Latest news with #HeritageGrocers
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Heritage Grocers' CEO exits
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Heritage Grocers Group announced Thursday that Suzy Monford has stepped down as board chair and CEO to 'pursue other opportunities.' Monford joined the company as chief executive at the end of last year. The grocery company, which oversees several Hispanic chains, named David Hirz, who most recently served as president and CEO of Smart & Final, as chair of the company board. The company also created an Office of the CEO to guide the company as it searches for a replacement. The group is comprised of senior leaders, including its COO and CFO as well as the CEO of Tony's Fresh Market. Dive Insight: Monford served a short stint as chief executive at Heritage Grocers Group, which oversees more than 100 stores across the Cardenas Markets, El Rancho Supermercado, Tony's Fresh Market and Los Altos Ranch Market banners. During her roughly nine months at the helm, Heritage made numerous executive appointments and strategic adjustments to help the company grow and evolve. This included creating a chief transformation officer role to oversee a new department focused on improving e-commerce, retail media, pricing and other areas. Heritage also named a new CFO earlier this year and promoted veterans from H-E-B and Kroger to leadership positions in merchandising and marketing, respectively. Heritage Grocers also took strides during Monford's tenure to refine its technology, including automating parts of its retail planning and supply chain management systems. Monford previously served as CEO of PCC Community Markets and Andronico's Community Markets and has held executive roles with Kroger, H-E-B and Australia's Woolworths Group, according to her LinkedIn profile. She declined to comment when asked about her future plans. As it searches for a new leader, Heritage will look to members of its Office of the CEO group to steer the company. Those members are: Prabash Coswatte, chief operating officer at Heritage Grocers Leticia Espinoza, chief administrative officer and general counsel at Heritage Grocers Matthew Holt, CFO at Heritage Grocers Frank Ingraffia, chief transformation officer at Heritage Grocers and CEO at Tony's Fresh Market. Hirz, meanwhile, brings more than four decades of experience leading grocery companies, including more than 12 years as president and CEO of Smart & Final, according to his LinkedIn profile. Hirz, who has been on Heritage's board for the past year, has also served as president of Food 4 Less and Ralphs. He will provide oversight and offer guidance to the Office of the CEO, according to Thursday's announcement. 'Throughout my time on Heritage's Board, I have seen firsthand the strength of Heritage's value proposition and customer loyalty across our banners,' Hirz said in a statement. 'We have a unique ability to serve communities with authenticity – and we're committed to carrying that forward. Recommended Reading Heritage Grocers names Suzy Monford CEO
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Heritage Grocers names Espinoza chief administrative officer
You can find original article here Supermarketnews. Subscribe to our free daily Supermarketnews newsletter. Heritage Grocers Group said it has named Leticia G. Espinoza as its new chief administrative officer, the latest in a string of new hires at the Hispanic-focused group. Espinoza, who joined the company's Cardenas Markets banner in 2019 as general counsel and corporate secretary, most recently was chief legal and human resources officer for Heritage Group. In her new role, Espinoza will oversee real estate, loss prevention, corporate affairs, communications, legal, risk management, and human resources across all Heritage banner companies, which include Cardenas Markets, Tony's Fresh Market, and El Rancho Supermercado. The Ontario, Calif.-based company operates 104 locations in six states across the Southwest and Midwest. In the seven months since Heritage Grocers named Kroger and PCC Community Markets veteran Suzy Monford as the company's new chairman and CEO, Heritage has filled several top management roles, including naming Frank Ingraffia to the newly created role of chief transformation officer, tapping Allison Garcia to be group VP of marketing, naming Kim Cates as group VP of center store, and promoting Matthew Holt to be chief financial officer. 'Our recent appointments underscore our continued commitment to strengthening leadership and enhancing organizational efficiency across key areas of the business,' a Heritage spokesperson told Supermarket News. 'Additionally, as HGG advances its innovation and growth initiatives, we're also recruiting top merchandising and marketing talent to support this strategic momentum.' Before joining Cardenas Markets in 2019, Espinoza gained extensive in-house legal experience at both public and privately owned companies, including two years as associate general counsel at Bodega Latina Corp., which is now part of Chedraui USA, parent of the El Super and Fiesta Mart chains. She previously had spent several years in a variety of legal and HR roles at other companies and as a consultant, according to her LinkedIn profile. 