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Exchange’s Future is Bright
— President/CMO Ana
Middleton
Published on February 1, 2017 — in President/CMO/Senior
Leadership Editorials — by Lisa Moak
What are your top priorities as President/Chief
Merchandising Officer?
I am extremely excited about the future of the Exchange. On
Jan. 11, the Department of Defense signed a letter announcing
a policy change to allow all honorably discharged veterans to
shop the Exchange online. Copies of the memorandum were
sent to lawmakers on four House and Senate committees,
and if no objections are raised within 30 days, we can launch
the Veterans Online Shopping Benefit on Nov. 11—Veterans
Day—and welcome home about 15 million shoppers.
In my over 30 years with the Exchange, I can arguably say this
is the most significant event in my career. It’s a game-changer
for the organization and helps ensure the Exchange benefit
thrives for Soldiers, Airmen and their families. I could not be
prouder to state that “I was there when our CEO, Tom Shull,
made our VOSB dream a reality.”
Flawlessly launching this new benefit is Exchange’s top
priority for 2017. Preparing for approximately 15 million
potential customers takes unparalleled teamwork across the
entire organization. The Exchange’s e-commerce Senior Vice
President Karen Cardin, Executive Vice President & Chief
Information Officer Phil Stevens and Omnichannel SVP
Mickey Bradford are on the front lines, leading the effort to
upgrade the shopmyexchange.com platform to strengthen
site stability and improve the customer experience.
Our EVP & Chief Logistics Officer Karen Stack and the rest of
the LG team have upgraded technology in our distribution
centers to optimize the supply chain in preparation for this
opportunity. EVP & Chief Operating Officer Dave Nelson is
      
working with e-commerce Operations Vice President David
Lemons, region SVPs and VPs, store managers and associates
to roll out and hone our Ship-from-Store (SFS) capabilities.
SFS will be essential to ensure we excel in service to our
Nation’s veterans. The role of our main stores associates
cannot be overstated; these associates play an integral role in
delivering this benefit as we evolve into a store/fulfillment
center hybrid model. With SFS capabilities, we are able to
lower shipping costs and, more importantly, get the product
to our customers faster.
Exchange Credit Program SVP Jami Richardson and EVP &
Chief Financial Officer Jim Jordan are reviewing our MILITARY
STAR® program so it meets the needs of returning customers.
Working alongside EVP & Chief Human Resources Officer
Leigh Roop and the e-commerce leadership team, they are
building our call-center capacity and developing training for
associates who will assist customers using the new benefit.
Corporate Communication Director Judd Anstey and his team
are using social media to help spread the word at a grassroots
level and answer customer questions. This truly is an
unparalleled team effort to support this historic opportunity!
Reimaging our Express stores is another priority. The
rebranding effort in our Main Stores – through elevated
experiences like Be Fit- has been widely accepted by our
customers. While we will continue to roll out the new Main
Store concepts we realized our convenience stores needed an
upgraded experience Convenience Channels Vice President
Sean Shaw, Store Experience and Design Vice President Eric
Sidman and PAR Director Eric Boen are the architects of our
new convenience store experience. The Big Red One Express
at Fort Riley, Kan., is the first location to debut the new
experience, with an updated grab-and-go section to compete
with increased convenience store competition outside the
gate. We’re also revolutionizing our checkout lines to drive
impulse sales and launching a new Class Six experience that
invites customers to try new products.
“
We must think of our store
assortments as ‘boundaryless’ – not
constrained by the product selection
within our store Consistent with our
SFS strategy, and in order to
successfully compete in this fiercely
competitive environment, we need to
look beyond ‘who gets credit for the
sale.’
Do you expect any challenges in 2107 and how do you plan to
overcome them?
The retail industry, especially brick-and-mortar stores, has
been under fierce competitive pressures for the last 10 years.
All you have to do is listen to the news to hear about store
closures, staff layoffs, etc., to fully appreciate the challenges
we are facing, especially from online forces.
