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Kroger shuffles division presidents

Kroger Co. said Tuesday that Jay Cummins has been named president of the Smith’s Food & Drug Stores division, and Joe Fey has been named to succeed him as president of Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic division.

Kroger Smith's Food & Drug president Jay Cummins
Jay Cummins

Cummins, 62, succeeds Mark Tuffin, who had been named SVP of retail divisions at Kroger in December. Cummins began his Kroger career in 1972 as a clerk in Huntington, Beach, Calif., and later had management and merchandising roles in Kroger’s Food 4 Less division. In 2002, he was named VP and general manager at the Food 4 Less Midwest division, where he led the expansion of the price-impact format in the Chicago area. He was named president of Food 4 Less in 2004 and president of the Mid-Atlantic division in 2007.

“In his more than 40 years with the company, Jay has been an enthusiastic and passionate leader in each role he has held,” said Mike Ellis, Kroger’s president and COO. “Jay's experience and commitment to our ‘customer 1st’ strategy will ensure Smith's continues to go above and beyond for our customers.”

Smith’s, based in Salt Lake City, operates 131 stores in Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

Read more: Kroger names Tuffin SVP of retail operations

Fey, 59, has president of the company’s QFC division in the Pacific Northwest. He began his career as a meat clerk with Kroger in 1972 while in college. He was promoted to a variety of leadership positions in management and merchandising in the company’s Central division and corporate office in Cincinnati. In 1999, Fey was named VP of merchandising for the Dillons division. He was named VP of merchandising for the Michigan Division in 2008, before being named president of QFC in 2011.


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“Joe always leads by example and is deeply committed to our customers, our associates and our company,” said Ellis. “His merchandising expertise and experience in leading the QFC Division will be great assets in our Mid-Atlantic division. We are looking forward to his positive energy and guidance.”

Kroger's Mid-Atlantic division, based in Roanoke, Va., operates 121 stores in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and the eastern portions of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio.

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