Back on the podcast in a new role, veteran retailer Corey Gillon joins us as the CEO at Peninsula Co-op, a Victoria, B.C.-based multi-business unit retailer specializing in fuel & convenience, liquor and grocery. Tons of great insights from this global retailer whose career has spanned massive retailers to cannabis start-ups.
Welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. My name is Michael LeBlanc, and I am your host. This podcast is produced in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Back on the podcast in a new role, veteran retailer Corey Gillon joins us as the CEO at Peninsula Co-op, a Victoria, B.C.-based multi-business unit retailer specializing in fuel & convenience, liquor and grocery. Tons of great insights from this global retailer whose career has spanned massive retailers to cannabis start-ups.
About Corey
Currently holding the role of CEO at Peninsula Co-op a Victoria, B.C. based multi-business unit retailer specializing in fuel & convenience, liquor and grocery with annual revenues exceeding $300 million. Corey is well-versed in a spectrum of competencies including Retail operations, eCommerce, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), marketing, and people leadership. These skills have been honed through years of hands-on experience in both domestic and international markets.
Corey’s career has straddled the breadth of the corporate landscape, from holding senior executive roles at global brands such as Walmart and Aritzia to agile start-ups. This unique blend of experiences has equipped him with the versatility to navigate and lead in both structured, complex organizations and in the fluid, dynamic start-up ecosystem.
His style and philosophy of leadership is backed by his vast experience. He identifies as both a builder and an operator, ever keen on achieving results through decisive action. Apart from his corporate commitments, he also serves on a nonprofit board and actively mentors students at Simon Fraser University who attend the Beedie School of Business, ensuring that the next generation of leaders benefits from his wealth of knowledge and experience.
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery.
Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. ReThink Retail has added Michael to their prestigious Top Global Retail Influencers list for 2023 for the third year in a row.
Michael is also the president of Maven Media, producing a network of leading trade podcasts, including Canada's top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail. He produces and co-hosts Remarkable Retail with best-selling author Steve Dennis, now ranked one of the top retail podcasts in the world.
Based in San Francisco, Global eCommerce Leaders podcast explores global cross-border issues and opportunities for eCommerce brands and retailers.
Last but not least, Michael is the producer and host of the "Last Request Barbeque" channel on YouTube, where he cooks meals to die for - and collaborates with top brands as a food and product influencer across North America.
Michael LeBlanc 00:04
Welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. My name is Michael LeBlanc, and I am your host. This podcast is produced in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Michael LeBlanc 00:12
Back on the podcast and in an all-new role, veteran retailer, Corey Gillon joins us as the CEO at Peninsula Co-op, Victoria based multi business unit retailer specializing in fuel, convenience, liquor and grocery. Tons of great insights from this global retail leader whose career spanned massive retailers all the way to cannabis startups.
Michael LeBlanc 00:31
Let's listen in now.
Michael LeBlanc 00:33
Corey, welcome back to The Voice of Retail podcast. How are you doing?
Corey Gillon 00:37
I'm doing great, Michael. Thanks for having me.
Michael LeBlanc 00:39
Well, the last time you're on the podcast, different role, different times so really excited to get you back on and learn what you've been up to and what you're doing today. And, and where am I finding you today? Where are you? Where are you sitting?
Corey Gillon 00:50
Yeah, you're finding me in sunny, beautiful, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia to be exact.
Michael LeBlanc 00:57
Fantastic. I went there with my family. I'd been to Vancouver and Victoria a bunch of times, and they, particularly my kids are in their 20s, had never been and I thought they'd like Vancouver more being young 20 Something year olds, but they love Victoria. So, they just loved Victoria. So, they were like, 'Yeah, yeah, another big city'. But Victoria, that was something different. So, I share your enthusiasm for that city.
Michael LeBlanc 01:20
Well, listen, we've kind of jumped right in. Why don't we start for maybe those who didn't hear our first interview aways ago, tell us about yourself, your background, particularly in retail, and what you do for a living today?
