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Grocery Outlet taps Fresh Market veteran as president, CEOGrocery Outlet taps Fresh Market veteran as president, CEO
Jason Potter takes over a growing, bargain-priced chain that has struggled to grow profits
Mark Hamstra
January 22, 2025
2 Min Read
During his tenure with Sobeys, Potter served in a variety of operational and leadership roles, including executive VP of operations.Grocery Outlet
Grocery Outlet on Wednesday named industry veteran Jason Potter as its new president and CEO, filling a position that was vacated last October by the abrupt departure of RJ Sheedy. Potter has been the CEO of The Fresh Market since 2020, and before that he spent 26 years in leadership roles at Canadian supermarket operator Sobeys.
Eric J. Lindberg Jr., the chairman of Grocery Outlet, has served as interim president and CEO since Sheedy left last October. He will remain chairman after Potter joins the company on Feb. 3.
Biggest news for grocery?
Potter is a seasoned supermarket executive who oversaw what Grocery Outlet described as a successful transformation of The Fresh Market, which operates 166 stores in 22 states and is focused on fresh, gourmet foods and prepared meals. Grocery Outlet, with about 520 locations, operates a completely different model — stores are run by individual owner-operators — and sits at the other end of the price spectrum. It has also been struggling to drive profit growth in recent quarters.
In Grocery Outlet’s fiscal third quarter, same-store sales were up 1.2% vs. a year ago, and total sales were up 10.4% to $1.11 billion. However, net income was down 10.9% to $24.2 million amid rising selling, general, and administrative expenses and reduced gross margins.
The two companies also operate in largely distinct geographic markets, with Emeryville, Calif.-based Grocery Outlet concentrated in the Western U.S., and Greensboro, N.C.-based The Fresh Market concentrated in the Eastern U.S. Both companies have been seeking to expand their footprint, however.
More details
During his tenure with Sobeys, Potter served in a variety of operational and leadership roles, including executive VP of operations, president of Sobeys West, president of Sobeys Atlantic, and president of multi-format operations
Potter will also join Grocery Outlet’s board of directors
Last month Grocery Outlet also named Christopher Miller executive VP and chief financial officer, effective Jan. 6
In their own words
“I could not be more excited to join Grocery Outlet. With a clear mission of saving people money and a unique model that combines national buying power with local independent operators for the ultimate treasure hunt shopping experience, Grocery Outlet is a differentiated concept with a tremendous growth opportunity.” —Jason Potter, incoming president and CEO, Grocery Outlet
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Grocery Outlet Inc.About the Author
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