Topco Associates recently held its Annual Membership Conference, during which the cooperative provided updates, including that American Foods International and Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) have become members.
American Foods International, headquartered in Miami, serves independent retailers throughout the Caribbean, Latin America and South Florida.
It has joined as a full member, participating in dairy/commercial bakery; deli-bakery-foodservice; frozen; grocery; HBC and GM; indirect spend; meat and seafood; and produce and floral. Frank Stanzione is the organization’s president and CEO.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, AWG operates as a retailer-owned wholesaler with 1,100 member companies that distributes to more than 3,400 stores across 33 states, including a few Topco members.
Led by President and CEO Dan Funk, AWG joined Topco as a full member in deli-bakery-foodservice; HBC and GM; indirect spend and produce and floral programs.
“We’re excited to partner with both organizations, and their joining of Topco shows the continued importance of independent grocers partnering together to be successful,” said Topco President and CEO Randy Skoda.
“In addition, their active participation will strengthen the membership’s total go-to-market strategy with improved sourcing opportunities and new and unique perspectives based on their business models.”
The Topco cooperative stands at 48 member-owners.
In other news, Big Y Foods Inc. President and CEO Michael D’Amour was appointed vice chairman of Topco’s board of directors.
D’Amour is the grandson of Big Y co-founder Paul D’Amour and son of Donald D’Amour. He began working in various supermarket roles as a teenager before beginning his full-time career at Big Y in 1996. He also serves on the board of FMI – The Food Industry Association.
Big Y has been a member of Topco since 1991. D’Amour has served as a member of the operations team for the last 20 years.
He joins Topco’s Chairman of the Board Steve Smith, who was appointed to his position last year. Smith is president and CEO of K-VA-T Foods Stores.
“I’m honored to serve as the vice chairman of the Topco Board of Directors, assisting Steve in guiding the company as we continue to navigate an ever-evolving grocery retail landscape,” D’Amour said. “I look forward to collaborating with the membership on key initiatives and continuing the work of our strategic vision for the cooperative.”
Topco 2025 Board of Directors
The board includes:
- David Rice, Associated Food Stores;
- Brian George, Alex Lee;
- Todd Schnuck, Schnuck Markets;
- John Persons, Northeast Grocery;
- Chris Coborn, Coborn’s;
- Steve Smith, K-VA-T Food Stores;
- Michael D’Amour, Big Y Foods;
- Pete Van Helden, Stater Bros. Markets;
- Jeremy Gosch, Hy-Vee;
- Randy Skoda, Topco Associates;
- Brad Brookshire, Brookshire Holdings; and
- Tony B. Sarsam; SpartanNash
Topco 2025 Operations Team
The team includes:
- Kim Gray, Schnuck Markets Inc.;
- Dan Glei, K-VA-T Food Stores Inc.;
- Rebecca Calvin, Stater Bros. Markets;
- Mike Ferguson, Topco Associates;
- Lucas Glasgow, Hy-Vee;
- Bennett Morgan, SpartanNash Co.;
- Mark McGowan, C&S Wholesale Grocers;
- Nick Albrecht, The Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Co.;
- Michael Cormier, Big Y Foods;
- Jeff Culhane, Northeast Grocery;
- Randy Arceneaux, Affiliated Foods;
- David Best, Coborn’s;
- Jerry LeClair, Brookshire Holdings;
- Roger White, Associated Foods Stores;
- Chuck Alexander, Alex Lee Inc./MDI; and
- Bob Gleeson, Weis Markets
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