The Unconventional

Independent
Under Ring Bros.
Marketplace’s unique
model — the brainchild
of its eponymous co-owner
— each department
operates as an independent
business in itself.

www.progressivegrocer.com A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T Progressive Grocer • November 2010 • 23

 Back to the Future
The more things change, it seems, the more they stay the same.
I
’d like to welcome you to
the first edition of Progressive
Grocer Independent with a
quote from a past issue of
our flagship brand, Progressive
Grocer:
“He studied the chain store system —
all of its little efficiencies as well as the big
ones — and he began fighting it with his
own weapons, literally. He had something
in his store that the chain store might never
have — a personal interest in the customer.
That is the one place where the smart, inde-
pendent retailer has the chain store dragon
right on the hip.”
—Edward Hungarford, “What Does the
Future Hold for the Independent Grocer?”
What’s interesting about the above
statement is that it came from the first sto-
ry in the first issue of The Progressive Gro-
cer, which published its inaugural issue way
back in January 1922. But what’s even more
interesting is that what was written back
then still remains true today. Independent
grocers’ close relationship with the commu-
nities they serve — and within which many
actually live — is still a key differentiator
against their large-chain competitors.
This closeness is why consumers still trust
their local grocer while remaining wary of
Big Business. As National Grocers Associa-
tion CEO Peter Larkin says in our Q&A on
Page 36, “We are closer to the customer, as
we’re not a big business; we are small busi-
nesses. We have our finger on the pulse …”
Meanwhile, Mark Batenic, IGA’s CEO,
also shares his seasoned observations on
independents’ community connection as
the critical reason for their everlasting rel-
evance, which he says “is evident in the
growing segment of shoppers who have
determined that personalized customer
service from a member of the community
is more important than price — even in a
struggling economy — which suggests that
www.progressivegrocer.com
independents are quickly becoming the From the very first
most relevant retailers around.” issue of The Progressive
And though many aspects of inde-
Grocer, way back in
1922, independent
pendent grocers’ fundamental advan- retailers have been a
tages are indelible, many of the tools focus of the publication.
independents now use to further en-
hance this closeness to customers have
pendent grocers and
wholesalers directly:
changed dramatically. When he wrote
The Independent
about what the future held for indepen-
Grocer Network
dents, Hungarford clearly wasn’t think-
(www.independent-
ing of blogs, mobile marketing and social
grocernetwork.com).
media, or the many other innovations
It’s a 24/7/365 com-
independent grocers have developed to
munity for our read-
stay close to the customer.
ers to share informa-
Our cover story, for example, features
tion and pick each other’s brains about all
Ring Bros. Marketplace, which features
things related to independent grocers. We
among its innovations the company’s busi-
invite you to join the discussion!
ness model itself: six former standalone lo-
I wonder whether, 80-some-odd years
cal businesses brought together by Ed Ring.
from now, a Progressive Grocer editor will
While each business was in its own right a
stumble upon this column, and have a
star among Cape Cod consumers, the new
good laugh at how primitive things were
offerings they bring to shoppers as a unified
“back in 2010.”
operation has not only made their shoppers
But one thing will certainly be the same,
happier, but has also generated more sales.
and that’s the closeness of independent
Tying everything together at Ring Bros. is
grocers to the people and communities
my good friend Donald Fallon, who as the
they serve.
company’s general manager is an example
Unless of course, food is digitized by
of how innovation isn’t just about processes,
then.
but also about bringing innovative people into
the business. Equally at home behind a com-
Joseph Tarnowski
puter or a grill, he’s probably one of the only
Director of Integrated Media/
IT experts you’ll see holding cooking demon-
Technology Editor
strations and classes for shoppers. This past
year alone, he installed new front end fixtures
and POS hardware and software, launched
the company’s redesigned website, managed
Contents
its Facebook page, and integrated Ring’s Four- 27 The Unconventional
square community into its loyalty program. Independent
Indeed, it’s because there’s so much hap- Ring Bros. Marketplace’s
pening among the independent grocer and unique operation
