About SpartanNash

SpartanNash Company (SpartanNash) operates as a food solutions company that delivers the ingredients for a better life. The company’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to a diverse group of independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and the U.S. military commissaries and exchanges; as well as operating a premier fresh produce distribution network and the Our Family private label brand. SpartanNash serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan. The company owns and operates 144 supermarkets and shares its operational insights to drive solutions for its food retail independent customers. While the company supports overseas commissaries and exchanges, all of its sales and assets are in the United States of America. Segments The company operates through two segments: Wholesale and Retail. Wholesale Wholesale segment uses a multi-channel sales approach to distribute national brand and its own private brand products to independent retailers, national accounts, food service distributors, e-commerce providers, and the company's corporate-owned retail stores. The company’s Wholesale segment also contracts with manufacturers and brokers to distribute a wide variety of grocery products to 160 U.S. military commissaries and over 400 exchanges worldwide. Together with its third-party partner, Coastal Pacific Food Distributors (CPFD), SpartanNash represents the only global delivery solution to service the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA or the Agency). As of the end of 2023, the company is among the five largest wholesale distributors in the nation in terms of annual revenue. The company focuses on growth in its Wholesale segment, through expanded relationships with existing customers, as well as new business opportunities. As of December 30, 2023, the company operated in all 50 states by leveraging a network of 19 distribution centers, in addition to a facility on the West Coast operated by third-party partner, CPFD, as well as internal transportation fleets and third-party shipping partners, servicing the Wholesale segment. The company’s extensive geographic reach drives economies of scale, provides opportunities for independent retailers to purchase products at competitive prices in order to effectively compete in the grocery industry in the long-term. The company's network also includes distribution centers strategically located among the largest concentration of military bases the company serves and near Atlantic ports used to ship grocery products to overseas commissaries and exchanges. The company’s Wholesale segment provides a selection of approximately 90,700 stock-keeping units (SKUs) of national brand and private brand grocery products and perishable food products, including dry groceries, produce, dairy products, meat, delicatessen items, bakery goods, frozen food, and seafood, as well as floral products, general merchandise, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty care products and pharmaceutical products. These product offerings, along with best-in-class services, allow independent retailers the opportunity to support the majority of their operations with a single supplier. The company also provides a comprehensive menu of support services designed to assist independent retailers in becoming more profitable, efficient, competitive, and informed, ranging from real estate and site surveys to a full suite of merchandising, marketing, accounting, and information technology solutions. The company also has a diverse base of national accounts customers, who partner with it to centralize their supply across many product categories, and to leverage its broad geographic reach. The company is also the primary supplier of private brand products to U.S. military commissaries, a partnership with DeCA which began in fiscal 2017. The current contract to provide DeCA with private branded products extends through December 2025. In accordance with its contract with DeCA, the company procures the grocery and related products from various manufacturers and upon receiving customer orders from DeCA, either delivers the products to the U.S. military commissaries itself or engages its worldwide strategic business partner, CPFD, to deliver the products on its behalf. The company is among one of the four largest distributors to the DeCA commissary system, in terms of annual sales, that distributes products via the frequent delivery system. The remaining distributors that supply DeCA tend to be smaller regional and local providers. DeCA operates a chain of 235 commissaries on U.S. military installations across the world that sell grocery products annually. As of December 30, 2023, the company had approximately 250 distribution contracts representing approximately 600 manufacturers that supply products to the DeCA commissary system and various exchange systems. The company’s ten largest Wholesale customers (excluding corporate-owned retail stores) accounted for approximately 40% of total Wholesale net sales for 2023. Approximately 91% of Wholesale net sales to independent retailers and national accounts for 2023 are covered under supply agreements. Retail As of December 30, 2023, this segment operated corporate-owned retail stores and fuel centers in nine states in the Midwest, primarily under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, and D&W Fresh Market. The company’s corporate owned retail stores range in size from approximately 14,000 to 90,000 square feet, or on average, approximately 44,000 square feet per store. The company’s convenience and community-focused strategy distinguishes its corporate-owned retail stores from supercenters and limited assortment stores. This strategy is complemented by e-commerce platforms, including Fast Lane and Groceries to GO, and third-party relationships with DoorDash, Shipt, Instacart Marketplaces, and Uber Eats, which provide online grocery shopping and curbside pickup or delivery at 140 corporate-owned retail locations as of December 30, 2023. These channels are highly valued by customers and continuing to enhance and grow e-commerce platforms is a key component of the company’s strategy. The company continues to make investments to support its online ordering systems, the speed and convenience of curbside pickup, and the efficiency and completeness of order fulfillment. The company’s corporate-owned retail stores offer nationally branded and its private branded, OwnBrands grocery products. These stores also offer perishable food including