Rooted in Idaho, Built for the Future

Albertsons CEO Susan Morris on legacy, local relevance, and what it takes to serve customers in a rapidly changing world.
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Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce | CEO & Business Leader Speaker Series
Presented by: Regence Blue Shield of Idaho and Albertsons Companies Inc, Exclusive Airline Sponsor: Alaska Airlines

When Susan Morris stepped to the podium at the Boise Metro Chamber's CEO & Business Leader Speaker Series, she did so not as an outsider presenting to a room full of strangers — but as a leader coming home. "It's not that our company only grew here," she told the assembled business leaders. "It's that we were founded here. The core of who we are, the culture of our company, our values — they started here in Idaho."

That sense of rootedness set the tone for a wide-ranging conversation about where one of America's largest grocery chains has been, where it's headed, and why Boise remains central to everything it does.

More Than a Grocery Store — An Idaho Institution
Albertsons is a name Idahoans know well, but the scale of the company might surprise even longtime customers. Morris walked the room through the numbers: over 2,200 stores across 35 states, 19 manufacturing plants, 22 distribution centers, and 1,700 pharmacies operating under 23 different banners — from Safeway and Vons to Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, and Randalls.

"Shaw's is a 165-year-old banner," Morris noted. "When I think about banners that are hundreds of years old, it helps me think about legacy — and how we want to shape the future of not only the company, but of our people and of the communities that support us so well."

In Idaho alone, Albertsons operates 44 stores — 13 in Boise and roughly 26 across the Treasure Valley — making it one of the state's largest employers with nearly 5,000 associates statewide. Over the last five years, the company has remodeled more than 20 of those stores, investing over $40 million in capital improvements. Two new locations in Star and Meridian represent the next generation of the format, with two to three additional Idaho stores already in the pipeline.

From 16th & State to the Next Chapter
The story of Albertsons begins at 16th and State in Boise — where Joe Albertson opened the company's first store on July 21, 1939. That store is still there today, a monument made from original bricks marking the spot where it all started. For Morris, it's more than a historical footnote.

"What I love about that site is that it is still there, still thriving — and I see it as a wonderful hub of the community it serves."

On the other end of the spectrum sits the Broadway Market — store #199 — which Morris called the company's Idaho flagship. At over 60,000 square feet, it replaced a 25,000-square-foot predecessor and showcases the best of Albertsons' many banners nationwide. It's also a proving ground for what the store of the future looks like: the learnings from Broadway are now being applied to new locations across the state and beyond.

Morris also touched on a chapter of Albertsons history that many may not know: a period when company leadership didn't own the Idaho stores. "They loved Idaho and didn't want to leave," she said. "And as soon as they could, they bought them back." The room responded with applause.

Locally Great, Nationally Strong
Running over 2,200 stores across 35 states requires a paradox of scale and intimacy. Morris described Albertsons' operating philosophy with a phrase central to her leadership: locally great, nationally strong.

The national side is about leverage — using the company's $80 billion footprint to negotiate better cost of goods, invest in technology, and create efficiencies that free up capital for customer-facing improvements. But Morris was equally emphatic about the local side.

"We're not making decisions for Boise, Idaho from 1,100 miles away. We're making them from here. And I think that matters."

That philosophy shows up in the details. The 4th of July ad in Texas might lead with brisket at a specific price point, while the Idaho version reflects what Treasure Valley families actually want. Albertsons sources its ranch beef through Agri Beef, with a local producer within 50 miles of every Treasure Valley store. Local partners like Zarqa Hummus have a home on Albertsons shelves because the local team advocated for them.
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"There are ways we need to put a unique fingerprint on what we're providing," Morris said. "Because we're not all the same. We don't all shop the same."

Fresh as a Towering Strength
In a world where Walmart, Costco, and Amazon together sell three times more groceries than Albertsons and Kroger combined, Morris was direct about where neighborhood grocers can and must win: fresh.
Albertsons' mix of fresh sales relative to total store is stronger than its competitive set — and Morris wants to widen that gap. The company rejects roughly 3% of incoming produce that doesn't meet its freshness standards (repurposed, never wasted). Beef is cut on-site. Butchers will cut a custom steak to whatever thickness a customer wants.

"The peach, or those gumdrop grapes you pick off the shelf in-store — that's the same product we're sending you from e-commerce. It's coming from the store just around the corner."

That neighborhood proximity is more than a convenience story. It's an operational advantage that no distribution-center-only model can match for speed, freshness, or personalization — and it's a moat Morris intends to keep deepening.

The "Phygital" Store — Where Physical Meets Digital
Six years ago, e-commerce represented a sliver of Albertsons' business. Today it's 10% — and still growing double digits. Morris used the term "phygital" to describe the blending of the physical and digital retail experience, and it's clear Albertsons is investing heavily to own that intersection.

The company's app is far more than a digital flyer. It learns customer preferences over time, personalizes offers, can scan a handwritten recipe and add the ingredients to a shopping list, and uses AI to suggest dinner ideas based on what's already in a customer's refrigerator. Groceries can be delivered in under an hour in most Idaho markets.
AI is also powering the back end. Automated ordering systems now anticipate demand shifts based on weather, promotions, and competitive changes. The same technology is being extended into fresh categories — optimizing orders for sandwiches, produce, and prepared foods to minimize waste while keeping shelves full. Store managers can speak with an AI assistant named "LB," asking it to pull sales figures, department performance, or labor percentages while walking the floor — no computer required.

"We're firm believers that there are these weird things called humans that actually matter — and our ability to automate the tasks that matter less frees our people to focus on the customer."

When customers shop both in-store and online, Morris noted, their lifetime value increases measurably. Add pharmacy, and that figure grows sixfold. The ecosystem is the strategy.

Meeting Customers Where They Are — and Giving Back
Even as Idaho's economy has grown, Morris was candid that customers across all income levels are feeling financial pressure. More shoppers are buying on promotion, using digital coupons, and splitting grocery trips across multiple retailers. Albertsons' response isn't to race to the bottom on price — it's to sharpen what Morris calls "the value equation."

"Our goal is not to be a no-frills retailer with the lowest price in town — though sometimes we are," she said. "It's about balance. The right price, exceptional produce, great service, a birthday cake that would cost three times as much at a specialty shop, a custom cut of beef. All of those things together."

On the community side, the numbers reflect genuine investment. Albertsons donated over $430 million in food and support across the U.S. last year. In Idaho alone, the company has donated $12 million and helped provide 13 million meals. The Boise Open — now entering its next three-year chapter with Albertsons' continued sponsorship — has generated nearly $40 million for local charities over four decades, with every ticket sold by and benefiting a charitable organization.

Morris closed her remarks the way she began them — with gratitude and a sense of responsibility that felt personal, not corporate.

"We are very proud to be an Idaho-based company," she said. "We're proud to partner with all of you to make Idaho a stronger economy, a beautiful place to live, a wonderful place to raise children — a place where people can not only grow, but thrive and make a difference."

For the business leaders in the room, it was a reminder that one of America's largest grocery chains is, at its core, still the company Joe Albertson founded on a street corner in Boise more than 85 years ago — and still very much at home here.

Thank you to our additional sponsors: Fortinet, Idaho Business Review, Intermountain Gas Company and Proctor & Gamble

Susan Morris delivered these remarks at the Boise Metro Chamber's CEO and Business Leader Speaker Series event on March 19, 2026 at The Grove Hotel. This blog post was prepared from a transcript using the help if AI.

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