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Fergus, Ont. is exactly 120 km north - west from the offices of Canadian Grocer in downtown Toronto -- barely an hour's drive if the traffic is in your favor, which isn't very often. Here in the rolling farmlands of Wellington county, Old Order Mennonites can be seen trundling down the back - roads in their horse - and - buggies past farmhouses constructed from locally - hewn limestone. The streets in Fergus have names like St. Andrew and Breadalbane as a testament to the Scottish settlers who arrived here in the early 1800s. It was also here that 29 years ago, Merlen Kropf opened L&M Food Markets Ltd., a 7,000 sq. ft. store, which was formerly a Steinberg's, located in a garage.
Today, from his wood - panelled office, the walls festooned with scores of awards, trophies and autographed mementos, Kropf oversees an operation that includes nine stores, all located in towns of fewer than 10,000 people and all within 25 kilometres of each other. Travelling from one to the other -- as he does "at least three or four times a week" means a 250 - km loop along the highways and byways of southern Ontario until smack on the main street of each town, or as near as possible to it, you see a phalanx of crisp white flags, emblazoned with the red L&M logo snapping sharply in the breeze in front of the stores.
Although operating a nine - store chain with 285 employees single - handedly creates some logistical challenges, most can be handled by telephone. Certain stores have their own managers, who have the autonomy to look after their own stock - ordering. One exception is in the meat department where meat merchandiser David Fach handles ordering for all nine stores. The Knechtel Corp., which is his main supplier (he was a 13 - per cent owner until the company was sold to Oshawa Foods) provides on - call supervisors who act as consultants as needed.
Merlen Kropf was an early starter in the grocery business. He left the family farm at age 14 to work as a stock - boy at Zehrs, in Kitchener, which was then owned by a cousin. (Zehrmart Inc., now owned by Loblaw...