Dive Brief:
- The Save Mart Companies is exiting the distribution business and partnering with C&S Wholesale Grocers, a company spokesperson wrote in an email to Grocery Dive.
- The regional grocer, which runs the Save Mart, Lucky and FoodMaxx banners, is closing two distribution centers in California this fall, which will impact 527 workers, according to WARN notices.
- The Save Mart Companies said it recently sold Smart Refrigerated Transport, the company’s Lathrop, California-based distributor, to C&S, saying the sale was part of “a larger supply chain optimization strategy designed to provide customers with more competitive pricing, enhanced product assortment, and an overall improved shopping experience.”
Dive Insight:
The distribution changes for Save Mart, which operates nearly 200 stores in California and Nevada, follow an effort to consolidate its supply chain in recent years and come just months after the grocery company changed ownership.
“Over the past year, The Save Mart Companies has continued to maximize supply chain efficiencies to better support our stores and customers,” Save Mart said in a statement. “During that time, we’ve made several changes to our supply chain function including the closure of our Roseville Distribution Center and now Yosemite Wholesale Distribution Center in Merced, CA.”
The statement continued: “The grocery industry changes rapidly and requires continuous improvement and innovation to remain competitive. We are confident these changes will help us compete, grow our business, and meet the needs of our customers and communities moving forward.”
Several years ago, Save Mart closed a distribution center in Vacaville, California, as part of efforts to consolidate its supply chain, a company spokesperson told The Vacaville Reporter at the time.
According to the WARN notices, the Roseville distribution center was slated to close earlier this month and will impact 273 people while the Merced distribution center will affect 254 people when it closes Nov. 3.
In the statement, Save Mart said it is committed to supporting all impacted associates.
Save Mart announced the sale of Smart Refrigerated Transport at the end of July, the spokesperson said.
Smart Refrigerated Transport, now known as Lathrop Logistics, LLC, is now part of C&S’s Central Valley distribution hub and continues to supply all 194 stores run by The Save Mart Companies, the Save Mart spokesperson said. Save Mart said there were no anticipated job losses associated with the change in ownership.
Canadian conglomerate The Jim Pattison Group bought The Save Mart Companies earlier this year from private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management for an undisclosed amount.
