Top Women in Grocery

The 2019 Top Women in Grocery, Presented by Progressive Grocer: Store Managers

6/10/2019

Progressive Grocer recognizes 393 extraordinary women this year who join the ranks of the Top Women in Grocery. These women strengthen the retail food industry at many levels, within both the retailer and supplier communities.

Top Women in Grocery is a community that has continued to grow since 2007, with the best and brightest women in the industry. 

Honorees are recognized in one of three categories: Executive-Level, Rising Stars and Store Managers. Below you find an incredible group of 65 Store Managers.

Deborah Coffey

Deborah Coffey
Store Director, Albertsons #0226, Sherman, Texas

  • Coffey has won two Southern Division President Cup Store Challenges, which are based on a strict grading criterion, according to which recipients are selected at a division and district level, and a minimum standard must be met even to be considered.
  • She was honored as Employer of the Year by Goodwill Industries for supporting hiring programs for the industry and making special efforts to match available jobs to the industry’s applicants.
  • Coffey actively participates in such organizations as Shared Ministries, the Master Key Food Pantry and Sherman’s Noon Lions Club.
Rhonda Neal

Rhonda Neal
Store Director, Albertsons #4187, Mesquite, Texas

  • Neal has mentored many leaders at Albertsons, running the gamut from fellow store directors to district managers.
  • Among other metrics, she surpassed goals for sales contests in her division, in one instance taking first place for selling Nature’s Bounty Vitamins and earning a $1,000 prize.
  • A cancer survivor herself – she beat stage-two triple-negative aggressive breast cancer in 2007 – Neal is dedicated to raising money to fight the disease, and has participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure since 1996, when her sister-in-law was first diagnosed with cancer.
Heather Roach-Lineberry

Heather Roach-Lineberry
Store Director, Albertsons #177, Boise, Idaho

  • Roach-Lineberry tackled challenges, resulting in continued success and providing opportunities to run larger stores, improving sales and EBITDA at each of the locations she managed. 
  • She won store of the quarter in Q1 and Q2 of this year, and is in second place for store of the quarter for Q4; she was also vital in the turnaround of Store #131, which is close to being profitable.
  • A coach and mentor with a particular aptitude for merchandising excellence and financial acumen, Roach-Lineberry focused on her team with strong communication, integrity in leadership, and a positive attitude.
Brenda Velarde

Brenda Velarde
Store Director, Albertsons #1760, Pueblo West, Colo.

  • Over the past two years, Velarde has increased year-over-year sales and exceeded her sales projections by 5 percent, despite being located in an area of economic decline.
  • She was a leader in the district among all the other store directors, assisting the district manager in many tasks, including Empower training, writing effective schedules and mentoring various new store directors in everyday operations.
  • Velarde continuously pushed her team to achieve new heights through great planning and execution; thanks to her efforts, her store won silver in the Best of Pueblo two years in a row.
Merlyn Abrams

Merlyn Abrams
Store Manager, Barons Market, Alpine, Calif.

  • In 2018, when Alpine,Calif., was struck by a destructive fire, Abrams transformed her store into a safe haven for first responders; when the store’s electricity went out, she coordinated the donation of perishable foods so that people affected by the fires could receive something to eat.
  • Afterward, she led efforts to help rebuild the devastated area: in support of this cause, her store raised $5,000 at its Backroom Beer Pairing, a quarterly food-and-beer fundraising event.
  • Abrams harnessed her innovation by spearheading the creation of exciting holiday gift baskets sold at Barons Market stores.
Susan Main

Susan Main
Store Director, Big Y World Class Market, Old Saybrook and Marlborough, Conn.

  • Under Main’s direction, Big Y’s Old Saybrook, Conn., store saw consistent sales growth and increased profitability throughout the year, exceeding its sales budget by $1.4 million in 2018.
  • She successfully mentored a store director trainee, overseeing his training plan, managing his technical progress, and fostering his leadership skills and management style.
  • As the director of a Marlborough, Conn., store that opened this past January, Main has led the location to achieve sales numbers that far exceeded budgeted expectations.
Diolita Abel

Diolita Abel
Store Director, Defense Commissary Agency, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

  • During architectural and refrigeration upgrades to her store, Abel ensured that it was fully operational and prepared to meet customers’ needs.  
  • Her store achieved $9 million in sales during the April-September 2018 time frame, with an immediate sales increase of more that 1 percent after the upgrades noted above were completed. 
  • When Hurricane Michael struck, necessitating a mandatory evacuation, Abel worked tirelessly to confirm the safety of every member of her staff; just two weeks after the devastating storm, the Tyndall commissary was the first organization to reopen, providing much-needed community support.
Cynthia Blair

Cynthia Blair
Store Director, Defense Commissary Agency, Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan

  • Quickly adapting to a new category process improvement program, Blair reset more than 50 categories within her store; the execution, speed and accuracy of these sets were the best in the zone.
  • Faced with back-to-back typhoons, she ensured that ready-to-eat groceries, water and baby needs were abundantly stocked for customers to purchase ahead of time, leading to sales exceeding $250,000 for the two days prior to the storms — the largest two-day sales period in the store’s history. 
  • Blair has personally mentored and nurtured three junior managers during this past year.
Maureen Burnetsky

Maureen Burnetsky
Store Director, Defense Commisary Agency, Marine Corps Air Station, New River, N.C.

