The Dallas Morning News reports on how Ronald E. Johnson, the new CEO of Minyard Food Stores now that the company has been sold by the founding family to a Texas investment group, “isn’t intimidated” by the competitive challenges that confronts him.
"Everywhere I've been, everyone always says this is the most competitive market. They say it's off the charts. You know, they're all competitive markets," Johnson tells the paper. "This company's capital structure is solid, and I wouldn't have been involved otherwise. We're committed to the long term and plan to reinvest in this chain," he adds, saying that he plans to keep all three of the company’s retail banners – Minyard, Sack ‘n Save Warehouse, and Hispanic-themed Carnival.
Johnson says that the company’s first priority is to get through the holidays, and then start laying out a strategic approach to becoming a better competitor against the likes of Wal-Mart, Albertsons, Kroger, and HEB.
The Morning News notes that Johnson’s experience includes “a turnaround at Florida's Kash n' Karry, a bankruptcy and sale at Virginia's Farm Fresh and a liquidation at Mississippi-based Jitney Jungle.”
"Everywhere I've been, everyone always says this is the most competitive market. They say it's off the charts. You know, they're all competitive markets," Johnson tells the paper. "This company's capital structure is solid, and I wouldn't have been involved otherwise. We're committed to the long term and plan to reinvest in this chain," he adds, saying that he plans to keep all three of the company’s retail banners – Minyard, Sack ‘n Save Warehouse, and Hispanic-themed Carnival.
Johnson says that the company’s first priority is to get through the holidays, and then start laying out a strategic approach to becoming a better competitor against the likes of Wal-Mart, Albertsons, Kroger, and HEB.
The Morning News notes that Johnson’s experience includes “a turnaround at Florida's Kash n' Karry, a bankruptcy and sale at Virginia's Farm Fresh and a liquidation at Mississippi-based Jitney Jungle.”
- KC's View:
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Not exactly a sterling resume, especially considering that while Kash n’ Karry may have been turned around, the company is now in the position of having to do it again. (So much for staying power.)
We have to be honest here. While we wish Johnson luck, and hope he is able to revitalize the company, we have received dozens of emails evaluating his prospects – and not one has suggested that he is the right man for the job. (And these seem to be people with some personal experience…) Some of them were pretty graphic (we couldn’t even post those).
But he’ll have to go some to prove himself.
