Elk Grove Village, IL, April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Topco Associates, LLC honored members who demonstrated exceptional program partnership and commitment in 2018 during its recent Annual membership conference and 75th anniversary celebration. Topco is proud to announce the following 2018 award winners:
Hy-Vee, Inc. – Greatest Purchase Volume
Topco honored Hy-Vee with one of its highest awards. In 2018 Hy-Vee led all members in overall purchases. This is the 14th consecutive year in which Hy-Vee has achieved this honor, demonstrating an outstanding commitment to growth and driving best-in-class results.
K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. – Greatest Purchase Penetration
Topco also presented K-VA-T Food Stores with one of its highest achievement awards: Greatest Purchase Penetration. In 2018, K-VA-T achieved outstanding engagement in Topco programs, surpassing all members in overall purchase penetration. In addition to their 2018 accomplishment, K-VA-T has achieved this impressive designation for the 15th year in a row, demonstrating an unparalleled commitment to partnering for growth across Topco’s membership.
Associated Food Stores, Inc. – Greatest Dollar Growth, All Programs
In 2018 Associated Food Stores continued their expansion within Pharmacy, Dairy and Indirect Spend. This is the second year in a row that AFS has received this award.
Schnuck Markets, Inc. – Greatest Percentage Growth, All Programs
Schnucks showed impressive growth across the Topco Brand portfolio including Fresh Meat, Produce, Grocery, National Brands and especially the Simply Done brand. They have also demonstrated a strong commitment to new product development.
SpartanNash Company – Greatest Dollar Growth, Center Store
In addition to transitioning their SpartanNash brand to the Our Family Brand, SpartanNash achieved greatest dollar growth in Center Store through continued growth with DeCA through their military division, MDV.
SpartanNash Company – Greatest Dollar Growth, Center Store
From left: Marc Kurkiewicz, VP Member Development, Topco Associates; Christine Heffernan, SVP Center Store, Topco Associates; Francis Wong, VP Operations & Finance, SpartanNash Company; Larry Pierce, EVP Merchandising & Marketing, SpartanNash Company
Weis Markets, Inc. – Greatest Percentage Growth, Center Store
In 2018, Weis Markets named 2018 “The Year of Private Brands,” instilling merchandising disciplines and promoting associate engagement by recognizing stores and employees for achieving the highest levels of own brand penetration.
Stater Bros. Markets – Greatest Dollar Growth, Fresh
Stater Bros. grew their Fresh Dollar purchases through strategic collaboration between Topco and Stater Bros.’ Fresh Meat, Branded Meat and Produce teams. They also aligned themselves around strong promotional strategies to win in specific markets.
Brookshire Holdings, Inc. – Greatest Percentage Growth, Fresh
Brookshire grew their total fresh purchases by leveraging Topco’s Produce program for avocados, along with growth in lettuce, mandarins and celery, in addition to continued increases in their Fresh Meat program.
Coborn’s, Inc. – Greatest Dollar Growth, Value-Add
In 2018, Coborn’s expanded participation in Topco’s Indirect Spend in Indirect Spend, Fuel and Pharmacy. They also grew their participation in packaging by leveraging Topco’s existing programs and vendor relationships.
Alex Lee, Inc./Lowes – Greatest Percentage Growth, Value-Add
The team from Alex Lee achieved best in class percentage growth across the Value-Add programs through their participation in Topco’s Indirect Spend and TopFuel programs.
In addition, the following members were honored for their milestone Topco anniversaries:
Certco, Inc. – 55 years
The Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Company – 50 years
Associated Grocers, Inc. – 45 years
Mitchell Grocery Corporation – 25 years
Raley’s – 20 years
SpartanNash Company – 15 years
W. Lee Flowers and Company, Inc. – 15 years
King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc. – 10 years
Wakefern Food Corp. – 5 years
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About Topco Associates LLC
Topco Associates LLC is a $14 billion, privately held, member-owned company that provides aggregation, innovation and knowledge management solutions for its leading food industry member-owners and customers, including grocery retailers, wholesalers and food service companies. Topco leverages the collective volume, knowledge and commitment of these companies to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace by reducing costs and offering winning business-building capabilities. For more information, please visit www.topco.com.
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