"We Need to work Together"

From VANEEpedia

As a co-owner of a company with the not-so-subtle tag line “The Idea People”, it makes sense that Don Morton Jr. would have some thoughts about what’s going on in the industry. With his experience, it also isn’t surprising that they make so much sense. (Bio below.

What is the impact of the recession on foodservice? In foodservice, when we lose a sale, we lose it forever. For example, if there’s a snow storm, an auto dealer might say to me “I haven’t sold a car all week.” To me, that’s meaningless. The person who was going to buy a car the week before is still going to. The customer who was going to come in for breakfast on Monday got her meal somewhere else. If customers can’t go out to eat because the roads are messy or schools are closed, we can never get that business again. It’s a loss forever.

Any solutions come to mind? All trading partners in the industry have to concentrate on getting people into the restaurants like we have never done before. Instead of just focusing on our individual profitability, we need to work together on this. Let’s think outside the box and really open our minds to find solutions. We need to think about what we’re spending our money on and find ways to get people into the restaurants. For instance, instead of making a flier, why not do a promotion where you reward brokers with gift cards to a restaurant your firm is promoting?

What is a challenge you deal with as a broker? One of the things that we live by at Morton and Associates is that we want to be operator-focused and distributor-friendly. In the long term that is the best way to go to market, but short term that can cause frustration and conflict between us and customers. If I could change anything about this industry, I would improve the channel between the customer and the product. As salespeople you feel that if your customer wants to buy something you should feel like your job is done, but it’s often just the beginning. If an operator likes a product, it should be easy to get it to the customers.

Are there any opportunities for growth? We often get too wrapped up in the commercial side of the industry. Right now, the organic growth is happening on the noncommercial side. Health care, schools, and industrial cafeterias -- those groups are doing pretty well. They’re not making up for the decline in the commercial segment, but the noncommercial is going to continue growing. Unfortunately, prisons and rehab facilities grow in recession times. At Morton and Associates we’re really fine tuning our bid process and making sure we are capturing any pieces of business that is available and that we are efficient in that market.

Edie Hayden is your Regional Sales Manager. What have you learned from her? Edie is great. She has unbelievable tenacity. Our whole sales force talks about that and what we can learn from that. Also, of the regional sales managers I know, Edie is probably the most knowledgeable about her competitors’ products.

What would you tell someone who wanted to open a restaurant right now? Firstly, to open a restaurant you have to be well capitalized. You have to have the money to stay open long enough to make your business plan come true. A lot of restaurant owners have good business plans, and when they punch the numbers it makes sense, but they don’t have the money to stay open long enough to be successful.

Secondly, operators generally need to invest more in the front of house operations. Operators often spend too much time trying to save a nickel on a case. The time they could spend on menu development would pay off greater than trying to source cheaper products.

About Don Morton, Jr.

Don Morton Jr. grew up cleaning warehouses, sorting files and assisting his father, Don Morton Sr., at foodshows. “People often ask how long I have worked in the industry. I always joke that I’ve been getting paid for 23 years.” His first memory of the industry is of the first year his father started the business. “Our family was poor the first year. He put all of the money back into the business. I remember eating a lot of samples for dinner.” So when Don attended the University of Oregon to study business, chemistry and computer science, he had decided that foodservice was not the career for him. But when his girlfriend decided to attend law school in Seattle, he had a change of heart. He quit his job managing a chain of photo finishing stores, “Quik Pic”, and moved with her. “When he found out I was moving to Seattle, he offered me a position with the company. He wanted me to open a new territory in Washington.” That was 1986. Today, Don, his sister Donelle and his brother Dave run the business. And that girlfriend he moved to Seattle for? They are married and living in Portland. Morton and Associates represent Vanee Foods in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

About Morton and Associates

Contact: (503) 691-1331, DonJr@foodservice-brokers.com

Owners: Dave, Donell and Don Morton

Address: 7478 SW Coho Court, Tualatin, OR 97052

Years with Vanee: Since September 2003

Areas: The company has offices in Oregon, Alaska and Washington. They also do some business in Idaho.