Rick Cohen of C & S WholesalersRick Cohen
C & S Wholesale Grocers
Without question, Rick Cohen has been responsible for the tremendous growth of C&S Wholesale Grocers to the point where the Keene, N.H., firm is now the second biggest wholesale grocer in America with more than 60 facilities in 14 states and more than 21,000 people on the payroll.
In 2006, Forbes Magazine ranked C&S as the seventh-largest privately held company in the United States. Sales exceed $20 billion, with more than 18 million square feet of warehouse space containing thousands of products for chains, independents, and military bases in many parts of the nation.
Rick joined C&S in 1974 when the company”s sales volume was $14 million. He was the right man at the right time for the company, which was at a crossroads of its business development. C&S has been acknowledged as a “leading edge” company, with innovation a key to its growth, as Rick pushed new strategies grow sales.
Rick’s business cards say he has “Braggingly Happy Customers,” and that claim is confirmed by many retailers. Despite his intelligence and success in steering the business on the right course, Rick is happy to share his success and credits his people for his good fortune.
Rick acknowledges that the vision for his life has been to try to be the best at something: “I always wanted to work with good people and I have a vision for great things. We want to be the best supply company in the world but we have to keep getting better. We don’t want to settle for just being good.”
