Dive Brief:
- Albertsons has appointed PepsiCo veteran Alice Chan as vice president of sales and marketing for its Own Brands private label business, the retailer told Grocery Dive in an email. She will be responsible for developing and executing go-to-market initiatives.
- Chan previously held the position of senior director of sales strategy at Pepsi’s Frito-Lay division in Plano, Texas and spent more than 16 years at the company. She was accountable for more than $1.5 billion in annual sales across four states.
- This is the retailer’s third recent hire from PepsiCo, the other two being CEO Vivek Sankaran and chief human resources officer Mike Theilmann.
Dive Insight:
Albertsons' Own Brands portfolio has made significant gains in recent years, and remains a growth focus under Sankaran, who been in the CEO position since last April. By hiring Chan, Albertsons hopes to further elevate its private label efforts with a seasoned CPG professional.
Albertsons store brand portfolio reached its highest penetration yet at 25.6% in the most recent quarter, and the company said it plans to grow to 30% over time. In its latest earnings report, officials said Albertsons' private-label sales contributed significantly to its top-line results.
Chad Coester, Albertsons' senior vice president of Own Brands, said the company has “ambitious” goals for Own Brands and that Chan will be "key to that growth." It also said growth and innovation in Own Brands plays a big part in the overall company’s strategy.
In addition to its PepsiCo hires, in December Albertsons hired Chris Rupp, an Amazon and Microsoft veteran, as its executive vice president and chief customer and digital officer, and in September it promoted Coester to his current post with Own Brands.
