Food Lion Unveils New Chain-wide Strategy

Food Lion unveiled its new chain-wide strategy:  "Easy, Fresh and Affordable...You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day!"  The announcement launches a multi-year initiative to make shopping easier for Food Lion customers at the company's more than 1,100 stores, while keeping the low prices customers expect. "Today, we are officially embarking on a new strategy to make shopping easier for our customers," said Beth Newlands Campbell, president of Food Lion. "Our customers have told us that they want a grocery experience where it's easy to shop, easy to save and easy to figure out what is for dinner tonight. Based on their feedback, and continuing to build on Food Lion's longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, we will work to own the easiest full shop experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to freshness, affordability and the communities we serve." Food Lion's "Easy, Fresh and Affordable" strategy has already begun to roll out across the chain. By the end of June, the company will have completed the first step in implementing the strategy by focusing its more than 63,000 associates on putting the customer first and delivering on their expectations every day through new, customer-centric training. "For our customers to trust us, they need to be able to go into any Food Lion store and have a consistently great experience," added Newlands Campbell.  "This is why our efforts to improve customer service and ensure our products are always fresh are so important.  We want our customers to know that they can count on their local Food Lion team to meet their needs and serve their local community." The new strategy includes a variety of elements, large and small.  One example of a small change that makes a big impact for customers is new blue bags, in addition to traditional white bags.  The blue bags are used for cold and frozen items to make them easily identifiable and make unpacking groceries easy for customers at home, especially in warmer months. An example of a big change is expanding product variety based on consumer research. Food Lion will also begin to rollout transformational changes such as storewide remodels in markets over time. Food Lion's newest store format, which is currently in Concord, N.C., will launch in 29 Wilmington, N.C., stores in the third quarter of 2014.  These stores, which are currently being remodeled, will be redesigned to make the shopping experience easier for customers and will be among the first to display Food Lion's new logo. Food Lion's new logo launches across the grocer's 10-state footprint in television advertising, the company's weekly ad flyer and website. Food Lion's new logo provides a more modern look for customers, while preserving the history and heritage of the lion and the "Food Lion blue," say company officials. "With our new logo, we have an opportunity to show our customers that we're fresh, while remaining true to our legacy of low prices," added Newlands Campbell. "Beginning later this year, we'll also bring our customers items in our stores that are consistent with the logo on the front, as we deliver new Food Lion store brand products that will help our customers save."