produce, dairy, meat, delicatessen items, including store prepared grab and go meal options, fresh cut fruits and vegetables, bakery goods, frozen food, and seafood, as well as floral, general merchandise, beverages, health and beauty care and fuel. Sixty-five of the company’s stores contain franchised Starbucks or Caribou Coffee shops, which enhance the customer experience and help to drive traffic. OwnBrands grocery products typically generate higher margins, while also improving customer loyalty by offering quality products at more affordable prices. As of December 30, 2023, the company offered pharmacy services in its corporate-owned retail stores and operated three pharmacy locations not associated with corporate-owned retail locations. The company pharmacy service offerings are an important part of the consumer experience. Most of the company’s pharmacies offer generic drugs and counseling for preventative health and education for its customers. Influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations are available in the pharmacies. Supply Chain Network The company’s Wholesale segment comprises distribution centers, in addition to a facility on the West Coast operated by CPFD. The company warehouses product through approximately 8.9 million square feet of distribution center space. The company operates a diverse fleet of owned and leased transportation equipment, which includes 629 over-the-road tractors, 336 dry vans and 1,213 refrigerated trailers. In addition, the company operates 14 over-the-road tractors, 140 dry vans and 92 refrigerated trailers through short-term rental contracts. The company carefully manages the approximate 65 million miles driven by its fleet and third-party carriers annually servicing military commissaries, exchanges, independent retailers, national accounts and corporate-owned retail stores. The company continued executing against its comprehensive supply chain initiatives while evolving from a state of transformation to one of continuous improvement. The overall initiatives are focused on executing improvements to supply chain operations across the company’s network, which continue to result in sustained efficiencies and cost reductions. The company is investing in its workforce through an expansion of its onboarding, training and career development programs, and is executing several initiatives aimed at improving associate engagement, customer experience and supply chain performance. The company is optimizing its network to enable more effective and efficient operations across the supply chain. The company continues to enhance its inventory management and control practices, while also developing dynamic slotting capabilities to improve order selection efficiency and maximize space utilization. Marketing and Merchandising During 2023, the company continued its customer-led marketing and merchandising transformation. Launched in 2022, the transformation focuses on better engaging retail store shoppers and wholesale customers, using insights to deliver improved omnichannel marketing, promotions, pricing, and assortment. Vendor relationships and customer partnerships were strengthened throughout the year through customer selling shows and expanded partnerships with key suppliers, and also included an enhanced showcase for the company's OwnBrands. The company had its largest and best-selling show in 2023 that included record attendance and sales, in addition to award ceremonies for new customers and vendors. In 2023, the company launched a program related to streamlining assortment and store planograms. This new approach leverages customer loyalty insights and analytics to choose the best assortment and arrangement on shelf for a better shopping experience. The company's OwnBrands have been a particularly important focus to meet the customer and shopper needs. Intellectual Property The company owns valuable intellectual property, including trademarks, trade names, and other proprietary information, some of which are of material importance to its business. Technology In 2023, the company focused on foundational IT hardware and digitization efforts across all business segments, including the continued transition to Software as a Service (SaaS) technology, where production environments are hosted in the cloud. Supply Chain: The company continued its transformational effort to replace existing transportation systems, including standardization of processes and rationalization of disparate systems into a single integrated application stack. Additionally, the company developed process automation improvements, as well as data analytic solutions around workforce productivity. These automation and data analytic initiatives, combined with the workforce investments noted previously, are expected to contribute to improved hiring, retention and productivity. Retail: The company continued taking additional steps to modernize its retail applications footprint, which began in 2021 with a comprehensive effort to upgrade and digitize its point-of-sale (POS) environment. The ongoing upgrade to the POS application includes an integrated feature set which enhances the retail experience both for the company's corporate-owned retail stores and its independent customers. Administrative Systems, Infrastructure and Security: The company has implemented tools to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of internal reporting and administrative functions. A centralized cloud-based data analytics solution was implemented to consolidate the company’s analysis and reporting platforms, which supplies the company with advanced data analytics capabilities to provide better business insights in real-time. Additionally, the company made several enhancements to its foundational hardware infrastructure, including upgrades to the production storage environment and network. Regulation The company is subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations concerning the conduct of its business, including those pertaining to its workforce and the purchase, handling, sale and transportation of its products. Many of the company’s products are subject to federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulation. The company is in compliance, in all material respects, with the FDA, USDA, and other federal, state and local laws and regulations governing its businesses. History The company was founded in 1917. The company was incorporated in 1918. It was formerly known as Spartan Stores, Inc. and changed its name to SpartanNash Company in 2013.