Corey Gillon 01:33
Yeah, so currently, my role here, in Victoria, I'm based here as the CEO of a retailer called the Peninsula Co-op. And we are a, essentially a multi business unit retailer kind of spanning three business units being a grocery, liquor, and fuel, and convenience. And for the most part, our business is on Vancouver Island. And our revenues are about $300 million a year, just north of. We just added an acquisition to this business. So, so we'll have a nice little spike going into the next year. Yeah, so that's I think that's currently what I'm doing today.
Corey Gillon 02:18
And my background, as, as you know, Michael, is predominantly retail based. You know, probably to summarize that in the best way, you know, it's been 18 years kind of, you know, cut my teeth, if you will, with, with Walmart. Spent 18 years with them both domestically, and a stint with them internationally. Kind of three functions, I suppose that would kind of round that out, I'd say large scale operations, so (inaudible) through the operations and store business for the most part, for the first part of my career, and ended up running the Western Canadian business overall. Which was a large business, you know, 22,000 odd associates, a $7 billion P&L. So, certainly scale, I think that's one thing that Walmart certainly brings to the party.
Corey Gillon 03:07
Moved later into, on to the international side of the business, spent some time on the M&A side and integration side of the business. And, and ultimately, Walmart at that time, in probably 20, you know, 20,9, 2009, 2010, I was really looking to acquire healthy businesses abroad and for the most part, brick and mortar retailers. And my job was to help support the build out, the valuation model for, for those businesses.
Corey Gillon 03:36
And I ended up being a part of an acquisition that, that led me to a two-year stint of integration in Johannesburg. So, I kind of worked throughout Sub Saharan in Africa for, for two years, which was a really interesting, you know, both professionally and personally,
Michael LeBlanc 03:55
Yeah, no kidding.
Corey Gillon 03:55
I suppose. And then, and then finally, kind of rounded out that in e-Commerce, so I was, was kind of early stage, I suppose omni channel. I don't think, really, I knew what that meant, you know, back in 2009.
Michael LeBlanc 04:09
I'm not sure anybody still does somedays.
Corey Gillon 04:14
Yea, so it was, it was, it was, you know, a very, very early stage business, looking at all the places that they were looking to essentially kind of, you know, integrate our, our physical assets with this new thing called e-Commerce that, that we were doing in Walmart Canada, that for the most part was, we were a little bit late to the party, to be honest. So yeah, so essentially, you know, some time there.
Corey Gillon 04:41
And then and then moving, moved around a lot, you know, from that in different parts of the country, different parts of the world, I think about nine or 10 different cities and countries along the way. And then ended up ended up, I was in Toronto at the time, and working out of Walmart Canada's head office, and I had an opportunity to come back to Vancouver, which was home for me and hadn't lived here in quite some time. It was where family was and place, I really wanted to eventually kind of get back to and joined Aritzia as their Senior Vice President of Retail about six months before they were going public.
Corey Gillon 05:17
And so, I met the founder, fellow named Brian Hill, and, you know, we hit it off quite, quite early and joined their business for, you know, a really interesting, you know, I'd say dichotomy to kind of go from, you know, a very, very large scale retailer to this, this upstart boutique. Although, you know, Aritzia had been around a long time. Certainly, this was this, you know, it was, it was just, just starting to kind of make its tracks into the US, for the most part. So really exciting time to be with that business overall.
Corey Gillon 05:52
And then kind of rounding out my career in retail, before coming to Peninsula Co-op, in, in the startup space. And I think the last time we chatted, I was in the retail cannabis space,
Michael LeBlanc 06:04
Right, Choom, right?
Corey Gillon 06:05
Yes, Choom, you're right.
Michael LeBlanc 06:06
Great brand, yeah.
Corey Gillon 06:08
Really, really you know, it was kind of great to kind of move around from this, you know, the fortune one company, if you will, to, to kind of boutique retail in apparel, and, and obviously, a different position than Walmart, and, and then into the startup space. And really that was, was, I think the big difference, there was kind of the difference between being an executive and being a builder of a company, I think those are very, very different things that I was able to do in that.
