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Buehler's Fresh Foods looking to grow, diversifyAug 13, 2011 (The Akron Beacon Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- For 82 years, Buehler's Fresh Foods has focused mainly on being a regional family-owned grocer, serving medium-size cities such as Medina, Wadsworth and Wooster to the west of Akron and Canton. But the Wooster-based company of 2,500 employees is diversified well beyond groceries and is eyeing expansion while undergoing management changes that the family hopes will assure a strong presence in its markets. The family's 13 grocery stores populate communities in Medina, Stark and Wayne counties and such far-flung cities as Delaware and Cochocton near Columbus. Since the 1980s, the company also has owned and operated six Ace Hardware stores, which are attached to the grocery stores. The company also started and branded the Scenic River Coffee Co., operated in kiosks at some of its stores and recently opened as a stand-alone venture at Medina Hospital. On another front, the company is in negotiations to sell its pharmacies. And for the first time in 82 years, the Buehlers are looking to someone outside the family to run the day-to-day grocery operations so the family can concentrate on expanding existing and new opportunities. "It's a big change for us," said company President Dan Buehler. "But we felt it was the right time to diversify." Said Bob Buehler, who is vice president of marketing and merchandise and Dan's cousin: "We want to stick to our core strength, which is customer service. By separating everything, we're free to look at businesses we've never looked at before to own, invest or run different franchises." The company is interested in further diversifying while continuing to expand and operate its current businesses, he said. "The groceries are still our bread and butter," Bob Buehler said. Buehler Food Markets was founded by Helen and Ed Buehler. The couple opened the first store in New Philadelphia in 1929. The company now is run by third-generation family members. The second generation of Gene and Don Buehler retired in the late 1990s but the brothers are still on the board of directors. Now running the company are Gene's two sons and Don's three sons, known as "the Buehler Boys." The company's main competitors are Akron-based Acme, along with Meijer and Kroger in some areas and Giant Eagle, which is its biggest competitor, said Bob Buehler. Buehler's is known for its fresh perishables, which come from many local farmers, as well as two visits a week by a company buyer to the Amish auctions, said Bob Buehler. "We hang our hat on our produce. We have the freshest, best quality we can get. It's one of the reasons people come to us," he said. The company's bakeries also are "all-scratch" units, while many competitors have moved to buying some components of baked goods, he said. The company's customer service initiatives include a pickup lane, where groceries are loaded into cars. Four stores have coupled the pick-up lane with online shopping, allowing customers to place orders on the Internet, then pay for and receive the groceries in the pickup lane. Management changes The reach outside the family for leadership expanded dramatically this year. The longtime Chief Financial Officer is Ron Ocasek, who is not a family member. But the Buehlers added two others from outside the family to its now nine-member board of directors, a move designed to help the family as it looks at expansion into other opportunities, said Roger Buehler, director of operations. And the "really big deal" for the family was the hiring in July of Dan Shanahan as the new chief operating officer. Shanahan, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., is the first person outside the family to run the grocery stores. said Bob Buehler. It wasn't an easy decision, he said. "We wrestled with it for a long time. This is two years coming, but we needed somebody with the skills who understood a family business." Shanahan worked for his father in their family-owned franchise grocery store company. When the company's franchise was sold, he continued to work for the company in the United States and Asia. Shanahan's responsibilities were previously held by a number of the Buehler brothers, but mostly President Dan Buehler and Vice President Roger Buehler. Looking from the outside, Tom Jackson, president of the Ohio Grocers Association, said the hiring was a good move. "I think it may be a good idea for a company to bring in someone from the outside, perhaps with some new slants, new innovation, some new ideas and a fresh set of eyes and energy to the organization," Jackson said. The Buehlers are an outstanding grocery family, he added. "Don and Gene Buehler laid the groundwork for one fabulous company and their sons and daughters are doing a great job of carrying out an outstanding tradition in the grocery industry," Jackson said. Jackson said it is not unusual for a family business like Buehler's to diversify beyond groceries. In fact, Jackson said, he knows of several other independent grocers who own other businesses, such as Ace Hardware stores. Buehler's is privately owned and management declined to share any sales figures. Expansion opportunities The Buehlers are moving Shanahan into day-to-day management of the grocery stores so that they can explore new opportunities, said Roger Buehler. Asked whether they have any interest in Summit County and specifically the proposed Portage Crossing Shopping Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Chief Financial Officer Ocasek said the company is always looking at expansion opportunities. However, he said this part of Ohio is saturated with grocery stores, which is part of the reason the family is looking at diversification. Dan Buehler said he will concentrate on growth opportunities internally and with existing business partners while Roger Buehler will explore new opportunities. They said they will explore all opportunities but most likely will stay in retail. One of those opportunities will include stand-alone Ace Hardware stores, thus moving beyond the stores attached to groceries. The partnership with Ace has been a good fit and the hardware chain has grown in recent years, catering to a group of customers different from those at the "big-box" home improvement stores. The Ace stores have typically catered to the consumer doing small remodeling projects with high-end customer service, but business with contractors has increased, too, said Bob Buehler. "They're smaller stores, so people can get in and out in a hurry. The employees are knowledgeable. You walk in with a bolt and there's someone who can be there to help with the personal attention and customer service," Buehler said. Through its Ace Hardware Stores, Buehler's has developed relationships with name-brand product lines, including Benjamin Moore paints. The company also is expanding its offering of Craftsman tools -- a Sears product -- and the Delaware store is a Stihl equipment dealer. Bob Buehler said the company will be focusing first on expanding its Ace Hardware stores in all areas rather than adding grocery outlets. The most recent Buehler's grocery stores in the Greater Akron area were in Jackson Township and Brunswick in 2007. The Jackson Township store is in an underserved area that the Buehlers said they had been watching for 10 years, and Brunswick provided an opportunity when the former Tops chain went out of business. The company looked at other Tops locations, but purchased only the one, he said. No family pass While the third generation now runs the business and a fourth generation is in the wings, there are no job guarantees, Bob Buehler said. "They cannot come into the business directly. They have to work elsewhere after college," he said. The first of the fourth generation to join the business is Rich Fishburn, whose mother is Scott and Dan Buehler's sister. Fishburn is in the management training program. "We don't want to just give them a job. We hope to continue to the fourth generation, but they need to qualify," Bob Buehler said. "It's important in a family business that the business comes first. If you take care of the business, the business will take care of the family." Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or [email protected] To see more of the Akron Beacon Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ohio.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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