Bernardo Trujillo (1920–1971) was a Colombian-born American marketing executive. He hosted merchandizing seminars as part of cash register company

NCR Corporation NCR Voyix Corporation, previously known as NCR Corporation and National Cash Register, is a global software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and Electronics, electronic products. It manufactured Self-c ...

's marketing strategy, ultimately influencing the development of modern

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

s, especially in France, where he became known as the "Pope of Supermarketing."

Early life

Born in 1920 in Colombia, he studied law in Bogota. He emigrated to the United States and eventually became a naturalized US citizen.

Career

Trujillo began his career as a Spanish teacher. In 1944, he was hired as a translator by the

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. From 1957 to 1965, as part of NCR's marketing strategy, Trujillo taught

executive education Executive education (ExEd or Exec. Ed) refers to academic programs at graduate-level business schools for executives, business leaders and managers, globally. These programs are generally non-credit and non-degree-granting, but sometimes lead to ...

merchandizing seminars to about 11,000 students, the MMM seminars on Modern Merchandizing Methods. In his seminars, he emphasized the need to build

with large parking lots and cheap products and defined many key principles of the industry, such as "No Parking, No Business". His classes played a particularly significant role in France. There, his students included Denis Defforey and Marcel Fournier, who later founded

Carrefour Carrefour Group, S.A. (, ), is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, Essonne, Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 ...

, and

Gérard Mulliez Gérard Paul Louis Marie-Joseph Mulliez (born 13 May 1931) is a French entrepreneur and the founder of the Auchan chain of department stores. Early life Gérard Mulliez was born on 13 May 1931, in Roubaix, France. His father, Gérard Mulliez, wa ...

, who founded

Auchan Auchan () is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France. It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company. With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% ...

. Other students included André Essel, the co-founder of

Fnac Fnac () is a French multinational retail chain specializing in the sale of entertainment Media (communication), media and consumer electronics. Fnac was founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its headquarters is located in ''Le Flavia' ...

; Bernard Darty, the founder of Darty; and

Paul Dubrule Paul Dubrule (born 1934) is a French businessman and politician. He co-founded AccorHotels in 1967. He served as a member of the French Senate from 1999 to 2004, representing Seine-et-Marne. In 2002, he established the École d'Hôtellerie e ...

, the founder of

AccorHotels Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor ope ...

. Trujillo became known as the "Pope of Supermarketing." Trujillo died in 1971. A website is dedicated t
Bernardo Trujillo

References

1920 births 1971 deaths Colombian emigrants to the United States People from Dayton, Ohio Businesspeople from Ohio 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub