by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer As far as Randy Arceneaux is concerned, Affiliated Foods Inc. of Amarillo’s retail partners have been the frontline heroes throughout the coronavirus pandemic. “They are taking care of feeding America,” said Arceneaux, the company’s president and CEO. “All of the protocols they had to put in place in order […]
Category: Shelby Exclusives
Manard Lagasse: ROFDA Really Does ‘Some Outstanding Things’
by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer Across the landscape of 2020 – COVID and all – Manard Lagasse Jr. is proudest of retailers’ consistent approach to business through such a difficult time. “We’re in a lot of small communities, and their customers rely on their local grocery stores. Our retailers did everything they could to service […]
Ray Sprinkle: Camaraderie Is Key – ‘Bottom Line…We’re All Facing The Same Thing’
by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer The grocery industry was not prepared for the volume jump that came with the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak. To see it happen nationally, said Ray Sprinkle, was unprecedented. Disasters that affect volume, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, typically occur regionally. Demand was at an all-time high in the spring. However, […]
Amy Niemetscheck: The Local Story – ‘Our Stores Can Continue To Find Those Connections’
by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer The state of Wisconsin was looking grim in March, according to Amy Niemetscheck. A state mandate took effect rapidly in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. “Our back office, within five days, went from not having a work-from-home policy to quickly adapting,” she said of Certco Inc., where she is […]
Sorensen: Building A Strategic Private Label Plan For Milk, Plant-Based Beverages
by Cindy Sorensen/founder, The Grocery Group I just returned from a visit to a local grocery store. What I found to be most interesting as I reviewed the milk and plant-based beverage department is this retailer, like most others, has responded with a private label selection that matches national and local brand milk and plant-based products, […]
Profile: Meet Sydney Wicklacz With Kraft Heinz Co.
The Shelby Report and The Grocery Group together present this series, People to Watch, to focus on current and future leadership in the grocery industry. In this installment, Grocery Group Founder and CEO Cindy Sorensen interviews Sydney Wicklacz, associate customer category manager with the Kraft Heinz Co. I first met Sydney when she was a […]
IGA Pleased With Popularity Of Its Label In Marketplace
New look, pandemic have boosted sales by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer This is the first article in a three-part series by The Shelby Report on private label brands. The Independent Grocers Alliance recently finished a renaissance of its private label brand, which timed well with the surge in grocery sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. One […]
Savings, Supply Shortages Turn Shoppers To Private Brands
Majority of items ‘comparable if not better’ by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer This is the second article in a three-part series by The Shelby Report on private label brands. Affiliated Foods Amarillo is having an “incredible year” in private brand sales, according to the president and CEO of the Amarillo, Texas-based wholesaler, Randy Arceneaux. Year-to-date, […]
