RON V. GRACIANO Upland, CA • C: 909-***-**** • adnsbq@r.postjobfree.com

General Manager/ Director Sore Operations

Accomplished professional with strong record of Store operations, set up categories through out the store, Meat, Sea food, Deli, Hot Foods, Bakery, Back office, POS System, International Marketing to all cultures. Excel in developing and implementing buying, merchandising, and sales strategies that consistently meet and exceed organizational goals. Partner with cross-functional management and category leaders to enhance brand, marketing, and merchandising strategies.

• Established and maintain relationships with beef, pork chicken, and seafood packer’s domestically and abroad.

• Good working relationship with UNFI, Meat and produce vendors

• Strong negotiating skills and relationships with all vendors through out the store in every category, proficient in working with General Contractor, all government agencies, AC, Plumbing, Electrical etc. .

• Provide guidance and coaching to store management, department leads, all store personal, worked in tandem with HR Division to create a safe, friendly productive work environment.

• Responsible for writing and forecasting weekly ads, Forecast of sales and Payroll,Sales to purchase budget and weekly score to track weekly and monthly performance per department and over all store.

• Created a Social Media Platform 's to promote store, weekly specials, Pop up events, community events etc..

• Strong background in multicultural customer base, from Anglo, Hispanic, Asian, Middle-Eastern and High end format stores.

Demonstrate broad-based strengths and accomplishments in: Managing- Purchasing – Vendor Management – Merchandising – Product Development – Private Label Advertising – Marketing – Program Management – International Sales & Business Development P&L Management – Budgeting – Sales Analysis & Forecasting – Organization & Staff Management Strong background in Meat and Produce industry.

PROFESSSIONAL EXPERIENCE

August 2019- January 2020

Meat Director/ Buyer/ Trainer-

Sav-O-Lot, Leevers Locavore Stores, and El Mercado de Colorado 36 stores.

•Established a better relationship with our vendors so to leverage deals and better cost of goods.

•Re- merchandised all stores to enhance meat and sea food sales and reduce shrink.

•Changed out using multiple beef and pork packers to two packers of pork and beef, so to have a more consistent meat presentation and consistent yields.

•Responsible for establishing new company P&L, shrink, sales and gross requirements for all meat and sea food departments.

•Increased sales for meat department by 11% and Sea Food food department up 13.5 % all in a 12 month period.

•Developed a training and apprenticeship program for new and existing employees. Had to leave company due to family deaths due to COVID-19, and return back to California. August 2017 - 2019

General Manager/ Director Store Operations Mission Marketplace Jurua Valley Riverside Ca,

• Opened and staffed a Brand New 28,000 SQFT conventional Grocery store and shopping center, August of 2019.

• Purchased all equipment, for each department. Designed layout and schematics for entire store collaborating with UNFI retail

• and POS departments.

• Successfully opened New Store Mission Marketplace on time and within Budget.

• Worked with every department manager and their vendors to assure best possible price along with the highest quality of goods.

• Created an easy, comprehensive back office In conjunction with RMS. Vice President Purchasing Marcus Food Co. 2008 – 2018 VP Sales and Purchasing – Provided executive leadership and industry expertise in retail and wholesale Meat purchasing, Distribution, and Retail Operations

• Sales & Business Development: Create and disseminate meat deals to customers for their ads and flow business. Evaluate customer revenue and assist in expanding their sales by providing new items, increasing product mix, and revising merchandising of product as well as educating customers with most up tgo date equipment needed to operate their stores more efficiently.

Outsource Beef, Pork and Chicken domestically and abroad, IE. Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and Europe direct from packers and local distributors. Worked with Traders and diver-tors to buy best possible goods for Grocery, Dry Goods, and Frozen Food and GMHCB.

• Business Management: Analyze business and prepare comprehensive quarterly business reviews and forecasts. Review labor costs and develop operating budgets. Establish gross margin strategies.

• Product Development: Developed programs for Kosher and Hala foods for Meat and Grocery.

• Industry Training: Created and implemented a Meat Apprentice Program for independent retailers that reduces accidents, workers comp, and shrink, enhances product presentation, and develops a premier meat organization for professionals.

• Vendor Management/Buying: Maintain daily communication with beef, pork, chicken, seafood and grocery vendors to keep up to date with market conditions and maximize cost reduction, category, and revenue opportunities. RON V. GRACIANO Page Two of Two

CARGILL MEAT SOLUTIONS, Vernon, CA 2002 – 2008

Wholesaler to independent grocers, chains, Whole sale distributors General Manager/Buyer – Charged with P&L management and organizational responsibility for acquisition of all beef, pork, chicken, and seafood and grocerie for independent retailers, other wholesalers, and corporate stores in the California region.

• P&L Management: Achieved sales growth to $100 million vs. $32 million in 2004. Ranked #1 in company for category sales growth and surpassing company expectations.

• Sales & Business Development: Worked closely with Sales Associates to solicit and close new business; trained sales team on selling techniques and merchandising strategies to drive sales growth and promote sale of key products. Maintained sales budget.

• Organization Management: Managed 4 category buyers, controller, and 2 warehouse managers.

• Merchandising Consulting: Provided retail consulting and operations assistance to store and category managers.

• Vendor Management/Buying: Communicated daily with national & International vendors of beef, pork, and chicken; negotiated out front procurement (“hedging”) strategy that achieved lower costs. Managed relationship with outside, dedicated trucking company.

• New Product Development: Assisted cross-category team with developing “Rumba,” the company’s new Hispanic-focused brand, which achieved strong placement with leading retailers, including Costco, Kroger, and Walmart. Contributed to development of a new tray pack program, Branded Beef and Pork for Higher end stores. I.E. CAB, CHB, and Holstein branded beef.

FLEMING COMPANY, Phoenix Arizona 1998 – 2002

Meat Director/ General Manager / Director of Operations Fleming- Food For Less grocery 18 stores General Manager/Buyer/ Director – Charged with Running divisional retail operations for stores in CA, AZ, and UT. Responsible for P&L, Forecast of sales per store along with store directors input. Opening and planing for each individual store per region.

• Buying/Vendor Management: Sourced and managed a cost-effective, reliable vendor base for procurement of all fresh, frozen proteins that ensured strong cost containment and enabled competitive positioning. Contracted a 3rd party dedicated trucking company that significantly reduced delivery costs. Met quarterly with vendors for business review, sales, and new product opportunities.

• Marketing: Strategically wrote ads for various co-op ad groups (BIG and IGA). Meat and grocery division distributed to more than 500 customers in Phoenix, California, and Utah.

• Sales Management/Business Development: Charged with sales budget, margins and new customer development; opened a new Meat Division based in Ontario, California, that generated incremental revenue. Managed customer relationships.

• Merchandising: Managed meat field sales counselors who provided in-store support to operations team (schematics, product training) and customers. Assisted customers with cutting and setting retail cases.

• Regulatory Compliance: Charged with compliance on weights and measures, USDA, OSHA, and health department, including ground beef and weights and measures testing, proper handling of fresh/frozen products, and identifying cross-contamination. Developed programs that were not in place and were required by state and local agencies. Ralphs/Food 4 less/ Kroger 1985-1998

Meat apprentice

Meat Cutter/ Meat Manager

Sea Food Merchandiser

Meat Supervisor ( Responsible for 32 stores in designated district) EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

AAS, Business Management, Mount San Antonio College Bilingual English/Spanish

Computer Proficiency: As400, Net Yield, Rsp6000, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

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