGA members of the industry, will be limited to 45-50 students.

"Our objective is to give our retailers supermarket learnings to become more successful on their own; to create a small community atmosphere for productive exchange of information and networking opportunities; and to offer the highest level faculty members who can speak to subjects vital to our industry," IGA Coca-Cola Institute President Dr. Paulo Goelzer said.

Beginning with the October 2006 Supermarket Management Class, the IGA Coca-Cola Institute developed a new graduation/completion process for participants of the program. As the program also offers the opportunity to combine Web-based learnings with Management Class sessions, participants must now complete both the online IGA Coca-Cola Institute courses and the weeklong class in order to receive a diploma. Students who finish only the Supermarket Management Class will receive a certificate of completion.

As stated by a recent graduate of the program, "Within my job, I have daily reminders of things I learned in the class that I didn't know beforehand," said Terry Basham, store manager of Houchens Ind., IGA in Albany, Ky. "I would recommend the seminar to anyone."

Interested parties may review the class curriculum and register to attend this class by going to the Institute's Web site at www.igainstitute.com. This site also includes hotel and travel information. Registrants should plan on arriving the day before the class begins to pick up binders and other materials, and depart the day after the class ends in order that they may attend the graduation dinner. For questions, you can call our toll-free number at 800-321- 5442.

The fall Supermarket Management Class will be held at Coca-Cola's headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 8-14, 2007. More details will be available at a later date.

SOURCE: IGA