Why You’ll Want to Read PG and PG Independent, October 2013

Don’t miss the October 2013 issues of Progressive Grocer and Progressive Grocer Independent:

Kroger is featured as Progressive Grocer’s 2013 Retailer of the Year. Some notable quotables:

“Giving up the chair now allows Dave Dillon to go out on top while leaving Kroger in the capable hands of a team that he recruited and nurtured.” – Jim Dudlicek, Editor-in-Chief, Progressive Grocer, on the announcement that Dave Dillon, CEO of Kroger, will pass the torch to president and COO Rodney McMullen.

“[Kroger has] made significant investments in a best-in-class loyalty program, strong private label, and reinvested in their stores and technology. In other words, they are leveraging their size and capabilities in multiple areas.” – Neil Stern, senior partner, consulting firm McMillanDoolittle.

“We’re doing more than selling groceries. We’re selling groceries that make people’s lives better. What we’re doing in the communities is part of that overall theme.” – Lynn Marmer, Kroger group VP of corporate affairs.

Other highlights in Progressive Grocer October 2013 include propriety research findings in Produce Operations Review:

Nearly 70 percent of respondents to Progressive Grocer’s survey on produce operations at grocery retail indicate higher sales gains for the 12 months ending June 2013, compared to less than 60 percent who said the same thing in 2012. Higher prices are driving sales amid squeezed margins and competition from other supermarkets.

And from Progressive Grocer Independent, October 2013:

“The most important thing a retailer does to define itself isn’t deciding what to sell, but rather who its target customer is.” – Dave Diamond, independent consultant to retailers, manufacturers and service providers in the grocery industry.

“It’s really no surprise that today’s progressive independent retailers understand that, when it comes to succession planning, ‘family’ is a relative term.” – Mark Batenic, president and CEO of IGA.