42 / Convenience Store News for the Single Store Owner / APRIL 2015

The story of single-store owners in the convenience store industry has long been a tale of the little guys vs. the big guys. In the past year, though, some of the big guys have gotten even bigger as a result of mergers

and acquisitions, with the consolidation showing no signs of easing up.

Consolidation is also happening in the conve-nience distribution industry. Distributors are declin-ing in number, leaving fewer companies to serve c-store retailers — and with the big guys building more market share, it can be tough for the little guys

to get attention.For the fourth consecutive year, Con-

venience Store News for the Single Store Owner is honoring those

convenience wholesalers that go above and beyond

for their single-store owner customers. Seven companies are the recipients of this year’s Wholesaler Excellence Awards.

To determine the

winners, Single Store Owner conducted a poll among its single-store subscribers, asking them to rate their wholesaler in five categories: inventory control, partnership relationship, planograming, product education and sales literature, and speed to market. A winner was determined in each category based on the ratings received:

• Best Inventory Control: McLane Company Inc.• Best Partnership Relationship With Retailers:

H.T. Hackney Co.• Best Planogramming for Profits: AMCON

Distributing Co. • Best Product Education & Sales Literature:

Farner-Bocken Co. • Best Speed to Market: Eby-Brown Co. LLC For the first time, Single Store Owner is also giving

out two awards for excellence across all the categories this year. The inaugural winner for Overall Excellence is S. Abraham & Sons Inc., which received the top rating in four out of the five individual categories, and got the highest rating for overall excellence. The honorable mention for Overall Excellence goes to Cash-Wa Distributing, which received the second highest rating in all five individual categories.

Read on for individual profiles of this year’s award-winning wholesalers.

Winners of the fourth annual Wholesaler Excellence Awards exceed expectationssaler E

Above &

Beyond

WHOLESALER

EXCELLENCE

AWARDS

WHOLESALER

EXCELLENCE

AWARDS

WHOLESALER

EXCELLENCE

AWARDS

WHOLESALER

EXCELLENCE

AWARDS

WHOLESALER

EXCELLENCE

AWARDS

WHOLESALER

EXCELLENCE

AWARDS

After nearly 90 years in business, it’s safe to say S. Abraham & Sons (SAS) has established a solid reputation as a distributor. But the

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company is not coasting on that reputation — in fact, it’s a combination of effort and attention to detail that prompted retailers to choose SAS as winner of the 2015 Wholesaler Excellence Award for overall excellence.

“Our sales rep is very thorough and will take care of any problem we may have,” one single-store owner said of SAS, which was the top-rated distribu-tor in four out of the five individual categories.

Other single-store operators expressed apprecia-tion for frequent contact with company representa-tives and the fact that the company doesn’t push stores to overload themselves with inventory for the sake of a sale. “[They’re] honest about what won’t sell in my market area,” one retailer commented.

To ensure it continues offering good service, SAS works as a team at every level.

“SAS has a dedicated and experienced sales

team with over 100 people in the field,” said George Bennett, vice president of sales. “Merchandisers, new business managers, sales representatives, district managers and regional vice presidents all working in conjunction to ensure customer satisfaction [and] on-time and accurate deliveries.”

SAS also offers retailers a number of helpful tools, including the handheld order management system Nexgen, which is designed to increase speed, efficiency and profitability; and the supply chain software DRTrack, which provides online access to route schedules, real-time GPS tracking information and historical reports.

Looking into the future, SAS is focusing on com-plete category management and has doubled the size of its planogram management team, as well as placed an emphasis on data analysis.

“We are investing considerable resources in this area and believe it to be critical to future success for SAS and our retailers,” Bennett said.

— AngelA HAnson

Overall Excellence:

S. Abraham & Sons Inc.

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