Page 42 - Retail_Sustainability_Award_09-to-18

PHOTOS BY TOMMY HULTGREN
Store Level Sustainability
Where no two stores are alike, “My H-E-B” is not just a slogan. BY MIRA SLOTT
Continually adjusting to demographic shifts, H-E-B focuses on highly tailored product assortment and how each store is designed and merchandised. H-E-B frowns on a “peanut butter approach,” says James Harris, director of supplier diversity.
“There is a tendency over the years for large chains to put in stores that are really the same no matter where you go,” says Bill
Reynolds, H-E-B’s group vice president of facility alliance. “There is a value there on economies of scale, but it does not really fit each and every neighborhood.
“At HEB, no two stores are the same; in fact you will see very different looking stores, from the physical presence to customized formatting and assortments depending upon the demographics. Merchants tailor the store so that everything is customer- and community-centric. I think we have a real strength there,” says Reynolds, adding, “I work with Hugh Topper and the team on layout... Produce is our calling card. We have
42 PRODUCE BUSINESS • MAY 2011
Low wattage lighting, reusable signage, concrete floors and locally grown produce are among the many sustain- able aspects of the H-E-B Alon Market store in San Antonio. Displays are being merchandised by produce manager Bobby Wojcik (partner for 16 years).