Latest / GrocerTalk / Sam’s Club’s Myron Frazier on Value Private Brands and the Power of a Curated Assortment | Groceryshop 2026

Transcript

Sam’s Club’s Myron Frazier on Value Private Brands and the Power of a Curated Assortment | Groceryshop 2026 · GrocerTalk

• 0:00
  Hello, everyone.
• 0:00
  This is Omnitalk Retail.
• 0:02
  I'm Chris Walton, and I'm coming to you live once again from The Grocery Shop 2026 conference in Las Vegas.
• 0:08
  And we're recording this live from the Fusion podcast studio at booth 913.
• 0:13
  Come on by, say hello.
• 0:14
  Ben and I are going to be here all day long interviewing fabulous retail executives like the one standing next to me right now, Myron Fraser, the chief merchant at Sam's Club.
• 0:24
  Myron.
• 0:25
  How are you guys?
• 0:26
  Fantastic.
• 0:26
  Thank you for having me here.
• 0:27
  Yeah, man.
• 0:28
  So we gotta let people in back home that are watching this, you and I.
• 0:31
  Literally, literally about two minutes ago, just came off stage.
• 0:35
  We did, we did.
• 0:35
  And it was a blast.
• 0:36
  We had a good time.
• 0:37
  We did.
• 0:38
  And I have to say, this is the first time that I've ever been interviewed by someone who dressed exactly like I did.
• 0:44
  I know, right?
• 0:44
  Who wore it better.
• 0:45
  Yeah, he's black top, gray jeans.
• 0:47
  It was pretty hilarious, actually.
• 0:48
  But.
• 0:49
  But.
• 0:49
  All right, well, let's give the audience back home a little insight into what we talked about.
• 0:53
  And so we started off.
• 0:54
  We start off the conversation by defining value.
• 0:57
  So let's start there again.
• 0:58
  Like, how do you define value?
• 1:00
  Yeah, so value for us, it's much more than price.
• 1:03
  And we've got a very clear definition of what value is.
• 1:07
  It's a great item at a disruptive price, delivered in only a way that Sam's Club can.
• 1:12
  And when we do that, well, we deliver unmatched value.
• 1:16
  So we think of things like quality, we think of convenience, we think of, you know, treasure hunt, discovery.
• 1:22
  Convenience is becoming even more important today.
• 1:25
  So we've got to deliver that.
• 1:27
  And we don't want our members to choose between price, quality, or convenience.
• 1:30
  We want them to get all three.
• 1:31
  Yeah, I love.
• 1:32
  I love that you said that, because I just joke it on stage.
• 1:34
  Like, I've asked that question of, like, hundreds of people over the years.
• 1:36
  They always give me a different answer.
• 1:38
  And the answer that I hate the most is when people say, it's the price.
• 1:40
  Yeah.
• 1:41
  Like, price is the.
• 1:42
  Is the values defined by price.
• 1:43
  Because.
• 1:43
  No, because.
• 1:43
  Values the output.
• 1:44
  Yes.
• 1:45
  All those things you just said, right?
• 1:46
  Yes.
• 1:47
  And what.
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  Basically, it's kind of a moving target in a lot of ways, but it's what determines whether someone's gonna shop with you.
• 1:52
  And it's price, the brand, the speed, convenience, all those things.
• 1:55
  You agree?
• 1:56
  I agree 100%.
• 1:57
  And even, you know, in our world where we sell merchandise, the definition of what a great item is, that's really important because I can give you an incredible item at a bad price, then you won't buy it.
• 2:07
  Or I can give you a really bad item at a great price, and you won't buy it.
• 2:10
  So you actually have to have both.
• 2:11
  Right.
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  And if you can't get it delivered to me when I want it, you might not buy it anyway.
• 2:15
  Exactly.
• 2:15
  Exactly.
• 2:16
  Right.
• 2:16
  So that's the key thing.
• 2:17
  All right, well, let's talk tech for a little bit, too, because, you know, I've been on record as saying that Sam's Club is the most innovative retailer in the United States.
• 2:25
  Still firmly believe that, based on what you told me on stage, too.
• 2:28
  But before I reveal that, let's talk about the tech side of things.
• 2:31
  So you guys have been, you know, one of the first with Scan and Go in a big way.
• 2:35
  You've got the exit arches.
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  You've got.
• 2:37
  You're doing lots of interesting things with delivery.
• 2:39
  Tell the audience about how those are all going and what's the latest.
• 2:42
  Yeah, so Scan and Go, I mean, it's going great.
• 2:44
  So our members love it.
• 2:45
  And it often has a net promoter score of above 90, which, you know, is really, really difficult to do for any product.
• 2:52
  And, you know, for those that don't know, Scan and Go allows our members to shop and scan their items and pay real time and actually skip the traditional checkout.
