Perkins Delivers Again; Safeway Deal Nearly Done
They may boo Santa Claus in Philadelphia, but they won’t be booing Jim Perkins. That’s because in the period of 20 months, the Acme Markets’ president has over-delivered on his promise to make his company a better place to work, shop and sell products to. And the Tennessee native has done it in a folksy and accessible manner, making him one of the most popular retailer leaders at any retail organization over the past 25 years.
That was evident at last month’s Mid-Atlantic Food Trades Organization (MAFTO) dinner held at the Crowne Plaza in King of Prussia, PA. More than 200 sales reps, brokers and distributors (the largest attendance that group has seen in recent memory) turned out to hear Perkins deliver his first public message to the vendors since he was named president of the Malvern, PA based unit of New Albertsons, Inc. in March 2013.
For many vendors, sales are up in the double digit range and the retailer’s decentralized approach has been a blessing for both Acme and its sales reps as decision making is quicker, more creative and more flexible.
Perkins told the group that he will be staying on as Acme president (despite some conjecture that he was initially asked to consider another leadership position with the parent firm) and outlined some expansion plans for the next 12 months, including a replacement unit on Long Beach Island, NJ and a tripling of the company’s store size in Chestertown, MD.
He also spoke optimistically (but cautiously) about the planned integration of Safeway into the Albertsons organization.
The vibe from the whole evening was very positive with Perkins’ self-deprecating, casual style much appreciated by the audience.
While there was much speculation about the future destination of Perkins’ sidekick, Dennis Clark, Acme’s VP-merchandising and marketing, the rumor became reality on November 5 when the company announced that Clark would be accepting a new position in the Albertsons organization. The highly popular Clark will be relocating to corporate headquarters in Boise, ID to work on the integration of Albertsons’ and Safeway’s merchandising and marketing teams (talk about two very different cultures). As such, Dan Croce, most recently VP-operations, will slide into Dennis’ old slot and Bill (don’t call me Bing) Crosby (don’t call me Cosby) has been promoted to VP-operations. Crosby worked with Croce for many years at A&P/Super Fresh and has been with Acme since 2009.
We’re going to miss Dennis. His intelligence, work ethic and humility were embraced by most people who worked with him or had to sell him something. His professionalism and even-keeled personality were also huge assets in helping Acme make the transition from an “also-ran” to a revitalized merchant.
For Dan Croce, this is a wonderful career move. Dan is a highly skilled operator who takes great pride in understanding the nuances and complexities of what it takes to effectively run a large store network (most definitely a lost art). The move to a new desk will only enhance his future career opportunities.
A few more nuggets concerning the upcoming Safeway integration. As it nears the end of its life as a publicly-held company (the retailer was founded in 1915), the Pleasanton, CA chain posted severely declining third quarter earnings. The retailer said the large 85.6 percent drop in profit was primarily due to three one-time items valued at $99.4 million and a $21.2 million loss from continuing operations. Sales actually increased 2.6 percent to $8.3 billion. As we’ve said before, I’m sure Albertsons can’t wait to complete the deal, as Safeway’s market presence (at least in the East) desperately needs a pulse. Last month we listed several key Safeway executives who will comprise the overall new management team including new Safeway eastern division president Steve Burnham. Among those Safeway veteran execs that didn’t make the final cut were: executive VP Larree Renda, who has held many roles with Safeway during a distinguished 40 year career; Diane Dietz, EVP-marketing; and Pete Bocian, EVP and CFO. Expect more culling to occur once Albertsons/Cerberus gains control of the big chain.
Also related to the upcoming integration has been speculation about the number of stores that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will force Cerberus/AB Acquisition to divest. If you simply viewed a map and tried to predict potential overlap conflicts, you could make a case for approximately 400 stores that might have to be sold or closed.
However, the FTC rules have clearly changed over the past few years (to wit: the recent Kroger acquisition of Harris Teeter where no divestitures were ordered). Our Wall Street sources in the last two months have told us the conflict/overlap number would result in the sale/closure of fewer than 200 stores, and on November 14, the New York Times reported that Cerberus plans to sell about 160 stores in order to be in compliance with the FTC. The article also noted that Samuel Zell, the flamboyant Chicago real estate entrepreneur, is among three bidders vying for those units. According to the story, Zell would provide the financial backbone for a group that also includes Stuart Sloan, who formerly was chairman of Seattle-based food chain Quality Food Centers (which was acquired by Fred Meyer in 1997, which in turn was acquired by Kroger in 1999). Other bidders reportedly include two private equity firms – Oaktree Capital Management and Comvest Partners, which owns the majority stake in Haggen, the Bellingham, WA-based regional chain.