  • When Hurricane Florence hit, dumping more than 35 inches of rain on the region over six days, Burnetsky stayed behind despite mandatory evacuation orders, providing hourly updates to headquarters on the status of the storm and the store.
  • Despite extensive damage to the store and her own home, which was hit by a tornado during the storm, she and her team were able to reopen the location on a limited basis to serve the community only eight days after the mandatory evacuation. 
  • Burnetsky’s location was in the top 5 percent of commissaries with 100 percent accountability of all equipment.
Rachelle Davidson

Rachelle Davidson
Commissary Officer, Defense Commissary Agency, Memphis Naval Support Activity Commissary, Tenn.

  • Inheriting human resource issues and a store in need of repairs, Davidson improved employee job performance and oversaw facility upgrades without losing a single business operating day.
  • She cooperated with vendors and community leaders to host sidewalk sales and Midnight Madness events, and coordinated sponsorships of family groups, improving customer traffic and community engagement.
  • Long-term customers wrote letters of appreciation to leadership, noting the positive changes at the store since her arrival and commending her consistent availability and accessibility.
Mary L. Winters

Mary L. Winters
Store Manager, Dillons #54, Topeka, Kan.

  • Winters’ store served as the pilot for the Scan, Bag, Go program, which introduced customers to self-check and self-pay; the seamless rollout garnered local media attention and increased the store’s ecommerce sales by 38.1 percent.
  • A hands-on manager who was fully engaged with department heads and associates, she walked the store daily and coached department heads. 
  • Passionate about supporting Vietnam War veterans from the Topeka, Kan., area, Winters worked with her store team to gather food and other necessities for vets at the local VA Hospital.
Nicole Eckhardt

Nicole Eckhardt
Store Director, Family Fare, Wyoming, Mich.

  • Eckhardt received a 2018 SpartanNash Innovation Award for working with her store’s bakery manager to develop a shrink-reduction practice that has been shared company-wide.
  • She executed a center store back-room process that reduced total store out-of-stocks, reduced back-room inventory on hand, and ultimately increased center store sales; her store was used to train other stores on this practice. 
  • Under Eckhardt’s leadership, a training initiative that helps new associates build a rapport with their department managers helped reduce employee turnover at the store by 17.6 percent.
Amanda Salwasser

Amanda Salwasser
Store Director, Festival Foods, Eau Claire, Wis.

  • Salwasser’s store’s 11.34 percent EBITA as a percentage of sales was substantially higher than the 4.14 percent company average; in 2018, she maintained 93 percent of the previous year’s sales, even with two new Festival Foods locations opening in the same market during that time. 
  • Her store’s 2018 labor rate (without administration) was 7.26 percent, below the average store labor rate of 9.27 percent.
  • One of just three female store directors among 32 Festival Foods locations, Salwasser serves as a role model for associates and department leaders. 
Annette Johnson

Annette Johnson
Store Manager, Food Lion Store #1624, Virginia Beach, Va.

  • Johnson led her store to a customer count increase over last year, adding thousands of shoppers even as her location underwent an extensive renovation.
  • She developed a passion for having the fastest checkout in the chain’s Southeast region, which greatly helped drive and retain the customer count increase her store experienced. 
  • This past year, Johnson received Food Lion’s Regional Store Award and ultimately garnered the banner’s highest accolade, Store Manager of the Year, beating out more than 1,000 candidates.
Amy Jacobs

Amy Jacobs
Store Manager, Fred Meyer #660, Wood Village, Ore.

  • Jacobs had a direct impact on customer satisfaction and perception, earning top achievements within key Fred Meyer metrics, including product availability for customers using online ordering, customer perception of freshness of produce items, and customer perception of freshness of meat products.
  • She influenced a positive shopping experience for her customers, with her store testing more than 66 percent higher in overall satisfaction than the district average.
  • Jacobs created an inclusive, upbeat and motivating place to work, as evidenced by her location’s low associate turnover, which beats the district average by 13 percent.
Michelle Winn

Michelle Winn
Store Director, Fred Meyer #214, Spokane, Wash.