• 3:00
  And we recently launched our Exit Arches, as you just said.
• 3:03
  So now you can leave the club completely friction free.
• 3:06
  And our members love that and experience.
• 3:08
  And when we think about digital and delivery, you.
• 3:12
  You mentioned that members want the items however they want to get them, and so we believe that as well.
• 3:17
  And so we can now deliver in under an hour.
• 3:19
  And we don't mark up our products.
• 3:21
  They're the same online as they are in the club.
• 3:24
  And so we believe that, you know, that that allows us to, you know, through a digital way, create more value for our member.
• 3:30
  Yeah, that's great.
• 3:31
  So one of the other things I learned, you know, backstage when we were chatting beforehand, too, is that you're also.
• 3:36
  You're a big historian.
• 3:37
  Yeah.
• 3:38
  Like, you like to go through the archives.
• 3:39
  Yes.
• 3:40
  And I would be like a kid in a candy store in the Walmart archives, I think, for sure.
• 3:44
  So.
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  So what have you.
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  What have you dug.
• 3:46
  Dug into and around in the archives?
• 3:48
  What have you learned and taken away?
• 3:50
  Yeah, so I spend a lot of time, as you said, and I mean, I read a lot of Sam Walton's speeches and I'll go back and look at early documents, and one that really stood out to me was
• 4:01
  the 10 point criteria for what a good Sam's Club item is.
• 4:05
  An item.
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  An item.
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  Yes.
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  We're an item business.
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  Right.
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  So it's really, really important for us to have an understanding of what makes an item a good item for us.
• 4:12
  And it was written in 1984.
• 4:14
  Okay.
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  But the thing that struck me was how relevant all the criteria still are today.
• 4:20
  So we've got different tools and technology, but the fundamentals of merchandising at Sam's Club, they remain the same.
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  So 10 points.
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  These were written by Sam himself.
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  They were written by Stan Moore, who.
• 4:30
  Yeah, he was one of the.
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  He was one of the early merchants that we had.
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  And so when Sam's Club started, you know, it was a team, a small team that Sam tasked with reimagining retail.
• 4:40
  Right.
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  So around high volume and low cost.
• 4:42
  Okay.
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  Not a lot of frills, you know, so that we can deliver unmistakable value.
• 4:47
  And so Stan Moore was one of those merchants, and he wrote that.
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  And it's something that we still, you know, live by today.
• 4:54
  Can you imagine being like, 40 years from now being like, yeah, I'm referencing the things that you wrote down at one time.
• 4:59
  That'd be so cool.
• 5:00
  I love that.
• 5:02
  So what were some of those 10 points?
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  Like, which ones are maybe the most impactful for you as you start to lead your team on the merchant side of things?
• 5:09
  Yeah, I think so.
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  There are things that you would.
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  Some of them you would expect.
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  So is it good quality?
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  Is it the right brand?
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  Is it priced right?
• 5:18
  Is the packaging right for the club?
• 5:21
  But one that really stands out to me is, is it self selling?
• 5:24
  So does it require marketing?
• 5:25
  And so when you think about Sam's Club environment, we're low cost, so we don't have salespeople all over the floor, and we don't.
• 5:34
  You don't see a lot of commercials out there because we're trying to keep our prices really, really low.
• 5:38
  The value is in being able to offer the item at a price.
• 5:41
  And so an item that's self selling, it needs to communicate all of the value to the member without having to have a demo necessarily.
• 5:48
  Even though that's an incredible part of our experience, the item shouldn't require it.
• 5:52
  Right.
• 5:52
  And so that was one that just really stood out to me.
• 5:55
  And there's even a, like a handwritten note at the bottom that says, you know, does it, like, uphold the warehouse aura?
• 6:04
  Right.
• 6:04
  And so that, to me, also stands out because when you think about a warehouse club, there's something different when you walk in, it feels different.
• 6:12
  You, you don't have all the frills nor do you expect them, but there's something that happens, you know, inside of you where it's fun and you, and you know, there's value inside of it.
• 6:21
  And so the aura is almost like you know it when you see it kind of thing.
• 6:24
  Yeah, yeah.
• 6:25
  The self serving thing is really interesting though.
• 6:26
  That's something I've never ever thought about before.
• 6:28
  That's pretty brilliant, actually.
• 6:31
  So do you use those as guiding principles then, when you talk to your team?
• 6:34
  I do, I do.
• 6:35
  And you know, speaking of self selling, I can give you an example from a few weeks ago.
• 6:40
  We were at a holiday walkthrough and there was a product from an emerging brand.
• 6:44
  And you know, as you would expect, it's a new emerging brand.
• 6:47
  They, they're learning just like anyone would at the beginning of their journey.
• 6:53
  But the product, it didn't communicate all the value.
