Thursday, May 15, 2025 –

Over the last several days, Associated Food Stores held a major event with the FMI Retailer Share Group. The group includes Associated Retail Operations, Brookshire Grocers, Coborn’s and Food City (KVAT).

“We have built these relationships working through FMI and want to thank Dagmar Farr for her leadership with the group,” said David Rice, president and CEO of AFS. “We built this relationship to help us build better national alliances while also using it as an opportunity to have a better view of national trends, best practices from some of the country’s top regional, independent grocers and ultimately help us be a stronger retailer and wholesaler.”

FMI (Food Marketing Institute) is a national advocacy group for the entire food industry. They conduct research to help facilitate better understanding of consumer behavior, as well as industry best practices. They also run a variety of national conferences and share groups that encourage collaboration between industry leaders and teams. Finally, they play a central role in advocating for the grocery industry in Washington D.C. to help elected leaders and agencies work in a productive and proactive manner and drive great results for consumers, retailers and industry partners.

The share group meeting consisted of a day of sub-group meetings focusing on store operations, merchandising, marketing, loss prevention and retail technology. Each of these groups came together to compare their ongoing strategic efforts, discuss best practices and identify areas of opportunity.

The second day focused on store walks in the Salt Lake City area, looking at ARO, MRO and competitor locations like Winco and Smith’s. After the store walks the share group spent time debriefing the walks and looked for areas of opportunity.

David added, “I want to thank Darin Peirce and Greg Welling for their leadership. They have embraced this share group and have used this opportunity to push themselves and our entire team to an entirely new level. They are fine examples of what having a growth mindset can do.”

There is a long list of people who helped execute the successful event. The executive team extends heartfelt thanks to those who played a key role in the week’s success:

  • To Lisa Snarr, Lori Peterson and Denise Ward – thank you for coordinating the entire event. You are remarkable and demonstrate a level of customer service that is second to none.
  • To the Lee’s Heber Team – thanks for the warm welcome you provided the share group and the amazing standards you presented. You set a high bar for all local independent retailers, both with how you run great stores and the amazing team and culture you have built.
  • To the Harmon’s Traverse Mountain Team – thank you for allowing the FMI team to visit your remarkable store. The share group was amazed with your top-tier stores, the amazing fresh experiences you offer shoppers and the remarkable storytelling you do throughout every shopper touchpoint.
  • To the entire ARO Operations Team, District Managers, and Macey’s Pinebrook and Macey’s Pleasant Grove Store Leaders – you set a new bar and we cannot thank you enough for your leadership in getting the two stores in grand opening ready conditions, as well as helping with the amazing lunch that was provided to the share group. You were amazing and demonstrated what the true power “One Associated.” The share group was massively impressed with your level of passion for what you do, the departments you operate in and the commitment you have to serving your local communities.
  • To Justin Johnson and the Distribution Team – Thank you for hosting the CEOs at our distribution center and for the Project Roar tour. You continue to wow everyone with your innovation and amazing teamwork.
  • To the AFS Leadership and Support Team – Thank you all for your participation and help with the meetings and tours.

The last few days were a true demonstration of what it means to be a “One Associated” team. Again, the executive team thanks you all for being a part of our amazing team and for the world-class efforts you make each and every day.