2014 THE EDMOND SUN

BUSINESS
News Editor:
Scott Wanish
scott@edmondsun. com
341-2121, ext . 102
Photo reprints:
www.edmondsun.com
SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014 THE EDMOND SUN
A35
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BUSINESS
The Offces at
COVELL VILLAGE
405-850-0987 | www.covellvillage.info
(SW Corner of Covell Village Dr. & N. Kelly Ave.)
FOR SALE OR LEASE CUSTOM BUILD 2,000 TO 12,000 SQ FT.
PREMIUM OFFICE SPACE
CLOSE TO HOME
DAVID BOHANON, BROKER - OWNER
DBOHANON@BLACKSTONECOM.COM
BLACKSTONE
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ADVISORS, LC
BUSINESS
IN BRIEF
Crowd-funding workshop set
in OKC on July 29
The best resources for busi-
ness finances are right at your
fingertips if you are a small
business owner. You simply
have to know where to look.
Small business owners will
benefit from Crowd Funding
for Entrepreneurs, an exclu-
sive workshop scheduled from
9 a.m. to noon July 29. This spe-
cial session taught by presenter
Tim Jeffcoat, deputy district
director at the Small Business
Administration, will be at the
Francis Tuttle Technology
Center, Room D1810A,
Corporate Training Entrance,
12777 N. Rockwell Ave.,
Oklahoma City.
Registration for this free
event may be completed online
at www.reiwbc.org. Early regis-
tration is strongly encouraged.
Inrecent tough economic
times, crowd funding has
become a popular alternative
method of raising finances
from a number of backers for a
business, project or idea. This
method has been popularized
by multiple websites. Apart
from the advantage of raising
your own capital, a benefit of
crowd funding is that it creates
a strong network of support for
your business. Topics to be cov-
ered in this workshop include
crowd funding platforms, suc-
cessful campaigns in
Oklahoma, keys to prosperous
campaigns, and creating your
own campaign.
If business loans are not of
interest or available for your
efforts, crowd funding may be
the perfect source of funding to
get your business off the
ground, said Jennifer Edwards,
REI WBC coordinator.
Event partners are SBA,
Francis Tuttle Technology
Center and REI Womens
Business Center, funded in part
by the U.S. Small Business
Administration.
For more information about
this event or others, call
Edwards at 405-319-8190, or
visit www.reiwbc.org or
facebook.com/REIWBC.
Cole promoted at Arledge and
Associates
Ann M. Cole has been pro-
moted to senior audit manager
at Arledge and Associates PC,
the Edmond accounting firm
announced.
Acertified public accountant
and chartered global manage-
ment accountant, Cole previ-
ously served the
firms clients as an
audit manager.
She will continue
to work directly
with clients in her
new leadership
role.
Anns back-
ground includes
service with the states auditor
and inspector as well as in pri-
vate industry as a controller
and chief financial officer, said
Jim Denton, the firms manag-
ing partner. Having experi-
enced the auditing process
from both sides of the table
gives Ann the qualifications
and knowledge to help guide
our audit team.
Cole received her masters
degree in accountancy from
the University of Oklahoma in
1996 after earning her bache-
lors degree in accounting
from OU in 1991.
Arledge & Associates, PC is a
recognized leader in the
accounting industry offering
practical solutions in the areas
of tax planning, auditing, con-
sulting, accounting advisory
services and client accounting.
Cole
Grocer introduces
shoppers to big savings
BY PATTY MILLER
THE EDMOND SUN
Excitement was at its peak as
Edmond residents lined up
Wednesday to be the first inside
Edmonds newest grocery store.
Although ALDI at 1001 W.
Edmond Road in Edmond had its
grand opening Thursday morn-
ing, the soft opening was
Wednesday and Edmond resi-
dents were lining up an hour
before the doors were open to
cash in on the savings.
Kathy Marron and Jackie Hight,
residents at Creekside Village,
were the first and second cus-
tomers in the store Wednesday.
I have previously shopped at
ALDI in the city, Marron said.
But I will be shopping here in
the future. The retiree added,
The prices are unbelievable and
the store is family friendly.
With nearly 1,300 stores in 32
states, ALDI is known for high-
quality grocery items at incredi-
bly low prices.
We are pleased to bring our
first store to Edmond to help cus-
tomers get high-quality products
at everyday low prices, said
Scott Huska, Denton division
vice president for ALDI. We
challenge shoppers to switch
from national brands to our
high-quality exclusive brands
and save up to 50 percent with-
out compromising. As important
as price is, the only way to attract
and keep shoppers is to have
quality products.
Customers can expect to find
more than 1,500 of the most
commonly purchased items sold
under ALDI exclusive brands for
prices up to 50 percent less than
traditional supermarkets.
Even though 90 percent of the
items offered are under private
labels, the store still carries the
iconic items such as Coke and
Tide.
ALDI takes efficiency to the
next high by eliminating over-
head costs by offering smart
practices, such as a locking cart
rental system through which
shoppers insert a quarter to
release a cart and receive the
quarter back upon the carts
return.
Other cost-saving practices
include a smaller store footprint,
17,000 square feet with five aisles
covering 11,000 square feet
devoted to products, open car-
ton displays and encouragement
of customers to bring their own
shopping bags. Bags may be pur-
chased at the store for 10 cents
for a sturdy, reuseable plastic bag
or 6 cents for a paper bag.