We’ll undoubtedly know a lot more very soon.
C&S On Buying Binge To Expand Independent Base
Over the past 30 years, the phenomenal growth that C&S Wholesale Grocers has enjoyed has come largely as a result of its success in providing third party distribution and logistics services to some of America’s largest chains – Ahold USA, Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie, Safeway, A&P and Target.
As the Keene, NH company continued to expand its geographical base (it is now a national distributor), it slowly began adding more independent retailers to its portfolio. But supplying smaller independents has never been viewed as C&S’ strength. In the Northeast over the past decade, many independent retailers told us that they have shied away from C&S because they didn’t think the voluntary wholesaler, whose annual sales are approximately $20 billion, could be masters of two universes – large chains and smaller independents. Others added that they wouldn’t feel comfortable utilizing C&S when the privately-owned wholesaler was also servicing many of their major competitors. That view is clearly changing, and changing rapidly.
Due to significant industry consolidation in the past five years, there simply aren’t as many third party retail supply opportunities available. Many of C&S’ key chain retail agreements were made in the last millennium (and to the company’s credit, remain in place today), but going forward where are those new third party opportunities going to be found? That portal, as it potentially relates to C&S, may also undergo some change in the near future – i.e., will Cerberus/AB Acquisition remain with C&S after it officially acquires Safeway? Now that Southeastern Grocers’ (Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie) attempt at an IPO has failed, what’s the long-term future of that retailer?
C&S chairman and CEO Rick Cohen didn’t become one of the smartest (and wealthiest) executives in the grocery business by accident. His 40 pound brain (a 25 percent weight gain over previous years) is still working at warp speed.
He recognizes that the same industry consolidation that’s impacted large chains is also affecting wholesale grocers, which have found that their business models are changing, too. Because of those changes, Cohen has acknowledged that the company, which was begun by his grandfather in 1918, is putting “immense focus” on building its independent business.
In the past six weeks, C&S has hired Alejandro Rodriguez (ex-Pepsi) as executive VP of new business and market development and also has brought aboard Christopher Brown as senior VP-independent sales. Brown has enjoyed a very successful industry career for the past 30 years, primarily working for more independent-focused wholesalers. Both moves are designed to create infrastructure and connectivity as C&S’ accelerates its mission.
Backroom support is important, but not as important as gaining new customers. And in the past month alone, the company has unleashed its checkbook by announcing and/or finalizing three acquisitions.
Late last month, C&S purchased the store support, marketing, branding, accounting and IT services of Greenbax Enterprises, the parent company of Piggly Wiggly of Carolina, for $9.3 million. Nearly 50 Piggly Wiggly stores are in play and C&S had already been supplying those units for nearly a year.
And earlier this month we learned that C&S has agreed to acquire the wholesale distribution and supply business of Grocers Supply. The acquisition will include Grocers Supply’s warehouse and distribution operations in the Houston, Dallas and Rio GrandeValley areas, along with its approximately 1,800 employees, but will not include any of Grocers Supply’s retail operations. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year. About that deal, Cohen noted: “The Grocers Supply Company has a century-long legacy of providing the highest level of service to its valued customers, which are primarily independent retailers and regional chains. We very much look forward to partnering with the Grocers Supply team to continue this tradition and to expand the services and offerings available to its customers through the strength and scale of C&S. C&S is excited to enter the Southwestern United States market and to have the opportunity to service this growing and vital region.”
Grocers Supply distributes all major product lines, including grocery, frozen, dairy, meat, produce, general merchandise, and health and beauty care, and is also known as one of the leading distributors of Hispanic grocery products in the country, focusing on Texas-made and Texas-grown products. Grocers Supply’s largest customer is the Fiesta Mart chain of stores, which includes 60 retail locations.
