Distribution Giants

FE&S’s annual proprietary research results in the listing of the top 100 foodservice equipment and supplies dealers by sales volume.

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2017 Distribution Giants

Sales among the top 100 foodservice equipment and supplies dealers totaled $9.022 billion in 2016, up 14.85 percent from $7.84 billion in 2015, according to FE&S' 2017 Distribution Giants study. Eighty-one percent of the top 100 dealers reported increased sales. And 14 percent reported a decline in sales.

2017 Distribution GiantsLooking more closely at the revenue from FE&S' 2017 Distribution Giants study, the large dealers, those with annual revenues of more than $100 million, saw sales increase 50 percent last year. And the number of dealers with more than $100 million in annual revenues has almost doubled in the past 5 years — going from 10 companies in 2011 to 19 companies in 2016. Last year 2 dealers broke the $100 million barrier — QualServ Solutions and KaTom. And at more than $90 million in sales, The Sam Tell Companies seems poised to join the $100 million club next year.

Top Dealers

In 2016, those 19 dealers with more than $100 million in annual revenues accounted for 71 percent of the revenue among the top 100. This represents a 9 percentage point increase compared to 2015 and a 19 percentage point increase compared to 2011. In fact, the top three dealers by sales volume — TriMark USA, Clark Associates and Edward Don & Company — accounted for 36 percent (or $3.26 billion) of the sales generated by the top 100 dealers. This represents a 12 percent increase from 2011.

In terms of dollar growth, TriMark USA led all dealers at $348 million. This was fueled by organic growth as well as the acquisitions of R.W. Smith, which reported revenues of $101 million in 2015, and Adams Burch, which FE&S estimated had sales of $29 million in 2015. (TriMark's figures do not include the acquisition of Hockenbergs, which was announced earlier this year. Hockenbergs reported an $8 million increase in sales for 2016, which brought its total revenue to $194 million, placing the Nebraska dealer eighth among the top 100.) TriMark's dollar growth alone would make it the sixth largest dealership in the country.

In addition, Clark Associates grew by $273 million. All of this appears to be organic as the company did not report any acquisitions in 2016. And the dollar value of Clark's growth alone would make it the seventh largest dealership in the country.

Expect competition among the large dealers to get even more intense moving forward, both in terms of competing for sales and in the mergers and acquisitions arena. Private equity firm Vestar Capital purchased an equity stake in Edward Don & Company to fund the dealer's "future growth with a primary focus on geographic expansion and acquisitions." Edward Don & Company's sales increased by an impressive $58 million in 2016, but the company was still third behind TriMark and Clark Associates in this metric.

Conversely, dealers with less than $20 million in annual revenues represent just 5 percent of the top 100 and those dealers saw their share of sales among the top 100 decline 8 percent in 2016. In fact, dealers with less than $20 million in annual revenues occupy fewer seats among the top 100 dealers compared to 5 years ago. Today this group accounts for 5 percent of the top 100 dealers, compared to 12 percent in 2011.

Most notably, though, mid-sized dealers, those with annual revenues between $20 million and $99 million, now account for only 24 percent of the sales that the top 100 dealers generated in 2016. This represents a 7 percentage point dip from the previous year and a 12 percentage point dip from 2011.

In other words, as the big get bigger, a large number of small to medium-sized dealers are left to fight over a smaller share of the pie.

Market Segment Analysis

Taking a closer look at sales by market segment, the top 100 dealers report 76 percent of their 2016 sales came from commercial foodservice operators, with the other 24 percent coming from noncommercial operators. This represents a slight change from 2015, when the top 100 reported that 74 percent of sales came from commercial operators.

Among sales to commercial operators, the top 100 dealers reported an 8 percent increase in sales to chains. As a result, restaurant chains account for 48 percent of the sales to commercial operators among the top 100 dealers and independents account for 52 percent. In 2015, chains accounted for 40 percent of sales to commercial operators among the top 100 and independents accounted for 60 percent.

This development falls in line with other industry studies. For example, the NPD Group's Spring 2016 Restaurant Recount Census showed that the overall number of restaurants in the U.S. had declined 1 percent. The number of locations run by independent operators declined by 3 percent while the number of chain units remained flat.

