CGA Leadership Summit 2021

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

CGA Leadership Summit 2021

HEE-SOOK NELSON

GELSON’S MARKETS

The economy, political environment, and evolving society will shape how the industry interacts with shoppers, elected officials, and our employees.

At the end of July, industry leaders gathered in Santa Barbara, my old stomping grounds (go Gauchos!), for the CGA Leadership Summit. Over the course of two days, economists, political experts, former elected officials, and Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed attendees as the Association worked to craft its next five-year strategic vision. The past vision could be broken down into three buckets: expanding our grocery industry’s reach and influence, making our grocery community more inclusive, and creating new products and offerings for CGA members. By all metrics, the Association achieved its goals, and it’s from these strategic successes, our grocery community can now look to reach even greater heights. So, where do we begin? If you’re reading this column at CGA Strategic Conference, then the name Chris Thornberg might sound familiar. Thornberg is a professor at UC Riverside and the co-founder of Beacon Economics. During his presentation to Summit attendees, he shared many data points showing the state and country’s economic trajectory. Mainly, he believes the economy has already recovered and that the narrative of a sluggish economy is inaccurate.

While these thoughts set the big picture, the Beacon Economics co-founder also offered some actionable insights concerning the industry’s workforce. Like many of you, I know all too well what a challenge hiring is right now. Thornberg states, there are simply more jobs than workers to fill them, and a lack of housing. We need to adjust to the demographic reality of our state’s workforce. His advice is to focus on automation and methods to lure Baby Boomer retirees back into the industry. Additionally, we should push elected officials to offer child care solutions that better solve for the issues working mothers face. To understand how these ideas can filter into CGA’s work, we should consider the Association’s role in advocating for working parents, who also happen to be some of our best customers. During the pandemic, women have been dropping out of the workforce at alarming rates. It’s become so bad some have taken to calling it a “she-cession.”

Fewer women in the workplace harm the industry’s ability to build out well-rounded teams that successfully connect with our customers. It also slows the momentum the CGA Board of Directors has established on fostering greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within our grocery community. Throughout the two days in Santa Barbara, speakers encouraged industry leaders to embrace the societal causes of our time. In a progressive state, business groups are commonly seen as only playing defense and saying “ no ” to the majority’s political priorities.

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“By all metrics, the

Association achieved its goals, and it’s from these strategic successes, our grocery community can now look to reach even greater heights. So, where do we begin?”

Speaker John Myers, the Sacramento Bureau Chief at the Los Angeles Times, focused on this concept. The veteran Capitol journalist explained that reporters are looking for interesting or counterintuitive angles for their stories. Business groups are often tuned out because they are not seen as being collaborative. Therefore, he advised the industry to seek common ground with elected officials and more nuanced policy positions. The Myers viewpoint fits nicely with one of the Summit’s most popular speakers: Mike Madrid. Having worked on many high-profile political campaigns, the political consultant shared the framework he has developed to understand the current American political landscape. According to Madrid, change is accelerating, and partisanship is worse than at any time since the Civil War. Populist dynamics are dominant in both the right and left. Unsurprisingly, California inhabits the left side of his political grid, meaning progressives. Madrid recommends the grocery community work to find collaboration points concerning equity – think about the right to access fresh food. The last 18 months have been extremely difficult politically. Hazard pay, for example, swept through cities across the state’s metropolitan hubs faster and with less conversation than we’ve ever seen during any policy fight. The truth isn’t always pretty. The work isn’t always easy. But, like running stores, we know positive results stem from identifying the issues at hand and working together towards strategic solutions. ■