Food Lion 60th

The Shelby Report Honors

Southeast Woman Executive of the Year Meg Ham, President of Food Lion

Food Lion’s 60th Anniversary Please see page 32

Results-Driven Yet Humble, Ham Leads Food Lion Forward Food Lion President Meg Ham is The Shelby Report’s Southeast Woman Executive of the Year for 2017.

Ham will celebrate 30 years with Food Lion’s parent company, Delhaize America (now part of Ahold Delhaize) next year. She joined the company in 1988 and has held a range of leadership roles at both Food Lion and Maine-based Hannaford. Before becoming president of Food Lion on Nov. 1, 2014, she was president of Bottom Dollar Food, a discount banner Delhaize sold to Aldi shortly after naming Ham to lead Food Lion.

At the Salisbury, North Carolina-based chain that operates more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates, she leads all operations, including strategic Meg Ham direction, financial performance, product assortment, pricing, customer service and marketing.

“I’m honored to take on this new role at Food Lion, a company that I have been passionate about for many years,” Ham said at the time. “I look forward to maintaining our positive momentum at Food Lion by continuing to deploy our new strategy, serving our customers well and caring for our communities through Food Lion Feeds.”

Ham has a reputation of being a servant leader, and that extends not only to the way she interacts with her associates at Food Lion but also the chain’s shoppers and the communities the stores operate in, as you’ll see in the Q&A below.

For her nearly three decades of service to the industry and the example she sets for others, we are pleased to honor Meg Ham as our Southeast Woman Executive of the Year.

Being at the helm of Food Lion for about three years, what changes/improvements are you most proud of? Associates, operations, customer engagement, community engagement?

Food Lion has continued to make tremendous progress in executing our strategy, “Easy, Fresh and Affordable…You Can Count on Food Lion Every day!”

This work includes remodeling more than half of our stores in the network to make shopping easier for our customers as well as making sure we transform the shopping experience of our customers and ensuring they know Food Lion is a neighbor they can count on!

At Food Lion, we like to say we are the towns and cities we serve, and I strongly believe nourishing, caring for and feeding our communities is something we are deeply passionate about and will help us build deeper emotional connections with our customers.

I’m also very proud of our associates who have embraced our new culture and the care for our customers as well as our commitment to donate 500 million meals by the end of 2020 through Food Lion Feeds and, to date, we’ve donated more than 330 million meals.

Humble is a word that has been used to describe your management style.

How do you think that developed? Was it your upbringing, mentors, experience, education?

I come from a family of strong women leaders who were excellent examples for me, and I learned from some of the most humble leaders I know.

My mother led our household, and my grandmother unknown) was a widow who put four children through college, despite her twins being born during the Great Depression. I try to emulate my

Growing up, my mother had a quote on a card—10 two-letter words to live by—that she often shared with us: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” (author

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mother and grandmother for my family, which includes my loving husband and two wonderful boys, 18 and 14 years old.

What are some of the reasons Food Lion has achieved 60 years in the highly competitive grocery business?

First and foremost, we wouldn’t be where we are today without our loyal and dedicated associates who make sure they serve our customers well every day and keep them coming back to our stores for all of their grocery needs.

I’m always so amazed at our associates who have spent decades working for our company and who are so dedicated to making sure our customers can always count on Food Lion.

Whether it’s an associate who has worked for us for 50 years or one who has been here only a few short months, our associates are very near and dear to me and are very special!

I also believe our tenacity and focus over the years has ensured—and will continue to ensure—that we will be around for another 60 years! From always being focused on the customer to ensuring we maintain our low price heritage so our customers can nourish their families with fresh and affordable food is very important in the towns and cities we serve.

We know many of our customers make tough choices every day, and we want to make those choices easier because people can afford to eat healthy by shopping at Food Lion.

Consumers these days, especially younger ones, like to support companies that are active participants in their communities, that use their business for “good.” Food Lion has been impacting hunger in communities through the “Food Lion Feeds” initiative, for example. Are there other causes Food Lion embraces? Tell us about those. Are there intangible benefits that go along with these efforts, such as company (associate) pride?

