Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted prior to Albertsons Companies Inc.’s announcement that it was restructuring its 11 divisions into four regions. The Southern Division, now the Southern Market, is part of the new South Region for ACI.
Albertsons Cos.’ Southern Market, formerly the Southern Division, operates 146 stores across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas under the Tom Thumb, Randalls and Albertsons banners – and no two markets shop the same.
That range, paired with disciplined execution, is what Bill Neve, who led the Southern Division as president and now serves as regional president of operations for the South Region, points to as the division earns recognition as The Shelby Report of the Southwest’s 2026 Retailer of the Year.
“This recognition reflects the strength of our team and the consistency of our execution,” Neve said. “The Southern Division stands out because we combine strong local relevance with disciplined performance.
“We’ve delivered solid growth, expanded our digital and omnichannel capabilities, and continued to elevate the in-store experience. Most importantly, our teams bring a daily commitment to service that truly differentiates us in the markets we serve.”
The division’s banners carry deep roots in the region. Tom Thumb and Albertsons have served Dallas-Fort Worth since 1948, and Randalls marked 60 years of serving the Austin and Houston markets at the end of July.
“Our heritage is a competitive advantage,” Neve said. “These brands are built on trust, quality and deep community ties. We honor that legacy by staying true to what customers expect from us while continuously evolving how we serve them – through e-commerce growth, fresh innovation and ongoing store reinvestment. It’s about building on a strong foundation while positioning the business for the future.”
Local flavors, hyper-local execution
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is one of the most dynamic and fast-growing regions in the country, Neve said, and now the fourth-largest metro area in the U.S.
“What makes our division unique is the incredible cultural, socioeconomic and ethnic diversity across our communities – there is no single majority population,” Neve said. “That diversity is reflected in both our customers and our associates, allowing our teams to stay closely connected to what matters most locally.” 
A key part of that connection, he said, is a commitment to local products and partnerships. Across Texas and Louisiana, the division prioritizes sourcing from local growers, producers and makers while also working with national and regional CPG suppliers. In Louisiana, the division recently held a vendor summit that drew almost 75 local CPG companies looking to get products on shelves.
“It’s not just CPG partners, farmers – it’s everybody that is relevant inside of this market,” Neve said. “It’s really important that we have local flavors on site on our shelves, and we really represent the communities that we serve. It’s a big deal. We work hard on that.”
Neve said the customer response has been “absolutely fantastic.” The offerings shift from market to market – fried pies in Oklahoma, head-on shrimp and seafood boils in Louisiana and brisket sandwiches in Texas.
“There’s a different customer base in Lafayette than there is in Baton Rouge, than there is in Argyle, Texas, than there is in Oklahoma,” Neve said.
“If you look at our division as a whole, what we do in North Texas versus what we’re doing in Houston versus what we’re doing in Austin versus what we’re doing in Louisiana, it’s truly like four divisions inside of one big division. They operate completely different, and that’s the great thing about the division.”
Field managers are called on to shape assortments in their own departments, and long-tenured associates help guide those decisions.
Neve pointed to the division’s new spicy chicken, developed in Louisiana and launched division-wide, as an example of how local input drives innovation. Teams in a Louisiana store worked through taste profiles with associates and customers to dial in the paprika, Cajun seasoning and breading flavors.
“Once we found the magic recipe, we launched it with a CPG partner, and then we ran it to everybody inside of the division, into all 146 stores,” he said. “I would tell you it’s more hyper-local than just local.”
That localization extends to center store, where grocery sets differ between Texas and Louisiana while fresh departments carry more flexibility.
“Like Blue Runner beans. Those are 16 feet inside of Louisiana [stores],” Neve said. “We still have them inside of Texas. We still sell them, but it’s nowhere near the shelf power that we need farther down south.”
Leadership built on different perspectives
Neve said building a diverse and experienced leadership team – including what he called “the incredible group of women helping lead this division” – was a deliberate decision.
