Page 21 - NSA GALA JOURNAL 2021

Throughout the 1970s and 80s a new breed of entrepreneurs from the Dominican Republic, Jordan, and Italy began to enter the retail market and, with Krasdale's help, acquired many of the same leases that the larger chains had abandoned. These hard-working entrepreneurs led the inner-city supermarket revolution and transformed the independent retail food market into the stronghold it is today. In 1991 Alpha 1 Marketing was formed to expand its retail services, with merchandising and marketing expertise to support the success of CTown & Bravo Supermarkets. This separate division of Krasdale focused on providing advertising, merchandising, financial support, and advising on services such as retail technology, pricing, signage, etc. Not least among the services offered by Alpha 1 was the arranging for ordering, purchasing, and delivery of other sources of products like dairy, frozen, perishable, and DSD products. Further expansion of voluntary markets included the establishment of the AIM, SIG, Shop Smart, and Stop 1 voluntaries, designed to handle every type of store from bodega to large format supermarket. Today, Krasdale's banners operate over 500 locations under the CTown, Bravo, AIM, Stop 1, and Market Fresh banners across seven states, including 55 locations in Florida. In its 113th year, Krasdale has mastered the combination of local food distribution with retail marketing, allowing our independent supermarket owners to flourish and succeed. Gus Lebiak is Krasdale's current President and Chief Operating Officer and leads an executive management team with the primary goal of achieving consistent, long-term growth across all areas of the business. Gus has spent his entire career in the grocery industry beginning in 1981 working in the stores for Mayfair Supermarkets. Leaving Mayfair in 1991, after working his way through undergraduate and graduate school, Gus held various Buying and Merchandising roles with Twin County Grocers. After leaving Twin County Grocers, Gus became one of the original management staff that started Allegiance Retail Services. Gus joined Krasdale in 2012, serving as Vice President and later as COO of Alpha 1 Marketing. In those roles he oversaw key departments such as advertising, digital services, customer service, community relations, retail operations, marketing, meat and produce, merchandising, and retail regulatory compliance and training. Gus was promoted to President of Krasdale in January 2020 and works closely with Charles & Thatcher Krasne to drive Krasdale's mission to empower independent grocery retailers by providing the tools they need to succeed.