In addition to hunger relief, Food Lion is committed to the towns and cities it serves through disaster relief, sustainability and Please see page 28

Easy, Fresh and Affordable: What Does It Really Mean?

EASY:

Today, “Food Lion stores feature easyto-navigate aisles, expanded assortment across all departments with items neatly organized to enable an easy-to-shop experience, along with conveniences such as grab-and-go meals and daily meal solutions.

Friendly associates ensure each customer is greeted with a ‘Count on me’ attitude,” the company says.

In addition, Food Lion’s mobile app gives shoppers access to their digital MVP card, loadable coupons, digital shopping lists (which identify items down to the aisle in their particular store) and more. Food Lion also is piloting home grocery delivery and grocery pickup through Food Lion To-Go in select markets, including Charlotte, North Carolina.

Food Lion is piloting a new personalized loyalty program offering customers monthly rewards on products and categories they shop the most.

FRESH:

Food Lion says it has “always prided itself on listening to customers and offering what they want: fresh, quality products at affordable prices…For example, Food Lion was there when customers asked for more natural and organic products, and has even rolled out a total store Local Goodness campaign celebrating products grown or manufactured throughout local regions.”

Through its private brand line, Nature’s Place, Food Lion has more than 400 natural and organic items, including Nature’s Place beef, pork, poultry, salads and bakery items.

Please see page 28

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28 The Shelby Report of the Southeast • DECEMBER 2017

From page 26

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 16 years in a row; we have several LEED-certified stores; and we recycle or repurpose cardboard at our stores, corporate offices and distribution centers. In 2016 alone, Food Lion recycled more than 115,000 pounds of cardboard.

What excites you about Food Lion’s future?

I’m extremely proud of the solid foundation we have established over the past 60 years and, in more recent years, understanding the needs and wants of our customers.

From working to help our customers connect emotionally to our brand through the culture of “Count on me,” personalization of savings at Food Lion and care we extend to our communities, to the changes we’ve made in stores or through product Meg Ham, left, with Food Lion volunteers doing pantry makeovers expansion, it’s these actions that will enable us to be for food banks as part of Food Lion Feeds. nimble and flexible and still be here for another 60 years.

From page 26 And, while Food Lion is evolving the grocery experience for support of armed forces and veterans. its customers through digital and e-commerce innovation, we Food Lion is there for its communities in times of need, particularly also continue to reinforce our care for our communities and tell when disaster strikes. Whether it was Hurricane Hugo in 1989 or our story of how we are making groceries more affordable for Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Food Lion was there with food and water. them.

From hurricanes and tornadoes to wildfires and droughts, Food Lion And this can be done in many ways. Whether it’s refining the understands communities rely on the company to be there in times of products we carry in our stores to meet changing customer need and takes that responsibility very seriously. preferences such as more organic and natural products, or craft Food Lion is grateful to the men and women who risk their lives beers and expanded wine or enhanced home meal solutions, to serve our country every day. The company supports local military to further enhancing the freshness of our produce so it lasts personnel—active, retired and reserve—near military bases in the longer at home, or continuing to invest in prices to ensure we states in which we operate. On Memorial Day and Veterans Day, maintain our affordability position among increased low-price active and retired military personnel receive 10 percent off their entire competitors—all of these efforts showcase our desire to care purchase. for customers as we help them save money and nourish their Food Lion’s commitment to the environment is far-reaching. families with healthy meals.

For one, we are committed to energy savings. We are the only grocer to win the Energy Star Partner Award from the United States Please see page 30

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In remodeled markets, customers can find dedicated sections for these products in both fresh and center store. Each Nature’s Place product features a “Free From” statement on the front of the package highlighting the ingredients absent from the formulation.

Every product is free from more than 100 artificial colors, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and additives.

All stores offer a broad selection of fresh meat, produce and baked goods backed by a double-your-money-back guarantee (the “Food Lion promise”). Some stores even also feature walk-in garden coolers to house produce to keep it fresher longer.

