Ross Purdy, VP of center store operations for Food City, was recently inducted into Private Label Manufacturers Association’s (PLMA) Private Label Hall of Fame in the Lifetime Achievement category.
PLMA created the Private Label Hall of Fame in 2006 to recognize those who have “made significant contributions to the growth and development of the global private label industry.”
Announced during the association’s annual meeting and leadership conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, inductees included retailers, manufacturers and pioneers. The hall has more than 75 members, including nine this year.
“We are so proud for Ross to be honored with this distinction. He is a wonderful asset to our Food City team, as he works hard every day to bring the best in quality, variety and price to our Food City customers,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and CEO.
With more than 40 years of industry experience, Purdy is responsible for the oversight of all center store operations at Food City’s 159 locations. This includes private label sales, category management staff, space management, procurement, grocery supervisors and coordinating consumer product goods partners.
In this role, he developed and executed a new strategy designed to enhance private brand focus, working with several partners to enhance performance. Purdy has also mentored a number of new associates and category managers on private label brands and sales strategies.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with some fantastic people during my career and am proud to watch them grow and develop, and I appreciate all the opportunities that I have been given,” Purdy said.
According to PLMA’s website, the “Hall of Fame represents some of the most successful and familiar retail and wholesale chains, store brand manufacturers and suppliers and companies and organizations closely associated with the private label industry, such as trade press, quality assurance and testing firms, market researchers and management consultants, among others.”
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Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores – Food City’s parent company – operates 159 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia and Alabama.