Dive Brief:

• Big Y announced this month several top executive appointments, including naming Michael D’Amour as its president and CEO. He succeeds Charles D’Amour, who is now executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
• The supermarket chain, which also operates more than a dozen Big Y Express locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, also named Richard Bossie as chief operating officer and Nicole D’Amour Schneider as senior vice president of retail operations and customer experience. 
• The executive changes come at a time when Big Y is growing its retail footprint of supermarket and gas and convenience stores. 

Dive Insight:

In announcing Michael D’Amour as its new president and CEO, Big Y noted that the leadership change will help the company as it continues to “chart a path for growth.”

Michael D’Amour, grandson of co-founder Paul D’Amour, stepped into the president and CEO roles on Jan. 21 and is guiding the company’s strategic initiatives. He started working at supermarkets as a teenager and has been an operations and store director. D’Amour also held corporate grocery roles, including buyer and category sales manager, and served as vice president of sales and marketing. In 2019, he became Big Y’s COO.

Charles D’Amour, now executive board chairman, had served as Big Y’s president since 2006 and as its CEO since 2019. He is continuing to serve as a member of the company’s real estate and development committee. 

“I have worked closely with Michael D’Amour, other members of our 3rd generation of family members along with the rest of our leadership team who are all well poised to lead our company and continue that legacy of service. I have the utmost trust and confidence in Michael and Rick to continue our company’s growth and success. With their appointment to these roles, I’m pleased that our Big Y Board of Directors holds them in the same highest regard and confidence,” Charles D’Amour said in a statement about the CEO, president and COO transitions. 

Bossie brings more than 40 years of supermarket experience to the role of COO, including serving as Big Y’s senior vice president of retail operations and customer experience.

As Big Y’s new senior vice president of retail operations and customer experience, D’Amour Schneider is overseeing the chain’s retail division, which encompasses Big Y Supermarkets, Big Y Express gas and convenience stores, Table & Vine Fine Wines and Liquors and the Big Y Pharmacy and Wellness division. D’Amour Schneider, who reports to Bossie, is also heading up the company’s asset protection and front end operations teams.

D’Amour Schneider is a third-generation D’Amour family member. Previously, she served as Big Y’s vice president of supermarket operations, a role she assumed in 2019. 

On Jan. 23, Big Y announced it acquired three supermarkets and one gas and convenience store. Two of the grocery stores are in Connecticut and the third is in Massachusetts. The c-store is located in Connecticut and is across the street from a current Big Y supermarket. 

Big Y said that the acquired locations tie into its growth plans, which include a new grocery store under construction in Middletown, Connecticut, and plans for another in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. 

“All of us at Big Y are excited about the opportunity to enter into these communities with our unique fresh and local foods along with our exceptional and knowledgeable employees. These locations fit nicely within our current store footprint,” Michael D’Amour said in a statement. 

The acquisitions bring Big Y’s total number of supermarkets to 77 and Big Y Express locations to 18.

In September, Big Y debuted a new loyalty program that allows shoppers to earn one point for every dollar spent at the grocer’s supermarket banners to save on groceries and gas.