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Holiday 2015
Observations
JIM TROUT
PRESIDENT
A Time to Give Thanks
“Thank You”, two simple words that when put together
can put a smile on someone’s face. Sometimes it is to a family
member, sometimes it is to a customer, but today I am saying
“Thank You” to you.
2015 has been a year of tremendous accomplishments
for Acme Fresh Market. Acme 21 our Green location has
been open a full year and continues to build its market share,
Acme 1 is undergoing an extensive remodel and is looking
better every day, and we have grown our sales and market
share in 2015. None of this happens without the support
and dedication of you and our 2,300 Acme associates.
So as 2015 comes to a close, “Thank You”. May you and
your family have a joyous holiday season.
Happy Holidays!
Jim Trout
President
HOLIDAY POWERHOUSE ITEMS • HIDDEN GEMS • NEW ITEMS
JON ALBRECHT
DIRECTOR OF CENTER STORE SALES
Acme’s goal is to win the Holiday,
and we will win by creating
and satisfying the needs of our
customer. We will satisfy those
needs by fulfilling shopping lists
and ensuring the shelves are full.
We will create need by creatively
displaying items throughout the
store that tie-in with key holiday items. We do this every
day at Acme. The holidays, however, present a different
challenge because of all of the seasonal items that truly
only sell once a year. Are we in stock on La Choy Chestnuts
for casserole dishes? Is the Knorr Vegetable Mix tied in with
the Pumpernickel bread in our bakeries? Do we have red
and green Over the Top Sprinkles in our baking displays?
The list of seasonal items is a mile long, but I’d like to take
the time to write about three products that speak to the
Year of the Product at Acme: a powerhouse holiday item,
a hidden gem, and something brand new to our stores.
Bailey’s Irish Cream is a great seller year round, but did
you know it is the number one selling item in our wine
departments for December? Last year, we were up over
40% in sales on Bailey’s and this year, the deal is even
better! You will notice big displays in our stores as we are
trying to both create and satisfy need on this number one
item. Our Customers are telling us that (for those over 21!)
Bailey’s goes great with coffee on a cold winter’s day.
You wouldn’t think lasagna would be a hidden gem, but
lasagna sales spike over the Holidays. Walking the store
with Russ Fern the other day, he mentioned that “not
everyone eats prime rib and ham for the holidays.” He
didn’t say it exactly in those words, if you know Russ, but
he was spot-on nonetheless. Food Club lasagna noodles,
Hunts 29 oz. tomato sauce, new Food Club Ricotta Cheese,
and Food Club Mozzarella Shreds are down the middle for
Acme. To capture this business and to create need, we
built displays of Food Club lasagna in all of the stores in
the meat department. It’s a hearty, cold weather meal
that feeds a lot of people: perfect for a holiday party.
Putting on my General Merchandise hat, the holidays
and gift giving go hand and hand. This year, we have a
new line of products to sell… Legos! This timeless toy is
perfect as a stocking stuffer or for under the tree. We have
a 4-foot assortment in the stores, and it is selling great. In
fact, it already makes up over 25% of the toys that we sell
in our everyday toy sets.
Whether it’s staple items like Baileys, hidden gems like
lasagna, or new items like Legos, Acme has to be in stock
for our customers. Satisfying 100% of our customers’
grocery list and creating impulse purchases with creative
displays will lead to a successful holiday season for Acme.
When the day is done, you can sit back and relax with a
Welch’s Sparkling Grape Juice, Cranberry 7 UP, or a Hartzler
Dairy Egg Nog and have a Happy Holidays!
GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT
DAVE NESTOR
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
Acme Fresh Market reaches out
each week to as many customers
as possible and invites them to
shop in our stores. That invitation
includes our weekly specials, our
lead price items like 59¢ Turkeys,
our quality message like our Gold
Standard Hams, and our special
events like The Wine and Cheese Weekends.
During the Holidays these efforts are actually increased
as November and December become our busiest months.
How do we get the message out? Acme Fresh Market
reaches over a half a million homes each week with our
print ads. Our Print ad is also online and gets tens of
thousands of page views a month. Our fastest growing
method of communication is email. When we have special
events in a week, we triple our email reach.
Drive down any leg of the expressway and you’ll see
an electronic billboard with an Acme Fresh Market
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message. You can imagine with the traffic counts how
many impressions we’re making here. It’s a lot! Acme
Fresh Market is reaching out in a number of different ways
including Mobile Deals as consumers’ preferences change
on how they want to receive their weekly sale information.
In the past it was primarily a print ad that you received in
the newspaper. Now with the internet, many consumers
want their information digitally. Acme Fresh Market is
evolving to meet the needs of consumers. You will continue
to see us use more digital and electronic ways to reach out
and invite customers to come shop at Acme Fresh Market!
We’re shouting loud with our weekly messages to drive
customers into your store!
TIPS & TRICKS ON HOLIDAY MERCHANDISING
BILL HALIKO
STORE DIRECTOR ACME NO. 11
I’ve been asked to give my secret
recipe for Holiday merchandising.
Colonel Sanders took his secret
recipe to his grave. I plan on
sharing my closest friend’s recipes
for success.
Take a full cup of planning well
in advance and include your entire family in this process.
Don’t forget to include General Merchandise. After
thoughts don’t mix well. Add a pinch of Jim Trout’s “less
is More” bigger is better theory. I was the first to make
massive displays of Bakery Pumpkin rolls and grew that
into a Huge Bake Sale. As Henry Nagel says, Listen to your
gut. Be hungry!! Have enough for the entire family! Have
a vision of the finished pie. Mike Harget says customers
shop with their eyes so be aware of how the end result
looks. Well signed and impressive so they are wanting to
share with others what they see.
