Springfield Electric on LinkedIn: We are proud to support United Way of Central Illinois this morning by… (2024)

On the Twelfth day of Christmas, Granby gave to me...Twelve amazing months, eleven packers packing, ten thousand orders processed, nine new solutions, eight cutting-edge technologies, seven super awards, six leaders leading, five gold teams, four stepping stones, three services, two transport trucks, and one employee-owned company!Truth be told, there’s a fair bit of poetic licence here! It definitely HAS been an amazing twelve months, and we look forward to an even better 2024. But we have way more than the eleven packers in our amazing packing teams – from straightforward boxing to the most complex and skilled personalised packaging. We have processed not just 10,000 orders but millions of orders for sales teams, superstores, merchandisers, and customers at home. As for new solutions, for us that’s a daily task, and on most days, we find AT LEAST nine new solutions. Our entire business is about finding solutions to challenges small and large. The same goes for cutting-edge technologies, from our constantly evolving Order Sure management system through customer contact software to our current investigations into potential AI solutions, our IT team are second to none. Awards season has been good to us in recent years, and to be crowned the Red Rose Company of the Year was a highlight of 2023. Our Super Six leadership team continue to lead and guide the business across our Five gold teams, Client Relations, IT, Warehousing & Site Services, Finance & People and Operations. We have 4 team members on our Stepping Stones programme for our next generation of leaders. All our leaders and teams drive our three core platforms of 3PL, Contract Packing, and Promotional Marketing. As for two transport trucks, we probably have at least two in any given hour of the day! But our biggest achievement of 2023 was to complete one year as an Employee Owned Business! Merry Christmas!

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Having been a life long independent grocer myself, and also having witnessed the chain store side of the business first hand, now currently on the financial side of the independent grocery industry, I see it first hand. Labor is the #1 driver, minimum wages ranging from $7/hr to over $15/hr, the general public never sees the ugly side of the operations. Costly equipment, maintenance contracts, the cost of refrigeration gas, floor care, freight fees, common area maintenance to be sure the exterior is always inviting, compactor repair, employee benefits….it all nibbles at the gross profit dollars. If the average consumer doesn’t think the independent grocer isn’t trying to absorb as much of these expenses as they can before resorting to price increases as a last resort, well, they are just not living in the real world. Independent grocers are some of the most responsible business operators in the land with the most to lose…so be kind, understand, and enjoy the great community engagement, service, and spirit when you shop them! Their livelihoods depend on you.

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Costco sells a $330,000 diamond 20 feet away from the $1.50 hotdog.Why?Value anchoring.$330K is a lot to spend on a ring. And if you were going to drop that kind of coin, why would you do it at Costco? Because of the hotdogs.Costco is about value. That doesn't mean they're cheap. It means you're getting more than you pay for. Bigger packages, better quality, longer warranty.The $1.50 hot dog signals they're not trying to rip you off. So the ring must be worth it.It's a subtle strategy. And it's everywhere.The hotdog says everything. Without saying anything at all.#marketing #growth #brand

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In the second of three installments, get to know the independent retailers behind Hammer & Wikan, Holt's IGA, and SPD Markets learn what makes these retailers and their stores stand out.

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🌟Why Choose Pantree Over Costco? 🌟Curious about the benefits of ordering from Pantree instead of Costco? Check out this insightful blog post that dives into the reasons why Pantree stands out. From personalized service to quality products, discover how Pantree offers a unique and valuable experience.🔗 https://lnkd.in/gz6ttXWH#Pantree #CustomerExperience #Pantry #BusinessInsights #QualityService

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Close your eyes and imagine the person most ideal to pitch a high-end, non-Bourbon whiskey to a room full of Texans.Who popped into your mind? A whiskey bro in a tailored suit and cowboy boots?Who was in the room? A sea full of well-dressed, all male whiskey snobs?Well - here I am, 6 months pregnant with my first, lavalier miked and sending nervous selfies to my husband while I try to get over the fact that the baby pushing on my diaphragm is going to make me sound like I'm presenting while running a marathon.My sales chops were first developed in restaurants, where my naturally competitive spirit and consultative approach consistently landed me at the top of the server sales board on any given shift. But they were really put to the test for the first time selling an expensive American Single Malt whiskey in the closest thing to bourbon country outside of Kentucky. Texans did 𝑛𝑜𝑡 get it.And yet, I was not to be deterred.As the Texas Market Manager for Westward Whiskey (based out of the Pacific Northwest), it was my job to sell an expensive craft spirit from a little-known category into on-premise (restaurants and bars) and off-premise (liquor stores) across the entire state. Despite my colleagues in Washington, Oregon and California being closer to home base, I maintained the highest rate of sale in the division, pulling a higher ratio of cases through the accounts I sold into than anyone on the team.But how?Finding the perfect product fit, baby!I learned quickly that forcing the sale by offering discounts and pleading with buyers who didn't get it was 𝑛𝑜𝑡 the way to go. It does nothing but lead to product sitting on the shelf, requests for demos to force depletion, and ultimately, no reorder (aka churn). It also erodes trust, which you want and need in any sales process.I carry this with me today in the SaaS world. I want my buyers to be confident that we have a partnership - that if they buy what I'm selling, it's because we both agree that we have that right fit.#SaaSSales #ProductFit #BuyerTrust

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I received a couple of requests to look at the gross margin history for Loblaws and other Canadian grocers. It is not a perfect comparison because each grocer has a different year-end, but I think it shows that Loblaws has been doing a pretty good job at expanding its margin compared to the other grocers. I did look at Loblaws even farther back - the margin was comparable to the 2020 result. Thanks to Jason Gray and Ben Bisset, CPA, CA for their suggestion on this post. Loblaws (Dec 31st year-end)2020 - 30.3%2023 - 32.0%Sobeys (Apr 30th, year-end)2020 - 19.9%2023 - 19.7%Metro (Sept 30th, year-end)2020 - 24.9%2023 - 23.9%#loblaws#groceryprices#grossmargin

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Loblaws is doing everything it can to keep prices low. How can we test this position by the company? One way to look at it would be to compare the gross margin of various grocers in Canada and the U.S. Now, this is not a perfect method, since each company will have a different business mix, but it does give us some idea on the markup of goods relative to their cost.So, that's what I did. Here is the ranking based on the trailing twelve months based on information from Yahoo Finance. Every grocer on this list has over $20 billion in sales across hundreds of locations. 1. Loblaws - 32.1% 2. Albertson's - 27.8%3. Sobey's - 26.1%4. Wal-Mart - 24.4%5. Kroger - 22.2%6. Metro - 19.7%7. Costco - 12.4%I may need to consider a membership at Costco. #groceryprices#comparisons#loblaws

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