"You can't go wrong doing something that makes you happy."
In a nutshell, that is the personal and business philosophy of Bob Piccinini, CEO of Save Mart.
In an interview with the Manteca Bulletin, Mr. Piccinini expressed pride in his contrary approach to many of popularly accepted methods of running a retail business today.
"We had a former Payless Drug Store executive work for us for awhile who said it was that company's position to always close their 10 percent lowest performing stores every year even if they were making a profit," Mr. Piccinini said. "We're not going to keep a store open that is losing us money but as long as we're meeting customer needs and its profitable we're going to get there."
There's no doubt in Mr. Piccinini's mind that Save Mart is going to get there. The chain recently doubled in size with its acquisition of 130 Albertsons' stores in northern California and northern Nevada. The company also took over two distribution centers and a division office as part of the deal.
Bigger doesn't mean better and Mr. Piccinini is quick to point that out, even when it comes to competitors. He exhibits great pride in the professionalism of the 23,500 employees at the company and says he believes the talent level at Save Mart more than justifies the higher wages and level of benefits the company provides to its workers.
Mr. Piccinini, its clear, is doing what makes him happy.
Discussion Questions: Is Bob Piccinini's philosophy the recipe for success in today's marketplace or will he be faced with making the same changes (lower wages, cuts in benefits) that many others have turned to as a means of remaining competitive? What are the primary challenges and opportunities you see ahead for Mr. Piccinini and Save Mart?