  • Winn led the charge with audits designed to improve shrink results to bring shrink to 88 percent, one of the best results for the year, 44 basis points better than last year and 34 basis points below the 2018 goal.
  • She created a place where associates want to work and customers want to shop; her store beat the annualized turnover rate goal and exceeded the district overtime stretch goal.
  • Winn was able to lead her team to one of the top three sales increases in the district, despite increased competition from a Costco that opened within 2 miles of her location.
Dawn Goldstein

Dawn Goldstein
Store Director, The Fresh Grocer of Grays Ferry, Philadelphia

  • Goldstein helped build beer and wine sales in a previous location that she managed in 2018 by 13 percent over the prior year through wine tastings and working with vendors. 
  • At her new location, understanding that the store serves a diverse customer group and merchandises accordingly, she ran a profitable operation and consistently hit her budgets for labor, store supplies, gross profit and shrink.
  • Goldstein teamed with community groups to build store-level engagement such as an effort for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a group fighting childhood cancer.
Kelsie Shofner

Kelsie Shofner
Store Manager, Fry’s #125, Scottsdale, Ariz.

  • Shofner had the best retention numbers in her district, earning praise from colleagues for her consistently upbeat and ambitious attitude, and forward-thinking, results-oriented approach.
  • Despite one of the most extensive Fry’s remodels in the banner’s history, her store beat its annualized goal for retention.
  • Committed to STARS (Scottsdale Training and Rehabilitation Services), a community-based program (and Fry’s partner) that helps people with developmental and cognitive disabilities learn vital working skills, Shofner helped develop Fry’s STARS associates on the job.
Heidi Kimble

Heidi Kimble
Senior Store Leader, Giant Eagle Store #4032, Stow, Ohio

  • A senior store leader for the past two years, a store leader for seven and a Giant Eagle veteran of more than three decades, Kimble beat her sales budget in year-over-year sales during a particularly competitive time in the grocery industry. 
  • Her store was consistently in the Top 20 for sales growth in regard to the company’s new Curbside & Delivery service.
  • A master trainer and member of Giant Eagle’s women’s business resource group, Kimble helped develop three store leaders and one senior team leader; she also volunteered extensively in her local community.
Jessica Shoben

Jessica Shoben
Senior Dual Store Leader, Giant Eagle Stores #58 and #59, Morgantown, W.Va.

  • Responsible for all aspects of two stores, Shoben closely monitored the challenging conditions of the West Virginia region that her locations serve, and managed to overcome them.
  • Sales at both of her stores continued to increase during a very difficult time in the industry, and total store gross margin also exceeded budget in both stores; Shoben continued to control grocery-operating expenses in both stores, outpacing budgets.
  • Shoben achieved a safety result of no team-member lost time, and her guest satisfaction score in one location trended up 4 percent over last year.
Heather Wade

Heather Wade
Store Manager, Giant Food #249, Landover, Md.

  • Wade started 2018 as an asset protection manager, and then transitioned to store manager, quickly achieving 1.25 percent positive identical-store sales in December by executing the sales plan, managing the team and ensuring store standards were met; her store’s profit and loss continued to show improvement, including an increase in underlying earnings before income and taxes.
  • She also saw increases in sales over budget, and savings in controlled labor. 
  • Wade identified an opportunity to improve shrink in her store, put processes in place and coached her team on the process.
Sherry Beitler

Sherry Beitler
Store Manager, Giant Food Store #6539, Harrisburg, Pa.

  • Beitler and her team trained and promoted 17 associates in 2018; she used the “One Team” concept to show employees how important it is to work as a store, brand and district team, and helped train at other stores as well.
  • She spoke with all store staffers individually about career goals on a monthly basis to make sure that their goals were on track.
  • Beitler led her store to achieve a 4 percent comparable-sales increase even though a competitor had opened a half-mile away; she also took the initiative to show community support for the local high school basketball team. 
Hiba Daher

Hiba Daher
Store Manager, Giant Food Store #6335, Whitehall, Pa.

  • Daher created a “One Team” setting in her store, encouraging all associates to work together in a family-like atmosphere, and creating a store wall with photos of associates to showcase accomplishments.
  • Her store was rated a top performer in her district for cashier friendliness and speed; the location also had one of the lowest shrink levels in the district, which she credited to the associates becoming more organized.
  • Daher made videos of associates helping others at charities such as Second Harvest Food Bank, and planned a store manager holiday party.
Susan Fearnbaugh

Susan Fearnbaugh
Store Manager, Giant Food Store #6485, Mount Joy, Pa.

  • A hands-on store manager who’s always ready to lend a hand by performing such tasks as traying up holiday cookies when the bakery is short-handed, Fearnbaugh collaborated among store departments on a weekly basis to develop a merchandising plan, select sales items, and review the sales plan and floor layout.
  • In this way, she and her team achieved total store sales growth of 8.5 percent, and 28 percent in fresh categories.
  • She interviewed every candidate for her location, which was named Store of the Year in 2017 by Giant.
Laurie Drake

Laurie Drake
Store Manager, Hannaford, Queensbury, N.Y.

