Food retailer says success centres around the customer

BY BRENT FOX

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

They focus on food and are proud of their work. They are also leaders in local food procurement within the balance of cost and quality.

Sobey’s president and chief executive officer Bill McEwan spoke to Acadia University business students and the public Sept. 25 as part of the School of Business Distinguished Speakers series. He and other Sobey’s officials also visited the Windsor and other outlets in the area while here.

One of the country’s top grocery retailers and food distributors, Sobey’s is based in Stellarton, with regional offices across the country. The century-plus company has grown to more than 1,300 owned and franchised stores nationwide, with primary banners including Sobey’s, IGA, IGA Extra, Foodland and Price Chopper. The company’s fiscal revenues in 2007 topped $13 billion.

In Atlantic Canada, the corporate culture is very different, he said, as are others across the country. But the company focus has been on food retail and is guided by a set of principles and a strong operational culture. “Not having a governance regime is reckless,” McEwan said. “We are a food retailer,” he added, providing the best service, and the priority is ‘Win’ – ‘what’s important now’ and ‘what’s important never.’

McEwan said, “it all centres around the customer. We want a worthwhile experience for anyone who touches our business. Retail is detail. It’s a very complex business.”

Local purchases extraordinarily strong

Responding to a student’s question concerning local procurement, McEwan pointed out the company’s purchases from local producers is extraordinarily strong. Local purchases are in the company’s business model.

“We’ve been doing this for decades,” with the annual value reaching $400 million. It is a balance with availability, quality and price, he noted, to ensure the best quality for the shopper. “We proudly serve our community,” McEwan said.

Responding to a media question, McEwan said higher transportation costs and possible interference in outside supplies are factors, but are only part of the balance.

In the growth process, the company got out of what it couldn’t do as well and sold it “to get focused on what we can do well.” Therefore, the company never got into general merchandising, for which it was not well positioned.

Management talent is a factor in success, as is information technology, planning and forecast measurements. Communications are important, too, with customers, stakeholders and suppliers.

Expansion of the customer base needs integrity and the maintenance of a high performance culture relies on rewards and compensation, he noted. These are possible only with a healthy balance sheet. “In our business, you only get what you can measure,” he told the students. “The store is where it happens,” McEwan said.

McEwan noted he was fortunate in that he had developed a passion for the food business early in life, spending 31 years in the sector and living and working across the country and in the United States. Coming to Sobey's in 2000 “felt like a graduation.”

He advised students to “stop, look and listen,” and “take stock of what is important.”