Jun 22, 2016

Northgate Gonzalez, Big Y, Kroger, Overwaitea, Festival Foods Store Managers Named Winners

June 22, 2016 –Chicago — Food Marketing Institute (FMI) today announced the winners of the 2016 Store Manager Awards at FMI Connect during a special keynote session with Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI, and other leading voices in food trends today.

After receiving 85 applications, FMI narrowed the list to 10 finalists and scored Store Manager Award nominees based on their ability to generate sales growth, provide exceptional customer service and/or community relations, execute in-store innovation and demonstrate team leadership.

“Our Store Manager Awards recognize the achievements of top operators who are truly invested in their local communities and we’re so pleased to honor and celebrate the unique talents among these grocery heroes,” said Sarasin. “In order to more widely share the stories of our finalists, FMI hosted its second-annual Store Manager People’s Pick Award Facebook contest and doubled the engagement compared to last year, with nearly 8,000 votes during the week-long contest, plus hundreds of comments, shares and likes.”

The 17th annual Store Manager Awards Winners are:

Category A: (1-49 Stores)
Alberto Ayala, Northgate Gonzalez Market, Los Angeles, California
Alberto Ayala’s firm ties to the community and his commitment to catering to an urban environment with diverse tastes contributed to his success. His employees know that his core business priorities are differentiation, operational excellence and a winning environment. Ayala has opened several stores under the chain, and he leaves each one as a profitable operation.

Category B: (50-199 Stores)
Piotr Soja, Big Y Foods, Inc., Northampton, Massachusetts
For Piotr Soja, going the extra mile for his staff delivered more profit to the bottom line and earned his store #1 in the company for employee satisfaction and engagement. He has shown the highest degree of commitment to creating and continuing partnerships with local growers, manufacturers, and vendors.

Category C: (200+ Stores)
Josh Birmingham, The Kroger Co. Columbus Division, Holland, Ohio
Building a solid staff and acknowledging the team members’ achievements is Josh Birmingham’s secret for record sales in establishing Kroger’s first Marketplace store. Birmingham blended two store cultures together, and his team of 260 associates served more than 1.5M customers in 2015.

Category D: (International)
Ted Pigeon, Overwaitea Food Group, Victoria, BC, Canada
Ted Pigeon has focused on sound communications throughout his 36-year career at 15 different stores in nine BC communities. Pigeon increased sales by 12.7 percent over the last year, and in addition to increasing sales, he has raised store standards by increasing productivity, executing programs, insisting on store cleanliness, minimizing holes and increasing profitability.

2016 Store Manager People's Pick Award
Jon Wieser, Festival Foods, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Wieser and his team are active in Green Bay Public Schools and the New Community Shelter, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and even serve as math tutors at a local elementary school. Wieser had garnered 2,893 Facebook votes at the conclusion of the contest. Wieser received a unique award and $500 to celebrate his store employees.

The 2016 Store Manager Awards winners each receive a $1,000-prize and a crystal award. Learn more about the finalists and winners at www.fmiconnect.net/StoreManagerAwards.