Hy-Vee Outlines Its Next 25 Years of Growth

Hy-Vee is planning to expand into four new states and build a distribution center in Nashville, opening more than 20 new stores in the next four years.

According to the Des Moines Register, CEO Randy Edeker announced plans to build the Tennessee distribution facility, its first outside of Iowa, in an internal video. The facility will initially service seven new stores in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Indiana in 2023. The new facility will also supply Hy-Vee's stores in southern Missouri, the newspaper reported.

The Register said Hy-Vee intends to open two stores in the Nashville area, one in Knoxville and one in Memphis, with additional stores landing in Huntsville, Ala.; Louisville, Ky.; and Indianapolis.

“This is the growth for the next 25 years for Hy-Vee in this territory,” Edeker said on the video. “If we can build out 50 stores in this market, we estimate that is $6 billion [in sales]. But overnight we’re going to go from a regional company to a national company. As we build our third DC [distribution center] in the Nashville market you will see us turn more into a national presence.”

Edeker said Hy-Vee expects to build at least 21 stores in the four-state region by 2025. According to the video, some Hy-Vee employees will begin relocating to the Nashville area as early as January.

Edeker said in the video posted for employees that Hy-Vee doesn't have any plans to migrate down to Texas, where H-E-B, a San Antonio-based grocery store chain, dominates the market with 340 locations.

"They’re a phenomenal competitor," Edeker said. "There are lots of weak competitors out there that we just don’t need to go poke that bear, so we won’t."

Earlier this month Hy-Vee announced it plans to repurpose two grocery stores and close two other locations in early 2022. The following stores will be repurposed:

• The Englewood Hy-Vee store, located at 207 NE Englewood Road in Kansas City, Mo., will close at 6 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2022. The location will be transitioned to a Wall to Wall Wine and Spirits location in the coming months. The current Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh convenience store located at this site will remain open.
• The Kiwanis Avenue Hy-Vee store, located at 2700 West 10th Street in Sioux Falls, S.D., will close at 6 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2022. This site will be renovated to become a nonretail site by the company.

The two stores to cease operations are:

• The John Deere Road Hy-Vee, located at 750 42nd Avenue Drive in Moline, Ill., will close permanently at 6 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2022. 
• The Collins Road Hy-Vee, located at 279 Collins Road NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will close permanently at 6 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2022. 

The retail changes follow the September debut of Hy-Vee’s new store prototype in Grimes, Iowa, that showcases numerous banner firsts. For example, the approximately 93,000-square-foot store is the first location to offer a new dining experience for customers, a large, open food hall dining area for fast-casual dining, which includes Hy-Vee’s new breakfast menu; a pub with a full bar and an outdoor patio; mealtime offerings, Mia Italian; HyChi; Nori Sushi; Chowbotics; Long Island Deli; and a Wahlburgers at Hy-Vee. The retailer unveiled its second “totally reimagined” grocery store in Eau Claire, Wis., a few weeks after the Grimes grand opening.

At Hy-Vee’s recent Annual Stockholders Meeting, the company noted the retirement of Vice Chairman and President of Hy-Vee Supply Chain and Subsidiaries Jay Marshall after 39 years of service, as well as the retirement of EVP, CFO and Treasurer Mike Skokan, following 35 years with Hy-Vee. With these retirements, the grocer has made the following promotions: Jeremy Gosch to president and COO, Aaron Wiese to vice chairman of Hy-Vee Inc. and president of Hy-Vee supply chain/subsidiaries, and Andy Schreiner to SVP, CFO and treasurer.

Employee-owned Hy-Vee has a team of 86,000 employees and operates more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company is No. 34 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.