by Cindy Sorensen, Founder and CEO/The Grocery Group When almond-based “milk” beverages entered the market a few years ago, they took market share away from soy-based beverages. The market then saw an influx of new beverage introductions made with a wide variety of nuts and plants, all hoping to have the same success enjoyed by […]
Tag: Shelby Signature Content
People To Watch: Barons Market’s Ina McDonald
The Shelby Report and The Grocery Group have introduced a new series entitled People to Watch that focuses on current and future leadership in the grocery industry. In this fourth installment, The Grocery Group Founder and CEO Cindy Sorensen interviews Ina McDonald, district manager for Barons Market in San Diego, California. Sorensen’s questions are in […]
Minnesota Nice Could Get Tested In St. Paul This January
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest There is much that is new and unique in Minnesota right now. Let’s start with the Minnesota Grocers Association’s (MGA) new logo. It was refreshed in 2018 after almost 20 years to more accurately reflect the association’s mission. The logo now features a grocery cart as the foundation for the state, reflecting […]
Georgia’s Grocery Market Is ‘Extremely Competitive’
by Treva Bennett/staff writer As Georgia’s economy has improved over the past few years, competition in the grocery industry has grown. Kathy Kuzava, president of the Georgia Food Industry Association (GFIA), said for the fifth year in a row Georgia has been named “No. 1 State for Business” by Site Selection, a leading economic development […]
Sprouts’ Sanders Speaks To NEW Southern California About Leadership
“Equipped to lead” was the theme of an Oct. 11 meeting of the NEW (Network of Executive Women) Southern California chapter and keynote speaker Dan Sanders, COO of Sprouts, came equipped with quite a leadership resume. Moderator Mike Hendry, EVP of merchandising and marketing for Northgate Gonzalez Markets, introduced Sanders as a proven leader specializing […]
The Shelby Report Of The Southeast’s 2018 Year In Review
The top 10 stories in the Southeast over the past year have largely been related to stores, whether it was competitive pressures causing stores to be sold or successful grocers expanding into new territories. 1. Southeastern Grocers files Chapter 11 The Jacksonville, Florida-based grocer that operates Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo, Harveys and Fresco y Mas stores filed a […]
Rouses Is The Shelby Report Of The Southeast’s Retailer Of The Year
From the Editor Rouses respected by vendors, loved by customers—an ideal choice for our Retailer of the Year Award This section honoring Rouses Markets is the largest special section The Shelby Report has done in its 51-year history. These 100 pages are testament to the strength of Rouses’ relationship with its customers and vendors—as well […]
Hornbacher’s Continues To Grow In Fargo, North Dakota, Area
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest Hornbacher’s soon will open its ninth store. It will be the chain’s eighth Fargo/Moorhead market location and the first in West Fargo, North Dakota. Three-quarters of the walls were up the last time Hornbacher’s President Matthew F. “Matt” Leiseth visited the site. The 65,000-s.f. store should open in the spring. “We are […]
Banner Wholesale Grocers Expands To Meet The Needs Of Customers
Banner Wholesale Grocers moved into its brand new 75,000-s.f. facility in Chicago in September. After closing for a few days to move, the store reopened Sept. 25 in the new space. Company President Richard Saltzman counts his blessings: his great customers and employees; his children, Ryan and Carly, who are the fourth generation to come […]
Albertsons Named West Retailer Of The Year; Miller Joins Hall Of Fame
Albertsons Cos. may not be the obvious choice for our 2018 West Retailer of the Year honor, as the Boise, Idaho-based grocer has been going through the painstaking integration process with Safeway for the past three and a half years, which has been “a distraction,” according to Chairman Robert G. “Bob” Miller. But that process […]
Minding The Pollinators’ Plight Actually Is Austin CEO Ulmer’s Beeswax
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Southwest When Me & the Bees Lemonade CEO Mikaila Ulmer was four and a half years old, her family encouraged her to come up with a product for a children’s business competition—the Acton Children’s Business Fair. It so happened that her great-grandmother Helen had sent her a 1940s cookbook that included her own […]
Longtime Geissler’s Leader Reflects On More Than 44 Years Of Service
Jim Nilsson Jr., longtime leader of Geissler’s Supermarkets in Connecticut and Massachusetts, quietly retired early in September. He is still working on a couple of projects at Geissler’s, such as e-commerce and installing new software for sales and purchasing. Nilsson’s duties as owner and CEO, however, are finishing up as he transitions into retirement and […]
Lowes’ President Continues To Ask: How Can We Reinvent Ourselves?
Tim Lowe, president of North Carolina-based Lowes Foods, was a featured speaker at the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Leadership Forum in August in Colorado Springs. Lowe was among the speakers invited to share their strategies and collaboration opportunities. Lowe oversees a locally owned (by Alex Lee Inc.) and operated grocery company comprising nearly 100 full-service […]
Wisconsin Grocer Of The Year Gooseberries Crafting A 70/30 Experience
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest Gooseberries Fresh Food Market opened its doors in 2006. Eight years later, David Spiegelhoff received the Wisconsin Grocers Association (WGA) Excellence in Operations Award. This year he and Gooseberries Fresh Food Market took the top honor as WGA Grocer of the Year. The association’s board of directors makes the selection. WGA President […]
Harvey Mabry, A Homerun Hitter In Baseball, Life And H-E-B, Turns 80
In 1951, Harvey Mabry hit a grand slam in the semi-final game of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He was 12 years old at the time and was the first Little League player to ever have accomplished such a feat in the series. Fans wanted Mabry’s autograph and, back in Austin, Texas, […]
HealthMarket Is Just The Right Fit For Hy-Vee
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest Hy-Vee has crafted a store that appeals to a range of shoppers—from busy moms to bodybuilders to diabetics and diehard Doritos fans—and it does it in just 15,700 s.f. The first-ever Hy-Vee HealthMarket opened in West Des Moines, Iowa, on July 31. Packaged cheese, Cheerios, lunchmeat, Coke and Mountain Dew are available, […]
Firelake Discount Foods Is The First Blue Zones Grocer In Oklahoma
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Southwest Firelake Discount Foods in Shawnee, Oklahoma, recently was designated the first-ever Blue Zones Project-approved grocery store in Oklahoma. Richard Driskell, director of retail operations for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, oversees three tribal grocery stores, including the flagship in Shawnee. At 88,000-s.f., it is the largest tribally-owned grocery store in the U.S. The […]
Dairy And Produce: Grow Sales By Providing Solutions
by Cindy Sorensen/ Founder and CEO, The Grocery Group Today’s produce departments provide a great example of how grocers have reinvented departments within their stores to be relevant to consumers’ ever-growing and changing desires and demands. Several years ago, when local farmers markets began to pop up in library, shopping center and school parking lots around their […]
Exclusive: 2018 Northeast Market Review
Each year, The Griffin Report of the Northeast publishes a Northeast Market Review—a guide of food retailers in the region that includes store totals and market share by state as well as other helpful information. This year’s review is sponsored by Imperial Distributors and also appears in the October 2018 print edition of The Griffin Report of the Northeast. Keep […]
Lipari: Detroit Is Back And Michigan Is On Fire
Thom Lipari is president and CEO of Warren-based Lipari Foods. His father, Jim, started the company in the 1950s by distributing unique products from the back of his Ford station wagon. Thom came on board in 1971. Today, Lipari Foods operates a central distribution center in Warren, the largest suburb of Detroit. From that facility, […]