  • It has been said of Drake that she has made her store into a No. 1 training site by surrounding herself with managers “that just get it”; she’s also known for identifying associates with potential and providing training so that they can move ahead.
  • Her 2018 sales were even better than last year, thanks to an increased focus on merchandising, in-stock conditions and quality control.
  • Drake used the Power of You program to help associates learn that they can take care of customer needs in the moment; the program has positively affected customers who no longer need to wait to speak with a manager. 
Jenn Moore

Jenn Moore
Store Director, Hannaford, Lunenburg, Mass. 

  • Moore surpassed many of her store’s goals in 2018, outperforming its budget by 4.86 percent; the location’s total shrink numbers were bettered by $90,000, and sales growth was more than 7 percent.
  • Her store’s food safety average was 96 percent, and its workplace safety average was 97 percent, while its immunization count, budgeted at 933, was actually 1,112.
  • A member of the diversity and inclusion district committee, Moore co-led the first Pride parade in Worcester, Mass, and she also received the 2018 Ronald C. Hodge Retailer of the Year award.
Cheryl Rondenelli

Cheryl Rondenelli
Store Manager, Hannaford, Utica, N.Y.

  • A longtime store manager known for her exemplary leadership, Rondenelli made each associate aware of how their position contributed to overall operations; she did this by supporting her employees, challenging them to perform and, most of all, teaching her team.
  • To be more competitive, she took a closer look at operations to ensure that customers could do all of their shopping in one stop by meeting previously unmet customer needs. 
  • Running a full, fresh, aggressivly merchandised store, Rondenelli increased its variety of ethnic items to meet the needs of the location’s community.
Elaine Chassagne

Elaine Chassagne
Store Manager, Harris Teeter Store #311, Holly Springs, N.C.

  • Chassagne’s store achieved three store sales records in 2018 and maintained double-digit sales growth all year.
  • She took on the challenge of increasing fresh food sales growth, working with department leadership to improve computer-assisted ordering, department conditions and service; as a result of her efforts, department sales increased by 31 percent in the third quarter, with fresh food ranking second in the entire company in the Boar’s Head fresh-sliced program.
  • Chassagne’s store continued to have the highest controllable profit and the highest operating profit percentage in her district.
Jennifer McMahon

Jennifer McMahon
Store Director, Harris Teeter Store #210, Wilmington, N.C.

  • McMahon led her store to several financial successes in the fiscal year, among them exceeding $2.7 million in net profit, year-to-date controllable profit of 17.48 percent and operating profit of 8.51 percent, making it No. 1 in the district.
  • Her store’s scorecard averaged 81.3 year to date, exceeding company expectations; although an Earth Fare location opened close by, her store managed to maintain a positive sales trend of 5.63 percent.
  • In the past 12 months, McMahon’s location was one of the few that achieved 100 percent in successfully training new hires on time.
Michelle Sandoval

Michelle Sandoval
Store Director, Harris Teeter Store #003, Charlotte, N.C.

  • Sandoval debuted her store with grand-opening sales of more than $500,000 and subsequently averaged more than $516,000; in September 2018, she broke a sales record of $638,000, with year-to-date sales up 22 percent over last year.
  • She looked for ways to promote Harris Teeter in the community; her store is in a developing area, so she assembled promotional welcome packets. 
  • Her store was added to a short list of six exceptional stores to train all new managers in the Harris Teeter Management Development Program for the southern region.
Marcie Casey

Marcie Casey
Store Director, West Des Moines Hy-Vee Drug Store, West Des Moines, Iowa

  • Casey led the opening of two stores; one of the locations was a brand-new store in rural Iowa, which was a new concept for the area and transformed the shopping experience there. 
  • Next, she was asked to lead a new urban-concept store in downtown Des Moines, the first of its kind in the chain.
  • Most recently, she transitioned to lead one of Hy-Vee’s drug stores in West Des Moines. The drug store format is challenging, with many competitors, but Casey continued to find ways to compete, promoting the store to grow sales by talking with customers on the floor and creating advertising promos. 
Jen Kopriva

Jen Kopriva
Store Director, Ankeny North Hy-Vee, Ankeny, Iowa

  • Kopriva held several corporate positions such as assistant VP and VP, but in May 2018, she decided to return to retail and become a store director; her success in her new role was seen in increased store sales and profit.
  • Her store, which she previously oversaw as a regional VP, consistently posted 4 percent to 5 percent monthly sales increases over the previous year.
  • When two police officers were ambushed and killed in 2018 in Des Moines and Urbandale, Iowa, Hy-Vee, under Kopriva’s direction, stepped up to offer financial and material support; she and the company were recognized for their contribution.
Charnita Gordon

Charnita Gordon
Store Director, Jewel-Osco #2160, Palos Park, Ill.

