ShopKo’s Top Merchant

ShopKo Stores Inc. (Green Bay, Wis.) has named Paul White senior vp, chief merchandising officer, for its 140-store ShopKo division. White assumes responsibility for the merchandising and profitability of all ShopKo stores, product development, advertising and consumer research.

White, a department store veteran of nearly 20 years, joined ShopKo as senior vp, general merchandise manager, of apparel in 2003. Before that, he was senior vp, general merchandise manager, and senior vp, advertising and sales promotion, at the Famous-Barr division of The May Department Store Co. (St. Louis). He also held senior merchandising positions with the Lazarus division of Federated Department Stores (Cincinnati); and, earlier in his career, he worked for Elder Beerman Department Stores (Dayton, Ohio).

“Paul has played a key role in establishing new standards and developing training programs that help our buyers manage their businesses more effectively,” said ShopKo president and ceo Sam Duncan, “offering merchandise that meets the needs of today’s ShopKo customers. His leadership, depth of experience, financial acumen and team-building skills will help us move from being a good retail organization to a great one.”

ShopKo operates 356 stores in 23 states: 140 multi-department ShopKo stores in mid-sized to larger cities; and 216 convenient one-stop Pamida stores in smaller communities of rural America.