Cole's Goals Include More Than Growth by Dave Brumbaugh Craig Cole doesn't strive to survive in the consolidating world of supermarkets. He wants Brown & Cole Stores to be profitable without sacrificing a commitment to its employees and the communities it serves. “'s the challenge of trying to do it the right way, chuckles Cole, the majority owner, president and chief executive officer of the Bellingham-based company. While an interview was interspersed with several light moments, Cole is driven by the task of running a company with $425 million in grocery sales in 1999. After making several major acquisitions that nearly quadrupled the company's sales in four years, Cole knows that his company could be a takeover target itself. However, a life of leisure isn't his goal and he has no plans to sell, despite occasional inquiries. When I'm happiest is when I'm working hard and working long hours, declares a man just a month short of his 50th birthday. Collaborative management Cole also isn't opting for the easy way in managing Brown & Cole's phenomenal growth. Most companies with 36 stores in three states would try to make each one the same. Fewer differences will reduce operational costs. Fewer top-level executives will make decisions faster, according to the theory. “'s easier to have an autocratic, centralized system, Cole says. However, Brown & Cole involves hundreds of its employees in the development of three-year strategic plans. About 300 of the 2,500 employees were invited to a company retreat that focused on the company's direction. Phrases such as “collaborative management, “appropriate democracy and “shared vision permeate the company's cornerstone philosophies. Managers are evaluated by subordinates on their fulfillment of a company leadership pledge, which starts as follows: I recognize that team members are our most important asset and that each one has something to contribute. Leadership is a form of service and, as a leader (rather than a ‘boss'), it is my duty to serve the interests of my team members, customers and company. Cole adds, “We think it is the best (management style) for the most people. Also, when Brown & Cole acquires a store, it takes time to survey its employees and customers before making any changes. Rather than being afraid of having too many cooks in the kitchen, Cole invites employees and customers to come in, taste the soup and suggest changes. To work here, we should not require that people be robots, he remarks. “People are different; so are customers. This management style fits with what Cole sees as his strengths: judging the talent and quality of current and potential employees and corralling an organization to implement a strategy. When it comes to a company vision, he is a contributor rather than the sole creator. While such statements and philosophies are impressive, Cole admits the company has far to go in fulfilling them. There are many, many untapped ways that we can use the talent and wisdom of our employees, he states. Rapid growth Brown & Cole has come a long way from the Lynden store started by Linden “Lynn Brown and George Cole (Craig's grandfather) in 1909. When Craig Cole joined the company as a vice president in 1979, it had only two stores in Ferndale about $26 million in annual sales. When he became president in 1989, sales were around $40 million. The company became more active in buying individual stores in the Pacific Northwest. However, its growth mushroomed with the acquisition of Burlington-based Thrifty Foods in 1997 and Bellingham-based Ennen Food Stores last year. Brown & Cole now is one of only 64 companies in the country that have at least 25 grocery stores Brown & Cole supermarkets, led by its Cost Cutter and Food Pavilion brands, are concentrated in Whatcom and Skagit counties and the Yakima Valley, although stores are as far away as McMinnville, Ore. and Whitefish, Mont. We believe growth by acquisition is the most cost-effective and least-intrusive way of growth, Cole states. The practical side of the strategy boils down to dollars and cents for a company that positions itself as the low-cost provider of groceries in most markets. On average, Brown & Cole will spend $1 million-$2 million to remodel a store and $8 million-$10 million to buy property and build a store. You can't build a $10 million building and be the low-cost provider, Cole remarks. The other reason for acquisitions is based on his overall sense of a company's role in a community and its environmental responsibilities. Cole is disturbed by the sight of retail stores opening new buildings on the edge of a city while downtown buildings are vacant. He laments the continuing loss of open space and farmland in Whatcom County, although Cole did more than his share to stop this trend. In the early 1990s, he led development and adoption of the county's “Natural Heritage Plan, which led to the ongoing preservation of many key natural features such as shorelines, forest land and habitat areas. We don't believe the way to grow is to pave over every field, he declares. Community involvement Cole's concern for communities and the general public has deep roots. He has been a staff member and later a commissioner for the Washington State Human Rights Commission, a board member and founding chair of the Whatcom Transportation Authority and a member and past chair of the Western Washington University Board of Trustees, the Whatcom County Council and Bellingham YWCA. He also has been involved in numerous trade groups and advised several governors. Brown & Cole follows his lead by providing funds, resources and time for employees involved in community efforts. The company given support to more than 2,000 organizations and events, including the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis in Bellingham and a drive to rebuild an historic Catholic church in the Yakima area. We like to get behind employees in what they're involved in, Cole remarks. Despite some involvement in politics and government entities, Cole has no desire to seek an elected office, citing the lack of privacy and time demands that go with such positions. Elected office is a grind, he says. “You have little control over your time and your time with your family. Local customization Brown & Cole, as do most businesses, realizes that retention of customers is at least as important as initially attracting them. The company's credo is “Please the customer first and authorizes all team members – from clerks to senior vice presidents – “to do all lawful things that will please the customer. In conjunction with the company's philosophy of empowering employees, Brown & Cole emphasizes “local customization. Rather than converting a new store into a clone of others in the company, Brown & Cole gives store managers and employees the power to adapt to meet the needs of their customers. As his wife Sue, the company's public affairs manager, describes it, “The people who work at the Sunnyside store know what the people in Sunnyside want. This belief led Brown & Cole to adjusts its product mix for Hispanic and Dutch customers in Sunnyside, the Filipino community in Wapato and lovers of organic foods in Skagit County. We try to capture the economies of scale of a regional chain while customizing local stores, Cole remarks. “. . . It's hard for regional chains to do. It's almost impossible for a national chain to do. Yet national chains such as WalMart, Safeway, Costco, Kroger (Fred Meyer), Safeway and Albertson's – competitors in many of his company's markets – have economies of scale much larger than those of Brown & Cole. The grocery industry is a very competitive field and “local customization won't mean anything if results don't show up at the bottom line. It's a challenge that Craig Cole loves and the reason his company isn't for sale. Some things are more important than money. . . . It's very fulfilling (work).
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