FEDA News & Views

26 FEDA News & Views it will help them accomplish their goal, we try to work with them. I think Keith touched on this when he spoke at the FEDA conference." Keith, as in Central's Chief Marketing Officer Keith Kidwell, called it "coming from a place of yes" during a speech he delivered as assistant chair of the 2017 FEDA Convention in San Antonio. "Listening is becoming a lost art," he said, "and making the effort to truly understand where someone is coming from is even rarer." Currently sitting at No. 13 on FE&S' 2018 Distribution Giants List, Indianapolis-based Central has become one of the country's top distributors by connecting with customers on multiple sales channels, while offering a CURRENTLY SITTING AT NO. 13 ON FE&S' 2018 DISTRIBUTION GIANTS LIST, CENTRAL RESTAURANT PRODUCTS HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE IT OPENED ITS DOORS IN 1981. IN ADDITION TO A THRIVING CATALOG BUSINESS AND CALL CENTER OPERATION, THE DISTRIBUTOR HAS ITS OWN PRIVATE LABEL, WHICH HAS EXPANDED "FROM NOTHING TO SEVERAL MILLION IN REFRIGERATION," SAYS ITS CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER KEITH KIDWELL. CENTRAL ALSO HAS ITS OWN PRIVATE LABEL ICE MACHINE, REACH-IN, PIZZA PREP TABLES AND BAR EQUIPMENT LINES. diversified line of products and services. Quick to make the point that "Central does not want to be a manufacturer," Kidwell says the desire to offer its base even more options—without stepping on toes—is what led the company to turn to its refrigeration manufacturers for help in starting a private label nearly eight years ago. "Our customers, and increased competition, were dictating the need for a more price- sensitive unit so we wanted an exclusive or semi-exclusive product with no or low competition," he says. "is would allow us to meet the price point they were asking for, and enjoy higher margins without resorting to cutting services to cut costs." Sweetening the pot, Central also offered to commit a $1 million investment in inventory, prior to making any sales. Most swatted away the proposition, Kidwell thinks, out of fear of cannibalizing existing lines. But, the Legacy Companies Vice President Teresa Asbury listened. "I happened to be sitting next to her during an industry event and we started talking," recalls Kidwell, noting that the two companies had never done business before. "I asked if they would be willing to be the private label supplier for us in specific product categories of refrigeration. She said she could and would give me specs, pricing and lead times. When most folks tell you something like that, it means you may never see it, and if you do, it takes

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