As a protest marker, I’m guessing Omer Gajial, Albertsons’ executive VP-chief merchandising and digital officer, is taking a noble stand. He recently sent a broadcast email to the company’s vendors essentially stating that the Boise, ID-based chain will not accept price increases driven by tariffs. Of course, there are exceptions which are disclosed in his full letter to Albertsons’ suppliers (below).

Dear Valued Supplier,

As you know, recent developments indicate the possibility of the United States imposing tariffs on goods imported from several countries on or around April 2, 2025. We understand this situation may raise concerns for your business operations and the ongoing relationship we share.

To maintain transparency and ensure consistency across our supply chain, we are writing to clarify our company’s policy regarding how these tariffs should be handled in our ongoing partnership.

Our customers rely on us for competitive pricing and quality products, and we are committed to maintaining the value proposition our customers expect. Therefore, with few exceptions, we are not accepting cost increases due to tariffs.

 Tariff Costs In Invoices

Suppliers are not permitted to include tariff-related costs in invoices without prior

authorization by Albertsons Companies. Any invoices that include such charges without prior authorization will be subject to dispute and may result in payment delays.

 Requesting Cost Changes Due To Tariffs

If the imposed tariffs result in significantly impacting your costs, per the terms of our existing contractual arrangements, with 90 days of advance notice, you may request a cost change for the goods supplied.

To do so, please follow these guidelines:

• Submit a formal request: Complete ACI required cost change forms for your cost structure and the proposed cost adjustment. Provide a detailed explanation of the tariff impact and you must specify the harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) code and country origin of each commodity impacted.
• Include supporting documentation: Attach relevant documentation such as tariff notices, import duty receipts, and any other evidence supporting the need for a cost change.
• Lead time for approval: Allow a minimum of 30 days for the review and approval process once the request is submitted. Your regular ACI point of contact will review requests on a case-by-case basis. Approval is not guaranteed and will depend on factors such as contract terms, market comparisons, and overall supply chain impact.

 Other Important Considerations

• Advance notice: Please notify us promptly if you anticipate any delays or disruptions in supply due to changes in tariff regulations.
• Communication: Maintain open communication with our team to address concerns or questions about tariffs and their impact on our partnership.
• Compliance: Ensure that all tariff-related adjustments that are approved comply with U.S. regulations and policies to avoid any legal or financial complications. We value our supplier relationship and appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we navigate these potential changes together.

 As more information becomes known about U.S. imposed tariffs, we will provide additional information and direction.

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to your regular ACI point of contact.

Thank you for your continued partnership in our pursuit to earn customers for life.

 A couple of points stand out to me. First, there is plenty of room for exceptions to be allowed, and suppliers should have no problems documenting their higher costs specifically related to the tariffs imposed on their products.

Additionally, there are significantly fewer products that would be impacted when compared to Walmart and Target which have said about 30 percent of their SKUs are imported, mostly from China.

So, give Gajial credit for trying to hold the line on pricing at Albertsons (which is already at the high end of everyday retails when compared to its competitors). However, at the end of the day the former Amazon and PepsiCo executive is likely chasing fool’s gold.

At the very least, Gajial is creating an inefficient bureaucratic nightmare for his company and its suppliers. And if there’s a head-to-head showdown (beyond the provable exceptions) between Albertsons and its leading CPG vendors, Albertsons will lose.

Walmart (more than eight times larger than Albertsons) used to try the same “no price increases will be accepted” mandate but abandoned that tack years ago, knowing it was ultimately ineffective.

I’ll be curious to see Gajial’s scorecard in a couple of months. I’m predicting lots of exceptions/exemptions as well as a few eggs (at $6 per dozen) on his face.

‘Round The Trade

If you’ve been paying attention to what I’ve written thus far, you’ll readily note that I’m addressing a lot of concerns about the impact of tariffs. You can add Doug McMillon and Brian Cornell, chief executives of Walmart and Target respectively, to the list of concerned business leaders. Both men, along with Home Depot chief executive Ted Decker, met with President Trump last month and bluntly told the nation’s CEO that his tariffs and trade policies would significantly increase prices, cause a supply chain nightmare and create significant out-of-stocks. It seems likely that Trump’s current 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods (a significant part of Walmart and Target inventory) will be reduced, however, much of the damage has already been done. As I wrote earlier, have you checked your portfolio lately? Have you checked consumer confidence levels over the past two months? And this just in – first quarter GDP fell by 0.3 percent, marking the first quarter of negative growth since Q1 of 2022. To revisit a familiar 2024 campaign phrase: are you better off than you were three months ago?

Local Notes

Publix opened its newest Virginia store last month in Chesapeake. The 48,387 square foot unit is the third Hampton Roads supermarket the Lakeland, FL-based chain has opened since December 2024 (Virginia Beach in December, Carrollton in January). After saturating Richmond over the past seven years (primarily from its acquisition of about 10 former Martin’s/Ukrop’s stores), the nation’s most profitable supermarket chain has been steadily building its Tidewater share since it opened its Suffolk store in 2023. Reports have also been circulating for about three years that Publix will also build a new Norfolk unit near Old Dominion University, but no official word from the company yet.

