back earlier in my career is I had a team member that was super excited about coaching her daughter's soccer team.But she was worried because on Wednesdays for her to get to the game, it meant she had to leave by three o'clock every Wednesday.
And she was very, you know, and she had shared that with me in a one-on-one.
And her having that vulnerability to share that with me allowed me on Wednesdays that when I was in my office and I saw it was three o'clock and if I didn't see her getting up from her desk, I'd walk out and say, hey, it's time for you to go.
If you're going to make the game, you got to go.But that only happens if there's that trust and transparency back and forth.
Welcome to Retail Gets Real, where we hear from retail's most fascinating leaders about the industry that impacts everyone, everywhere, every day.
I'm Bill Thorne from the National Retail Federation, and on today's episode, we're talking to Corey O'Neill, Chief Omnichannel Sales and Asian Emerging Markets Officer at Kraft Heinz.
We're going to talk to Corey about his career and current role at Kraft Heinz, and how the company tailors its omnichannel strategies to different global markets. Corey O'Neill, welcome to Retail Gets Real.
Thanks, Bill.It's such a pleasure to be here with you and really looking forward to our conversation.
Now, you are on my screen, but you are somewhere else.Where are you right now?
I am in my office in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
That is a really nice office.I thought it was your den.
Thank you.Thank you.All credit goes to my wife, Karen.
Very well done.I probably need her to come to D.C.at some point in time and give me some clues on how to do mine a little bit better.Career journey and current role.I mean, you've done a lot, Corey.Yeah.
Tell us how you started, where you are, and how you got there.
Yeah, so my first job out of college was carrying a sales bag for Hershey chocolate calling on grocery stores.And so I would focus on the execution and the selling and distribution and building of displays.
And it's really was a great place to really start my journey and realize the value of execution and winning.
And I just had a ton of amazing experiences across many channels, different routes to market, warehouse, DSD, and a ton of geographies, including Canada and around the world, working for leading CPG companies.
What's cool is my career has come full circle and I'm back at Kraft Heinz.And the big reason why I came back was for the transformation we we've been on.
And, you know, within the last nine months, actually, I have a new role where I've been tapped to lead global omnichannel sales, working with our four zones and the sales organizations, and then also leading our one of the four zones, our Asia emerging market zone.
And so getting, loving the opportunity to leverage, you know, areas of expertise and sales and omnichannel, but then also learning new markets, new consumers, new cultures.It's just been so much fun.
So three things.One is, so you started with chocolate and you were doing all this.So when I started out of college, I was with Frito-Lay.So I started with chips and actually started with grandma's cookies.So do you eat a lot of chocolate still?
I do, I do.I have a sweet tooth.I have a big, big sweet tooth.Yeah, I don't eat, I don't know that I've had a grandma's cookie in about 30 years.Number two is, so you're doing these Asian markets.When do you sleep?
That is a really good question.There's many days that my days start at, uh, 3 34 in the morning and they'll go tell 10 or 10 11 o'clock at night.And I think it's just about managing your schedule.
And my big thing is, is I really want to make sure that I don't want my schedule to disrupt other schedules.And so I really try to,
tailor my schedule and meeting times to when it's business hours for our teammates around the world, but there's some days where there's not a lot of sleep for sure.
The only reason I ask that question is we just completed this year our first show in Singapore. And so all of our coordinating meetings were at various times of the late nights and early mornings.
And when I was looking at the work that you're doing, I thought, that guy never sleeps.That's got to be really, really hard.
And then the third question I had based off of your answer was, so some of those markets, some of those countries, what countries are we talking about?
China and Indonesia are two of our priority markets and priority emerging markets.And then we work with 20 plus countries in Southeast Asia as well.And China and Indonesia, though, are two really big focus markets for us.They're big markets.
Yeah, yeah.Big markets and future for growth, right?Potential for growth as well.
Oh, for sure.So in the omni-channel approach and the growth in the Asian emerging markets, I mean, omni-channel is incredibly important.How does that work in that scenario and particularly in the growth in the Asian markets?
So everything starts with what we call perfect go to market.And it's really about identifying the space where you want to play.
And so what we have is we've built a repeatable model where we go in and we say, what are the right stores, the right places that we want to be?And then what's the right model in terms of how we want to call on them?
meaning what distributors, what type of sales organization do we need.And then the third piece of that is then making sure that we've got the right portfolio.So as we think about emerging markets in general, not just China or Indonesia,
We usually have what we would call a local jewel or a local jewel portfolio.So in China, we have a brand called Masters, Master of Soy Sauce.
But then we're also looking to expand our global brands, Western Taste Elevation, so our Heinz brand, which is our biggest global brand that we have.
And a lot of times in emerging markets, it's really about driving the penetration of the category through education of how do consumers use Heinz ketchup or Heinz mayo, whatever that might be.
