Rosauers Supermarkets’ longtime President and CEO Jeff Philipps is retiring and the company has named Cliff Rigsbee as his successor.
Philipps has served in this capacity since July of 2000 and has been in the industry for more than 49 years. His retirement from the company will be effective Aug. 13, with Rigsbee joining the team on June 21.
Philipps has been responsible for expanding the company’s footprint into six new markets and growing sales to nearly $600 million during his tenure. The company currently operates 22 stores in a four-state region with more than 2,300 employees.
“There will always be more work to be done, but as I retire, I am confident that Rosauers is on solid ground with amazing talent and experience to take on the challenges of our industry and lead in a manner that will create future success for all,” Philipps said.
Rigsbee comes to Rosauers from the Hawaiian Springs water company, where he was the CEO and chief marketing officer. He joined Hawaiian Springs after a 29-year career with the Albertsons Cos. He served most recently as the SVP of merchandising and marketing for the Northern California Division of Safeway.
In separate previous assignments, Rigsbee served as the VP of merchandising and marketing for the 120-store Denver Division, and earlier, the 84-store Intermountain Division of Albertsons. He also guided six company divisions as the corporate VP of retail support for grocery, supporting various Albertsons banners, including Jewel-Osco in Chicago, ACME in Philadelphia, among others. Additionally, he has experience in divisional roles managing multiple categories and teams in grocery and liquor.
Like many industry leaders, Rigsbee and Philipps started their retail journeys as a courtesy clerk: bagging groceries and collecting carts.
“I am unbelievably excited to join the Rosauers team,” Rigsbee said. “Rosauers has always been a leader in selection, quality, service and giving back to the communities they serve. I’m committed to retaining the more than 80-year legacy of putting customers and employees first while leading Rosauers to be the neighborhood solution in this ever-changing world.”
In his retirement letter to the staff, Philipps wrote about Rigsbee: “Cliff is very well-qualified with extensive industry experience and an enthusiasm to create vision and success for our company and employees.”
Rosauers Supermarkets Inc. is headquartered in Spokane, Washington, and operates 22 stores in the states of Washington, Montana, Idaho and Oregon. Rosauers is a wholly-owned subsidiary of URM Stores, a wholesale co-op also headquartered in Spokane.
