Signs of Strength

Small changes are afoot on SN's annual list of the Top 75 supermarket companies in North America, as some companies on the way up moved past some perennial powers.

Wal-Mart Stores remained at the top of the list at No. 1, followed — distantly — by Kroger Co., Costco Wholesale Corp., Supervalu, Safeway, Loblaw Cos., Publix Super Markets and Ahold USA at Nos. 2 through 8.

Delhaize America inched up a notch from a year ago to No. 9, passing C&S Wholesale Grocers, Keene, N.H., which dropped to No. 10.

Among the next 15 companies:

H.E. BUTT GROCERY CO., San Antonio, moved past Sobeys and Meijer to finish at No. 12, largely on the strength of the larger, higher-volume stores it is opening.
BJ'S WHOLESALE CLUB, Natick, Mass., also moved up two spots — passing A&P and Dollar General Corp. — to reach No. 17 as the weakened economy drove more business to club stores.
GIANT EAGLE and WHOLE FOODS MARKET also improved their positions, with Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle coming in at No. 20 on the strength of strong merchandising and 10 new stores, and Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods finishing at No. 21 after the acquisition of Wild Oats Markets, while WINN-DIXIE STORES, Jacksonville, Fla., fell to No. 22 from No. 20 a year ago despite a slight increase in sales.

Among other changes:

The two companies that experienced the biggest boosts on the list were WINCO, Boise, Idaho, and HOUCHENS INDUSTRIES, Bowling Green, Ky. Each advanced six spots: WinCo. to No. 33 from No. 39 on the strength of new-store openings and the growing appeal of discount-oriented supermarkets in a tough economy, and Houchens to No. 47 from No. 53 on the strength of its acquisition of 22 Buehler Buy-Low Stores, Jasper, Ind., whose volume added close to $300 million.
ALBERTSONS LLC, Boise, Idaho, experienced the biggest drop on this year's list, falling seven spots to No. 31 from No. 24 in 2009, following the sale of 96 supermarkets during the year — 49 in Florida to Publix and 47 across the Southwest in several smaller transactions — along with 72 fuel centers.
BROOKSHIRE BROTHERS, Lufkin, Texas, experienced the second-biggest drop, falling five notches to No. 65, as escalating gas prices prompted consumers to opt for more one-stop shopping trips to Wal-Mart supercenters that included the opportunity to fill their tanks at lower prices.

Three companies dropped off this year's Top 75 list:

MINYARD FOOD STORES, Coppell, Texas, No. 70 a year ago, following the sale in September of 37 of its 58 stores — which accounted for sales estimated at $600 million — to Grocers Supply Co., Houston.
PIGGLY WIGGLY CAROLINA CO., Charleston, S.C., which was on the bubble a year ago at No. 74, with a slight drop in estimated volume pushing it just below the cutoff this year.
PURITY WHOLESALE GROCERS, Boca Raton, Fla., No. 71 a year ago, which sold off its fragrance and sporting goods divisions during 2009 to concentrate exclusively on grocery, HBC and general merchandise, resulting in volume falling to the $750 million range — significantly below the bottom of this year's list.

The three companies that took their places on the current list are:

BRUNO'S SUPERMARKETS, Birmingham, Ala., which was reestablished as an independent entity in March 2007 and whose 66 stores have sales estimated at $1 billion.
URM STORES, the Spokane, Wash.-based wholesaler, whose sales are expected to hit $1 billion at the end of its fiscal year in July as the company continues an aggressive effort to expand volume among existing customers and to add new customers to its base.
WOODMAN'S MARKETS, Janesville, Wis., the high-powered independent supercenter operator whose 12 high-volume stores qualified it for the list at No. 75.

Among wholesalers, there was little change this year beyond the move of GROCERS SUPPLY CO., Houston, to No. 45 from No. 48 a year ago as it picked up the 37 stores Minyard sold — converting 11 to the Fiesta banner and selling the other 27 to 14 different retail customers.

However, changes are brewing for several wholesalers:

C&S WHOLESALE GROCERS, which will add approximately $210 million to its volume with the acquisition of the wholesale business segment from Penn Traffic.
NASH FINCH CO., Minneapolis, which is scheduled to add approximately $740 million during the first quarter as it acquires three distribution centers serving the military from Grocers Supply Co.
SPARTAN STORES, Grand Rapids, Mich., No. 49 this year, which is scheduled to add approximately $150 million on an annualized basis with the acquisition of 17 VG Food & Pharmacy units.
CENTRAL GROCERS, Franklin Park, Ill., No. 57 on the list, which expects to add $450 million on an annualized basis this spring from the acquisition of an estimated 80% of the volume of Certified Grocers Midwest, Hodgkins, Ill.
BOZZUTO'S, Cheshire, Conn., No. 64, which began in mid-September supplying the 58 stores operated by Big Y Foods, Springfield, Mass. — a contract expected to boost volume by about $550 million. Big Y was previously supplied by C&S.