Dive Brief:

• BJ’s Wholesale Club announced Monday that it has named H-E-B and Target veteran Rachel Vegas as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.
• Vegas, who previously served as H-E-B’s senior vice president of e-commerce merchandising, will lead BJ’s merchandising as well as assortment planning and allocation functions, according to a news release.
• BJ’s continues to refresh its assortment as it focuses more on private labels and high-demand products like better-for-you snacks.

Dive Insight:

As it looks to maintain its recent momentum among in-store and online shoppers, BJ’s is turning to a former digital executive at one of the nation’s top regional grocers.

In her role as senior vice president of e-commerce merchandising at H-E-B, Vegas led the grocer’s online business as well as its financial services and payments division along with its retail media initiative. Prior to that position, she worked as chief merchant at online retail Brandless and spent more than 13 years at Target, where she rose to become vice president in the company’s center store division, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also worked in various roles at Food Lion and Hannaford Supermarkets.

“Her diverse background and deep experience in retail and grocery will be influential as we continue to build on our momentum and advance our strategic priorities,” BJ's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Paul Cichocki, to whom Vegas will report, said in a statement. 

In its announcement, BJ’s noted the progress it has made rationalizing its assortment — a process begun under former CEO Lee Delaney, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. This includes focusing on private label brands in its grocery department as well as best-selling categories like healthier snacks. 

During the pandemic, club retailers like BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s Club have benefited from consumers’ preference for one-stop shopping. Like its competitors, BJ’s has tried to make online shopping more available for members. The company expanded pickup service to all of its stores last year, and in its most recent quarter posted digital sales that were more than 300% higher than the same period in 2019.  

BJ’s also elevated two of its current executives on Monday. Monica Schwartz, who joined the company in 2020 as senior vice president and chief digital officer, is now an executive vice president. Tim Morningstar, who joined the company in 2020 as its senior vice president of membership acquisition and loyalty, is now executive vice president and chief membership officer. 

In April, BJ’s named former Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Bob Eddy as CEO as part of a top-level shuffle following Delaney’s passing.