Last month’s acquisition of Michigan-based wholesaler/retailer SpartanNash is another example of grocery distributor C&S Wholesale Grocers making bold moves to not only grow its current business but to find new pathways for future growth.
After years of building the wholesale industry’s best third-party distribution model, which was developed in the early 1980s, C&S felt the sting when chain customers such as Grand Union, A&P and most recently (and most impactfully) Ahold Delhaize USA either folded or chose to utilize their own self-distribution platforms. Acknowledging change and executing new plans to create a revised model aren’t always mutually inclusive.
During the past five years we saw hints of the Keene, NH-based wholesaler’s new strategy which focused more on corporate retail – acquiring 11 Piggly Wiggly stores in Wisconsin and Illinois and purchasing 12 former Tops stores in upstate New York and Vermont that trade as Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly.
Those two deals also incorporated wholesale attachments – 111 Piggly Wiggly Midwest stores and the addition of approximately 130 Price Chopper stores that were added when “The Chopper” merged with Tops in 2022 to form Northeast Grocery (C&S was already supplying about 150 Tops units located primarily in Western New York).
For decades, C&S resisted investing heavily in corporately-owned stores, but after the ADUSA self-distribution announcement the company’s views clearly changed. For those who didn’t recognize the subtle nuance prior to 2023, the company’s shift toward a more balanced retail model became obvious when C&S became the winning bidder to acquire 413 Kroger and Albertsons stores in September 2023, a number that swelled to 579 supermarkets as the number of divested stores was increased in 11 months later.
Although that merger attempt was terminated in December 2024, due in part to increased FTC pressure, it was becoming clear that C&S was no longer content to serve chain and independent retailers solely as a distributor.
As 2025 rolled in, C&S was ready to pounce. In February, the company stepped up to the plate to become an equity investor to acquire approximately 170 Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarkets (the banners that comprise Southeastern Grocers – SEG) from Aldi. The deal would not only protect C&S’s supply agreement with the Jacksonville, FL-based merchant, it would also allow the wholesaler and SEG’s CEO Anthony Hucker (another investor) to gain flexibility to transform the once beleaguered iconic chain which had filed for two bankruptcies over the past 20 years.
In May, C&S announced a partnership with large distributor Atlantic Grocery Supply (AGS), to help “provide wholesale supply solutions to retailers in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.” AGS is the grocery division of Pompano Beach, FL-based Sun Commodities Inc. In this agreement with C&S, export customers will be supplied with competitive pricing and a vast grocery assortment of more than 40,000 items.
The new partnership will operate out of C&S’s 1 million square foot distribution center in Miami – with C&S and AGS partnering in sales to Florida-based independent retail customers and AGS leading sales to export customers. The Sun Group will continue to service produce to retailers and food service customers throughout the Southeast of the United States and the Caribbean.
Bigger news was announced on June 6 when Key Food, the largest supermarket co-op serving the five boroughs of New York City, announced it would be leaving UNFI and rejoining C&S, which will shortly begin supplying the co-op’s approximately 375 independent grocers who are primarily based in the entire New York Metro market. C&S was Key Food’s primary distributor for many years prior to the change to UNFI in 2021. That business is worth an estimated $1 billion a year in wholesale revenue.
However, even bigger news was yet to come. On June 23, C&S said it would acquire SpartanNash (SN), the Byron Center, MI (near Grand Rapids) wholesaler/retailer for a purchase price of $26.90 per share of SN’s common stock in cash, a deal valued at $1.77 billion, including assumed net debt.
The transaction price represents a 52.5 percent premium over SN’s closing price on June 20, 2025, of $17.64, and a premium of 42 percent to its 30-day volume-weighted average stock price as of June 20, 2025.
Together, the combined company will operate almost 60 complementary distribution centers covering the U.S. (about 40 of those DCs are C&S depots) and will serve close to 10,000 independent retail locations, along with more than 200 corporate-run grocery stores including D&W Fresh Market (10 stores in Michigan) and Martin’s Super Markets (20 stores in Indiana and Michigan).
This is a big deal by any standard and it clearly reflects C&S’s continuing goal to change the long-held perception (by some) that the privately-held wholesaler’s primary strength (and legacy) is as a third-party distributor.
“Our industry is facing critical challenges, including rising fixed costs and slowing topline growth,” C&S CEO Eric Winn said in a company email. “Our integration is key to diversifying our capabilities and expanding our wholesale and retail geographic footprint to support long-term, sustainable success.”
SpartanNash president and chief executive Tony Sarsam (ex-CEO of Borden Dairy and Ready Pac), who joined the company in late 2020, has done a fine job of shoring up SN’s wholesale business while also expanding its corporate store retail network including the acquisition of 49-store Midwest regional chain Fresh Encounter (stores in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky) late last year.
