Heritage Grocers' New CEO Talks Shop
In November, Heritage Grocers Group (HGG) named Suzy Monford its CEO, tapping her for the key role based on her track record of transformative growth in the industry. As she settles into her position, Monford is using her own foundational experience to help the grocer build on its foundation of serving Hispanic and ethnic shoppers across the Cardenas Markets, El Rancho Supermercado and Tony’s Fresh Market banners.
Progressive Grocer recently sat down with Monford, a two-time Top Women in Grocery Winner whose background includes a CEO role at PCC Community Markets, to talk about her vision for HGG. She also shared some exclusive news about grocery tech innovations in some of its stores.
Progressive Grocer: Congratulations on your new role! Suzy, what is an example of a short-term goal and a long-term goal as the new leader at HGG?
Suzy Monford: I’m so thrilled and grateful to be here to have this opportunity. It’s a privilege. We are the largest and most diverse Hispanic grocer in U.S. and we operate stores in six states across the country so far with more to come. One of the things I am enthralled with every day is how we serve customers and our community of team members who come from no fewer than eight to 10 different countries. Everyone who works here are proudly American and we also are from the world and serve the world of Hispanics and, up in Chicago, the European and Eastern European communities, too.
As I think about where we are in 2025, we are extremely well positioned at Heritage. We have a business model which is predicated first and foremost on winning in the perimeter. We bring in the best quality produce and most diverse produce I’ve seen. We have certified butchers across all of our banners and we have artisanal bakers. In our tortilleria, we literally bring in the corn and then make the masa and then make the tamales and tortillas. It’s a festival of food and a celebration of culinary in this entire diaspora of Central America and Latin America.
In 2025, we will continue to win the perimeter by elevating our fresh offerings – that’s our point of difference – and we are going to continue to work center store as we bring in the best grocery and store products from around the world. Our mission is to absolutely drive value, to grow our base of loyal customers through our customer-facing app and other digital offers and to hold the line on inflation. That comes via smart and collaborative relationships with our CPG suppliers and others.
To be a modern grocer, you have to get up every day, look at how you are running the business and ask yourself, “Where and how can I do better?”
PG: How is technology part of that?
SM: You have to ask, “Is there a way to do price and promotional optimization that is most efficient with best-in-class technology? Is there a way to smooth out forecasting, ordering and replenishment, again using digital and AI-enabled tools and systems?”
Instacart is a chief e-commerce partner of ours and we are also working with their Connected Stores teams. I’m happy to first share with Progressive Grocer that we will be standing up test-and-learns with Caper Cart. We will be the first Hispanic grocer in the United States to do that.
PG: How is your background as a grocery executive and consultant helping you oversee a grocery operation with banners that are aligned but unique?
SM: As I talked to the team initially about this opportunity, I think I am tailor-made for it. I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, adjacent to the Hispanic culture. I have been studying Spanish culture and language from my earliest grade school years all through high school and college. I started my grocery career at H-E-B and we focused primarily on that customer and watched it grow.
Throughout my career, a focus has been on fresh, prepared foods and artisanal bakery, and my work expanded to total store in a variety of roles in the U.S. and internationally. Everything culturally of who I am and where I am from is tailor-made and bespoke for Heritage and our banners. How I’ve operated, either turning companies around or innovating, is precisely, what we need at Heritage and the reason I have this opportunity today.
PG: You also understand the value of feedback from customers and associates.
SM: We put customers at the center of everything we do. Our team members are our customers, too – they overarchingly live around and near our stores and represent the communities we serve. We know our team members’ feedback helps us remain close to our customers.
On top of that is specialization – learning how to tailor assortments for customers and how to proportionalize our go-to-market business model to have the best pricing and promotion around that tailored assortment. Modern grocery is more than showing up and running a beautiful store that delights all five senses. That’s just the table stakes. To win, you have to continue to innovate.
PG: You’ve only been in your role for a couple of months, but what has it been like to visit stores and see firsthand the way that Heritage brands operate?
SM: That’s where I get my most joy. I am in the stores, all day, every day, touring and meeting team members and customers and watching the show. I started Thanksgiving week and that’s when you see the magic happen – when you are so busy during the holidays.
As diverse as our team members and customers are, we have a lot of Caucasians shopping at our stores, too. We are famous for fresh and are a destination for that. It feels like a diverse international experience and it’s delightful.
PG: You're one of our multiple Top Women in Grocery winners. How would you describe the trajectory of women's career paths in grocery over the past few years, compared to earlier in your career journey?
SM: I’m a very proud two-time TWIG winner. When I began in my career, I was the only woman or one of two sitting around an executive-level conversation. Today, if you ask how much it’s changed, I’d say there is still a lot of work to do. We need more women at the upper-VP level and at the c-suite level and we need more women on grocery boards.
However – and here is the Big However – I do see women coming through. When I was at Kroger, I can tell you that Kroger means what they say when they say 'Come for a job and stay for a career.' We elevated women from every store position on up through senior management. They have specific programs and we have those here, too, at Heritage. Relative to our size, we over-index for women in key leadership positions and we have specific KPIs that measure and incentivize the development of women leaders. My continued emphasis is looking out for and helping ensure that there are opportunities for everyone.
