Giant and Stop & Shop parent Ahold USA has teamed with online platform RangeMe to diversify its suppliers and adopt more efficient product discovery as part of an effort to make its stores feel more like neighborhood grocers. "You think of a big giant organization like Ahold USA, there's a lot of neighborhoods we have to understand," said Nick Bertram, Ahold's senior vice president of merchandising strategy and support.
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A new 65,000-square-foot store in Philadelphia, which features an outdoor terrace, restaurants and a beer garden, will help serve as Giant's urban flagship and offer a blueprint for future growth, CEO and President Nick Bertram says. From bolstering its technology and e-commerce footprint to increasing its focus on local offerings, Bertram discusses the new store and what's directly ahead for the Ahold Delhaize USA banner.
The lessons learned from the initial chaos of the pandemic, and the ultimately successful response by the food industry, will shape food retail into the foreseeable future, two executives said during a panel discussion on the opening day of the virtual FMI Midwinter Executive Conference. Nicholas Bertram, president of The Giant Company, and Steve Presley, chairman and CEO of Nestle USA, discussed the pandemic response and examined coming workforce issues ranging from the strength of the supply chain to the impact of company culture.
Adding a Giant Direct location dedicated to order fulfillment and curbside delivery will bring important capacity that the grocer needs as it grows in certain areas, says Nick Bertram, president of Giant Food Stores. "It signals that we're doubling down on e-commerce," he says.
Grocery giant Ahold Delhaize will bring Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford, Peapod and all its other US businesses under the umbrella of Ahold Delhaize USA next year, the company said. Ahold USA's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Holt will serve as CEO of the new parent company, which is part of Ahold Delhaize's brand strategy in the US, Ahold Delhaize CEO Dick Boer said.
Collecting customer data and figuring out how to use it is a challenge for all retailers, one that Ahold USA has met by managing its data to help the company make decisions about different shopper segments and target the selection and prices of its merchandise, according to Nick Bertram, the retailer's senior vice president of merchandising strategy and support. "Customers aren't in one spot. They are omnichannel, and they need to see us in print, online, in their phones and everywhere they go. We're not limiting ourselves. We're just trying to be smarter in every place we play in," Bertram said.