And of course, there’s the AWI asset purchase, which among other things, is a credit to C&S’ administrative expertise (in case you’ve wondered why there are so many attorneys and finance professionals on the C&S team, the AWI saga should answer that question). Clearly from the day – September 9 – it was announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court granted the wholesaler “stalking horse” status, the AWI opportunity was C&S’ to lose. Although Supervalu bid aggressively (and if nothing else, elevated the ultimate sale price by $95 million), C&S, which already had leverage entering the auction, did what it had to do to close the deal.
Even after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin J. Carey announced that C&S had won the auction, industry observers continued to ask the same questions about the deal. What percentage of AWI/White Rose’s customers will C&S ultimately retain? Will unionized warehouses in Robesonia, PA and Carteret, NJ remain operational a year from today (C&S has enough non-union warehouses in the Mid-Atlantic to potentially seek a different distribution and logistics solution)? On a long term basis, how might the employee rosters change? Will procurement ultimately remain in Robesonia and Carteret? Will C&S look to sell the four corporately-owned Nell’s Supermarkets in Southern Pennsylvania, and if so, who might acquire them?
Those questions won’t be answered in the next few months. As “stalking horse” stewards before the asset purchase deal was finalized, C&S was already servicing most of AWI’s and White Rose’s customers, both from Robesonia and Carteret as well as from two other C&S warehouses in New Jersey. Since all retailers are currently focused on growing holiday sales during the busiest time of the year, there’ll be little if any customer switching now. And C&S, at least for the short-term, needs to show that it’s not going to rock the boat when it comes to distribution issues and personnel changes.
With the deal nearly completed and all parties much freer to discuss the unraveling of AWI and White Rose, we’ll have much more to add to this fascinating story in the next few months.
Another Out-Of-Stock Embarassment For W-M;
The Behemoth To Open 2nd Lehigh Val. E-Commerce Depot
For a company that produces sales of nearly $500 billion annually, Wal-Mart still often seems to be unable to get out of its own way. In another embarrassing lowlight, the New York Times printed an “urgent agenda” memo to store and marketing managers nationally, imploring them to improve their performance (sales and in-stock conditions) on chilled and fresh items in the dairy, produce and meat departments.
The memo was marked as “highly sensitive” and focused on executing its policy of discounting aging meat and baked goods to better insure that those items will sell before their expiration dates. The memo was leaked by a Wal-Mart manager who was dissatisfied with the continued understaffing at the planet’s largest retailer’s nearly 5,000 U.S. stores
The in-house missive also noted that the number one concern of store managers must be sales while also stating that managers had to reduce backup inventory to trim costs, while not exceeding individual store budgets. Nothing wrong with prioritizing sales, but Wal-Mart is one of many retailers that put the internal expense “cart” before the sales “horse” and then wonder why their quarterly sales remain sluggish. Sure, there are other factors that impact sales (heightened competition, prolonged economic instability, SNAP benefit reduction etc.), but no retailer has been more adversely affected by out-of-stock (and out-of-code) issues than Wal-Mart.
And they only have themselves to blame; new CEO Doug McMillon called out of stocks a “$3 billion missed opportunity,” but, when analyzing if change actually occurs, there’s a lot more “talk” than “walk.” And lip service and poor execution are surefire ways to create even more customer dissatisfaction. The problems lie both in the stores and in Wal-Mart’s vaunted distribution system, which often does not replenish items quickly enough. However, the bigger problem occurs in the stores themselves where backrooms are often loaded with merchandise that is not stocked on the shelves due to severe understaffing.
Obviously, leaked memos like this are embarrassing, but the Behemoth seems either clueless or unwilling to improve its execution. How else can you explain the constant legal and negative perception images that have plagued the company for more than a decade? Now that its sales performance has also slowed (although U.S. comp store sales improved by a modest 0.5 percent in its recently released first quarter ended October 31, which represented the company’s first positive comps in almost two years), we’ll see if McMillon and his newly appointed U.S. CEO Dick Foran can for once change the consumer view when it comes to improving store conditions and ultimately sales.
More locally, the boys (and girls) from Bentonville plan to open a second e-commerce fulfillment center in the Lehigh Valley. The new facility will be 1.2 million square feet in size and will be located in the Majestic Bethlehem Center. About a year ago, the Behemoth announced it would open a 1 million square foot e-commerce depot in the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII, also located in Bethlehem, PA. Together, the two new distribution centers will cost $96 million to build, will create 650 jobs and both will open next year.
