Commentary From Our Chairman / CEO
Whatever Happened to Fleming?
By Mike Sleeper, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Distributors, Inc.
There’s been a business frenzy in the Southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania marketplace with the closure of two Fleming distribution centers, the grocery warehouse in New Jersey and the non-food warehouse in Pennsylvania .
Distributors from New England , New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been hitting the solicitation trail to fill the void and gain considerable incremental business. With flat sales for most of us last year, it’s no wonder that this new opportunity was met with such gusto.
In the melee, there’s been hardly time to reconcile the incredible fact that the largest grocery wholesaler in the country reached such a state of collapse.
I remember many years ago attending a Harvard Business School class with a few of my key managers to sit in on a case study written about Imperial. It was an HBS classic, profiling a small company trying to survive in a world of tough competition. What a strange change of events to see, a few decades later, a giant like Fleming with an outlook so bleak.
Although Fleming was not even in the New England market back then, by strange coincidence, Fleming did surface at the business school. A student showing extraordinary insight into the supermarket business and even an unusual understanding of non-foods – was contributing heavily in the case discussion. His name – FLEMING.
Although not an unusual name in New England , I wondered if he had any connection with the wholesale grocer. And when I asked him, he answered that he was indeed a member of this proud family from Kansas . My thoughts at the time projected a different future. This great wholesaler was headed for many impressive years, backed by a bright young family member getting a first-rate education. And I must admit, I wondered how Imperial would ever find a place among giants like Fleming.
And now, sadly, the once great wholesaler is in a state of dissolution. It is barely breathing and on the verge of selling to a strategic buyer or perhaps even liquidating. And while we along with other distributors are battling to pick up the pieces, in the back of my mind, I wonder what went wrong? Was management to blame? Did they overreach? Was Kmart a last ditch effort? Did Wal-Mart cripple or devour too many of Fleming core customers? Whatever happened to Fleming???
For comments or questions, E-mail: msleeper@imperialdistributors.com