99 Cents Only Stores has a new CFO

99 Cents Only Stores has appointed a new CFO who has been a veteran retail leader for Kroger and Albertsons.



99 Cents Only announced that Felicia Thornton has been appointed as its CFO and treasurer, where she will be responsible for overseeing finance, accounting, treasury, risk management, legal and IT functions for the company. Thornton's appointment is part of a broader operating adviser agreement with Ares Management, L.P., the company's majority shareholder. Interim CFO Michael Fung will continue in his position as a member of the company's board of directors and will return to his position as head of the board's audit committee.



"We are thrilled to welcome Felicia to our team at 99 Cents Only Stores, where we believe her strategic financial experience and proven track record of leading finance functions during transformational change at large, multi-site retail organizations will be valuable to us as we work to continue to grow the company," said Geoff Covert, president and CEO of 99 Cents Only Stores.



Thornton has extensive executive experience in retail, and particularly in the grocery store industry, having served in senior leadership positions at DSM, Inc., Albertsons, and the Kroger Company. Most recently at DSM, Inc., she served as Co-CEO, president and COO of the supermarket chain, and prior to that, she was CEO of Knowledge Universe U.S., one of the largest private childhood education companies. At Albertsons, she served as CFO and led overall strategy for the company for over five years. For eight years prior to that, Thornton served in a variety of executive strategic and financial roles at Ralphs and Fred Meyer, both of which eventually became part of The Kroger Company, where she continued as group VP responsible for retail operations.



"I have been impressed by 99 Cents Only's commitment to delivering value to their customers and appreciate the opportunity to join this organization and find new ways to enhance value for all stakeholders," said Thornton. "I am committed to supporting the team in driving stronger financial performance as we continue to build 99 Cents Only into a leader in the extreme value sector."



99 Cents Only Stores operates 389 stores located in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.