‘We’re in the people business; we just happen to sell groceries’ Anthony Hucker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Southeastern Grocers

The grocery industry plays an influential role in our communities by nourishing people and putting food on the table for gatherings of family and friends. No matter who you are, we all share the common need to be fed and nourished. And if you have been to the Southeastern part of the U.S., or are located there, chances are that you must have walked into a Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket or Winn-Dixie store to get your groceries. All these lovable brands are subsidiaries of Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), a company who puts its associates and customers at the heart of every business decision.

SEG has made great strides in its cultural transformation. This has been backed by the company’s certification as Great Place to Work two years in a row and recognition as one of Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces. “We’re in the people business; we just happen to sell groceries,” said Anthony Hucker, President and CEO of Southeastern Grocers. “We will continue to foster our culture of being Reliable, Empathetic, Accountable Leaders (R.E.A.L.) and our strong sense of trust and transparency between associates and leadership.”

We sat down with Anthony Hucker to learn more about how the company keeps the spotlight on its associates and customers while continuously improving its offerings. He also talked briefly about Southeastern Grocers’ recently launched stand-alone liquor store concept named WDs Wine, Beer & Liquor. Read on for the excerpts from the interview.

Tell us about your inventory management system.

At SEG, we rely on our network of supplier partners to manage inventory upstream in a way that is most efficient and effective for the diverse supply chains that support our stores. We have made significant investments to ensure our product offerings are tailored specifically to our customers’ needs as well as constantly improve our on-shelf availability.

Additionally, we are committed to being a culture of belonging and fostering an inclusive environment where differences are celebrated, and we reflect those values in the products we offer on our shelves throughout our stores every day. This is why we continue to form stronger partnerships with our local and minority-owned suppliers and connect with new, diverse businesses whose products reflect the tastes and preferences of our associates, customers and communities that we serve. 

How do you manage your supply chain? And tell us about its flexibility.

SEG is not a wholesaler or a manufacturer, so we utilize our strong supplier relationships to manage our supply chain. Our network of supplier partners are experts in their respective supply chains, supporting our stores with a tremendous amount of flexibility and agility and in turn, providing a shopping experience our customers can always count on.

Q. Running a supermarket involves purchasing and storing a lot of inventory for sale at a given time. That means even more cash tied up in inventory, as well as storage costs. How do you control cost?

We exclusively own the inventory that is in our stores and have invested technology to ensure our products are tailored to our customers’ preferences. 

Q. How do you build your own brand as a supermarket?

At SEG, our associates and customers are at the focus of everything we do, which is why we continuously work to improve our offerings and provide the highest quality products at a great price. With more than 8,000 products available through our award-winning SE Grocers, Prestige, Essentials and Naturally Better product lines, we guarantee significantly lower everyday prices. A recent internal consumer survey found that 99% of our customers perceive our private label brand as equal or better to the national brand. To highlight our private label and increase consumption, we introduced a money-back guarantee campaign encouraging our customers to try it, love it or get your money back.

We’re proud to continue our award-winning streak, having earned over 80 total awards this year, including 3 Best in Show from USA Wine Ratings, 5 Gold medals from the World Dairy Expo and 25 awards from Store Brands Editors’ Picks. Our private label products offer our customers and associates great quality at a winning price.

Additionally, we care passionately for the communities where our associates live and work. We are proud of our people-first culture which was recognized by Newsweek Magazine as one of 50 U.S. businesses that stepped up during the pandemic and featured in Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces list for 2021, ranking at 48 among the top 100 companies recognized for employee happiness and satisfaction at work. In 2020, SEG and the SEG Gives Foundation graciously donated more than $8.25 million to the communities it serves to support neighbors in need and partnered with more than 4,700 local organizations, hosted more than 30 mobile food pantries and provided more than 10 million meals to help fight hunger - and we continued that tradition of giving throughout 2021 and into 2022.

Q. There are other reputed companies in the market, how are you a better provider?

As our customer base continues to grow and diversify, we continue to provide the right blend of value and service by expanding our lines of own brand products, providing a combination of fresh and localized offerings and empowering our world-class store teams.

Our fresh program is anchored in our heritage as ‘The Beef People.’ In addition, we build relationships with local companies and empower our store associates to bring forward locally relevant merchandising ideas. Our customers absolutely love our fresh and relevant assortment, and when you combine it with our high touch in-store service model, we believe we provide a shopping experience that is second to none.

One of our most powerful differentiators is our loyalty program, which progressively provides us the ability to customize one-to-one shopping experiences for our customers. Ranked by Newsweek as one of the best supermarket loyalty programs in the country, our loyalty program offers savings opportunities such as Mystery Bonus, Deal of the Work and rewards Boosters as a new means for customers to fast-track their way to savings with personalized offers.

Q. Do you have any new services ready to be launched?

We recently launched a brand-new stand-alone liquor store concept named WDs Wine, Beer & Liquor, offering our customers a unique, new destination for fine wine, craft beer and quality liquor. The new WDs concept is our latest opportunity to deliver exceptional service to our North Florida neighbors as we continue our growth throughout the state of Florida.

WDs features an expansive wine selection, inclusive of our award-winning own brands offerings and complete with tasting stations, beer caves with international, domestic and local craft brews and an extensive liquor selection. In addition to the wide-spread beverage offerings, these stores will feature premium food products including over 70 varieties of cheese, authentic Italian meats and an array of dips and spreads. With unique product selections and quality savings, we designed WDs to serve as a one-stop destination for all our customers’ at-home entertaining needs. We are proud to take these next steps in our growth journey while continuing to be the grocer our associates, customers and communities can always count on.

Additionally, we have continued to expand our eCommerce partnerships and digital offering to increase the quality of our customers’ lives through convenient and enjoyable shopping experiences.

Q. What does the future hold for your company and its customers? Are exciting things on the way?

Our business has been on a transformational journey for the past several years. This journey is segmented into three phases: Correcting the Business, Fit for Purpose and Fit for Growth. We’ve made phenomenal progress and are now in our third phase of being Fit for Growth. Our journey thus far has resulted in consistent growth and a progressively healthy bottom-line.

In our current phase of being Fit for Growth, we are on track to have renewed 100% of our stores by the end of 2023 and have positioned ourselves to continue growing our fleet of stores. From the customer lens, we continue to enhance our loyalty program and communicate with our customers on a personalized basis. Our personalization efforts are creating a unique, tailored shopping experience individualized for each of our customers.

“We’re proud to continue our award-winning streak, having earned over 80 total awards this year, including 3 Best in Show from USA Wine Ratings, 5 Gold medals from the World Dairy Expo and 25 awards from Store Brands Editors’ Picks.”