MMR: Mass Market Retailers, June 22, 2020

NEWS McMullen Presents Reopening Plan at White House WASHINGTON During a recent meeting at the White House with President Trump Kroger Co chief executive officer Rodney McMullen shared his companys vision for safely reopening the countrys businesses McMullen was one of eight business leaders who participated in the Opening Up America Again event that was held in the White House State Dining Room in late May As a company thats operated throughout the pandemic weve learned a lot McMullen said And one of the things youll learn is Be agile and move quickly and if you think you should do something you probably should do it With that we developed a 59 page blueprint that we made public One of the things that was incredibly helpful for us was the other retailers across the world that were in front of us from the pandemic standpoint who were nice enough to share their learnings with us And we thought it was only fair and appropriate for us to share our learnings with others Kroger released the first phase of its blueprint in late April offering actionable recommendations for retailers restaurants food service companies manufacturers logistics and distribution McMullen left joined other executives meeting with the president centers and other industries to consider in developing plans for safe work environments Weve had over 100000 site visits on that McMullen said Weve had over 26000 individuals and companies download that We get a ton of notes from small companies in terms of their appreciation The blueprint points out that in the early days of the COVID 19 outbreak Krogers first step was to review its existing corporate crisis plan bringing together representatives from the companys different business units The group was able to quickly address emerging issues such as supply shortages and changes in operations and execute plans swiftly The retailer leveraged its robust information technology IT resources to develop a COVID 19 Enterprise Dashboard to collect data on cases of COVID 19 in Krogers workforce The Dashboard enabled the grocer to quickly identify hot spots across the 35 states in which it operates and rapidly allocate resources where needed More recently it has added a return to work metric to track the next phase of the pandemic The blueprint recommends that businesses no matter what their size or scale utilize data analysis tools to track the impact of COVID 19 on their workforces Speed it advises is more important than having the perfect tools or processes However it emphasizes the importance of creating controls to protect data confidentiality to protect employee privacy The Kroger blueprint also details the procedures implemented to maximize employee and customer and visitor safety such as encouraging the use of personal protective equipment and social distancing requiring enhanced sanitation protocols and educating customers and visitors not only to its stores and offices but to its substantial network of manufacturing and food processing It was only fair for us to share our learnings Chains Show Support for Equality From page 1 plants Importantly the blueprint emphasizes that communication not only with employees but with on site contractors and third parties is critical in fact it recommends over communicating by sharing information multiple times on multiple platforms Other companies represented at the gathering were United Airlines Microsoft Southwest Airlines Wyndam Hotels Resorts Dunkin Brands Gap and Hasbro If you look at all the companies in this room we have a lot of resources McMullen said But if you think about somebody with 50 employees or 100 employees or 200 employees the resources they have are just not the same So sharing that has been important Pandemic Speeds Move To Online Food Shopping ARLINGTON Va The Food Industry Association FMI and The Hartman Group were in the midst of preparing their annual report on trends in grocery shopping when the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States The before and after impacts illustrate the role the pandemic has played in accelerating the adoption of online food shopping according to the report In early 2020 145 of grocery spending was online a significant increase over the previous year according to the 2020 U S Grocery Shopper Trends report However COVID 19 greatly accelerated the move to online grocery shopping with online spending doubling to 279 of all grocery spending during March and April Many shoppers are new to online grocery shopping and have been willing to break previous barriers including 12 reporting purchasing fresh produce online for the first time Prior to the pandemic U S grocery shopper trends were following a familiar pattern the authors noted Weekly household trips to the grocery store remained high at 27 per week and shoppers continued to utilize several different channels 41 and banners 50 to meet their monthly grocery needs Early in the pandemic the researchers observed that weekly trips to the grocery store by households increased to 36 while 40 of shoppers reported they were shopping fewer stores for their household grocery needs With millions of Americans sheltering in place to slow the virus transmission households exhibited a desire to cook and eat more at home the report said Nearly all families report eating together as important and the pandemic has amplified this value the authors said Some Gen Z and Millennial shoppers report eating healthier during the pandemic Forty one percent of surveyed shoppers are cooking more and 42 are minimizing trips to the store or using perishables before they spoil Before the pandemic 90 of grocery shoppers reported dinning out sometimes but during March and April only 45 reported utilizing restaurant delivery while 35 were cooking at home six to seven days a week In looking toward the future most consumers expect to return to their pre pandemic levels of in store grocery shopping and more than a fourth of consumers expect to be ordering more groceries online in the future said FMI president and chief executive officer Leslie Sarasin the nation Target stands with black families communities and team members he said Were listening to our team guests and communities committed to using our size scale and resources to help heal and create lasting change On the day that Walmart normally would have held its annual shareholders gala chief executive officer Doug McMillon addressed the subject of racial violence in a virtual meeting with employees The murder of George Floyd is tragic painful and unacceptable His death is not an isolated event We remember Breonna Taylor Ahmaud Arbery and so many other black Americans who have been killed he said Its important that we all understand that our problems as a nation run much deeper than one horrible event Our nation has failed to fully acknowledge and resolve the root issues Slavery lynching the concept of separate but equal and the other realities from our past have morphed into a set of systems today that are all too often unjust Thats why we see so many people mobilized and thats why we see a diverse group of Americans joining the protest McMillon continued Let me say clearly to our black and African American associates and communities We hear you We see you I want you to know you are valued You are loved members of our family We need you to know you are not hurting alone That I and others are hurting with you Words and feelings matter but they are not enough McMillon said More action is required We will find new ways to accelerate the desired changes inside our company and we will also find the ways that our business can influence real change in our country MMR June 22 2020 5