Fricks Market Earns Merchandising Award

Posted in The Missourian: Saturday, April 25, 2015, 6:32 pm | Updated: 8:14 am, Wed Apr 29, 2015.

Fricks Market, in Union, recently received a 2014 Excellence in Merchandising Award from the Springfield Division of Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. The recognition came during a ceremony in Branson on April 7.

The division honors one grocery retailer for excellence in merchandising or marketing in each of 10 categories. Fricks earned the Excellence in Merchandising Award in recognition of its outstanding salesmanship and presentation of AWG Brands items.

Owner, Jennifer Newbanks, together with the store manager, Michelle Kohler, and Kyle Kohler, grocery manager, accepted the award on behalf of the store following a short video presentation highlighting the store’s overall merchandising excellence in the category.

Winners of the division awards also are eligible to compete in the AWG Corporate Excellence in Merchandising Awards presented during the wholesaler’s annual meeting held in Kansas City, Kan.

“Independent retailers work very hard to be the best in the grocery business every single day,” said Tim Bellanti, senior vice president and division manager of AWG-Springfield. “It is with great pride that we recognize those merchants who excel in the critical areas of merchandising that make them unique and special in their marketplace.”

Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. is headquartered in Kansas City, Kan., and is the second-largest retailer-owned grocery wholesaler in the United States, serving more than 3,400 member grocery stores in over 30 states via its seven grocery distribution centers.

AWG-Springfield serves about 360 stores in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, and Oklahoma.