Grocery chain eyeing up to five Upstate locations
As Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Lowes Foods prepares its entry into the competitive Upstate grocery market, UBJ sat down with Michael Moore, senior vice president and chief marketing officer with the company.
Earlier this week, Lowes Foods held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first Greenville-area store at the intersection of Suber and Hammett Bridge roads in Greer. The grocery store chain currently has 90 locations in North Carolina, six in South Carolina and one in Virginia.
Moore shared his insights on the company’s new concept and strategy and what sets it apart from its competition.
What differentiates Lowes Foods from other grocery stores?
We have a ton of respect for our competitors. We’re Carolinas born and raised and all of our stores with the exception of one in Virginia. That’s fundamentally different than, say, Harris Teeter, which is now owned by a mega conglomerate of Kroger.
When you get into the stores and really experience them, you’ll see the work we do with our people really stands out. Our training isn’t just about being able to manage a produce section or a deli; it’s about, how do you fundamentally engage a guest that goes way beyond just being friendly? It’s telling stories and showing a passion for food.
Why the expansion into the Upstate?
There are a number of things that are really interesting and exciting in this area. First and foremost, it’s the growth. There’s a lot of dynamic growth moving forward and that’s exciting to us. Also, this market is vibrant and really interesting. We believe we have a concept that is really unique and we can come to a market that is as cool and growing as Greenville is and that people will rally around it and enjoy.
What makes Lowes Foods different?
We’ve built our model going forward with deep insights from our guests. We spent some time doing over 120 ethnographies where we spent time in the homes of our guests getting deeper into what they truly care about. That started us down the journey of building our original concepts. Those are built around a couple of key things. Most important is our connection to local. We want to make sure that we bring local to life; that you can see that local connection coming through.
For example, take our Chicken Kitchen. First, making sure we use local chickens. Then, the breading that we use on the chickens, making sure that’s locally sourced. We take all of that and make sure we are bringing that to life – making the product better and then taking the time to bring that together like the rituals and celebrations. When hot chicken comes out of the rotisserie oven, we do our own version of the Chicken Dance and invite guests to join in. It sounds kind of hokey but when you experience it, it’s really engaging and fun. It’s a celebration of food and part of what we want to bring back to the grocery experience.
What are some of the “a-ha” moments that came out of the ethnographies that you conducted?
People want to be inspired, and that is a very key insight. Escapism is another one. Being constantly connected to technology, people want an escape when they can take one. People also love storytelling and they not only love to see the product but want to hear the story behind it. “Where did you get the fish?” “Tell me about the farmer you partnered with.” “Why are those peaches important?”
What is the most popular experience in the new-concept Lowes Foods?
It depends on who you ask, but one that stands out is our Pick and Prep concept. Everyone gets it instantly. The idea of picking your own fresh produce and dropping it off to one of our Pick and Prep Chefs and having them slice it and dice it exactly how you want while you shop and then picking it back up – it doesn’t get much better than that.
What are your expansion plans for the Upstate?
I can’t give detailed locations yet as we’re still working through those, but we’re planning on three to five Upstate locations in the next few years. We think this is an amazing new market and has the potential to be a great new home to us as we move forward. We’re also searching for two to three new markets within the Carolinas.
With the new concept and new strategic plan, we are fundamentally rebranding and repositioning our company.
