Welcome to the July edition of the COMPETE Magazine. In this edition we have a great lineup of strategic initiatives and some real-time solutions to capitalize on the current consumer trends. This past year has been one of constant change and as consumers continue to adjust their shopping needs the July COMPETE Magazine focuses on how we can adapt with new programs, services and solutions. In this edition we will tackle two areas core to our future success together:

  • Convergence – combining the efforts, resources and scale of our members and AWG to collectively win at retail with our member stores
  • 5 P’s of retail success in 2021 – programs, services and solutions to meet real-time needs in your stores and fulfill shoppers changing habits with solutions to grow sales and profits

Since our annual meeting we have started on a journey of Convergence and how collectively we can work together to deliver on greater outcomes than we can individually achieve. By working together in new ways, we can leverage our combined scale with incremental joint performance and efficient use of our resources. Through Convergence we can fast forward our combined ability to achieve added growth in your stores. This growth potential, added on top of the $22 billion in retail sales our members, collectively sell together will build additional opportunities with our vendor partners.  

In 2021, our Convergence priorities are tackling foundational opportunities where our members and AWG can come together for additional success. Building tools, technology and support to enable our merchants to work closely with our members and vendor partners for combined future success.  

The following are the 2021 focus areas:

  1. AWG Brands – Enhancing the brand strategy to meet the consumers evolving needs, growing member sales and profits.
  2. Assortment – Building additional assortment tools and business processes to help our stores maximize sales and profits at the shelf.
  3. Technology – Adding additional tools from our vendor partners to the consumer to leverage foundational data that can power future growth at retail.

This edition will continue to expand on how Convergence can combine our collective strengths and leverage our combined resources for future growth.

Building on the current needs at retail, the 5 P’s of retail success are all about immediate and future sales growth, programs and solutions to meet your consumers’ needs, and real-time programs to take advantage of the changes in the marketplace. Key initiatives include:

  • Growth in center store with solutions to get the shelves stocked following Covid-19 supply chain challenges.
  • Being prepared for new items and a resurgence of SKUs coming back onto the market in 2021 is critical for success.  
  • Focusing on the value shift that consumers are making and capitalizing on all the programs to help drive the value message to your consumers.  
  • Foodservice and perishables will drive ongoing growth in 2021 and our team will share solutions to help you capitalize on the latest trends.  
  • The balance of ecommerce, digital and in-store solutions are key to consumers’ needs today.  Our teams will cover tools to wrap it all together within the store and the digital store front.  

This edition will share many great ideas you can utilize today and position your store for the future.  Thank you for your feedback and assistance as we tackle these challenges together in 2021 and work to bring Convergence to life over the coming years.

Thank you for all you do in supporting your communities, your teams at retail and in your ongoing support of your cooperative at AWG!

Dan Funk Chief Operating Officer