wholesaler community that we launched
34 Retailing Relevance
this supplement, which will be published as
IGA chief Mark Batenic shares
a bimonthly standalone magazine next year.
his thoughts
And every issue will be packed with case
studies of real independent grocers meeting 36 A Strong Foundation
real independent grocer challenges. PG’s Q&A with N.G.A.’s new
Additionally, we’ve created a place online CEO, Peter Larkin
where you can connect with other inde-
A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T Progressive Grocer • November 2010 • 25
 The Unconventional
Independent
Under Ring Bros. Marketplace’s unique model, each department
operates as an independent business in itself.
By Joseph Tarnowski
R
ing Bros. Marketplace, based in South Dennis, Mass., is
as independent as an independent grocer can get. Not
only is the store privately owned and operated, but
it’s also made up of six individually owned businesses,
which function as separate business units that individually
manage the company’s various store departments.
Although the unique setup might sound complex, it’s actually a
seamless mechanism that makes it difficult to distinguish where
one ends and another begins. Indeed, elements of each function as
a well-oiled machine and permeate every corner of the store, in the
form of sampling stations, cross-departmental meal solution pro-
motions, cooking demonstrations and seven large flat-screen TVs.
These businesses comprise Ring Bros. Markets, which is not only
the flagship store’s namesake, but also an organizational structure
in which each department “specializes” in its respective domain:
www.progressivegrocer.com A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T
Ed Ring, owner, Ring Bros. Markets
fresh produce, dairy and grocery items; Har-
ney’s Liquors, which offers wines, craft brews
and top-shelf liquors; Dark Horse Beef and
Deli, which features a selection of all-natural
beef, chicken, cheese and deli products; Na-
ta’s Noodles and Montilio’s Express offering
desserts, freshly made pasta and prepared
gourmet foods; Spinner’s Pizza & Burrito, where gourmet pizzas,
burritos, take-home meals and homemade desserts are available;
and Chatham Fish & Lobster, which sells fresh-caught fish (many
right from the Cape), shellfish and lobster.
With industry roots that date back to 1925 in Salem, Mass.,
the third generation of Ring brothers, led by Ed Ring, moved the
business to Cape Cod in the early 1970s, finally settling into its
current location in 2002. Ed Ring expanded the business in the
Progressive Grocer • November 2010 • 27
 1990s, creating a specialty store, Broadway Marketplace, near generally maintains the store’s many moving parts in pristine con-
Harvard Yard in Cambridge. dition. “Your store can never look tired.”
While Ed Ring’s “personal” portion of the business accounts for
A new concept approximately 40 percent of the store’s sales, it’s by no means a
“I guess you can call me the innovator of the concept,” declares traditional grocery department. To the contrary, its grocery offer-
Ed Ring, who recalls arriving at the idea for his grocery compa- ings consist of about 20 percent mainstream products, with the
ny’s unique model about 15 years remaining 80 percent comprising
ago in Paris, where there were all unique and specialty items that
of these individual markets. Here the store receives via UPS deliv-
was a bakery, across the street eries several times a day. Ed Ring
was a meat market, next door was prefers to do business with suppli-
a cheese market. It was common ers that support the nontraditional
to find them as separate boutique business model with regular prod-
stores located near each other, uct demos and participation in the
each with their own look and feel. store’s many themed events.
Some traditional supermarkets try
to do this with store-within-store Perfecting the Core
concepts, but unfortunately don’t The store was profitable almost
quite pull it off — at least not au- from year one, and the driver of
thentically. this success, according to Ed Ring,
“Not long after my Paris trip, is how the business model allows
an opportunity opened up in the the various sub-businesses to fo-
Cambridge area,” Ed Ring contin- cus strongly on their core compe-
ues. “I signed a lease in the store, tencies. “When the fish guy opens
and then handpicked the best lo- in the morning, all of his energy is
cal businesses to come into the into making the fish look good,”
store with us.” he says. “Same with the meat guy
Based on the model’s success, — everyone is totally responsible
he replicated it when an oppor- for their own product and depart-
tunity arose in Cape Cod. “I’m the ment. It’s a little different from