“Different perspectives drive better decisions, stronger engagement and ultimately better business results,” he said. “Diverse teams challenge assumptions, bring broader perspectives and lead to better decision-making, stronger innovation and deeper connections with the customers we serve.
“In grocery, where our communities are diverse and customers expect us to understand their needs, having women leaders at the table isn’t just important – it’s a competitive advantage.”
The team has been together just under a year, with Eureka McCrae, VP of operations, arriving from the West Coast, and Ashley Canonica, VP of merchandising and marketing, bringing long experience in Texas.
“I’m not looking for a leadership team that is just always yes and agreeing, I am really looking for folks that think differently and that challenge the status quo,” Neve said.
“When we walk out the door, we have a good, solidified answer on what we’re going to do, what the focus is and how we’re going to business, and it’s a mutually agreed upon decision as well, after everybody has been heard.”
‘The only job I’ve ever had’
Neve stepped into the division president role in October, but his history with the company stretches back decades – he celebrated his 35th anniversary with Albertsons Cos. at the first of July.
“This is the only job I’ve ever had,” he said. “I started off bagging groceries, and it’s turned into just an incredible career.”
Neve has worked across most banners within Albertsons Cos., holding leadership roles in marketing, merchandising and operations in multiple regions. Before his current role, he served as SVP of marketing and merchandising for both the Seattle and Southern divisions, as well as VP of operations for Northern California.
That kind of longevity runs throughout the division. On a Fourth of July store tour that covered a number of locations in outlying markets – from Galveston to Lafayette, Shreveport and Texarkana – Neve met associates who had been with the company for decades, including a liquor sales manager in Louisiana who just celebrated her 50th anniversary. Average cashier tenure in some stores runs 30-plus years.
“They’re truly the difference makers that make it happen every single day,” Neve said. “It’s just so important that our associates represent the neighborhoods that we serve, and when you have tenured associates like that … it just shows that people love what they do, and they do what they love.”
Those associates also feed the division’s hyper-local programs. “We go to the stores, and we ask, ‘What are we missing?’ or ‘What’s not working?’ And we get some great feedback from the ones that make it happen, and we try to make sure that we abide by that.”
Growth and the in-store experience
The division’s growth is visible in North Texas, where teams have opened four new Tom Thumb locations in the past several months, with two more planned for the back half of 2026.
Neve said that consistency – “executing at a high level during key sales periods or rallying in challenging moments” – best captures what makes the division special.
The in-store experience reflects the same pride. Deli foodservice offerings include fried chicken, ReadyMeals, more than 400 varieties of specialty cheeses and made-in-store sushi.
Bakeries offer hot bread baked fresh each day, experienced cake decorators, in-store fried doughnuts and pies, along with hyper-local staples such as Blue Bell ice cream cakes. Produce departments feature hundreds of fresh items, including organic options and fruits and vegetables cut in store each day.
Floral departments showcase fresh flowers, custom arrangements, FTD services and a balloon bar. “I think our floral departments are a floral boutique inside of a grocery store,” Neve said.
Meat and seafood departments carry USDA Choice and Prime beef alongside organic and grass-fed options. Throughout the store, customers find tens of thousands of grocery and non-food items, including more than 1,000 local products, as well as dedicated space for high-protein and high-nutrition offerings, a feature of the newest stores, in particular.
Wine and beer departments include local craft and non-alcoholic options, pharmacy teams provide care in store and via drive-thru and Drive Up & Go teams take groceries to customers’ cars or homes.
Looking ahead, Neve said the division’s focus is on “accelerating growth while strengthening the customer experience,” including continued expansion into more markets with new stores, growth in e-commerce and omnichannel capabilities, strategic investment in remodels, elevated fresh and in-store offerings and continued investment in the Own Brands portfolio. At the same time, the division is investing in talent and operational excellence to ensure long-term sustainable success.
“You’ll see lots of growth coming from the Southern Division here for quite some time,” he said.
“We’re pretty proud of what we have going on here inside of the Southern Division, and we’re going to continue to grow and to get better.”