Exchange’s Future is Bright — President/CMO Ana Middleton
What are your top priorities as President/Chief Merchandising Officer?
I am extremely excited about the future of the Exchange. On Jan. 11, the Department of Defense signed a letter announcing a policy change to allow all honorably discharged veterans to shop the Exchange online. Copies of the memorandum were sent to lawmakers on four House and Senate committees, and if no objections are raised within 30 days, we can launch the Veterans Online Shopping Benefit on Nov. 11—Veterans Day—and welcome home about 15 million shoppers.
In my over 30 years with the Exchange, I can arguably say this is the most significant event in my career. It’s a game-changer for the organization and helps ensure the Exchange benefit thrives for Soldiers, Airmen and their families. I could not be prouder to state that “I was there when our CEO, Tom Shull, made our VOSB dream a reality.”
Flawlessly launching this new benefit is Exchange’s top priority for 2017. Preparing for approximately 15 million potential customers takes unparalleled teamwork across the entire organization. The Exchange’s e-commerce Senior Vice President Karen Cardin, Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer Phil Stevens and Omnichannel SVP Mickey Bradford are on the front lines, leading the effort to upgrade the shopmyexchange.com platform to strengthen site stability and improve the customer experience.
Our EVP & Chief Logistics Officer Karen Stack and the rest of the LG team have upgraded technology in our distribution centers to optimize the supply chain in preparation for this opportunity. EVP & Chief Operating Officer Dave Nelson is working with e-commerce Operations Vice President David Lemons, region SVPs and VPs, store managers and associates to roll out and hone our Ship-from-Store (SFS) capabilities. SFS will be essential to ensure we excel in service to our Nation’s veterans. The role of our main stores associates cannot be overstated; these associates play an integral role in delivering this benefit as we evolve into a store/fulfillment center hybrid model. With SFS capabilities, we are able to lower shipping costs and, more importantly, get the product to our customers faster.
Exchange Credit Program SVP Jami Richardson and EVP & Chief Financial Officer Jim Jordan are reviewing our MILITARY STAR® program so it meets the needs of returning customers. Working alongside EVP & Chief Human Resources Officer Leigh Roop and the e-commerce leadership team, they are building our call-center capacity and developing training for associates who will assist customers using the new benefit. Corporate Communication Director Judd Anstey and his team are using social media to help spread the word at a grassroots level and answer customer questions. This truly is an unparalleled team effort to support this historic opportunity!
Reimaging our Express stores is another priority. The rebranding effort in our Main Stores – through elevated experiences like Be Fit- has been widely accepted by our customers. While we will continue to roll out the new Main Store concepts we realized our convenience stores needed an upgraded experience Convenience Channels Vice President Sean Shaw, Store Experience and Design Vice President Eric Sidman and PAR Director Eric Boen are the architects of our new convenience store experience. The Big Red One Express at Fort Riley, Kan., is the first location to debut the new experience, with an updated grab-and-go section to compete with increased convenience store competition outside the gate. We’re also revolutionizing our checkout lines to drive impulse sales and launching a new Class Six experience that invites customers to try new products.
We must think of our store assortments as ‘boundaryless’ – not constrained by the product selection within our store Consistent with our SFS strategy, and in order to successfully compete in this fiercely competitive environment, we need to look beyond ‘who gets credit for the sale.’
Do you expect any challenges in 2017 and how do you plan to overcome them?
The retail industry, especially brick-and-mortar stores, has been under fierce competitive pressures for the last 10 years. All you have to do is listen to the news to hear about store closures, staff layoffs, etc., to fully appreciate the challenges we are facing, especially from online forces.
The Exchange must also adjust to continuing sales declines in tobacco, impacts of decreased OCONUS cost of living allowances as a result of a stronger dollar and the persistent uncertainty that surrounds the commissary benefit. All of these issues have the capacity to negatively affect Exchange sales, earnings and dividends.
While there are many near- and long-term technology initiatives we are pursuing (e.g. Wi-Fi in all our stores, near-/real-time inventory feeds, MILITARY STAR mobile wallet, concierge mobile app capabilities, beacon technology, etc.) to combat these challenges, there are actions we can take right now, in-store and online, to elevate the customer shopping experience.
Customer expectations have changed drastically. Stores like Sephora and Ulta have turned the cosmetic business upside down and elevated the shopping experience to be responsive to how ”she” shops, not how the industry wants her to shop. These stores have associates who actively engage with their customers, assisting them on the sales floor and recommending solutions. This is what customers are demanding today, and it must become our standard for service— engage, assist and recommend. Simply stated, we must ‘be there’ for our customers.
We must think of our store assortments as ‘boundaryless’ – not constrained by the product selection within our store Consistent with our SFS strategy, and in order to successfully compete in this fiercely competitive environment, we need to look beyond ‘who gets credit for the sale.’ Leveraging tablets on the sales floor to showcase the breadth of our online assortment increases the probability we will close the sale before the customer leaves the store. Go beyond closing the sale – explain the benefit of having a Military Star card, especially to younger families trying to establish credit. The MILITARY STAR card was recognized two years in a row for having the lowest APR for in-store credit cards—a true value to service members and their families.
Major online retailers have elevated the customer experience for online and changed the expectation of what good service means. Same day delivery, in the industry, currently is confined to urban areas – but rural customers are enjoying next day or two day service levels. By rolling out the majority of our Main Stores as SFS fulfilment centers, the Exchange will be well-positioned to meet this customer expectation.
Understanding our customers’ buying habits in stores and online is critical. Business Development Senior Vice President Dr. Jim Skibo and his team are gleaning customer insights from the data to help us deliver more personalized marketing. Working with the e-commerce and Marketing teams, we will be in a better position to segment our engagement and deliver a more meaningful message to customers.
With more than 80 percent of Exchange associates connected to the military, we share a unique connection with our customers that no other commercial retailer can duplicate. “Family serving family” is more than words; it’s a promise to be there wherever the mission takes our customers.
What is your philosophy on leadership and motivating associates?
What an interesting question. My philosophy on leadership is to hire the right talent, develop and share a strategic vision with them and trust their capabilities. I have always thought of myself as a lifelong student. I am very fortunate to work with an incredibly passionate, committed and talented team and pride myself on knowing when to get out of their way.
The Merchandising Directorate team has a wealth of industry knowledge, and I learn from them every day. The team includes:
- Newly-promoted SVP of eCommerce Karen Cardin
- Tammie Shelmire, VP softlines division
- Chris Burton, VP hardline division
- Sean Shaw, VP convenience channels
- Debbie Zarsk, VP ebusiness
- Eric Boen, PAR director
- David Lemons, VP eCommerce merchandise
- Martha Robuck, PAR director
- Eric Sidman, VP store experience and design
- Shirley Strano, PAR director
- Brad Nash, VP omnichannel marketing
I am inspired by their “all-in” commitment to the mission and am honored to be their teammate. The Merchandising Directorate team is motivated to protect and preserve the Exchange benefit for those great Americans who raised their right hand, took the oath and make a difference.
Is there anything else you would like associates to know about you and your plans for the Exchange?
I am a product of the communities we so passionately serve. As the daughter of an Air Force chief master sergeant, I love our mission and truly embrace our core value of “family serving family.” When a customer writes to complain about an online order that missed the mark or bad customer service in our stores, I take that personally because we never want to let a fellow family member down. With more than 80 percent of Exchange associates connected to the military, we share a unique connection with our customers that no other commercial retailer can duplicate. “Family serving family” is more than words; it’s a promise to be there wherever the mission takes our customers.
