Commentary From Our Chairman / CEO
Taking Time to Learn at FMI
Michael D. Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc.
Recently I joined hundreds of people in our industry at the FMI Midwinter executive conference held in Phoenix, Arizona. Taking the time to learn is time well spent, and I thought I would share not only what we learned but how we have begun to use it – just a few shorts weeks later.
First there was the learning about the history of our industry which was so eloquently shared by Neil Golub, Executive Chairman of the Board of Price Chopper Supermarkets, upon receipt of the prestigious Sidney R. Rabb award. The award is given in recognition of excellence in serving the consumer, the community and the industry, and it’s hard to imagine a more worthy recipient than Neil. We were proud to be there and to listen to him describe the beginning of our industry association which started in our backyard in Boston in the 30’s.
The conference focused on “big data” and the varied and extensive sources of data used in the food retail industry – data that has been collected since the first use of the barcode in the early 70’s. Having the plethora of information sources available to us is potentially useful but only if we are discerning and can separate the wheat from the chafe. We came back from FMI and talked about this – what information do we really need and can put to good use for our customers – and what data and information is interesting but won’t help us or our customers become more effective? We have concluded that information that helps us better know the shopper and their preferences for HBC and GM products is at the heart of what matters to us, and that should be our focus. We learned from a recent study conducted by Catalina (a digital media company) that each shopper is unique and no two shoppers are alike. Further, .2% of all HBC UPC’s find their way into a shopper’s basket in the course of one year, and those UPC’s are different for each consumer. So the challenge for us is to know each of those consumers – each one – and to make sure that the selection in each store is designed for those shoppers. Clearly, one size fits all assortments will not be an option going forward.
We also learned that protecting data is growing in importance and we all need to look both internally and externally for threats. We are talking about that with a renewed sense of urgency.
One of the most interesting and entertaining parts of the FMI program was the presentation by Jason Dorsey, “The Gen Y Guy” who talked about the generation born between 1977-1995 and the differences between that generation and the other three generations that are also in the work place today; Generation X, Baby Boomers, and Tradionalist’s. Since we returned from the conference we have talked about the generational differences and how to make them work for us and for our retailers. For example, we learned that the popular belief is that Generation Y is not loyal to the companies they work for or to the places where they shop. Another way to think about this is how do we earn the loyalty of this generation and how do we help our retailers provide products and promotions that will resonate with this important group.
We came back from FMI with provocative questions and we feel compelled to find the answers. It’s an important process, and I’m glad we took the time to learn at FMI Midwinter.
For comments or questions, contact us by phone at 508-756-5156, or e-mail: msleeper@imperialdistributors.com