Personnel Updates
• Kings Food Markets Inc. (46) announced Joseph Parisi has been promoted to COO. Allen Merken has been appointed VP of Engineering, Real Estate and Construction. Sharon Bastianelli was promoted to VP of Information Technology. Kathe Benjamin now takes the post of VP of Human Resources and Labor Relations.
• Ahold-Delhaize (66) has appointed Farhan Siddiqi as the new Chief Digital Officer.
• Aloha Petroleum Ltd. (9) announced its President and CEO Richard Parry will retire, and be succeeded by VP and CFO Tom Grimes.
• Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (50) has announced that Dan Funk has been promoted to Chief Merchandising Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer. The company also has named Jeff Pedersen Exec VP and Chief Sales and Support Officer.
• Core-Mark Holding Company Inc.(73) announced William Stein has been named to the new position of Senior VP of Enterprise Growth, Christopher Hobson has been named Senior VP of Eastern Divisions, and Alan Thomas is now Senior VP of Western Divisions.
• Giant Food Stores LLC (28) has promoted Rebecca Lupfner to the role of VP, Center Store.
• Grocery Outlet Inc. (103) has appointed Eric Lindberg to the position of CEO and MacGregor Read to the role of Vice Chairman. RJ Sheedy will assume the role of President. Pamela Burke will assume the role of Chief Administrative Officer
• Krasdale Foods Inc. (21) announced Steve Silver, COO, has added the title of President.
• The Kroger Co. (242) has announced the retirement of Delta Division President Scot Hendricks, and the promotion of Victor Smith to succeed him. The company also announced CFO J. Michael Schlotman plans to retire in April 2019, after which Gary Millerchip will succeed as Senior VP and CFO. Schlotman will remain an Exec VP of the company until the end of 2019.
• Kum & Go LLC (68) announced it has hired TJ Freeborn as Chief Marketing Officer.
• Loblaw Companies Limited (61) announced that Chairman and CEO Galen Weston has become Executive Chairman, and Sarah Davis has taken on additional duties in her role as President. The company no longer has the position of CEO.
• National Grocers Association (21) announced the promotion of Laura Strange to Senior VP, Communications and External Affairs.
• Raley’s Family of Fine Stores (42) announced Deirdre Zimmermann has been promoted to the newly created position of Chief Customer Experience Officer. The retailer also announced it named Laura Croff as VP of People.
• SpartanNash Company (106) announced Arif Dar has joined the company as Senior VP and CIO.
• Stater Bros. Holdings Inc. (65) has promoted Michael Reed to Senior VP of Real Estate and Development, following the retirement of VP of Construction and Maintenance Scott Limbacher. The company also announced it has promoted Keith Thomas to Senior VP Retail Operations.
• Topco Associates LLC (45) has announced two new executive appointments: David Negron as VP, Meat, Seafood, Deli and Bakery; and Clint Johnson as VP, Center Store Operations.
Mergers and Acquisitions
• Coen Oil Company announced the acquisition of CoGo’s Co. and its 38 convenience stores.
• Couche-Tard Inc. and CrossAmerica Partners LP announced Couche-Tard will sell 192 U.S. company-operated Circle K stores to CrossAmerica. CrossAmerica will sell the real estate property for 56 stores currently operated by Couche-Tard, and 17 stores currently operated by CrossAmerica. The deal is expected to take place through a series of transactions over a period of up to 24 months.
• Ney Oil Co. sold its convenience store assets and transportation, wholesale fuel and propane business to National Oil & Gas, Inc. The deal includes nine c-stores and fuel operations throughout Northwest Ohio.
• Publix Super Markets Inc. is acquiring the leases for two Western Market stores from Western Supermarkets Inc., which is discontinuing operations.
• SpartanNash Company has completed its acquisition of Martin’s Super Markets Inc. SpartanNash acquired 21 Martin’s Super Markets, 8 fuel centers, 17 in-store pharmacies, and a few other properties.
• Sprint Food Stores Inc. has acquired 10 Greg’s Gas Plus locations.
• The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC announced that it will acquire King Kullen Grocery Co. Inc. The agreement includes King Kullen’s 32 supermarkets, five Wild by Nature stores, and the use of its corporate office located in Bethpage, New York. The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019.
Industry Insight
• Hy-Vee Inc. announced that it has acquired the business of 22 Shopko pharmacies in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Real Estate
• Enmarket Stations Inc. announced it is building a new headquarters in Savannah, GA.
• Hy-Vee Inc. has opened its first Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh new concept store in Davenport, IA. A second Fast & Fresh store is scheduled to open in Altoona, IA, in 2019.
• Lidl US, LLC will soon open 3 new stores in the Atlanta, GA area.
• Sprouts Farmers Markets plans to open nine new stores in the second quarter of 2019. The openings will be its first stores in three new states: Louisiana, New Jersey and Virginia.
• Wawa Inc. recently opened a new 11,500 sq. ft. location in Philadelphia, PA, its largest store to date.
• Wegmans Food Markets Inc. will soon make its debut in New York with a new location at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Slated to open in fall 2019, Wegmans Brooklyn will total 74,000 sq. ft. The company also plans to open its first locations in North Carolina and Virginia this year.
Technology News
• The Kroger Co. has announced a partnership with Microsoft. Two Kroger stores have been remodeled to test the partnership’s new features including digital shelves that showcase ads and price changes in addition to sensor tracking.
• Roche Bros. Supermarkets Inc. has teamed with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions to install new POS systems.
Just because we don’t mention it here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen – or we didn’t capture it. In the past four weeks, we’ve updated more than 613 companies in the Supermarket, Grocery, & Convenience Stores PLUS Database, with many of those companies’ records updated at multiple points.