Local Notes
It was another stellar year for Wakefern. The co-op wholesaler and parent to ShopRite and PriceRite stores once again posted record retail and wholesale sales for its fiscal year ended September 27. Retailer revenue for the year rose 4 percent to $14.7 billion and Wakefern’s sales alone were $11.9 billion. Those numbers surpassed sales gains of the past two years ($14.1 billion (retail)/$11.8 (wholesale) last year and $13.6 billion/$10.1 billion in 2012). During the past 12 months, the Keasbey, NJ firm added six new ShopRites, five PriceRites (including new PRs in Rosedale, MD, Hyattsville, MD and Woodbridge, VA – its first unit in the Old Dominion and six new Fresh Grocer stores to its base and expanded its “ShopRite from Home” services to included 214 stores. Joe Colalillo and Joe Sheridan, chairman/CEO and president respectively, were both re-elected to their posts at the annual meeting which was held on October 30 in East Brunswick, NJ. Also re-elected as directors were ShopRite owners Larri Wolfson and Irv Glass (vice chairmen); Lawrence Inserra Jr. (treasurer); Richard Saker, Jeff Brown and Kenneth Capano (assistant treasurers); Dominick J. Romano (secretary); Ned Gladstein and Steve Ravitz (assistant secretaries); as well as Robert Clare, Larry Collins, Jon Greenfield, Charles Infusino, Vincent Lo Curcio III, Leonard Sitar, Richard Tully and Rich McMenamin. In addition, it was announced that four new members have joined the board, effective immediately: Jordan Coe of Waverly Markets, LLC; Harry Garafalo of Milford Markets, LLC; Nicholas Sumas of Village Super Market, Inc.; and David Zallie of Somerset Stores, LLC. They replaced recently retired directors Rocco Cingari of Grade A Market, Inc.; Bernie Kenny of Delaware Supermarkets, Inc.; Joel Perlmutter of Perlmart, Inc.; and Jim Sumas of Village Super Market, Inc…just before presstime, Ahold released its third quarter earnings and, for the first time in 2014, there was an improvement in identical store sales at its nearly 800 U.S. units. Excluding gas, ID store revenue jumped to 1.2 percent and overall revenue also grew by 1.6 percent to $5.62 billion. However, underlying operating income declined 5.1 percent and underlying operating margin (as a percent of sales) dipped to 3.8 percent from 4.0 percent last year. “In the United States, the rollout of our program to improve quality, service and value (“Project Thunder”) for our customers is progressing well,” said Ahold CEO Dick Boer. “ By the end of this quarter, the program was active in over half of our stores.” The company noted that the continued focus on its private label assortment resulted in an increased penetration of 60 basis points, bringing total own-label sales to 37.8 percent. The big Dutch retailer attributed the underlying operating margin decrease to the cost of its improved customer proposition rollout and an increase in meat prices, which were partly absorbed by Ahold. Also noted in the sales gain, was an 140 basis point improvement at its Stop & Shop unit from the virtual six-week work stoppage at rival Market Basket in New England (excluding the 49 Stop & Shop stores affected by the Market Basket dysfunction, ID sales would have declined by 0.2 percent in the quarter). Unfortunately for AUSA, that will be a one-time vault as the Demoulas family feud has been resolved and business is stronger than ever for the Tewksbury, MA regional chain…another retailer who benefited from the business interruption at Market Basket was Hannaford, part of Delhaize America, which made major news over the past month with the announced closing of its Bottom Dollar unit and the promotion of Meg Ham to Food Lion president following the sudden exit of popular former Food Lion prexy Beth Newlands Campbell. Third quarter sales continued to trend positive at its U.S. stores, increasing 5.9 percent to $4.66 billion overall and 5.3 percent on a comp store basis for the period ended September 30. Operating profit jumped a healthy 10.2 percent. Much like AUSA, Delhaize acknowledged that this past summer’s job action at Market Basket in New England resulted in approximately $100 million in new revenue during the fiscal third quarter. Following the earnings announcement, in a conference call with financial analysts which included Delhaize Group CEO Frans Muller as well as Kevin Holt, the former Supervalu exec who was named Delhaize America chief executive in early July, the global merchant noted that Hannaford’s sales gains were centered on 30 units that were nearest to Market Basket’s stores in Eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. After years of wandering through the desert aimlessly, I give credit to Delhaize America for turning the ship in the right direction. However, I wonder if it’s too little, too late given the fact that the retailer still needs to make significantly more headway in the over-stored markets in which it competes. Yes, its operating models are improved, but not enough to gain significant share, particularly at its biggest unit, Food Lion. Newlands Campbell’s departure is disturbing, considering how popular she was with her troops (culture, culture, culture), and the Bottom Dollar Foods experiment was just a debacle. Also, when measuring fourth quarter sales and earnings (expected to released early next year), let’s see how much of the “Market