On June 8, Safeway hosted the annual Easter Seals Golf Outing at Turf Valley Conference Center in Ellicott City, MD. Among the golfers enjoying a fun day on the course for a great cause are (l-r): Janice Studds and Rick Stein, both with Safeway; Cathy Comegys and Carolyn Belloni, both with QTG.
Over the past 12 months, food retailing Mid-Atlantic style has not been for the meek. In a region already impacted by overstoring and intense and diverse competition, the plunginng economy (particularly in the second half of the year) has made conditions as difficulty and vexing as they've been in the last 35 years.
The economy got worse, competition became more intense and we began to see more separation between those retailers that drove the business versus those that seemed to be just watching.