KANSAS CITY, KS – Associated Wholesale Grocers recently announced that effective October 5, 2014, Steve Arnold, Senior Vice President of Grocery Products will be promoted to Executive Vice President of Marketing reporting to Jerry Garland, President and CEO.
Steve joined AWG in 1995 as a Price Chopper Sales Manager. In 1997 he was promoted to Director of Grocery Merchandising, and later that same year became the Vice President of Merchandising in the Oklahoma City Division. In 2001, Steve earned the position of Sr. VP and Division Manager for the Oklahoma Division where he spent the next 6 years until his promotion to the Sr. VP Grocery Products in 2007. Over the past seven years Steve has played a key role in the growth AWG has accomplished. Steve is also an integral part in AWG’s successful growth in private label sales which exceeded $1 billion in sales under his watch.
Also effective October 5, 2014, Dan Funk, President of Valu Merchandisers Company (VMC), will be promoted to the position of Senior Vice President Grocery Products, reporting to the Executive Vice President of Marketing. Dan joined AWG from Supervalu in October, 2012 and has successfully grown VMC sales. His leadership has opened new doors in the area of general merchandise, seasonal, and specialty foods. He has restructured personnel and staffing to be on the leading edge of incremental sales opportunities as well as solidifying VMC’s reputation in health and beauty care. Replacing Dan in the role of President of VMC will be Dave Sutton. Dave joined AWG last year as Vice President of Sales for VMC and is a key contributor to the continued growth within VMC. Dave’s background builds on progressive levels of leadership over several years at Hallmark.
About Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG)
Established in 1926, AWG is an 88-year old retailer-owned grocery cooperative, headquartered in Kansas City, KS. With annual sales of $8.38 billion. AWG’s existing full-line distribution centers are located in Kansas City, KS; Springfield, MO; Oklahoma City, OK; Southhaven, MS; Goodlettsville, TN; Fort Worth, TX; and Pearl River, LA. The VMC facilities are located in Ft. Scott, KS, and Memphis, TN. AWG currently has over 600 member-owners and services over 3,000 retail outlets in 31 states. For more information, visit www.awginc.com or follow @AWGCorporate on Twitter
Source: Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG)