Dan Croce, ANR91
Supermarket president
ALUMNI & FRIENDS | It seems easy to put groceries on the shelf for consumers to come in and buy, admits ACME Markets President Dan Croce, ANR91. The reality, however, is a far more complex interplay of understanding consumer demand while inspiring brand loyalty and selection in a competitive marketplace.
“Our job is to feed the communities we serve,” says Croce, who has overseen the expansion of ACME’s 107 stores to 178 in the past year alone. “That’s 178 stores with 178 different markets,” he adds.
Each store must therefore respond to its immediate consumer needs—defined by a 2- to 3-mile radius. In some instances, that means providing more organic or ethnic food choices. In others, that might mean accommodating shoppers who would prefer to make their grocery and food decisions digitally. In every case, the store must maintain a “consistent ACME DNA,” which Croce defines as being “fresh, full, friendly and clean.”
It’s a business, after all—and one Croce learned about early on as a student at UD.
“My education was a big part of my understanding of food retailing,” he says, crediting his former professor Ulrich “Carl” Toensmeyer, ANR63M, with teaching the basics and essentials of product management and exposing the diverse opportunities and career paths within the world of agriculture.
It’s a world Croce navigated from his early days as a cart pusher and bagger, always believing in the value of doing the best work, no matter the role.
“I never looked at my career like a ladder,” he says. “But the higher I went, I realized it was less about what I knew and more about how I managed relationships with those who worked with me and for me.”
