SACRAMENTO, CA - It’s not often you hear 80-year-olds celebrating their 8^th decade by being more active than usual. Raley’s, however, has remained as sprightly as ever with changes in ownership, opening and closing of stores, the launch of a new format, and testing new programs in the year 2015 alone.

President and CEO Michael Teel spoke to the Sacramento Bee, discussing his outlook for the years ahead and how busy the company has been in 2015 implementing this transformation.  

“We’re well-positioned for the future,” Teel told the publication. The executive was given majority ownership of the company from parents, Jim and Joyce Raley Teel, in May 2015. “We look forward to it. This is our home.”

One of the bigger announcements made over the past year was the development of a new format that aligns with the less-is-more trend currently gripping the retail industry.

“The future is going to bring smaller stores,” Teel said, the Sacramento Bee reports.

This first location will break ground later this year and is slated to open during the second quarter of 2017 at a modest 36,000 square feet.

Two other stores were announced as well, alongside the difficult decision to shutter four.

The ongoing revamp has been focused on the consumer, Teel emphasized. This includes new programs and inventory decisions that push a healthier lifestyle, such as the launch of the new Hello Savings initiative, which features multiple ways to save a range of product from fresh produce to meats and milk.

“I want to continue that legacy of giving, providing more – healthy foods to the community, sustainability, supporting the arts… I feel really good about the future and growth, and this community,” Teel told the publication.

Raley’s continues to look forward to expanding its footprint in Northern California and Nevada, but Teel said that his confidence is bolstered by what the company has learned about its shoppers since the launch of its consumer rewards and loyalty program, Something Extra, in 2012.

“We now know our customers better than ever,” he stated in the report, saying the program has provided data that confirms a consumer demand for healthy snacks and what they want at the checkout aisle, and has responded in kind with things like produce at checkout and expanded organic offerings.

Keep checking in with AndNowUKnow to see how Raley’s and other retail chains in the market continue to evolve and expand in 2016.

Raley’s