With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1406705
68 BCBUSINESS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 stores, not just the manage- ment team but as many employees as he can talk to," Hazra adds of Jones. "Having grown up in the company, he's very passionate about their growth and success." Save-On-Foods likes to promote people from within for a couple of reasons, Jones explains. "No. 1, they understand the culture of our company, which is maybe just a little bit different," he says of the 106-year-old business. Second, with about 20,000 staff under its three banners, which also include Urban Fare and PriceSmart Foods, the company keeps a close eye on succession planning. "Giving people the opportunity to grow and to take on bigger responsi- bility is a big part of our success story," Jones says. "Because the best entrepreneurs are the ones that come from within, as far as we're concerned." Along with setting goals, it's crucial to give staff autonomy, Jones argues. For example, if the goal is to increase a store's sales by 10 percent, the manager is left to figure that out. "There may be certain guidelines, but you have to make those as loose as possible and give people the freedom to do what they think is best to run their business." Under Jones, Save-On- Foods has grown its store count by almost 50 percent, to 184. The company has delivered on his sales goal, too, after boosting revenue significantly during the 2020 fiscal year. It got through the main stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic without any store closures, Jones says. "We were as successful as you can be in difficult times, and I think that is largely due to our team members and the fact that they felt safe and felt comfort- able coming in." Asked what's next for Save- On-Foods, Jones notes that it's now the second-largest grocery player in Western Canada, on track to reach 200 stores by 2024. "Once we're No. 1, we'll look for the next spot to go, whether that's further east or down south." To that end, he says the business is fortunate to be privately owned, which lets it take a longer-term view. "Stock market companies tend to measure themselves by the last four months, whereas we measure ourselves over a five- year period." Besides focusing on the customer, an entrepreneur should avoid living in fear, Jones says. "Whatever you do, you don't want to risk your company on trying something new," he warns. "But if you're not trying something new and different and continuing to try and differentiate yourself from your competitors, you won't be in business very long." –N.R. E N T R E P R E N E U R O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 2 1 20 21 Watch for the Amplify Canada Podcast where you nd your favourite podcasts. Produced by: CELEBRATING LOCAL BC BUSINESSES WHO AMPLIFY OUR COMMUNITIES Visit pattisonmedia.com for more information.