Thrive Market has expanded its C-suite as it positions itself for further growth.
The online specialty grocer announced last week it named veteran Amazon executive Scott Lescher as its first-ever chief operating officer.
During his two stints and more than 15 years with Amazon, Lescher said in an interview he learned “all aspects of the supply chain” as he oversaw scaling Amazon’s Prime Now ultra-fast delivery program, helmed Amazon Fresh’s national rollout and held numerous transportation operational leadership roles supporting Amazon’s middle-mile transportation program.
Now at Thrive, he’ll implement similar growth strategies surrounding operational scale, capacity expansion and overall operational improvements. Thrive’s desire to grow its member base and its fulfillment capabilities underscores the growing dominance of specialty grocers in the grocery industry.
According to Lescher, efficient growth is critical for Thrive Market right now as it needs to balance expansion while remaining profitable. “My role is really geared to look over the end-to-end supply chain, ensure that we’re prepared for what’s coming and can build plans that tenure scalable growth,” he said.
Lescher said he’ll lead Thrive’s fulfillment center network, the transportation team, the supply planning and demand planning to forecast customer demand.
Upon his arrival at the company in late March, Lescher visited fulfillment centers, rode along with the last-mile delivery team and learned about Thrive’s operating methods first-hand.
Now, he’s evaluating and implementing ways to generate more throughput in Thrive’s facilities and expand capacity, which will enable the company to take on more members. Lescher and his team are zeroing in on areas where efficiency and delivery speed can be improved, as well as delivery quality, which includes reducing product damage and out-of-stocks.
Lescher added that he plans to continue building and developing his team, tapping Thrive’s existing employee base as well as adding new talent. He did not provide details on when new hires would be brought on or how many, adding that new titles are still being determined.
Lescher isn’t the only new executive edition at Thrive. In April, the e-grocer announced four senior hires across its merchandising team, including Kelly Nigh as vice president of strategic merchandising initiatives and Natalie Wieder as vice president of category management.
Today, Thrive serves more than 1.6 million members. The e-grocer recorded a revenue boost of $1 million in the first months after launching the acceptance of SNAP/EBT payments in February 2024.
