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Grocery Outlet Vice Chairman MacGregor Read retires

Former co-CEO steps down after nearly 30 years at value grocer

Russell Redman

September 7, 2022

2 Min Read
Grocery Outlet-East Norriton PA-store banner.jpg
Read had served as co-CEO with cousin and current Grocery Outlet CEO Eric Lindberg from 2006 to 2018.Grocery Outlet

MacGregor Read, vice chairman at Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. and a former co-CEO, has retired from the company.

Emeryville, Calif.-based Grocery Outlet said Read stepped down as vice chairman effective Sept. 1. He has been with the fast-growing value grocery chain since starting there as an intern nearly 30 years ago.

“I want to thank Eric and the entire Grocery Outlet family for the best three decades of my life,” Read said in a statement. “While I step away and enjoy this next chapter, I look forward to watching the continued success of Grocery Outlet. I have the utmost confidence in the leadership team, our unique model and independent operators who bring our treasure hunt shopping experience to customers across the country each day.”

MacGregor Read-Grocery Outlet-headshot.jpgAfter joining Grocery Outlet in 1993, Read (pictured left) served in a range of roles across such areas as purchasing, retail merchandising, and real estate and construction. He became co-CEO in 2006 with cousin and current Grocery Outlet CEO Eric Lindberg and held that post through the end of 2018, when he shifted to the executive vice chairman role. He was named nonexecutive vice chairman in January 2020. Erik Ragatz has served as chairman since October 2014.

Grocery Outlet noted that, under Read’s tenure, the company generated significant sales growth and ramped up its store base, expanding the grocer’s national footprint. As of the end of its fiscal 2022 second quarter, Grocery Outlet operated 425 stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey and Maryland. The company tallied fiscal 2021 sales of nearly $3.1 billion.

Related:Grocery Outlet teams with DoorDash for same-day delivery

“After 16 years of service on our board and nearly 30 years as part of the Grocery Outlet team, the impact MacGregor has had on the trajectory and success of our business is unmatched,” Lindberg stated. “MacGregor has been a steadfast and strategic partner to me and the rest of the leadership team, helping build and solidify the most unique aspects of our business model – how we buy and how we sell.”

Describing itself as an “extreme value” retailer, Grocery Outlet touts big discounts on brand-name products and has said a typical shopper basket is priced 40% to 70% less than that of conventional grocers. Stores are run by independent owner-operators from the communities they serve, allowing locations to cater closely to changing customer preferences. Shopper savings is achieved through a sourcing model of procuring surplus inventory and product overruns directly from thousands of supplier partners. That includes a changing assortment of products with “WOW!” prices, fostering “treasure hunt” shopping.

Related:Grocery Outlet sees more double-digit sales growth in Q2

More recently, Grocery Outlet entered the e-commerce arena through partnerships with third-party online grocery providers Instacart, Uber Eats and DoorDash.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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