“We are energized by the opportunities this combination provides for our Associates and customers. With our organizational values in close alignment, there will be exciting new career opportunities for our people and a continued commitment to a People First culture,” the 63-year-old leader said. “For our customers, this transaction creates the necessary scale, efficiency and purchasing power needed to enable independent retailers to compete more effectively with larger big box chains. Neighborhood grocers are essential pillars of our communities that we want to preserve and strengthen. A thriving hometown grocery store supports local farmers, bolsters the local economy, and enhances the overall health and well-being of the community.”
SpartanNash has a limited presence in the Mid-Atlantic region. It operates two warehouses in Virginia – a conventional depot in Bluefield, VA and a military facility in Norfolk. In Maryland, it operates a 365,000 square foot DC which serves as both a military warehouse and a depot that supplies 22 Amazon Fresh stores in the region.
For C&S, the SpartanNash acquisition bolsters the company’s presence in the Midwest while also adding a team of experienced industry veterans who will strengthen C&S’ bench in both corporate retail and independent wholesale.
And beyond the momentum gained by C&S with the addition of Key Food, this deal also poses a real threat to UNFI’s Central Region’s business, one of its largest operating areas in the country.
For C&S, it’s already been a remarkable year!
‘Round The Trade
Albertsons’ first earnings report under the new “Susan Morris regime” is out, and the retailer posted very solid numbers in Q1. ID sales (ex-gas) rose 2.8 percent and while net income slipped a bit from $240.7 million to $236.4 million in the 13-weeks ended June 14, the big supermarket chain saw its e-commerce revenue jump 25 percent and its digital pharmacy sales experience a 20 percent hike in year-over-year growth. More Albertsons news: company veteran Michelle Larson has been appointed executive VP and chief merchant replacing Omer Gadjial who has left the company. Other key personnel changes to Morris’ new leadership team include Jennifer Saenz, who was promoted to executive VP-chief commercial officer; Anuj Dhanda will expand his role as executive VP-chief technology and transformation officer, to include data science and product management teams; Mike Withers will become executive VP-operations – West, overseeing the Northern and Southern California Divisions. Rob Backus will remain as executive VP-operations – East. Expect more changes as Morris seeks to change Albertsons culture from less c-suite to more hands on.
Last month we reported that veteran Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart was being promoted to supervise the German discounter’s global operation based in Salsburg, Austria and that Atty McGrath was being promoted from COO to chief executive of its burgeoning U.S. store network. Just before presstime, Aldi named Karla Waddleton as its new chief operating office. Waddleton’s been with Aldi for 24 years and most recently served as a VP overseeing the company’s Houston area stores.
Over the past several months, I’ve written extensively about the negative economic ramifications of tariffs, especially since so much uncertainty still remains. However, in the next few days, things might become clearer as President Trump singled out 25 countries that would face increased levies if they do not ink trade deals by August 1. Additionally, according to a recent KPMG survey of 300 business executives with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion, 57 percent of those firms said they have already felt a decline in their gross margins through the end of May. It’s only gonna get worse, and for those in the food industry, expect a lot more consumer heat as retailers, in particular, will be blamed for higher prices. Of course, there are other policy-driven factors that will also make the playing field adversely tilted – tougher immigration law enforcement which will certainly impact the produce industry, and a significant reduction in SNAP benefits which will be felt at many stores in rural and economically challenged urban areas.
Despite early reports that Amazon’s recent “Prime Day(s)” sales were flat, “Godzilla” and other outside agencies reported that this year’s event (which was extended to four days from two days in past years) was Amazon’s biggest ever.
News from the manufacturing sector includes the Chapter 11 filing of Del Monte Foods, whose history as a canned fruit and vegetable packer dates back to 1886. The Walnut Creek, CA-based firm said Del Monte Foods, owned since 2014 by Del Monte Pacific which is based in Singapore and the Philippines, has secured a commitment from its lenders for $912.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing to keep the business going while a potential suitor is sought.
At The Hershey Co., Kirk Tanner will succeed Michele Buck as the company’s new president and CEO, effective August 18 (Buck will remain with the company through the end of the year). Tanner, who most recently was CEO of Wendy’s, was groomed under the PepsiCo system where he rose to the post of chief executive of North America during his 30-year career.
Ferrero, the family-owned manufacturer (which began in Italy in 1946 and is now based in Luxembourg) of such well known international brands such as Nutella and Ferrero Rocher and U.S. brands Baby Ruth, Tic Tac and Blue Bunny, has agreed to acquire Kellogg’s cereal division (W.K. Kellogg) for $3.1 billion.
