Heritage Grocers Group (HGG), a leading specialty ethnic food retailer, announced the promotions of Eric Stover to President of Heritage Grocers Group and Prabash Coswatte to Chief Operating Officer for Heritage Grocers Group, reporting to HGG CEO Doug Sanders.
“The promotions of Eric and Prabash further align and unify the organizational structure of Heritage Grocers Group,” Mr. Sanders said. “They are exceptional leaders whose extensive experience and expertise will be instrumental in executing our growth strategy, as well as deepening the HGG connection to communities and serving the local customer.”
HGG offers its communities an extensive assortment of traditional and specialty grocery items.
Heritage Grocers Group operates in six states: California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Kansas, and Illinois. Their headquarters are in Ontario, California.
They have 57 stores under the Cardenas Markets banner, 28 under the El Rancho Supermercado banner, 21 under the Tony’s Fresh Market banner, and seven under the Los Altos Ranch Market banner.
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Eric Stover
Stover recently held the position of Chief Executive Officer for Cardenas Markets.
As President of HGG, he will directly oversee category management, supply chain, pricing, schematics, marketing, loyalty program efforts, e-commerce, and B2B/wholesale business for all Heritage Grocers Group banners.
Stover is an alumnus of the University of Texas at Arlington, where he studied Business Administration and Psychology.
He also serves on the board of directors for the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC) and the Cardenas Markets Foundation. He sits on the Food Industry Round Table for Olive Crest.
Before joining the Cardenas Markets business in 2020 as Chief Merchandising Officer, Mr. Stover held leadership roles in merchandising and operations for several food retailers, including Wild Oats, Henry’s Farmers Market, and Sprouts Farmers Market.
He also held senior roles with wholesale and distribution companies United Natural Foods (UNFI) and KeHE Distributors.
Prabash Coswatte
Coswatte recently served as Chief Administrative Officer for HGG.
As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Coswatte will oversee store operations, information technology, continuous improvement, data integrity, loss prevention, internal audits, construction, and facilities maintenance.
He attended West Virginia University and holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
He also serves on the board of directors for the Cardenas Markets Foundation.
Coswatte joined the Cardenas Markets banner as Chief Information Officer in 2019.
Before joining Cardenas Markets, he served as Chief Information Officer for Vallarta Supermarkets, Vice President of Enterprise Program Management for 99 Cents Only Stores, Senior Project Manager for Cambridge Associates LLC, and Senior Consultant for Deloitte Consulting.