What Fred Morganthall had to say about grocery, private brands

Fred Morganthall, former president of Harris Teeter, was the keynote speaker at the opening breakfast Monday at the Private Label Trade Show in Chicago. Here are nine statements that stood out during Morganthall’s address:

1. “I’ve been amazed at how much the business has changed in the last three years. And it’s hard to keep up with.”
2. “If you are a retailer in the room and not working in online shopping, then you are behind.”
3. “At the end of the day, it’s all about the customer. … What we do is what the customer wants.”
4. “We still don’t know exactly what Whole Foods Market is going to be when it grows up. Amazon is still playing with that, because Amazon still believes in bricks-and-mortar.”
5. “Today, online shopping is about 3 percent [of grocery sales]. It’s growing at a rate of about 30 percent [annually]. On that basis of growth, in five years it will be about 10 percent of sales. … The cap is probably around 20 percent in a 10- to 15-year range. Where it goes from there, who knows. But it’s a huge part of our business.”
6. “The deep discounters are clearly a disruption to traditional grocery. Aldi has more than 1,600 stores today. Their own brand quality is equal to or better than the national brands. … And [Aldi] is clearly a leader in all aspects of own brands.”
7. “The-bricks-and-mortar experience has to be positive. I would argue that it almost has to be entertainment. It has to be something the customer wants to do, not has to do.”
8. “If you’re out of stock [on an item], you have forced the customer somewhere else, and my biggest fear is, it’s Amazon.”
9. “There is nothing more important in that produce department or that meat department or more importantly for the cashier than to greet customers and talk to them. If you ever go to a Publix store … I dare you to walk by the Publix bakery without someone in that bakery saying hello to you.”