Harps Food Stores Chairman and CEO Kim Eskew will retire effective Jan. 15, 2027, ending a nearly 50-year career that began with a part-time stocking job in 1977. The Harps Board of Directors has selected current President J. Max Van Hoose to succeed Eskew as Chairman and CEO.

Eskew joined Harps on Aug. 15, 1977, as a part-time stocker and cashier while attending the University of Arkansas. After earning his degree in Administrative Management in 1980, he climbed through a series of leadership roles: Closing Manager, Grocery Manager, Store Manager, District Manager, Director of Merchandising and Advertising, Vice President of Marketing, Executive Vice President and President. He was named CEO in 2016 and later added the Chairman title.

"It has been the honor of my life to spend my career at Harps, beginning on the sales floor and ultimately having the privilege of leading this company," Eskew said. "I am incredibly proud of what our associates have built together, and I am especially grateful to have led a company owned by the very people who make it successful."

Eskew led the company through one of the most significant milestones in its history: becoming a 100% employee-owned company in 2001. Since that transition, Harps has grown considerably while maintaining its focus on serving local communities and creating value for its employee-owners, according to the company.

Van Hoose, who has served as President, is the grandson of founders Harvard and Floy Harp. He praised his predecessor's legacy in a statement.

"Kim's leadership, vision and commitment to our associates have helped shape Harps into the company it is today," Van Hoose said. "His influence can be seen throughout every part of our organization. I am honored by the Board's confidence in me and look forward to building upon the strong foundation Kim and so many others have established."

Harps operates 177 stores across eight states: Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The Springdale, Arkansas-based grocer, founded in 1930, employs more than 7,200 associates and ranks as the largest employee-owned company in Arkansas.

The January 2027 transition hands Van Hoose leadership of an employee-owned regional chain whose growth strategy has centered on community service and value creation for its worker-owners — a formula the incoming Chairman and CEO has said he intends to build upon.