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says D’Arrigo. “Now they’ve been gobbled up or bought out, and you’ve got maybe three or four out of the 14 left. Then there’s some new ones like Wal-Mart that weren’t here before.”
Wholesalers still serve an indispensable role for even the largest corporate chains, however, by taking care of shortages on a moment’s notice.
“With the large chains, we make it as easy as possible to buy a pallet to a full truck of any number of commodities on short notice at a price as close to what they are used to as
possible,” says D’Arrigo. “It’s strictly a short- order need for the really big guys.”
Even as the largest markets develop their direct connections with shippers, they still need wholesalers.
“There’s always change, but we provide a product and service that meets the super- market chain’s needs,” says Dominic Russo, buying and sales director at Rocky Produce, Detroit. “They are looking to us for filling shorts, and we try to be the best we can in filling their needs.”
Jack Russo began peddling produce in Detroit after immigrating from Terrasini, Sicily. His sons, Rocky and Dominic, founded Rocky Produce in Detroit’s Eastern Market following their service in the Korean War.
The company they started wholesales a full line of fruits and vegetables, both conventional and organic, including product from the best- known, national brand-name shippers.
The gaps that send large chains to whole- salers are not a surprise or mistake, but rather part of a plan that allows retailers to efficiently minimize shrink without running short of essential produce items.
“Retailers are controlling shrink/poor quality product by leaning on local wholesalers for a certain percentage of their product,” says Andrew Scott, director of business devel- opment at Nickey Gregory, Atlanta. “For example, Mr. Retailer buys 90 percent of its strawberries from its vendors and buys 10 percent from its local wholesaler partner.”
Nickey Gregory is a major hub that ships produce throughout the Southeast from its warehouse facility strategically located in the Forest Park campus just outside Atlanta, and another large warehouse just west of down- town Miami.
“The Nickey Gregory Company inter- acts with supermarkets across the Southeast through just-in-time ordering,” says Scott. “We fill that supply chain role. Our costs can be higher compared to buying direct, but as wholesalers, we buy a lot on speculation as markets swing up and down. By delivering to stores and distribution centers, there is a much higher cost these days for transporta- tion, driver wages and expenses. We own our own trucks and have great drivers to deliver our customer’s orders. Transportation is a key component for wholesalers.”
Corporate supermarkets expect to run short from time to time and count on their wholesalers to fill in.
“Most of the chains have their own sources of supply, but they still need wholesalers,” says Philip Rosenstein, president of William Rosenstein & Sons, Scranton, PA. “We deal with some supermarket chains. They want produce, they are short on or lacking because their warehouse is short or sold more than expected.”
William Rosenstein & Sons ships a full line of fruits and vegetables from its facilities in Scranton.
The ability to be nimble in challenging situations goes a long way toward defining a wholesaler’s reputation.
44 / MARCH 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
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