The Houston Chronicle has a brief interview with Randall Onstead Jr., who as CEO is running the newly merged Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo chains. Some excerpts:
How the industry has changed since he was CEO of the old Randalls chain... “Customers have changed. They're demanding better value, and supermarkets have had to respond. It's always been competitive, but it's even more so now ... it's a matter of giving customers what they want, whether it's value, the right product or location. It sounds simple, but it's the key to this business.”
His first steps... “I'm excited. I recently spent a week on the road going to 10 town-hall meetings talking to district and regional managers. It's been a while since I stood in front of managers and talked about our goals for the company. It reminded me of how much I love the business.”
How the industry has changed since he was CEO of the old Randalls chain... “Customers have changed. They're demanding better value, and supermarkets have had to respond. It's always been competitive, but it's even more so now ... it's a matter of giving customers what they want, whether it's value, the right product or location. It sounds simple, but it's the key to this business.”
His first steps... “I'm excited. I recently spent a week on the road going to 10 town-hall meetings talking to district and regional managers. It's been a while since I stood in front of managers and talked about our goals for the company. It reminded me of how much I love the business.”
- KC's View:
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I hope he didn’t just talk. I hope he listened. Because the only way that companies like Winn-Dixie / BiLo are going to be viable in the long term will be if they have a firm understanding that all value is created at store level, that their best sales tool will be the people on the front lines, and that listening to employees and customers is a lot more important than sharing strategic goals and tactical imperatives. IMHO...