I have shopped at the store on
Penn, but this one is much more
convenient, said Rita Edwards.
I have always loved the pro-
duce, sometimes they offer
organically grown produce. The
main thing is the prices, they
blowme away.
To ensure its exclusive brands
meet or exceed the national
brands on taste and quality,
ALDI conducts rigorous testing
on all products, said Director of
Operations Chris Daniels.
ALDI stands behind this qual-
ity with a Double Guarantee. If
for any reason a customer is not
100 percent satisfied with a food
product, ALDI will gladly replace
the product and refund the cus-
tomers money, Daniels said.
Our customers are excited
about the produce we have
fresh deliveries daily.
Daniels said lower prices are
also possible because of the store
employees working there.
Our people we hire are intelli-
gent, hardworking, focused
employees, Daniels said. One
of the reasons we are able to
keep prices low is because of the
people we hire. We offer good
salaries for our employees. The
entry salary for a checker is
$11.50 an hour with benefits. As
a result, we pass the savings on
to our customers.
Customer retention is one of
the goals of the store, and they
have found just such a cus-
tomer in 88-year-old Lydia
Scheuring. For Scheuring it is
the lowprices but also the
fresh-baked stollen, a buttery,
fruit-filled, sugar-coated bread
offered only at Christmas.
I started shopping at ALDI in
1957 in Germany, and when I
came to the United States in
1976, I continued shopping at
ALDI, Scheuring said. At
Christmas, I used to buy 25-30
stollen each year to give as gifts
to friends, neighbors and busi-
ness customers.
This new store will be able to
serve a population that is not
being served at this time, Mayor
Charles Lamb said following the
Grand Opening ribbon cutting.
New business is always a
good thing, Lamb said. I hope
they do a booming business.
The Edmond store features
high ceilings, natural lighting
and environmentally friendly
building materials such as
recycled materials and energy-
saving refrigeration and light
bulbs to ensure that cus-
tomers enjoy a shopping experi-
ence that is simple and easy to
navigate.
Store manager is Daniel Imes,
opening his second ALDI in as
many years. He opened the
Yukon ALDI last year.
We are a grocery retailer that
has grown without merger or
acquisition, said Heather
Rimmer, director of real estate.
And, ALDI has nearly 1,300
stores located in 32 states.
Rimmer said in the past few
years, ALDI has added, on aver-
age, 80 new stores each year,
expanding the ability to bring
grocery savings to more people
every day.
We have stores primarily
from the East Coast to Kansas
with a presence in Georgia and
Texas and plans to open a store
in California, Rimmer said. We
have eight stores in the
Oklahoma City area and 17 in
the state.
The ALDI stores are a U.S.
subsidiary originating in
Germany with more than 5,500
stores worldwide.
ALDI keeps stores open dur-
ing prime shopping times. The
new location will be open from
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday
through Sunday. ALDI accepts
cash, debit and EBT cards.
ALDI has been named the
2014 Retailer of the Year by
Private Label Store Brands mag-
azine for its strong commitment
to value and innovation-focused
private brand product develop-
ment. For more information
about ALDI, visit www.aldi.us.
Low-price grocery leader ALDI
opens first Edmond store
PATTY MILLER | THE EDMOND SUN
ALDI employee Janell Adams helps open the new Edmond store at the check-out line on opening day,
Wednesday. Customers formed long lines waiting to be checked out during the stores morning
hours. The store, at 1001 W. Edmond Road, is the first Edmond ALDI store. Known for low prices, high
quality products and great customer service make ALDI the place to stop for customers. The Grand
Opening took place Thursday.
PATTY MILLER | THE EDMOND SUN
ALDI employees April Smelley, far leftand Bailey Bell, in green shirt
the ribbon end while Store Manager Daniel Imes makes a cut on
the opening day ribbon. Joining Imes are City Council member Nick
Massey, Mayor Charles Lamb, Director of Real Estate Heather
Rimmer, City Council member Elizabeth Waner, ALDI employee
Brent Heiden, Director of Operations Chris Daniels, Bell and
Brandon Fletcher. ALDI, known for its low prices and high quality
products, held its Grand Opening Thursday. The store is at 1001 W.
Edmond Road in Edmond.
BUSINESS
LIST HEADER
Deputy court
administrator retiring
from Supreme Court
Mike Mayberry, deputy
court administrator for the
Oklahoma Supreme Court,
will be retiring at the end
of this month.
Mayberry, who is an
attorney, has worked for
the Oklahoma Supreme
Court since February 2006.
In that posi-
tion he has
co-directed
the
Administrative
Office of the
Courts for 90
personnel
who serve the
needs of the
judicial court and he has
worked closely with
judges, court clerks and
court reporters around
the state of Oklahoma.
Hes overseen manage-
ment functions which
include budgets, pro-
grams and internal and
external communications
including media and
legislative strategies.
In August, Mayberry will
become Executive
Director of the Oklahoma
Agricultural Mediation
Program.
He has worked for the
state for 34 years, first
serving as a public affairs
officer for Oklahoma
Tourism and Recreation
and later as the
Department of
Transportations director
of administration.
Anative of Claremore,
Mayberry is a 1977 gradu-
ate of the University of
Oklahoma with a BA
degree in journalism and
public relations.
He also is a graduate of
Oklahoma City University
where he received his
Juris Doctorate in law
in 1987.
Mayberry