Here are several other noteworthy developments from this year's study:

  • Buffalo Hotel Supply is now listed as BHS.
  • As of Dec. 31, 2016, Instawares officially merged with Supplies on the Fly, which is owned by Sysco. Given that it spent 2016 operating as Instawares, the dealership is listed as such in this year's report.
  • Penn Jersey Paper, or PJP as the company is known, reported overall revenues of $164.9 million for 2016, a significant chunk of which can be attributed to paper and disposables and janitorial and sanitation products. The company's sales across other categories, including heavy and light equipment, smallwares, tabletop and furnishings, totaled $20.59 million, which means PJP remains among the top 100 foodservice equipment and supplies dealers in the country and is represented in the study.
  • PJP also operates 4 Marketplace stores that generated an additional $35.1 million in revenue in 2016.

We hope that you find the information useful and if you have any suggestions about how to improve the study do not hesitate to contact us.

 

2016 Rank COMPANY (‘15 Rank) ANNUAL ES SALES 2016 (in millions) ANNUAL ES SALES 2015 (in millions) Number of Salespeople (inside and outside) BUYING GROUP
1 TriMark USA., S. Attleboro, Mass. (1) H50%, L10%, SW15%, T10%, P/D10%, J3%, F2% $1,513.00 $1,165.00 800 ABC, NexGen, SMA
2 Clark Associates, Inc., Lancaster, Penn. (4) H33%, L19%, SW17%, T8%, P/D14%, J6%, F3% $906.00 $632.45 155 CPG
3 Edward Don & Co., Woodridge, Ill. (2) H26%, L4%, SW23%, T24%, P/D15%, J6%, F2% $848.85 $790.00 335 NexGen
4 The Wasserstrom Co., Columbus, Ohio (3) H35%, L10%, SW25%, T23%, P/D3%, J3%, F1% $652.00 $640.00 315 NexGen
5 The Boelter Companies, Waukesha, Wis. (5) H45%, L1%, SW8%, T25%, P/D18%, J1%, F2% $355.00 $308.00** 202 ABC, NexGen
6 Singer Equipment Co., Elverson, Penn. (6) H56%, L5%, SW10%, T9%, P/D14%, J5%, F1% $293.92 $266.76 103 ABC, NexGen
7 Bargreen-Ellingson, Tacoma, Wash. (7) H20%, L15%, SW24%, T21%, P/D9%, J5%, F6% $255.00 $222.00 214 ABC, NexGen
8 Hockenbergs Equipment & Supply Co., Omaha, Neb. (8) H66%, L15%, SW6%, T4%, P/D4%, J1%, F4% $194.00 $185.00 100 ABC, NexGen
9 Hubert Co., Harrison, Ohio (9) $176.00* $176.00 n/a ABC, IFED
10 Stafford-Smith Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich.  (10) H90%, L10% $160.98 $149.34 59 CPG, ISE, XYZ
11 Mission Restaurant Supply Company, San Antonio (14) H79%, L4%, SW10%, T2%, P/D1%, J1%, F3% $132.47 $112.38 78 CPG, NAFED
12 Central Restaurant Products, Indianapolis (13) H56%, L14%, SW12%, T7%, J3%, F8% $131.00 $116.04 58 ABC, IFED
13 Instawares (Supplies on the Fly), Kennesaw, Ga. (17) H30%, L9%, SW23%, T29%, P/D4%,J4%, F1% $122.00 $108.00 24 SEFA
14 Duray/J.F. Duncan Industries, Downey, Calif. (11) H95%, L5% $121.00 $110.00** 20 CPG
15 Johnson-Lancaster & Assoc. Inc., Clearwater, Fla. (16) H58%, L24%, SW9%, T2%, J2%, F5% $115.50 $108.60 33 SEFA
