KEENE – C&S Wholesale Grocers suffered a major economic blow with the loss of the parent company of Hannaford and Stop & Shop.

That parent company, the Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize USA, plans to develop its own distribution system. Their other U.S. supermarket brands include Food Lion, Giant Food and Giant/Martin’s. Their other holdings include Peapod, an online grocery delivery service.

Ahold Delhaize has worked with C&S for 30 years.

“C&S is uniquely positioned for the long term,” chairman Rick Cohen said in a company statement. “We have a strong leadership team with some of the best industry veterans, an expanding footprint in key geographic areas, innovative technology solutions that enhance the consumer experience, and the most cost-efficient products and services in the market. We are confident about our future.”

Ahold Delhaize will purchase three C&S warehouses, one in Chester, New York, and two in York, Pennsylvania. It will also take over the lease on a fourth but to clarify, C&S has stated that these transactions are for the real estate only.

C&S is the nation’s largest grocery wholesale supply company and the 10th largest privately-owned company in the U.S.

According to Forbes magazine, C&S listed their annual revenue at $27 billion, and is an industry leader in supply chain innovation.

Founded by Israel Cohen and Abraham Siegel in 1918 in Worcester, Massachusetts, C&S began as a small grocery distribution center in a three-story building on Winter Street. In 1929 the original building flooded, prompting a move to a new, larger location on Hygeia Street. In the 1940s, as the popularity of supermarkets grew, C&S made several improvements to their distribution process including a warehouse “roller system” and staffing trucks with one employee who acts as driver and salesman, thus cutting delivery costs in half.

C&S now services customers of all sizes, supplying more than 7,700 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with nearly 140K different products.

C&S customers have included Safeway Inc., Winn-Dixie, Target Corporation, and independent store/supermarket owner/operators.

Recently, Cohen said that C&S will continue with “business as usual” and has no intention of changing its footprint in the region, where it employs more than 15,000 people.

“The pace of change in grocery continues to accelerate and C&S is well-positioned to support our retail partners, bringing value and innovation to their operations,” said CEO C&S Mike Duffy in a statement. “That has been our trademark for more than 100 years and continues to drive the way we work every day.”