Roundy's

Roundy's Supermarkets
Formerly
  • Smith, Roundy & Co. (1872–1970)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail (Grocery)
Founded1872 (152 years ago) (1872)
Founders
Headquarters
Number of locations
151
Area served
Wisconsin and Illinois
ProductsBakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks
RevenueUS$ 3.5 billion (2021)
Number of employees
14,000 (2021)
ParentKroger
Divisions
Websitewww.roundys.com Edit this at Wikidata

Roundy's Supermarkets (also known as Roundy's) is an American supermarket operator. It owns and operates stores under the names of Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, and Mariano's Fresh Market. The chain is a subsidiary of Kroger. Roundy's operates[when?] 149 supermarkets and 107 pharmacies throughout the states of Wisconsin and Illinois.[1] Based on fiscal year 2012 sales, Roundy's was the 37th largest grocery store chain[2] and the 89th largest retailer in the United States.[3] As of December 2015, Roundy's became a subsidiary of Kroger of Cincinnati, Ohio.[4]

Roundy's is known historically as a wholesale supplier to independent retailers.[5] It operates food production facilities in Kenosha and other locations and has two main distribution centers in Mazomanie and Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on February 8, 2012,[6] and ceased trading on December 18, 2015, when it became a subsidiary of Kroger.[4]

History

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Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Company building in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward

The company was founded in 1872 in Milwaukee as Smith, Roundy & Co. by William E. Smith, Judson Roundy and Sidney Hauxhurst.[7] In 1942, the company purchased Clark & Host coffee roasting company from Charles Clark.[8]

Roundy's was a major warehouse distributor to non-company supermarkets, including IGA, but it moved out of the wholesale market to focus on retail.[9]

Roundy's was taken private in 2002 through purchase by the Chicago private-equity firm Willis Stein & Partners.[10]

Roundy's took the company public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2012, posting an initial share price of $8.50 per share.[11]

Beginning in 2002, the CEO of the corporation was Robert "Chairman Bob" Mariano,[7] who had been the CEO of Dominick's prior to Dominick's sale to Safeway in 1998.[12]

On December 2, 2013, Roundy's and Mariano announced it would purchase 11 Dominick's stores to rebrand them as Mariano's, after Safeway finished closing the chain early in 2014.[13]

On November 11, 2015, Roundy's announced its sale to Kroger, a deal valued at $800 million including debt, which was completed on December 18, 2015.[4] Following completion of the sale, Roundy's retained its headquarters in Milwaukee.[14] It was suggested that Kroger primarily was interested in the Mariano's division, which allowed Kroger to enter the Chicago market for the first time. Underlining this, Kroger normally doesn’t acquire chains in financial difficulty; the Roundy's divisions in Wisconsin had been, and continue to be, in decline.

The sale of Roundy's to Cincinnati-based Kroger, about two years after Safeway shut down its Chicago-based Dominick's supermarket chain, selling many of the stores to other operators, was a matter discussed in the regional business press.[15]

CEO Bob Mariano retired on September 1, 2016.[16]

Banners and brands

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A Pick 'n Save in Milwaukee

Roundy's includes three front-facing brands and one former brand while Roundy's is used mainly as a private label brand.

  • Pick 'n Save stores are warehouse food store concept in 1975, but over time with the decline of former competitor Kohl's Food Stores under its A&P ownership and major changes to Piggly Wiggly, now operates as a traditional supermarket chain.
  • Metro Market, a smaller-store concept, launched in 2004, prevalent in the Milwaukee and Madison markets, mainly competing with Sendik's, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market.
  • Mariano's Fresh Market, the same concept as Metro Market in the Chicago market; named for former Roundy's CEO "Chairman" Bob Mariano. Mariano's was launched in 2010.
  • Copps Food Centers was acquired by Roundy's in 2001. Several attempts were made to convert those stores to the Pick 'n Save name under Roundy's ownership, which were generally unsuccessful and scattered due to customer sentiment against the rebranding. Kroger finally completed the rebranding of Copps locations to Pick 'n Save in 2017.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc". LinkedIn. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Top 75 Retailers & Wholesalers". supermarketnews.com. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Schulz, David P. (June 26, 2012). "Top 100 Retailers 2012". NRF.com. Washington, DC: National Retail Federation (NRF). Retrieved February 10, 2017. See also the attached listing to that article.
  4. ^ a b c Taschler, Joe (December 18, 2015). "Kroger Completes Acquisition of Roundy's". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 25, 2006.
  5. ^ Plunkett, Jack W. (2008). Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac. Plunkett Research, Ltd. ISBN 978-1-59392-139-2.
  6. ^ "Roundy's, Inc. - Investor FAQs". corporate-ir.net. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Content, Thomas (April 10, 2002). "Chicago firm to buy Roundy's". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 01. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via NewsBank.
  8. ^ Janik, Erika (2012). Odd Wisconsin: Amusing, Perplexing, and Unlikely Stories from Wisconsin's Past. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-87020-383-1.
  9. ^ Hajewski, Doris (March 25, 2007). "Industry Experts Say Roundy's Likely Will End Up With Another Private-Equity Firm". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Gallun, Alby (April 10, 2002). "Willis Stein picks up Roundy's". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  11. ^ Cowan, Lynn. "Roundy's trading up 3.5% after cutting IPO price". Market Watch. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  12. ^ Daykin, Tom (March 19, 2003). "Roundy's ends fiscal year with higher sales, profits". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 03. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via NewsBank.
  13. ^ Maidenberg, Micah; Sweeney, Brigid; Murphy, H. Lee (December 2, 2013). "Mariano's Buys 11 Dominick's, Whole Foods Said to be Buying 7". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  14. ^ Taschler, Joe; Romell, Rick (November 11, 2015). "Kroger to buy Pick 'n Save Parent Roundy's in $800 Million Deal". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  15. ^ Hajewski, Doris (March 25, 2007). "Industry Experts Say Roundy's Likely Will End Up With Another Private-Equity Firm". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  16. ^ Trotter, Greg (July 12, 2016). "Bob Mariano To Retire as Roundy's CEO But Will Help as Adviser". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "The Buzz: Copps says goodbye". Post-Crescent Media. Retrieved November 26, 2017.

Further reading

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