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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Shares of the specialty grocery retailer Fresh Market Inc.’s stock fell in the immediate aftermath of an unexpected leadership change at the company.
Shares of the specialty grocery retailer Fresh Market Inc.’s stock fell in the immediate aftermath of an unexpected leadership change at the company.
Fresh Market announced this month that president and chief executive officer Craig Carlock had resigned and was stepping down from the company’s board of directors.
The board responded by tapping Sean Crane, executive vice president and chief operating officer, to serve as interim CEO.
The board also retained a national executive search firm to help it find a permanent replacement to fill the president and CEO positions.
Company founder and chairman Ray Berry expressed his thanks for Carlock’s leadership, saying that under his leadership Fresh Market had posted five straight years of increased sales and earnings, while successfully transitioning from a privately owned to a publicly held company.
"The company is well positioned, both culturally and financially, for future successes, and has a significant opportunity, through its unique and differentiated grocery shopping experience, to gain share in existing markets and expand into new markets," Berry said. "I further believe that meaningful opportunities exist to improve profit margins through both structural and operational initiatives."
Berry added that the company is focused on finding a CEO who can lead the company through its next growth phase.
Crane has 14 years of senior management experience with the Fresh Market. Before serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer, a post he assumed in 2012, Crane served as senior vice president of store operations. Before being named to that position in 2006, Crane served for about a year as senior vice president of real estate and development.
Crane also served as interim chief financial officer from December 2012 to June 2013.
"Sean is a strong executive and a proven leader, with significant experience and knowledge of the company and its operations," Berry said. "He has been instrumental in the development and execution of the Fresh Market’s growth strategies and a key player in its success. He has the board’s full support to continue executing the company’s growth strategies and initiatives."
The company reaffirmed its projection of comparable-store growth of 2.5% to 3.5% and adjusted earnings of $1.56 to $1.64 per diluted share for fiscal 2014.
And while some investors were skittish after the leadership change, at least one analyst was sanguine.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Kelly Bania said that while sudden management changes are not usually a good sign, Fresh Market’s board may have been looking for a CEO with a different skill set as the company moves into its next growth phase.
