By George Anderson
Through special arrangement with Grocery Headquarters
magazine, we present these opportunities to discuss the subjects of GHQ's monthly cover stories.
Grocery Headquarters magazine has named Lund Food Holdings, operator of Lunds and Byerly's, as its retailer of the year.
Russell T. "Tres" Lund III, doesn't think there's any secret to the Edina, Minn., chain's success. "The pride and passion of our people," he said. "We have a culture that is highly collaborative. There are approximately 5,000 of us working for this company. Every job is important. We're constantly humbled by the fact that we can come up with a great idea, but it needs to be a collaborative effort. We can't pursue and accomplish anything without our staff being equally passionate about bringing the product and merchandising to light."
The one thing all the company's employees share in common is a focus on customer service, said Mr. Lund.
"We want to offer our customers sensational shopping experiences each time they visit any one of our stores," he said. "Lunds and Byerly's continue their tradition of being dedicated to quality and service, as well as innovation and growth. Together, we continue to exceed our customers' expectations while maintaining the personalities and standards our customers recognize in each brand."
John Pazahanick, senior vice president of business development and brand management for the grocer said, "We have people who have a passion for food or a culinary background that are working in the stores, spending a lot of time on the sales floor with the customer."
Mr. Pazahanick said the company differentiates itself in product offerings, as well. "We've invested a fairly significant amount of money in a large central kitchen where we've got a talented team of chefs preparing the food and bringing it in to the stores. It's very different than the traditional supermarket fare. It's very much restaurant quality," he said.
Moderator's Comment: Is corporate culture the reason for Lunds/Byerly's success? Does the company "treat" its workers any differently than other companies with less employee-friendly reputations? If yes, how? - George Anderson - Moderator