Basket increased sales factor” remains in place and let’s also examine Delhaize America’s numbers when it cycles its new programs a full year later….now that it has its price impact initiative in place for more than a year, both sales and earnings are beginning to click for Weis Markets, which enjoyed a very strong third quarter. Overall sales increased 3.4 percent to $638.9 million and comp store revenue rose 2.6 percent compared to the same period in 2013.The Sunbury, PA regional chain’s earnings jumped 17.2 percent to $13.7 million and its earnings per share increased to from $0.43 in 2013 to $0.51. “Our company continues to make progress in a market impacted by a stagnant economy. We attribute our increased sales to our continued investments in lower pricing and disciplined sales building programs. Our results also benefited from increased operational efficiencies and improved in-stock conditions at store level,” said Jonathan Weis, president and CEO. “As a result, we are generating an increased customer count and higher sales per customer. It is also important to note that we continue to achieve these sales increases despite a significant amount of self-imposed grocery deflation. We hope to build on our sales momentum in the fourth quarter, particularly during the key holiday sales period.” Weis noted that its third quarter net income benefited from a favorable comparison to the same period in 2013 when its net income was impacted by $8.2 million in one-time charges related to an executive severance agreement (former CEO Dave Hepfinger) and the impairment loss for four properties. And, Weis recently reported it is aiding two notable community causes. For the fourth consecutive year it’s joining forces with the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) by launching its “Believe in Heroes” campaign throughout November to raise awareness and pubic financial support for injured service members. Over the past three years, Weis’ customers have raised $300,000 on behalf of the WWP. Weis also announced that it raised $90,000 for local food banks and emergency food providers in its 163 store service area during “Hunger Action Month” in September. “We are committed to the communities we serve. Over the past seven years, we’ve raised more than $1 million for local food banks and pantries throughout our area,” said Kurt Schertle, Weis’ chief operating officer. “This year’s donation total will benefit more than 100 local hunger organizations who serve thousands of people a day. Every dollar raised will provide up to six meals for those in need. We are truly grateful for our customers support.”…Acme closed two under-performing stores earlier this month – in Chalfont, PA and Warminster,
PA…at Manhattan-based Fairway Market, the negative earnings trend continues. In its recently ended second quarter, losses totaled $17.2 million due to price investments, increased shrink and inflation expense that was not passed along. Total sales increased 5.9 percent (based on the opening of a new store in Lake Grove, NY), but comps dipped by an unhealthy 3.9 percent. As a result, Wall Street clobbered Fairway’s stock which was trading at $2.31 per share on November 13 (it reached $28.38 per share shortly after it launched its IPO in April 2013). As a result of another quarter of continued hemorrhaging, new CEO Jack Murphy suspended future financial guidance, noting, “There’s a lot of work to do here at Fairway, but there’s also a tremendous amount of opportunity.” He’s right, Fairway is an unusual place for a retailer – it’s proven it can sell a lot of stuff (although not quite as much as before on a same store basis), but its administrative infrastructure is in disarray. Refining merchandising and marketing will certainly help, but improving its systems and internal efficiencies is really what’s needed if we are to believe that Fairway is “like no other market.”…a couple more Manhattan news items of note: Grace’s Marketplace, the well-known Upper East Side specialty retailer, has reopened at a new site. Now located at 1299 2nd Avenue (it was previously based at 1237 3rd Avenue), the new store is 7,700 square feet in size on two levels, allowing for an expanded selection of prepared foods, including a made-to-order salad bar, panini station and a European style espresso bar, featuring fresh baked goods and seating. “We’re beyond excited to launch the new Grace’s Marketplace,” said Grace Balducci Doria, who founded the business in 1989. “This has been quite a year, with many changes for our family and business and we’re really looking forward to this new chapter.”…another upscale Manhattan merchant is expanding both here and internationally. Eataly, which opened in 2010 at 200 5th Avenue to land-office business, plans another New York City location next year. Other future locations for the Italian-themed store include Moscow, London, Seoul and Sao Paulo (Brazil)…our “loser” retail executive of the month is Eddie Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holding Corp. (Sears, Kmart), which will be closing an additional 100 stores shortly, affecting nearly 5,500 associates. Kmart and Sears have lost so much blood for so long; their next incarnation might come as vampires. I hate to break the news to “Fast Eddie” – you may be a Wall Street genius, but as a retail merchant you just plain suck.