16 Ace Mart Restaurant Supply, San Antonio (15) H27%, L15%, SW30%, T14%, P/D2%, J4%, F8% $114.64 $111.30 184 ABC, IFED
17 C&T Design & Equipment Co., Indianapolis (12) H78%, L16%, SW3%, F3% $108.50 $121.00 52 SEFA
18 QualServ Solutions, Fort Smith, Ark. (20) H44%, L10%, SW10%, T1%, F35%  $100.77 $87.94** 23 CPG, XYZ
19 KaTom Restaurant Supply, Inc., Kodak, Tenn. (23) H30%, L30%, SW10%, T20%, J5%, F5% $100.44 $70.79 36 ABC, IFED
20 The Sam Tell Companies, Farmingdale, N.Y. (24) H28%, L6%, SW24%, T26%, P/D9%, J4%, F3% $90.55 $69.73 62 ABC, IFED
21 Action Sales, Monterey Park, Calif. (22) H40%, L20%, SW25%, T10%, J3%, F2% $90.30 $77.00 50 SEFA
22 Hotel & Restaurant Supply, Meridian, Miss. (19) H40%, L20%, SW20%, T10%, J5%, F5% $85.33 $82.67 60 ABC, NexGen
23 Concept Services Inc., Austin, Texas (21) $81.20* $79.30* n/a CPG
24 Chefs’ Toys, Fountain Valley, Calif. (25) H27%, L18%, SW33%, T12%, J8%, F2% $79.12 $69.56 68 ABC, IFED
25 Smith & Greene Co., Kent, Wash. (27) H50%, L10%, SW25%, T5%, P/D2%, J3%, F5% $78.50 $58.20 18 SEFA
26 East Bay Restaurant Supply Inc., Oakland, Calif. (26)  $73.72* $68.10* n/a CPG
27 Aydelott Equipment, Centerville, Ohio (28) H30%, SW35%, F35% $63.00 $57.00 13 NONE
28 Atlanta Fixture & Sales Co. Inc., Atlanta (30) H37%, L20%, SW28%, T6%, P/D7%, J1%, F1% $57.95 $52.81 40 ABC, IFED
29 Mobile Fixture & Equipment Co., Mobile, Ala. (31) H50%, L10%, SW20%, T10%, P/D3%, J2%, F5% $56.10 $51.60 41 CPG, XYZ
30 Culinary Depot, Monsey, N.Y. (39) H40%, L20%, SW20%, T10%, J5%, F5% $55.00 $41.00 25 SEFA
31 Great Lakes Hotel Supply Co., Detroit (29) H90%, L10% $54.80 $53.50 10 SEFA
32 Kittredge Foodservice Equipment and Supplies, Agawam, Mass. (32) H54%, L15%, SW15%, T8%, P/D4%, J2%, F2% $48.30 $47.90 35 ABC, IFED
33 Myers Restaurant Supply, Santa Rosa, Calif. (43) H56%, L13%, SW15%, T10%, J1%, F5% $47.20 $36.70 33 SEFA
34 General Hotel and Restaurant Supply, Miami (40) $43.80* $40.30* n/a ABC, IFED
35 Alliance Paper & Foodservice, Franklin Park, Ill. (33)  $43.00 $45.00 14 Pride, SMA
36 Fortier Inc., Conway, Ark. (42)  $41.63* $37.80* n/a NAFED
37 Arizona Restaurant Supply, Tucson, Ariz. (36)  $41.00* $43.00* n/a SEFA
38 Beltram Foodservice Supply, Tampa, Fla. (34) H35%, L15%, SW25%, T5%, P/D3%, J7%, F10% $40.36 $44.99 50 NAFED, CPG
39 Kirby Restaurant Supply, Longview, Texas (54) $40.30* $28.70* N/A SEFA
40 EVI, Glenelg, Md.(--) H85%, L13%, F2% $39.40 $26.23 10 SEFA
41 Best Restaurant Equipment & Design Inc., Columbus, Ohio (35)  $38.88* $44.69 n/a SEFA
42 Calico Industries Inc., Anapolis Junction, Md. (41) $38.78* $38.10* n/a NONE
43 W. West Equipment & Furnishings Co., Denver (45) H90%, L10% $38.36 $33.31 10 SEFA
44 Ford Hotel Supply Co. Inc., St. Louis (37) $36.06* $42.40* n/a ABC, IFED
45 Ashland Equipment Inc. Belcamp, Md. (56) H75%, L25% $35.10 $26.40** 5 SEFA
