Emmons retires as Jewel president

William Emmons, president of Jewel-Osco, the Chicago-based division of Albertsons, Boise, Idaho, has stepped down and returned to retirement less than a year after coming out of retirement to oversee the 180-store operation.

The company said Jim Rice, VP of operations, for the Jewel division, will succeed Emmons on an interim basis.

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Emmons had initially retired from Albertsons in 2011 after 40 years with the company but came out of retirement last March after Jewel was acquired from Supervalu by Albertsons. Though the company declined to comment on the reasons for Emmons' retirement, industry sources told SN he had agreed to come back to Albertsons for a limited time to help with the ownership transition.

According to published reports, Rice has been with Albertsons for more than 35 years, starting as a part-timer and working his way up to become a store director in Southern California in 1986. He was subsequently a district manager in Florida and Las Vegas, vice president of the chain’s Northern California division and later president of the Southwest division.

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