Lund Holdings' Tres Lund Wins FMI's Wegman Award
Russell T. Lund (Tres) III, chairman, president and CEO of Lund Food Holdings Inc., today received the Robert B. Wegman Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence at FMI Connect, being held at Chicago's McCormick Place. Edina, Minn.-based Lund Food Holdings operates Lunds & Byerlys grocery stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.
"I had the distinct honor of visiting Tres in his community during the company's 75th anniversary, and I witnessed Tres’ passion for food and how his associates sincerely share his vision," noted Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based FMI. "Tres' appreciation of the in-store experience is evident in every detail he offers for his customers – featuring local to global tastes and chef-inspired fare; he literally reinvented the neighborhood market.”
Having begun his career almost 40 years ago as a part-time carryout employee, Lund took the helm of the company in 1991, subsequently strengthening the business through acquisition and innovation. He also experimented with formats focusing on culinary and locally sourced options.
"Tres put together two cultures and steered them with one set of principles that starts with people," noted Kevin Davis, president and CEO of Carson, Calif.-based Bristol Farms, last year's Wegman Award winner. "He's done a phenomenal job of keeping the company growing and directionally creative with new formats and new applications of product mix and services that have made his company a leader – not only in his trade area but nationally."
Lund’s 75th-anniversary social media campaign curated more than 800 stories of experience among store employees, partners and customers who all personalized and helped to tell the company's history. For each story submitted, Lunds & Byerlys donated $7.50 to Second Harvest, collecting more than $6,000 in charitable donations.