Navy Exchange stores compete Walmart Amazon to fund future

In the rural plains of Northern Poland, at a remote base surrounded by farmland and pine forest, some 150 U.S. Navy sailors have a small slice of comfort through the Navy Exchange Mini Mart, a place for familiar snacks, hygiene products and the household brands many of them knew growing up. 

One of hundreds of retail stores the Navy operates globally through the Navy Exchange Service Command, or Nexcom, the convenience store in Redzikowo doesn’t make much money. But it’s part of a sprawling system that plays a critical role in retention, morale and ultimately, U.S. national security by funneling profits into programs that support sailors and their families.

Now, that network could be at risk as larger, savvier retail giants like Walmart, Amazon and Target chip away at Nexcom’s U.S. market share, forcing it to do what any good retailer does when sales slow: hire consultants and embark on an ambitious turnaround plan. 

“Even though we’re within the military, we compete for people’s share of wallet, right? They can just as easily … stop at a Target, they could stop at a Walmart, but we want them to shop here,” said Nexcom’s CEO Robert Bianchi, who has both a Harvard MBA and almost 30 years of experience as a sailor to inform his strategy. “It is a constant challenge to stay relevant.” 

Nexcom, which can trace its roots back to the 1800s, provides active duty military members from all branches, veterans and their families with lodging access, uniforms and discounted, tax-free products through its chain of outposts. Some of the locations are sprawling department stores, offering sailors access to household names like Home Depot, Bath and Body Works and American Eagle, while others are smaller convenience stores, similar to a 7-Eleven. Similar versions exist across different branches of the military.

The stores are both a perk and a critical component to supporting sailors, creating its own “virtuous cycle,” Bianchi said. 

Aside from offering low prices on household brands, Nexcom’s larger department stores near big bases in California, Florida and Virginia help pay for smaller shops in remote foreign outposts, such as the mini mart in Redzikowo. Across the chain, all profits are funneled back into the Navy and help to fund its morale, welfare and recreation programs, which offer sailors and their families access to services like day cares, gyms, counseling and community events. 

“You know you were going to be in a group of folks that were kind of going through the same thing that you were, right? It was almost like a support group,” Bianchi said of his experience with the programs while he was in the military. “The spouses a lot of times are left behind and they’re looking for connections and wanting to establish those relationships with folks that they can lean on while their husband or wife or whoever is out to sea for months at a time, and so the MWR team is…