February 23, 2010
A Store Brands Decisions’ Exclusive
Supervalu is reorganizing its merchandising team, focusing first on store brands and fresh foods, all part of the chain’s recent efforts to better leverage its scale and focus on local marketing initiatives.
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| Steve Jungmann |
“Our own brands must be more intricately involved within the merchandising team to fully capture the unique value proposition of these products and differentiate our retail banners to its customers,” Steve Jungmann, executive vice president of merchandising wrote to his team in an email memo Feb. 16, which was obtained by Store Brands Decisions. “Additionally, with our focus on developing a fresh strategy that will be an important differentiator for us in the marketplace, it is critical to have a strong vision for our fresh department to deliver a vibrant and engaging destination in our stores that builds customer loyalty.”
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| Andrew Abraham |
With that in mind, the company promoted Andrew Abraham to group vice president of own brands, and named Ed Hanson senior vice president of fresh merchandising, according to the memo.
Prior to this assignment, Abraham was vice president of brand management and strategy. “Andrew and his team will continue to lead strategic business planning, assortment, pricing, placement, and product development efforts while aligning more closely within the merchandising organizational hierarchy,” Jungmann wrote. “Enterprise Marketing will now own brand equity management and all marketing program execution responsibilities for Our Own Brands.”
With Supervalu since 2008, Abraham is now charged with fully managing the company’s $6 billion portfolio of store brands. Before joining Supervalu, Abraham was the founder of Tyler-Hill consulting for two years; prior to that he held numerous marketing positions with companies such as Playtex, Roundy’s, Radio Shack and Procter & Gamble, according to a web profile on him.
Meanwhile in the fresh department, Hanson assumed a number of responsibilities over the past six months “leading and implementing a number of key initiatives, and we expect his contributions to be just as critical in his new role ... his 35 years of retail experience will provide the insight needed to create a fresh experience in our stores that truly sets us apart,” Jungmann wrote.
Both Abraham and Hanson will be on the Enterprise Merchandising leadership team, reporting directly to Jungmann, the memo stated.
As part of the reorganization, the packaging team and the brand management team will move into the marketing organization, Jungmann added.