DALLAS -- 7-Eleven Inc. will present Miller Brewing Co. its 2006 Retailer Initiative Award on August 30 in Dallas. This annual honor recognizes top suppliers/partners that excel at assisting 7-Eleven in meeting its customers' changing needs through team merchandising, demand-chain solutions, cost of goods and category management and creativity in advertising and promotional programs.
Miller was chosen for delivering exceptional value and satisfaction for 7-Eleven's customers through the creation of first, best and only products and promotional offers [image-nocss] aligned with the company's business strategy.
Based in Milwaukee, Miller is the second largest U.S. beer brewer and the No. 2 beer supplier for 7-Eleven. The company's signature beer, Miller Lite, is among the top-10 selling items at 7-Eleven stores nationwide.
Miller Brewing Co., along with their senior leadership team, is a committed strategic partner for 7-Eleven, said 7-Eleven president and CEO Joe DePinto. Miller is bringing renewed energy, enthusiasm and fun to the beer category with its product innovation, expertise, consumer insights and business planning. With their tremendous focus and sales momentum, Miller has really distinguished itself this year and deserves this award.
Miller has established dedicated account teams with resources to serve the company's division merchandising, marketing, point-of-purchase (POP) and business analysis groups.
We are humbled by this recognition from 7-Eleven, a dynamic organization that shares our passion for customer satisfaction, said Tom Long, president and CEO of Miller. This award is a reflection of the hard work our entire network of wholesalers and employees perform each day to deliver the highest quality beer to our customers. We're proud to accept the honor on their behalf.
Through team merchandising with 7-Eleven, Miller created a beer chill bag featuring the Indy Racing League, a sports referee-look bottle and other consumer offers to drive merchandise sales.
Miller also is working with 7-Eleven to implement a customer-focused demand chain, supporting the company's managed-distribution transformation and by providing information on service levels and delivery performance. In addition, Miller has developed a new-item verification process that identifies distribution gaps, as well as regional product opportunities for 7-Eleven.
Companies receiving honorable-mention recognition for their outstanding team-merchandising efforts include PepsiCo, Kraft Foods Inc. and MasterFoods USA.
Candidates were nominated by 7-Eleven's merchandising and operations personnel and judged on business activities in 2006. The award recipients were chosen by the 7-Eleven Awards Committee, comprised of senior executives. This is the sixth year 7-Eleven has presented its Retailer Initiative award. Last year's winners were UST Inc. and BakeFresh. Past winners include Pinnacle Food Products, Hershey, Nestle Waters North America and Anheuser-Busch.
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