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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SpartanNash shakes up corporate staff
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. SpartanNash has reorganized its corporate structure in an effort to 'better position our company to grow,' according to a spokesperson for the grocery retailer and wholesaler. The changes include the elimination of an unspecified number of positions as well as promotions, reassignments and the establishment of new job levels, the spokesperson said, without providing specifics. People whose employment by SpartanNash has recently ended include Matt Van Gilder, a 19-year SpartanNash veteran who had served since 2019 as the company's director of e-commerce and digital experience. Van Gilder announced in a Thursday LinkedIn post that his career at SpartanNash 'has come to an end as part of some broader organizational changes.' Van Gilder was instrumental in helping SpartanNash scale its online shopping capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a profile in Crain's Grand Rapids Business, which named him to its 40 Under 40 list last year. He also developed a training program for SpartanNash employees who assemble online orders in its grocery stores. Brian Jobin, who was director of SpartanNash's vendor management office, also posted on LinkedIn on Thursday that he is no longer in his position. In addition, employees who worked in marketing, graphics and logistics roles for SpartanNash have posted on LinkedIn during the past few days that they are seeking jobs. SpartanNash has also recently parted ways with several senior executives. The company's chief merchandising officer and chief strategy and information officer both left in April, and its executive vice president of corporate retail departed in December. 'We will continue to evolve — as we have throughout our rich 140-year history,' SpartanNash's spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Friday. The organizational changes at SpartanNash come as the company's retail operations play a growing role in driving its business ahead. SpartanNash's retail sales were up almost 20% during the first quarter of 2025, while sales in its wholesale division — which accounts for more than two-thirds of the company's revenue — declined by more than 2%. SpartanNash has been investing in its retail business, which spans locations in 10 states. The Michigan-based company named a new vice president of retail operations in April and brought on a new chief retail officer in late 2024. In May, SpartanNash hired an executive to fill the newly created role of vice president of marketing for the company's retail banners. SpartanNash also added dozens of grocery and convenience stores to its portfolio last year through the purchases of Markham Enterprises, Fresh Encounter and Metcalfe's Market. Recommended Reading SpartanNash names another retail-focused executive Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Coborn's names new president
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Coborn's, Inc. announced last week the promotion of Emily Coborn Wright to president of the company, according to a LinkedIn post from the grocer. Wright, who stepped into the role on Wednesday, has served in a variety of positions for the Minnesota-based company, including communications manager, director of Topco programs, district manager, vice president of fresh merchandising and vice president of operations. 'As the fifth generation of Coborn family leadership, I am deeply committed to upholding the core values of innovation, integrity, and excellence that have guided us through generations of growth and service,' Wright said in the post. She served most recently as senior vice president of growth initiatives — a position that she started early last year to oversee growth in liquor, pharmacy, e-commerce and franchise operations. 'Emily has literally grown up in this business,' Chairman and CEO Chris Coborn said in the LinkedIn post. 'Her passion, commitment, and leadership have been evident in every step of her career. I couldn't be prouder to welcome her as President and see her carry forward our legacy with vision and purpose.' Wright's promotion marks the latest executive change for the company. Last month, Coborn's announced the hiring of former Sprouts Farmers Market executive Tanya Carlson as its new executive vice president of merchandising. Coborn's also acquired two Kessler's Food and Grocery locations in South Dakota earlier this year, expanding its store footprint. Recommended Reading Coborn's to acquire 2 South Dakota grocery stores Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Instacart names chief business officer as next CEO
