Wakefern restructures its sales and marketing operations

KEASBEY, N.J.— Wakefern Food Corp. has begun a sweeping reorganization of its sales and marketing operations, eliminating 79 positions while creating 73 new roles within the cooperative and at an external media agency, according to chief communications officer Karen Meleta.

Employees affected by the restructuring are being invited to interview for newly created roles. Of those positions, 54 are being offered exclusively to impacted team members.

The reorganization is designed to better align customer communications with Wakefern’s eight retail banners as the cooperative continues to expand beyond its legacy ShopRite brand.

Under the new structure, Wakefern will operate four sales and marketing teams supporting banners such as ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, Fairway Market and Gourmet Garage, with dedicated brand managers assigned to each banner.

Wakefern is also establishing a standalone team to manage sales and marketing efforts for its private label portfolio, including Bowl & Basket, Wholesome Pantry and Paperbird.

"This is a reorganization that reflects how Wakefern has grown and changed. Our business has expanded from one retail banner, ShopRite, to now include eight retail banners that reach into nine states. The reorganization, impacting a total of 79 teammates, also reflects a shift in how we communicate with our customers. The continued growth of digital and social media marketing has reshaped how our advertising, content development, and circular are created and delivered," said Meleta.

She explained that fifty-four new roles and opportunities were created at Wakefern as part of this new structure and reorganization. "The new roles, which align with our changing marketing needs and support our growing portfolio of banners, are now being offered exclusively to the impacted team members. Another 19 new positions are also available with our agency partner, Quad. That’s a total of 73 available positions between the two organizations."

"Nearly two decades ago Wakefern’s advertising and circular production was handled by a third-party agency when it was decided to bring that function in-house. In response to evolving business needs, and consistent with earlier approaches, Wakefern has decided to now move that function to the media agency Quad. There will be no disruption to circular production; work will continue as usual. This change allows Wakefern teams to focus more on strategic, customer‑facing, and sales‑building work that helps our business continue to grow," she added.

Meleta said the the process is underway, with changes taking effect on May 16. Until then, everyone remains in their current positions at Wakefern. 

"We believe most teammates will choose to accept the new roles within Wakefern or the third-party agency but expect some may see this transition as a chance to pursue a new path. Our goal is to retain as many team members as possible – either continuing at Wakefern in their new roles, without interruption or transitioning to Quad," she concluded.