When Warren Buffett and Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital first teamed to acquire H.J. Heinz in 2013 and then Kraft Foods in 2015 to form supposed powerhouse Kraft Heinz, it marked a new era in food industry mega-mergers. Stellar brands such as Maxwell House, Jell-O, Planter’s, Oscar Mayer, Kraft cheeses, Heinz and Planters were part of the lineup. Over the past decade, several of those brands featuring highly processed ingredients have waned in popularity (and consumption). After the company wrote down the value of several of those brands by $15 billion a few years ago, it was clear that the deal was failing as was 3G’s austerity driven “zero-based” budgeting plan. Now, multiple reports are stating that Kraft Heinz will be spinning off many of its lesser (mostly Kraft) brands into a new company with the original company focusing on items in faster moving categories such as sauces, condiments and spices. As for 3G, it bailed on Kraft Heinz nearly three years ago, tacitly acknowledging how bad the deal was. If the company does decide to spin off its slower moving products, at least the new owner won’t have to buy his own pencils and paper clips.
‘Round The Trade
June 30 was a big day in Mount Crawford, VA (Rockingham County). That’s when Buc-ee’s, the Lake Jackson, TX-based convenience store chain made its debut in the Old Dominion. The fabled c-store operator whose locations feature 800 fuel pumps (actually 126), 250 bathrooms (actually 100) and 2,000 parking spaces (actually 600) opened to huge crowds who visited the 74,000 square foot store. The Buc-ee’s hype long preceded the ribbon cutting and there were reportedly hundreds of people lined up for the grand opening. Another Buc-ee’s is coming to New Kent, VA in 2027, and if it can clear some zoning issues, Stafford County would be the privately-held company’s third Virginia store.
Other upcoming store openings with less fanfare include a new Lidl unit on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, MD on July 30 and a replacement Whole Foods Market in Reston, VA on August 6. The new 46,711 store replaces the original WFM supermarket that opened in that planned city in 1996.
Giant Eagle has officially completed the sale of its gas station unit – GetGo – to Canadian c-store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard. The deal, first announced last year, is valued at $1.57 billion and includes about 270 locations in MD, PA, WV, OH and Indiana. As part of the deal, Couche-Tard must divest 35 gas stations (34 existing Circle K locations which the company already operates, and one GetGo).
Over the next 30 days Target will be opening five new stores in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast including stores in West Goshen, PA (120,000 square feet); Flemington, NJ (74,000 square feet); Astoria, NY (41,000 square feet); Guilford, CT (78,000 square feet); and Norwalk, CT (117,000 square feet).
We have several deaths to report this month including underrated baseball great Dave Parker, 74, whose 19-year career was spent primarily in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Nicknamed the “Cobra” for the way he waved his bat while awaiting a pitch, Parker collected 2,712 hits, drove in 1,493 runs and hit 339 home runs. He was a seven-time all-star, won two batting titles, was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1979, and won three Gold Gloves as one of the best right fielders of his generation. After waiting for 15 years to gain induction to the Hall of Fame from the baseball writers (who punished him for his cocaine – not steroid – use during his career), he was finally elected late last year by the Veteran’s committee. Sadly, he died less than a month before the formal ceremony will be held in Cooperstown on July 27.
Also leaving us was D. Wayne Lukas, arguably the greatest trainer of thoroughbred horses ever. A former high school teacher and basketball coach in La Crosse, WI, Lukas became interested in horses from an early age. He left teaching, first to train quarter horses and then moved on to thoroughbreds in the 1970s. During his illustrious career, Lukas’ horses won 15 Triple Crown races including a sweep in 1995 with Thunder Gulch winning the Kentucky Derby and Belmont and Timber Country claiming victory in the Preakness. Lukas’ horses also won 20 Breeders’ Cup races. He received the Eclipse Award, given to the nation’s outstanding trainer, four times and was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1999. Lukas could still be seen getting on his mount this spring while supervising early morning training sessions for American Promise, his horse that ran in this year’s Derby and Preakness (finishing 16th and eighth respectively). A life well lived, D. Wayne Lukas was 89 when he passed.
Finally, the great character actor Michael Madsen, 67, has also died. Madsen, whose sister Virginia is also a fine actress, usually played rebels, renegades and psychopaths (the New York Times called him a “tough guy’s tough guy”), and was a particular favorite of director Quentin Tarantino who cast him in five of his films. Other excellent (and scary) performances included Madsen’s roles in “Donnie Brasco” (1997 – with Al Pacino) and “Mulholland Falls” (1996). All told, Madesen appeared in 344 film and TV roles in a career that spanned 43 years. When asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether his on-screen image affected how people thought of him, the Chicago native said, “Yes, I think people really fear me.”
