IGA COCA-COLA INSTITUTE TO CONDUCT SPRING SESSION SUPERMARKET MANAGEMENT CLASS

CHICAGO, IL - The IGA Coca-Cola Institute spring session of the Supermarket Management Class (SMC) will be held this year at the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley in San Diego, Ca., March 3-7.

Independent retailers from around the world are invited to attend this weeklong class where participants learn from a faculty of notable professors, practitioners, award-winning authors and entrepreneurs about consumer and market trends, category management, technology as it applies to retail, retail management, and improvement of 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 faculty-lead 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 students.

“Our objectives are to give our participants the supermarket knowledge necessary for them to become more successful on their own; to provide access to high-level faculty members; to offer optional Web-based certification that enables learners to fill knowledge gaps, maximizing the classroom experience and long-term development; and ultimately, to create an intimate community in which the productive exchange of information and networking opportunities can thrive,” said IGA Coca- Cola Institute President Dr. Paulo Goelzer.

Students who finish the Supermarket Management Class will receive a certificate of completion. For those students who want to further their learning experience, the IGA Coca-Cola Institute has developed a new graduation/ completion process that offers participants the opportunity to combine Web-based learning solutions along with the Supermarket Management Class sessions, participants who complete both the online course and the weeklong class will receive a diploma.

This is the eighth SMC class offered since sessions began in 2004. A recent study conducted by IGA Coca-Cola Institute in October 2007 revealed that 89 percent of Institute students who responded to the electronic survey say they are more confident in their job performance after taking our courses, and 70 percent maintain that they have seen a reduction in the number of on-the-job errors they commit. 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 on the Institute’s Web site at www.igainstitute.com. This site also includes hotel and travel information.