  • Gordon created a culture that fosters empowerment, accountability and inclusion.
  • Her team worked together to increase sales — Q1 1.9 percent, Q2 1.43 percent, Q3 4.0 percent and Q4 1 percent — all over the prior year; she also obtained full compliance with food safety; and her direction earned the store first place in customer service for the district.
  • Gordon successfully coached, trained and developed three associates who are now self-sufficient in the departments they oversee; she also mentored five female store directors and three female assistant store directors within the company.
Tracy Budd

Tracy Budd
Store Manager, King Soopers #76, Colorado Springs, Colo. 

  • Budd drew on her collaborative leadership, team-building and execution skills when introducing the Our Purpose and Promise program in her district, which resulted in a significant decrease in shrink and an increase in retention.
  • She was recognized by her peers with the Manager of the Year 1St Team Award, given to a store manager who exemplifies strong leadership skills, great financial results and a passion for connecting with people.
  • Budd’s previous manager post, at King Soopers #43, allowed the Pueblo, Colo., store to achieve its first and only million-dollar holiday week.
Stevie Hernandez

Stevie Hernandez
Store Manager, King Soopers #79, Cheyenne, Wyo.

  • Hernandez, a self-starter who embraces new ideas and creates innovative ideas, led her team to a 3.09 percent increase in sales in 2018, and her store to be named the best grocery store in the state of Wyoming for the third year in a row. 
  • She was chosen to attend the Kroger Leadership Academy for high-potential managers.
  • Hernandez challenged her team to become more involved with the community and build relationships, which resulted in a recognition program that awards a gift basket or party tray to local businesses that provide services to the community.
Jennifer Arnold

Jennifer Arnold
Store Manager, Kroger #368, Frankfort, Ky.

  • Arnold was charged with reversing negative customer count, growing sales, improving morale, saving a failing ecommerce department and restoring consumer confidence in her store, and succeeded on all counts.
  • She led her team to grow average weekly sales by $19,000 per week and the average sale per customer by 0.49 percent.
  • Strongly valuing Kroger’s relationship with the community, Arnold worked with Hope for Heroes, a local veterans group, on store events that collect for veterans in need, and led her store to place as a top performer in a Cram the Cruiser event, at which food is collected for local food pantries.
Krista Burson

Krista Burson
Store Leader, Kroger #820, Mount Vernon, Ohio

  • By building relationships and listening to the needs of her team, Burson increased associate engagement and morale and achieved measurable results — a 3 percent increase in engagement  in the annual associate insight survey, and a ranking in the top 4 percent of her division.
  • She fostered team building through charitable events benefiting the American Cancer Society, a local police department, a local animal shelter and area schools, and provided Kroger families with a Christmas meal and gifts for their children. 
  • Burson worked diligently to increase sales, control costs, limit overtime and beat her store’s shrink budget.
Kristina Eyster 

Kristina Eyster 
Store Leader, Kroger #804, Delaware, Ohio

  • A purpose-driven leader who excels at building connections with associates, and a professional who believes that people are the most important part of the business, Eyster empowered her department heads to take ownership and held them accountable to achieve success.
  • As store leader at a profit opportunity store, she improved shrink results and saved more than $4,000 in variable expense by encouraging her team to take pride in maintaining their respective departments. 
  • Eyster was instrumental in growing sales in her store, increasing identical-store sales results by 2.5 percent, while also increasing customer count and improving selling gross.
Angela Harris

Angela Harris
Store Manager, Kroger #471, College Park, Ga.

  • Harris is proof that back-to-basics training and one-on-one connections with associates and customers can ignite a store’s performance: since her arrival at store #471, she has decreased average customer wait time and shrink while increasing cashier productivity and sales.
  • Through individual meetings with staff, she identified employees with potential and placed them on individual development plans to prepare them for future roles, and identified a successor plan for all departments.
  • Harris formed community partnerships, made fundraising a fun competitive event for the store’s team and initiated a Customer Appreciation Day.
Seherzada Jelovac 

Seherzada Jelovac 
Store Manager, Kroger #318, Atlanta

  • Focusing largely on day-to-day conditions and out-of-stocks, Jelovac led her team to a significant improvement in both sales and operations of her store: Sales increased 4.8 percent in both produce and deli, meat sales grew more than 6 percent, and shrink dropped by half. 
  • Her team created a culture of teaching, coaching and training to improve retention in the competitive Atlanta job market, reducing turnover by more 15 percent over the course of 2018.
  • Passionate about developing associates, Jelovac served as a mentor and trainer for new management trainees in her district.
Molly Stiles 

Molly Stiles 
Store Manager, Kroger #670, Powell, Tenn.

