Sprouts Farmers Market names Petco’s Nicholas Konat president, COO

Petco executive Nicholas Konat is joining Sprouts Farmers Market as president and chief operating officer.

Plans call for Konat, previously chief merchandising officer at pet care retailer Petco, to take the president and COO reins at Sprouts on March 21, the Phoenix-based specialty grocer said yesterday after the market close.

In his new role, Konat will oversee Sprouts’ operations, marketing, merchandising and innovation functions. He will report directly to CEO Jack Sinclair.

“I am honored to join Sprouts and look forward to working with the team as we continue to profitably grow by fulfilling our mission of providing healthy living options for less to more people,” Konat said in a statement. “Sprouts pioneered making healthy food affordable 20 years ago, and I hope to build on this foundation by serving our customers, making lasting positive changes to the company and improving access to fresh, natural and organic foods as we expand across the country.”

Konat (left) served as executive vice president and chief merchant at San Diego-based Petco from October 2018 to February 2022. He joined the retailer in September 2015 as vice president of brand, product innovation and design and then became vice president of private brands and merchandising in June 2017. Konat was elevated to senior vice president and general manager in January 2018 before being promoted again to executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.

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Prior to Petco, Konat spent nearly seven years at Target Corp., most recently as director of food merchandise planning and director of food operations. He also served as senior buyer for kids apparel and accessories, brand manager/senior buyer for private-label food and candy buyer. In an earlier, year-and-a-half stint at Target, Konat was retail negotiations and partnerships leader for grocery. He first came to Target in August 2006 from Accenture, where he most recently served as manager of finance and performance strategy in over six years at the consulting firm.

“I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Nick to the Sprouts executive leadership team,” Sinclair stated. “Nick’s deep-rooted merchandising and product innovation experience with preeminent retail brands will help to propel our company forward as we continue to execute on our strategic plan.”

Overall, Sprouts operates more than 370 stores in 23 states across the country.