Sysco is acquiring the Italian foods distributor Greco and Sons, a step in the buyer’s newly announced strategy of bolstering expertise in specific types of cuisine as a way of better serving restaurants that specialize in those fares.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Sysco executives described Greco as a leading distributor in the U.S. of Italian specialty products and pizza supplies. The company noted during its investors’ conference on Thursday that Greco’s founder, Eddie Greco, will remain involved with the operation.
“The acquisition will make us more credible and more relevant within a specific cuisine segment,” Sysco CEO Kevin Hourican told investors.
The addition is part of what Hourican describes as an effort to help Sysco grow sales by helping restaurants build “share of wallet.”
Toward that end, he also sketched out plans to use data and increased sales-force expertise to personalize the company’s sales, marketing and service efforts. By knowing more about a current or potential customer’s business, Sysco can add more establishments as customers and boost the orders of current ones as their sales increase.
Hourican cited the example of making deliveries at the time of day and frequency that a customer prefers, not what fits on a Sysco route schedule.
“We need to make it easier for our customers to get what they want, when they want, through one ordering system,” he said.
Executives said the "personalization" will extend to pricing. Sysco's e-commerce tool, Shop, will show the price of products, taking into count regional variations and any focused promotions. Shop shows exactly what that customer, and perhaps that customer alone, will pay for items, they explained.
The enabler, according to Chief Communications Officer Neil Russell, will be the adoption and use of technology to personalize service, along with a reliance on experts in particular cuisine types.
Hourican said the technology and other strategic steps will be financed through savings from operating more efficiently.
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