Personnel Updates
• Albertsons LLC (184) has recently named Johnathan Gardner its Group VP of Strategic Sourcing and David Nelson its Group VP of Manufacturing. The company also announced it has appointed Gineal Davidson as President of its Portland division. In addition, Mike Theilmann is joining the company as Exec VP and Chief Human Resources Officer. Albertsons announced that Shane Sampson, Exec VP and Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, has decided to leave the company.
• Brookshire Grocery Co. (110) announced Suzanne Osbourn has been promoted to VP, Partner Relations and Development, and Jason Cooper has been promoted to VP, Corporate Development and Real Estate.
• Casey’s General Stores Inc. (89) announced Terry Handley, its President and CEO, has left the company. Darren Rebelez will take over.
• The Grocery Manufacturers Association (12) has hired Bryan Zumwalt as Exec VP, Public Affairs and Stacy Papadopoulos as General Counsel and Senior VP of Operations and Special Initiatives.
• Harps Food Stores Inc. (42) announced J. Max Van Hoose has been promoted to Exec VP.
• The Kroger Co. (274) has named Sonya Hostetler as President of the Nashville division. She succeeds Zane Day, who is retiring.
• MFA Oil Co. (21) named Jon Ihler as its new President and CEO. The company also appointed Jeff Raetz as its CFO.
• National Grocers Association (14) has appointed Greg Ferrara as the next President and CEO. Effective September 1, he will succeed Peter Larkin when he retires.
• Stater Bros. Holdings Inc. (83) has announced George Frahm, the longtime President of the company, plans to retire on Oct. 31, 2019. He will be succeeded by Greg McNiff.
Mergers and Acquisitions
• Bowden Oil Company Inc. has exited the convenience-store industry by selling its chain of 17 Shop “N” Fill Food Mart locations to Majors Management LLC.
• EG America LLC has entered into an agreement to acquire Cumberland Farms Inc. and its 562 convenience stores in the Northeast and Florida.
• Giant Food Stores LLC has entered into an agreement with Musser’s Market to acquire its three Pennsylvania locations in Columbia, Lebanon and Quarryville.
• Riiser Fuels LLC has acquired Jetz Convenience Centers’ four c-stores in Wisconsin.
Industry Insight
• H-E-B announced it plans to build a 150,000 square foot technology center at its San Antonio, TX, headquarters.
Real Estate
• Aldi Inc. announced plans to open four stores in North Carolina, eight new stores across Minnesota, and its first store in Montgomery, Alabama.
• Giant Food Stores LLC announced it will open a two-level, 65,000 sq. ft. urban flagship in downtown Philadelphia, PA. The new store is expected to open by fall of 2020.
• King Kullen Grocery Co. Inc. is closing three supermarkets in New York.
• Wakefern Food Corp. plans to remodel 17 more Price Rite Marketplace stores this year in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, with additional locations slated for redesign in 2020.
Technology News
• 7-Eleven Inc. has introduced mobile checkout in New York, using the 7-Eleven app.
• Giant Eagle Inc. is teaming with Grabango, a checkout-free technology provider, on a first-of-its-kind partnership to create a no-wait checkout experience.
• Wakefern Food Corp. is opening a fulfillment center in Clifton, NJ that leverages hyperlocal, automated technology from Takeoff Technologies. The technology uses advanced robotics in which orders of up to 60 grocery items can be assembled in minutes.
• Weis Markets Inc. has added Weis 2 Go online ordering with pickup and home delivery to 61 more stores, bringing the total number of locations offering the service to 150.
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 132 companies in the Supermarket, Grocery, & Convenience Stores PLUS Database, with many of those companies’ records updated at multiple points.
