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Comments by Safeway's Steve Burd
Comments made by Steve Burd, Chairman, President and CEO of Safeway
Steve Burd, Chairman, President and CEO of Safeway made these comments as reported in the Supermarket News on November 18, 2002.
- Safeway's four-pronged plan includes "financing price reductions by lowering costs, including restructuring labor contracts..."
- The company's goal is "to narrow the gap in every single negotiation without exception" by freezing wages or offering lump-sum payments; establishing a market-based rate for new hires; offering voluntary buyouts to senior employees; redesigning health-care packages; containing pension increases; and striving for more liberal work rules.
- "We will rely on our ability to out-execute everybody. There will be no one more determined, more tenacious, more focused and more willing to work hard than we are because we don't give up on things."
- "We've had successful integrations of Vons and Carrs, but we've struggled in other areas [Genuardi's, Tom Thumb, Randall's, Dominick's] because of... distance from our main office."
- Genuardi's--"...our in-stock conditions deteriorated and the stores had less shelf discipline, which resulted in out-of-stocks."
- Randalls--"...being successful there...will require us to do things differently...."
- On Dominick's negotiations--"What's unique here is that, unless they accept the contract, the assets are worth more liquidated than as operating assets, so we get good results either way."
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