Corey Gillon 06:35
And that, that really kind of led we sold that business in, in the summer of 2022. And, you know, I was sitting in the South of France, actually, with me and my wife and my little my young son, and was kind of, you know, contacted by a recruitment firm. And the rest is history, this looks like a really interesting thing to do. And here we are.
Michael LeBlanc 07:00
Well, what a journey you've had. I mean, you know, there's a couple of thoughts off the top, I mean, you know, would you advise this kind of idea that you join, whether it's, you know, Walmart or another major company and anchor your skills in both international, and scale, and scope, and structure, and I guess, a bit of bureaucracy, you can say? I mean, that's how you started your career.
Michael LeBlanc 07:23
But I think it's interesting, because I find there's two kinds of, very broadly speaking, two types of executives, those who thrive in that environment and never want to leave, they're a cog in a big machine, and they work very well on that machine. But sometimes when you take a cog out of a big machine, on its own, it doesn't do so well. So, you're a bit of a unicorn, if I can say, you know, moving from something that gigantic to something very, you know, Choom was very small, but very nimble, right, is that how you saw your career path? Or did you kind of just move that way? Like, how intentional are you from, I'm going to start with someone really big and then work down and in kind of discover, or articulate my entrepreneurial roots? How did you think about that as you moved through your career?
Corey Gillon 08:08
Yeah, good question. You know, I don't think it's intentional as, as it you know, as it may sound, or as linear from it, because it may look,
Michael LeBlanc 08:18
As it will be in the book, right, in the book will be more -
Corey Gillon 08:22
Exactly. This was all planned. I think, what, you know, I think there's, there's the question, I suppose, where you'd say, is it, is it, is it better to start the startup and work your way through to, to a large organization? Is it better start in a large organization and work your way down? I don't know if I have the answer for everybody. But I think for myself, I found that the pedigree certainly that you were able to take from, from a company like Walmart and the learnings from it, is how do you then, the how do you apply them later? And how do you apply them in, in small business, but at the right size?
Corey Gillon 08:57
And, and I think, I guess the part that I found quite, you know, interesting is, is you're right, I think it was very difficult to spend a tremendous amount of time in, in a large organization. Because I think just that, that piece of, you know, you want to be able to build something and I think when I had moved from Walmart and moved to Aristzia, and now working for a founder led organization to be fair, you know, I really started to really get that urgency, if you will, or that, that, that want and need to build, you know, to build something at the end of the day.
Corey Gillon 09:37
Yeah, so all of those sorts of things. It's a very, very different piece. And I think either you thrive in that, or you find it in, you know, motivating or not. And I think, I think there's, there's a balance of all of those things. But I certainly have liked, you know, many parts of my entire journey.
Corey Gillon 09:37
And, and I think, you know, the big difference, you know, when I kind of sit in between executives and, and builders, or managers and builders, I suppose, it's not to pick out one or the other being better than, than the other. But, you know, it's very different than those, you know, many executives, and me included, you know, you're working off a P&L, you're working off of a, you know, an income statement, you're controlling some levers that, that support the organization overall. But you're not raising capital on a given day, you know, you're not managing cash flow in a 13-week window to ensure everyone gets paid at the end of the day from.
Michael LeBlanc 10:34
Well, let's talk about Peninsula Co-op. So, you gave us a brief introduction at the beginning. But for those who aren't aware, 'A' of the co-op structure coming out of the west, and then, 'B' the material fact that you work for customers. So, I'm a member of like a credit union, so I'm very familiar with co-op kind of broad structure. But start with where Peninsula exists in an overall system. And then just a little bit about the, the nature of who owns you, and how that influences how you talk and the decisions you make, and all those different things in that business.
Corey Gillon 11:10
Yeah, it's, you know, and I think even for myself a bit of a, what I believe I've maybe thought I knew, and what I've kind of learned throughout has been, you know, I think a very interesting journey. And so, a cooperative structure essentially, is, as a member owned business, with 116,000 members, essentially that, that own us and, you know, when I speak to folks that are, you know, the most relative, or come from capital markets as an example, I kind of, you know, it's kind of like shareholders, if you will accept no one holds a position of more than one share,
Michael LeBlanc 11:48
Right? And they buy those shares too, right. Just so for, for anyone who doesn't know, you've got to buy your share in The Peninsula Co-op. What is it, $27 today, did I see?
