Mark Messier, Stop & Shop’s executive VP-merchandising, has announced his retirement from the company effective in early May.
Messier, who began his grocery career at Hannaford Bros. in 1983, has worked for either Delhaize or Ahold (which merged in 2017) continuously from that point. In 2018, when the combined retailer restructured its organization to become more decentralized, Messier was named chief merchant for the largest of Ahold Delhaize USA’s retail brands. Prior to that, he was senior VP for Hannaford Supermarkets where he oversaw merchandising, category management and pricing for the Scarborough, ME-based merchant. Messier also worked for another former Delhaize America brand – Food Lion – from 2001-2015 where he served in several executive posts including VP-retail services and VP-merchandising.
Several sources have predicted that Messier’s role will not be directly filled. Those sources noted that Stop & Shop already has three capable senior VPs in its merchandising department – Jeff Dichele, senior VP-non-perishables; Peter Poutre, senior VP-fresh; and Marwan Fakhouri, senior VP-merchandising services, planning and execution – and they anticipate those executives will collaborate to handle Messier’s duties. Of the dozen trade executives we spoke to, many also expect president Gordon Reid to work more closely with the merchandising department as well as some of Stop & Shop’s key vendors.
Messier reports directly to Reid, who was named to fill the top post at the Quincy, MA-based retailer in July 2019 after serving in his previous ADUSA job as president of Giant Food for almost six years. Reid has been realigning his team over the past year, beginning with store operations.
In a recent letter sent out to the vendor community, Messier noted, “…I have tremendous confidence in Stop & Shop’s merchandising team and in the path that Stop & Shop is on under Gordon’s leadership. The team is in an excellent position to continue driving Stop & Shop’s omnichannel growth and to continue leading our markets as a retailer of choice.” He continued, “You, as a valued vendor partner, should not experience any changes in your relationship with the company. All contacts will remain the same, and there will be no changes in strategy related to this announcement.”