Associated Wholesale Grocers

Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) is the second-largest retailer-owned grocery wholesaler in the United States, after Wakefern Food Corporation. The cooperative serves over 1,900 stores in 21 states with a complete assortment of grocery, fresh meat, fresh produce, specialty foods, health care, and general merchandise items. Through an extensive distribution network and eight distribution centers, AWG and its subsidiaries deliver to over 2,500 retail outlets in 24 states. It was founded in 1924 as Associated Grocers of Kansas City and is based in Kansas City, Kansas. Associated Wholesale Grocers distributes three brands of grocery products, Best Choice, Clearly Organic and Always Save.

AWG provides its retail members, many of them family-owned businesses, with assistance in establishing a strategic position in their marketplace that builds upon their unique strengths. AWG's procurement and marketing departments are positioned to assist members in developing plans to excel in virtually any effort, and resources are structured to provide support services that allow members the best opportunity to win at retail.

AWG has been distributing success since 1924 and sales have grown steadily since then. As in previous decades, sales continue to rise – from $4.95 billion in 2006 to $7.25 billion in 2010. Also in 2010, sales of AWG’s private label products reached the $1 billion mark for the first time.

History

In 2007, AWG acquired its newest distribution center in Fort Worth, Texas. This facility is AWG’s largest, at 1.1 million square feet, and serves members in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Also, AWG built a new, state-of-the-art distribution center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Having outgrown the previous warehouse, AWG built this 800,000 square foot facility to better serve its members in Oklahoma, northern Texas, and southern Kansas.

In 2009, AWG acquired Affiliated Foods Southwest.[1]

In 2011, AWG broke ground on its newest division in Pearl River, Louisiana. The new Gulf Coast Division will provide great accessibility and low cost delivery of groceries to independent retailers in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

In 2013 AWG was the only bidder for Belle Foods a Birmingham, Alabama based grocery store chain. The US Bankruptcy Court Judge of Northern Alabama will decide to accept or reject the Associated Wholesale Grocers bid of $16.1 million.[2]

In 2014 AWG acquired the Dahl's Foods chain based out of Des Moines, Iowa, that had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[3] AWG converted the Dahl's stores it acquired to the Price Chopper and Cash Saver banners in March 2015.[4]

Store concepts

Selected members

References

  1. ↑ Affiliated Southwest in Bankruptcy; AWG Buys Assets
  2. ↑ AWG is a Lone Bidder for Belle Foods; The Associated Grocers could have several new stores
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Rantala, Jason (2015-03-31). "Last Dahl's stores becoming Price Chopper, Cash Saver". KCCI.

External links