manager of Dennis Management a traditional supermarket, where
Co., which actually controls the you have a manager rather than
store and is the vehicle to pay the an owner doing it. When you
rent, distribute the money and so have an owner doing it, they have
forth,” explains Ed Ring. “I’m the more vested in the department’s
owner of the market part of the success.”
store, and there are six owners to- Ring Bros. prides itself on offering products shoppers will not find at Tying the departments together
tal — all handpicked.” [Since the traditional supermarkets — particularly the chain supermarket that are Pat Ring, son of Ed Ring, who
has a store right across the street.
interview, Marc Reingold, owner of serves as the store’s buyer and
Harney’s, has been made manager of Dennis Management Co.-Ed.] operations manager, and Donald Fallon, the store’s general man-
While the operation has enjoyed success since early on in the ager, who, in addition to managing the front end, handles the
life of the business, it’s no easy task. Keeping the momentum go- store’s marketing and promotions, including cooking demos (Fal-
ing means that the business must recreate itself every day, accord- lon attended the Culinary Institute of America). Together, the pair
ing to Ed Ring. handles everything connected with running the business, so the
“We’ve made many improvements over the last couple of individual owners can do what they do best: sell their products.
years,” he explains. “We just restructured our entire front end. We “We’ve gotten to the point now where it’s really automatic,”
had four registers, now we have six; we spent $150,000 on a new says Fallon. “Pat Ring will send me a list of things that he wants to
front end system, which has dramatically improved our efficien- have sampled out, and a schedule of promotions and events, and
cies. We just put in several flat-screen TVs throughout the store.” I’ll work with the various owners to assemble everything that’s
Heeding the timeless retailing adage that if you’re standing still, needed, and do it. Generally, when it comes to the demos, I try to
you’re going backwards, Ed Ring says it’s paramount to keep pace use ingredients that I know are going to be in the store seasonally,
with evolving consumer expectations: “I don’t want to look dated. that we’re always going to have on hand. For example, I probably
I need to be 2010 — I can’t be 2003. We have a full-time main- wouldn’t do something with rabbit, because we’re very rarely go-
tenance associate — not many single-store independents have ing to have rabbit in the store. But if there’s something special
that. He keeps the store shining, pressure washing, painting,” and that we want to do, such an Oktoberfest, Pat Ring is steadfast in
28 • Progressive Grocer • November 2010 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T www.progressivegrocer.com
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making sure we have enough sausages.”
Fallon and Pat Ring, meanwhile, keep up a constant
dialogue with the various department owners, deter-
mining what ingredients they’d like to promote each
month, and then working these items into the various
events. Fallon also taps the insights of “resident ex-
perts” such Laurie Carullo, owner of Nada’s Noodles,
and her partner, Frans Weterrings, who’s also a chef,
to bounce ideas off to refine the process. “This month,
we did coq au vin, and we had a long conversation
about the nuances of preparation, such as comparing
traditional vs. contemporary, views of what consti-
tutes the ‘classic garnish’ and so forth. This helps us
better educate our customers. The people who shop
here appreciate the finer details of food art. They like
to know that little trivia, the small pearl onion in the
bacon, how you sauté them, how you use them to
garnish a meal. That’s something you don’t see at a
lot of grocery stores.”
Quenching the Thirst
Moving from a stand-
alone store to a depart-
ment less than half the
size actually helped grow
sales for Harney’s Liquors,
the business that serves as
the store’s adult-beverage
haven. “We moved from
a 9,000-square-foot loca-
tion to a 4,000-square-
foot department,” notes Marc Reingold, owner,
Harney’s Liquors
owner Marc Reingold, “yet
my sales have doubled, and
we’re more profitable as part of Ring Bros.”
Helping to drive these sales is Harney’s tie-in to the
food businesses surrounding it, as well as Reingold’s
adjustment of his assortment to leverage the food
connection. “Previously, we sold beer and liquor with a
small selection of wine,” he says. “Now wine is a major
focus, since wine naturally goes with food.”
This food-wine relationship has become an inte-
