SpartanNash Strengthens Food Distribution, Merchandising Teams
Food solutions company SpartanNash has added Greg Crane as VP, finance – food distribution. Crane will be finance business partner to Bennett Morgan, SVP and chief merchandising officer, and support the food distribution leadership team.
Crane’s role, effective June 6, includes leadership over budgeting, forecasting, monthly results analysis, and risk and opportunity assessment activities for the food distribution business. He will also provide thought leadership and financial guidance on both broad strategic initiatives and day-to-day opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce the company's operating expenses.
For the first quarter ending April 23, SpartanNash reported that operating expenses were $422.4 million, or 15.3% of net sales, compared with last year's $387.8 million, or 14.6% of net sales. The increase in expenses as a rate of sales was due to higher costs in retail stores and supply chain labor, increased fuel prices, higher incentive compensation, and costs related to shareholder activism. Within the food distribution and military segments, the increased supply chain labor costs were partly offset by supply chain efficiencies realized from the supply chain transformation initiative.
Crane, a registered CPA, brings to his new role more than 15 years of financial and operational experience, with skills in financial management, strategic and financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and performance optimization. Most recently, he was CFO of GHSP Inc. Before that, he spent nearly six years at Wolverine World Wide in a variety of financial and leadership positions. Crane earned an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and an undergraduate degree in finance and accounting from Miami University.
“Our finance department is critical to the success of the company’s mission to deliver the ingredients for a better life,” said Jason Monaco, EVP and CFO of SpartanNash. “We’re excited to welcome Greg to our team. His experience leading high-performing teams and developing strategies to improve financial performance and growth will help us achieve our earnings targets and contribute to SpartanNash’s operational excellence.”
SpartanNash reported a 4% increase in net sales in its recent first quarter, reaching $2.76 billion. However, the company experienced a slight dip in net earnings compared with the prior year’s quarter, from $19.5 million to $19.3 million. SpartanNash is scheduled to hold a pivotal shareholder meeting on June 9.
SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 41 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Djibouti. SpartanNash also operates 145 supermarkets and employs 17,500 associates.
