Bob Anderson

"I was quite lucky to work for three companies who had an unwavering focus on integrity, fairness, quality and value." -Bob Anderson

Developer of Great Value Brand

Bob Anderson has spent his entire career in the grocery business–starting as a grocery clerk at age 15 in a Vons grocery store in Los Angeles.

Earlier this year he retired from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, AR, after a 16-year career there and most recently as vice president proprietary brands.

During the course of his career, he has earned many awards for his contributions to the growth of store brands in the retail marketplace. Indeed, Private Label magazine presented him with its inaugural Store Brand Retailer of the Year Award in 1997, and the same award again in 2004. This publication also presented to Anderson its 2006 Store Brand Leadership Award.

The crowning achievement in his grocery career is the development of the Great Value store brand that represents more than $5 billion in sales.

“Bob Anderson has been the single person most responsible for the development of a national brand that happens to be the single largest brand in the country...Great Value at Wal-Mart,” says Jerry Gilbert, general manager of ConAgra Store Brands, Edina, MN, in his nomination of Anderson.

Anderson’s Reflections

“First, let me say it’s a great honor to just be nominated, let alone to be inducted into the PL Hall of Fame,” says Anderson.

“Second I would like to thank the three other inductees for their outstanding contributions as well.
“Working in the food industry now for over 40 years (20 years with Vons Grocery Company, 5 with Pace Membership Warehouse and 16 with Wal-Mart) has been a lot of work, but at the same time fun and very rewarding. I have been blessed to work for and with the Best in the Business. Being able to learn from world class leaders such as Will Von der Ahe, Sonny King, and Dick London, at Vons, and then with Sam Walton, David Glass, Scott, Nick White, Dave Nichol and Don Watt at Wal-Mart allowed me from the age of 15 to get a great understanding of business and more importantly of the food business.

GV Healthy 4 You soup line employs a color-coded label to provide easy-to-read nutritional information. Call-outs on package fronts also note the number of calories and number of grams of trans fat per serving.

“I was quite lucky to work for three companies who had an unwavering focus on integrity, fairness, quality and value. I truly feel that these companies and their values helped to shape me as a person and how I looked at the business. Will Von Der Ahe once said: If they (suppliers) do not succeed in business, neither will we. Sam Walton said: The customers is the Boss. I was taught to think like a customer, be a customer not a buyer, not a retailer. Mr. Walton said it best by making sure you always exceed their (customers) expectations.

“Being able to be part of the 70’s and watching store brands grow each year was exciting and educational. To see the work that Dave Nichol and then Wal-Mart did in making sure quality was the new main ingredient in store brands. Being part of the Sam’s Choice brand–the founder’s and Chairman’s brand—was a huge responsibility.

“To be asked to create a brand–Great Value–and manage the brand was the biggest thrill and challenge of my career. It was tough to do when Wal-Mart only had 10 stores and was just entering the food business. But as luck would have it, I was able to find and work with some of the best suppliers in the industry. Ones who had the same goals as I: to give the customer an alternative to the national brand, but this time maintaining national brand quality while offering a price-value alternative( EDLP).

“We developed packaging that became the window to the product. We listened to what our customers were asking for and delivered it to them. We were the first to identify on our packaging those products that are gluten-free...first to come out with nonfat coffee creamer...first to do bilingual labeling.

“We made sure that Great Value products were transfat free. We called out 100 calories or less on the front panel and when ever possible make sure our line up could bear the correct kosher quality symbol.
“None of this came easy; a lot of people have helped to make each one of these key events happen for our customers. I can’t say enough about our suppliers. They listened, believed and deliver every time. There are so many who helped to champion the Brand and the cause.

“So, as you can see, I have been fortunate in my career and have many to thank. I want to make sure that as I am inducted into the PL Hall of Fame, a little bit of all of them will get inducted as well. I also need to recognize a great organization, PLMA and its president, Brian Sharoff, for providing me with a forum each November-the PLMA Trade Show-where I could come together with other industry leaders and manufacturers to learn, share and teach each other. We owe this show’s organizers a big Thank You.”