gral part of regular Ring Bros. events coordinated and
hosted by Fallon. “The folks from Harney’s will get to-
gether with me before the cooking demos to discuss
which wines we want to pair with the meal,” says Fallon. “When
the dish is done, I’ll bring someone from Harney’s over and he’ll
open the bottle of wine, everybody will get a sample, and then
he’ll talk about the wine for a bit — and hopefully they’ll buy that,
too,” he quips. “Then we serve the food, and the guests see how
well it pairs with the wine.”
“That happens with a lot of our demos,” Ed Ring reflects. “They’ll
come in and see them, but they’ve already got their dinners
planned for that night. They’ll take the recipe home, and then the
next day or a few days later, they’ll come in and get all the ingre-
30 • Progressive Grocer • November 2010 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T
Ring’s Renaissance Man
Ring Bros. general manager Don Fallon is truly a renais-
sance man. He’s the store’s retail technology guru, its resi-
dent chef, marketing maven, sustainability soldier — and a
part-time magician.
And while his sleight of hand is reserved for children’s
parties, Fallon still performs magic inside the store. Perhaps his
greatest trick is helping the various businesses that make up the
store — and their owners — work together seamlessly. “Don is
really the center of the operation,” says Ed Ring, owner of Ring
Bros., which, in addition to being the name of the store is in operational terms the
business consisting of its grocery and dairy departments. “Don’s job basically is to keep
it all even, whether it’s putting
together a promotional strat-
egy or selecting ingredients for
a cooking demo.”
Fallon’s latest IT adventure
has been redesigning the
store’s website, a task which is
still in progress. “When I first
started, the site was small and
simple, and over time we ex-
panded it by adding things like
all the events and recipe pag-
es, and eventually there were
way too many,” he says. “And Ring Bros. general manager Donald Fallon shows
the blog is now gone, since we shoppers how to cook at the store’s demo station.
use Facebook to communicate
regularly with our shoppers. We try to put something up on Facebook every
day to keep people interested in what we are doing rather than just promoting
products. We’ve also gotten good responses from our Tuesday Trivia posts. And
updates on Facebook are automatically fed to our Twitter account. I also handle
the Foursquare integration to our loyalty program.”
Last fall, Fallon installed new point-of-sale software and hardware while
adding two lanes to the front end to handle the store’s growth. Not only was
he able to handle the installation in just one day, but his customers are also
amazed by how fast the lines move since the deployment. Operation of the new
system is smooth, even on the store’s busiest days.
Ever the showman, Fallon says the best part of his job is when he gets to exhibit
his cooking prowess during weekend cooking demonstrations and weekly classes,
during which he teaches both adults and kids how to prepare a variety of dishes.
To highlight these demos, Ring Bros. installed a 50-inch flat-screen TV over
the cooking demo area, and six 42-inch flat-screens throughout the store. Dur-
ing one of Fallon’s cooking demos, one camera points down at the stove, as on
TV cooking shows, and the image is displayed on the screen behind him. Another
camera shoots him from a side angle, and this video is broadcast to the six other
TVs installed throughout the store.
“Shoppers may be over on the opposite end of the store, where you previously
couldn’t really see or hear anything that’s going on at the demo center,” says Fal-
lon. “Now, with the TVs, they’ll look up and see and hear what’s happening, and it
draws them over.”
dients and make them for their families. In many cases, they make
it more than once,” based on verbatim feedback he picks up from
multiple demo attendees.
Other events that tie in wine are the store’s Spring and Fall
Food & Wine Festivals, during which shoppers can sample new
products while tasting some of Harney’s latest offerings. The free
event includes cooking demonstrations throughout the day, and
gourmet food purveyors from around the country are on hand to
give out samples of new products. During these festivals, Harney’s
holds its popular Grand Wine Tasting, which features a selection of
more than 50 fine wines from around the world.
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 Here’s the Beef came calling. Owner Rita MacLellan immediately
Richard Pimental, owner of loved the idea of joining the marketplace.
Ring’s Dark Horse Beef & Deli — “The great thing about Ring Bros. is that you have
