Philip R. Tucker has been elected to the Associated Grocers of New England Board of Directors, filling an open seat. “As the owner of Aldrich General Store in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, for over 30 years,” says board chair Thomas Bradbury, “Phil’s experience, effective leadership style and in-depth business knowledge have helped him grow his business more than tenfold, from yearly revenues of under $300,000 to over $3 million. Clearly he will be a valuable asset to AG New England.”
Originally a journeyman plumber, Tucker purchased Aldrich General Store in 1976; by 1989, he had implemented a computerized bar-code checkout system. Seven years later, increased sales allowed Tucker to build a new store four times larger and include an expanded product line and deli. He was voted the New Hampshire Grocers Association’s “Grocer of the Year” in 2005, the same year he joined the AG New England Retail Advisory Board.
Tucker, a New Hampshire Grocers Association member, served on the Education Committee and the Board of Directors and as Treasurer between 1993 and 1997. He chairs the Haverhill Co-op School Board of Directors, and is a board member of School Administrative Unit 32 (Bath, Haverhill, Piermont, and Warren, New Hampshire). Tucker holds membership in the Bektash Shrine Temple, Concord, New Hampshire; the Free Masons of North Haverhill; and the Haverhill Lions Club, where he is Past Third Vice President and continues his 15-year tenure as Sight Chair. He attended Keene State College, majoring in Elementary Education.
Associated Grocers of New England is owned entirely by Independent Retail Grocers as members of a cooperative and is the largest retailer-owned, wholesale grocery distribution center in New England. Headquartered in New Hampshire, AG New England serves independent retail food stores in Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the Upstate New York/Albany area.