C&S to Supply Marsh
C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. has a long-term agreement to provide procurement and distribution services for all 97 Marsh Supermarkets stores across Indiana and Ohio.
This agreement heralds Marsh’s departure from the logistics business. With C&S managing the purchasing, inventory management and distribution of groceries and products from its distribution centers, Marsh is expected to realize greater operational efficiencies and will focus exclusively on its core retail business.
“C&S is extremely pleased to be entering into a long-term supply agreement with a grocery company of Marsh's caliber and rich history,” said Michael Newbold, C&S executive VP of corporate development. “C&S has a long track record of successful partnerships with some of the nation's finest grocery retailers and looks forward to the addition of Marsh as a customer. C&S is also very excited about its further expansion into the Midwest and its ability to service new and existing customers from the Indianapolis distribution centers.”
Marsh Chairman, CEO and President Joe Kelley said: “We are confident that with this change in the direction of our business Marsh will be better positioned to offer enhanced shopping experiences for our customers. We can now focus our full attention and resources on upgrading our current fleet of Marsh stores as well as expanding into new locations by opening new stores or acquiring other supermarkets. Very importantly, this agreement will also mean that 250 former Marsh employees will go to work for C&S and provide them with a knowledgeable and experienced work force.”
Keene, N.H.-based C&S Wholesale Grocers is a privately owned company with annual sales of $19 billion. Founded in 1918, C&S provides distribution services to grocery chains, independent stores and military bases from distribution centers in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Alabama, California and Hawaii.
Indianapolis-based Marsh operates 72 Marsh, 3 O’Malia’s Supermarkets and 22 MainStreet Markets in Indiana and Ohio, with 40 Indiana pharmacy locations.