{"id":132748,"date":"2021-11-29T20:24:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T04:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=132748"},"modified":"2021-11-29T20:24:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T04:24:25","slug":"president-biden-during-meeting-with-ceos-of-companies-to-discuss-the-holiday-shopping-season-and-his-administrations-work-to-move-goods-to-shelves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=132748","title":{"rendered":"President Biden During Meeting with CEOs of Companies to Discuss the Holiday Shopping Season and His Administration\u2019s Work to Move Goods to Shelves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;All right.  If I can get my pages unstuck here, we\u2019re ready.  I\u2019m going to take my mask off when I speak here.  First of all, thanks for joining us today.  I really appreciate it.  I know how incredibly busy you all are and the heck of a job you\u2019re doing to make sure people aren\u2019t disappointed this past Thanksgiving, as well as Christmas coming up.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Su9dqvfEado\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This morning, I provided an update on the Omicron variant and told the American people that it is a \u2014 the new variant is cause for concern, but not a cause for panic.  And we\u2019re going to fight this with science and speed.  We\u2019re not going to fight it with chaos and confusion.  And we believe we can deal with it.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, I\u2019m going to be putting forward a detailed strategy on how to deal with this new variant.  And that is not shutdowns or lockdowns, but with more widespread vaccination and more boosters, testing, and \u2014 and more.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, I\u2019ve said the best protection against this new variant is to get fully vaccinated and get a booster shot.  And I urge all Americans who haven\u2019t yet done that: Get it done today.  There\u2019s no excuse.  We have over 80,000 places you can get it done.  I mean, there\u2019s just \u2014 there\u2019s no reason.  It\u2019s free.  It\u2019s available.  And if you qualify for the booster, get it done today. <\/p>\n<p>And now to the business at hand: I know it\u2019s been an incredibly busy time for all of you here today, and \u2014 and that\u2019s a very good thing, from my perspective.  But then again, I\u2019m not doing all the work you all are doing.  (Laughter.)  But all kidding aside, it really \u2014 it really matters. <\/p>\n<p>I remember \u2014 and I think we all do \u2014 last year: families celebrating the holidays apart from one another or on a video or \u2014 for fear of spreading a deadly virus. <\/p>\n<p>And this year, thanks to scientists, researchers, and doctors who developed the COVID-19 vaccines, and the nurses and other frontline workers who saw to it that it was administered \u2014 many of them your employees in your stores, who were able to have a very different Thanksgiving as a consequence of that than last Thanksgiving \u2014 reunited with friends and family and I think, maybe the most important, with a little more hope \u2014 a little more hope.  <\/p>\n<p>And fewer Americans were worried about putting food on the table.  And hunger is actually down 40 percent this year in the United States of America. <\/p>\n<p>4.5 million more Americans than last year had the dignity of a job.<\/p>\n<p>What it also means is that as we\u2019re looking toward the holiday season, we feel a lot more like the ones we had in the past. <\/p>\n<p>Consumer spending has recovered to where it was headed before the pandemic.  Early estimates are that Black Friday sales were up nearly a third since last year and in-store sales were up by nearly \u2014 by more \u2014 even more than that.  I believe it was 40-some percent by \u2013- I don\u2019t have the number on top \u2014 I think it was 44 percent \u2014 something like that.<\/p>\n<p>And \u2014 and so, we\u2019re hearing similar reports from Small Business Saturday.  I don\u2019t have those numbers yet. <\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m sure that some of the people watching this online are also doing a little Cyber Monday shopping right now. <\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s why I brought everyone together today, and thank you for accommodating it. <\/p>\n<p>The business leaders who are gathered here today represent a broad swath of American shopping: brick-and-mortar and online stores, national and local grocery chains, our nation\u2019s largest retailer, and makers and sellers of toys, electronics, and health supplies. <\/p>\n<p>I want to hear from each of you about what you\u2019re seeing this holiday season; how well prepared are you to and \u2014 to have products you need on your shelves; and, you know, how you\u2019ve innovated and hired to overcome the supply chain challenges you have; and kept workers safe from COVID-19 so that the American people can have a holiday season that they\u2019ve been long hoping for.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, I want to hear about the challenges facing smaller businesses.  The small businesses are so important to our communities.  They don\u2019t have the same leverage as many of you do. <\/p>\n<p>And finally, I want to hear your ideas on how the federal government can continue partnering with you all to keep shelves stocked so American consumers can get what they need. <\/p>\n<p>And some of you have been working with my port envoy, John Porcari, to get goods through our ports faster.  