JJ Fleeman, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA, says the customer will remain at the center of everything the company does.
Owing Own Brands, and Much More
After discussing how each local brand would grow its business, he asserted, “At the center of each brand’s assortment is their own-brand offering.”
Observing that “95% of our U.S. baskets already have an own-brand item product,” Fleeman noted: “In that basket across our total store, we offer nine own-brand labels that span categories across the entire store. … Going forward, we’ll have a clear opportunity to lead across all of our own brands like we’ve done with Nature’s Promise. … In addition to continuing to expand and cultivate a compelling assortment, we will make a landmark $1 billion strategic price investment in our U.S. brands over the next four years. In an environment where customers are watching every penny, this will enable our brands to offer incredible value to their customers.”
Along with that investment, “our brands will strengthen their award-winning loyalty programs,” he said. “We will also continue to deepen relationships with customers by delivering value that is most meaningful to them, from personalized pricing to promotions. As a result, our digital customer engagement will be more than 50% by 2028, which of course will contribute to our goals of increasing omnichannel loyalty sales, and also our monthly active users.
“Another area that will fuel our growth is the use of technology, data and AI. … Technology and data are at the core of delivering for customers in the U.S. and around the globe. In the U.S., we’ve invested in the right set of digital capabilities already to create seamless tech-enabled experiences. We will build on this to drive further personalization, flexibility, delight and convenience that will increase customer connections underpinned by technology.”
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Harkening back to his mention of expanding retail media solutions for U.S. customers, Fleeman noted that the company had taken its retail media platform in-house last year. “Since making this transition, we’ve increased retail media income by approximately 30% — a significant increase to further grow in this area,” he said. “We will create unique shoppable content across channels and leverage innovative technologies for a truly connected shopping experience. As a result, customers will receive inspirational hyper-personalized content that makes shopping fun. That’s the power of the connection, but the beauty of our focus in this area is to provide a better customer experience so that they get more value for their money, that they have a better experience in their stores, and we continue to expand our brand’s permission sets with customers.”
Fleeman also emphasized the importance of “strong operational efficiency … to help us fund and to grow all of our business and to keep top of mind for our teams. As you know, we’ve already demonstrated our ability to generate these dollars over the past several years, but we’re even more confident that we can drive even more savings and further efficiency.
“First, we’ll continue to simplify and streamline our U.S. operating model to remove redundancy, to deliver the absolute best customer experience each and every day. Second, we’ll drive efficiencies in our supply chain and e-commerce fulfillment by improving operations and pivot to more store-based fulfillment. Third, we are investing in technology and AI to create greater accuracy in our operations while reducing costs. … Efficiency and effectiveness [are] key to freeing up the funds [we] need to fuel our growth in the U.S. We’re committed to unlocking savings to reinvest in our customers.”
The Power of People
Before he wrapped up his Strategy Day presentation, Fleeman made sure to speak about Ahold Delhaize USA’s commitment to its communities and its people. “Our brands are at the heart of the communities that they serve,” he affirmed. “That relationship is critically important to us and is at the core of each of our local brand strategies. Our teams make that connection every day. … We’ve donated more than 1 billion meals since 2020. We offer fresh and healthy assortments to all customers and associates, and we’re committing to sustainability ambitions across the entire value chain.”
He added: “Our people are what really makes our company. In fact, it’s one of our key parts of differentiation across all of our brands. … We remain committed to being the best place to work in food retailing and beyond among our teams.”
Fleeman closed by inviting any audience member living in one of the company’s branch geographies in the United States to “come in for a visit. I look forward to letting you see our Growing Together strategy firsthand. We’re proud of it, and we welcome the chance to have you experience it with us.”
Since the strategy officially rolled out a few months ago, things seem to be progressing well at the retail conglomerate.
“I am pleased to report a second-quarter performance that places us well on track to achieve our strategic aspirations and financial goals for 2024,” noted Ahold Delhaize President and CEO Muller in early August, when the company reported its financials for the quarter. “As I said in May, we have a strong foundation, and we are ready to set the pace for change in our industry. We believe we have a very compelling set of ambitions, which, on delivery, will yield strong growth for our company and our stakeholders.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-10 21:00:00
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