Ukrop’s – A Passion for the Grocery Business

As a young man, I moved into the Richmond area knowing nothing about Ukrop’s stores. I was in Richmond a short time before the name meant something to me. In fact, as a high school student, it was the place to work. At 18, I got at the job at the grocery store icon and worked for seven years. The corporate culture was one of family and close relationships. Sure, some of the employees could go elsewhere and possibly make more money but many stayed because they felt at home and comfortable in the Ukrop's setting.

Fast forward almost 30 years and Ukrop’s is still a major player in the Richmond grocery market. The company has grown, the founder has passed away, and the culture seems to have changed into a big town company with a big town atmosphere. This change in culture has unfortunately affected the loyalty of employees and customers. People don’t seem to have the same affection towards Ukrop’s as they did at one time.

So, at this point, one might ask the following questions

Does company management see the changes as others have?
Is the culture really changing or is it just bad press?
Is the company actively trying to determine the current culture of employees and customers and if changes have occurred, what forces are causing these changes?

These are just three questions the leadership at Ukrop’s should be asking. I think one could rest assured that effective leaders would be trying to determine the answers to these questions to ensure survival of the company. After all, this company has been in existence nearly 75 years with a strong tradition of providing excellent customer and community service.

We are forgetting one thing though; this company has been lead by the Ukrop’s family and they are are now beginning to transition leadership to a third generation. Does this third generation have the same passion for the grocery business as the past two generations? Are they interested in modeling the way, inspiring a shared company vision and challenging the status quo ((James Kouzes and Barry Posner, 2007, The Leadership Challenge, p. 15-18)? If not, is the current generation going to stay in the game and lead or just give up?

With the recent news from the Richmond Times-Dispatch of Ukrop’s efforts to solicit bids to sell the chain, its becoming clear generation is beginning to check out of the game (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/UKROGAT14_20090714-170001/279912/P20/). This news, which was further confirmed this month, makes it clear that the interest in the grocery business is growing weaker within the Ukrop family (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/UKROGAT06_20091006-095802/297752/).

At this point in the game, the most important question for me is not whether Ukrop’s will be sold in the near future. My most pressing question is “Will company leadership provide the wisdom and guidance needed during this time to keep the company a leader in the business?” My concern is the answer to this question is "no" and company leadership is already moving their furniture out. For the employees, remember to play all nine innings, not just the first eight.