Find out what the VIP team leading the exclusive tour had to share starting on

from 2021 Smart & Final Anniversary

by Shelby Publishing

1927 Late 1920s

1930s

1942

Leadership team highlights the identity of Smart & Final Extra!

VIP tour details how brand is ‘more like a club store with groceries’

From staff reports

As shoppers peruse a Smart & Final Extra! store, they will find an extensive variety of products to serve even the largest of households and businesses.

To illustrate that point – and in conjunction with the Commerce, California-based grocery chain’s 150th anniversary in 2021 – members of the executive team recently took The Shelby Report of the West on a tour of a Smart & Final Extra! store in Tustin.

Matt Reeve, VP of sales and merchandising, said, “It’s important to ensure that customers understand what Smart & Final offers. A Smart & Final Extra! combines a warehouse store with traditional grocery retailer with offerings like farm-fresh produce and meat, frozen foods, dairy, deli, grocery basics and natural and organic options – offering a true one-stop shop. “We’re not a traditional grocery store, we’re much more like a club store with groceries. In virtually every Smart & Final store, you walk into a nice display of some of Matt Reeve our club pack items that you might find in a warehouse store, which reinforces the message of what Smart & Final carries,” Reeve explained. Entering a store, customers will see they are somewhere much different from other grocery or warehouse chains but will still find everything they want and need. “In our Extra! stores, we love to have our fresh products up front, which explains why we always have our produce department right off the main entry. You’ll also find flowers kept within eyesight,” Reeve said. Please see page 66

From page 60

“From the first moment the customer walks through our doors, we really want to establish that they’re somewhere different. With our fresh products and club assortments up front, we immediately reinforce that we’re a one-stop shop.”

Sean Mahony, VP of store operations, said Smart & Final maintains its household and business customer base by going the extra mile for shoppers. That means personalization and ensuring needs are being met.

“For a lot of customers, it’s making sure we have the product for them,” Mahony said. “If you own a business, you often struggle to find the time to make multiple grocery store trips or become frustrated when you find a store doesn’t have what you’re looking for once you arrive.

Sean Mahony

Please see page 72

From page 66

“With our customer personalization, we make sure we’ve got what they need, when they need it. Whether that means we’ve already rung up the items or that we’ve got it ready to go for them to easily pick up. This is something that differentiates Smart & Final from the competition out there today.”

Scott Drew, COO, touts Smart & Final as the smaller, faster grocery warehouse store.

“We‘re able to price competitively to keep our labor costs down,” he said of Smart & Final’s operational strategy. “We aim to keep our overhead expenses low. When you look throughout the store, you’ll notice that our overheads keep our back stock, which lends itself to a lot of efficiencies.

“We don’t keep much product in our back warehouse storage area. This helps restocking become a one-touch process, and we put this savings towards a competitive pricing strategy.”

As customers interact with associates in the store, some may come to learn their stories of development throughout the years. Katrina Brooks, district area trainer, shared her own experiences with the company.

“Smart & Final definitely places a huge emphasis on training and development,” she said. “Teamwork is a core company value, and even when I was working in the stores, there was a lot of cross-training. You are given the chance to wear a lot of different hats. From my role as a trainer, I get to see associates when they first start, and then help facilitate their growth and development.”

Brooks shared the company’s five core values: teamwork, integrity, accountability, respect and growth. She was sure to discuss growth, specifically, as it has been integral in her own journey.

“When I started at Smart & Final, I completed the Retail Management Certificate Program, which the company paid for,” she said. “After that, I was able to finally finish my associate’s degree, which the company also helped fund. Recently, I went back to school to finish my bachelor’s degree, and the company provided me with multiple scholarships.”