Give a big Hy-Five to Hy-Vee, our 2023 Retailer of the Year

Chloe Riley is the Executive Editor of Supermarket News, which delivers the ultimate in competitive business intelligence, news and information for executives in the food retail and grocery industry. A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia College Chicago, Chloe previously served as a Digital Strategist at SEO firm Profound Strategy, Associate Editor at B2B hospitality mag HOTELS Magazine, as well as CEO of her own digital strategy company, Chlowe. She lives in Woodstock, Illinois. 

In its 93-year history, Hy-Vee has had only five CEOs, all of whom started their careers working in-store. It’s a testament to the retailer’s dedication to employee retention and career advancement — they don’t just talk the talk when it comes to building employee appreciation and lifelong career paths…they very much walk the walk. 

Hy-Vee’s moves into the health care and pharmacy sectors over the past decade (and even just the past five years) has been extensive. In 2014, the retailer acquired Amber Pharmacy, one of the largest privately owned specialty pharmacies in the country and a driving force behind Hy-Vee’s national health care strategy — that move has since set the foundation for expansion in retail pharmacy and online pharmacy, as well as the opening of two infusion clinics. 

Related:Podcast: Hy-Vee CEO talks foodservice, fresh, and how health care is the future

Hy-Vee’s advances in retail foodservice are also impressive. The retailer now employs over 6,600 workers in its foodservice division, alone. In more metropolitan areas, Hy-Vee stores have full-blown food hall concepts, including: sushi, deli, Chinese, and Italian concepts. Not to mention its five-year partnership with Wahlburgers, the burger chain from brothers Mark, Donnie, and Paul Wahlburg. (Have you had a Wahlburger? It’s just delicious.)

I flew out to Hy-Vee’s headquarters in West Des Moines in August to get a boots-on-the-ground experience of the retailer’s operations. The biggest thing I found? Employee after employee (be they executives, managers, store workers) were eager to tell us their story of being brought into the Hy-Vee fold. All of those stories spoke to opportunity, to continued advancement, and to finding a company that treated them with the utmost in respect. In short: like family. 

We’ve got a lot of great coverage touting all things Hy-Vee right now, including a feature on their Retailer of the Year win, a video feature of our time at headquarters, as well as a walk through on social media of one of Hy-Vee’s newest stores. (Trust us, you’re going to want to see this.) Follow us on YouTube (@supermarketnews) as well as Instagram (@supermarket_news). And if you’re feeling really frisky, join us on TikTok too (@supermarket.news)

We can’t wait to continue celebrating Hy-Vee this month, and beyond. If you run into their employees at a conference (or virtually on a call), give them a tip of your hat. They are a shining example of doing retail right — and we could all take a page from that playbook.