JSI Store Fixtures

The Business

JSI Store Fixtures, Inc. (www.jsistorefixtures.com) is a Milo, Maine-based designer and manufacturer of high-quality refrigerated and non-refrigerated wood merchandising displays for the supermarket industry. JSI’s products are designed to showcase “fresh” merchandise in the produce, bakery, floral, wine and other high-traffic sections of the store perimeter. The Company’s merchandising displays are widely used by North America’s most recognizable and successful supermarket, grocery and food retail chains. JSI has established itself as an innovator and leader within its niche, with commanding market shares in its primary product categories.

The Industry

JSI serves the supermarket industry, one of the only retail channels not significantly affected by economic downturns. More importantly, JSI sells fixtures and displays used in the highest traffic and most profitable departments along the store perimeter, where the impact of displays strongly influences consumer purchasing behavior. These characteristics have driven supermarkets to continuously expand and enhance the store perimeter to create competitive differentiation and remain at the forefront of merchandising trends.

The Process

Prestwick Partners initiated this transaction and acted as the exclusive financial advisor to JSI and Champlain Capital Partners (Boston, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California). Prestwick designed an M&A process, prepared marketing materials, evaluated acquisition proposals and negotiated the transaction with RFE Investment Partners, a New Canaan, Connecticut-based private equity group and MTN Capital Partners, a New York, New York-based private equity group. Prestwick’s process included both domestic and international strategic acquirers as well as private equity groups.