One Boomer CEO does Stand Out
All food retailers
are beginning to see a “Seismic Shift” in food shopping behavior from instore
ordering to mobile and on Online Shopping. Starbucks CEO once considered the best
restaurant sector CEO has evolved and is standing out from his peers and is now considered a
“retail food merchants extraordinaire” according to Foodservice Solutions®
Grocerant Guru™.
Howard
Schultz, president and CEO of Starbucks stated he sees a “seismic shift” to
online shopping. So concerned was Schultz he has reorganized Starbucks
leadership team. His concern was based on retail research indicators (and
I think SBUX sales numbers) pointing to the fact that legacy brick and mortar
retail stores locations are at an “inflection point” in losing traffic to
e-commerce shopping.
Starbucks is one of the best food
merchants. Starbucks has created a customer focused platform of product customization, convenient meal
participation, differentiation and individualization according to Foodservice
Solutions® Grocerant Guru™. When Starbucks detects a “seismic shift” an
“inflection point” the team at Foodservice Solutions® agrees and
understands. That shift is occurring and in larger part driven by
activates within the Grocerant
Niche including new non-traditional points of fresh food
distribution.
And it is not just upscale Starbucks
seeing this shift. Traditional supermarkets are grappling with the
“seismic shift” to online shopping.
According to an article in Supermarket News Thom
Blischok of Booz & Co “Experts think it’s inevitable that sales of many
non-perishable grocery categories will eventually take place online. Retailers
need to meet that demand, but also the creative challenge of what to do with
the space that it will open up in stores. He shared his ideas about “Tomorrow’s
Trends Delivered Today: Store Design Trends — The Path to 2025” at a recent
Food Marketing Institute conference and you can read his article Future Online Sales to Open Space for Design Innovation in
Supermarkets - SN.
Millennials on-going quest for food
discovery
Millennials
on-going quest for food discovery is driving the growth in points of
distributions, new flavors, and technology introductions in the fresh food
space aka the grocerant niche. That discovery is a result of an increase
in multi-generational households, multi-ethnic households and technology
advances.
What is evolving fast is how and why
consumer eat, and prepare meals at home. Channel blurring is not in the
minds-eye of the consumer. Channel blurring is
only in the minds-eye of Neanderthal brand mangers and some Boomer CEO’s that
do not understand the concept of share
of stomach vs share of market.
Proper understanding of share of stomach is more
important for long term product, brand, and company survival than ever
before. Today, Eating
Out, may mean Eating
In. Starbucks is a great food merchant because they are focused on
the evolving consumer. Where is your food sold and where is your food eaten?
Here is one success clue: follow Millennials.
Replace a boomer CEO with a Millennial
It
is time to challenge conventional fresh food retail including restaurants and
grocery stores business models. Embrace the consumer not brand
protectionism. Don’t think of innovation as change but rather as a platform
simultaneously embracing the consumer and the brand. If success does leave
clues it just might be time to replace a boomer CEO with a Millennial.
Leaders vs. Laggards
These
are companies in a quagmire, Red Lobster, Chili’s, Wendy’s, KFC, Pizza Hut,
Olive Garden. Companies with leaders driving change are Kat Cole of Cinnabon, Steve Ellis of Chipotle and
of course Howard Schultz of Starbucks. Let me know your thoughts. Who do you think is the best Omni channel
retail food leader today within the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared
food space?
Invite Foodservice
Solutions® to complete a Migration
Marketing Assessment, Grocerant
Program
Assessment, or brand,
product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice
Solutions®253-759-7869. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global
leader in the Grocerant Niche Visit: FoodserviceSolutions.us
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