The Fresh Market CEO Craig Carlock is very confident in his company’s strategic priorities, which focus on engaging customers through differentiated shopping experiences.
It was those efforts that grew the company’s store base and drove customer traffic that resulted in a 15% increase in sales during the third quarter fiscal 2014. During the company’s Nov. 20 third-quarter financial results conference call, Carlock discussed strategic priorities which have sparked brand loyalty.
“Last month, during our Analysts Day event, we announced several key areas of focus for the company; provide a unique and differentiated shopping experience, compete successfully across markets, deliver robust store unit growth, and pursue structural and operational initiatives to protect operating margin,” Carlock said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. “As we look to the fourth quarter and beyond, we believe that we’re well positioned to continue to grow in large part due to our unique and differentiated shopping experience. Earlier this year we commissioned a national research firm to conduct qualitative and quantitative customer and consumer research on an impressive 10 [ph] scale for our company. The research provided insights into broader consumer trends and confirmed many of our strengths and some opportunities.”
Carlock said that consumers are increasingly shopping multiple channels and retailers as they seek more variety, shop more spontaneously, and focus on convenience to meet a growing number of eating occasions.
“Feedback we received from a broad sampling of TFM and non-TFM shoppers revealed that they enjoy our high quality and fresh assortment of products as well as our unique and enjoyable shopping experience,” he said. “They enjoy the stimulating sense of discovery and they appreciate the high touch customer service. They also view our stores as special, a place for special foods, special experiences and special service and we believe that we’ve a real opportunity to help customers seek out a special experience 
more often.”
Carlock believes the company’s “greatest opportunity lies more in increasing the frequency with which our customers shop our stores than in acquiring new customers. And as consumers move up in frequency, we also observe a positive correlation in their spending per trip. Our focus is on establishing ourselves in the minds of our customers as the best choice for special shopping trips and inspiring them to have special food experiences more often.”
Carlock said the company plans to expand their efforts in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve refined our offering and we’re extending the mailings to more homes, targeting those customers and potential customers whose demographics and proximity to The Fresh Market stores scored the highest in our tests,” he explained. “Our focus is on profitable sales growth primarily through driving increased frequency with a secondary objective of attracting new customers.”
The Fresh Market started in 1982 in Greensboro, N.C. and now has more than 100 stores in over 20 states across the nation.