Food Lion 2011 Annual Report Download - page 16

Simple.
• Is easy to fi nd what I am
looking for
• Prices are clearly marked and
easy to read
• Makes it easy to get in and out
quickly
• Makes it easy to check out
• Is a clean and well kept store
• Cashiers are effi cient and
accurate
Quality.
• Is the best value for my money
• Offers lowest prices on the
things you buy most
• Is good for a bargain shopper
• Has good specials throughout
the store
• Is good for people on a tight
budget
• Has the lowest everyday prices
• Offers high quality items at
reasonable prices
Price.
Food Lion is the largest brand within the Delhaize Group portfolio. It is also one of our oldest
brands. Historically, Food Lion enjoyed significant consumer awareness related to its low
prices and had strong customer loyalty. Over the last several years, the brand lost some of its
strong brand equity, especially with respect to low prices.
In 2010, Food Lion conducted extensive research
among a large number of consumers, not just
Food Lion customers, and developed a new
strategy to reposition the Food Lion brand
based directly on consumer feedback. The com-
prehensive plan focuses on several elements:
Simple, Quality and Price. When implemented,
the strategy enhances the customer satisfaction
through price, fresh produce and an easy and
convenient shopping experience, among other
areas.
In May 2011, Food Lion launched its brand repo-
sitioning efforts in approximately 200 stores in
two different markets. Consumers responded
positively to the new strategy and reinforced the
conviction to accelerate the further roll-out and
implementation of the brand repositioning work
throughout the rest of the network.
Price
Obviously, in these challenging times, price
plays an even greater role in attracting cus-
tomers to our stores. Given that price was a
historical strength of Food Lion, we needed to
regain this price position. In the fi rst 200 stores
where the brand repositioning was done, mar-
ket prices were reduced on products throughout
the stores as we worked to be recognized as a
price leader by our customers.
Quality
Food Lion wants to be recognized for its high
quality fresh products and vegetables, and as a
result, we have signifi cantly changed our oper-
ational approach in this department to further
enhance the freshness, variety and quality of
our products for our customers. We have cre-
ated a produce offering that we can be proud
of and provides customers the freshest products
possible.
Simple
As we talked to consumers to develop our new
strategy, they told us they wanted a shopping
experience that was simple and they wanted
stores that were clean, safe, and easy to shop.
We listened and made a number of changes to
simplify the shopping experience in our stores,
such as making the aisles easy to navigate and
enhancing the checkout process. Thanks to
follow-up research, customers have confi rmed
that we have improved their shopping experi-
ence through the changes we have made.
Revitalizing
the Food Lion brand
Cathy Green Burns,
President of Food Lion,
Harveys and Reid’s
“Food Lion is focused
on repositioning the
business for future
growth. We are very
pleased with the
reaction from our
customers on the
implementation of our
new brand strategy
work in the Raleigh,
N.C. and Fayetteville,
N.C. markets. As we
move forward with
accelerating the Food
Lion strategy in 2012,
we are confi dent
the consumer will
recognize us as a
price leader, fi nd our
stores easier to shop,
identify us as offering
the greatest value in
private brands, as well
as enjoy shopping
our fresh fruits and
vegetables section.
We look forward to
bringing the strategy
to life in an additional
600 to 700 stores by
year-end 2012.”
FOCUS
14 // DELHAIZE GROUP ANNUAL REPORT ‘11