‘Round The Trade
On November 13, Price Chopper (The Golub Corporation), the Schenectady, NY family-owned regional chain, unveiled a new banner for its stores – Market 32 – and promised the new brand would change food shopping for its customers by modernizing its stores and offering new services and products. Market 32 stores will begin rolling out across the chain’s six-state footprint this spring. “Market 32 represents the next leap forward for our company. We have evolved from the Public Service Market to Central Market to Price Chopper by responding to customers’ changing needs over time and Market 32 is the next natural progression for us,” said Neil Golub, Price Chopper’s executive chairman of the board and unofficial company patriarch. “Early learnings gleaned from our Market Bistro concept store have put our next generation in an excellent position to make this move today.” Initially, three Price Chopper stores are being converted into Market 32 stores: Shopper’s World in Clifton Park, NY; Wilton, NY; and Pittsfield, MA. The first “ground up” Market 32 will be built in Sutton, MA where ground was broken earlier this month. A second wave of conversions will begin over the next 18 months and encompass another 10 to 15 stores. More than half of the 135-store chain will be converted within five years. In total, the investment in this phase of the evolution will be more than $300 million. The new stores will have expanded foodservice options, an enhanced product mix and a re-emphasis on customer service. More details about the many differences in the new concept will be unveiled in the coming months as store conversions begin. “We will be re-engineering nearly every facet of the store, beginning with the name but extending into our marketing, product selection, services offered and customer focus,” said CEO Jerry Golub, who represents the third generation of leadership at the privately-owned merchant. “Our investment in this transformation reflects not only the position of strength from which we take this calculated risk, but our determination to set a new and higher more customer-focused standard that will engage and inspire shoppers for decades to come.” The Market 32 name was derived from the year (1932) that brothers Ben and Bill Golub founded the supermarket company…it appears that Whole Foods will be opening its first unit in Lancaster County, PA. A deal is in place for the “good for you foods” merchant to build a 40,000 square foot unit in a new shopping development on Route 30 and Fruitville Pike in Manheim Township. The development process has just begun, so don’t expect to see that new store open until 2017… in news from just below the Mason-Dixon line, The Washington Post reports that Wegmans’ bid to build another smaller-footprint store (a la its highly successful 80,000 square foot unit in Chestnut Hill, MA) in Tysons Corner, VA has fallen through. The Post reported that Wegmans and developer Cityline Partners had been negotiating over a parcel in a huge planned 6.7 million square foot mixed use development called Scott Run Station South for nearly a year. With its smaller footprint model now successful, I’m certain this setback won’t deter the Rochester, NY-based uber-retailer from pursuing other opportunities in the Tysons Corner area, as limited as they might be…I’ve been hearing a lot of speculation about Lidl, the large German-based limited assortment retailer which is planning to open stores in the U.S. in the next 2-3 years. We’ve been told that, unlike its European model (it operates more than 10,000 stores in 28 European countries), its stores here will be in the 25,000 square foot range. MGP Real Estate, a large Bethesda, MD based real estate management firm, is reportedly overseeing site selection and our sources tell us that it is focusing on Philadelphia, Baltimore-Washington, Richmond and Pittsburgh for prospective locations… a tip of the hat to Alan Wilson, CEO of McCormick & Co., for his interesting and relevant talk to students who are in Saint Joseph’s University’s Academy of Food Marketing program. Wilson’s low-key, unassuming style really connected with the students whom he urged to focus on whatever duties they are assigned when they begin their food industry journeys. “Every job is important,” Wilson noted, harkening back to his early industry career when he was the diaper-tape buyer at P&G. “Truthfully, the job was very mundane, but I knew it was an important one so I really tried hard to do the best job I could for the company.” He also emphasized the importance of passion, teamwork, trust and relationship-building as vital components towards building a successful career. Wilson is a very nice guy, with a tremendous track record during his nearly seven years as McCormick’s chief executive. He spoke at the 20th annual Pat McCarthy Lecture Series held at the Erivan Haub