Grocery leaders share the biggest opportunities for 2025
Patrick Denninger, CEO, Denninger’s: “The opening of beer and wine sales in Ontario will be a big opportunity for us. Grocers now have the unique opportunity to showcase the perfect pairings through visual merchandising and a focus on educating customers throughout the store. We further expect in-store tastings and events to remain a growing opportunity to drive consumer traffic and build basket size—reaching a step above the expected customer service and truly creating a great food experience.
Deb Craven, president, Longo’s: “Our biggest opportunity is ensuring we continue to provide our guests with the very best shopping experience. We work hard to consistently deliver on our family standards for freshness, service [and] value, and by offering unique and differentiated Longo’s products. We focus on building strong connections with team members, guests and partners, and are so excited to be expanding into four new communities. Our upcoming growth enables us to share our passion for excellence with new families, fostering lasting loyalty and community engagement.”
Jamie Nelson, chief operating officer, Pattison Food Group: “As the grocery landscape rapidly evolves, we see the need for more innovation than ever before. Retailers, suppliers and producers have a tremendous opportunity in front of them to drive new sales with innovative and exciting products. It’s critical that we are giving our customers what they want from their grocery store and capturing their attention while they’re in store or shopping online. By leveraging trends and staying ahead of the curve, there is great opportunity to grow sales and deliver more to our customers.”
Gonzalo Gebara, president and CEO, Walmart Canada: “On the heels of celebrating our 30 years in Canada, we are heading into 2025 with energy and excitement to serve Canadians better every day. We will continue to offer value, convenience and great products— and strive to be more relevant for Canadians than ever before. We will continue to modernize our stores for an improved customer experience, provide more products through e-commerce and make these deliveries faster, expand our global foods offering to better serve our diverse communities, and attract bigger name brands to our marketplace. Through this, we’ll maintain our commitment to everyday low prices.”
Brian Bradley, president, Stong’s Market: “With continued mergers and acquisitions, the larger chains will continue to grow and increase market share. This provides many competitive advantages, but also creates a gap when it comes to serving a local customer base. This is where smaller chains and independents can make a real difference by tailoring the shopping experience to the specific neighbourhood in which they operate. Catering to the local markets we serve, and keeping our focus on supporting our local communities, will help to enhance the customer experience.”
This article was first published in Canadian Grocer’s December2024/January 2025 issue.
