7-Eleven Exec Recognized Among Top Women in Store Brands

IRVING, Texas — Anne Readhimer, senior director of fresh food innovation for 7-Eleven Inc., is the recipient of the Innovation Award in the 2016 Top Women in Store Brands (TWISB) program. 

Conducted by Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE) and Store Brands magazine — a sister publication of Convenience Store News — the program was created to provide well-deserved recognition for women executives who have achieved exceptional success and bring a passion for store brands to their day-to-day activities.

Recognition categories cover functional expertise areas, as well as three achievement areas not linked to a specific functional expertise area.

Irving-based 7-Eleven has stepped up its store brand program in recent years. Notably, the retailer added such items as 7-Select Go!Smart fruit and nut bars, 7-Select Go!Yum sweet treats, and even a line of 7-Select over-the-counter medications, as CSNews Online previously reported.

The convenience store chain's goal last year was to increase its private brand SKU count by 60 percent.

"Private brands are a major part of 7-Eleven's strategy," said Sean Thompson, the retailer's senior director of merchandising and a key member of its private brands team. "Our organization is fully aligned that expanding our private brand offering is a key component of our future growth."

Along with Readhimer, the other 2016 TWISB honorees are:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Gayle Dimaggio, director of private label, Stremick's Heritage Foods
• Sparkplug Award: Searcy Menick, private label brand manager, Sprouts Farmers Market
• Marketing/Merchandising Award: Terri Muzzi, household category manager, Ahold USA
• Operations Award: Susan Thostenson, international customer service manager, Seneca Foods Corp.
• R&D/QA Award: Catherine Proper, senior director of product development/quality assurance/regulatory, Supervalu Inc.
• Sales Award: Susan Hunsaker, director of business development, Daymon Worldwide

To select the TWISB honorees, a committee consisting of representatives from both Store Brands magazine and WISE reviewed in-depth nominations submitted by representatives within the store brands industry. The committee carefully evaluated the nominations, assessing each nominee's accomplishments to determine the honorees in each of the categories.