Retail Operations

Our Voice of The Food Industry blog offers commentary from FMI subject matter experts on timely and important topics to the food industry.

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  • Meet Brookshire Grocery Co. Store Manager Awards Finalist

    Jul 15, 2020
    In his role managing a Brookshire Grocery Co. store in Kilgore, Texas, Joseph Stephens regularly presents honor ribbons to team members with particularly strong performances. While he’s quick to recognize those who go above and beyond, Stephens sets ...

  • Meet Martin’s Super Markets Store Manager Awards Finalist

    Jul 9, 2020
    Groucho's lead-by-example philosophy and enthusiasm for providing an unmatched shopping experience ensures loyalty in not only his employees, but his customers as ...

  • Variety to Rationalization to Pantry Loading – Are SKUs Poised to Recover Post-Pandemic?

    Jul 9, 2020
    The food supply chain disruption has brought up, once again, the question of just how many products do we really need on grocery ...

  • Meet Skogen's Festival Foods Store Manager Awards Finalist

    Jul 8, 2020
    Michael Siakpere won’t let anything rain on his parade when it comes to serving shoppers. From an outdoor store event that he successfully brought indoors during a heavy downpour to emerging circumstances threatening to cut into profits, this store ...

  • Meet Lunds & Byerlys Store Manager Awards Finalist

    Jul 7, 2020
    As the saying goes, Kaitlyn Lester wears many hats. The general manager of a Lunds & Bylerlys store in Eagan, Minn., is a strong leader, fierce competitor, thoughtful mentor and compassionate community advocate. ...

  • A New Decade of Store Manager Excellence: Meet the 2020 Store Manager Awards Finalists

    Jul 6, 2020
    The entrepreneurial mindset is flexible, adaptable, sees change before it happens, and seizes new opportunities. In my opinion, what really makes an entrepreneurial spirit shine is the ability to remain focused on growing, developing and improving. ...

  • 2020 Midsummer Strategic Executive Exchange By The Numbers

    Jul 2, 2020
    On July 7th, FMI will kick off our first virtual event, the 2020 Midsummer Strategic Executive Exchange. While this virtual trading partner exchange was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we feel the top industry executives engaging in this event ...

  • From The Unknown To The Known: Managing Simultaneous Crisis Situations

    Jun 26, 2020
    Unfortunately, both COVID-19 and hurricane season are incredibly devastating to a business, communities, and personal health. But, one key differentiator is that for days, we can see the hurricane heading toward us, allowing for some preparation and,...

  • Making Lemonade Out of a Lemon of a Year

    Jun 25, 2020
    Gaining new insights and leveraging resources can help you better navigate such changes while strengthening and making connections. From our vantage point at FMI, we can share some key learnings and next steps to bringing better produce business to ...

  • Grocery’s Ecommerce Evolution during COVID-19

    Jun 23, 2020
    The pandemic has accelerated ecommerce demand, pressuring capabilities and providing invaluable lessons for the future. I am not usually one to make dramatic statements about industry developments, but I have mostly put that aside during this ...

  • What’s In Your Kitchen?

    Jun 22, 2020
    My freezer, refrigerator and kitchen cabinets have never been this full. And, as I look at the results of our most recent U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends COVID-19 Tracker survey of consumers, it appears that my household is not unique. This food anxiety ...

  • A Time for Conversations on The Future of Fresh

    Jun 19, 2020
    In the fresh industry, my area of focus at FMI, we need an opportunity not only to listen and learn, but also to converse, collaborate and plan action steps together. The need is great because the pandemic has scrambled so many of the traditional ...

  • Technology Demands Arising from COVID-19

    Jun 18, 2020
    According to the 2020 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report, COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way consumers shop for groceries and their expectations from food retailers and suppliers. We particularly see this in the demand for technology ...

  • Collaborating on Health and Well-being

    Jun 17, 2020
    I am most excited in my new role at FMI to connect with so many others working to better serve all aspects of the food industry as together we embrace solutions for health and well-...

  • The New Normal Encouraging New Habits

    Jun 15, 2020
    The food industry recognizes that “family meal fatigue” is a real thing for everyone and that customers in all categories are in the same boat in which I find myself. We need help, solutions and new ideas to address the menu challenges of this ...