Grocery retail technology firm Local Express hires industry veteran Edward Kim as VP of Sales

Local Express, whose platform powers unified, omnichannel e-commerce for grocery and food retailers, has announced the appointment of Edward Kim as Vice President of Sales.

The company’s AI powered offering includes full e-commerce, in-store integrations and back-office capabilities.

“Edward is exactly the kind of leader we need as we scale our platform into its next phase of growth,” says Bagrat Safarian, CEO and Co-Founder at Local Express. “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.”

“From my first conversations with Bagrat and the other executives, it was clear this is a company that does business the right way,” says Kim, whose CV includes stints at Paychex and Qualtrics. “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.”

He adds: “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.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.