Corey Gillon 11:57
You bet. Yeah, that's a one exactly one-time share buy in and, and that essentially kind of starts to create, what is this really interesting differentiation, and this business Peninsula Co-op has been here, since 1977, its genesis was in grocery, for the most part, that kind of kick started these, you know, the, the business as it is today.
Corey Gillon 12:20
And co-ops kind of come from, for the most part, whether it was lack of services, or you know, for the most part, and so they, they, they tend to, tended to pop up in a lot of places in Western Canada, you know, maybe where there wasn't a chain that, that had moved into those locations as an example, or not the credit union example, maybe some of the big banks hadn't, had kind of stepped in, as some of the, some maybe, some of the reasons why these things, you know, started or existed in the first place.
Corey Gillon 12:49
And is the, the, the, the three big components, as it relates to, you know, our business is the member, in this case is, is essentially our owner, and it's extremely important in this, in fact, elects the members of our board. And it is really the reason from a, from a customer standpoint, or a patronage perspective, if you will, why, why we're, why we're successful. And, you know, when I look at, you know, the idea of being a member, and why you want to shop with the business, it ultimately, beyond kind of supporting a business that you believe is, is, is member, you know, member owned driven, therefore, community based, you know, what we do is in terms of output.
Corey Gillon 13:33
But it also has a cycle that, that makes the business more and more successful. And that is that the members essentially, are, it's a, it's an extremely strong loyalty program as a result. So, so much of our patronage percent, so, you know, member shopping with us, is, is a key metric for us, you know, kind of exceeded 90%, and many of our locations, depending on whether that's in, you know, a fuel and convenience location, or grocery location, or even our liquor store.
Corey Gillon 14:05
So, so I think across those, those things, it very much is a place of differentiation. And I would imagine, when you start to think about, you know, those kinds of true member owned, you know, programs, I would imagine anyone who's running a trend loyalty program in a regular organization, or, or maybe non cooperative structure would, would die for those kinds of numbers. They really get in that kind of loyalty percent. So, so it's kind of a, you know, a full circle, if you will, as it relates to, to the business model.
Michael LeBlanc 14:41
Now, just a little bit more on the business model. So you know, grocery is a scale business to some degree, at the buying level anyway and so you're part of the Federated Co-op business, right, so talk about that a little bit that you share in the buying power of a central organization, yet at the same time, you've got your own co-op and your own members, am I getting that right, is that an accurate description?
Corey Gillon 15:03
Yeah, it's a good, it's, that was, that was probably some of the learnings that, that I had kind of early on and getting a good understanding as to your wholesaling, as a wholesale side of this, where do our products come from and how does that work? And, you know, with us being a member owned to, locally member owned, retail business, a lot of the cooperatives, and I think it's about 160 odd, cooperative retailers, in, in Western Canada, for the most part. And what those groups had done is essentially, you know, at some point, we're looking for leveraged buying power, and how do we kind of pool our resources pool or monies together that sort of thing that so that we can get some, some scale and leverage to your point.
Corey Gillon 15:52
And so, the cooperative retailers, including us, took a position, or own a position of Federated Cooperative. And that is, so that's a Saskatoon based business, that for the most part is, is the wholesale provider of, of grocery, fuel, it's one of, you know, owns, owns a refinery in Regina.
Michael LeBlanc 16:15
Oh, I didn't know that.
Corey Gillon 16:16
So, you might imagine, the significance in terms of how large that is, there's, there's obviously a lot of refineries in Canada to begin with. And, and then as well as you know, some back end services, some accounting services, you know, marketing, those sorts of things that depending in, and providing, you know, structure and governance and that sort of thing, that, that are all kind of a, you know, I guess a good guideline and for, for not only, you know, Peninsula Co-op or some of the other retail, retail systems as well.