And we do that through, we drive that penetration through education.And so if we drive category penetration as the global leader, we'll obviously benefit from that in a big way.
You know, it's really interesting because I think about products that we have here in the United States or even Europe to some degree.
But then you think about Asian markets and, you know, I've had the opportunity to travel in a lot of Asian countries and, you know, they have different tastes.I mean, obviously, they do things a lot differently.I mean, so you have a ketchup product.
Is the ketchup product that is being introduced in some of these countries the same ketchup product that we would have here in the States?
Yeah, a lot of times it is, and sometimes there's some nuances, but there's a level of quality that Heinz stands for that we always make sure is always there.
Yeah, that's so interesting.So, customers in these markets, how are they shopping today?I mean, is it, you know, we, I think as a result of the pandemic, so much is done online with the stores now, and yet, is that kind of universal?
Yeah, absolutely.When we think about how customers are shopping today, there's really three big things that I would highlight.You touched on the first one.
Technology has created or enabled a connected omni-channel experience, and the pandemic really drove that.When you think about a shopper today, they can see a Heinz commercial on Paramount+,
to engaging with us on a Heinz burger recipe on their mobile phone, and scanning a QR code in-store in brick-and-mortar retail to win a raffle on a Heinz grill.
I think the job to be done for us as an industry is making sure that across that connected experience, it feels the same and you're building on top of that.
The other piece, the second thing I would just highlight, and this isn't new, you hear a lot of folks talk about this, is people are very focused on value.
And families are managing their cash flow to maximize the value of the food that they put on their table.And there are things that they've done in the past, but we see them doing new things too, like increasing the number of shopping trips.
Shopping multiple stores or channels like Dollar and Club to looking for deals, but also having different buying patterns.
Buying bigger sizes at the beginning of the month when there's more money available to buying smaller sizes at the end of the month to stretch that dollar.We've had to adjust as a CPG company.
We're changing pack sizes, we're expanding our distribution to where the consumer is shopping. providing more entry-level price points, expanding SKUs into dollar channels, increasing our offerings in club channels.
We've increased our club offerings by 20% this year and launched some products exclusive within club, like a multi-serve Capri Sun.But, you know, making sure that we're
catering to and that we're attracting people who see, you know, just an absolute lower price point, but also those that are looking for that value on a price per ounce or a price per gram.
Yeah.So your online presence is pretty robust.
Yeah, very much so.I think a great example of that, right, is one is, you know, Instacart today.They now have 98% coverage of US retailers.And so online shoppers can browse They've also integrated with Uber and Ibotta into their platform.
At Walmart, they've got 120,000 items available in a super center, but online shoppers can browse over 50 million items online.And so when we think about
you know, the online piece before we used to always think about things like perfect store of how do I create the perfect store environment across distribution, shelving, merchandising and pricing.We now have to think about perfect screen.
Do I have the right content availability, ratings and reviews and search and defining what perfect looks like in that.And that's a big job to be done for our global omni channel team and developing those standards and capabilities.
And the way we talk about a bill is we want to build capabilities that are fit to win.
But do it in a fit for purpose way for the local country so that the execution is is right for what winning looks like in that in that local market.
Yeah, it's really interesting.I think back to when the online was beginning to bubble up.I mean, in terms of being a critical and important part of our growth strategy and what we were offering then versus what we offer today.
and the fact that it's a global company.So making sure that you're doing not necessarily what's working in America, but working in some of the countries where you have a presence.And it's nonstop.
I mean, and the pace of change is just, is extraordinary.I do remember one time that I was talking to somebody from Macy's and they were talking about when they first rolled out, they had two buyers.
They had a buyer for online, they had the buyer in the store.So people would go online and they'd be like, oh, I love that red dress.I'm gonna be downtown, so I'll just buy it when I get to Macy's. but they didn't have one.
They had blue dresses because the buyer bought it for online, but the other buyer, the store buyer, didn't buy it for the stores.So it's just this evolution.It seems so simple, but it's just been this process that's gone.
And to think of the international impact of what you all have to deal with, given the breadth and the depth of where you are and what you're doing, that's almost incomprehensible.It's a lot.
I think the piece that's really important is, first, there's an insight that all purchases, 65% of all purchases, are influenced digitally.
And when you think about that example you gave of making sure that what's available online is available in-store, or that there's clarity for the shopper or the consumer in that.
And then the second piece is, and the value that we believe we get out of having a global center of excellence around Omnichannel, is a lot of times when we think about a global center of excellence or a global team is taking things from global to local.
And that's absolutely, you know, there's areas where that makes sense. But the idea of being able to take local best practices and scale it globally is also just such a huge opportunity for us.
And we get a lot of learnings from China in the digital ecosystem and the way that they do things there that we're scaling and learning and sharing across the globe as well.And so local to global is also an important piece of that.