  • Stiles doggedly drove her store’s ecommerce sales to lead her division in orders and percent to total sales; the training approach that she developed for the store team set new standards for the division, and her store currently serves as a model for all division pickup departments.  
  • Her store also became the division training store for new initiatives such as waste solutions and the Effective Store Walk routine, and arnered top ratings in customer satisfaction.
  • A leader and mentor among her peers, Stiles has been recognized as Store Manager of the Year several times in both the Atlanta and Nashville divisions.
Kelly Kathlina

Kelly Kathlina
Store Director, Meijer #170, Highland, Ind.

  • Kathlina, despite the challenges of a store remodel and major road construction, maintained a customer-friendly environment and led her team to a 2.8 percent increase in same-store sales, beating the profit plan by 30 basis points and her labor plan by 20 basis points.
  • She mentored 11 team members through Meijer development programs, living up to her reputation for inspiring leaders to each have a career plan and a vision for their futures.
  • Kathlina raised her team’s engagement score by rewarding them for attaining customer service goals with innovative Fun Fridays activities.
Tami Nowaczyk

Tami Nowaczyk
Store Director, Meijer #108, Midland, Mich.

  • Hailed as an effective communicator, Nowaczyk leveraged her keen ability to translate the company’s goals into actionable plans for her associates.
  • Her talent for leading, mentoring and motivating associates, identifying the strengths of her team members and matching them to opportunities that allow them to grow while continuing to drive the business, was key to the team’s success.
  • Active in the area that she serves, Nowaczyk led the charge during a state of emergency in the Midland, Mich., area to deliver pallets of water to the community, as well as supporting a number of local events.
Laurie Tuxhorn

Laurie Tuxhorn
Store Director, Oliver’s Market, Windsor, Calif.

  • The first female store director for Oliver’s Market, Tuxhorn has made her location the fastest-growing in company history.
  • Her store achieved double-digit growth and beat budgeted sales growth target by 177 basis points; year-over-year gross profit also increased by nine basis points, beating her overall budget by 16 basis points, and overall store EBITDA increased by 196 basis points year over year, beating her overall budget by 59 basis points.
  • Tuxhorn’s innovations in her store’s Tavern operations netted a 21 percent sales increase year over year for 2018. 
Kristine Petrie 

Kristine Petrie 
Store Manager, QFC #838, Kirkland, Wash.

  • Petrie made a noticeable difference in the overall presentation of her store and significantly improved financials, with year-to-date sales up 1.2 percent and gross profit up 0.4 percent.
  • She encouraged her staff to volunteer at the local elementary school’s carnival, established store tours for preschoolers and their parents, and was instrumental in the store’s sponsorship of the local youth football team.
  • Petrie and her team hosted a Christmas Drive, collecting toys for local families in need, and she and two managers personally delivered the toys to families on Christmas Eve morning.
Shannon Jessee

Shannon Jessee
Store Manager, Ralphs #683, San Marcos, Calif.

  •  Jessee led her store to excel in 2018, increasing identical-store sales and average weekly sales, raising EBITDA for the year, and improving shrink and turnover. 
  • She managed the rollout of the Kroger waste integration program after her store was selected as the District Learning Store, meeting the program’s goals and maintaining a high standard.
  • Jessee participated in the organization’s annual 5K run/walk fundraiser and volunteered with Feeding America San Diego; further, along with the District 8 Promise Team she leads, she worked on Kroger’s Zero Hunger I Zero Waste program.
Michele Lujan

Michele Lujan
Store Manager, Ralphs #73, Malibu, Calif.

  • Lujan and her team’s dedication to the community was on display after a major wildfire ravaged the beachfront area where her store is located; while most other businesses in the area closed, Lujan and her team kept their store open to provide food, water and shelter to first responders and evacuated residents.
  • Her leadership earned Ralphs’ Malibu store an outstanding 85 percent acknowledgement score on the company’s Overall Satisfaction survey.
  • Lujan has won numerous awards for having the highest customer satisfaction scores in her district.
Carrie LaPointe

Carrie LaPointe
Store Manager, Roundy’s Metro Market #301, Brookfield, Wis.

  • LaPointe helped her team transform their store, working with store personnel to train, coach and change the sanitation culture, and taking the location from the worst food safety score to the most improved in mere months. 
  • She was one of a handful of store managers chosen as a mentor for the division’s Leadership Essentials program, which coaches, trains and develops future store leaders.
  • LaPointe forged a strong relationship with the St. Dominic’s Festival in Brookfield, working with the festival chairman to save the organization a large amount of money on its food order.
Michelle Leblanc

Michelle Leblanc
Store Director, Rouses Market #55, Denham Springs, La.

