Fortune International buying Morey’s St. Louis, Kansas City operations

Midwestern U.S. supplier Fortune International will officially purchase the St. Louis and Kansas City operations of Morey's Seafood International – a Golden Valley, Minnesota-based branded seafood products provider and distributor – on 1 April, the Bensenville, Illinois-based company announced on 28 March.

The acquisition will serve to expand Fortune International’s Fortune Fish & Gourmet brand with additional processing and distribution facilities, Fortune said in a press release. The merged facilities will allow the brand to increase its service level and footprint across current markets, the company added.

Fortune will continue to conduct business out of Morey’s St. Louis facility, it said, with the location scheduled to be transitioned over to supplier’s state-of-the-art inventory management system in the next two months. 

According to Fortune President and CEO Sean J. O’Scannlain, the company is looking forward to bringing the talents of a former competitor under its wing. 

“As we grow as a company, we continue to look for the right people to facilitate that growth. We have competed with the strong Morey’s team in the Missouri market for several years and we are looking forward to bringing them into the Fortune family,” O’Scannlain said.

Morey’s St. Louis was purchased by Morey’s Seafood International in 1999 from The Fresh Fish Company. The business has serviced retailers, restaurants, clubs, and military facilities for 20 years, and was eventually rebranded as Fortune Fish & Gourmet, with Scott Medill, the general manager of Morey’s St. Louis, hired by Fortune International as the vice president and general manager of Fortune Fish & Gourmet’s St. Louis and Kansas City operations.

The 1 April purchase involves only the St. Louis and Kansas City operations of Morey’s Seafood International, Fortune said; it does not include Morey’s Minnesota-based manufacturing or distribution operations.

“This is a beneficial and strategic move for both of our companies, and our team in Missouri. It will bring some stability to a fiercely competitive market in and around Missouri and will set the stage for growth well into the future there,” said Jim Walstrom, CEO and president of Morey’s Seafood International. 

Fortune International embarked upon an acquisition strategy in 2012. The Morey’s acquisition follows the acquisition of JDY Gourmet in 2012, the Chef Martin Old World Butcher Shop acquisition in 2014, the Coastal Seafoods acquisition in 2016 and the Lobster Gram acquisition in 2017.

Fortune International is the parent company operating Fortune Fish & Gourmet in Bensenville, Illinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fortune Imports; Chef Martin’s Old World Butcher Shop; Coastal Seafoods retail stores; and Lobster Gram.