It definitely is. So you've had quite the career.I was impressed with the fact that your major was in political science.How did a political science major end up doing your job?
That's a great question.So the reality is that I kind of had two careers in college, one where I played football and one where I actually had to get a degree.
And as I approached year seven of that four-year degree, I had a meeting with my academic counselor and he just said, he goes, Hey, do you know what you want to do?And I said, I have really don't know.
And he's like, I have a friend at Hershey who has an open sales rep position. I think you might be good at the sales thing.Why don't you have lunch with them?"And what I would tell you is that was the most amazing experience for me.
And what I love about the food industry is just that what we do matters. And it's not just about the sustenance of, you know, the food that we make, but it's also about the experiences we provide.
And, you know, food is one of those things that helps define cultures.And it's truly one of those things that brings people closer together around the table.And it's just one of those that it just brings a lot of purpose for myself.
And so, you know, started carrying the bag and I'm very, very lucky to have a family.My wife and I have been married for 27 years, and we have five kids.And they've been, yeah, they've been very supportive in nine moves and getting new experiences.
Yeah, the moving is always tough, but I'll tell you, my family moved quite a bit as well.And I'm so, at the time, you're so resentful.And as you get older, you're so grateful.Because, yeah, just,
It helps you to do so much that you wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.You played football, so you know team sports, and you know the importance of leadership.
So if you were to define yourself as a leader, what is that approach that you take to leadership?
Yeah, great question.And it's interesting because we have a great trainee program at Kraft Heinz, both undergrad and MBA.And this is actually one of the questions that I get every single time from that group.And
You know, I wouldn't say that I necessarily have a specific style, but there are four principles that I embrace and I myself try to try to live up to.And one is just that great leaders deliver results consistently.
And I think that is the base and the platform for everything.
The second would be is that great leaders have ambition, ownership with accountability, and they have the ability to create clarity around that ambition, that then they have the ability when your teams have the clarity of the ambition and the path, they're empowered to take risks.
But I always tell people that with risk, though, there has to be accountability.Otherwise, there's there's no risk, right?And I think as a leader, we have to have the accountability to learn and evolve and do things differently to do better.
The third piece I would say is great leaders attract great talent and inspire high levels of engagement.And they create an environment that's inclusive.
You've got to, as a leader, surround yourself with people that are smarter than you, that are better than you, who are different than you.
and have the willingness to share different points of view and that you as a leader, you celebrate those differences because that's the only way that you're going to drive the type of results that you want.
And then the last piece in that space is just great leaders give great feed forward and coaching.You've got to have the ability to have courageous conversations, tough conversations in the moment.
while making sure, and this mindset I love and talk with leaders about is, how do we make sure that we show up more helpful, less judgmental?And that's really key as you think about giving feed forward.I'm a big fan of feed forward, not feedback.
And I think there's definitely a different outcome when you approach it that way.
You know, we had a former chairman, Chris Baldwin, who's with BJ's, and he always talked about feet forward.
Yeah, I used to work with Chris.
Yeah, at Kraft.Back in the day.Back in the day.It's great.
Yeah, he's a great, great, great guy.And we really benefited and continue to benefit from his leadership at the NRF.You know, I think that when I look at what you've done, and the experiences that you've had.
And in fact, you know, you're working with these markets and we talked about when do you sleep.How do you find work-life balance?I mean, how do you, and how does Kraft Heinz really moat that within the organization itself?
So work-life balance, again, a question we get from our trainees a lot as well.For me, work-life balance is a very personal thing.It means something different to each and every person.
And so what I would say, for me, work-life balance is about being transparent and creating the boundaries around the moments that matter.
And so personally, the moments that matter for me are, you know, I said, I've got five kids that all play sports or dance is making sure that I'm there at their sporting events, making sure that I'm at the dance recitals.
And I prioritize that and I create boundaries around that.
From a work perspective, I also create the boundaries and say, what are those moments that matter for the business, the moments that matter for the team, that it's important for me to be there?
An example is in China, we had our annual dinners at the start of the year.And it meant that I had to stay in China for two weeks because we did one in one city and another in another city that required me to be there for two weeks.
Well, that was a moment that mattered. The piece for me, I think it's important as leaders though, is that we're transparent about that with our teams, with our leaders, and with our families.That's how I approach it.
Because when you're transparent about it, people can then connect, they understand, they can support you. And it also then you're modeling that behavior for others that gives them the permission to be able to do it.
A story that I have from when back earlier in my career is I had a team member that was super excited about coaching her daughter's soccer team.
But she was worried because on Wednesdays for her to get to the game, it meant she had to leave by three o'clock every Wednesday.And she was very, you know, and she had shared that with me in a one-on-one.
And her having that vulnerability to share that with me allowed me on Wednesdays that when I was in my office and I saw it was three o'clock and if I didn't see her getting up from her desk, I'd walk out and say, Hey, it's time for you to go.