  • After joining Rouses in 2016, Leblanc was store director in two other locations before being assigned in 2018 to the flagship Denham Springs, La., location. 
  • She improved year-over-year total store margin by 79 basis points from 2017 to 2018 and reversed comp sales from negative to 5.7 percent positive, while simultaneously reducing operating expenses by $224,000.
  • Leblanc showed great leadership in mentoring her team while holding them accountable to achieve strong results; she’s also always willing to help out in her region when called upon.
Donna Madere-Dickerson

Donna Madere-Dickerson
Store Director, Rouses Market #70, Baton Rouge, La.

  •  In fall 2018, Madere-Dickerson took on the assignment to open Rouses’ newest location in Baton Rouge, La., near the LSU campus, after leading the team at another Baton Rouge location.
  • Since her new store is near a university, she was highly resourceful in coming up with ideas to drive sales and cater to the student population.
  • Possessing a flair for exceptional merchandising, especially in the fresh departments, Madere-Dickerson was a master at planning for events and holidays, setting an example for the region and raising the bar for her peers.
Holly Alton

Holly Alton
Store Director, Safeway #2600-10, Tracy, Calif.

  • Alton led her store to earn a bonus in every quarter of fiscal 2018 and finished the year with a double bonus.
  • Her store’s floral department achieved more than $140,000 in sales, placing it first in the Northern California division out of 283 stores, and in the top five in the entire company.
  • Alston has accomplished these successes by building a solid team and creating a positive environment where employees understand their respective roles and how they contribute to the business through such means as employee contests involving all store associates.
Gabi Armenta

Gabi Armenta
Store Director, Safeway #1266-14, Truckee, Calif.

  • Promoted in 2018 to director of store #1266-14, Armenta achieved double-digit sales increases, making her location No. 1 in the Northern California division on various occasions.
  • Collaborating with her inventory control clerk, employees and vendors, she implemented changes on how inventory was managed in the store, which subsequently led to a cleaner, more organized backroom.
  • Armenta works side by side with her employees to build a strong team atmosphere, leading by example and ensuring that all associates are willing to help each other to further the goals of the store.
Michelle Khider

Michelle Khider
Store Director, Safeway #1483-8, San Jose, Calif.

  •  Khider achieves stellar financial results by meeting weekly with department managers to review the current-period trajectory; after each period, she receives from each manager a full financial analysis of department sales, profit, shrink, ordering and customer service.
  • She had the idea to move bulk foods from the front of the store to the back, thereby improving her store metrics.
  • Khider fills in for the center store operations specialist when he’s on vacation, and as the district’s salary champion, she works with each store on labor management to better the district’s numbers.
Lea Maxwell

Lea Maxwell
Store Director, Safeway #1711-03, San Francisco

  • Maxwell is ranked second in her division for operating income and store gain; a particular standout is her year-over-year nonperishable shrink results, which in February 2019 showed a $173,000 improvement over the previous year. 
  • She leads her district in many financial metrics, specifically in the Own Brands categories, for which she is at the top of the district’s results.
  • Maxwell is a retail leadership development (RLD) trainer, which means that she volunteers to train the district’s candidates for promotion to first assistant manager while continuing to run her own store. 
Kari Smith

Kari Smith
Store Director, Safeway #1724-14, Placerville, Calif.

  • Smith regularly volunteered for extra assignments and responsibilities; for instance, as a certified frontline leadership trainer, she facilitated training at the division office for assistant managers and store directors. 
  • She stepped up to manage a store that was without a director while continuing at her current location, running both supermarkets successfully. 
  • Smith developed a sales-planning tool that was implemented district-wide and used for profit meetings at each store; using the tool, she implemented a plan to drive seafood sales and variety, which resulted in a 10 percent sales increase over last year.
Cassidy Cofran

Cassidy Cofran
Store Director, Shaw’s, Orleans, Mass.

  • In only her first year as a store director, Cofran led her location through a challenging time to achieve more than 5 percent in identical-store sales.
  • Her outside-the-box thinking on summer seasonal merchandising led to a 27 percent sales increase from last year; she accomplished this feat by teaming with local and national partners to carry a wider variety of summer merchandise.
  • Cofran mentored two high-potential women to the next steps in their careers, with one being promoted to assistant store director and the other accepted into the store director training program; she was also recently appointed to the Store Director Council.
Lori Hodgkinson

Lori Hodgkinson
Store Manager, ShopRite Stores, Croton-on-Hudson and Vailsgate, N.Y.

