| Marketing
genius Stew Leonard is thumbs up on UB and its students
President
Neil A. Salonen and Stew Leonard are thumbs up on
UB. |
tew Leonard runs a hugely successful chain of supermarkets
in Connecticut and New York. These private stores beat
back industry giants.
John
Dry, who teaches marketing in the business school, brought
Leonard to UB recently to tell business students some
of his secrets. In the process, Leonard had a delightful
time with the students and others at UB. He said UB
is a gem, and a university he wants to make stand out
as his markets do.
What
does he owe to his success? Leonard said there are any
number of rules of common sense and economics to follow,
But he said the real secret is the satisfied customer.
Respond to what the customer wants, whether it’s
fresh food, good prices, tasty dishes or foods that
are unique to the neighborhood or improvements in service.
"Every customer comment is read," he said. "A lot of
them may be complimentary or say something you already
know. But every so often something really great appears
- a tip, a hint, a lead - that tells us something more
we can do." He said you watch, you listen, you act,
and if something seems impossible, figure it out so
it's possible.
Leonard’s formula pays off. His stores in Norwalk,
Danbury and New York’s Westchester County have
run up annual sales of nearly $250 million. Part of
the secret, he says, is in letting managers run their
own stores so they can cater to their particular market
and not just be a carbon copy of the other stores.
Leonard, who has an MBA from UCLA, has his business
cited in "A Passion for Excellence" and "Thriving on
Chaos" as one of America’s best run companies.
It is also cited by the Guinness Book of World Records
for the most sales - $3,000 - per square foot.
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