Michael LeBlanc 16:49
So, all very important for a business that sometimes buys in tonnage, right, measures sales in tonnage and, and that goes right through to the flyer, right? The flyer is shared by all of you, and, and, and how do you balance, because sometimes I'm sure that not all items come in or arrive, maybe you don't select some of the items, do you, what percentage would you say, when you, when you put the flyer that you cooperate in on the street, are you close to 100%? Or how do you, how do you, how do you even manage that at the, at the store level?
Corey Gillon 17:19
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's a good question. I think, you know, from, from our standpoint, we kind of put out a flyer, and maybe one of the learnings that, that I've had, you know, when you kind of work with a, with a, with a business is, is centralized as supposed is a Walmart, as an example, you know, what you put out on the flyer, that's the invitation to your customers that week, you better have it, you know, at the end of the day.
Corey Gillon 17:44
I think we for the most part strive to, to put what's in the flyer, particularly key items, and make sure they're in place. I think we kind of have the volume that, that supports that. That, that we're able to do that. And I think that there is likely some, from time to time, I probably wouldn't be able to put a percentage to peripheral items that maybe we wouldn't carry. But, but I think when we start to look at that front page, back page mentality, you know, we make sure that we're, we're in a good position for the customer on those things.
Michael LeBlanc 18:14
So, you've moved through big mass merch retail, which of course has a bit of food in it, a lot of food, actually, when you look at where it is today in Canada and the US apparel, consumables, like cannabis and alcohol. So, talk about the differences you're experiencing, not just in the business model, because the business model has to, it takes some time to get your head around., but just in being a grocer, because you're a grocer now, which is, you know, you're also a fuel reseller, alcohol, but primarily, you're a grocer right? What's that adjustment been, like? The vendor relationships, the, just the structure and the pace and, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of publicity around the price of these things for example, on a day-to-day basis, what's that, what's that been like for you?
Corey Gillon 18:59
Yeah, I think, I think a few things, I think the, you know, if I kind of categorize, you know, you know, I look at grocery and maybe I'll categorize them into three buckets, you know, certainly a big box, into the, the Walmart’s, the Costco, the worlds that are, you know, is, is our massive grocery players. They, they, you know, from the time I was there until today, I mean, I think the largest grocer in the world, overall.
Corey Gillon 19:29
You know, the conventional players, although larger in Canada the Loblaws, and the Metros the Sobeys, that sort of thing. And then, you know,
Corey Gillon 19:36
I think where we sit is, is community and, and I think in each one of those buckets, I would you know, think that what, what is important and what we're working on is different than maybe a big box retailer, or a conventional player might be working on. You know, generally all expecting kind of the same, you know, idea in terms of pleasing the customer, but a big box retail They might be more focused on micro fulfillment for rapid delivery as an example, and be investing tremendous amount of dollars, maybe there's some of the conventional players might be doing that as well. We're on the community side, you know, we're kind of, you know, I kind of boiled it down to kind of three things, at least that, that we're focused on the grocery side.
Corey Gillon 20:19
You know, the first one is service. And when I look at, you know, less about the in and out convenience, you know, the speed of customer through the, through the store, we're more focused on, on the service at, at the checkpoint, so whether that's, you know, at the butcher counter, or whether that's at the deli counter, whether that's at the bakery, or in produce. So, I think for the most part services is very important to us. So, at, oddly enough, wanting to increase dwell time, for the customer, (crossover talk) agree. And I think our members kind of speak to that.
Corey Gillon 20:52
The second piece is fresh, and I suspect, you could probably go through those, those three kinds of segments of grocery retail, and I think you probably hear that likely through, through all three.
Corey Gillon 21:06
And I think the third bucket for us, you know, at least that we're focused on is on the private label side. And I think that, that's not only, you know, maybe the traditional sense of wanting to make sure that you're strong, and there for better margins, and some level of exclusivity and so on, but I think it's important for us to have an option, and particularly an option in these days as it relates to value. And, and I think having that, you know, those kind of three components for us is, is, is where we're focused as it relates to a community, a grocery retailer.
Michael LeBlanc 21:41
Now, you said off the top, some, I just wanted to come back to that, that you'd made some acquisition. And it's interesting in a bunch of ways, one is that it's very front forward on the website. It's like, 'Hey, members, we are growing again', which is just a very different tack that, that is typical for a co-op. Talk about the growth, what did you just buy into and why did you do that? And how does that fit into, into the plan and is it, is it, is it a geography plan? Or is it a, let's just, you know, bring together more points of presence, how do you think about that?
Corey Gillon 22:16
Yeah, maybe I'll, I'll start with the plan, and I think that, that'll kind of lead into to the acquisition, and maybe the thought process, and ultimately the pulling the trigger on, on this particular one.
Corey Gillon 22:29
So, as I kind of came into the business, you know, maybe like 11 months ago, 10 months ago now, and in sort of, you know, I think back to buy a very, I would say, progressive board. So, you know, a very, you know, maybe not where I would have thought or perceived, rather a cooperative or to be, and so certainly, and from that, much of what the board was looking for was, 'Hey, we've got a really, really strong, you know, core business here. A good chunk of it is, is fuel based, and is there some sort of, you know, at some point some limit to, to that growth? And so, what do we how do we strike on something today, while we're, while we're, while we're very strong'.
Corey Gillon 23:18
So, kind of coming into, into the business and building out kind of a three year plan, we're really focused on, on, on four things, and the first one was, you know, do, do, do more of what we do really well and that was kind of the exceed and maximize our member relationships. And so, I won't get too much into that bucket, I'll just kind of call it out.
Corey Gillon 23:39
The second one was really focused on being a great place to work. And, and because we know that talent is a challenge, even you know, in parts of the country, where it'd be very desirable to move to, it's still maybe feels like sometimes you're even more challenged to, to attract, and retain, and engage people.
Corey Gillon 24:00
The third one was, was really about building infrastructure in, in the business and so structuring ourselves in a way to become more of a 365 degree retailer. And, you know, and I think that by that bringing in much of our, as it relates to what we were going to do in the future.
Corey Gillon 24:18
And then the fourth bucket, which was around diversification, both products, services and business lines. And so, all of that kind of maps out kind of our four pillars around a strategic plan. That kind of led to, how, it will diversification, what does that look like? And, and within that, how fast do we want to go?
Corey Gillon 24:38
And so, we set, set targets for a fairly fast move, if you will, that we were going to go through, do it through M&A, something that, that had been spending quite a bit of time on in previous life and previous lives, I suppose.
Corey Gillon 24:54
And, and, and you know, ultimately what kind of businesses were we looking at to do that? So obviously the ones that, that we're already in, you know, and expanding those probably makes sense to look at first. And in liquor, we had a fairly small toehold, if you will, in that we only had two, two liquor locations two liquor stores that had come on board as a result of an acquisition about 18 months before I arrived.
Corey Gillon 25:27
And in, we start to look, you know, geography wise, not only where we were, but in other parts of the province as well, that we think that would make a ton of sense to, to acquire and bring into the fold. And the acquisition kind of lead, that we announced, I guess about three weeks ago now, for seven locations, predominantly here in the southern islands, a business called Liquor Express, we picked up seven of their locations, essentially. And so, we'll build that into our portfolio as, as, you know, I would say, a much more significant player in, in liquor retail, and ultimately clustering kind of the markets that we're in.
Corey Gillon 26:11
The, the benefit, I suppose, strategically, Michael, is, you know, we see it in this market in particular, or in our in our home market, as is kind of that halo to our membership, kind of continuing to expand. So, you know, if we can get those kinds of patronage, patronage numbers, you know, that we have in our kind of core business, into our liquor business, you know, I think we're in a really good shape.
Michael LeBlanc 26:34
Yeah, no kidding. Now, now, some of the trends, I wanted to just touch on a couple of trends with you, as we kind of come towards the end of our discussion together. But, you know, first of all, I want to talk since you're now, a liquor retailer, there's, you know, the big thing that may change in the liquor business was, you know, ready to drink beverages. I read a lot about non-alcoholic beverages now, is there anything that that has really grabbed your attention in that business that, other than being there and doing all the great things? Is, there any, any trends you've already picked up on being I know, your, your ears tight to the ground when you invest in these businesses, anything that jumps out that you wanted to share with us?
Corey Gillon 27:13
Yeah, I mean, you know, for me, I'm, I'm a product, you know, merchant at heart, I suppose that that is, that's, that's certainly where I get a ton of excitement from. And so, when I, when we're looking at these businesses, not only kind of, you know, in, in, for me, kind of understanding them, you know, it's the data that comes out and, and what's in the marketplace, you know, the, the RTD, or the ready to drink category is, I mean, there's just, there's a ton of, I feel like there's a new a new product, a new brand that comes out of that every other week. But what's been interesting, I suppose, where they were, you know, maybe more heavily based vodka you know, significant for so long, you're seeing you're seeing, you know, obviously, you know, tequila with the ole, really strong brands RTD drink overall, the gin, you know, kind of additives and mixtures and those that kind of came in more, you know, in the in the last couple years. I don't know if there's, there's a trend I could really kind of speak to but I suppose like most of, you know, in most alcohol pieces now it's reinventing and it's, it's a it's like brand, it's more brand driven. So, I would suspect that we'll probably see a celebrity backing, you know, some RTD drank at some point, you know, maybe it's Ryan Reynolds. I don't know. But,
Michael LeBlanc 28:36
He had a good run. There he had a good run with his gin, aviation Gin. I'm like, ' Why is this guy invest in, vending in this, and investing in this product?' But I think it turned out okay for him.
Corey Gillon 28:46
It sure did. Sure did. Yeah, so yeah, I think there's, you know, I think it's, it's gonna continue to play a role. And I think nonalcoholic is, you know, whether it's the liquor store that is the beneficiary of that, or it's the grocery store, hopefully, we're hedged enough, but I think we're already kind of seeing that. And I think they're, you know, there's just a much better offering to the consumer than there has been in the past. That's for sure.
Michael LeBlanc 29:14
Last couple of quick questions for you. I've been thinking a lot about retail technology. And as you know, people are hard to find, and that is a constant. And that may be for many years to come. So, retailers are turning their mind to different types of technology. But of course, there's a lot of technology. You mentioned earlier on the conversation, you're probably not a big fan of self-checkout, because that's not really your model that kind of, you know, that that kind of on an attended checkout is, you know, for somebody else, maybe but what, what, what in store technology, are you excited about that you think can really make a material difference to the business from a productivity perspective?
Corey Gillon 29:52
Yeah, you know, I guess I had the advantage of, you know, spending quite a time at the leadings end of you retail technology for quite some time, and in going through the phases of, you know, spending a lot of money on things that add very little value to the business, but look neat. You know, we could probably all go back to looking at, you know, the, the giant screen to order products from in the store or the, you know, the way finder, you know, as you kind of walk into a store that probably didn't require that had low utilization of any kind. So, there was, there was lots of things I think, that have come, maybe come and gone,
Corey Gillon 30:38
I think the things that are interesting to me are things that are, that are essentially are creative, to the business and offer value to the customer. So, I think there is a place for self-checkouts in locations, because I think it offers, you know, gives an offering for, for convenience for, for small purchases, therefore kind of opening up, you know, larger checkouts for, for larger purchases, and maybe a better service as a result.
Corey Gillon 31:06
You know, I think the, you know, we just installed the digital shelf tags. And, as a result, you know, we're in a creative in terms of were, we had people, you know, doing that, that labor that work, but also kind of, you know, as it relates to our, our pricing integrity across the store as well, so much, much more significant play. But I think when you kind of go through, you know, many of the things, you know, I think they're, like I said, I think it's very different to that we would be looking for and community grocery being a community grocery versus maybe a big box conventional. But I think there's, I think there's a ton of interesting things yet to come further up the supply chain.
Corey Gillon 31:46
You know, I had recently done some advisory work with a, with a retail an online retailer, and one of the focuses was, was as a marketplace retailer, you know, getting AI to kind of match supplier, early, so that, you know, essentially you kind of improve the supply chain and improve the delivery time to the, to the customer at the end of the day. And ultimately every single customer having literally a different experience as a result. So, so I think there's, there's just so, you know, kind of the adage of belief that if this supplier looks good for this particular product, well, the customer must like more items from that supplier or that factory.
Corey Gillon 32:29
So, so I think just along those kind of lines, there's, there's a ton of things, so those customer facing, whether it has to do with the facility as a result, across the, you know, the actual building, and I think it's lots of things, you know, technology wise to see there. Or whether it's at the product side to the, to those components or, you know, to the operational down to the shelf label and self-checkout type idea. I think, I think they have to be tangible. And I think they have to kind of be real, but you know, it also means different to different types of retailers as well.
Michael LeBlanc 33:05
Last question for you, advice to fellow retailers. And really just, I wanted to hone in on, on career advice, because you've built such a, an interesting career, too, starts and one stop. You know, if someone is listening to this and aspires to a leadership role, to things they should start doing and one thing that yeah, maybe you, through your experience of what you've witnessed, maybe, maybe it doesn't work so well.
Corey Gillon 33:29
You know, at any level of an organization, you know, the people that get things done, at the end of the day, keep keeping that person even if you're not yet noticed, you will be. And, and I think that, that, that's such an important, the underestimated obvious thing. So, people that get things done, you'll eventually be noticed, and you'll have opportunity to do more.
Corey Gillon 33:52
I think the second thing is stop, you know, maybe, you know, maybe this is the stop, I suppose, is thinking it's a, it's a pathway that you have, you know this because I think you'd be disappointed if you believe it's a linear journey, that you want to go from A to B and you see yourself as being the CEO in the company that you're in. I think if you have blinders on and you're focused on that you're likely going to miss out on, on a tremendous amount of opportunity.
Corey Gillon 34:21
And I guess, you know, the counter to that, I guess which would be a go, or continue to, to do more of, or do more of, and that is be open to that opportunity. It's not what you, I can assure you, you know, for most people don't do what you planned. Right. You know, but that's a part of the excitement that's part of the journey and in retail certainly has a tremendous amount of that.
Michael LeBlanc 34:48
Do you think, just quick follow up, do you think retail is still a meritocracy? I mean, I've always viewed it that way and you kind of inferred that as well. You know people notice when people get things done and hit their marks, and hit their numbers, and you know, regardless of where you came from, or how you got there, the merit of what you do is more important than, than many other things.
Corey Gillon 35:11
Yeah, I do. And I think that at the end of the day, whether we talk about all this technology, branding, great location, great product, all of those things require people and, you know, and none of this can be done without great people. So, you know, the people that do well and the people that are successful get noticed. And if it's not today, and sometimes it doesn't feel like it's always on your schedule, it will be and yeah, I truly believe that so I'm probably more in your camp.
Michael LeBlanc 35:48
Well, great advice, Cory and thanks again so much for joining me on The Voice of Retail, it is a real treat to catch up with you. Congratulations on your, both your personal professional success and, and on the growth of the business. I wish you continued success and the growth that business and looking forward to, I'll be in Vancouver in November, and I hope to get over to Victoria swing the door and check it out for myself. But until then, once again, thanks for joining me on the pod.
Corey Gillon 36:12
Thanks so much, Michael. I appreciate it.
Michael LeBlanc 36:14
Thanks for tuning into this episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven't already, be sure and follow on your favorite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically each week. And be sure to check out my other retail industry media properties Remarkable Retail podcast with Steve Dennis, and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. Last but not least, if you're into barbecue, check out my YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbecue with new episodes each and every week.
Michael LeBlanc 36:38
I'm your host Michael LeBlanc, consumer growth consultant, president of M.E. Leblanc and Company Inc., Maven Media, and keynote speaker. If you're looking for more content or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn or visit my website meleblanc.co.
Michael LeBlanc 36:53
Safe travels everyone.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
retail, retailer, business, grocery, member, op, customer, big, suppose, moved, Victoria, acquisition, Walmart, locations, good, peninsula, structure, liquor, place, product