The Director of Produce Merchandising leads the overall produce and floral business strategy, with full accountability for sales, gross profit, and department performance. This role drives growth through assortment planning, pricing and promotional strategies, merchandising execution, and operational excellence. By developing innovative programs that position us to win in the marketplace, the Director ensures a compelling guest experience and drives market share growth.
Possess the knowledge and skills generally associated with a Bachelor's Degree plus 7-10 years of progressively increasing experience in the areas of store management, merchandising, purchasing, and produce product knowledge.
Reports to the SVP of Fresh Merchandising and works under general supervision. The role has broad latitude in selecting products, establishing department standards, and developing specific merchandising programs. The department works closely with operations in a consulting/influence capacity in the implementation of training and best practices.
Lowes Foods began in 1954 as a single store in North Wilkesboro, NC, and has grown to become a major supermarket chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
The company grew rapidly during the 1960s, '70s and early '80s. Lowes Foods was acquired by Merchants Distributors, Inc. (MDI) in 1984 and began an aggressive expansion program in 1986, opening 19 stores over the next four years. In 1997, Lowes Foods acquired Byrds Food Stores, located in eastern North Carolina. It continued its growth in 2000 with the purchase of 13 Hannaford stores. Today Lowes Foods operates close to 100 stores and continues to open new stores throughout North and South Carolina. Lowes Foods continued to expand by opening its first Lowes Foods Fuel station in 2007. In 2010, a new Lowes Foods concept store was opened in Hickory, NC and in 2011, we introduced a new value format called Just$ave.
In 2013, Lowes Foods set out to break the mold of the standard supermarket and create a distinctive grocery shopping experience worthy of our Carolina roots. The development began with in depth consumer research and a series of overnight workshops designed to get the very best ideas from managers across all facets of the business including all store managers and many from MDI. During these workshops, our new vision for Lowes Foods was born: “We bring community back to the table.” And, a number of new concepts were created including Chicken Kitchen, SausageWorks, Pick & Prep, and the Community Table. In January, 2013, Lowes Foods re-opened the first store to offer all of the newly developed concepts in Clemmons, NC. This spirit of transformation is being carried through all of the Lowes Foods and Just$ave stores. And, the spark of innovation has led to continued development of new concepts to further differentiate our stores. While selection may vary from store to store, our commitment to quality, value and service are the same no matter where you shop.