And we\u2019ve seen some progress in that effort with a number of containers sitting on docks for more than eight days \u2014 down by over 40 percent this month.  And we keep building on that progress. <\/p>\n<p>And so, I\u2019d like to start the conversation with \u2014 Meg, with your permission \u2014 by turning to Meg Ham, president of the Food Lion.  Meg, food is, to state the obvious, a big part of the holiday season. <\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  Yes.  (Laughs.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And your grocery store chain has a large footprint.  You\u2019re in 10 states with over 1,100 supermarkets.  How did Thanksgiving go? <\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, you\u2019re in my state as well. <\/p>\n<p>And can \u2014 can you tell me about your company\u2019s ability to get the products you need from your suppliers and on your store shelves?  And just talk a little with me about what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  Sure, I can.  And first of all, I\u2019d like to say thank you for allowing us to come together today to talk about this very important topic.  And certainly, the pandemic has had an impact, as you described, on how customers do their grocery shopping and what customers are buying when they do do their grocery shopping. <\/p>\n<p>And, first and foremost, I\u2019d like to say that our supply chain has \u2014 is strong and robust. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  All right. <\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  And we have ample product inside of our stores for customers to choose from during this holiday.  However, they have changed their shopping patterns. <\/p>\n<p>And this is our second Thanksgiving, as you mentioned, during the pandemic.  And the holiday season is incredibly important as it relates to food, but I think also as it relates to our country and especially with Thanksgiving \u2014 a time to come together to maintain traditions, to start new traditions, to maintain some sense of normalcy, and to move forward with hope, as you said.<\/p>\n<p>And so, Thanksgiving is an incredibly important time for us.  And I think, first and foremost, we started with an immense amount of planning to be ready for the business and for customers to be able to buy what they need to at our stores.  And we worked very early with our vendor partners to get clear on our forecasts for the business and what we could do together, from a logistic standpoint, to ensure they had the supplies they needed, we had the supplies we needed to get to the customer.  So, it was a great collaboration and partnership as we move forward. <\/p>\n<p>So, whether it is everyday items or important items during these holiday times around fresh collards, where I\u2019m located, or canned cranberry sauce, we worked very differently to figure out how to move the product, how to work with local farmers to get product directly to our stores to ensure customers had what they needed this holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  How much working with local farmers is engaged in your \u2014 in your operation?<\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  We have a large local program across all of our footprint, and it\u2019s an important part of our produce business specifically, and all across our store will we have local products. <\/p>\n<p>So, we have strong partnerships across the store. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  One last question \u2014<\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  Okay.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  \u2014 I don\u2019t want to dominate this \u2014 but what \u2014 was there any one product that was harder to garner than others that was needed or \u2014 not needed, but is -\u2013 you know, was looked for for Thanksgiving?<\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  There \u2013- as you know, there are just so many that are special to individual people.  And we know what they are, and we worked really hard to get all of them.  And if we couldn\u2019t get one kind, we got another brand.  And so \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Gotcha.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  \u2014 there wasn\u2019t one particular one; it was focused on being able to provide the special items during this time of year. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, great.  Glad you had a good \u2014 are you looking forward to what \u2014 you don\u2019t have any numbers or ideas of what you expect from Saturday or today on \u2014 <\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  We had a strong Thanksgiving holiday season and expect that that will continue into the Thanks- \u2014 to the Christmas selling season as well. <\/p>\n<p>We have our own supply chain, so we have our own distribution -\u2013<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  \u2014 logistics network that helps us work with our partners to move product. <\/p>\n<p>And we also really appreciate the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act finalization that has helped move us forward and will substantially improve the roads and the bridges to help the seamless supply of product across our 10 st- \u2014 our 10-state footprint. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  It\u2019s interesting you mention it \u2014 I think people underestimate just how out of sync our infrastructure has been for so long.  