School of Business on campus in Philadelphia. By the way, my friend “Reverend” McCarthy hasn’t lost a bit off his fastball, even at the age of 78…earlier in the month the annual SJU Food Summit was held and this version – “Meeting the Food on Demand Challenge” – was one of the best in recent years. There was less emphasis on data digestion which allowed the speakers to be more extemporaneous and interactive. Recurring themes from all eight speakers were the emphasis on quality “fresh” offerings and the growing use of social media as a marketing and education tool to enhance the on demand experience. All the speakers offered nuggets of importance, but Barry Calpino, VP-Breakthrough Innovations (great title, don’t you think?) for Kraft and Joe Sheridan, COO of Wakefern (one of the best and most entertaining speakers in the biz) hit it out of the park (as I said earlier, a little self-deprecating humor always helps)…kudos to Benjy Green, CEO of the Baltimore-based diversified retailer/wholesaler, who is this year’s recipient of the “Pete Manos Retail Executive of the Year” award. While Benjy steadfastly avoids the spotlight, his many notable industry and community achievements in helping continue to grow a company begun by his grandfather in 1915, should not go unnoticed. He is tremendously deserving of this honor and I’m proud to call him my friend… a shout out to two of my longtime industry friends who are retiring shortly. Marty Gavaghan, who for the past 14 years has served as director of sales for HP Hood, will be hanging it up after a distinguished career both in the manufacturing and food broker segments. A Philly boy by birth, Marty is a highly skilled salesman and, beneath that tough exterior, a truly great guy. He’ll be replaced by Kevin Shields, another Philly native, who began his career at Penn Maid (now part of Hood) and has moved up the ladder to, most recently, Hood’s largest region. Kevin’s young, energetic and super bright and I’m certain he’ll do a great job. Also packing it in after more than 40 years in the grocery biz is John DeSimone, most recently VP-sales/East for Bar Keepers Friend (a unique and useful product line). John spent a large chunk of his career in the food brokerage business and, like Marty, was a classic old school peddler (in depth knowledge of his products, strong relationship builder and tremendous loyalty to his retail and wholesale customers). Replacing John will be Bill Mancini, another veteran sales rep and broker whose skill set resembles Gavaghan’s and DeSimone’s. We wish Marty and John all the best in their future endeavors….before I close, there were a couple of notable deaths to report this month. Passing on was the legendary Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of The Washington Post, who died last month at his home in Washington at the age of 93. Of course, Bradlee will be inexorably linked to the Watergate scandal which brought down President Richard Nixon. And while reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein did the heavy lifting for one of the most important news stories of the past 50 years, it was Bradlee who provided the ins
piration and affirmation for two young reporters to fulfill their mission, despite threats and potential retribution from many fronts. According to the Post, from the moment he took over the newsroom in 1965, Bradlee “sought to create an important newspaper that would go far beyond the traditional model of a metropolitan daily. He achieved that goal by combining compelling news stories based on aggressive reporting with engaging feature pieces of a kind previously associated with the best magazines. His charm and gift for leadership helped him hire and inspire a talented staff and eventually made him the most celebrated newspaper editor of his era.” His aura and style certainly motivated me when I first elected to go to journalism school shortly after the Watergate scandal was first reported. I’m also sad to report the death of Jack Bruce, one of the best rock bass players of all-time. It was Bruce’s presence as a member of Cream in the late 1960s (along with guitar god Eric Clapton and phenomenal drummer Ginger Baker) that helped change rock & roll music. Along with The Grateful Dead, there was no better jamband than Cream, which could produce complex rhythms with great solos and vocals, despite the sparsity of musicians in the group. In my opinion, Cream’s second album – Disraeli Gears – is one of the top 10 rock albums of all-time. Among Bruce’s songwriting contributions to the group, which disbanded in 1968 after only two years together (they did perform at several reunion concerts in London and New York in 2005), were “Sunshine Of Your Love;” “White Room;” and “I Feel Free.” He later went on to have a more low-key solo career in which he record 19 solo albums in a 38-year period. Jack Bruce was 71.
