Marsh Supermarkets - History

History

Founded in 1931 in Muncie, the company went public in 1953 and has since grown to 97 locations. Of the 97 locations, 69 are marketed as Marsh Supermarkets, 3 are O’Malia’s Market and 25 are the MainStreet Market banner. The company's founder, Ermal Marsh, was able to hold together his first store throughout the Great Depression and World War II. After the war ended, Ermal expanded his store into "Marsh Foodliners" and created the first supermarket in Muncie. In 1952, Ermal had built the first warehouse distribution center for Marsh Supermarkets in Yorktown, Indiana. Within that same year, Marsh stores also introduced their own popular brand of ice cream. In 1953 when the company went public, Ermal had an operation of sixteen Marsh Supermarkets. In August 1959 a horrific plane crash near the city of Logansport, Indiana took the life of Ermal Marsh. Estel Marsh, Ermal's brother, was then given the title of president of the company.

Adapting to a rising trend, Marsh Supermarkets decided to open a new wave of convenience stores across Indiana. In 1966, the very first Village Pantry store and gas station was opened.

In 1968 as Marsh Supermarkets continued to grow, Estel Marsh was promoted to Chairman of the Board. This promotion cleared the way for Don Marsh, the then thirty year old son of Ermal Marsh, to step forward as the new president. As president, Don was able to be a front-runner in Marsh's progression and adaptation to new technologies.

One of Marsh's most distinguishing features has been its innovation and early adoption of retail technology. On June 26, 1974, a Marsh location in Troy, Ohio, became the first grocery store in the world to use a bar code scanner. The first item scanned was a ten piece pack of gum.

Other endeavors undertaken by Marsh Supermarkets would include the 1995 release of the Marsh Fresh IDEA Card. This card would allow the customer to access several coupons instantly and electronically. Also, Marsh Fresh Express gave way to grocery home delivery. Through Marsh Fresh Express, a customer can buy their groceries over the phone or internet.

In 1991, major changes came to Marsh Supermarkets. The company headquarters moved to a new location along Interstate 69 in Indianapolis. Marsh also released a new plan to re-format the stores, known as the "Supermarket of the Future" campaign. This new format made Marsh Supermarket stores open 24 hours, seven days a week. Also, a full service pharmacy was implemented, along with a help yourself style food court which contained food items ranging from salads to sushi, as well as a bagel shop and espresso bar. In store banks were also installed, as well as Fielding's Playhouse for toddlers, a New York Style Pizzeria, and an ATA travel center. The new policy seemed to implement the area it inhabited, the crossroads of America.

Marsh Supermarkets today relies heavily on their "Fresh" standard of goods and services. Marsh made attempts to expand their Indiana-Ohio market to other areas such as Chicago, but were driven out by larger competition. As competition mounted and growth slowed, Marsh Supermarkets in 2005 began to explore the option of being purchased. In 2006, Sun Capital purchased their very first Supermarket chain and made Marsh Supermarkets a private company.