• 6:56
  And so we talked to the team about point number nine and making sure that it's self selling, but our need to teach that supplier in that instance.
• 7:04
  So it's a way that not only do we guide ourselves, but it also allows us to help our partners and they become better through it as well.
• 7:11
  So how do you do that?
• 7:12
  With the macroeconomic landscape the way that it is, and there being so much price pressure on everything and particularly the consumer, how, how is that shaping those discussions?
• 7:20
  Take us inside if you can.
• 7:22
  Yeah, so here's what I say about price.
• 7:25
  So if you think about Walmart and who we are, you know, our mission is to save people money and so that they can live better.
• 7:30
  So the pressure, it doesn't really matter what, what the macroeconomic environment is.
• 7:36
  The mission's the same.
• 7:37
  Right.
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  The goal is to lower cost.
• 7:38
  But what this actually does though, is it gives us, it gives us a way to drive consistency throughout our business that allows us to be efficient and it allows us to drive efficiency not only for ourselves, but also
• 7:49
  for our suppliers.
• 7:50
  And when we're able to do that, that allows us to keep costs lower and have unmistakable value for our members.
• 7:57
  How does members mark play into that?
• 7:59
  Yeah, so members mark for us is it is our private brand, it's our own brand, and the aspiration for it is to be a premium brand at a disruptive price.
• 8:10
  And so what that means is we aren't just repeating or duplicating what's already in the market.
• 8:18
  So we're truly creating new items and the items have to stand for themselves, just like national Brand item does.
• 8:25
  So it doesn't stay in the assortment just because it's members Mark, but it also helps us deliver trust because we've got our members Mark Community.
• 8:34
  It has over 200,000 members today, and we only went public with it in February.
• 8:39
  So it's been extraordinary, the growth that we've seen.
• 8:42
  And that community for us is doing over 200,000 activities per month.
• 8:47
  And they're giving us very, very specific things that they want from us.
• 8:51
  And they're guiding us on how do we differentiate and being able to do that with them at the speed and the pace that we're able to do it, we're able to bring the cost down, you know, to innovate,
• 9:01
  which helps us keep our prices really, really low.
• 9:03
  Yeah.
• 9:04
  And I teased it at the beginning, but that was what I was not aware of that you all were doing, that you had that many people mobilized on product development for Sam's club.
• 9:13
  So, you know, with the holiday season around the quarter, like, I'm curious, like, how are you thinking about that and how are you kind of amassing the troops of those 200,000 people to help you with the season?
• 9:24
  Yeah.
• 9:24
  So we're excited about the holiday season and you know, we're an item business.
• 9:28
  So I'm really, really excited about our 100 inch Vizio TV for under $1500.
• 9:33
  That's an incredible value.
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  100 inches.
• 9:37
  Yeah, yeah, 100 inches.
• 9:38
  So.
• 9:39
  And you know, I can see you watching a bowl game on that.
• 9:41
  On that thing.
• 9:42
  I see myself watching a bowl game on 100 inch TV, my friend.
• 9:45
  Yes.
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  Yeah.
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  And so, and then.
• 9:46
  And then members Mark, toys, which are.
• 9:48
  Which are incredible.
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  I think it's one of.
• 9:51
  One of the best expressions of members Mark, and like what our community can actually help us do.
• 9:57
  So the team went after more wood protect plush and less plastic.
• 10:01
  And.
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  And so that, that came through.
• 10:03
  So the members Mark rocket playset.
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  That's the one for me in the assortment.
• 10:07
  And then specifically the holiday meal.
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  The holiday meal.
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  The holiday meal.
• 10:11
  Right.
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  So it feeds 15 people for under $10 per person, has an appetizer, has two proteins, multiple desserts.
• 10:19
  And our members very specifically told us they wanted green beans with cranberries.
• 10:23
  Right.
• 10:24
  And so we're able to deliver exactly what they wanted at a value that's unmatched.
• 10:28
  Yeah.
• 10:29
  And also I learned that some people don't like turkey, they also want ham.
• 10:31
  Yes, that is right.
• 10:33
  Some people want ham and others don't want ham, they want turkey.
• 10:36
  But at Sam's Club, we will get you more value.
• 10:39
  We'll get you whatever you need.
• 10:40
  That's awesome.
• 10:41
  Well, thank you, man.
• 10:41
  Thanks for making time.
• 10:42
  You know, coming off stage and then coming over and doing this with us means a lot to us, and it's great to meet you and.
• 10:48
  Yeah.
• 10:48
  And I hope the rest of the show goes really well for you.
• 10:50
  Awesome.
• 10:50
  It's great to meet you, and thanks for having me.
• 10:52
  Yeah.
• 10:52
  Thank you.
• 10:52
  And thank you to Vuzion for sponsoring all of our content from Grocery Shop here at the conference.
• 10:57
  And as always, be careful out there.