A Look Inside Heinen's Transformation of Historic Cleveland Bank
When Warrensville Heights, Ohio-based Heinen’s Fine Foods opened a store in an old bank building three years ago, it wasn’t the type of move a larger company could or would have made.
However, the small family owned Heinen’s chain is able to move faster and do things differently and faster than larger companies, as Tom and Jeff Heinen, brothers and co-owners of the 23-unit chain explain in the second episode of the online reality series, The Prophets of Aisle Six, produced by data analytics firm dunnhumby and hosted by Progressive Grocer sister brand Retail Leader. The series was created to explore how food retailers are using data and innovation to reshape their businesses and the customer experience.
In the latest episode, Jose Gomes, managing director of North America for dunnhumby, visited the downtown Cleveland Heinen’s store, located in the historic Cleveland Trust Building, to find out how they are keeping their grandfather’s mission of delivering excellence in customer service and food quality to the Millennial generation, which values experience. Against the backdrop of the store’s spectacular, multi-level rotunda with a stained glass ceiling, the pair explain how Heinen’s has long used data to inform assortment decision-making, but is now entering a new era of leveraging data to drive personalization and pricing decisions.