Giant Eagle is listening.
That’s the message the O’Hara-based chain wants to make clear to customers.
Whether it’s about the printed weekly circular (reappearing soon because of high demand) or price reductions on items (starting this week), Giant Eagle wants your feedback.
It’s been about six weeks since Bill Artman, a longtime employee, took the reins as interim CEO at the company that’s been around for more than 90 years. He is taking over leadership at a time when the consumer market is under tremendous pressure. Shoppers are trying to get their dollars to stretch further as inflation is cutting into their budgets, while more retailers, from giants such as Walmart to discounters like Aldi and Dollar General, compete for a piece of their shopping cart.
“We’re looking forward to raising our game,” Artman said in an interview with the Tribune-Review this week.
Artman said his focus for himself, and the Giant Eagle team, is to think “like our customers, not for our customers.”
“They want high value, they want high quality and they want it at a fair price,” he said.
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Between Thursday and Aug. 9, Giant Eagle plans to cut prices on about 800 items at its grocery and GetGo stores. The product list includes seasonal items, meat, seafood, produce and dairy, as well as prepared meals and Giant Eagle brands. The company said the moves represent a reduction of about 20%.
Artman said the plan has been in the works for about four weeks.
Though prices at grocery stores have eased a bit in recent months, consumers are still feeling the pinch.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects food costs to grow more slowly this year compared to last year, but still hover above the historical average. This year, all food prices are predicted to rise about 6.5%.
“One of the other things that we heard loud and clear was customers wanted the weekly circular back,” Artman said. “They planned their shopping trips around that circular arriving, and they were excited to see what our weekly specials were going to be.”
Out of the chain’s 470 grocery and convenience stores throughout Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana, it was the Pittsburgh and Cleveland markets where demand for the printed circular was strongest after going digital.
Artman said investing in stores will be a key going forward, whether that’s in a brick-and-mortar store or online.
“We need to make sure we’re easy to shop,” he said.
“Our website needs to be easy to navigate, making sure that you either have a seamless shopping experience or convenient pickup times if you’re using curbside.”
As for physical stores, he said “we really want to lean in to improving our front-end service,” including having the right number of cashiers and baggers at registers as the labor market improves.
A South Park native, Artman began his Giant Eagle career as a bagger in 1985. He moved up through the company, most recently serving as president before being named as interim CEO. In March, he replaced Laura Shapira Karet, becoming the first non-family leader of the 93-year-old company.
He said he didn’t exactly anticipate one day being tapped to lead the company when he was working as a clerk in Bethel Park in the 1980s.
“I fell in love with the business and with Giant Eagle,” Artman said. “It was very humbling and just a matter of remembering all my fellow team members helped me get here. This was really never about me. I’m just very fortunate.”
As for now, he said he doesn’t worry about whether his title will become permanent.
“I’m working every day with the intention that I’m going to be the one leading this company until I’m told otherwise,” Artman said. “I’m focused on taking care of our team members and taking care of our customers to the best of my ability.”
Stephanie Ritenbaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Stephanie at sritenbaugh@triblive.com.