Roger Coleman

Independent Merchandising Lead

Roger Coleman, quite simply, is a legend in the Atlanta Market.  At each and every one of his calls, builds displays, he communicates problems and opportunities by store number and knows each and every manager and pricing coordinator by name (plus a thing or twelve about their families and history). He can rattle off the exact distribution of a store by name and number off the cuff. He manages retail TPR's and reports back immediately if, for some reason, a store is not reflecting a TPR so problems can be fixed quickly at headquarters.  And he gives this type of attention to detail on each and every call while competitor brokers seldom check just the top items in a store.  Roger can run a spreadsheet and email with the best of them and has run circles around some of the younger team members while teaching them how to "computer". He may very well be the most honest person in the world- He even has a gas tank reserved for "Koch" time and one reserved for "Roger" time on his truck so not co-mingle the two.

Although we are not quite sure of his age, and are a little afraid to guess, we are extremely proud and grateful for the 15 years he has been with Koch & Associates.  Roger does not just work our items, he controls the retail sections of his accounts. He manages assortments at individual stores and is always requested for resets. Roger learned the ins and outs of the business while spending a normal lifetime working milk for Parmalat Dairy prior to joining Koch.  His former boss told us that Roger was their number 1 retail salesman right up to the day that Parmalat went under. For those of you who followed the scandal, the European owners stole everything that wasn't nailed down, including Roger's pension.  We have never heard him utter one cross word about them as he says they did a heck of a job in teaching him how to sell displays, new items and how to merchandise.

Roger is very special to us and to our retailers. We have had accounts that continually  tell us that if Roger says something, it is right.  He discovers at least 10 problems every day, that we immediately fix to grow everyone's business.  No other salesman in the city gives this type of attention to detail.  He is the only non-employee who is permitted to print his own tags in the 41 Food Depot stores.  These are a few of the reasons why he is the highest paid retail salesman in the market and worth every penny of it.

All of this said, Roger, at his core, is a wonderful and inspiring family man. A devout Christian, Roger has a motto that "God will provide", and by golly, it always happens. Although Roger accomplishes more tasks than anyone we've ever met he is also exceptionally giving of both his time and his resources. As an adoptive parent, Roger's son could not be more proud of his Papa and all he has accomplished. LeAnne, Roger's daughter, is recovering from a stroke, but she will tell you real quick that she loves her daddy more than anyone else in the world. We at Koch & Associates are indeed blessed to have him as part of our family.