Irvine, Calif. – With three Southern California locations officially open for business and another three scheduled to open by week’s end, West Coast regional grocery chain Haggen has announced the first five senior members of its Pacific Southwest leadership team. They are:
- Wendy Oliver, SVP, Operations. A former Vice President of the Southern California Division of Albertsons.
- Chris Linskey, SVP, Marketing. A veteran of Vons, Linskey was most recently EVP, Sales, with Intelligent Clearing Network after working for Valassis and Catalina Interactive.
- Rich Winters, VP, Fresh foods. He was formerly VP of Sales and Business Development for Sun Pacific, Pasadena, Calif., and, before that, VP, Retail Merchandising and Marketing, for the Northern California Division of Safeway.
- Jaime Prager, VP, Center Store, who was formerly Director of Hispanic Category Management for Smart & Final, Los Angeles.
- Melina Ranii, VP, Human Resources, formerly Director of Recruitment and Development for Trader Joe’s in Monrovia, Calif.
“Each of our leaders has extensive experience in the grocery business as well as professional and personal connections to the Southern California marketplace,” said Bill Shaner, Haggen CEO Pacific Southwest. “You couldn’t ask for a stronger group to lead our historic rollout of 100 stores in 100 days.”
As Haggen continues to grow, opportunities are available at the division office located in Irvine. Food enthusiasts interested in joining the team can explore growth and employment opportunities at www.haggen.com.
Opening More Doors to San Diego Shoppers
Haggen opened its first doors to Southern California shoppers on March 11 at 7660 El Camino Real in Carlsbad, followed by two additional stores in El Cajon (at 13439 Camino Canada and 1608 Broadway Street) on March 18. Two more San Diego stores are scheduled to open today (at 730 Turquoise Street and 2235 University Avenue), followed by another location at 360 East H Street in Chula Vista on Sunday, March 22.
These six stores are the first of 83 California stores Haggen plans to acquire and convert to the Haggen brand in the first half of 2015. Once the acquisition is completed, the grocery chain will expand from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies to 164 stores with 106 pharmacies; from 2,000 employees to more than 10,000 employees; and from a Pacific Northwest company with locations in Oregon and Washington to a major regional grocery chain with locations in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. The 26 Washington store conversions began in mid-February, and 20 Oregon store conversions are beginning this week. The seven Nevada and 10 Arizona stores will be the last to convert in the late spring. Each week, between one and 12 stores will be converted.
About Haggen
Founded in 1933 in Bellingham, Washington, Haggen has built its business on providing guests the freshest and most local products with genuine service, while supporting the communities it serves. The company currently operates stores in Washington and Oregon, and is in the process of acquiring an additional 146 stores and establishing a second headquarters in Irvine, California. With this acquisition, Haggen will expand from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies to 164 stores with 106 pharmacies; from 2,000 employees to more than 10,000 employees; and from a Pacific Northwest company with locations in Oregon and Washington to a major regional grocery chain with locations in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. Throughout its eight decades in business, the company has supported regional farms, ranches, fisheries and other businesses, creating a lasting and sustainable local food economy. The company remains focused on building local, sustainable food economies as it expands. For more information about what’s happening at Haggen, visit haggen.com, and get social with Haggen on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Source: Haggen