The Cohen family controls the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the United States, C&S Wholesale Grocers. Founded by Israel Cohen and Abraham Siegel in 1918, it began as a small grocery distribution center in Worcester, Massachusetts, and now supplies more than 14,000 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with over 140,000 different products.
Known as an industry leader in supply chain innovation, according to Forbes’ 2018 list of America’s largest private companies, C&S’s revenue last year was $27 billion, placing it tenth overall. Aside from wholesale operations, the Cohens also dabble in retail, having bought and sold a number of franchises since they first moved into the supermarket business by buying the Grand Union chain in 2001.
Today, Richard B. (Rick) Cohen is estimated to be worth $11 billion, having taken over the business as the sole owner when his father Lester retired in 1989. In 2003, he moved the company’s headquarters to Keene, New Hampshire, with a focus on efficiency and the formation of self-managed teams. He has three children with his wife Jan, is a director of the Food Marketing Institute and a founder of Symbotic, LLC, which produces an automated storage and retrieval system for dry goods, and which is used by C&S and other large retailers.
