Posted by Julie L'Heureux

(Photo L-R: Past President Roxane Cole, Mike Vail, Charlie Whittier, and President Don Zillman.)

Roxane Cole introduced our speaker Mike Vail, President of Hannaford Brothers. Among those who welcomed Mr. Vail was Portland Rotarian Charles Whittier, who retired as the Treasurer of Hannaford.

Mr. Vail spoke about Hannaford’s “Customer-Centric Innovation,” beginning with the company’s legacy of being founded in 1883 in Portland, Maine. Hannaford is headquartered in Scarborough and is Maine’s second largest employer, after Maine Medical Center. Today, the Hannaford supermarkets, selling food and groceries, are part of the  Ahold Delhaize group, based in the Netherlands. Hannaford operates 181 stores in the U.S. Eastern market, with stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York. With 64 stores in Maine accounting for 40 percent of the company’s business. In 2016, Hannaford reported $5.8 billion in sales. The operating strategy was started by the founding Hannaford Brothers, who built the company’s reputation for supplying outstanding quality fresh produce.

Summer is the busiest time of year for Hannaford, with sales increases of 20 percent. May of 2017 was a challenging month for Hannaford in Scarborough, when a fire in a refrigerated tractor-trailer partially loaded with food was destroyed, causing extensive smoke damage to fresh products in the adjacent buildings.

Before joining Hannaford, Mike worked in Tampa, Florida and in North Carolina. When he came to Maine, he realized how Hannaford made a significant connection to the local market. Hannaford’s local program was previously called “Close to Home,” dedicated to working and supporting local food vendors in Maine. In 2008, the local program began working with farms and food producers around New England. Their marketing focus is to provide “fresh, local value to people.”

Hannaford and its employees are proud to support and reflect community programs. They efficiently distribute day-old and dented merchandise to food recovery organizations. The company is a strong supporter of the United Way, youth development programs and children’s sports. “Wreaths Across America” is a very special program supported by Hannaford, where the company provides a few trailer trucks and drivers to help transport the commemorative Maine-made holiday wreaths to be placed on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

Nature’s Place is a private Hannaford brand, trending toward cleaner products, pulling unhealthy ingredients out of the produce. These items were needed to keep current with market trends. Consumers are educated about the use of pesticides in foods and organically-grown produce is popular.  

A current challenge is the e-commerce and grocery merger between Amazon and Whole Foods. This merger will support opportunities for Hannaford to grow it’s e-commerce grocery program. 

Other Hannaford innovations being offered are their “kitchen” test sites with one located in Bath, where food stations and in-store Wi-Fi makes the location accessible for meetings and informal gatherings. 

On-line ordering with pre-arranged pickup windows is becoming more popular, with a small service charge of $3 on an order up to $100 and slightly more for larger orders. There are 39 Hannaford stores where “Hannaford To Go” is offered. 

During the Q&A, several complimentary comments were made about Hannaford’s dedication to working with youth and for helping community programs where employees with disabilities are hired.