  • Hodgkinson developed an environment supporting clear communication on all shifts, including huddles to celebrate successes and challenge one another to be their best daily.
  • Hodgkinson led a major remodel that culminated in a grand reopening; her team-building efforts enabled the store to break 10 records for individual department sales and total store sales while improving operating income and payroll.
  • A member of the company’s Women and Diversity leadership group, Hodgkinson won 2018 Store Manager of the Year and Budget Buster awards for her store’s record financial year.
Amy Leary

Amy Leary
Store Manager, ShopRite Store #324, Hamden, Conn.

  • Leary engaged with all of her associates, continually encouraging feedback to build relationships and create a unified team.
  • The participation rate in her store’s associate satisfaction survey was 100 percent, a testament to her leadership, and she implemented new store initiatives with inventory control and shrink that are models for other stores.
  • Leary regularly gives back as a mentor to new department managers and to the community as an organizer of local drives and fundraisers; the Hamden, Conn., store has raised thousands of dollars for community charitable organizations, thanks to Leary’s tireless efforts.
Kelly Pagano

Kelly Pagano
Store Manager, ShopRite Store #325, Orange, Conn.

  • Promoted to a newer store with 193 associates, Pagano also worked with the company to develop a foodservice program.
  • Coming aboard at a time when the location was facing many challenges, she created a unified environment based on improved communication and consistency; as a result, the store’s retention rate improved by double digits and there was 100 percent participation in the associate satisfaction survey.
  • Pagano organized fundraisers for several groups, including the Boys and Girls Village, Get in Touch and Check Out Hunger, boosting donations from previous years.
Grace Richards

Grace Richards
Assistant Store Manager, ShopRite Store, Florida, N.Y. 

  • While still performing her duties as an assistant store manager, Richards was tapped for a fast-track program to become a store director; she ran an existing store through its closing period while supporting the replacement store’s opening. 
  • She focused on the click-and-collect segment in several categories, led the training and development of two new assistant store managers, and managed succession planning for the store.
  • Recognized as a role model for the movement of more women into store management positions, Richards was chosen to be a charter member of the company’s diversity program.
Amanda Seghers

Amanda Seghers
Store Manager, Smart & Final Store #423, Huntington Beach, Calif.

  • Seghers was transferred during the year into a store that was underperforming both financially and operationally, and rose to the challenge by leading her team to make changes that were quickly noticed by customers and management, garnering increases in sales and bottom-line results, as well as notes of appreciation to the company from shoppers. 
  • Her store participated in the Caterina’s Kids Pasta-thon in California’s Orange County that raised donations for disadvantaged children in the area.
  • Seghers’ store was one of two locations nominated for Store of the District in 2018. 
Melissa Insalaco-Gillon

Melissa Insalaco-Gillon
Store Manager, Stop & Shop #687, Branford, Conn.

  • A leader in people development, Insalaco-Gillon oversaw the promotion of six associates in her store to assistant manager or full-time department positions.
  • Under her guidance, customer satisfaction scores improved, shrink was down and operating income exceeded budget; in addition, she helped improve associate morale.
  • Insalaco-Gillon has forged a strong partnership with the Branford Food Bank, to which she consistently donates food from the store; she ensured that the food bank was fully stocked for the busy Thanksgiving season, and helped replenish it after the winter holidays.
Ellen McCue

Ellen McCue
Store Manager, Stop & Shop #614, Southington, Conn.

  • McCue was an exceptional leader during the remodel of her store; the location ended the year approximately $1.2 million over budget in retail sales, and customer satisfaction scores had an unprecedented rise from the previous year.
  • She initiated daily huddles and store walks to keep her team informed and to provide clear, consistent feedback; she also celebrated wins, announcing when customers complimented an associate and following up with a recognition card.
  • McCue is a strong supporter of the Rising Star career development program and uses it to train, develop and mentor, and ultimately promote associates.
Kandi Newton

Kandi Newton
Store Manager, Tops #574,  Lowville, N.Y.

  • An extremely customer-focused manager who knows many of her shoppers by name, Newton was able to exceed her store’s EBITDA by 675 percent, and her key performance indicators were among the best in her district.
  • She was instrumental in hiring and training associates for a new gas station at the store; the gas station exceeded weekly projected gallons by 80 percent.
  • Known for her strong team-building skills and effective leadership, Newton continually earned the respect of her associates by showing that she genuinely cared about them and what was going on in their personal lives.
Ashley Tucker

Ashley Tucker
Store Manager, Tops #720, Greenville, N.Y.

  • Tucker achieved a 2.7 percent increase in sales and 106 percent of her EBITDA budget at her previous store, results that led to her reassignment to the largest and highest-volume location in her district. 
  • Leading by example was key: Her store’s team attained a 98.6 percent year average on its Mystery Shop program, and she took the time to develop new meat and office managers. 
  • Tucker’s store associates surpassed all fundraising goals, and went one step further to raise money on their own, and then visit a senior citizen community across the street for the holidays.
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds