HFA Architecture + Engineering has appointed Randy Sauer, AIA, as Senior Vice President, placing him at the head of a team of more than 160 professionals dedicated to retail and grocery design and delivery across North America. Sauer, based in Portland, Oregon, joins the 650-person, 100% employee-owned firm from ESI Construction, where he spent six years leading business development for the Boise, Idaho-based firm's large retail and grocery practice.
The Hire
Sauer's three-decade career spans vice president and principal-level roles at some of the most prominent architecture and engineering firms in the country, including Gensler, DLR Group, MG2, and Core States Group. His grocery-sector client roster has included Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Target, and multiple Kroger-owned banners. On the broader retail and foodservice side, he has worked with brands such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Nike, H&M, Vans, and Petco. That breadth of experience across grocery store design and foodservice architecture positions Sauer to serve HFA's existing client base while expanding its practice into new segments.
Dave Wilgus, CEO of HFA, described the appointment as a cultural as well as a strategic fit. "Randy has led and grown the retail and grocery practices at some of the country's best-known AEC firms, helping clients better serve their customers and adapt to rapid change," Wilgus said. "His people-first leadership philosophy and commitment to multidisciplinary collaboration make him a strong fit."
Grocery Capital Spending
Sauer steps into the role at a moment when grocery operators are under competing pressures: consumer demand for lower prices on one side, and the need for capital investment in store formats, fulfillment infrastructure, and technology on the other. He argued that the current economic environment — characterized by elevated food-at-home prices that he said "can feel like a recession to some consumers" — is precisely when value-focused grocers tend to accelerate store programs. "Often this is when they do most of their capital work, because they can build customer loyalty by delivering value when it counts the most," Sauer said. "Efficient project design empowers retailers to keep on delivering those lower prices their customers depend on."
His remit at HFA covers the firm's full suite of retail-focused disciplines: architecture, structural engineering, refrigeration systems, fueling infrastructure, permitting, and MEP engineering. Project types range from new store design and remodels to brand refreshes and fulfillment center builds. HFA's fueling practice — which has executed projects for 7-Eleven, Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Stripes Convenience Stores, and Parker's Kitchen, among others — is an increasingly relevant capability as grocers and convenience operators add both traditional and EV fueling options to their site programs.
What's Next
Sauer said HFA's multidisciplinary depth in areas such as customer pickup, automated distribution, and last-mile fulfillment represents a competitive differentiator as grocers work to align physical infrastructure with shifting consumer behavior. For trade observers tracking grocery capital expenditure and store remodel trends, the appointment signals continued demand for integrated design-and-engineering services that can compress project timelines and reduce per-store costs — a priority that cuts across the value, conventional, and natural-and-organic grocery segments alike.
HFA operates offices in Bentonville, Arkansas; Fort Worth, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Springfield, Missouri; Boston and Franklin, Massachusetts; and Mexico City.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
