From a new events program that has the attention of international retailers to the unapologetic kitsch of the Insider’s Report, Loblaw’s Craig Hutchison is ushering in a new golden age of grocery

To say Craig Hutchison has his hands full would be an understatement. The soft-spoken, easygoing SVP marketing for Brampton, ON.-based Loblaw Companies finds it easier to list the things he’s not responsible for: product development, package design, PR and investor relations.

Hutchison is the go-to guy for all things marketing-related at Canada’s largest grocery retailer. His team of 80 – five in Quebec, three in Atlantic Canada and the rest at the Brampton HQ – handles the President’s Choice, No Name, Joe Fresh and PC Home brands, and 17 retail banners from Real Canadian Superstores to deep discounters like No Frills and “Great Food” banners like Loblaws, Zehrs and Fortinos. All advertising, flyers, online activity, in-store signage and events pass across his desk.

“The creative challenges that go through a day are what really get me excited,” he says. “Every day is different. I probably have, right now, nine different TV commercials – six PC, three Joe Fresh. I’ve probably got eight different radio scripts on the go, six or seven different major [in-store] events, [and] we’re working on healthy and lawn and garden Insider’s Reports.”

Back in January 2007, facing increased competition and infrastructure challenges, Loblaw Companies reported its first annual loss in more than 20 years. Coupled with management shake-ups – president and chief merchandising officer Mark Foote resigned in April 2008 and current president Allan Leighton stepped in – the company has suffered in the media and the eyes of shareholders of late.

Hutchison, who shares this year’s Overall Marketer of the Year honour with Frito Lay Canada’s Tony Matta (see p. 30), joined the company in March ’08 in the midst of this transition and hasn’t looked back. He has helped turn the recession into a singular opportunity for Loblaw, which is shifting back towards a more marketing-driven organization. Since Q1 of this year, the same store sales have been up or remained flat, and the company reported a 20% earnings hike for Q3 in November.

As the PC brand celebrated its 25th anniversary and the PC GREEN line marked its 20th in 2009, Hutchison is executing a “back to the future” strategy across the board in Loblaw marketing to recapture the authenticity and relevance of the glory days of Dave Nichol and [store designer] Don Watt – and help turn the struggling Loblaw brand around.

As part of the retailer’s response to value-hungry consumers, he has overseen the reintroduction of the No Name brand to consumers, and an 18-week communications overhaul of five major banners.

“We had so many tremendous programs that we ran back in the late ’80s, early ’90s,” he says. “We’re spending a lot of time evaluating those programs and bringing them back today. Because whether it’s a Club Pack program, a GREEN program, [or] the Insider’s Report – the initiatives we had at that time are still very relevant. So a lot of the things that we’re doing – whether it’s in-store signage or having a spokesperson like [company executive chair] Galen [Weston, Jr.] – are really to bring us back to the way that we were.”