Local Express Names Edward Kim VP of Sales to Accelerate Growth in Unified Grocery Commerce
AI / Machine Learning | 4 min read
Local Express, a SaaS vertical platform powering unified, omnichannel e-commerce for grocery and food retailers, has appointed Edward Kim as Vice President of Sales. In this role, Kim will lead the company's global sales organisation, refine its sales motion, and drive adoption of Local Express' end-to-end Grocery e-commerce and Grocery-ERP platform among independent and regional retailers. He reports directly to CEO and Co-Founder Bagrat Safarian and carries a mandate to build a high-performance, scalable sales team aligned to the company's rapid growth in online and omnichannel grocery. Kim's prior career includes leadership roles at Paychex and Qualtrics.
"Edward is exactly the kind of leader we need as we scale our platform into its next phase of growth. He knows how to build the team and sales motion, then execute with discipline while staying focused on delivering customer value. That's how we win with independent and regional grocers who are betting their digital future on us."
— Bagrat Safarian, CEO and Co-Founder, Local Express
"The product is truly best-in-class — on par with what the biggest players in grocery have built for themselves, but designed for the independent and regional banners that have historically been underserved. My focus is simple: serve our teams, serve our customers, and execute. I've spent my career optimising sales teams so they can sustain high performance. At Local Express, I'm excited to apply that playbook to a company that sits at the intersection of technology, retail, and real consumer impact."
— Edward Kim, VP of Sales, Local Express
The Platform: AI-Powered Unified Commerce for Grocers
Local Express provides an AI-powered, unified commerce platform purpose-built for food and beverage retailers — encompassing full e-commerce, in-store integrations, and back-office capabilities within a single, integrated system. The platform is built specifically for the independent and regional grocery segment — a market historically underserved by enterprise-grade digital commerce solutions that were designed for, and affordable only by, the largest national chains. By combining e-commerce, ERP, and omnichannel order management in a single platform, Local Express enables independent grocers and specialty food retailers to build, support, and innovate omnichannel shopping experiences without the operational overhead of managing disconnected point solutions.
The Market Opportunity: Digital Transformation Accelerating in Grocery
Grocers and specialty food retailers are accelerating digital transformation — and the operational pressures driving that acceleration are intensifying. Research from the 2026 Grocery Technology Trends Survey found that 57% of grocers face labour shortages, and 49% say those shortages directly impact their ability to effectively manage inventory. These pressures make the case for unified commerce platforms that automate product data synchronisation, harmonise information across in-store, online, and marketplace channels, and eliminate the manual work that stretches thin teams even thinner. Local Express' platform addresses this directly — automating product updates across digital platforms in real time, ensuring consistent product information and inventory accuracy across all sales channels regardless of promotions or loyalty programme activity.
Key Takeaways
- • Local Express has appointed Edward Kim as VP of Sales, reporting to CEO and Co-Founder Bagrat Safarian — with a mandate to lead the global sales organisation, refine the sales motion, and drive adoption of the Grocery e-commerce and Grocery-ERP platform among independent and regional retailers.
- • Kim brings sales leadership experience from Paychex and Qualtrics — applying a high-performance, scalable team-building playbook to a company at the intersection of grocery retail, technology, and real consumer impact.
- • Local Express provides an AI-powered, unified commerce platform — full e-commerce, in-store integrations, and back-office capabilities in a single system — purpose-built for independent and regional grocers and specialty food retailers historically underserved by enterprise-grade digital solutions.
- • The market timing is acute: 57% of grocers face labour shortages (2026 Grocery Technology Trends Survey), 49% say those shortages impact inventory management, and grocers are accelerating digital transformation — creating demand for platforms that automate product data synchronisation and omnichannel order management without adding operational overhead.
- • The appointment signals Local Express' intent to scale aggressively into the independent and regional grocery segment — a large, underserved market where independent and regional banners are betting their digital future on platforms that give them the capabilities previously available only to the largest national grocery chains.