In the highly competitive battle among wholesale grocers, C&S Wholesale Grocers paced the field in a market study compiled by Food Trade News. The Keene, NH-based distributor also named Mike Duffy as its new chief executive, effective January 8.
Other wholesalers who fared well in the region were Wakefern Food Corp., the member-owned co-op whose ShopRite stores dominate the metro New York and Delaware Valley market and Supervalu’s Eastern Region, which also increased its sales and added several new customers during the past 12 months.
C&S, whose estimated wholesale sales were $17.1 billion in the coverage area ($28 billion overall), grew its independent retail business (including Key Food, Allegiance/Foodtown and Gerrity’s) over the past 12 months and continued to thrive with its core third-party chain distribution business which included such big customers as Ahold USA, Southeastern Grocers and parts of Albertsons business (Safeway, Shaw’s). C&S operated 17 distribution centers in the region. See page 16 for explanation of the coverage area.
Wakefern had another stellar year, adding more stores to its PriceRite and ShopRite foundation. The latter banner continued to produce some of the highest per store volumes among all retailers in the country. Wholesale revenue this year was estimated to be $13.1 billion.
At Supervalu’s Eastern Region, business was also healthy with estimated wholesale revenue at $6.8 billion in 2017. The Mechanicsville, VA-based region benefitted from the parent firm’s overall focus on improving its wholesale platform. During the past year, The Fresh Market and America’s Food Basket were added to SVU’s roster and the company hopes to continue to add new business with the additional “Market Centre” specialty, ethnic and organic dedicated distribution centers which will be added next year in Joliet, IL and Carlisle, PA. Supervalu will also be shifting its current Denver, PA depot (owned and soon to be operated by Albertsons) to another new warehouse in Harrisburg, PA in 2018.
Two of the largest national convenience store wholesalers – McLane and Core-Mark – dominated c-store distribution in the region. McLane’s 12 warehouses which served more than 6,000 stores (including many 7-Elevens) amassed estimated regional sales of $5.2 billion; and Core-Mark, with four distribution centers in the market, supplied more than 2,300 c-stores and amassed estimated annual wholesale sales of $1.95 billion.
UNFI, the largest wholesaler of organic and natural foods for the past 25 years, remained master of its domain. The Providence, RI-based wholesaler increased its business over the past 12 months with the acquisition of DSD- driven specialty distributors Haddon House and Gourmet Guru. Estimated 2017 sales for UNFI were $2.3 billion in our coverage area.
Family-owned wholesale grocers, the genesis of virtually all grocery distribution, remained an important part of the landscape, despite tremendous industry consolidation and disruption.
Bozzuto’s, owned by the Bozzuto family, continued its tradition of strong customer service and innovation. The Cheshire, CT-based wholesaler serviced approximately 1,100 independent stores from three distribution centers (many of the IGAs) and rang up wholesale sales of $2.2 billion in 2017.
Merchant Distributors, Inc., owned by the George family, remained the leading wholesaler in the Southeast, serving more than 700 stores (including Lowes Foods, the regional chain of nearly 100 stores that parent firm Alex Lee owns). Annual wholesale volume is estimated at $1.98 billion for the Hickory, NC-based firm.
Two metro New York based distributors – Krasdale (owned by the Krasne family) and General Trading (owned by the Abad family) – also fared well in this year’s survey.
Krasdale, based in White Plains, NY, supplied many independent retailers under such banners as AIM, Bravo, C-Town, Market Fresh, Shop Smart and Stop 1 – whose combined sales paced all independent retailers in the five boroughs of New York City. All told, the company serviced approximately 3,600 stores in the metro NY and Philadelphia markets and accrued sales of $774 million this year.
General Trading, based in Carlstadt, NJ, also serviced many independent merchants doing business in the areas in and surrounding New York City. Of the company’s nearly 2,500 stores it supplied, many were ethnic and specialty customers. Annual wholesale revenue was estimated to be $610 million.
Burris Retail Logistics, another family-owned firm that dates to 1925, continued to be a dominant distribution and logistics company throughout the region. Along with supplying supermarkets and club stores through its Burris Custom Retail division, the Milford, DE-based organization operates a public refrigerated warehouse division (PRW Plus), a transportation company (Burris Transportation) and a foodservice redistribution business (Honor Foods). Its retail distribution entity, known for its expertise in temperature sensitive products, supplied about 550 stores (supermarkets and clubs) which produced estimated wholesale revenue of $535 million in 2017.
Rounding out the list of leading wholesale companies in the region are the three club store merchants who operate stores nationally. We have broken out store counts and estimated sales for those units which operate in our coverage area.
The nation’s largest club store operator – Costco – also led the pack in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southeast with 101 stores and $7.1 billion in annual sales (extrapolated to include only food and related products). BJ’s Wholesale Club operated the most stores – 173 – which produced annual estimated sales of $6.54 billion (extrapolated) while Walmart-owned Sam’s Club’s 115 stores (many of them in the Southeast) amassed $3.96 billion in extrapolated volume this year.
The study featured grocery-driven wholesalers who operated in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southeast covering CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT and Washington, DC for the 12- month period ended November 30. While several of the distributors operated other distribution centers outside those geographical boundaries, only revenue data and number of stores serviced in the measured coverage area were listed in this study.
