New president of Shaw’s plans to upgrade 90% of stores

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Paul Gannon, the new president of Shaw’s Supermarkets, is focused on improving and expanding many of the chain’s stores in a bid to stay competitive.

Gannon, who in the fall will succeed Ross McLaren as CEO of New England’s second-largest supermarket chain, says tailoring stores to locations is a key to growth.

“We don’t want to be one-size-fits-all,” said Gannon, who became Shaw’s president and chief operating officer in May. “We want to do a better job than anyone in the marketplace, by tailoring the products and the overall store to the customer needs. We think we’ve gotten pretty good at that over the past three to four years. In fact, very good.”

The West Bridgewater, Mass.-based chain, owned by British giant J Sainsbury plc, plans to upgrade, remodel and expand more than 90 percent of its 186 New England stores, at a cost of $1.5 million to $8 million each.

Shaw’s also plans to open 30 new and replacement stores in the next three years.