If you're going to make the game, you got to go.But that only happens if there's that trust and transparency back and forth.And so I think work
And at Kraft Heinz, that's very, that idea of moments that matter, that the idea of that supported leader team member relationship is core to our values.And so we have the ability and I see people do that really well at Kraft Heinz.
You know, we always talk about work-life balance.And to your point, and I think it's an excellent, excellent point that it means different things to different people, but it's hard.I mean, it is really, you have to be thoughtful about it.
And especially these days when you have all of these forms of communication where you've got the cell phone, you've got the texts, you've got the instant messages, you've got Facebook, you've got email, you've got personal email.
I mean, all of these things that in my lifetime have evolved I remember when my dad got a beeper and that was a big deal.They could get him anywhere, anytime.And so, you know, these days, it's a lot harder, but you have to be thoughtful about it.
You've got to, you know, commit to do what you need to do in order to pay attention to the things that help you to grow personally and put the professional aside for a little while, but it's not easy. It is.So what do you think?
I mean, you've been around for a while.And so we have a lot of students that listen to this program because I tell the story all the time, but I was at the university for a football game.
The tailgate fraternity brother came up with his daughter, his very grown daughter.And he introduced me.He said, this is my fraternity brother, Bill Thorne.And she stopped in her tracks.She looked and she said, Bill Thorne from Retail Gets Real?
And I was like, that is really weird, first.That's some college student.And then, second, that she wouldn't even recognize.And she said, I said, well, do you listen to Retail Utorials?She goes, yeah, every week, every episode.I'm like, what?
I'm really impressed.And she said, yeah, it's a part of our syllabus.We get quizzed on it.So it's one of my classes in merchandising.I'm like, oh, well, you're forced to listen to Retail Gets Real, but I'll take it.I'll take anything I can get.
So what is the best career advice that you've gotten, and what is some good career advice that you would give to others?
Yeah.Best career advice I've ever gotten is from my grandpa.I'll go back to my, my first job.Part of my territory at Hershey was this rural Western Minnesota town that my grandparents lived in.
And so it was always an overnight for me when I went to that, that town and my grandpa and I had a tradition where we would go for coffee and a piece of pie every time that I went.And so Minnesota, nice.That's right.
So we were headed to our pie one night after I'd worked the stores in, in, in Wilmer, Minnesota.And I said, Hey, I got to pop in because I want to check to make sure the sign on the display that I built got put up.
And he's like, and he just asked, can I come in with you?And we walked around the store and he was asking me, he's very curious about, you know, what it was that I actually did.
And we were walking out and he looked at me and he said, he goes, I just want one question.He said, are you winning? And I looked at him and I said, wait, what do you mean?Am I winning?
And he said, well, the way you were explaining it to me is you're competing with your competitors for display space and shelf.In his words, he brought that out.So it seems like the goal is, are you winning?
And I didn't, I just was wondering, were you winning in the store?And I was like, you know what?I don't know.
And he said, he goes, look, he said, the reason why I'm saying this, he said, because if you think about it, this store is your fingerprint of the job you do.
So if somebody were to walk into this store, they would equate that to is Corey doing a good job or bad job?And is Corey winning? And I thought that was so profound.And I share that story any time that I can, because that's so applicable.
If I think about a meeting with the board, did I win?Did I get done what I needed to get done?And I've just carried that with me through my career.
The advice I would give someone who is early and I've actually just gave this advice to to my son, who is starting his first job next week.And I said, make sure that I said throughout your career, you're going to have three stages in your career.
one where you're an individual contributor, one where you're a manager, where you're first leading people, and one where you're leading and you're leading larger parts of, you know, a larger team.
I said, in each one of those moments, you want to make sure that you pick a moment in one of those three stages to lap yourself, to spend a little bit of time.They said, because in year one, you're just learning and executing someone else's plan.
In year two, you're building your own plan and you're executing your own plan. You're three or you're four, you're having to lap yourself.And that's the hardest thing to do.
And why that's so important is because as you get closer to the top of the pyramid, there's less and less jobs and the stakes are bigger.
And what I tell people is a lot of the lessons, hard lessons that I learned early on as an individual contributor are some variant of the issues and the challenges I'm dealing with today.
The difference is before it was a $50 mistake, now it might be a $5 million mistake.So it's just pick those moments where you're gonna spend a little bit more time and get that extra learning.
That's great advice. Corey, it has been a distinct pleasure talking with you.I can't thank you enough for joining us today on Retail Gets Real.
Bill, thank you so much.Really appreciate it being here.
And thank you all for listening to another episode of Retail Gets Real.You can find more information about this episode at RetailGetsReal.com.I'm Bill Thorne.This is Retail Gets Real.Thanks again for listening.Until next time.
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