- Market Basket
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For the New England grocery store chain, see DeMoulas/Market Basket.
Market Basket Industry Retail Founded 1962 Number of locations 34 Products supermarkets Employees 2,200 Website MarketBasketFoods.com Market Basket is a supermarket chain that serves southeast Texas and Louisiana. Formed in 1962, the grocer now operates 34 Market Basket stores and four Lucky Seven conventional supermarkets and employs 2,200 associates. It is headquartered in Nederland, Texas.
History
Johnnie Alford, Ed Hughes, Howard Hatfield, Roy Theriot and Bruce Thompson founded Market Basket in early 1962. Each was an independent grocer, owning one store each. The five grocers joined together in order to keep advertising costs low and pool their purchasing power. Three of the grocers remained one-supermarket operators while Hughes and Thompson formed a 50-50 corporation for joint expansion.
Thompson and Hughes bought four stores as partners in the 1960s. During the early 70’s they obtained former A&P, Kroger and Weingarten's stores in Lake Charles, Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange. In 1983, Bruce Thompson purchased Hughes’ interest in their jointly held corporation.
During the 1980s, two new stores were constructed, and the chain grew with the acquisition of 14 more stores formerly operated by Piggly Wiggly, Safeway, Theriot’s, Winn-Dixie, and Weingarten's.
The next decade saw Market Basket begin an extensive remodeling and expansion program for half of the chain. More stores in the 90’s were acquired, including four Cash and Carry locations and three AppleTree stores. The Mauriceville location was replaced with a newly constructed store during this time.
During the summer of 2001, the company purchased two Hughes Market Basket stores, in Port Arthur and Nederland. In 2002, the grocer purchased two Price-Lo stores in Vidor and DeRidder. Stanley’s in Leesville and Pair’s in Winnie were added, as well.
During the 1980s, several supermarkets in Southern California operated under the Market Basket branding. The stores were reverted to the Boys Markets branding, after acquiring the chain. Boys Markets was acquired by the Yucaipa Companies in 1989. When Yucaipa acquired Ralphs, the Boys brand disappeared.
External links
Categories:- Companies established in 1962
- Supermarkets of the United States
- Companies based in Texas
- Retail company stubs
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