Professor Michelle Roehm Comments on Lowes Foods Changes

Lowes cuts hours of some workers
Published Oct. 1 | by Richard Craver
Resposted from Winston-Salem Journal

Lowes Foods said yesterday that it is reducing the work hours for some non-management store employees in the Triad.

Lowes Foods said yesterday that it is reducing the work hours for some non-management store employees in the Triad.
“One percent of full-time employees have been asked to step down to part time,” said Steve Hall, the president of the Winston-Salem company. He said that the number of employees affected is “less than 100” in the Triad.

Debbie Williams, a company spokeswoman, said the cutback in hours is aimed at providing more schedule flexibility.
Employees at Lowes’ headquarters aren’t affected, she said. A severance package is being provided to those who don’t want to work part time. Full-time employees who are at retirement age and who decline part-time hours have been offered a retirement and severance package.

Williams said that health benefits will not change for employees who accept part-time hours.

The company also is swapping out its green color scheme for black as part of “refreshing its brand,” Williams said. The decision for black was made “to change things up a little and add a more professional touch,” she said. The changes began in the Charlotte market and are rolling out in other stores.

Michelle Roehm, a marketing professor at Wake Forest University Schools of Business, said that changing brand color is not unusual. “Green has natural connotations of freshness and environmental friendliness,” Roehm said. “Black suggests class and sophistication.”