2021 Retailer of the Year

From page 32

The book continues, “Changing consumer habits and more women in the workforce triggered significant changes in the grocery industry in the 1980s. Stores not only got bigger, but also offered more services focused on providing one-stop shopping for customers. More competitors sought the grocery store dollar and Coborn’s responded with a diversified portfolio and bold moves to deliver customers with more convenience and value.”

Fast forward to the company’s centennial anniversary, each store continues to serve as an economic engine in its area.

“Each grand opening represents more jobs and more opportunities to give back to the communities Coborn’s serves,” according to the book. “Whether it’s a newly built Coborn’s store in St. Joseph, Pipestone or Jamestown or a Cash Wise store in Watford City or Minot, the company drives local commerce and job creation. Coborn’s now supports some 9,000 employees throughout the upper Midwest.”

Every generation of the Coborn’s family has faced its own challenges in the business. For Chester C. and Duke, it was war, rations and recovery. For Duke’s grandson, Chris, it’s been the rise of technology, an exponential growth in information and a demand to diversify like never before.

The future for Coborn’s is a blank slate, per the history book. “Leaders admit they cannot even begin to imagine what the next 20 years in the grocery retailing business will bring.”

The industry continues to evolve with online retailers and new store formats emerging, trends that have only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifthgeneration leader Emily Coborn, VP/Operations Eastern Region, noted the company must stay ready to adapt.

“We have to be innovative and take calculated risks if we’re going to thrive,” she said.