An independent crop input retail chain in western Saskatchewan is set to become part of agrifood firm J.R. Simplot’s retail arm.
Simplot announced Nov. 15 it has a deal in place to buy G-Mac’s AgTeam, which owns and operates 15 outlets in the region, for an undisclosed sum.
The deal, which will see the G-Mac’s stores rebrand as Simplot Grower Solutions outlets, is expected to close in January, Simplot said. G-Mac’s 100-odd employees, including over 40 crop advisors, would then become Simplot staff.
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The G-Mac’s banner dates back to 2000, when founders Garth and Gayle McDonald bought the former Phoenix Ag outlets at Kindersley, Plenty and Eatonia.
G-Mac’s, headquartered at Kindersley, has since gradually acquired other sites across the region, at Brock, Elrose, Hamlin, Leader, Lucky Lake, Marengo, Milden and Rosetown. In 2020 it bought the Cavalier Agrow business, with sites at Meota, Meadow Lake, Medstead and Spiritwood.
G-Mac’s was also a founding partner of the GROW Community of Independents, which has since morphed into WinField United Canada, providing wholesale products, distribution and other services to independent ag retailers across the country.
Better known in Canada for potato processing and fertilizer distribution, Idaho-based Simplot has also been expanding its retail market share across North America since rebranding its Simplot Soilbuilders business as Simplot Grower Solutions (SGS) in 2002.
Among other acquisitions, it bought sites at Pincher Creek and Cardston in southwestern Alberta in 2017 and the Pinnacle Agriculture business across the U.S. Midwest and South in 2020. The latter deal roughly doubled SGS’s North American network to over 230 stores and made it the third-biggest ag input retailer in the U.S. alone.
G-Mac’s “is an exciting addition to the Simplot team and I look forward to seeing our continued support of the excellent agronomic services, innovation, and customer relationships that these locations and employees have built over the years,” Doug Stone, president of Simplot’s AgriBusiness group, said in the company’s release Nov. 15. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