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Instacart announced Wednesday that Chief Business Officer Chris Rogers will become CEO, effective Aug. 15. He will replace Fidji Simo, who is stepping down from the top position to become CEO of OpenAI Applications but will remain chair of Instacart's board. Rogers will step into the top role after nearly six years with the grocery technology company, including around three years in his current role. Instacart positioned Rogers as a leader with decades of experience spanning consumer goods, technology, retail and media, noting that he has focused on 'driving growth at the intersection of brands, retailers, and technology' in his current role. In announcing Simo's upcoming departure from the CEO position, Instacart had said it would choose an existing member of the company's management team. Instacart's choice of Rogers as its next leader signals the company is continuing its strategy of bridging retailers, consumers and advertisers with technology-driven solutions. Rogers has seen Instacart's evolution both before and after Simo's arrival in 2021. He joined Instacart as vice president of global retail in 2019 after 11 years at Apple, where he served in a variety of roles, including head of consumer retail, head of carrier channel and managing director of Apple Canada. Prior to Apple, Rogers worked at Procter & Gamble as an account executive for several clients such as Loblaws, Sobeys and A&P, according to his LinkedIn profile. As chief business officer, Rogers has overseen the company's commercial operations, including retailer relationships and expansions, ad sales, mergers and acquisitions, Instacart Business and Instacart Health. Rogers currently sits on the board of data and analytics firm Spins and is a board member of the Ad Council, a nonprofit that helps launch public service campaigns addressing social issues. Rogers's ascension to the top role follows Instacart's work to establish itself as a leader in grocery technology and e-commerce 'Over the last four years, we've transformed Instacart into a growing, profitable, leading technology platform that's helping reshape the grocery industry,' Simo said in the announcement. 'We're building a generational company at the intersection of technology and food, and Chris is the right leader for our next chapter.' Simo 'really set up a foundation' for the company to continue achieving double-digit growth and building its e-grocery market leadership, CFO Emily Reuter said during the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference earlier this month. 'The priorities remain the same, which is that we continue to be incredibly excited about the overall market opportunity, and really, our goal as the category leader … is to continue to drive online penetration,' she said at the conference. Recommended Reading Instacart CEO's exit won't shift company strategy, top exec says
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FreshDirect ventures into physical retail
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. FreshDirect has opened a temporary brick-and-mortar store in Southampton, New York, marking the e-grocer's first venture into the world of physical retail. The pop-up location in the resort town near the tip of Long Island opened its doors on Friday and will remain in operation until the end of December. Known as FreshDirect on Main, the store carries an assortment of local foods, including farm-fresh produce, small-batch cheeses, olive oil and seasonal items. It also features a coffee counter that offers croissants and prepared foods, according to FreshDirect. FreshDirect also plans to host activities such as ice cream socials and wine tastings in the store. In addition, the grocer said it intends to hold events including pizza-making classes next month in a house in nearby East Hampton, which, like Southampton, is part of the Hamptons, a group of seaside villages about 90 miles from New York City. FreshDirect, which currently provides next-day grocery delivery service to communities in the Hamptons, said it is looking into offering same-day service to the area by using the pop-up store to fulfill orders. Launched in 2002, FreshDirect is owned by Turkish rapid-delivery company Getir, which acquired the grocery delivery company from Ahold Delhaize in late 2023. Ahold Delhaize opted to sell FreshDirect just three years after buying a majority stake in it. FreshDirect's business is centered on its delivery service in the New York City region. The company, based in the New York borough of the Bronx, said earlier this month that it would resume service in parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware, reversing a decision from mid-2022 to reduce its service areas. Recommended Reading Getir pulls out of the US but says FreshDirect will keep operating Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Number Sense: Will retail define SpartanNash's future?
