Rite Aid Appoints Wakefern's Erik Keptner as Top Merchant

Erik Keptner, a veteran merchant of supermarket retailers Ahold and Wakefern Food Corp., has been appointed SVP and chief marketing and merchandising officer for Rite Aid.

Keptner will step into the newly created role at the Camp Hill, Pa.-based drug chain June 24. He will be responsible for all aspects of marketing and merchandising and will report to Bryan Everett, Rite Aid’s COO.

“Erik is an experienced retail executive who has proven that he can integrate and manage all aspects of an organization’s marketing and merchandising assets to provide great customer experiences, operate efficiently and deliver growth,” Everett said. “We’re excited to welcome Erik to our team as we continue to integrate our marketing and merchandising teams and enhance our omnichannel presence to deliver a seamlessly connected customer experience that drives growth. We will benefit tremendously from his knowledge and expertise as we accelerate these critical efforts.”

Photograph by WGB staff

Keptner most recently was SVP of marketing for Keasbey, N.J.,-based Wakefern Food Corp., the retailer-owned cooperative of ShopRite operators. In this role, he led digital commerce and analytics, advertising, corporate merchandising, own brands and digital media.

Keptner joined Wakefern a little less than a year ago following a 20-year stint with Ahold’s Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant Food Stores division. At Giant, Keptner served in various roles of increasing responsibility, including EVP of marketing and SVP of sales, marketing and merchandising. While in these roles, Keptner led efforts to enhance the company’s loyalty program, accelerate digital marketing and e-commerce, evolve store formats and merchandising programs, and create a culture focused on making consumer-centric data-driven decisions, Rite Aid said.

Bill Renz, who has been leading Rite Aid’s marketing team as the company transitioned to a new organizational structure, will continue to play a key role in leading the Rite Aid category management and merchandising teams, Rite Aid said. Renz is the company’s SVP of category management.

Keptner holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Penn State University and an MBA from Temple University.