Southeast grocery retailer K-VA-T connects operations to customer data
The parent company of Food City is utilizing customer insights to improve enterprise performance.
K-VA-T Food Stores is deploying the SymphonyAI CINDE Connected Retail platform in an effort to deepen its use of customer data across all key business functions, including supply chain, merchandising, shelf planning, assortment, and promotion optimization.
"We are pleased to continually deepen our strong, strategic partnership with SymphonyAI as we progress in our data-driven AI journey," said Dan Glei, execugive VP of merchandising and marketing for K-VA-T. "SymphonyAI focuses explicitly on aligning with us across all our business processes to achieve our strategic performance goals and be a strong business ally. CINDE Connected Retail provides our category management, marketing, and vendor teams the shopper data-driven insights they need to meet business goals and give shoppers the selection and offers they value most."
The retailer seeks to leverage customer insights at scale internally as well as in collaboration with its CPG supplier ecosystem. As it opens new stores, K-VA-T is tracking its most loyal shoppers to support activities such as AI-driven shelf planning and tailored marketing campaigns.
To assist its category managers, K-VA-T uses the solution’s shopper insights dashboards across categories in weekly business review meetings. In vendor meetings and category planning, the retailer and its suppliers collaborate via CINDE Connected Retail to identify key business drivers within each category and create optimal promotions designed to deepen shopper engagement and achieve category goals.
K-VA-T is also integrating the solution into strategic category reviews to make data-driven decisions on assortment strategies.
"K-VA-T’s embrace of the CINDE Connected Retail platform shows how innovative retailers can use sophisticated capabilities for speed to insights that meet shopper and business priorities," said Manish Choudhary, president of the SymphonyAI retail-CPG division. "We continue to invest aggressively in predictive, generative, and agentic AI to revolutionize retail for innovators like K-VA-T."
[READ MORE: Weis Markets expands tech partnership for category insights]
Headquartered in Abingdon, Va., K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 158 retail outlets throughout Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Food City offers multiple private label lines through its participation in the Topco Cooperative.
