Layla Kasha on community engagement
From Top Women in Grocery: How Grocery Outlet's CMO Takes the Brand to New Markets · · Progressive Grocer
“The owners get to pick who their partner is. That is one of the most beautiful things because the community knows what they need, the owner knows what they're connecting to and that's the story.”
On , Layla Kasha, Senior Vice President & CMO at GROCERY OUTLET HLDNG CORP, spoke about community engagement during Top Women in Grocery: How Grocery Outlet's CMO Takes the Brand to New Markets on Progressive Grocer.
About Layla Kasha
Layla Kasha, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Grocery Outlet, has discussed the company's marketing strategy in several recent appearances. She described the retailer's model as a "beautiful marriage of entrepreneurial spirit and the backing of a corporate brand," noting that its independently owned stores allow operators to tailor their offerings and community partnerships to local needs. Kasha stated that the company's marketing focuses on the people behind the business rather than just products, and that its decentralized social media strategy, which empowers store owners to post content, proved advantageous during the pandemic by enabling real-time communication with customers. Kasha has also spoken about her career experiences and the role of women in leadership. In a 2018 TEDx talk, she said that "every single break in my career has come from a man" and cited a 2011 UCLA study that found women often preferred male bosses. She described what she called the "queen bee syndrome" as a "career-killing phenomenon" and advocated for women to support one another professionally, stating, "Be the girl boss you wish you would have had." More recently, she credited women, including her boss Pam Burke, for her success and emphasized the importance of failing forward and taking risks.