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GOURMET NEWS NOVEMBER 2016 www.gourmetnews.com Retailer News RETAILER NEWS 1 0 BRIEFS Super Natural Food Center Celebrates 43 Years in Business BY LORRIE BAUMANN Joe Tittone's Super Natural Food Center in Grand View, Missouri, celebrated its 43rd anniversary in September. "We're one of the original health food stores in this area," he said. The 1,200-square-foot store in the town about 20 miles south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, stocks primarily vitamins but also a selection of canned, refrigerated and frozen foods. Two vitamin formulas that Tittone created years ago, Super-Vite and Arth Support, draw customers to the store from 20 to 30 miles around. Other customers come because they've heard through word of mouth that they can de- pend on Tittone's advice to help them with nutritional issues and health problems. Over the years, Tittone has seen drastic changes in his market, with big corpora- tions and chain stores taking increasing market share, and in the past few years in particular, online retail also taking a share of his business. "I've seen different changes in customers. A lot of them are going to the big corporations, and the quality of the vitamin is not as good as you find in the independent stores," said Tittone, who runs the store with help from his daughter Heather and his wife Kelly. "A lot of these big corporations, they have no knowledge of the body. They don't know what they're selling. They just put it on the shelves." Many Super Natural Food Center cus- tomers are folks who've been coming to the store for decades, depending on the Tittone family to offer them good advice. "Most people will come here because they heard that we can help them nutritionally," Tit- tone said. "All we can do is take it a day at a time and count our blessings." GN. Unified Grocers CFO Mike Henn Retires; Christine Neal Named New CFO Unified Grocers, Inc.'s Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Michael F. Henn retired effective September 30. He is succeeded by Christine Neal, who was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer on October 1. Henn joined Unified last October follow- ing the retirement of Richard J. Martin. "It's been a privilege to work with a great man- agement team that has accomplished so much in the past year to position the com- pany for solid growth going forward," he said. "While personal circumstances have driven my decision to step back from a full time role, I will continue to assist the com- pany in a more limited capacity as it tran- sitions to new financial leadership." "Unified was extremely fortunate to have Mike on the team to guide us through a period of transition and to set the financial foundations for the next phase of the company's growth," said Uni- fied President and CEO Bob Ling. "I'm grateful that he will continue to support the company going forward. Mike has played an important role, and all of us at Unified wish him well." Christine Neal has agreed to defer her own planned retirement to accept the CFO role while the company commences a search process for the CFO position, pro- viding a seamless transition for the finan- cial management function of the company. "Christine is a very talented executive with a strong track record of leadership in finance and strategy, and excellent knowl- edge of our company," said Ling. "In addi- tion to her proven financial management skills, she has been a key driver of the com- pany's new strategic plan, which we expect to finalize soon." "It's an honor to take on the role of Chief Financial Officer at this important time in Unified's history," said Neal. "I'm excited to have the opportunity to play a larger role as we look to grow the business and en- hance the success of our members." As CFO and Treasurer, Neal is responsi- ble for finance, accounting, information systems, internal audit (administrative re- sponsibility) and strategic planning. She is also President of Unified's wholly-owned subsidiary, Grocers Capital Company (GCC). Neal joined Unified in 2003, and in her previous roles she was responsible for fi- nance, treasury, strategic planning and human resources. Prior to the joining the company, Neal acquired a wide range of financial experience within the food in- dustry, including serving for several years as a financial consultant to Unified. She also served as chief financial officer for the California Restaurant Association, the largest state restaurant and hospitality trade organization in the United States, and was controller for Gelson's Markets, a premier upscale grocery retail chain in Southern California. Neal began her ca- reer at the Cincinnati office of Arthur Young & Company, where she worked for eight years as an accountant and audit manager. Neal currently serves on the board of di- rectors of the National Cooperative Bank. She has previously served on the board of directors of the National Cooperative Busi- ness Association (NCBA) and the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the American Red Cross. She earned her bachelor of science degree in accountancy and finance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and is a certified public accountant. GN ALDI Earns LEED Gold Certification for California Distribution Center ALDI has earned LEED (Leadership in En- ergy and Environmental Design) Gold cer- tification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its environmentally sustainable distribution center and regional headquarters in Moreno Valley, California. According to USGBC, LEED projects are re- sponsible for diverting more than 80 mil- lion tons of waste from landfills. Compared to the average commercial building, LEED Gold buildings consume a quarter less en- ergy and generate 34 percent lower green- house gas emissions. "ALDI is taking steps wherever possible to reduce our environmental impact," said ALDI Vice President Aaron Sumida. "Build- ing our warehouse to meet LEED Gold re- quirements is a significant achievement, one that will enable us to conserve energy, reduce water consumption, which is criti- cal in California, and ultimately reduce our carbon footprint." To meet LEED Gold standards, ALDI worked with Graycor Construction Com- pany as the design-build partner along with architects and engineers to improve the de- sign and materials used in the development of its distribution center and regional head- quarters. The sustainable building features installed in the Moreno Valley facility in- clude renewable energy from on-site solar panels that provide 60 percent of the elec- tricity at the ALDI Moreno Valley regional headquarters and warehouse, a highly effi- cient ammonia refrigerator system, electric vehicle charging stations and bicycle racks that promote the use of greener methods of transportation as well as water-efficient landscaping and plumbing. GN Shaw's & Star Market Present $500,000 to Boston Children's Hospital At the September 16 Red Sox game, Shaw's and Star Market employees presented a check for $500,000 to Boston Children's Hospital on the field of Fenway Park. 2016 was a record- breaking fundraising year for the annual "Give a Smile" campaign that benefits the leading children's hospital in the nation. The 2016 "Give a Smile" campaign ran from June 1 through July 4. The program allowed shoppers at Shaw's and Star Market stores throughout New England to donate to Boston Children's Hospital by purchasing "Give A Smile" icons in the amount of $1or $5. ALDI Earns LEED Gold Certification for California Distribution Center ALDI has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its environmentally sustainable distribution center and regional headquarters in Moreno Valley, California. To meet LEED Gold standards, ALDI worked with Graycor Construction Company as the design-build partner along with architects and engineers to improve the design and materials used in the development of its distribution center and regional headquarters. BJ's Wholesale Club to Close on Thanksgiving BJ's Wholesale Club will be closed on Thanksgiving Day for the 10th year in a row, so employees can enjoy the holiday with their families. Members can shop the BJ's Black Friday Savings Event from Friday, November 18 to Monday, November 28. Natural Grocers Brings 18 New Jobs to Liberty, Missouri Natural Grocers will open a new Liberty, Missouri, store this fall, bringing 18 jobs to the community. Natural Grocers employs more than 3,000 people and operates 122 stores in 19 states. The Liberty store is located at 114 S Stewart Road. Ralphs Introduces Online Grocery Shopping in Carlsbad, California Ralphs' store in Carlsbad, California debuted the online grocery shopping service, ClickList, on August 5, making it the first Ralphs in California to offer the service. ClickList, which is exclusive to Ralphs' parent company, the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co, allows customers to shop online and pick up and pay for their order curbside. Ralphs' Carlsbad location is the first of 12 Ralphs stores scheduled to offer the online shopping service by the end of the year. Nationally, Kroger has been testing online shopping and collecting customers' feedback about the service since November 2014. Currently, ClickList is featured in more than 120 stores in seven Kroger divisions across the country.

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