Ahold announced yesterday that they’ve filled their EVP slot in marketing with an existing employee from…you guessed it, Giant of Carlisle. Erik Keptner will be taking over one portion of the job held by Jeff Martin, who suddenly resigned in early June 2012. We ran a piece on that back in June and the company still hasn’t given an explanation for the Martin suddenly vacating the seat. Just before his resignation, Martin received an award as “Marketer of the Year” from industry-publication Supermarket News. While this may still be a mystery, the one thing that’s crystal clear to us is that Giant of Landover is often forgotten in organizational decision-making. We are rarely mentioned by Ahold in their shareholder’s meetings or quarterly reports yet we remain one of the most profitable banners in the U.S.
Ahold pushes for curbside service, at what cost?
Several retail grocers have been pushing initiatives all over the U.S. that include a curbside pickup option for customers to receive their groceries. This sort of “convenience” shopping is nothing new for Ahold, the parent company of Peapod, a grocery delivery service. According to this article from Supermarket News, one Stop & Shop location in Mass. is testing out the service to see how many customers take advantage of it. Stop & Shop is also operated under the Ahold banner as is Giant of Carlisle which offers the curbside service at two stores in Pa.
Ahold CEO Dick Boer says that they will continue to test this curbside model and that they may consider charging a service fee to customers that use the service. We wonder how many of our customers in DC, Northern Va., and Md. would take advantage of this service. We already recognize that the use of self-scans and apps that enable customers to scan their items result in reduced workforces on the shop floor. As with other initiatives that are launched by our employers, we’ll be watching closely for the outcome and staying alert in case they try to move something like this into our area.
As always, please alert us if you see something going on in your local Giant or Safeway store that we should pay attention to and research more. You can reach us at occupygiantandsafeway@gmail.com. Please be advised that this email address cannot be used to address individual issues that might be handled by Local 400 staff reps through the grievance process.
