In Print » December 2011 » Departments » Editorial

If you own a car, you know the importance of changing your oil. One Sunday afternoon, I decided to take my car into one of those quickie oil change places. Even in a small city such as Portland, Maine, we have a few options. I had other errands to run, so I decided to stop at an oil change place near my other destinations. Truth be told, I know there's a cheaper option across town ($15 less, in fact.) Heck, even my mechanic Chip charges less. Already a few hundred miles overdue, I decided to pay extra for convenience.

I pulled in a few minutes before closing, and was warmly greeted by the attendant. This gentleman clearly explained my options for motor oils, including a $79 synthetic option. (Who knew there were so many choices?) When I was settling the bill, he took the opportunity to explain that they had vacuumed my car and also told me about their free top-off service for not only oil, but also for windshield wiper fluid. And, he added, theirs contains a special additive so that it also de-ices the windshield, definitely an added bonus as for the long New England winters.

From the warm friendly greeting to the explanation of the value of their services, the whole experience reminded me of a positive specialty retail experience. I couldn't help but think of Di Bruno Bros., the retailer that's profiled in this issue. (See page 28.)

Back in October, I had the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia and spend the day with my friends at Di Bruno Bros. I've always been interested in succession plans, and how an established retailer passes on the baton to a new owner or the next generation. In the case of Di Bruno Bros., it's a success story. In 1990 three cousins — Bill Mignucci and brothers Billy Mignucci and Emilio Mignucci — took over the specialty food store their grandfather and uncle started in 1939. They have expanded the business to four locations and an online storefront, have added catering and a wholesale division. But besides expanding their business and growing their annual sales from $1 million to $25 million, I must say I was impressed with their employees, who told me they felt appreciated by the management and thrived in the positive work atmosphere. Di Bruno Bros. is not resting on their laurels; they're working to expand and improve their operations. Centralized purchasing, a wholesale kitchen and a revamped training program are in the works.

Here at The Gourmet Retailer, we're working to bring you information to help you improve our independent retail business. I encourage you to check out our website, www.gourmetretailer.com, and if you haven't already, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, TGR Dispatch and connect with us on Facebook. For those of you with e-readers, we also have a new digital edition that's accessible at www.gourmetretailer.com under In Print.

In 2012, there will be five print issues: February, the International Home and Housewares preshow issue; June, the IDDBA & Summer Fancy Food Show issue; August; December and the 2012 Buyers Guide. This year, we decided to combine the December issue with The Gourmet Retailer's Buyers Guide. In the following pages you'll find pertinent information to help you plan for the year ahead.

This supplement is an all-inclusive reference of suppliers to the gourmet retail market. Organized by product category and by supplier, you'll find hundreds of product categories, neatly organized in alphabetical order. There's everything from cheeses, condiments, cookware, gadgets, gifts, knives, preserves and more, to help you stock your store. Listed under each category are all the known suppliers, and their complete contact information is organized in alphabetical order starting on page 85.

To connect with all your vendors and see what's new, you might want to travel to a few tradeshows. Starting on page 54, you'll find a listing of the major industry tradeshows for 2012, sorted by date. We've also included a listing of the industry associations on page 58.

We hope you'll refer to this handy reference guide, which is also available at www.gourmetretailer.com under Resources, time after time in the year to come.

Anna Wolfe, Editor-in-Chief
awolfe@stagnitomedia.com