The Indianapolis Star has a story saying that rather than being for sale as long rumored, Marsh Supermarkets instead is "planning to make its most ambitious moves in years to push back against national retail giants that have been gobbling up market share," with plans "to open as many as 13 new stores by the end of 2018 while updating 52 of the chain's 73 existing stores." And, Marsh CEO Tom O'Boyle says he is interested in acquiring other stores.
"We think we're in position to look for acquisitions to expand the Marsh brand," he tells the Star.
"If O'Boyle's plan comes to fruition, it would be an abrupt pivot for a company that has been closing far more stores than it has opened in recent years," the paper writes. "Marsh opened one store last year, but it also closed eight. It closed four more this year, and O'Boyle acknowledged additional stores could be shuttered."
While some argue that a company that has been struggling and contracting is ill-positioned for the kind of growth that O'Boyle is talking about, especially in the face of growing competition from the likes of Kroger and Meijer, O'Boyle tells the Star that the company's sales-per-square-foot are rising, and that the company is investing in beacon technology, which uses geolocation to target customers, for all of its stores, which reflects a willingness to invest when appropriate.
"We think we're in position to look for acquisitions to expand the Marsh brand," he tells the Star.
"If O'Boyle's plan comes to fruition, it would be an abrupt pivot for a company that has been closing far more stores than it has opened in recent years," the paper writes. "Marsh opened one store last year, but it also closed eight. It closed four more this year, and O'Boyle acknowledged additional stores could be shuttered."
While some argue that a company that has been struggling and contracting is ill-positioned for the kind of growth that O'Boyle is talking about, especially in the face of growing competition from the likes of Kroger and Meijer, O'Boyle tells the Star that the company's sales-per-square-foot are rising, and that the company is investing in beacon technology, which uses geolocation to target customers, for all of its stores, which reflects a willingness to invest when appropriate.
- KC's View:
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I'm not saying that Marsh can't do this ... but it seems to me that before the folks there start planning an expansion, they have to be able to answer the following question...
How are we going to disrupt entrenched and successful ways of doing business?
Because if they can't answer that question ... if they cannot explain in easily understandable terms how they are going to be fundamentally different, as opposed to just incrementally better, then I'd hoard my chips and rethink the whole expansion idea.