AFFORDABLE:

From the beginning, the company has strived to offer the best price to customers and to “compete mightily over price with competitors,” it says. As Co-Founder Ralph Ketner used to say, “When we save, you save.” He came up with the acronym LFPINC to assure customers they would find the Lowest Food Prices in North Carolina at Food Town (the predecessor banner to Food Lion).

That continued; a television ad from 1991, when Tom Smith was CEO, featured the executive telling customers not to expect special sales at Food Lion. “That’s because… customers want extra low prices on all their groceries every day of the year.”

As part of Food Lion’s market remodels it has been doing over the past few years, it has lowered prices, improved signage and introduced its three easy “Ways to Save”: Hot Sale: Food Lion’s top weekly MVP specials, and the best prices throughout the store, only available with an MVP card.

WOW: Lower prices on thousands of items, offered for longer periods of time.

Low Price: Essential items priced affordably every day.

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30 The Shelby Report of the Southeast • DECEMBER 2017

From page 28 What excites you about your future?

For me, it’s the same as above.

It’s Food Lion’s growth and ability to make deeper connections to our customers.

I’m very excited about the future and look forward to continuing to grow our business for another 60 years!

What advice would you give young women who aspire to run a grocery chain someday?

I like to think about this as advice I’d give to anyone who aspires to continue to grow in their leadership with the company.

First, responsibility and accountability are big for me, and I believe everyone has to own their own personal development and their own leadership.

Growing up, my mother had a quote on a card—10 two-letter words to live by—that she often shared with us: “If it is to be, it is up to me” (author unknown).

These have driven me throughout my career, and I believe they can be helpful to others, too.

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Food Lion Sets Guinness Record for Lunches Assembled in an Hour— And Then Donates Them Hundreds of Food Lion company leaders and associates gathered in Hot Springs, Virginia, on Sept. 19 and packed 10,320 bagged lunches, making Food Lion the Guinness World Record title holder for “Most Bagged Lunches Assembled in One Hour.”

An official Guinness adjudicator verified the count.

This effort was part of Food Lion’s 60th anniversary celebration and the company’s commitment to eliminate hunger through Food Lion Feeds, its hunger-relief initiative.

“At Food Lion, we’re honored to celebrate 60 years of feeding, caring and nourishing our communities,” said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. “While I’m proud of what our team accomplished by setting this new Guinness World Records title, I’m even more excited about the opportunity we have to connect with our neighbors to help fight hunger while drawing attention to an issue facing nearly 9 million people in the towns and cities we serve.”

The bagged lunches were donated to two local food banks—the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and Feeding America Southwest Virginia—which distributed them to local schools and others in need within the Hot Springs community.

Through its Guinness World Record title win, Food Lion achieved bringing awareness to Hunger Action Month while donating the lunches to local food banks.

Food Lion President Meg Ham holds the official award after Food Lion set its Guinness World Record.

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32 The Shelby Report of the Southeast • DECEMBER 2017

Some Highlights from Food Lion’s 60-Year History 1957

1967

Brothers Brown and Ralph Ketner, along with Wilson Smith, open the first Food Town on Dec. 12 in Salisbury, North Carolina. The three raise money to open the store by going through the local phone book asking for $10 investments. There are 122 investors contributing $67,500; the three co-founders personally invest enough to raise a total of $125,000.

Food Town is one of the largest stores in the area, with more than 15,000 s.f. of sales floor

Ralph Ketner locks himself in a motel room for three days with six months of invoices and an adding machine in order to slash prices on 3,000 items by 10 percent. If sales volume increased by 50 percent, Food Town would show a profit. His implementation of the volume concept is a gamechanger for the grocery industry.

space.

1968 Food Town launches its “Lowest Food Prices in North Carolina” slogan, which becomes popularly known as LFPINC. Volume is key.

1970 Food Town shares are listed on the over-the-counter system of NASDAQ. Tom E. Smith, who had first worked at Food Town as a bagger in 1957 when he was a junior in high school and then as a store manager, rejoins Food Town from Del Monte, as a buyer. Smith is offered the first-ever stock option in the company.

RETAIL BUILDING FOR RENT IN TIFTON, GEORGIA

The last tenant was S E Grocers and the building will be vacant as of 12-31-2017. The buildings lease would need to be 9.75 per square foot and a minimum lease of 5 years. Some of the items would be negotiable.

