Raley's Supermarkets (also known as Raley's Family of Fine Stores) is a privately held, family-owned supermarket chain that operates stores under the Raley's, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source names in northern California and Nevada. The company was founded in 1935 by Thomas P. Raley in Placerville, and employs around 12,000 workers as of 2016. Headquartered in West Sacramento, California, Raley's is the dominant supermarket operator in the Sacramento metropolitan area.
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History
The company was founded on February 16, 1935 by Thomas P. Raley in Placerville, CA as Raley's Drive-In Market. Raley ran the company until his death on December 27, 1991, at the age of 88. Raley's purchased Bel Air Markets in 1993 and Nob Hill Foods in 1997, and started Food Source in 1995.
In 1998, the company had revenue of $2.5 billion. In June 1999, Albertson's announced plans to sell its 19 stores in Las Vegas to Raley's, which also planned to purchase eight Albertson's stores in New Mexico. For five years, Raley's had been searching for ways to expand the company, with specific interest in the Las Vegas and Salt Lake City markets. At the time, Raley's was the 38th largest supermarket chain in the United States, with 150 stores, including Bel Air Markets, Food Source and Nob Hill Foods. The company had 17,500 employees across its four divisions. Raley's opened its Las Vegas stores later in 1999, and had plans to build additional locations in the Las Vegas area.
At the time, Michael Teel - the grandson of Thomas Raley - was the company's president and chief executive officer (CEO). Joyce Teel, the mother of Michael Teel, was the company's owner. William J. Coyne, the company's first general counsel, became the chief operating officer in February 2002. Michael Teel resigned as president in April 2002, to pursue "personal endeavors." Coyne replaced Teel as president.
In September 2002, Kroger announced plans to purchase Raley's 18 store locations in Las Vegas, with intentions of converting them into Smith's and Food 4 Less stores. Raley's stated that slow growth and local competition were reasons for selling the stores. The revenue from the sale was to be used to build and renovate stores in Reno, Nevada and northern California. The Federal Trade Commission approved the sale in November 2002. Raley's stores in Las Vegas began closing later that month. As of November 2009, three Raley's supermarkets had been awarded Greenchill Partnership Gold-Level Certification by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for environmentally friendly refrigeration technology.
As of 2012, Raley's operates 128 stores, 40 of them in the Greater Sacramento area. Those stores control the city's largest market share: 28%, down from 30% in 2007 and 34% in 2003, according to Metro Market Studies of Tucson, Arizona. By comparison, other local market shares are Safeway at 16.7%, Costco at 11.9% and Save Mart Supermarkets at 9.2%. However, the company is suffering from increased competition in the region as well as the poor economy, and had more than 150 corporate layoffs in 2011 and closed several stores in 2012. Supermarket News ranked Raley's No. 38 in the 2009 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2008-09 fiscal year estimated sales of $3.4 billion, but for 2012 ranked Raley's at No. 45, down slightly from 2009, with sales, also down slightly, of an estimated $3.0 billion. Consumer Reports surveys rank Raley's among the top U.S. supermarket chains, in particular for customer service. The same holds true for 2012, although the chain has fallen from number 4 nationwide in 2009 to number 8.
Thomas Raley's family still controlled the company as of 2015. His daughter and son-in-law, Joyce Raley Teel and James Teel, are co-chairs of the board of directors, while their son Michael is president and CEO. Michael Teel became the majority shareholder in mid-2015. Keith Knopf was named Raley's chief operating officer on June 1, 2015. Knopf has worked with May Co. Department Stores and Kohl's retail chain in the past.
As of 2016, Raley's also operates Aisle 1 brand gas stations. Raley Field, home of the Sacramento RiverCats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, is located in West Sacramento and is named after the chain.
Maps Raley's Supermarkets
Notes
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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