Local Express names Edward Kim VP of sales

GLENDALE, Calif. – Local Express, a SaaS vertical platform that powers unified, omnichannel e-commerce for grocery and food retailers, today announced the appointment of Edward Kim as vice president of Sales. In this role, Edward will lead the company’s global sales organization, refine its sales motion, and drive adoption of Local Express’ end-to-end grocery e-commerce and Grocery-ERP platform among independent and regional retailers. Edward reports to CEO and Co-Founder Bagrat Safarian and has a mandate to build a high-performance, scalable team aligned to the company’s rapid growth in online and omnichannel grocery.

Local Express provides an AI-powered, unified commerce platform purpose-built for food and beverage retailers, including full e-commerce, in-store integrations and back-office capabilities. Grocers and specialty food retailers are accelerating digital transformation and demand proven leadership to help them modernize operations while maintaining control of their brand and customer relationships.

Kim brings a track record of building new revenue engines and mentoring future leaders across SaaS, financial services and advertising.

“Edward is exactly the kind of leader we need as we scale our platform into its next phase of growth,” said Bagrat Safarian, CEO and Co-Founder of Local Express. “He knows how to build the team and sales motion, then execute with discipline while staying focused on delivering customer value. That’s how we win with independent and regional grocers who are betting their digital future on us.”

Edward said he was drawn to Local Express by the leadership team and the product’s position in the market. “From my first conversations with Bagrat and the other executives, it was clear this is a company that does business the right way,” he said. “The product is truly best-in-class, on par with what the biggest players in grocery have built for themselves but designed for the independent and regional banners that have historically been underserved. My focus is simple: serve our teams, serve our customers and execute.”

He added: “I’ve spent my career optimizing sales teams so they can sustain high performance. At Local Express, I’m excited to apply that playbook to a company that sits at the intersection of technology, retail and real consumer impact.”