which features the store’s meat, support all around you,” MacLellan beams. “Don [Fal-
deli and gourmet cheese depart- lon] does a great job of putting together promotions
ments — left his job as general and including our various businesses in his cooking
manager at an A&P to help Ed Ring demonstrations. Our customers love when he runs
develop his Broadway Marketplace his class on making pizza from scratch. Some of the
store in Cambridge, Mass. He also other owners we’ve known for years, so it was com-
has a store of his own, Cotuit Fresh fortable to enter this
Market, which is run by his wife, Rich and John Pimental, owners of Dark Horse setting where there is
Lori, and son, John. Beef & Deli. a high level of mutual
Dark Horse’s butcher shop fea- respect.”
tures 100 percent USDA Choice all-natural meats cut fresh daily, in- Spinners sells everything pizza,
cluding premium Black Angus beef, a full line of all-natural chicken and it’s all good: pizza by the slice,
and a wide variety of sausages, as well as popular cuts of lamb, pork whole pizzas, homemade pizza
and veal. Its deli offers hundreds of gourmet cheeses sourced from dough, pizza toppings and gourmet
around the world, and now carries a full line of Boar’s Head products. pizzas are among its many offer-
Despite the varied selection available at Dark Horse, if you ask ings. It complements its prized pizza
Pimental, it’s service that sets the shop apart. “You have to re- business with a host of Mexican
ally spend the time and thoroughly educate employees on how to foods, including burritos in a vari- Rita MacLellan, owner of
help shoppers,” he says. “They should be able to help the consum- ety of flavors, quesadillas and other Spinners Pizza & Burrito.
er decide which product is right for them, explain how it should be south-of-the-border favorites.
prepared, and suggest food and beverages that will complement a
customer’s selection.” Chatham Fish & Lobster
Owned by David Carnes, Chatham Fish & Lobster has been a
Oodles of Noodles Cape Cod favorite for years in its original South Chatham loca-
Nata’s Noodles was tion — which is still in operation — and continues the tradition
a local producer, whole- at Ring Bros. with seafood that’s caught fresh daily. Its offerings
saler and retailer of fresh include fresh fish such as flounder, sole, haddock, swordfish and
pasta that serviced many bluefish, as well as shellfish including clams, mussels, oysters, fresh
Boston-area restaurants. crab meat, fresh lobster meat and crab cakes. It also sells live lob-
Carullo, Nata’s owner, was sters ranging from 1 pound to more than 6 pounds, and specialty
invited to join Ring Bros. items such as seafood paté, marinades, homemade chowders and
because she was the best cocktail sauces.
local producer of the spe-
cialty item. “It’s the only All for One
Laurie Carullo, owner of Nata’s Noodles
fresh pasta on the Cape,” and Montilio’s Bakery Express. Having six business owners working this closely together isn’t
she says. “When we were without its challenges, however, and the folks at Ring Bros. would
a standalone store, we were predominantly a wholesale business. be the first to admit this. “They are all business owners, and busi-
When we joined Ring Bros., though, we had extra space and ex- ness owners almost by definition, have strong ideas — that’s
panded the business to include prepared foods, homemade soups why they’re business owners,” notes Fallon. “There’s always go-
and salads.” ing to be situations where all parties are not in agreement about
Nata’s is also where you’ll find another Ring Bros.’ chef: We- something.”
terrings, who prepares the fresh offerings available at Nata’s and To minimize this, the owners have quarterly meetings to discuss
assists with its catering business. While the retail business has operations and address any differences before they become an
grown, Carullo still sells fresh pasta wholesale to local restaurants. issue. This continual dialogue also fosters a spirit of innovation
She also runs the store’s Montilio’s Bakery Express, a satellite among the owners, and when a good idea comes along, they typi-
store of Montillo’s Baking Co., a well-known Boston bakery that cally all get behind it, explains Fallon, noting the group’s penchant
opened in 1947. for being “very supportive to trying new things. This is very impor-
tant, because a lot of businesses out there get to where they want
Spinners Pizza & Burrito to be, and then it’s just cruise control. They don’t change a thing.
Like Nata’s, Spinners Pizza & Burrito is also a woman-owned But if you don’t innovate every day, you get stale, and we try to
business that began as a standalone operation before Ed Ring innovate all the time.” ■

