RICHMOND, Va. -- GPM Investments LLC has signed an expanded service agreement with convenience-store and foodservice distributor McLane Co. Inc. covering 42 recently acquired Apple Market convenience stores in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
McLane now services all GPM stores in the mid-Atlantic region including stores in Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania—bringing the total number to 289.
The companies have been in business together since 2003.
Another key factor behind the agreement is McLane’s foodservice solution, McLane Kitchen, which will support GPM’s plan to introduce specialty items such as pizza, sandwiches, salads and the company’s renowned fried chicken that uses high-quality chicken that’s fresh and never frozen. Through McLane Kitchen, GPM also gains access to unique fresh and frozen items alongside specialized foodservice equipment, supplies and training.
McLane Kitchen will work closely with GPM as it implements plan-o-grams and product mixes tailored for each store developed earlier this year at the McLane Center for Category Innovation (CCI), formerly known as the McLane Lab Store.
Stuart Clark, vice president of trade relations and the c-store trade class for McLane, said their ability to consistently support GPM with unique foodservice items and a custom product mix intended to attract local customers has helped GPM successfully expand into new markets.
“We are pleased to be in a position to assist GPM with their recent acquisition of the Apple Market locations,” said Clark. “Our supply chain in these new areas will not only provide GPM with traditional merchandise, but an expanded foodservice offering to ensure they deliver to the consumer the same great experience as its current locations.”
McLane, based in Temple, Texas, is one of the largest supply chain services leaders in the U.S. providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and chain restaurants throughout the United States. It is a wholly owned unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Omaha, Neb.
Richmond, Va.-based GPM is one of the largest privately owned companies in the convenience-store channel of business, operating approximately 670 company stores, as well as more than 100 dealer locations. The company operates or supplies stores in Virginia, South Carolina, Indiana, North Carolina, Delaware, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Connecticut, Maryland, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
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