Stater Bros. Names Bruce Robinson Vice President of Fresh Sales and Merchandising

Stater Bros. Markets has appointed grocery industry veteran Bruce Robinson as vice president of fresh sales and merchandising, bringing nearly four decades of fresh food leadership to one of Southern California’s largest supermarket chains. 

In his new role, Robinson will lead the strategic vision and execution of the retailer’s fresh departments, including meat, seafood, produce, floral, service deli and bakery. He will also work closely with store operations, marketing and supply chain teams to strengthen merchandising, assortment planning, pricing, promotions and the overall customer shopping experience. 

Robinson joins Stater Bros. after serving as vice president of merchandising, format and development at Lowes Foods, where he introduced customer-focused convenience programs and helped modernize the company’s merchandising strategies to better align with changing consumer preferences. 

Before joining Lowes Foods, Robinson spent 38 years with H-E-B, beginning his career as a department manager in 1986 and advancing to vice president of fresh merchandising in 2013. During his tenure in that role, H-E-B’s fresh sales grew from $6.2 billion to $14.2 billion over five years, a track record that helped establish Robinson as one of the grocery industry’s leading fresh merchandising executives. 

“Bruce arrives at Stater Bros. with an enormous amount of experience and a legacy of proven results,” said Rebecca Calvin, to whom Robinson will report. “I look forward to working closely with him to create fresh food solutions that strongly appeal to the wide spectrum of consumers that live and shop in our market.”

The appointment comes as Stater Bros. continues strengthening its executive leadership team under President and CEO Greg McNiff, who assumed the company’s top leadership role last fall. Robinson’s arrival marks another investment in the retailer’s fresh departments, which remain a key point of differentiation in an increasingly competitive grocery marketplace. 

Robinson’s background extends beyond merchandising. He holds master’s degrees in business administration and interdisciplinary studies in psychology and sociology from the University of Texas at Brownsville, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Schreiner University, and completed the Food Executive Program at Cornell University. 

His appointment has also been welcomed by industry organizations, including the Fresh Produce and Floral Council, whose president, Bob Lanter, recently introduced Robinson to the Southern California produce and floral community, noting that his experience and leadership will be a valuable addition to the region’s fresh produce industry.

For Stater Bros., Robinson’s extensive background in fresh merchandising and category development is expected to help strengthen the company’s position across its fresh departments while supporting continued innovation in produce, floral and other perimeter categories.