Grocery wholesaling remains the most challenging segment of the entire food matrix and, over the past 12 months the wholesalers doing business in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast markets found that significant progress was tough to come by. Year-over-year inflation was slightly down, and increased labor costs continued to be a hurdle in a significantly low earnings business where distributors have seen their inside margins diminish significantly over the past decade.
It was another challenging year for grocery wholesalers in the Mid-Atlantic region as they continued to deal with a shrinking independent retail base and an economy that faced strong headwinds.
The perennial leader –
member-owned Wakefern Food Corp., the largest wholesale grocery co-op in the country – continued to set the pace. The Keasbey, NJ-based co-op rang up a record $15.8 billion in wholesale volume (up from $15.4 billion last year) which was generated primarily through the success of its nearly 400 retail supermarkets operating under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Fairway Market and Gourmet Garage banners. Wakefern’s market area covers New Jersey, New York, Connecticut,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and includes dominant positions in the large Metro
New York and Delaware Valley markets. During the past year, Wakefern acquired 17-store Manhattan-based retailer Morton Williams and will operate that former family-owned merchant as a subsidiary of the parent company supervised by Kevin McConnell, who also serves as the company’s president of its Price Rite discount division. Wakefern also made strides in gaining new distribution of its Di Bruno Bros. products, a company the co-op acquired in 2024, and expanded its wholesale presence, agreeing to supply Boyer’s Food Markets, the 18-store independent based in Orwigsburg, PA). Internally, Mark Van Buskirk was moved from group VP-fresh to group VP-center store, taking over from the retiring Paul Patten. Former Giant Eagle executive Travis Riepenhoff recently joined Wakefern its the Group VP-fresh.
C&S Wholesale Grocers, the nation’s largest privately-owned voluntary wholesaler, ranked second among all retail distributors in the Mid-Atlantic region with estimated annual sales of $13.1 billion. It was another active year for the Keene, NH-based distributor as it regained an old wholesale customer – Key Food – a large account valued at about $1 billion annually. C&S also reached a financial settlement with Kroger over a lawsuit that dealt with damages owed to thee wholesaler after the Kroger-Albertsons merger attempt failed (C&S would have acquired 579 divested stores if the deal had been approved.) Logistically, C&S announced that it would close its distribution center in DuBois, PA in early 2026 and that much of that business would be shifted to the company’s Robesonia, PA distribution center.
At UNFI, the news remains rocky. The Providence, RI-based distributor continued to post operating losses and saw the departures of two key Mid-Atlantic customers – Key Food and Boyer’s. As part of the Key Food exit, UNFI also closed its 1.3 million square foot distribution center near Allentown, PA that opened in late 2021. And then there was the unfortunate cyberattack which hampered UNFI’s operations nationally for almost a month. The company said its sales loss from the business disruption was approximately $400 million. Estimated Mid-Atlantic volume for 2025 was $9.6 billion.
Two of the largest national convenience store wholesalers – McLane and Core-Mark – once again dominated c-store distribution in the region. McLane’s 12 warehouses serving more than 6,200 stores (including many 7-Elevens) amassed estimated regional sales of $3.28 billion; and Core-Mark, which became a division of Performance Food Group in 2021, supplied more than 3,000 c-stores and amassed estimated annual wholesale sales of $3.4 billion in the region.
Family-owned wholesale grocers, the genesis of virtually all grocery distribution, remained an important part of the landscape, despite continuing industry consolidation on a national basis.
Bozzuto’s, led by chairman and CEO Michael Bozzuto, continued its tradition of strong customer service and innovation. The Cheshire, CT-based wholesaler supplied 2,340 independent stores, many of which fly the IGA banner, and rang up wholesale sales of $2.7 billion in 2024.
Merchants Distributors, Inc. (MDI), another family-owned distributor, 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 $2.21 billion for the Hickory, NC-based firm, which in recent years has expanded its independent retailer penetration deeper into the Mid-Atlantic.
Two metro New York based distributors – Krasdale (owned by the Krasne family since 1908) and General Trading (owned by the Abad family) – also showed positive growth during 2025.
Krasdale Foods, based in White Plains, NY (with a distribution center in the Bronx), 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. In March, the company’s patriarch, Charles Krasne, passed away at the age of 94. He had served as CEO of the company founded by his father, Abraham in 1908, for more than 50 years. All told, Krasdale services approximately 3,042 stores in the metro New York and Philadelphia markets and accrued estimated sales of $1.86 billion 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 nearly 3,489 stores it supplied, many were ethnic and specialty customers. Annual wholesale revenue is estimated to be $703 million.
Of all the classes of trade, nobody performed better than the three large club operators, which performed well nationally and regionally. 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 – again led the pack in Mid-Atlantic sales. Its 79 stores – including its newest club in Mechanicsburg, PA- rang up an estimated $8.4 billion in annual revenue (extrapolated to include only food and related products).
Costco’s primary competitor in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, BJ’s Wholesale Club, also had another strong year. The Marlborough, MA club merchant operated the most wholesale clubs in the region – 108 – including new clubs in Whippany, NJ and Staten Island, NY – which produced annual estimated extrapolated sales of $5.47 billion.
Second-ranked nationally club store retailer Sam’s Club’s 46 stores (the same as last year) amassed an estimated $2.06 billion in extrapolated volume this year. The division of Walmart continues to be led by Chris Nicholas, who was promoted to Sam’s CEO in 2024. While Sam’s Club has not opened any new stores in the region in the past three years, it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its in-store technology, adding new AI-driven scanless checkouts at many of its stores.
