Central Virginia's Torchbearer
James E. Ukrop
Ukrop's Super Markets and First Market Bank

Background: Jim Ukrop and his brother, Bobby, run the supermarket chain that their parents started. Their stores enjoy fierce customer loyalty and a No. 1 position in the Richmond market. Over the years, Jim and Bobby have increased the chain’s dominance in the face of strong competition. The company owns 51 percent of First Market Bank, a community bank that has grown phenomenally since it opened in 1997.

Q: Ukrop’s seems to always anticipate what the market wants. How do you do that?
A: It’s important to absorb everything you can from every place you can. You have to have a curiosity. Be aware of where people are going; be aware of lifestyle changes; be a little ahead of your customers. Focus groups give you reactions, but creative ideas don’t come out of focus groups. It’s understanding people’s needs and creating a product that they didn’t even know they had a need for.

Q: Do you see any new competitors on the horizon?
A: Always. But in most cases, your competition doesn’t come from the people you know. It comes from outside your industry. Think about it. You only had supermarkets 20 years ago, but now convenience stores are in the grocery business, warehouse stores are in the grocery business. CVS is the third largest food retailer in Richmond.

Q: What’s next for Ukrop’s?
A: We would like to leverage our brand equity to become our customers’ trusted buying agent.

Q: Would this extend beyond groceries?
A: Yes. We hope to develop a Web site where, if you wanted to buy a book, instead of going to amazon.com, we would have an engine that would provide the best price, whether it’s financial services or whatever. We’d get a commission off that and maybe return part of that commission to the customer. It could also be the place you come to for news, weather and sports. We’d become a portal. Our brand would not have much equity in New York or California, but it would be great in Richmond.