38 The Shelby Report of the Southeast • DECEMBER 2017
Southeast Retailer of the Year: Giving Customers What They Want Since 1954 Lowes Foods began in 1954 as a single store in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, and, over those 63 years, has grown into a nearly 100-store chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Now based in Winston-Salem, the grocer grew rapidly during the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s. By 1984, Merchants Distributors Inc. (MDI) had acquired Lowes, and in 1986 an aggressive expansion program kicked off, with 19 stores opening over the next four years. In 1997, Lowes Foods increased its store count with the purchase of Byrds Food Stores in eastern North Carolina, followed in 2000 by the purchase of 13 Hannaford stores. Today, Lowes Foods continues to open new stores in North Carolina and South Carolina, which are hotbeds of grocery competition. The chain has always prided itself on finding out what its shoppers want and delivering on it. “Stores, products and services are continually updated to meet the changing needs of customers,” the company says. For instance, in the 1990s, Lowes Foods introduced FreshSmart stores, with an emphasis on customer service and fresh produce, meat, seafood, deli and bakery items. And in 2013, Lowes embarked on in-depth consumer research in addition to holding a series of overnight workshops for not only its store managers but also managers from MDI and Alex Lee, Lowes Foods’ parent company. During these workshops, the new vision for Lowes Foods was born: “We grow community.” At the same time, a number of new concepts were created, including Chicken Kitchen, SausageWorks, Pick & Prep and the Community Table. In January 2014, Lowes Foods reopened the first store to offer all of the newly developed concepts in Clemmons, North Carolina. The biggest reason that we believe Lowes Foods stands The chain continues to develop new concepts to help further differentiate its stores. out is because of our people. Our host teams make Tim Lowe was named president of Lowes Foods in June 2013. Before all the difference. We can put together differentiated that, he served in several roles with Supervalu, including SVP, president of concepts and build great guest environments, but Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, SVP of merchandising and EVP of merchandising. He started his career in retail in 1992 as a regional manager for without our people these things would mean nothing. Walmart, followed by VP of general merchandise for Meijer Inc., district —Tim Lowe, president manager for Best Buy and regional VP for Circuit City. He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in pharmacy from the University of Houston in 1991. Tim Lowe speaks at the Simpsonville, South Below are Tim Lowe’s responses to some questions about his company, named The Shelby Report’s 2017 Southeast Retailer of the Year Carolina, store opening. for its long history and commitment to customer service as well as its determination in innovation.
Q
With the increasing levels of competition in the grocery business from competitors like Lidl as well as online grocers like Amazon/ Whole Foods Market, what are some of the ways Lowes Foods works to set itself apart and keep customers happy and returning? Knowing that the level of competition would continue to increase, in 2013 we embarked on a brand transformation
journey to develop a shopping experience that truly differentiates Lowes Foods from the typical supermarket. We started by doing extensive research in the homes of consumers around our stores. We determined that we needed to create an experience that makes our stores a place where our guests want to spend time. We developed a series of concepts called our “Originals” that all offer an element of prepared foods. We have also developed a differentiated private brand offering with a focus on cleaner ingredients.
Q
You have closed stores over the years, as many companies do for profitability reasons; what are some of the lessons learned from these difficult decisions?
In other words, how have those closings helped you when opening new stores? Any time we exit a store it occurs within a strategic real estate and long-term company strategy. While these decisions are difficult, it is our goal to always learn from what our guests are asking from us to ensure we can deliver to them a shopping experience that is truly differentiated. With our redeveloped brand, we have been able to identify the size of store, volume of market and resonance of the concepts by market, which allows us to tailor our approach by location. Often, decisions to close a store are correlated with shifts in the community’s “power-centers” and areas of major draw within the local area.
Q
Speaking of new stores, what are some of the most important things Lowes keeps in mind as new stores are planned today? The first thing we keep in mind is our Guest. They are at the center of everything we do. That’s why we take the opportunity to go to the community and do ethnographic visits so we can deliver what they are looking for. We also view our entry into new stores as an expansion of our family, therefore, we want to represent the local community in the best way possible. To help with this, we have local vendor fairs prior to opening in the market. This allows us to identify local vendors that we can partner with to sell their products in our stores. We also think of our stores as a village of different shops. Our stores include a variety of our Originals: The Chicken Kitchen, The Cakery, Smokehouse, SausageWorks, Sammy’s Sandwich Shop, Boxcar Coffee, The Beer Den, Pick & Prep, Breadcrumb, Spice Bazaar, The Please see page 42
page_38-42-44-46.indd 38
11/10/17 3:17 PM