PG Salutes Ahold USA and its Divisions as 2014 Retailer of the Year

In recognition of the Better Neighbor promise not just espoused, but embraced at all levels of the organization, Progressive Grocer honors Ahold USA and its divisions as its 2014 Retailer of the Year.

When times get tough — as they often do — there’s simply no substitute for good neighbors, who instinctively surface at just the right time with a welcome meal,  a helping hand and a caring heart.

Those same traits are what inspired Progressive Grocer to present Ahold USA and its divisions with its highest annual honor as the 2014 Retailer of the Year, a recognition bestowed chiefly for its vast and exceptional philanthropic contributions provided to the numerous communities served by its regional operating divisions: Stop & Shop New England,  Stop & Shop New York Metro, Giant Landover and Giant/Martin’s.

Serving millions of customers in some of the nation’s most densely populated and competitive geographic corridors, Ahold USA operates roughly 770 supermarkets in 14 states — from Massachusetts to Virginia under its four sister divisions, each with its own support business, along with the online grocery and  delivery leader, Peapod. Accounting for an estimated 60 percent of its Dutch parent’s sales, Ahold USA, led by COO James McCann, is carrying out a broad array of activities to fulfill its directive to deliver on an aggressive Reshaping Retail crusade while working to preserve the heritage of its local brands, with a strong focus on  reinvesting in value, service and quality, alongside an expansive omni-channel  blueprint to meet shoppers’ needs both today and in the future.

McCann is humbled and gratified by PG’s Retailer of the Year honor, which comes nearly two years into the company’s aforementioned Reshaping Retail strategy, at the core of which is a trio of interconnected promises “we make to our customers, our associates, and the communities and neighborhoods where we operate: to be a great place to work, a great place to shop and a great neighbor.”

Far more significant than an admirable catchphrase, Ahold USA’s Reshaping Retail framework “defines our strategic ambitions, how we operate and what we want to be as a company,” McCann notes. “It speaks to our common set of values across all our businesses, and a shared vision for the future.” While the formal strategy was originally announced in early 2013, he continues, “the commitment dates back much longer than that at each of our operating divisions, which share an enormous legacy of being a good neighbor.”

While being a good neighbor is satisfactory, becoming a better neighbor is superior, maintains McCann, and also critical to the company’s broader “good-to-great effort of getting better every day,” which includes parallel investments in its customer and value offering to make its stores better places to shop.

The ongoing good-to-great journey, explains McCann, is rooted in an aggressive aim “to strive as hard as possible to make our stores the best places possible to shop. We know we’re not going to become a great retailer unless we’re also a great place to work, and a great neighbor in the communities which we serve and where we live. Every single one of our divisions has been a key player in their communities, and has continuously found ways to give back.”

And though the programs, acts and deeds may vary within each division, “the central philosophy is very, very similar, and a core part of what we do,” he maintains.

Since his arrival, the British-born McCann, 45, has focused closely on strengthening Ahold USA’s e-commerce proposition and customer loyalty programs. He joined Ahold as chief commercial and development officer in September 2011 after spending more than  20 years with some  of Europe’s largest retailers, including  Carrefour France, where he was executive director and a member of the group executive board. He has also held top roles at Tesco, including leadership of some of its most successful markets, among them Hungary, Poland and Malaysia, and before that worked for Sainsbury, Mars and Shell. He was appointed to Ahold’s management board in the spring of 2012, and a year later assumed his present COO duties.

When asked about his observations on the company’s greatest strengths and leading points of difference, McCann, with 18 months of stewardship under his belt at the time of the interview, says he can’t help but marvel at Ahold USA associates’ bigheartedness, which surpasses anything he’s ever before seen. “I’ve worked on three continents and in 10 countries, and I’ve never seen a company’s community engagement more profoundly embedded in its DNA than what exists in the divisions of Ahold USA,” he asserts.

We are Family

Especially meaningful was the 2012 unification of disparate divisional foundations that had existed during the early phase of Ahold USA’s transition, into the formation of Our Family Foundation. In 2014, the divisions and the foundation donated an astounding $67 million to local organizations committed to fighting hunger, improving the lives of children, and building healthy communities, thanks to its associates, vendors and customers. Cognizant of the essential, important role the company’s family of stores plays in bringing to life Ahold USA’s Better Neighbor promise, McCann shares his colleagues’ pride in the various initiatives focusing on the key areas of healthy customers, healthy kids and healthy communities.

In addition to its core anti-hunger mission, Ahold USA and its divisions are committed to improving the lives of children throughout the communities they serve. Through its Our Family Foundation, the company combined these two missions and accelerated the urgency to do everything possible to alleviate childhood hunger by reaching more food-insecure children with healthy meals. In early 2013, the foundation embarked on a three-year initiative to distribute $9 million in Fighting Child Hunger grants as part of its larger aim to provide 10 million meals to underserved children by 2015.

Until the Reshaping Retail plan was formally launched, McCann says, “I don’t think everyone understood how important it was. But I believe the simple framework enables everyone to understand where it fits into our overall journey, and why it’s so important that we continue to become stronger as a better neighbor.” Not taking lightly “all the work that goes on in every single store each and every day,” McCann heartily applauds the “massive engagement of associates and customers, who last year helped” generate millions of dollars to aid local residents. “That’s a big number, and it’s gratifying to know that it’s been used for causes that make our communities stronger and better.”

To Have and to Hold

McCann is particularly fond of the focus the Our Family Foundation “has brought to the causes that we put most of our money into” — notably children’s nutrition and pediatric cancer research, care and rehabilitative programs — which he says has been nothing short of “exceptional. To know that we are able to make a difference with a child’s understanding of what good nutrition is early in their life, or having a massive impact on the ability to fund treatment, care and research for sick children — in some cases for the rest of their lives — is remarkable,” and something McCann steadfastly champions.

Accordingly, he draws inspiration from the company’s 120,000 associates, who bring the Better Neighbor promise to life at the local level, headed by four division leaders: Joe Kelley, president, Stop & Shop New England; Don Sussman, president, Stop & Shop New York Metro; Gordon Reid, Giant Landover’s president; and Tom Lenkevich, president of Giant/Martin’s.

The divisional leaders have spearheaded and maintained a commitment to their numerous neighborhoods “for many, many years,” McCann notes, “but we’ve been very humble about it. For that reason, we are very grateful and very proud to accept and share Progressive Grocer’s Retailer of the Year award with every member of our staff, which symbolizes all of the great work they do on behalf of the communities we serve on a daily basis.”

More of PG's exclusive interview with Ahold USA's COO James McCann can be found in related stories, including "PG Retailer of the Year: Healthy Commitment Runs Deep."