People: Don Marsh

GROCERY KING

He does not believe in complacency. Even though his company, Marsh Supermarkets, based in Indianapolis, generates $1.5 billion in annual sales, Don Marsh, '61, wants to hit $2 billion by 2000. 'Anytime you're satisfied with what you're doing, I think you're going downhill real quick,' says Marsh, a native of Muncie, IN. 'Anything we're doing today I consider obsolete.'

Don began working as a bagger while in high school. During college, his father Ermal died, so he took a year off to run the family grocery business. The business expanded by leaps and bounds after he became president in 1968. Today Don has 14,000 employees in 78 supermarkets, 12 LoBill discount grocery stores and 181 Village Pantry convenience stores. An innovator, he was the world's first retailer to use electronic price scanning, beginning in Troy, OH, in 1974. More recently, Marsh spearheaded the first U.S. retail operation in India--beating out McDonald's. 

What made him so successful? 'Good people, and good organizational structure,' says Don. 'Be cognizant of your customer needs. This industry is totally market-driven.' Don says 'a big help' was provided by MSU, where he majored in food distribution. He explains, 'What really helped me was the opportunity to interact with other retailers. I would recommend MSU to someone going into the business. Two professors, Dr. (Edward) Brand and Dr. Barnett, were especially helpful.'

A believer in always being one step ahead of the competition, Don looks forward to implementing even more innovations for the future--among them, the home delivery of meals, satellite linkage between product managers and buyers, improved catering, both on-premise and off-premise, and day-care for employees. 'This really helps productivity,' he says. His company also launced the Marsh Superstudy--now used as a case study at Harvard. 'Everyone,' he says, 'including the Japanese, are using the information to advance their industry.'