The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has reached a seven-year exclusive agreement with Hy-Vee, Inc. to extend their partnership, making Hy-Vee the Official Grocery Partner of the Kansas City Chiefs through 2023. The financial details of the agreement were not released.
Hy-Vee has partnered with the Chiefs since 2009, making the 2016 season its eighth year with the club. In fan surveys and focus groups, Hy-Vee stands as one of the most recognizable Chiefs partners, specifically becoming synonymous with tailgating at Arrowhead.
"For nearly a decade, Hy-Vee has been a loyal and leading supporter of the Chiefs, both in Kansas City and the broader Chiefs Kingdom," Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. "It has been a great privilege to partner with a strong, well-respected Midwestern company that focuses on delivering quality, variety and value, and is a leader in customer service. We look forward to our continued partnership with Hy-Vee as we expand programs and offerings for our dedicated fans who are loyal customers of theirs."
Since beginning their partnership in 2009, the Chiefs and Hy-Vee have teamed up on a variety of major organizational initiatives to engage fans in not only the greater Kansas City area, but also throughout Chiefs Kingdom. Most notably, Hy-Vee was an integral part in launching the inaugural Chiefs Kingdom Food Drive in 2014. By offering fans the ability to donate non-perishable food items at all local Hy-Vee stores, the Chiefs Kingdom Food Drive delivered more than 179,000 meals for Harvesters – The Community Network to help fight food insecurity in Kansas City. Hy-Vee renewed its commitment to the Chiefs Kingdom Food Drive in 2015 and donated 6,000 pounds of non-perishable food to help kick off the event.
In 2015, Hy-Vee helped the Chiefs embark on expanding an annual tradition as the organization took its Red Friday (Red Thursday) celebration to Omaha, Nebraska, to grow the regional excitement for the start of the 2015 season. It marked the first time that the team specifically targeted fans from a market outside Kansas City for the annual season kickoff. Funds raised from the sale of "This is Chiefs Kingdom" flags at Omaha-area Hy-Vee store locations were donated to the Omaha Parks Foundation, specifically to a baseball field project at Miller Park to honor fallen Omaha Police officer Kerrie Orozco.
The extended partnership agreement will continue to maintain Hy-Vee's strong gameday presence at Arrowhead Stadium with familiar, successful promotions like Tailgate of the Week and Fan of the Game. The deal also includes an overhaul of the Hy-Vee Gate stadium entrance. Hy-Vee will continue its support of 65 Toss Power Trap Productions and the Chiefs Television Network, including preseason game broadcasts and name-in-title rights to the Chiefs Insider and Chiefs Kingdom programs.
Expanding in 2016 and beyond, there will be an increased focus on the cross-integration of the loyalty programs of both Hy-Vee and the Chiefs. By integrating the Hy-Vee Fuel Saver PerksTM and Chiefs Kingdom Rewards platforms, fans of the Chiefs and customers of Hy-Vee stand to receive never-before-offered incentives – such as in-store coupons and offers on Chiefs Kingdom Rewards and Kansas City Chiefs prizes on Hy-Vee Fuel Saver Perks, such as a trip to the Super Bowl, a trip to a regular season away game, broadcast booth visits, VIP Gameday Tours at Arrowhead Stadium and postgame press conference experiences.
"Chiefs Kingdom has warmly welcomed us for the past seven seasons, and we at Hy-Vee are thrilled to build upon this successful partnership in the coming years," said Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee chairman, CEO and president. "We enjoy being a part of the experience, and we look forward to sharing our new innovations and unique fan offerings with Chiefs fans and our customers. We're also proud to continue our efforts with the Chiefs outside the stadium by supporting residents in the greater Kansas City area who need our help most." With sales of $9.3 billion annually, Hy-Vee ranks among the top 25 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. Its 240 stores are located in eight Midwestern states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, with the company's corporate office based in West Des Moines, Iowa. An employee-owned company, Hy-Vee encourages each of its more than 82,000 employees to help guide the company, with its 85 years of success a testament to those employees' hard work and dedication to the vision of its founders. Today, Hy-Vee is synonymous with quality, variety, value and superior customer service. Its slogan, "A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle," expresses the foundation of the company's operating philosophy.
