Page 34 - Retail World Tob - May 2020

ROADSHOW: SOUTH AUSTRALIA FOODLAND KEEPING THE CUSTOMERS SATISFIED Foodland Supermarkets has once again come out on top in the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards. oodland is rated as having the most satisfied supermarket customers Australia-wide, according to the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2019. In February, it was confirmed the retailer had surpassed major national players in the industry to take out this title for three consecutive years. What makes Foodland stand out from the rest? Retail World spoke to CEO Con Sciacca to find out. Foodland has longevity, he says, having been operating as an entity since the 1960s. “More importantly, the brand has had time to create an equity that is second to none,” Mr Sciacca said. “We’ve got the highest brand equity of any independent brand in Australia. That speaks volumes. “When you’ve got an entity whose sole purpose is to fulfill the needs of its retailers and not get distracted by being a wholesaler and a brand manager, it’s a unique proposition. \\\\\\\[We also\\\\\\\] don’t have third party shareholders.” From a retail perspective, Mr Sciacca says, Foodland’s purpose is to fulfill the needs and wants of a community. “That’s not just providing product,” he said. “We say that wherever a Foodland brand operates, as a consequence of that, the community has to feel the benefit – whether it’s through our support in the school environment, the local charity environment at a town or suburb level, or at a macro level, \\\\\\\[such as\\\\\\\] our involvement with organisations like the Flinders Foundation \\\\\\\[the official fundraising arm for the Flinders Medical Centre\\\\\\\]. “We see an absolute obligation to make our state better as a consequence of operating here.” Growth during a time of change Unsurprisingly, Foodland sees the national players as its competition. With ALDI opening in South Australia in 2016, Mr Sciacca explains that “a new interloper was simply a new interloper”. “For all the noise,” he said, “we’ve had consecutive growth through that whole period. \\\\\\\[ALDI\\\\\\\] has probably taken some of the shine off that growth, but in contrast to the east coast and west coast, we’ve done extremely well.” Nurturing new products Foodland, according to Mr Sciacca, is a “foundation platform” for the ecosystem of new products and producers coming to market. “No other state has the opportunity where small businesses come up with an idea, develop a product, then take that product from zero to market,” he said. “Anywhere else in Australia, it’s really quite complex and challenging. “Because we’re such a big player in the state, we’ve created an environment where \\\\\\\[businesses\\\\\\\] can platform. They can deliver their product to some of our stores. That \\\\\\\[can\\\\\\\] grow and permeate to all our stores. And from that platform, they can move to national and international \\\\\\\[levels\\\\\\\]. “This is why you see some really good strong brands coming out of SA, as there’s an environment that nurtures that evolution.” Addressing convenience Foodland, says Mr Sciacca, is “blessed” with plenty of manufacturers that produce ready-to-consume products. “We’ve seen enormous growth in this segment, so we actually deal with that as a particular catgeory,” he said. “Not too many \\\\\\\[retailers\\\\\\\], independents or even chains, lead with ready-to-eat lasagne and cannelloni on the front page \\\\\\\[like we do\\\\\\\]. “If you go to our \\\\\\\[Adelaide\\\\\\\] city store on Rundle Street, you see this massive choice \\\\\\\[of ready-to-go foods\\\\\\\] because it’s in the middle of the CBD. People want to walk in and pick something up that they can eat straightaway, or they go to the Sumo Salad bar we have in there, or the sushi bar, or the café for that ready-to-consume product.” The evolution of stores When it comes to Foodland’s stores, there is no governance that says they must look a certain way. “No other state has the opportunity where small businesses come up with an idea, develop a product, then take that product from zero to market.” 32 RETAIL WORLD MAY, 2020