Grocery-delivery firm to shed hundreds of workers at Delanco facility
DELANCO – A grocery-delivery service has disclosed plans to close a distribution center here, ending 446 jobs.
Misfits Market Inc. will shut its Coopertown Road facility on April 8, said company spokesman Ken Shuman.
Cutbacks follow an acquisition
He said the closing was prompted by Misfits Market’s acquisition last year of a similar firm, Imperfect Foods.
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A “consolidation strategy” will focus on smaller fulfillment centers based on Imperfect Foods’ driver network, Shuman said.
“As tough as this decision was, we believe this will positively impact our customer experience,” he said.
The new approach also will help to streamline operations and reduce costs and waste, Shuman said in a statement Thursday.
Emphasis on sustainability
According to its website, Delanco-based Misfits Markets offers produce and other items shunned by traditional retailers due to imperfections, like size and shape, that don’t affect quality.
That approach helps customers reduce food waste and build “a more sustainable future,” the website says.
Misfits Market, launched in the Philadelphia area almost five years ago, has employees in nearly 30 states, Shuman said.
“In the coming months, we will be adding hundreds of jobs across our other five facilities as we shift fulfillment and continue to grow,” he predicted.
“Consumers are ordering more products and larger boxes compared to this time last year,” Shuman said.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Misfits Market says distribution center shutdown will bring layoffs