32 • Progressive Grocer • November 2010 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T www.progressivegrocer.com

 Retailing Relevance Independent grocers excel at creating relevance.

By Mark Batenic
open-loop geothermal technology for all of

E
ven in a marketplace dominated by chains and big boxes, his store’s heating and cooling requirements.
These are just two examples, but I hear
there will always be a place for independent grocery retail- success stories literally every day about how
ers. No doubt, there are some who will say I’m biased in independents are listening and reacting to
this opinion, but I prefer another description — informed. customer needs, making them the most
relevant retailers in their marketplaces. And
My everyday dealings with independents give me the evidence I it’s not just IGA independents — it’s inde-
need to speak confidently about the future of pendents across
these great retailers, and the reason I believe the board. All across
America, we’re see-
this can be summed up in one word: relevance. ing independents ex-
This relevance is evident in the grow- and adapt with con- ercising their longev-
ing segment of shoppers who have deter- sumer needs, and, ity, from D’Agostino
mined that personalized customer service most importantly, Supermarkets in
from a member of the community is more innovative. New York to Mc-
important than price — even in a strug- Take IGA retailer Caffrey’s Markets
gling economy — which suggests that in- Tyler Myers, for in Pennsylvania and
dependents are quickly becoming the most example. Tyler was New Jersey, from
relevant retailers around. already running Founded in 1926, the Independent Grocer Alliance Coborn’s in Minne-
I had my first glimpse of the enduring en- two successful IGA counts as its members more than 4,000 stores in sota and South Da-
trepreneurial spirit of independent grocery stores in western more than 40 countries. kota to Russ’s Mar-
retailers when I was a 19-year-old college Washington state kets in Nebraska to
student working at Rusty’s IGA in Lawrence, when he decided it was time to address Quinn’s Food 4 Less in California.
Kan. Even then I was impressed with the the fact that there were no supermarkets Here’s another great example of this:
way things worked at that store; I remem- in downtown Seattle itself. In 2008, he This spring, the Cherry family of Cherry’s
ber thinking it was entrepreneurialism at converted the basement level of a historic IGA celebrated 100 years serving their
its best. The management at Rusty’s IGA department store to a full-service IGA and Girard, Ill., community. How did they cel-
identified its customer base, and then made began catering to downtown Seattle’s con- ebrate? By completely remodeling and
every investment dollar count by putting it do-dwelling residents, workers and pedes- expanding their store. If that’s not a tes-
toward programs and initiatives that would trians. Now he’s connecting with his urban tament to the staying power of indepen-
make theirs the best shopping experience customer base by marketing to them in a dents, then I don’t know what is.
around. And it was — because it was always way they understand: using lots of digital Yes, there will always be a place for indepen-
listening to what customers wanted, and re- interaction, including Facebook specials dents in this marketplace. I’m certain of it be-
acted quickly to meet their needs. and online ordering opportunities. cause I see the innovative ways independents
Today, the considerably more than 8,000 Then there’s Mohamet IGA’s Brooks Marsh. are connecting with, and staying relevant to,
independent grocery retailers in this country When Brooks wanted to remodel, he con- their customers and I know that it will serve
have held true to their entrepreneurial roots, ducted a customer needs survey to find out as inspiration for a whole new generation of
making them some of the savviest marketers what residents in the small town of Mahom- independent retailers and a whole new gen-
in the industry. I’ve found an endless variety et, Ill., really wanted from his store. He was eration of devoted and loyal shoppers. ■
of examples among our members of the IGA shocked to learn that “going green” ranked at
Alliance, as well as among those indepen- the top of the list. He had already planned Mark Batenic is president and CEO of the
dents outside of our group. They’re hard- to update with green in mind, but his shop- Chicago-based IGA, the world’s largest al-
working and compassionate retailers who pers’ opinions made him realize he needed to liance of independent grocery retailers. For
never hesitate to give back to the commu- think deeper than energy-saving light bulbs more information about IGA, or to sign up
nities they serve. In addition to that, they’re and deli cases. One year later, Brooks was for its daily e-newsletter, The Independent
observant, nimble in their ability to evolve one of the first grocers in the country using View, visit www.iga.com.

34 • Progressive Grocer • November 2010 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T www.progressivegrocer.com

When potato sales are less than super, our Category Manager
heroes arrive to help save the day. They are… Steve wasn’t feeling
the holiday spirit…

Hmm…
customers
aren’t buying more
potatoes like they
Zowie! usually do during
He’s got sales the holidays.
powers far Wonder why?
beyond mortal
men!

