Dive Brief:
- Ahold Delhaize USA has named Roger Wheeler as president of its Stop & Shop banner, effective Sept. 30.
- Wheeler, Ahold Delhaize USA’s chief commercial officer, will replace Gordon Reid, who has served as president of the Northeastern chain since 2019 and will retire next year.
- The leadership change comes as Stop & Shop aims for a turnaround after years of lackluster performance.
Dive Insight:
Ahold Delhaize will soon hand the reins of the struggling Stop & Shop chain to an executive who has years of experience with the banner as well as with the parent company’s centralized operations.
As Ahold Delhaize USA’s CCO and head of supply chain, Wheeler has helped advance the company’s commercial capabilities while also boosting efficiency across the organization, according to Tuesday’s announcement. Prior to that role, Wheeler spent seven years as president of the company’s Retail Business Services unit, helping launch the services organization while also leading supply chain and information technology transformations.
Wheeler also served as senior vice president of supply chain for Ahold Delhaize USA, and from 2005 to 2010 was vice president of meat and seafood at Stop & Shop, according to his LinkedIn profile. He began his career at Shaw’s Supermarkets in the Northeast, rising from store manager to vice president of meat and seafood.
“At Ahold Delhaize USA, it’s a strength of our organization that we have a depth of internal leadership talent, which will ensure a smooth transition,” JJ Fleeman, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA, said in a statement. “A native of Massachusetts with more than 30 years of experience in the supermarket industry, and nearly 20 years of experience at Ahold Delhaize USA and Stop & Shop, Roger is the right person to propel the Stop & Shop brand forward.”
Stop & Shop operates approximately 360 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
In the announcement, Wheeler noted his experience with Stop & Shop and familiarity with the brand, stating, “I have not only spent a significant portion of my career working at the brand but am a lifelong customer and have a strong passion for the communities Stop & Shop serves.”
Reid, who became Stop & Shop’s president in 2019, will provide support for the leadership transition until his retirement next year.
Wheeler’s primary task in his new role will be improving Stop & Shop’s position in the very competitive Northeast grocery market. For years, Stop & Shop has underperformed relative to Ahold Delhaize USA’s other banners as retailers like Wegmans, ShopRite and Big Y have sharpened their approach.
Industry experts have said the banner’s shopping experience is deficient in several key areas.
“They’re not known for price, they’re not known for some crazy indoor experience [and] also not known for being local and regional,” said John Clear, senior director in the consumer and retail group at consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, in an earlier interview. “The question is, what are they standing for?”
This summer, Stop & Shop announced it would close 32 underperforming stores. It’s also in the midst of a chainwide store remodeling program that started several years ago but has fallen considerably behind its initial timeline. The program includes new service stations, revamped product assortments and updated design elements, among other changes.
Stop & Shop has also worked to make its stores more relevant to the local communities they serve. This summer, Stop & Shop opened a new flagship store in Boston that offers a larger selection of grab-and-go meals along with several hundred new multicultural products that reflect consumer preferences in the surrounding neighborhoods, the chain said.
In August, Stop & Shop said it would stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at all of its stores.