Russ Fern says invite your customers as guests into
your home. Be proud to show off what a beautiful home
should look like. I take a personal interest in every display
every day making sure I’m proud to have them see what
I have to offer. A dash of Clean, Neat and Safe, will have
your customers being Highly Satisfied Customers (HSC).
Ed Harrison says make sure all your ingredients in your
cupboards are full. Grocery 101. Keep your pantry full.
My recipe for displays is that they must be unique.
Sprinkle on something extra to add spice. Give your
display an angle, make it a round, or make it a raised two
tier cake. Adding food color will get their attention.
My second grade teacher taught me the thought
process of creating a perfect sentence was to use the 5
W’s. Who, What, Where, When and Why and then they
threw in How. This also works with displays. Answer these
questions in making your displays and you will make a
complete display that will impress everyone.
• Who is going to build the display? Who is going to buy it?
• What is needed to be added to the product to make it
complete? Food Club? General merchandise?
• Where is the best place to get the most exposure that it
has the best opportunity to sell?
• When to build it (is it seasonal?) Is it on sale? Advertised
with a coupon in the paper?
• Why should the display be up? Is it old and should come
down? Worked to the shelf?
• And sometimes How. How can I make it better than any
other stores displays?
My last thought is to Create Need. Banana Billy Bread is
coming and it is wonderful!! Look for it at your local Acme
Fresh Market store. YUM! Thanks; Billy the Baker
Holiday display inside Acme No. 11
ACME FRESH MARKET GIFT CARDS & NEW CATERING GIFT CARDS
KATIE SWARTZ
Acme Fresh Market Dinner Delivered! Gift Cards are a
special holiday gift!
Ask customers this holiday season if they would like
Question: What is Acme’s most
to
add an Acme Fresh Market gift card to their order
profitable sale?
Answer: Acme Fresh Market – and tell them about the Acme Fresh Market Dinner
Delivered! Gift Card!
gift cards!
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
During the holiday season,
everyone is looking for the
perfect gift – a challenge as you
probably know from personal experience! Acme Fresh
Market gift cards are perfect because “Everybody Loves
an Acme Fresh Market Gift Card!”
Also, this Holiday Season we are Introducing a
wonderful new product - NEW Dinner Delivered!
Gift Cards! Hot Delicious Meals prepared by Acme
Fresh Market Catering and delivered to your door!
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HIGHLY SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
ED HARRISON
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Wow! 2015 is speeding by! The
Holidays are here – my favorite
time of the year at Acme. During
the Holidays, Acme associates
shine with great customer service!
Acme associates work hard to
fulfill our customer’s needs. We
do that by focusing on the basics
of our business, and by executing the basics better than
our competition.
First, Grocery 101. Keep the Shelves Full! Our customers
trust Acme to have every item on their holiday shopping
list. Acme associates work hard every day to keep all
departments in our stores stocked and ready for business!
Fulfilling the needs of our customers with Grocery 101
creates Highly Satisfied Customers that will return to our
stores.
I broke a jar of pasta sauce, and Chris was SO kind!
He took care of my mess… thank you so much!
– Elizabeth
Best service today! I needed a unique item and
Paulette made sure I got it! She ordered it, and had
it waiting for me at the Service Counter! Thank you!
– Jeanne
Tracy delivered excellent customer service. She was
friendly, smiled, and was so knowledgeable of what
is offered at the store. It was a pleasure to experience
such positive, uplifting customer service!
– Tonja
Our cashier, Ashley, was extremely courteous, kind,
and efficient! She made my shopping experience a
pleasure!
– Sue
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Second, Friendly People, Fast Checkout. Acme
associates smiling and acknowledging our customers,
saying “Hello”, “May I Help You?”, and “Thank You” keep
Acme a friendly place to shop. Our Acme team knows
how important Fast Checkout is to our customers. Our
Fast Checkout Goal – open another register if there are
more than 3 customers in a line. Our Acme team reacts to
busy rushes with “All Hands on Deck!” service!
Creating Highly Satisfied Customers is not easy. Hard
Work creates Highly Satisfied Customers. Hard Work
keeps the shelves full and all departments in our stores
stocked. Hard Work creates Highly Satisfied Customers
that return to Acme!
Our Acme team works harder than our competition.
We create Highly Satisfied Customers with Grocery 101
and Friendly People, Fast Checkout.
We receive thousands of compliments from Highly
Satisfied Customers each year and award each associate
that receives a compliment with a gold star to wear
proud on their name badge. Below are a few recent
compliments – Great job!
Tim in the deli is awesome! He went out of his way
to give me my ham sliced just the way I like it, and he
pointed out the coupon on the counter. Very polite!
– Marilyn
Curtis was so very polite and kind when I visited the
State Road store one midday with my newborn baby.
He loaded up a separate cart with my groceries so as
not to disturb my sleeping baby in her carrier, then
pushed the cart out to my car without me having to
ask. He unloaded all of my groceries into my car for
me and asked if I needed any other help. I imagined
it was like full-service shopping used to be, from
start to finish. I have never had the pleasure of such
ease and service in shopping as I did that day. Curtis
seemed to truly enjoy helping out, and he is an old
school professional. Thank you, Curtis.
– Erica
Thank You! Thank you for your hard work every day to make Acme a friendly and
convenient place to shop. I am very proud to be a member of the Acme Team
along with each of you! Thank you and Happy Holidays!