Samaniego has a focus on developing talent. He does this by getting to know his team and finding out what drives them. He creates an environment that encourages and enables them so they can reach their potential whether that is to be a better team member or possibly getting into leadership.

Samaniego and his team plunged into their new community with active participation in the Urban Hay Day, the Hudsonville Community Fair, Concerts on the Green and membership in a number of organizations including the West Michigan Hispanic and Hudsonville chambers of commerce.

The evidence shows that Samaniego has customers walking out of the store with smiles on their faces. Last year, his store ranked No. 1 in the company for cashier performance, No. 1 in greetings, No. 8 in speed of checkout and No. 4 in overall customer focus.

Combine the fact that Samaniego’s store had an 98.8-percent in-stock achievement in 2018 with its 87.22-percent “ability to purchase” score (17th best in the company), and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what he’s doing right.