The Exchange must also adjust to continuing sales declines in
tobacco, impacts of decreased OCONUS cost of living
allowances as a result of a stronger dollar and the persistent
uncertainty that surrounds the commissary benefit. All of
these issues have the capacity to negatively affect Exchange
sales, earnings and dividends.
While there are many near- and long-term technology
initiatives we are pursuing (e.g. Wi-Fi in all our stores,
near-/real-time inventory feeds, MILITARY STAR mobile
wallet, concierge mobile app capabilities, beacon technology,
etc.) to combat these challenges, there are actions we can
take right now, in-store and online, to elevate the customer
shopping experience.
Customer expectations have changed drastically. Stores like
Sephora and Ulta have turned the cosmetic business upside
down and elevated the shopping experience to be responsive
to how ”she” shops, not how the industry wants her to shop.
These stores have associates who actively engage with their
customers, assisting them on the sales floor and
recommending solutions. This is what customers are
demanding today, and it must become our standard for
service— engage, assist and recommend. Simply stated, we
must ‘be there’ for our customers.
We must think of our store assortments as ‘boundaryless’ –
not constrained by the product selection within our store
Consistent with our SFS strategy, and in order to successfully
compete in this fiercely competitive environment, we need to
look beyond ‘who gets credit for the sale.’ Leveraging tablets
on the sales floor to showcase the breadth of our online
assortment increases the probability we will close the sale
before the customer leaves the store. Go beyond closing the
sale – explain the benefit of having a Military Star card,
especially to younger families trying to establish credit. The
MILITARY STAR card was recognized two years in a row for
having the lowest APR for in-store credit cards—a true value
to service members and their families.
Major online retailers have elevated the customer experience
for online and changed the expectation of what good service
means. Same day delivery, in the industry, currently is
confined to urban areas – but rural customers are enjoying
next day or two day service levels. By rolling out the majority
of our Main Stores as SFS fulfilment centers, the Exchange
will be well-positioned to meet this customer expectation.
Understanding our customers’ buying habits in stores and
online is critical. Business Development Senior Vice President
Dr. Jim Skibo and his team are gleaning customer insights
from the data to help us deliver more personalized marketing.
Working with the e-commerce and Marketing teams, we will
be in a better position to segment our engagement and
deliver a more meaningful message to customers.
“
With more than 80 percent of
Exchange associates connected to the
military, we share a unique connection
with our customers that no other
commercial retailer can duplicate.
“Family serving family” is more than
words; it’s a promise to be there
wherever the mission takes our
customers.
What is your philosophy on leadership and motivating
associates?
What an interesting question. My philosophy on leadership is
to hire the right talent, develop and share a strategic vision
with them and trust their capabilities. I have always thought
of myself as a lifelong student. I am very fortunate to work
with an incredibly passionate, committed and talented team
and pride myself on knowing when to get out of their way.
The Merchandising Directorate team has a wealth of industry
knowledge, and I learn from them every day. The team
includes:
Newly-promoted SVP of eCommerce Karen Cardin
Tammie Shelmire, VP softlines division
Chris Burton, VP hardline division
Sean Shaw, VP convenience channels
Debbie Zarsk, VP ebusiness
Eric Boen, PAR director
David Lemons, VP eCommerce merchandise
Martha Robuck, PAR director
Eric Sidman, VP store experience and design
Shirley Strano, PAR director
Brad Nash, VP omnichannel marketing
I am inspired by their “all-in” commitment to the mission and
am honored to be their teammate. The Merchandising
Directorate team is motivated to protect and preserve the
Exchange benefit for those great Americans who raised their
right hand, took the oath and make a difference.
Is there anything else you would like associates to know
about you and your plans for the Exchange?
I am a product of the communities we so passionately serve.
As the daughter of an Air Force chief master sergeant, I love
our mission and truly embrace our core value of “family
serving family.” When a customer writes to complain about an
online order that missed the mark or bad customer service in
our stores, I take that personally because we never want to let
a fellow family member down. With more than 80 percent of
Exchange associates connected to the military, we share a
unique connection with our customers that no other
commercial retailer can duplicate. “Family serving family” is
more than words; it’s a promise to be there wherever the
mission takes our customers.