46 Curtis Restaurant Equipment Inc., Springfield, Ore. (48) H60%, L18%, SW10%, T5%, J2%, F5% $34.64 $31.40 18 ABC, IFED
47 State Restaurant Equipment Co., Las Vegas (46) H10%, L5%, SW24%, T60%, J1% $33.26 $33.23 13 SEFA
48 BHS Foodservice Solutions (Formerly Buffalo Hotel Supply), Amherst, N.Y. (58) H56%, L5%, SW18%, T10%, J1%, F10% $33.00 $26.50 18 ABC, IFED
49 ACityDiscount, Norcross, Ga. (52) H51%, L29%, SW9%, T4%, J1%, F6%  $32.69 $29.28** 17 NAFED
50 Birmingham Restaurant Supply Inc.(BRESCO), Birmingham, Ala. (52) H70%, L10%, SW15%, T4%, F1% $31.80 $28.87 14 ABC, IFED
51 Manning Bros. Food Service Equip. Co. Inc., Athens, Ga. (60) H50%, L20%, SW20%, T3%, P/D2%, J5% $31.00 $25.00 12 SEFA
52 Dykes Foodservice Solutions Inc., Huntsville, Ala. (57) H50%, L10%, SW15%, T10%, J5%, F10% $30.50 $26.20 22 ABC, IFED
53 Rapids Wholesale Equipment, Marion, Iowa (69) H67%, L16%, SW10%, T4%, F3% $29.60 $21.05 27 CPG
54 Kamran & Co. Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif. (47) $29.33* $32.20* n/a Pride
55 Alack Refrigeration Co., Hammond, La. (71) H64%, L6%, SW17%, T5%, P/D1%, J3%, F4% $28.50 $20.70 34 CPG, XYZ
56 Boston Showcase Co., Newton Highlands, Mass. (55) H45%, L15%, SW15%, T15%, J5%, F5% $28.00 $28.00 12 Pride
57 H. Weiss Co., Armonk, N.Y. (51) H40%, L10%, SW23%, T10%, P/D10%, J5%, F2% $28.00 $29.00 15 SEFA
58 Avanti Restaurant Solutions, Costa Mesa, Calif. (65) H70%, L15%, F15% $25.90 $23.44 3 SEFA
59 Amundsen Food Equipment, Oklahoma City (82) H85%, L10%, SW5% $25.28 $16.30 n/a NAFED
60 Restaurant and Store Equipment Co., Salt Lake City (66) $24.90* $23.34* n/a ABC, IFED
61 Burkett Restaurant Equipment, Perryburg, Ohio (59) H58%, L25%, SW5%, T5%, J2%, F5% $24.62 $25.07 11 CPG,XYZ
62 Douglas Equipment, Bluefield, W.V. (80) H75%, L12%, SW7%, T2%, J1%, F3% $24.60 $17.46 21 IFED
63 United Rest. Equipment, Raleigh, N.C. (64) H30%, L10%, SW30%, T10%, P/D5%, J10%, F5% $24.35 $23.62 18 CPG, XYZ
64 B & J-Peerless Food Service Equipment, Kansas City, Kan. (62)  $24.10* $24.10* n/a NAFED, NISSCO RDG
65 Culinex, Fargo, N.D. (68)  H70%, SW21%, P/D.3%, J1.7%, F7% $23.49 $21.06 16 SEFA
66 B&G Restaurant Supply Inc., Pittsfield, Mass. (75) H60%, L10%, SW10%, T12%, P/D1%, J1%, F6% $22.70 $19.60 11 SEFA
67 Trendco, Batavia, Ohio (67) H40%, L7%, SW8%, P/D22%, J20%, F3% $22.65 $23.10 18 EXCELL
68 Cook’s Direct, Warrenville, Ill. (79) H43%, L11%, SW25%, T16%, P/D3%, J2% $22.09 $17.92 5 SEFA
69 International Restaurant Distributors, Apoka, Fla. (70) H65%, L10%, SW11%, T2%, F12% $21.92 $20.76 9 NAFED
70 The Warehouse Store Fixture Company, Waterbury, Conn. (61) H50%, L25%, SW10%, T10%, F5% $21.30 $24.60 6 CPG, XYZ
71 Thompson & Little, Fayetteville, N.C. (76) H62%, L12%, SW11%, T9%, J2%, F4% $21.15 $19.11 16 SEFA
72 Penn Jersey Paper Co., Philadelphia (38)  $20.59 $19.73** 4 SEFA, Network
