Fresh Market loses CEO to discount retailer Grocery OutletFresh Market loses CEO to discount retailer Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet on Wednesday named industry veteran Jason Potter as its new president and CEO, filling a position that was vacated last October by the abrupt departure of RJ Sheedy.

Potter has been the CEO of The Fresh Market since 2020, and before that he spent 26 years in leadership roles at Canadian supermarket operator Sobeys. During his time at The Fresh Market, Chilean retail group Cencosud purchased a majority interest in the grocer.

Eric J. Lindberg Jr., the chairman of Grocery Outlet, has served as interim president and CEO since Sheedy left last October. He will remain chairman after Potter, who will have a seat on the board of directors, joins the company on Feb. 3.

Jason Potter will become CEO of Grocery Outlet in February.

Potter is a seasoned supermarket executive who oversaw what Grocery Outlet described as a successful transformation of The Fresh Market, which operates 166 stores in 22 states and is focused on fresh, gourmet foods and prepared meals. Grocery Outlet, with about 520 locations, operates a completely different model—stores are run by individual owner-operators—and sits at the other end of the price spectrum. It has also been struggling to drive profit growth in recent quarters.

During his nearly 28-year tenure with Sobeys, Potter served in a variety of operational and leadership roles, including executive VP of operations, president of Sobeys West, president of Sobeys Atlantic and president of multi-format operations.

“I could not be more excited to join Grocery Outlet. With a clear mission of saving people money and a unique model that combines national buying power with local independent operators for the ultimate treasure hunt shopping experience, Grocery Outlet is a differentiated concept with a tremendous growth opportunity,” Potter said in a released statement.

In Grocery Outlet’s fiscal third quarter, same-store sales were up 1.2% vs. a year ago, and total sales were up 10.4% to $1.11 billion. However, net income was down 10.9% to $24.2 million amid rising selling, general, and administrative expenses and reduced gross margins.

The two companies operate in largely distinct geographic markets, with Emeryville, California-based Grocery Outlet concentrated in the Western U.S., and Greensboro, North Carolina-based The Fresh Market concentrated in the Eastern U.S. Both companies have been seeking to expand their footprint, however.

Last month, Grocery Outlet also named Christopher Miller executive VP and chief financial officer, effective Jan. 6.

This article originally appeared on Supermarket News, a New Hope Network sister website. Visit the site for more trends and insights into the natural and organic products industry.