Looks like
Suddenly…
you’ve been
Never fear! working
Your idaho out!
Potato Field
guy is here!

Ken
Tubman?!

if you mean
working out a solution
to your problem, then
yes, I have!

Look at these results On Ken’s Holiday sales are booming

when another market put next visit… since I ran that ad!
idaho Potatoes on ad Thanks Ken! But maybe use
during the holidays! the door next time?

Holy sales
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just be the about
answer! that.

Your idaho Potato Fieldman has great ideas for boosting

your holiday sales, too. Don’t hesitate to call on him.
And stay tuned for our next exciting episode!

IDAHOPOTATO.COM/RETAIL
 A Strong Foundation The National Grocers Association’s new CEO, Peter Larkin,
plans to build on the accomplishments of his predecessor.

view took place before the recent midterm

By Joseph Tarnowski
elections-ed.], and even though we’re not
electing a president, we have some very

T
his past July, Peter Larkin, former president and CEO of important congressional elections that
the California Grocers Association (CGA), took the helm could be a report card on the Obama ad-
of the National Grocers Association (N.G.A.) as its pres- ministration to date. There’s a very good
ident and CEO following the retirement of Tom Zaucha, chance that the house may switch from
Democratic control to Republican control,
who had led the Arlington, Va.-based trade group for 28 years. and less of a chance, but still a possibility,
that the Senate could shift, so everyone
Before starting his own government relations consulting firm in will be watching very carefully, because what happens in Novem-
2008, Larkin was president and CEO of the Sacramento-based CGA, ber could have a major impact not only on N.G.A.’s legislative
where he worked as the trade group’s chief legislative advocate, chief agenda, but on the business community in general.
liaison with fellow regional There are a lot of uncer-
and national associations, and tainties about some of the
chief media spokesman. His policies coming out of Wash-
other responsibilities included ington. I can tell you from my
overseeing the association’s experience here at the N.G.A.
annual convention, educa- for the last couple of months,
tional programs, publications, there is deep concern over the
member services and human health care reform legisla-
resources. Larkin was also the tion. Health care reform ranks
president of the CGA Educa- as the top concern among
tional Foundation and an offi- our membership, and I think
cer of the California Shopping rightly so, because there are
Cart Retrieval Corp. (a for-prof- so many questions yet to be
it subsidiary of CGA). answered about how the law
Prior to joining the CGA, will be implemented.
Larkin was VP of state govern- We have a relationship
ment relations and environ- Peter Larkin, CEO of the National Grocers Association (left), was interviewed with a law firm that has ex-
mental affairs for Food Mar- by N.G.A. executive director Frank DiPasquale for NGA TV. perts on health care issues,
keting Institute (FMI) in Wash- and they are in high demand
ington. His retail experience also includes managing government and among our members to help sort out how health care legislation
media relations programs for the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. can impact their companies, their employees and decisions they
While his career history certainly has prepared him well for his role have to make. Unfortunately, there are more unanswered ques-
as N.G.A.’s new chief, he’ll be the first to admit that he arrives during tions than there are answers at this point — anywhere from 70
a challenging time for the independent grocer, but feels the strong percent to 80 percent of their questions have gone unanswered.
foundation built by his predecessor is the perfect launching pad to And that uncertainty — not only with health care reform, but
take the association to the next level, as Progressive Grocer Indepen- with the other initiatives coming out of Congress — makes it dif-
dent learned during a one-on-one interview with Larkin. ficult to know what the future will mean to the bottom line of
their businesses.
PG: Tell us the state of the industry and how it relates After Congress [returned from] its August recess, all of its atten-
to the independent grocer. tion turned to the Bush tax cuts and whether or not these cuts will
be extended, to whom they’ll be extended and for what period of
Peter Larkin: We live in interesting times. We’re close to what time. It’s difficult to run a business when you don’t understand
could be very important election at the national level [The inter- what the tax implications are going to be going forward, what

36 • Progressive Grocer • November 2010 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T www.progressivegrocer.com

