Coborn's Hires Tom Williams As Director Of Produce And Floral Merchandising

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – Coborn’s, Inc. has hired Tom Williams as Director of Produce and Floral Merchandising, reporting to Vice President of Fresh Merchandising Emily Coborn.

As Director of Produce and Floral, Williams will develop and lead the implementation of produce and floral merchandising strategies for the company’s various retail divisions, including Coborn’s, Cash Wise, Marketplace Foods and CobornsDelivers. He will be responsible for achieving desired sales and gross profit results, and maximizing produce and floral distribution. He also will be accountable for aggressively leading innovation in the produce and floral departments to create a shopping experience that reflects each retail divisions’ unique brand promises, while consistently reflecting the company’s overall vision of inspiring happiness, healthy living and simplicity for each of our guests. Williams will be responsible for building and maintaining strong relationships with vendors and suppliers. In this role, he will provide direct supervision to the Produce and Floral Retail Supervisors and indirect supervision to Department Managers.

Williams most recently served as Manager of Corporate Retail Produce and Floral at SpartanNash Company. Prior to that role, he spent 35 years in leadership positions with SUPERVALU Northern Region, Cub Foods Corporate, H. Brooks and Company, Upper Lakes Foods and Brookshire Grocery Company.

He holds a B.A. in Management from the College of St. Scholastica and currently serves on the Retail/Foodservice Board of Directors for United Fresh and is an Appointee for the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Advisory Committee.

About Coborn’s, Inc.

St. Cloud, Minn.-based Coborn’s, Inc. is an employee-owned grocery retailer with more than 8,000 employees and 54 supermarkets across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin under the Coborn’s, Cash Wise Foods, Marketplace Foods and Save-A-Lot banners. Coborn’s, Inc. also owns CobornsDelivers, an online grocery ordering and home delivery service; and stand-alone convenience, liquor, video and pharmacy locations. To support its 120 retail locations, Coborn’s, Inc. operates its own central bakery, dry cleaning facility and grocery distribution center. In 2010, Coborn’s, Inc. was recognized as ‘Family Business of the Year for Community Service and Philanthropy’ by Minnesota Business magazine. In 2011, Coborn’s, Inc. was recognized as ‘Independent Retailer of the Year’ by Grocery Headquarters magazine. In 2014, the company’s president and CEO, Chris Coborn, was named the Grocer of the Year by the N.D. Grocers Association.

Source: Coborn’s, Inc.