Santa Fe Springs, California-based Superior Grocers has named Steve Fujimoto as its chief operating officer, effective Aug. 16.
Fujimoto was VP of retail operations for the Portland Division of Albertsons in the Northwest. He led the operations of 141 stores in addition to the extensive support team to drive top sales and earnings performance in the company.
“We are fortunate and grateful to have Steve join our team and look forward to his valuable contributions to our growth and success. Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to help elevate our operations, merchandising and marketing teams,” said Richard Wardwell, president.
Fujimoto is distinguished by his ability to build solid teams by identifying and developing talent. He has an enthusiasm and belief in people that inspires them to become more valuable contributors to their organization. He has also led innovative initiatives to build top-performing teams with management “bench strength” and staying power.
Fujimoto’s background is broad-based with 39 years in the industry holding leadership positions in finance, warehouse and distribution, marketing and merchandising and operations. His ability to be process driven is based in his knowledge of the Six Sigma & Lean methodology where his is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from California State University Long Beach. He is also a graduate of the University of Southern California Food Industry Management Program and is graduating in December with his master’s in business from USC.
Fujimoto also serves on several association boards including the Northwest Grocery Association, where he is treasurer and secretary, and the Western Association of Food Chains.
Superior Grocers is one of the largest independently owned chains of grocery stores in Southern California. From its first store in 1981 in Covina, the company has grown to 47 locations.