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 your responsibilities under health care reform will be, whether or all of the various electronic publications we have, where we can
not the economy is going to turn around, and they are looking to share some of these successes and failures, and find solutions for
Washington to give them a clear and concise message about how some of the roadblocks people have run into.
they’re going to address this situation.
Health care is the best example of that, but there are a lot of PG: What about sustainability?
other issues. What’s going to happen with immigration reform?
Many people think that immigration issues only impact the bor- Larkin: Energy costs were second on the list of concerns among
der states, but I think every one of our members ought to be independent grocers, according to research from our just-released
concerned with them. What’s going to happen to the death tax? 2010 Independent Grocers Survey. We work closely with EPA to
The list goes on. provide members with information and guidance about programs
like Energy Star, GreenChill and LEED certification. Again, we also
PG: What kind of consumer and industry trends are do this through our convention workshops, N.G.A. TV, articles that
impacting the industry, and what’s N.G.A.’s role in we publish online and so on.
helping its members address these trends? We make sure that the independent understands that many
of these programs, while making retailers more environmentally
Larkin: I think the top con- friendly, also help reduce
sumer trend impacting our in- costs in the process. We
dustry isn’t going to come as a “Our emphasis is on education, and to gather also guide them on what
big surprise, but given the state data and seek industry experts to help our they can do in their stores,
of our economy, value shop- members sort through that information, and such as recycling plastic
ping is an important trend. provide some clarity.” bags, earth-friendly card-
Have we experienced a sea —Peter Larkin, N.G.A. board and innovative pack-
change in the way people shop aging materials. With our
grocery stores? If the economy turns around, will this trend re- wholesalers, and to a lesser extent but not excluding our retailers,
verse to what we considered usual, or is this a permanent shift? the whole transportation area is a key area for sustainability ef-
How do we help? Our emphasis is on education, and, to the extent forts such as using efficient fuel and consolidating deliveries.
that we can be the eyes and ears of the industry, gather data, seek
industry experts to help our members sort through that informa- PG: What does N.G.A. offer from a market leadership
tion, and provide some clarity as to where the consumer is going standpoint upon which you can build?
when it comes to the whole value shopping issue. That’s one of
the most important things we can do right now. Larkin: I like the way you phrased the question “upon which
Another issue is trust, consumers’ lack of trust in the business you can build,” because I am very fortunate to now be leading an
community in general, especially after what happened to this organization that I think has one of the strongest foundations of
country’s financial system. The question is, do they trust the inde- any trade association I’ve had the opportunity to work for, and
pendent grocer? We think they do. We are closer to the customer, I credit Tom Zaucha and the staff and board leadership for 28
as we’re not a big business; we are small businesses, we have our years of understanding what the focus and mission of this orga-
finger on the pulse, and I think that we can maintain the con- nization is, and that is to be the voice, to speak for and provide
sumer’s trust. resources for the independent grocer and the wholesalers that
Health and wellness is another key consumer trend. Again, our serve them.
goal would be to provide educational resources and guidance for So, there is a strong foundation, but, yes, of course we can build
our members. Certainly, at our Executive Management Conference on that. A lot of what will come out in our strategic planning
and convention workshops, we’ll focus and try and provide some and in our needs assessment will address that topic specifically. I
guidance on health and wellness. think it will always be important to address education. Our inde-
I think that our members are uniquely positioned to provide pendents and wholesalers have different educational needs than
some solutions in the healthy food arena by working with public chain grocers or retailers in other segments of the food industry.
policy makers to address the food desert issue, as well as by open- We also have a very strong offering in terms of front end
ing stores in some of the urban and rural food deserts in the U.S. checkout solutions for our members, through our partnerships
Then there is mobile and social marketing, and new ways to with Pan-Oston and FirstData. Our members can really look to
connect to consumers using emerging technology. Our members us for expertise in what is the latest and greatest for the front
are certainly cognizant that they need to do it; the question is, end of the store, where all of the transactions take place, and
what is the best way to leverage these new platforms? That’s arguably one of the most important parts of the whole food
where N.G.A. can help, because we have among our membership distribution system. We are also strongly positioned to help our
people who are out front leading the way, experimenting with new members in terms of financial management, family business is-
technology, being the pioneers, and we have the ability through sues, and I can’t emphasize enough our voice in the government
share groups and convention workshops, through our website and relations arena. ■
38 • Progressive Grocer • November 2010 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T www.progressivegrocer.com
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