Industry Wholesale Distributor Website afstores.com Founded 1940 | Revenue US$1.6 billion (2007) Number of employees 1,400 Type of business Retailers' cooperative | |
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Key people Neal Berube
CEO & President Headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | ||
Associated Food Stores is an American retailers cooperative that supplies about 500 independently owned retail supermarkets throughout Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, and Wyoming.
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Description
The headquarters for Associated Foods is located at 1850 N 2100 West in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The company's President and CEO is Neal Berube. It reported over US$1.6 billion (equivalent to $1.848 billion in 2016) in sales during fiscal year 2007 and is currently the fifty-sixth largest grocery retailer in the country by volume with 23% of its total sales coming from its corporate stores.
History
Associated Food Stores was founded in 1940 by Donald P. Lloyd, president of the Utah Retail Grocers Association along with 34 Utah retailers. Concerned with effect that large corporate stores would have on small independent retailers, he felt the only way these small businesses could survive is if they united and faced the competition as one, therefore increasing their collective buying power. He convinced 34 stores to donate $300 (equivalent to $5,129 in 2016) to help build an independent and "associated" warehouse.
In 2009, Associated Food Stores purchased 34 Albertsons stores in Utah from Supervalu Inc. The stores were renamed Associated Fresh Market (more commonly known as just "Fresh Market") and focus on fresh produce and meat. At the end of October 2010, 3 stores were closed due to poor performances. Since then, five additional Fresh Market stores have closed, leaving them with a total of 26 as of early 2012. Despite the challenges incurred with the take over of the Albertson's stores in Utah, as of late 2014, Associated Food Stores was still acquiring additional Albertson's and Safeway stores in Montana and Wyoming.
Corporate Stores
As well as supplying independent grocers, Associated Food Stores also owns several corporate stores under five different names. Fresh Market, Macey's, Lin's, Dick's Market, and Dan's (all in Utah Except for one Lin's in Overton, Nevada) are all owned and operated by Associated Food Stores. It was reported in 2007 that 23% of the company's total sales came from its corporate stores.
Other Stores
Popular stores owned and/or supplied by Associated Food Stores:
Western Family
Associated Food Stores is a primary distributor of the popular store brand Western Family owned by Western Family Foods. This also includes Better Buy, Shurfine, Shursavings, and Marketchoice brands.