By Betsy Finklea
John Symons, the Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of FLOCO Foods, Inc., was the guest speaker at the Dillon County Chamber of Commerce banquet last Thursday. FLOCO Foods Inc. owns several IGA stores and KJ’s Market supermarkets and pharmacies.
Symons said the big question that everyone had for him was when the new KJ’s Market that will replace Carl’s IGA was opening. The hope is March, but it may be April. He said they had made a lot of progress, but weather has been an issue.
Symons said he was excited about what was happening with them in Dillon County. “W. Lee Flowers and FLOCO Foods are on a roll,” Symons said, noting that they were profitable when many grocers in the Southeast could not say the same.
Symons explained that FLOCO Foods was the retail arm that owns the stores and W. Lee Flowers was the distributor. He said the company had been successful, and the first quarter of this year shows they are off to the greatest start yet. He said he appreciates all who shop at their stores, and they strive to make it a great shopping experience.
Symons said they had done a great job of controlling costs. He said their mission was to keep their costs low so they can keep grocery costs low. He said their company was completely debt-free and not many companies in America can say the same.
Symons said they are the only South Carolina-based self-distributing grocery store. Symons said the company started in 1922 and rolled around from 1922 until the 1980s distributing groceries to mom and pop stores. Then they started distributing to IGA stores. In 1997, FLOCO Foods was born. He said this was when the growth really began for the company. They now distribute to 85 stores and own 47 outright in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Most of the stores are located in Columbia and east of Columbia.
Symons said FLOCO realizes if you want to keep your customer base then you have to invest in it. He noted that the Latta IGA store was recently upgraded. He did point out it had been a long time since anyone had invested in the Dillon store.
The new Dillon store, a KJ’s Market, is an approximately $3.7 million investment before inventory. He said this was the most that had been spent on any store ever. He said they had about $1 million in inventory for the store. “I feel this investment in Dillon County will pay off for us,” Symons commented.
Symons said they want to add jobs, and they do not want to put other companies out of business like some big box stores. Symons said they do a lot in the community; they find out what is important to the community. He said there are things that they do in Dillon County they do not do elsewhere such as bill pay or provide products unique to the community like a honey bun and a slice of cheese, a big seller locally. Symons added, “We’re going to always have the best fried chicken in town.”
Symons thanked those in attendance who have voted the best supermarket for five years and best chicken for six years in The Dillon Herald’s Best of the Best contest.
In speaking of the fried chicken, Symons said it was a “recipe not used anywhere else.”
Symons said one can expect to see the old favorites at the new store but also a lot of new variety. He said customers will see the same smiling faces.
Symons compared his home county, Perquimans County, NC to Dillon County and Greenville, SC. He said you can be a victim or victor in anything in front of you. He said Perquimans did not have the progress needed to grow while Greenville, SC had a vision and took steps for success.
Symons said he saw a lot of big business in Dillon County. He said you have to have vision and be able to change which is something people do not like going through. He said you change or you perish.
Symons said they are always looking to change and upgrade their stores. He said there have been a lot of changes in technology the past couple of years. Symons said they do not have “cookie cutter” stores. He also said we must watch out for the millennials because they are going to change the world including the world of grocery shoppers. He said millennials are going to have different demands in food and in the way they shop, and his company is poised to do this.
Symons said that he believed Dillon County was on the path of Greenville. He said he thought Dillon County was moving in the right direction. He said that was one of the reasons that they were investing here and as Dillon continued to grow, they were going to continue to invest.