73 Restaurant Equipment World, Orlando, Fla. (73) H55%, L20%, SW5%, T5%, P/D5%, J5%, F5% $20.20 $19.80 31 SEFA
74 L&M Foodservice, Bullhead City, Ariz. (74)   $19.86 $19.72 11 AFFLINK, Pride
75 Bintz Restaurant Supply, Salt Lake City (84) H48%, L10%, SW20%, T5%, J7%, F10% $18.74 $16.22 15 SEFA
76 Oswalt Restaurant Supply, Oklahoma City (72) H57%, L15%, SW16%, T7%, P/D1%, J2%, F2% $18.40 $19.97 12 SEFA
77 Breckenridge Kitchen Equipment & Design, Huron, Ohio (77) H89%, L9%, F2% $18.13 $18.82 8 SEFA
78 Lone Star Restaurant Supply, Austin, Texas (78) H35%, L20%, SW25%, T18%, F2% $18.00 $18.00 27 SEFA
79 Lace Foodservice Corporation, Miami (--) H70%, L6%, SW4%, T2%, P/D16%, J1%, F1% $17.88 $9.82 6 NAFED
80 Bar Boy Products Co. Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y. (82) H35%, L10%, SW30%, T12%, P/D5%, J3%, F5% $17.25 $16.30 22 NAFED, NISSCO 
81 E. Friedman Associates, Brooklyn, N.Y. (85) H80%, L10%, SW5%, T4%, J1% $17.00 $16.00 6 NAFED
81 Jean’s Restaurant Supply, Corpus Christi, Texas (81) H50%, L10%, SW25%, T5%, J5%, F5% $17.00 $16.63 n/a SEFA
83 Gold Star Products, Oak Park, Mich. (85) H35%, L5%, SW25%, T20%, P/D10%, J3%, F2% $16.50 $16.00 14 Pride
84 Curtis Restaurant Supply, Tulsa, Okla. (96) H46%, L21%, SW22%, T6%, P/D1%, J3%, F1% $16.49 $13.54 10 NAFED
85 Alto-Hartley Inc., Alexandria, Va. (88) H75%, L13%, SW10%, T1%, F1% $16.46 $15.36 9 NAFED
86 Atlas Restaurant Supply, South Bend, Ind. (93) H15%, L15%, SW15%, T15%, P/D25%, J10%, F5% $16.15 $14.24 24 NAFED
87 Dean Supply Co., Cleveland, Ohio (89) $16.10 $15.20 12 SEFA, TUG
88 Horizon Equipment, Eagan, Minn. (92) H68%, L15%, SW12%, J1%, F4% $16.02 $14.65 9 NAFED
89 Economy Restaurant Equipment & Supply Co., San Marcos, Calif. (91) H44%, L28%, SW10%, F18% $15.20 $14.90 11 SEFA
90 Ballentine Equipment Company, Greenville, S.C. (94) H25%, L20%, SW20%, T10%, P/D 5%, J10%, F10% $15.10 $14.15 10 NAFED
91 Serv-U, Champaign, Ill. (90) $15.00* $15.00 n/a SEFA
92 Budget Restaurant Supply, Houston (98) H45%, L10%, SW10%, T10%, P/D5%, J10%, F10% $14.70 $12.80 7 SEFA
93 Harbour Food Service Equipment Inc., Chelsea, Mass. (97) H55%, L11%, SW10%, T16%, J5%, F3% $14.65 $13.25 7 ABC  
94 Eastern Bakers Supply Co., Boston (--) $14.64* $12.02 n/a SEFA
95 Curran-Taylor Inc., Canonsburg, Penn. (95) H71%, L10%, SW15%, T3%, F1% $14.36 $13.83 16 Pride
96 DePalo & Sons, Baltimore (--)  $13.96 $10.50 12 SEFA
97 NOLA Restaurant Supply & Design, Alexandria, La. (87) H65%, L15%, SW10%, T5%, F5% $13.50 $15.80 8 ISE, SEFA
98 FRS Inc, Charleston, S.C. (--) H53%, L11%, SW19%, T8%, P/D1%, J3%, F5% $12.89 $12.66 25 NAFED
99 Hotel Supply Warehouse, Deerfield Beach, Fla. (--) H50%, L15%, SW15%, T10%, J5%, F5% $12.65 $11.10 7 Pride
100 United Restaurant Supply, Colorado Springs, Colo. (--) H40%, L20%, SW15%, T10%, P/D10%, J5% $12.50 $11.70 9 Pride