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RALEIGH, N.C. — The brand evolution at Food Lion stores pioneered in the Raleigh and Chattanooga, Tenn., markets is aimed at turning secondary shoppers into primary shoppers behind an emphasis on price, simplicity and quality, Cathy Green Burns, president of the Delhaize-owned chain, said in a presentation here Thursday.
Green’s remarks represented the first in-depth communication about the new Food Lion positioning since the chain introduced the concept earlier this year. Encouraged by volume and basket growth in the test markets, she reiterated a plan to implement the new strategy in as many as 800 stores by the end of 2012 and convert the entire network by 2013.
“People continue to expect good prices from the Food Lion brand, but that’s not all they expect,” Green said, explaining results of a 2010 consumer study that informed the new direction. The revamped brand, she said, calls for customers to recognize Food Lion as a price leader; to offer the greatest value in private brands; to be clean and easy to shop; to “do the basics” better than anyone; to have familiar and dependable workers; and to provide fresh produce always.
“We took all the research and boiled it down to what should the Food Lion brand stand for, and from there we learned there is significant sales growth within the four walls of existing stores that we can go after,” she said.
Test markets during the third quarter showed units per transaction comping between 1% and 4% above the rest of the chain, and the number of transactions up between 6% to 8%, she said.
