Save-A-Lot announces appointment of new CEO
EARTH CITY, Mo. — Save-A-Lot, a discount grocery retailer with locations throughout Illinois and Missouri, today announced that it has appointed Kenneth McGrath as chief executive officer effective April 21.
McGrath is an experienced leader in the discount grocery industry. McGrath spent 13 years with Lidl in executive roles including chief executive officer of Lidl Ireland from 2009 to 2013 and CEO of Lidl USA from 2013 to 2015.
During his tenure as CEO of Lidl Ireland, McGrath oversaw a period of exceptional customer and revenue growth while also maintaining a cost leadership position within Lidl’s global operations. McGrath was then selected by Lidl to spearhead the company’s market entry into the U.S. before leaving to become CEO of the Caribbean and Central America region at wireless telecommunications firm Digicel where he had responsibility for 26 markets comprising US$2 billion in annual sales.
“We are thrilled that Kenneth has chosen to lead Save-A-Lot as we chart a new course for the company after its separation from Supervalu,” said Matthew Ross, chairman of the Save-A-Lot board of directors and managing director at Onex. “Kenneth is a strong executive that brings to Save-A-Lot tremendous experience in hard discount retailing. He is highly capable of building a world-class organization, investing in the company’s capabilities and systems, and returning Save-A-Lot to industry-leading growth by leveraging its unique market position.”
“The opportunity to lead Save-A-Lot at this exciting phase is a real privilege,” McGrath said. “Save-A-Lot has a proud history of delivering exceptional value to its customers throughout the U.S. I am looking forward to working with Save-A-Lot’s dedicated associates and licensees to serve customers in ways that enhance their experience and, in doing so, driving a period of sustained growth for the organization.”
McGrath will be taking over from Eric Claus, Save-A-Lot’s current CEO.
Claus and Onex, the company’s controlling shareholder, have mutually agreed to part ways.
“We want to thank Eric for his contributions to Save-A-Lot over the past year,” said Ross. “Eric is an outstanding retailer and led Save-A-Lot through a difficult separation process.”
Save-A-Lot calls itself one of one of “the largest hard-discount grocery retailers in the United States.” It owns and operates 477 corporate stores, and services and supplies another 867 licensee-owned stores across the country (store counts as of April 3).
Save-A-Lot has store operations throughout Metro East, including in Alton, East St. Louis, Belleville and Granite City.
— From the Illinois Business Journal
