Weis Markets announced Wednesday it has promoted Alison Gregas to director of private brands.
Gregas, who most recently served as the regional grocer’s private brands manager, joined the company in 2020 as a private brands sourcing specialist.
In her new role, Gregas oversees new product development and the day-to-day management of the grocer’s private brands portfolio. Weis has 6,500 items under its store brands, which include its Weis Quality, Weis By Nature and Weis Organics lines, according to the announcement.
Gregas reports to Bob Gleeson, senior vice president of merchandising and marketing for Weis, which runs about 200 supermarkets in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and West Virginia.
Other retailers have also made leadership moves in their private brand groups over the past year or so. Last June, Dollar General named Jackie Li, who had most recently serving as vice president and chief global sourcing officer, its senior vice president of private brands and global sourcing. At the end of 2021, Kroger tapped Juan De Paoli to be its vice president of its private label division.
Grocers have been improving the quality and selection of their private label offerings in recent years in an effort to raise those products’ profile with consumers, and people appear to have taken notice. Survey results released by the Food Industry Association in mid-2022 showed that 41% of shoppers purchased more private label items last spring than before the pandemic. In addition, 73% of people intend to continue buying private label goods even as the economy improves, according to data shared by Attest in February.
