Industry Leaders Speak | The Shelby Report

Category: Industry Leaders Speak

Non-Food For Thought: Home Field Advantage

By Naomi Sleeper, President, Imperial Distributors Inc. Non-Food for Thought is back. After a few-year hiatus, we are relaunching this column as a forum for sharing perspective on the trends, opportunities and challenges shaping non-food merchandising in the grocery channel. There may not be a more relevant time to renew these discussions than Summer 2026 […]

Real-Time Insight For Real Results: Giving Independent Grocers Control Over The Decisions That Drive Profit

Independent grocers operate in one of the most demanding areas of retail. Margins are tight, labor is unpredictable and vendor costs can change without warning. Yet many store leaders still rely on month-end reports or spreadsheets that arrive long after the moment to adjust has passed. That delay makes it harder to lead with confidence. […]

Commercial Ripening 2026: An Interview With David Byrne

Commercial ripening has come a long way over the past 30 years. From air-stacking boxes in temperature-controlled holding rooms to today’s ultra-advanced, digitally controlled ripening room systems that can uniformly ripen multiple truckloads of palletized fruit to the exact same color at the exact same time. As the global leader in commercial ripening room design […]

Labor Pressures Rising: How Independent Grocers Can Control Costs Without Cutting Corners

Labor has always been essential to operations and one of the biggest factors influencing the bottom line. However, in fiscal 2024, labor and benefits costs climbed to new highs, putting even more pressure on already thin margins. According to the 2025 Independent Grocers Financial Study by FMS and NGA, total expenses increased to 25.8 percent […]

Posted inMerchandising News, Independent Store News, Industry Leaders Speak, National

Winning the Shrink Battle – How Independent Grocers Can Maximize Their Margins

by Sommer Stockton

Sponsored content Shrink silently chips away at profits through outdated product, theft, overstocking, damage and errors. These losses aren’t just missed revenue – they lead to dissatisfied customers and reduced reinvestment opportunities. Reducing shrink isn’t just about cutting losses – it’s about gaining clarity, control and profitability in a competitive industry. Shrink is the difference […]

Posted inCoborn's, Association News, Industry Leaders Speak, National

NGA CEO Greg Ferrara & Coborn’s SVP Dennis Host On Grocery Innovation, Opportunity

by Sommer Stockton

Sponsored content With a shared passion for supporting independent grocers and cultivating the next generation of industry leaders, Greg Ferrara, President and CEO of the National Grocers Association, and Dennis Host, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Coborn’s, a 135+ location Midwest chain, discuss Host’s unconventional path into the grocery industry, key lessons he’s learned […]