- Roland Smith has been named CEO of Black Rifle Coffee.
- He previously served as CEO of Office Depot and Wendy’s.
- The company is well-known for selling coffee items with a weapons theme.
Roland Smith has been appointed executive chair of Black Rifle Coffee, a veteran-founded beverage firm that went public earlier this year, starting immediately, the company announced on Tuesday.
In order to collaborate more directly with the C-suite of the business to create new brick-and-mortar stores and support the growth of direct sales to companies, Smith, who is already a member of Black Rifle Coffee’s board of directors, is assuming the position.
From November 2013 to February 2017, Smith oversaw Office Depot after serving as CEO of Wendy’s in 2011. Shortly after Office Depot and OfficeMax concluded their merger, he was named CEO of the company. He was known for turning around companies at the time, particularly the supermarket chain Food Lion.
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Evan Hafer, the company’s founder, will continue to serve as CEO and a significant stakeholder in addition to taking over as chairman, according to a spokeswoman. Tom Davin, the company’s co-CEO, will also continue to work there, the spokesman said.
Black Rifle Coffee, a Salt Lake City-based company established in 2014, is well-known for selling coffee items with a weapons theme, such as its “AK-47 Espresso Blend” and “Murdered Out Coffee Roast.” It sells primarily online and also through well-known stores like Walmart.
Black Rifle Coffee had 18 outlets at the end of the first quarter of 2022, an increase from only four the previous year. By the end of 2023, it intends to have 78 stores.
Net sales for Black Rifle Coffee reached $233 million in 2021, and the company expects them to reach $315 million this year.
Smith said in a statement: “I see enormous opportunity for us to reach more customers through new channels and extra distribution points.
Through a merger with SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, Black Rifle became publicly traded in February. The beverage industry was valued at roughly $1.7 billion in the transaction.
The company has a market value of approximately $1.8 billion as of Tuesday’s market close.
The business was recently embroiled in a Dallas Cowboys-related dispute.
Following announcing a deal with Black Rifle Coffee the day after the fatal shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, the NFL club received criticism. Black Rifle Coffee said in a statement that the agreement with the Cowboys has been in the works for a while.
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