Mass retailers like Target and Walmart are already gaining on traditional grocery retailers for the consumer’s share of food shopping.
So, when Minneapolis-based Target tapped Lisa Roath to be chief marketing officer, announced July 12, it matters to produce retailers, even though Target is better known for great style in clothing and home goods.
Roath is focused on food.
A 17-year Target veteran, Roath most recently served as senior vice president of food and beverage merchandising, according to a company news release. She led the team through a period of explosive growth as Target grew its annual food and beverage sales by more than $5 billion since 2019 and established itself as one of America's largest digital grocers, the company said.
Related: What grocery transformation means for produce
During that time, Roath’s focus on innovation helped quadruple the number of emerging brands in its assortment. Before that, she held a variety of leadership roles across the company, including on its pricing and promotions and merchandising teams.
These changes are something to watch, as the retail landscape keeps transforming.
At the June 7-8 Retail Conference hosted by the International Fresh Produce Association in the Chicago suburbs, Jonna Parker, principal of Circana, shared her analysis about what’s happening in grocery — particularly produce.
Traditional grocery's share among other outlets has steadily declined since 2020, she said, dropping to 39% so far in 2023 while mass/supercenter retailers gained a 2.2% share.
Target has almost 2,000 stores. Roath wants new products to get to market faster and to provide what competitors don’t have.
Related: Target refreshes produce department, entire stores
Roath’s superpower is her ability to simplify a complex idea, she said in a Q&A on the corporate website.
When leading a merchandising overhaul, she and her team came up with a long list of priorities, which she then distilled into three: value, ease and differentiation.
“That clarity and focus helped rally the team around a unified vision for what we wanted our assortment to be and enabled us to deliver strong results — for our guests and our business,” Roth said in the Q&A. “Our marketing team has this superpower, too. You see it in how the spirit of our brand comes through our guest experience in a clear and compelling way, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll create together.”