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Number Sense is a regular column that uses data to help understand the grocery landscape. A fascinating trend is unfolding at SpartanNash: Even though the grocery solutions company continues to derive the lion's share of its revenue from its wholesale operations, it is becoming increasingly dependent on its retail segment to deliver sales momentum. For four straight quarters, SpartanNash's retail banners have delivered improved sales, with that part of the company's business pushing out of negative growth territory during the third quarter of fiscal 2024 for the first time since mid-2023, when inflation was still filling the grocery industry's sails. Sales for SpartanNash's retail segment were even better during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, soaring nearly 8%. That performance was so good, in fact, that it enabled SpartanNash to squeak to a small overall sales gain even though the company's wholesale business contracted. During those same four quarters, SpartanNash's wholesale operations — which accounted for 70% of its approximately $9.5 billion in overall sales in 2024 — have remained underwater. Sales for the company's wholesale division sagged 2.1% during the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with a 1.6% decline during Q3 and almost 5% in Q2. Sales growth for the grocery retailer and wholesaler, by quarter So what explains this storyline? As Wall Street analysts who follow the supermarket industry have pointed out to me, there's a natural synergy between retail and wholesale in the grocery sector. Food retailers benefit when they have more control over their supply chain, which can help them save money on transportation and logistics, maintain product freshness and generally improve efficiency. And by the same token, it can be helpful for wholesalers to own retail chains that they service, because they don't have to worry about losing those customers to competitors. Bringing distribution in-house is a logical step for grocers as they grow larger. Ahold Delhaize, for example, has moved to a self-distribution model over the past few years for its five grocery banners in the U.S. Sprouts Farmers Market, meanwhile, told investors recently that it is getting ready to self-distribute fresh meat and seafood, while Dollar General in recent years has developed an internal distribution program called DG Fresh to give it greater control of frozen and refrigerated items. On the other hand, companies with deep roots as grocery wholesalers, like SpartanNash, C&S Wholesale Grocers and United Natural Foods, Inc., have sought to strengthen their operations by deepening their presence in the retail space. C&S tried to augment its retail operations through an agreement to buy almost 600 grocery stores that Kroger and Albertsons planned to divest through their ultimately unsuccessful effort to merge. After that arrangement fell through, C&S joined other investors to buy 170 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores and Winn-Dixie's liquor store business from Aldi. UNFI initially moved to sell off or close the supermarkets it acquired when it bought grocery store operator Supervalu in 2018, but decided to hold onto the retail locations it still had when the COVID-19 pandemic brought a surge of business to grocery store operators. Of course, despite the obvious connections between controlling the flow of groceries to retail locations and operating grocery stores, having expertise in one of those areas doesn't guarantee success in the other. 'Wholesalers sometimes just don't understand retail. It's a whole different skill set. It's about merchandising. It's about end caps. It's about customer service,' Scott Mushkin, a veteran grocery industry analyst who is CEO of R5 Capital, told me. 'Everyone thinks running a grocery store has got to be pretty easy … [but] there are very few people that do a really great job' of doing so. Indeed, SpartanNash has been taking steps to bolster its ability to operate grocery stores while it expands its presence as a retailer. In 2024, the Michigan-based company acquired regional grocery chains Metcalfe's Market and Fresh Encounter as well as Markham Enterprises, a convenience store and fuel station operator. This year, however, SpartanNash said it would close four supermarkets, underscoring the challenges that come with being a food retailer. SpartanNash now runs almost 200 grocery stores as well as several dozen pharmacies with convenience stores and gas stations in addition to distributing groceries to over 2,300 independent retailers across the U.S. Late last year, the company brought on a new chief retail officer with experience at Kroger and Target. Last month, SpartanNash hired Jay Mahabir, who previously worked for grocery and superstore operator Meijer, to serve as vice president of retail operations. And, this week, SpartanNash announced it has brought on Matt Plumb, a former category head at Kraft Heinz, to lead the grocery company's efforts to distinguish its retail banners as its first vice president of marketing for retail banners. SpartanNash's effort to boost sales by delving deeper into retail reflects the stark reality that grocery wholesalers depend heavily on other companies' success, Muskin pointed out. 'They're not necessarily buying retailers that they don't service. The number one motivation is not losing a wholesale customer, because [if] the retail asset is sold, that distribution goes someplace else.' Beyond helping wholesalers diversify their revenue streams, adding retail stores could help wholesalers like SpartanNash hedge their bets should more retailers opt to handle part or all of their distribution activities on their own, Arun Sundaram, senior vice president of equity research for CFRA Research, told me. 'They're middlemen, and for a lot of companies, if you cut out the middleman, you tend to save money,' Sundaram said. Recommended Reading SpartanNash's store acquisitions pay off Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