At Ahold Delhaize USA, there are several changes to report including the promotion of former The Giant Company VP-center store merchandising Joanna Crishock to VP-digital merchandising and operations. She will help lead ADUSA’s efforts to expand and innovate in the e-commerce space. Additionally, Keith Nicks has been elevated to chief commercial and digital officer. In this expanded role, Nicks will oversee both commercial and digital capabilities, aligning efforts across private brands, sourcing, merchandising services and retail media, as well as omnichannel marketing, product experience and design, and e-commerce fulfillment partnerships. This unified leadership structure is designed to streamline strategy and maximize value across the commercial ecosystem. Nicks began his ADUSA with Food Lion in 2004 (when that brand was part of Delhaize America). And Sanja Krajnovic has been named chief supply chain officer and EVP, ADUSA distribution and ADUSA Transportation. She joined ADUSA in 2022.

In the seemingly endless revolving door of personnel changes at Dollar Tree, the discounter last month announced that former Walgreens executive Roxanne Weng will become the company’s new chief supply chain officer, replacing the retiring Mike Kindy. Weng was most recently with packaging and shipping supplies distributor Uline but spent 30 years at the Chicago-area drug chain.

Hershey opened a new 250,000 square foot chocolate processing plant last month, which wouldn’t seem like earth-shattering news. However, the facility opened in Hershey, PA, marking the first time the candy and snack food packer has opened a hometown facility in more than 30 years. The new processing plant is part of a $1 billion supply chain upgrade at multiple Hershey manufacturing and distribution depots nationally.

We’ve got some deaths to report this month including Winston “Wink” Martindale, the legendary game show host who has passed away at 91. Martindale, who seemingly had been part of the culture of all aging baby boomers for at least 60 years, actually began his career as a radio disc jockey in his adopted hometown of Memphis in 1953 (he was born in nearby Jackson, TN). A year later, he helped secure an on-air appearance of then 19-year-old Elvis Presley by calling his mother (he was a lifelong friend of the “King”). In 1959, he moved to Los Angeles, which created a pathway to his television career as a game-show host. Staring with “What’s This Song” in 1964, Martindale emceed a plethora of daytime game shows including “Gambit,” “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “Debt” and “High Rollers.” Martindale also had a hit record with the spoken-word song “Deck of Cards” which went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold more than a million copies in 1959. Ever since Bob Barker died in 2023, followed by Peter Marshall and Chuck Woolery last year, these game show icons are literally dropping like wheels of misfortune (Woolery was the original host of “Wheel of Fortune” in 1975 before being replaced by Pat Sajak – who’s still alive – six years later).

Speaking of aging “boomers,” I’m sad to report that Dennis the Menace is also dead. That is, the actor – Jay North – who played the troublemaking pre-teen on the sitcom from 1959-1963 has left us at age 73. North played Dennis Mitchell (originally a comic strip character created by cartoonist Hank Ketcham), whose very existence seemed to center around annoying neighbor George Wilson (actor Joseph Kearns) and his two bewildered parents Henry (Herbert Anderson) and Alice (Gloria Henry). As predictable as each episode was, we all seemed to tune in to CBS every Sunday at 7:30 pm (it preceded the “Ed Sullivan Show’). After the show ended in 1963, North’s career stalled. He continued to act until 1974, becoming increasingly unhappy with the limited choice of roles open to him and then moved to Florida where he later enlisted in U.S. Navy and later became an officer with the Florida Department of Corrections. A sad ending to a once promising career.

Also passing away recently was George Bell, 67. You might ask who George Bell is. Well, I’m not referring to the former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder of the same name but rather the man considered the tallest person in the world. While he briefly played basketball, the Portsmouth, VA native spent most of his career in law enforcement serving as a deputy sheriff in the Norfolk, VA sheriff’s office. When asked why he didn’t play basketball in high school, the courteous and polite Bell said, “I was growing so rapidly, my body couldn’t coordinate with my growth. When I got to high school I was 6’5” and when I left was 7’5 ¾”. When I got into college, I had to rebuild myself all over again.” His enormous height reminded me of a time when my partner Dick Bestany and former Giant Food CEO Pete Manos gathered for a libation one late afternoon many moons ago at a very popular meeting spot – Langway’s in Lanham MD (the joint still exists, folks, but moved to Gambrills, MD). The room was dark and when the door opened bright sunlight reflected the figure of another extremely tall person who happened to be…former Washington Bullets (now Wizards) center Manute Bol who stood 7’7” tall (with a wingspan of 8’6”). Manute met somebody at a nearby table, had one cocktail and departed. We were curious about what car he drove so we moved to a window seat, peered through the Venetian blinds and saw that Bol’s “ride” was an early 2000s two-door Mercedes Benz coupe – which he drove from the backseat (the driver’s seat had been removed and the car was customized to fit Manute’s immense length). That image etched a permanent imprint in my brain. Sadly, Bestany, Manos and Bol are now all gone.