Harbor Wholesale and Rich and Rhine Wholesale Enter into Agreement to Explore Potential Partnership
The Northwest’s top two independent convenience distributors are exploring a merger between their successful family-owned companies. Justin Erickson, CEO of Harbor Foods Group states, “After several discussions with Robert Krupp (Chairman at Rich & Rhine), we realized that our vision for the convenience industry and strong values-based leadership were well aligned towards common future goals and opportunities. We share a common passion for building an organization where our team members can be successful while being 100% focused on our customers’ success.”
Harbor Wholesale operates distribution centers in Lacey, WA and Roseburg, OR. The partnership with Rich & Rhine would provide Harbor with an opportunity to establish a Portland, OR “hub” to service the more densely populated markets in NW Oregon and SW Washington. Robert Krupp states, “As we continued down the path of successfully growing our business, we realized that substantial capital investment would be necessary to support our customers’ expansion into foodservice, fresh foods, branded programs, and new technologies. Our partnership with Harbor would allow us to accomplish these goals by leveraging Harbor’s existing infrastructure in a number of these areas.”
Rich & Rhine and Harbor would conduct business as usual with Rich & Rhine operated independently and led by the current leadership team, including Ron Squires as President. Erickson states, “In our 98 years of doing business, we’ve found only one true competitive advantage in this industry: our people. We look forward to collaborating with the Rich & Rhine team so our collective knowledge, experience, and creativity can explore new and innovative ways to serve our customers better than ever.”
The combined companies would serve nearly 4,000 independent retailers throughout the Northwest. The collective buying power of the combined businesses would bring new opportunities for customers to enhance their profitability while enjoying the service they’ve come to expect from the excellent people representing Rich & Rhine and Harbor.
