GHQ Cover Story 05/05: Lund Stands Tall
By George Anderson
Through special arrangement with Grocery Headquarters
magazine, we present these opportunities to discuss the subjects of GHQ’s monthly cover stories.
Grocery Headquarters magazine has named Lund Food Holdings, operator of Lunds and Byerly’s, as its retailer of the year.
Russell T. “Tres” Lund III, doesn’t think there’s any secret to the Edina, Minn., chain’s success. “The pride and passion of our people,” he said. “We have a culture that is highly collaborative. There are approximately 5,000 of us working for this company. Every job is important. We’re constantly humbled by the fact that we can come up with a great idea, but it needs to be a collaborative effort. We can’t pursue and accomplish anything without our staff being equally passionate about bringing the product and merchandising to light.”
The one thing all the company’s employees share in common is a focus on customer service, said Mr. Lund.
“We want to offer our customers sensational shopping experiences each time they visit any one of our stores,” he said. “Lunds and Byerly’s continue their tradition of being dedicated to quality and service, as well as innovation and growth. Together, we continue to exceed our customers’ expectations while maintaining the personalities and standards our customers recognize in each brand.”
John Pazahanick, senior vice president of business development and brand management for the grocer said, “We have people who have a passion for food or a culinary background that are working in the stores, spending a lot of time on the sales floor with the customer.”
Mr. Pazahanick said the company differentiates itself in product offerings, as well. “We’ve invested a fairly significant amount of money in a large central kitchen where we’ve got a talented team of chefs preparing the food and bringing it in to the stores. It’s very different than the traditional supermarket fare. It’s very much restaurant quality,” he said.
Moderator’s Comment: Is corporate culture the reason for Lunds/Byerly’s success? Does the company “treat” its workers any differently than other companies
with less employee-friendly reputations? If yes, how? –
George Anderson – Moderator
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6 Comments on "GHQ Cover Story 05/05: Lund Stands Tall"
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I know nothing but good things all around about this organization and agree with David – dittos all around to the prevous comments.
Byerly’s/Lunds offer the best total shopping experience in the Twin Cities … comparable to best almost anywhere today.
Their quality offerings, particularly prime meat and fish, are tops but their prices are the tops too. For those who want the very best that’s offered in the Twin Cities — excellent service and a wonderful environment that imparts a social and psychic income — Byerly’s/Lunds is the top place to shop. For almost everyone else, there’s the bustling and highly-accepted Cub Food Stores, where one can bag one’s own groceries.
Management commitment, top/down and bottom/up, establishes
the culture for superior customer service and an exceptional
shopping experience. And this leads to marketing the Byerly’s
Brand in the marketplace that separates it from its competitors.
Additionally, the store personnel feel very proud, and enjoy
the work environment!
With its premium quality products and variety, added to the perishables…especially meals, catering and deli/bakery… Lunds is a very valid selection!
Lunds is another success story. Double dittos to the above comments. Lunds is able to focus on customers and employees rather than the eggheads on Wall Street. That gives Lunds a big advantage. The next time you hear some radical crybaby anti-Wal-Mart extremist whining about how supermarkets are getting destroyed by Wal-Mart and all their other nonsense ramblings – just point to Lunds and show them there are a few winners out there. Minneapolis is one of my most studied markets and I have followed Lunds’ expansion and growth over the past several years. Despite all the new Cubs, Targets, Rainbows, Aldi, and Wal-Marts, etc., Lunds keeps slowly but surely increasing market share.