D'Agostino Family Member Said to Have Gone Over to Gristedes
Gristedes now has something only rival New York grocer D'Agostino Supermarkets used to have: a member of the founding family on its staff. According to a published report, Gristedes this week hired Walter D'Agostino, a former v.p. of merchandising at D'Agostino, with the aim of boosting the Gristedes' management team.
An internal Gristedes memo quoted by Crain's New York Business said: "We are confident that this focus will both lead to a significant change in the performance at [under-performing] stores and free up the rest of our management team to focus on the basic improvement of our overall operations."
Walter, who left the family business six years ago when the company bought out his stake, is the younger brother of D'Agostino Supermarkets president Nicholas D'Agostino III, who was apparently unaware of the hiring until told by a journalist, the publication reported.
"Now he's a competitor," commented the elder D'Agostino, on learning the news.
An internal Gristedes memo quoted by Crain's New York Business said: "We are confident that this focus will both lead to a significant change in the performance at [under-performing] stores and free up the rest of our management team to focus on the basic improvement of our overall operations."
Walter, who left the family business six years ago when the company bought out his stake, is the younger brother of D'Agostino Supermarkets president Nicholas D'Agostino III, who was apparently unaware of the hiring until told by a journalist, the publication reported.
"Now he's a competitor," commented the elder D'Agostino, on learning the news.