Enhanced displays give the retailer’s store a fresh, modern look.
In May of this year, SAS Retail Services’ Regional Vice President Tom Dennis and his team were presented with a fantastic but challenging opportunity by a Wisconsin-based grocery company. They would be offered the chance to support the retailer’s remodeling project, an aggressive plan to update 28 stores in Northern Wisconsin. The catch? The team would need to hire 400 associates in 45 days.
“There were so many obstacles that we faced with this project,” says Dennis. “First, we were hiring in a tough market, and second, we were doing it in a short period of time. Third, we were figuring out how we could strategically allocate resources.”
Capitalizing on the experience of developing a dedicated merchandising program for the retailer in 2015, the SAS team rose to the occasion and accomplished their recruiting goals in record time. Now the team has moved onto the execution stage of the project, having set a goal to complete 6-7 stores per week, with employees dedicating an average of 3,750 working hours per location. As a testament to their capabilities, the remodel teams have actually been finishing each store ahead of schedule.
According to the retailer, the individual stores that have been completed to date are seeing big increases in sales, showing the clear difference that SAS Retail Services can make for retailers. The project will continue in the Madison market through the end of the year, and the SAS team will move on to tackle the retailer’s Milwaukee market in 2017.
“I could not be more proud of our program,” says Corey Wiesner, SAS Program Manager for the retailer. “The remodeling project has been a total team effort. It’s truly impressive what has been accomplished within a short period of time.”
“I have one word: Amazing,” continues Dennis. “The time and the energy the team put into this in order to pull it off is amazing. These guys deserve all the credit in the world.”
“Things are going well and I am hearing very positive things from the store teams. They had great praises for the SAS Project Managers. The team has jumped in and helped on sets, equipment and replenishment—it’s been great!”
– Retailer Executive – Retail Support Services