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GOURMET NEWS MAY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com Retailer News RETAILER NEWS 1 0 BRIEFS LPGA Professionals Commit to the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give Two of the biggest names in ladies golf will return to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in June to compete in the 2017 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel – both of whom earned multiple LPGA Tour victories – have announced their commitment to once again play in the tournament held June 13-18 at Blythefield Country Club. Albertsons Companies Adds Liquid Eggs to Cage-Free Commitment Albertsons Companies is adding retail liquid eggs to its commitment to exclusively source cage-free eggs by 2025, based on available supply, making it the only major supermarket to explicitly include liquid eggs in its cage- free commitment. In early 2016, the company became one of the first and largest conventional grocery chains to commit to sourcing cage-free eggs exclusively for its retail shell-egg products. Now, Albertsons Companies is expanding its pledge to include its retail private label liquid eggs, a decision that reflects the company's strong focus on animal welfare and consumer choice. Kroger Launches New Kroger Stories Website The Kroger Co. has launched a new website, www.krogerstories.com. The new website features a variety of voices – produced by both freelancers and Kroger associates – sharing stories about Kroger's great people, innovative projects and the ideas that are changing the way we eat, drink and think about food. The multimedia site will feature long and short- form written content as well as video and photographic storytelling. Kroger Names New President of Fred Meyer Stores and Columbus Division The Kroger Co. has named Joe Grieshaber as President of Fred Meyer Stores, replacing Jeff Burt, who resigned to pursue other interests. Grieshaber had been serving as President of Kroger's Columbus division. Succeeding Grieshaber will be Dan De La Rosa, who has been promoted to serve as President of Kroger's Columbus division. De La Rosa previously served as Vice President of Merchandising for Fred Meyer Stores. Natural Grocers Relocates Boulder Store Natural Grocers opened the doors of its remodeled Boulder store on Thursday, March 30. The remodeled store is located at 2685 Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado. The remodeled Boulder store features community space and a demonstration kitchen, offering free event rentals to community members. Meijer Fleet Driver Recognized by Michigan Trucking Association When Paul Strodtbeck became a Meijer fleet driver in 1972, he joined a team of 34 drivers who made daily deliveries to the re- tailer's 24 stores in Michigan. Gas cost 36 cents per gallon, and Strodt- beck drank "two gallons too much of cof- fee" while listening to "twangy" country music. Much has changed in the past 45 years, but one thing has remained constant: the Walker, Michigan, resident never imag- ined he'd drive more than 5 million miles, primarily hauling meat and produce daily from Grand Rapids to Lansing to Petoskey and back. "He leads by always putting the cus- tomer first and making safety his top pri- ority," said Tom McCall, Meijer Logistics Vice President. "We couldn't ask for more from a team member over the years than what Paul has done for all of us." The driving milestone – combined with his exemplary safety record, work ethic and friendly demeanor with customers and other team members – earned Strodtbeck recognition as one of the top 12 drivers by the Michigan Trucking Association. The statewide trade organization recognizes one Publix and H-E-B Earn Top Customer Experience Ratings for Supermarkets Publix and H-E-B deliver the best customer experience in the supermarket industry, ac- cording to the "2017 Temkin Experience Ratings," an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers. This year, supermarkets earned the two highest scores in the entire survey. With a score of 84 percent, Publix not only re- ceived the highest score in the supermarket industry, it received the highest score in the entire ratings, ranking first out of 331 com- panies across 20 industries. Likewise, H-E- B earned the second highest score for both the supermarket industry and among the overall ratings, with a score of 83 percent. Hannaford followed close behind with a score of 82 percent and an overall rank of fourth. "Supermarkets have been the highest- scoring industry since their inclusion in the 'Ratings' in 2012, and this year was no dif- ferent. Publix and H-E-B lead a strong group of supermarkets, all of which re- ceived at least a 'good' rating," states Bruce Temkin, Managing Partner of Temkin Group. Overall, the supermarket industry aver- aged a 78 percent rating in the "2017 Temkin Experience Ratings" and came in first place out of 20 industries. The aver- age rating of the industry improved by four percentage points between 2016 and 2017, going from 73.8 percent to 78.1 percent. The ratings for all supermarkets in- creased between 2016 and 2017, with the exception of Wawa Food Markets, whose score stayed the same. Vons improved the most, gaining 12 points, and Whole Foods improved the second most, gaining 10 points from last year. GN "It's an honor and inspiring for our organization to have someone like Paul. His dedication, expertise and service, not to mention the equivalent of safely driving to the moon and back 10 times, is a great accomplishment and puts him in an elite group of professionals." —DAVID HOOVER, DIRECTOR OF OUTBOUND LOGISTICS driver a month each year. "I certainly didn't go into driving with anything like that in mind," he said. "I ap- preciate the recognition but it's my job. I enjoy driving. I grew up know- ing that anything is possi- ble and if you try hard enough, you can do any- thing." Strodtbeck grew up on a farm, driving tractors and working hard around the clock. He joined Mei- jer at age 18 in the meat cutting apprenticeship program at the Standale store. While he enjoyed the role, Strodtbeck said he was ready for change after 10 years. That's when he went to truck driving school and joined the Meijer fleet. His CB radio call sign is Cutter. Strodtbeck said he's seen a lot on the road these past 45 years, and has stopped to help out other drivers at numerous car accidents along his route. Based on his ex- perience, he's considered a mentor among the retailer's team of 350 drivers, and regu- larly tests and shares his perspective on prototype trucks. "It's an honor and inspiring for our or- ganization to have someone like Paul," said David Hoover, Director of Outbound Logistics for Meijer. "His dedication, ex- pertise and service, not to mention the equivalent of safely driving to the moon and back 10 times, is a great accomplish- ment and puts him in an elite group of professionals." Strodtbeck said he has a lot to be thankful for. He loves driving, appreciates his dispatch team that helps him along his route, and works for a company that cares about community. When he's not driving a truck for Meijer, he's snowmobile riding and enjoying the outdoors with family, and operating his snowmobile repair shop. "I have six kids and I tell them all the time, 'you only have one life,'" Strodtbeck said. "'You're here for a reason and you should probably have fun doing it while you're here.'" GN

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