T
he late Paul Reese was the “Michael Jordan of salesmen,” according to his sons, Larry and Darrell Reese. As Larry recalls, “One of things he always said is, ‘Things don’t just happen. You’ve got to make them happen.’ And that’s the key to our business—we don’t sit back and wait for stuff to happen. We make it happen.” Larry jokes but is serious when he says that the Reese Group likes to be “the first-est with the most-est,” and that philosophy has played out in the business many times over the years. For example, when the Reese Group began calling on the military in the early 1980s, it became the first civilian broker to call on that segment. “We were a pioneer as far as being a civilian broker,” says Larry, who got off active duty “One of the major keys to our success as a U.S. Army colonel in has been controlled, profitable growth. 1975 and serves as presiWe own several of our office buildings dent of the Reese Group’s and have no long-term debt—an essential Military Division. “All element to be a long-term successful sales and military brokers up until that time were marketing organization.” only military. They —Darrell Reese didn’t have any other affiliation with the civilian trade. When we started the Military Division we were the only regular civilian broker for years that called on the regular civilian trade that also covered worldwide military.” Adds Darrell, company president, “In the brokerage business, when everybody started consolidating in the mid- to late-’90s, the Military Division gave us the avenue of business that no other broker had. That gave us a way to say, ‘hey, we can survive this onslaught of all the brokers combining and all the consolidation in the food industry. We can survive it.’ That was one of the keys to us being able to say we could make it. It was a big deal.” Additionally, the company went after the organic and craft beer trades early, before “they were popular,” according to the brothers, and began presenting gluten-free items to buyers before “gluten free” became a mainstream term. “We started selling organics, especially in the military, before it was cool,” says Larry. “We looked at organics and knew it was not a fad—that it was just going to get bigger and bigger. We, I’d say, are the strongest organic broker that calls on DeCA (Defense Commissary Agency).” In 2013 the Reese Group created its Tobacco, Wine and Spirits Division, which began selling wine, Tennessee whisky and Kentucky bourbons within its Military Division. “Now we’re selling—to grocery stores across the country—wine and champagne and some spirits,” says Larry. “That has been a big boon for us, too. Then our tobacco division has done very well at several big retailers.” Darrell notes, “Brokers weren’t really into tobacco, wine and spirits, and it was one of those things where we’re saying, ‘OK, how can we increase our income?’ It’s one of those things that we try to do every year—ask ourselves how we can increase our income—so we were thinking outside the box. Literally, we started this Tobacco, Wine and Spirits Division from scratch, and now we’re going to do $150 million four years later in that division.” “We joke around that we can help you get healthy with all the organics that we sell, but we
also can help you have a good time,” says Larry, mentioning that the company sells a “huge variety of products”–everything from Cold Steel knives and MoonPies to cigarettes and Horizon organic eggs. “We’ve always tried to be in on that new thing,” he says, noting that the company’s knack for spotting that “next big thing” can partly be credited to he and Darrell being avid readers. “That’s the difference between us and most other brokers: we’re going to go after that new thing. We’re going to go after that artisan distillery. We’re going to go after these little companies that’ll probably be bought out by the likes of P&G in five years for $500 million. That’s the kind of stuff that we’ve done, and that’s one of the Darrell Reese reasons we’ve been successful. “We’re also not afraid to go pioneer a line, and the big brokers won’t do that,” he adds. For instance, when the company had only a handful of offices in the early ’90s, it chose to specialize in regional brands and family-owned companies—such as Red Gold Tomatoes, Allen Vegetables and Paramount Pickles. “As we grew and expanded, we then aggressively interviewed for nationally known brands such as Amy’s Kitchen, Green Giant, Fresh Express, Goya, Arizona Tea, Mt. Olive Pickles, Fiora paper, Gorton’s Seafood, Idahoan potatoes, Bumble Bee, Knouse and Schwan’s, just to name a few,” says Darrell. Larry reveals, “Our attitude was if you get 10 small ones, you’ve got one big one. We went after people like Larry Reese Tony Chachere’s, MoonPie—we went after a lot of these Southern brands—Dale’s Seasoning. We went after some of those that have great products and tremendous customer loyalty. And if you take five or six of those companies like we’ve got right there, then all of a sudden you’ve got a good income.” Darrell agrees. “I think we have always been very aggressive and not afraid to take chances. We are always looking for new streams of revenue and have had aggressive but controlled profitable growth. We also have always looked for major trends (organic/natural, dollar, wine/spirits/tobacco) and got ahead of the curve in launching them in all classes of trade.”
But… it’s all about ‘our people’
Both Larry and Darrell are quick to tout the company’s dedicated employees and its loyal clients for its growth and success. “I think a lot of people make rocket science out of business about keeping your people and growing your company,” says Darrell. “I think it is relatively simple: pay your people well and treat them as you would want to be treated. Always tell them the absolute truth. Your reputation is everything and, when you’ve lost that, you’ve lost everything—including your
page_23-24-25-26.indd 24
• 1 9 40 run
• 1 9 Kin
• 2 0 Gro
• 2 0 Fle Kan off
• 20
• 2 0 Tex
• 20
• 2 0 of b OT bus fiel
• 2 0 in I
• 2 0 Car off
Paul R Darre
—David Smith, president and CEO, Associated Wholesale Grocers
—Ray Harrison, VP-center store, category management, Brookshire Grocery Co.
• 19
Please see page 26
“The Reese Group has been a company I have known and worked with throughout my entire career. Going back to the ’70s and ’80s while I was running stores, they’ve been a great partner to the independent grocer. It was Paul Reese, then Darrell and Larry, and their entire retail team that were out there selling products and helping retailers compete. In many ways they are a lot like the retailer-members of our cooperative. They are independent, they are a family business, they are tenacious and have survived and thrived despite heightened competition, and they understand how to differentiate themselves in a positive way from their competitors. Overall they’ve figured it out and have became a top regional broker that covers the entire AWG trade area and more. We are mighty proud of them and their many years of success.”
“Congratulations to the Reese Group on this major milestone in their company’s history. Over the years, Brookshire Grocery Co. has partnered with the Reese Group with many sales initiatives, and they have always provided great service. The Reese Group has supported BGC as our company has grown, and we are proud to offer our customers the wide variety of items that they represent. All of us at BGC wish the Reese Group continued success in the years to come.”
Th
Fun Facts About Larry and Darrell Reese
• Both are Eagle Scouts.
• Larry has been married for 45 years, Darrell for 32. • L arry and Darrell each have four children, with the eldest “being ready to take our company into the third generation,” according to the brothers. • S even consecutive generations of their family have served in the U.S. military. • L arry and Darrell are loyal Tennessee Volunteers football fans.
10/11/16 4:42 PM