GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- It's ironic that in an industry filled with independent supermarkets, the big question recently has been, what defines an independent supermarket?
the culture of family-owned, wholesaler-supplied.
As chairman of the Food Marketing Institute's Independent Operator Committee, Jeff Gietzen likes a definition he heard from Norman Mayne, chief executive officer of Dorothy Lane Market, Dayton, Ohio.
"What makes an independent is that they have their whole life on the line," that definition goes. "Their mortgage, their kids, their education. Everything's on the line every day."
Which is the reason for the existence of the Independent Operator Committee. Gietzen, who is president and CEO of D&W Food Centers here, is the latest in a series of executives who have held two-year terms running the FMI committee, which has attained the status of a "board committee." The mission is to "represent the interests of all independent operators by highlighting issues of top concern and developing a course of action for dealing with those same issues."
Four key areas the committee has identified are recruitment and retention of employees; aggressive use of new technologies; developing processes for managing rapid change; and maintaining awareness of the effect of government initiatives.
Gietzen said his predecessor as committee chairman, Peter "Greg" Gregerson, president of Gregerson's Food, Gadsen, Ala., did a strong job. Preceding Gregerson in the job was Robert Bartels, president of Martin's Super Markets, South Bend, Ind., who was "credited with reinvigorating the committee, pushing it forward," Gietzen said.
Gietzen's first of two years heading the committee is coming to a close. One important goal going forward is to identify how independents can better take advantage of FMI's membership-wide activities in the areas of most interest to them. Meetings during this week's May convention in Chicago will help the committee further that goal.
Also helping independents is a new electronic share group, which brings a high-tech wrinkle to the popular share-group concept. Independents can float questions or comments to "e-share" subscribers through FMI's Web site.
Affiliation with the FMI and links to its big chain members are helpful to independents, Gietzen said. "I think there's a strange synergy and collaboration opportunity between independents and large chains. In many cases independents can bring the entrepreneurial drive to try something first or to do it better. And the chains have the resources to take whatever's been done and take it to a whole new level. That's true for things like Efficient Consumer Response, category management, government issues."
What are Gietzen's opinions about how independents can maintain their viability in the midst of massive industry changes? "Independents need to have a strong idea of why they can do something better than anyone else, or how they can add value better," he said. "Also, they shouldn't try to do everything themselves. Whether through FMI, share groups or wholesalers, there are a lot of avenues out there to get information and knowledge that you don't have to give an arm and a leg for. People are willing to share, but you must know what's important to you."
Gietzen said he believes the independent format enables a very close link with customers. Perhaps that, more than anything else, will ensure the success of the best practitioners.
"So we shouldn't get hung up on how many stores an independent has," he said. "As long as we're willing to do the things we have to do, independents will be around."
