We are undergoing a minor remodel/KCSD set starting next week. We are not a Boars Head store, but the locals have advocated for it for a while. Question is, what does it take to become one? I know next to nothing about Deli/Bakery. Is it mainly reserved for upscale areas? We have a diverse consumer base for our store. We have a lot of well-off customers seeking natural foods/boars head/gourmet crowd, but in the same token we have a lot of WIC customers and others just buying the basics. The people have been told by both sides(boars head/kroger) that it's the others fault that they aren't in our store. The other main concern is a salad bar, lots of people wanting that, but no plans to add it.
All that's decided on some floor in at GO in Cincinnati.
Every so often during the year the company has a "deep dive" done into the products and demographics and looks at opportunities for each store.
There's a store near me that now has boar's head but their premade stuff uses private selection because of the customers are price conscious. At my store we're not allowed to markdown any boardshead stuff about to go out of date. It's kinda ridiculous.
It's a pretty long process. This is how it worked in my perspective. They set a date for when they will bring Boar's Head into the deli. This can be postponed 99 times before it actually happens. Before then, there are a few things that need to be done.
The employees and managers have to go to an orientation of sorts. You sit in a conference room for a few hours. They feed you (or at least they did us). They go over all of the products they carry, and that list is extensive. They not only carry deli meat, but they also have sauces, hummus, and pickles, among other things. They go over why Boar's Head products are ggreat, as all of their products have no gluten (didn't know meat had wheat in it, but okay), no trans-fat, and in the cases of some cheeses, lactose-free. Everyone who works in the deli has to do this orientation, so they will end up having to do it multiple times per everyone's schedules.
After the orientation, there's another class, where it's preparing you to be VALIDATED to sell Boar's Head products. You miss the class, then you're probably gonna fail the validation (but everyone gets a second chance--the test is fairly easy). Validation tests you on how well you can remember their product, and they also have this lovely thing called the proactive walk, which everyone has to do 4 times a day. It includes things that you do on a normal basis, like cleaning the slicers and sweeping the floors. They check this. Any blips in this walk is counted against you.
Once all is validated, they feed you again (once again, that's what they did with us).
The store I'm in is in an area with a lot of elderly people. We've had mixed reactions to the switch-over. Some were excited that they didn't have to go to another store 20 minutes away. Others, mainly the elderly regulars, were not, especially if they bought a lot of Krakus. There is no Private Selection alternative to Krakus; closest thing is Boar's Head Deluxe Ham. At 10 bucks a pound, it's understandable as to why people would walk away. In our store, we carry only Private Selection and Boar's Head. We are allowed to markdown BH meats to no more than half off on the day it was set to expire. We're able to markdown everything else like we markdown the other stuff in the department.
