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The Giant Company hires Ted Williams to lead nonfoods

Food and drug retail veteran makes return to the Ahold fold

Russell Redman

July 6, 2022

2 Min Read
Giant Company store banner-closeup shot.jpg
Williams brings experience in a range of roles at Rite Aid, Pathmark and CVS plus earlier stints working with Ahold USA and Giant Food.The Giant Company

Thirty-year industry veteran Ted Williams has joined The Giant Company as director of nonfoods.

Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant said Williams started as nonfoods director yesterday. In the role, he will oversee product categories including health and personal care, seasonal, general merchandise (GM), pet supplies, candy, and baby. He reports directly to Parag Shah, vice president of center store omnichannel merchandising at Giant.

Ted Williams-The Giant Company.jpgMost recently, Williams (pictured left) served as the chief operating officer of HLS-Higher Level Solutions, an Annapolis, Md.-based consulting, sales and marketing firm that helps CPG companies develop their brand while launching into e-commerce and physical retail.

Giant noted that Williams brings decades of experience in the food and drug retail channels. Before joining HLS, he spent nearly a dozen years at Rite Aid, most recently as group vice president of category management from 2019 to 2020 and as group vice president of consumables, GM and seasonal category management from 2008 to 2020.

Prior to Rite Aid, Williams held roles at Pathmark Stores, joining the supermarket chain in 2005 as director of nonfoods sales and merchandising and later being promoted to vice president of nonfoods and pharmacy. Earlier in his career, he served as a divisional merchandise manager at CVS Pharmacy and previously worked at Ahold USA as a category management business consultant as well as with the company’s Giant Food subsidiary as director of retail pricing and director of grocery category management.

Related:The Giant Company pushes ahead with Philadelphia expansion

Part of Ahold Delhaize USA, The Giant Company operates about 190 grocery stores under the Giant, Martin’s and Giant Heirloom Market banners in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Its retail operations also include 133 pharmacies, 107 fuel stations, and more than 175 online pickup hubs and grocery delivery in hundreds of ZIP codes, with e-commerce service also serving communities in New Jersey.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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