March 30, 2009

Sysco Buys Irish Food Distributor

Companies, Finance, Free, Grocery & Foodservice Distribution, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Sysco Corp., Houston, TX, has acquired Irish food distributor Pallas Foods Limited. The acquisition expands Sysco’s international presence.

Pallas Foods has annual revenues of approximately $200 million and employs about 500 associates. Pallas operates its broadline distribution business from its Newcastle West facility supplemented by eight operating depots throughout Ireland.

Sysco sells, markets and distributes food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. The company operates 180 distribution facilities serving more than 400,000 customers. For the fiscal year 2008 that ended June 28, 2008, the company generated more than $37 billion in sales. …

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Survey: Two-thirds of Respondents Will Negotiate More SPAs

Free, Management, Research & Analytics, Sales & Marketing, Strategy, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

A recent industry survey looked at Special Pricing Allowances. According to the survey by Allen Ray Associates and Channel Marketing Group, about a third of distributor respondents have more than 250 individual SPA, customer-defined, agreements. Another 13.6% had more than 100 SPAs.

About two-thirds say that the number of SPAs they negotiate will increase. Just 9.1% feel that they will eventually have fewer SPA agreements.

Distributors in the survey ranked SPAs as a 7.64 on a scale of 1-10 in importance to their current and future profitability.

"SPAs can be a competitive advantage for manufacturers and distributors to take market share when appropriately used," Allen Ray says. "The key is distributors claiming their funds to ensure …

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Barnes Distribution Increases Steel Fasteners Line by 50%

Companies, Fasteners, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Barnes Distribution, North America, a business of Barnes Group Inc. is expanding its stainless steel fasteners product line by nearly 50 percent, adding more than 1,200 new items to its stocked inventory.

The MRO supplies distributor offers more than 750,000 products, including 2,000 in-line stainless steel fasteners, to its customers ranging from food processors to chemical plants to pharmaceutical markets.

New stainless steel items added to the product line include hex head cap screws, socket head cap screws, socket set screws, lock washers and machine screws in standard, fractional and metric sizes. The product expansion also introduces pre-packaged product assortments.

The enhancement to the stainless steel fastener line further expands Barnes’ …

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Canada Industrial Product Price Index Up in February

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

In February, Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) rose 0.4% compared with January, due to both the depreciation of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar and increases in the prices for precious metals and petroleum products, according to Statistics Canada. The Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) advanced 1.7 % compared with January, pushed up by rising crude oil prices.

The IPPI rose 0.4% in February, a modest upturn following the stability in the index in January and the declines of 2.7% and 2.2% recorded in November and December respectively.

Motor vehicles and other transport equipment rose 1.1% as a result of the depreciation of the Canadian dollar in relation to its US counterpart. The prices for primary metal …

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Responding to Delayed Hospital Spending, Cardinal Health Cuts Costs

Free, Management, Pharmaceutical & Health Care, Strategy, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Drug distributor Cardinal Health, Dublin, OH, says that when it spins off its Clinical and Medical Products businesses later this year it will reduce its global workforce by 800 over six months and eliminate an additional 500 positions through normal attrition and not filling open roles. The distributor also plans to implement cost control measures and reductions in discretionary spending.

The actions are in response to a "delay in hospital capital spending" specifically, and the decline in the global economy generally, according a press release.

Cardinal said back in January that the spending delay is only a "temporary concern," according to an article at WSJ.com.

Cardinal Health, Inc. is a $91 billion global …

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New-Home Sales Climb: Has the Market Hit Bottom?

Building Materials/Construction, Economic Trends, Free, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier

For the first time in seven months, the Commerce Department reported that new-home sales increased 4.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 337,000 units. It’s still a long way from where sales were, but Joe Robson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, is taking it as a sign that the market is finally hitting bottom, according to a statement posted to NAHB.org.

One possible contributor to the upswing: Prices finally may be low enough to draw buyers back into the marketplace for new homes. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released on Tuesday, prices for new homes continued to fall in January to lows not seen since 2003 (based on the composite indexes). The 20-city composite index has fallen 19% since January 2008; it …

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March 30, 2009

Sysco Buys Irish Food Distributor

Survey: Two-thirds of Respondents Will Negotiate More SPAs

Barnes Distribution Increases Steel Fasteners Line by 50%

Canada Industrial Product Price Index Up in February

Responding to Delayed Hospital Spending, Cardinal Health Cuts Costs

New-Home Sales Climb: Has the Market Hit Bottom?

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