This site is improved with a 17,251 square foot brick building with a concrete block rear wall. The foundation is on a concrete slab. The original building was constructed in 1964. There was an addition in 2002. The framing is steel. The majority of the interior is an open retail area. There are three offices and 2 bathrooms on the northwest corner of the building. The walls are sheetrock and the floors are VCT, both are in average condition. The ceilings will have 12” height with a drop ceiling with acoustical tile.

The rear of the building has two roll up doors that are dock high that are used for unloading freight. There is about 15% of the building area that is storage areas in the rear of the building and not finished to the same quality as the remaining building. The building is in average condition and average/good quailty. the improvements are set up good for a grocery store and have been used as a Harvey’s grocery store for over 50 years.

Dick Kitchens dkitchensebco@aol.com 229-386-5656 HHI_12SE2017.indd 1 page_26-28-30-32-33-34-35.indd 32

The Land is not in a flood zone Map #13277C0109E dated 9/25/2009

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1971 Salisbury Sunday Post runs this headline: “USD $1 Invested in Food Town in ‘57 is Now Worth USD $53.”

1974 Belgian company Delhaize “Le Lion” acquires minority ownership of 34.5 percent in Food Town stores.

1977 Food Town adds a lion to its logo.

1980 From 1968-80, Food Town sales grow from $8.5 million to $543 million.

1981 Tom Smith is named president; he would add the CEO title in 1986. He carries forward the principles of low prices and efficient service in the stores.

1982 In its 25th anniversary year, Food Town is named “Fastest growing supermarket chain in America” by Forbes magazine.

1983 Food Town changes its name to Food Lion—having to change only two letters on its store signs—and Food Lion reaches $1 billion in sales.

1985

Ralph Ketner retires from Food Lion.

Food Lion acquires Giant Food Markets Inc. of Kingsport, Tennessee.

1987

Food Lion expands into fastgrowing Florida, opening three stores in the Jacksonville area and formulating plans for 20 more plus a distribution center.

1988 Many Food Lion become millionaires.

investors

1990 Food Lion begins testing new concepts, including different size store formats. Sales reach $5.6 billion.

The company’s expansion that began in the 1980s, starting with South Carolina and Virginia, has given Food Lion a presence in Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, Florida, Delaware, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Louisiana and, now, Texas.

The company has been adding approximately 100 supermarkets per year during this period.

Perishables merchandising does matter...

Best-in-class supermarkets, like Food Lion, build winning shopper experiences around superior perishables merchandising.

Congratulations to Food Lion, celebrating 60 years of industry leadership, merchandising innovation and customer service excellence!

AND Congratulations to Food Lion president Meg Ham for her well-deserved recognition as Southeast Woman Executive of the Year!

RDD Delivers: We’re passionate about perishables and privileged to service Food Lion.

RDD Associates, LCC 930 Riverview Drive, Suite 400 Totowa, NJ 07512 973-812-8070 www.rddassociates.com

Please see page 34 RDD_Food Lion_SE122017.indd 1 page_26-28-30-32-33-34-35.indd 33

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34 The Shelby Report of the Southeast • DECEMBER 2017

Remembering Ralph Ketner, Food Lion Co-Founder From page 33

1994

Food Lion closes 84 stores in Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma due to underperformance.

The chain opens only 47 new stores this year.

1996 Food Lion acquires the Kash ’n Karry chain based in Florida, adding nearly 100 stores.

1999 Tom Smith retires as president and CEO. Food Lion launches its MVP loyalty program, offering discounts on items at checkout as a reward for shopping at Food Lion. (In 2017, there are 10 million active households on the MVP program.)

2000

On two occasions, Mr. Ketner granted extensive face-to-face interviews to Shelby Report President and Publisher Ron Johnston; in 1998 and then in March 2016, shortly before Mr. Ketner’s death on May 29 at the age of 95.

