Cincinnati — The Kroger Co.’s Jay Cummins, president of the company’s Smith’s division, and Marnette Perry, senior vice president for retail operations and strategic initiatives, plan to retire on April 29, 2016 after 44 years with the company.
Cummins began his Kroger career as a clerk in 1972 in Huntington Beach, Calif. In the following years, he served in positions of increasing responsibility in store and district management and in grocery merchandising for the company’s Food 4 Less division. Cummins was named president of the Mid-Atlantic division in 2007 before assuming his current role in 2014.
His replacement will be announced at a later date.
Perry joined Kroger in 1972 as a part-time cashier in Portsmouth, Ohio, in the Columbus division. She went on to serve in leadership positions with increasing responsibility. In 2004, she was named senior vice president of retail divisions, where she was responsible for eight supermarket operating divisions and more than $40 billion in annual revenue. She took on her current role, overseeing strategic initiatives and operations for Kroger, as well as the company’s value formats, in 2012.
Perry helped establish Kroger’s now-ubiquitous Natural Foods centers and Floral departments in the early 1980s. Today, Kroger is a top seller of natural and organic foods and is the world’s largest florist. More recently, as vice president of operations, Perry championed the teamwork that led to Kroger’s QueVision technology, which has reduced customers’ time spent waiting in line at checkout.
Kroger, one of the world’s largest retailers, operates 2,774 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Harris Teeter, Jay C, King Soopers, Mariano’s, Pick ‘n Save, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s. The company also operates 786 convenience stores, 326 fine jewelry stores, 1,360 supermarket fuel centers and 37 food processing plants in the U.S.
SOURCE: The Kroger Co.