How Sysco, US Foods and Performance Were Formed
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Commercial Appeal] - April 13, 2015 -
Sysco: John Baugh’s Zero Foods Co. of Houston and eight other food wholesalers were merged in 1969 to form Systems and Services Co. Led by Baugh, the company acquired rivals, including divisions of Sara Lee Corp.’s Monarch Foods, to become the nation’s leading food distributor by 1981.
A growth-by-acquisition strategy continued, including Asian Foods Inc. of Minnesota, the nation’s largest Asian food distributor. Renamed Sysco, the Houston vendor presently has 400,000 clients. Annual sales surpass $48 billion.
US Foods: US Foods Inc. is now the nation’s No. 2 food distributor. US Foods originated as Monarch Foods of Chicago in 1853 and was acquired in 1946 by Consolidated Foods, later a unit of Sara Lee Corp. A 1989 executive-led buyout created JP Foodservice, which bought Southeastern wholesaler Rykoff-Sexton. JP was renamed US Foodservice and in 2011 renamed US Foods. Annual sales top $20 billion.The Rosemont, Illinois, company has 250,000 clients following purchases the last five years of rivals including Glover Wholesale Co. of Americus, Georgia.
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