He had been the last of Food Lion’s founders still living. Mr. Ketner and his brother, Brown, teamed up with friend Wilson Smith to open a Food Town store in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1957. Brown and Ralph’s father had been a farmer, butcher and grocer, so the boys knew some about the business, and they worked for their older brother, Glenn, at his store—Ketner’s—when they were teenagers prior to opening their own store.

Ralph retired from Food Lion in 1985, but his legacy lives on in many ways, including The Ralph W. Ketner Store Manager Excellence Awards that the company now presents each year. The awards are given to exceptional store managers who “enrich the lives of customers, associates and communities, successfully leading the business and supporting and inspiring others.”

Divisional winners are named, as well as a Store Manager of the Year.

Food Lion partnered with Catawba College and Mr. Ketner to produce “Lessons in Leadership,” a documentary film featuring the life and business lessons students and professionals can learn from Ralph W. Ketner.

The video can be viewed at http://newsroom.foodlion.com/multimedia.

Rick Anicetti, formerly with Hannaford in Maine, is named COO in August. (He will become president in September 2001 and CEO in August 2002.)

2004 Continuing to experiment with store formats, Food Lion opens first Bloom store in Charlotte, North Carolina. The store design puts everyday items like milk, bread, eggs and home meal solutions near the front of the store; frozen foods are located near the checkout area; and HBC products are next to the pharmacy. Customers also have the option of picking up a personal scanner that allows them to scan and bag their items as they shop.

Food Lion begins a campaign of renewing stores in select markets.

2005 Food Lion opens its first Bottom Dollar Food stores in High Point, Asheboro and Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Bottom Dollar sells both private brands and national brands at discount prices as well as produce and meat.

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Ralph Ketner with 2014 Store Manager of the Year award winner, Rhonda Mauldin, Food Lion store manager in Simpsonville, South Carolina; Meg Ham, Food Lion president, and Greg Finchum, Food Lion SVP of retail operations.

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‘Food Lion Feeds’ Yields Meals for Food Banks

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Each year, Food Lion Feeds partners with its customers to give back by hosting three in-store campaigns, each generating about 1 million meals for Feeding America and local food banks.

Food Lion Feeds’ “Summers Without Hunger” campaign turns local students’ artwork depicting what hunger means to them into reusable bags sold in stores.

Each bag sold helps provides six meals to local food banks.

In the fall, the grocer helps provide meals to families facing hunger through the sale of Food Lion Feeds bagged apples. Each time a customer purchases one bag of apples, six meals are donated to food banks.

Finally, during the November and December holiday seasons, customers are able to purchase a specially-marked “Holidays Without Hunger” food box for $5 or make a cash donation at checkout.

2007 Food Lion unveils a new logo during its 50th anniversary year.

2010 Food Lion launches back-to-roots strategy: “Simple Quality and Price...Welcome Back to Food Lion.”

Cathy Green Burns is named to lead Food Lion. She had begun her career as a bagger at a Hannaford store while in high school. She rose to VP at Hannaford before joining Food Lion in 2002.

2012 Food Lion closes 126 underperforming stores. Some Bloom and Bottom Dollar Food stores converted to Food Lion.

Beth Newlands Campbell, a 25-year company veteran of Hannaford and Food Lion, is named president of Food Lion, succeeding Cathy Burns.

2013 Food Lion launches new store format in Concord, North Carolina, including Food Lion’s first walk-in produce cooler.

2014 Food Lion unveiled its new chainwide strategy: “Easy, Fresh and Affordable...You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day!” complete with a new logo. In addition, the company completes remodels on 76 stores in Wilmington and Greenville, North Carolina.

Food Lion Feeds is created to focus company’s philanthropic efforts solely on hunger relief.

Company commits to donating 500 million meals by 2020.

Beth Newlands Campbell steps down as president as of Nov. 1; she is succeeded by Meg Ham.

2015 Food Lion remodels 162 Raleigh, North Carolina, area stores.

2016 Food Lion remodels 142 Charlotte, North Carolina, area stores, and 61 Food Lion stores are divested as part of the Ahold Delhaize merger.

2017 Food Lion celebrates its 60th anniversary.

In addition, remodels are completed in 93 Greensboro, North Carolina, area stores and 71 Richmond, Virginia, area stores.

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