'Leticia's appointment is a reflection of her exceptional leadership, deep expertise, and dedication to our people and mission,' Monford said. 'Her impact as chief legal and human resources officer has been instrumental in strengthening our organization, and this expanded role is a well-earned recognition of her contributions.' Espinoza is also a recipient of the Professional Achievement Award from the Mexican American Bar Foundation, which Heritage said is 'a testament to her leadership in the legal field and commitment to community service, particularly in ways that uplift the Hispanic community.' Espinoza also serves on the boards of directors of the Cardenas Markets Foundation, Heritage Grocers Group Foundation, Manos y Corazones Unidos Foundation, Olive Crest Roundtable, and the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance. 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
Business Wire
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Heritage Grocers Group to Unify Pricing and Supply Chain Planning with RELEX
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Heritage Grocers Group, a leading U.S.-based specialty grocer, has selected RELEX Solutions, a provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, to transform its pricing, promotions, forecasting, and distribution center replenishment. By leveraging the RELEX AI-powered platform, Heritage Grocers aims to boost profitability, streamline operations, and enhance product availability across its 115 stores. Heritage Grocers has built a family of grocery chains that connects shoppers to Hispanic culinary traditions, offering ingredients for cherished family recipes and cultural cuisine through real people who truly care. The company operates 115 stores and three distribution centers, managing approximately 20,000 SKUs. By replacing manual, spreadsheet-based processes with the RELEX platform, Heritage Grocers gains a unified approach to retail planning. Forecasting, replenishment, pricing, and promotions all operate on a single platform, aligning pricing strategies with business goals and optimizing promotions for greater sales and profitability. This consistent data foundation gives teams full visibility into cross-departmental impacts, empowering promotional planners to account for supply chain constraints and replenishment teams to anticipate promotion-driven demand, minimizing costs and waste. This connected approach leverages advanced AI to identify patterns across the business, such as seasonal demand shifts, customer responses to price changes or promotions, slow-moving inventory, and the impact of promotions on supply chain constraints. By translating these insights into actionable recommendations, the platform will enable Heritage Grocers to optimize inventory levels, pricing decisions, and promotional effectiveness. 'RELEX demonstrated strong capabilities in critical areas of our business, such as pricing, and showed us the unique benefits of their unified platform,' said Prabash Coswatte, COO, Heritage Grocers Group. 'Their advanced technology and proven AI-based applications, validated by conversations multiple customers, gave us confidence that this project will deliver the best results for our business.' 'We're excited to support Heritage Grocers Group in their strategy to unify pricing and supply chain operations,' said Mikko Kärkkäinen, Co-founder and Group CEO at RELEX Solutions. 'Our deep, industry-focused functionality will help Heritage connect their planning processes across different business functions, driving better overall results. Our proven track record of successful implementations means they can count on measurable value, quickly.' About Heritage Grocers Group: Heritage Grocers Group (HGG) the largest specialty, ethnic food retailer that offers an extensive assortment of both traditional and specialty grocery items to the communities it serves. With a unique customer experience focused on freshness, authenticity, and affordability, the HGG family of destination groceries incorporate freshly made ethnic foods, differentiated floor formats presenting distinct specialty categories and localized assortments that engage with each community. Headquartered in Ontario, California, Heritage Grocers Group operates in six states: California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Kansas, and Illinois, with a total of 57 stores under the Cardenas Markets banner, 29 stores under the El Rancho Supermercado banner, 21 stores under Tony's Fresh Market banner, and 7 stores under the Los Altos Ranch Market banner. About RELEX: RELEX Solutions delivers a unified platform for retail, manufacturing, and supply chain planning, enabled by proven AI technology. We help retailers, manufacturers, and consumer goods companies optimize demand forecasting, replenishment, merchandising, pricing and promotions, supply chain operations, and production planning across the end-to-end value chain. Companies like ADUSA, AutoZone, Coles, Circle K, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, M&S Food, PetSmart, Rituals, The Home Depot, and Systemair trust RELEX to increase product availability, boost sales, deliver actionable insights, improve sustainability, and drive profitable growth.