And I think that people who live near that bridge that certain trucks can\u2019t go over or near that fire station where you have to go 10 miles around the creek to get \u2014 because you can\u2019t go over the particular bridge or sidewalks, highways, et cetera.  So, I\u2019m looking forward to it being a lot better over the next couple years. <\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  Yeah.  Good.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So \u2013-<\/p>\n<p>MS. HAM:  We\u2019re planning for a great December holidays.  And, it\u2019s planned already, so \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: All right.<\/p>\n<p>Doug, I know you run a small outfit \u2013- (laughter) \u2014 called Walmart.  And I want to tell you something: I don\u2019t remember when you all \u2014 it\u2019s not a question, but I\u2019m just curious \u2014 when you became the largest food retailer in the country. <\/p>\n<p>And \u2014 but I spent more time walking through the aisles of Walmart than I want to admit over my -\u2013 because there\u2019s one right down the street from where I live in Delaware. <\/p>\n<p>Anyway, how are things looking for you this holiday season, Doug, and \u2013- and across both retail and the grocery side?  Walmart has been working closely with my team to clear bottlenecks at the \u2014 and I really appreciate the help \u2014 in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. <\/p>\n<p>Have you seen any progress in the ability of a company like yours to get boxes off the docks faster, get product from \u2014 from the docks to your shelves, et cetera?  Can you talk to me a little bit about that?<\/p>\n<p>MR. MCMILLON:  Yes, sir, I can.  Thank you for the question and thank you for your partnership.  And thanks for shopping in our stores. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)<\/p>\n<p>MR. MCMILLON:  I\u2019d like to take the opportunity to also thank our associates because they\u2019re doing an outstanding job and have been through this whole period, and that continues up until this moment.<\/p>\n<p>We think we\u2019re going to have a really good holiday season.  We shared our earnings results a couple of weeks ago.  And we told everybody that.  And we shared that our inventory levels are up more than 10 percent.<\/p>\n<p>So, while we\u2019re all concerned about the supply chain, we have more inventory than we did a year ago and have the inventory that we need to be able to support the business. <\/p>\n<p>And we are seeing progress.  The port and transit delays are improving.  As you and I discussed not long ago, about two thirds of what we sell in the United States is made or grown here.  That other third has a meaningful portion coming from Canada and Mexico, which is helpful. <\/p>\n<p>For the part that comes outside of North America, the port issue has been a big issue.  But we\u2019ve really seen a lot of improvement.<\/p>\n<p>Because of what you all did to help with overnight hours and because of the team\u2019s work to reroute to other ports, to extend our lead times, and have other creative solutions, we\u2019ve seen an increase in throughput over the last four weeks of about 26 percent nationally in terms of getting containers through ports. <\/p>\n<p>And in the Southern California ports in particular, where you\u2019ve been really focused, we\u2019ve seen a 51 percent improvement in that flow through \u2014 <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Wow.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MCMILLON:  \u2014 and that\u2019s helped a lot as it relates to categories like toys, which are so important for Christmas. <\/p>\n<p>So, we\u2019ll keep working to make sure that we\u2019re in a good in-stock position as we go all the way through the season.  We do expect it to be strong.  And there are a few items, as there are every year with the hottest toys or things in electronics, that we wish we had more of. <\/p>\n<p>But generally speaking, we\u2019re in good shape and really appreciate the partnership. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.  You\u2019ve been really \u2014 really cooperative.  I can\u2019t tell you how much we appreciate it. <\/p>\n<p>And I was -\u2013 I was really pleased, quite frankly, and proud of the cooperation you saw between business and labor in the ports in Southern California.  It \u2014 it made me feel good they \u2014 you know, you were there \u2014 it didn\u2019t take much to convince them that we should move \u2014 go to 24\/7, seven days a week. <\/p>\n<p>And anyway, thank you for being \u2013-<\/p>\n<p>MR. MCMILLON: It takes all of us. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  It sure as heck does. <\/p>\n<p>All right.  Well, I guess I\u2019m going to turn this over now to \u2014 to Brian.  He\u2019s going to moderate the rest.  But I warn you, I\u2019m going to intervene with \u2013 with questions, with your permission.<\/p>\n<p>2:22 P.M. EST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;All right. If I can get my pages unstuck here, we\u2019re ready. I\u2019m going to take my mask off when I speak here. First of all, thanks for joining us today. I really appreciate it. I know how incredibly busy you all are and the heck of a job you\u2019re doing to make sure [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Fullscreen-capture-11292021-81955-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132748"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132750,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132748\/revisions\/132750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/132749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}