Speaking at a recent ICSC conference in Chicago, representatives from Marsh's said the company is looking for further expansion opportunities in the Midwest. The supermarket typically looks for boxes ranging from 45,000 sf to 65,000 sf, or six acres to develop, located in an income bracket of $90,000 or higher.

The company also recently announced its appointment of John C. Elbin as chief financial officer. Prior to accepting the position, Elbin was for four years vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and board member for Lilly Industries Inc., the Indianapolis-based specialty chemical company. He also served for 16 years in several management positions for Pet Inc., an international packaged-food company headquartered in St. Louis, and was chief financial officer for five years.

For the 13-week fourth quarter ended April 2, 2005, Marsh reported total revenues of $419 million compared to $376 million for the 12-week quarter last year. Retail sales in comparable supermarkets and convenience stores were above last year by 3.1%. Comparable store merchandise sales, which exclude gasoline sales, increased 1.8% from last year. Total revenues were about $1.8 billion for the 53-week 2005 fiscal year compared to just under $1.7 billion for the 52 week 2004 fiscal year.