Grocery Outlet’s Vice Chairman MacGregor Read retires

Emeryville, California-based Grocery Outlet’s S. MacGregor Read Jr., vice chairman of the grocer’s board of directors, retired Friday after more than 30 years with Grocery Outlet, the company said.

“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,” said Grocery Outlet CEO Eric Lindberg in a statement. “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.”

Read, who served as co-CEO in 2006 with Lindberg, began his career with Grocery Outlet as an intern in 1993 before moving on to work in various areas of the company, including purchasing, retail merchandising, real estate and construction, the company said. Grocery Outlet experienced significant growth in sales and store count as its national footprint expanded under his tenure, the company said. In 2018, Read was named executive vice chairman, and in 2020, he transitioned to vice chairman of the board.

“I want to thank Eric and the entire Grocery Outlet family for the best three decades of my life,” Read said. “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.”

A third-generation, family-led company founded in 1946, Grocery Outlet has more than 420 stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey and Maryland.