Business Spotlight: Damaged, not Destroyed

The death of a leader – and in this case, a husband, father and father-in-law – is never easy.

Following the 2012 death of Bob Nelson – a former racer and flagman at the Bolivar Speedway, who purchased the racetrack months before his death – it’s a new era for the family that owns and operates the longstanding north-side damaged-goods grocery and retail center he co-founded 34 years ago. It’s an era that’s now being cemented with metal and studs, just west of the 2743 W. Kearney St. business, home of the last 26 years.

Nelson launched Greene County Damaged Freight and Food Sales Inc. with his wife, Mary Jane Nelson, across from Great Southern Bank on West Kearney in 1981, after learning he could receive discounted trailers of damaged goods from the old Frisco train line. These days, Mary Jane runs the store with her son, Russell Nelson, daughter Nancy Heape and son-in-law Spike Heape.

Selling freezer foods, bread, soda and boxed dinners, to laundry detergent, medicine and home decor, the business generated nearly $4 million in 2014 sales. Some items have damaged packaging, some are discontinued or significantly discounted as part of a larger load, and others are typical items sold at Wal-Mart or Price Cutter designed to put shoppers in aisles.

“Often, we don’t order anything,” Nancy says.

“Truckloads of things become available, and you just take what’s on the list.”

Under roof
The owners are building a 30,000-square-foot, $1.5 million retail center on family-owned land expected to be open by the end of the year. The new building will give the business 12,500 square feet of retail space, 12,500 square feet for storage and 5,000 square feet for offices and a break room.

“We’ll be all under one roof, so it will be a lot nicer,” Nancy says, noting another 9 acres on the new site could be developed later.

Currently, they have 8,000 square feet for retail and offices, and about 10,000 square feet of storage space on the back end of the property.

“We have to go up and down the alley with a forklift in the winter time,” Spike says.

After Bob’s death – following a six-year battle with lung cancer – Russell says the family crunched the numbers and the expense to build on the family’s land nearly equals its current lease rates.

Nancy says revenue has maxed out in recent years, and added space gives the business new life.

“Sometimes, you hit a plateau,” she says. “We had hit a crossroads, and it was either build or sell out. I was talking with mom one day, and I said ‘If we sold out, could you live with 20 people losing their jobs?’ And she said, ‘No.’ And I said, ‘Neither can I.’”  

Supply side
The company has a network of local suppliers and a handful of larger stores outside of the Springfield area for product sourcing. The owners say a majority of their time is spent collecting loads to receive and sell on the floor.

“The money is made at the desk,” Mary Jane says.

The owners are always looking for the next deal, Nancy says, and sources typically are closely guarded.

“We do business with people in Arkansas, Minnesota, Illinois, Oklahoma – I have a guy from Texas coming in on Wednesday. A lot of times when they come to us with a deal, they won’t even tell me where it comes from because they don’t want to give up their sources,” Nancy says.

Regular vendors and suppliers include Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co., Hiland Dairy and cigarette supplier Douglas Cos. Inc.

Mark Melton, owner of Springfield meat company Packers Distributing Co., says he’s worked with Greene County Damaged Freight for around 30 years.

Most often, Packers serves as a supplier, but sometimes it stores product for Greene County Damaged Freight or partners on a truckload from an outside distributor. For Packers, which regularly distributes over 7,000 items across a four-state region, the Nelsons and Heapes are not typical customers.

“Not only have we sold them merchandise, but we’ve bought merchandise from Bob, Mary Jane, Russell and Nancy throughout the years. We’ve freighted stuff for them,” Melton says. “We’ve co-brokered merchandise throughout the years and split loads throughout the years.”

He says Greene County Damaged Freight buys grocery items weekly.  

“If I have items that are getting ready to go out of date, they’ve always been good to try to move that stuff out the door,” he says.  

Melton declined to disclose sales volumes but said only a fraction of his business comes from Greene County Damaged Freight.

“If they get a good deal, they’re not going to try and get rich. They want to turn the almighty dollar, live comfortable and go on,” Melton says.

Longtime vendor Kathy Mallonee, a sales manager with Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co., says Greene County Damaged Freight regularly picks up discounted items such as dented cans or 12 packs with ripped cardboard.

“It’s usually a 12-pack carton that got wet or was caught by a forklift. There are always things that happen when you’re dealing with product,” Mallonee says.

She says roughly half of its sales to Greene County Damaged Freight come from undamaged bottles sold in cases.

“They buy regular items, too,” Mallonee says. “When I go in and ask for a merchandising spot, they are more than willing to be helpful.”

Melton says the new store is overdue.

“They’ve needed to do this for a long time, and I’m excited for them,” he says.

As for the racetrack, the family is willing to deal.

“Let’s put it this way, we’ve got 31 acres of prime Bolivar real estate,” Mary Jane says.