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Albertsons names Geoff White as chief merchant

Grocery industry veteran spearheaded retailer’s own brands growth

Russell Redman

September 10, 2019

2 Min Read
Safeway store_exterior - Copy.PNG
Safeway

Geoff White has been promoted to executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Albertsons Cos.

White, previously president of own brands, takes over the role formerly held by Shane Sampson, who left the company effective Sept. 7 after serving as both chief merchant and chief marketing officer since January 2015.

Geoff White_Albertsons.jpgIn announcing the promotion of White (left) on Tuesday, Albertsons noted that under his watch private-brand penetration grew from 23% in fiscal 2017 to 25.3% in the fiscal 2019 first quarter. The O Organics and Open Nature are key drivers of that growth, accounting for 23.6% of the retailer’s natural and organic sales, up 152 basis points from the fiscal 2018 first quarter. Last year, the own brands team launched Signature Reserve, an ultra-premium label featuring globally sourced ingredients.

At the close of its 2018 fiscal year, Albertsons fielded more than 11,000 private-label products, representing sales of over $12.5 billion. The company launched 1,100 new private-brand SKUS last year and said it plans to add more than 1,000 during fiscal 2019.

“Geoff is a customer-centric leader who brings a unique combination of creativity and analytics to achieve growth,” President and CEO Vivek Sankaran said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him to transform our merchandising capabilities.”

Related:Albertsons chief merchant Shane Sampson to depart

White started his career as a general clerk at Safeway in Burnaby, British Columbia, in 1981. He moved up the ranks to become director of Canadian produce operations for 210 stores. From 2004 to 2015, he held leadership roles in produce, dairy, frozen, deli/foodservice, produce, floral and branded concepts at the Safeway corporate office. In 2015, White was named senior vice president of marketing and merchandising for the Northern California Division. He was promoted to president of Albertsons Cos.’ own brands team, a newly created position, in April 2017.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos. operates 2,268 food and drug stores, including 1,739 pharmacies and 399 fuel stations, as well as 23 distribution centers, six Plated meal-kit fulfillment centers and 20 manufacturing plants. The company's store banners include Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Sav-On, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw's, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Amigos, Haggen and United Express.

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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