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Grocery Outlet company history timeline

1946

In 1946 our founder Jim Read opened the doors to his first military surplus store.

1970

In 1970, Cannery Sales acquired Globe of California and renamed it Canned Foods.

1971

In 1971 Canned Foods signed its first agreement with a supplier, Del Monte Foods.

1973

Canned Foods opened its first independent store in Redmond, Oregon, in 1973.

1982

Following founder James Read's death in 1982, his sons Steven and Peter took over company management.

1987

In 1987, the company was renamed Grocery Outlet.

1995

Grocery Outlet’s 100th store opened in 1995.

2001

In 2001, Grocery Outlet acquired all remaining liquidated inventories of Webvan following the online grocery delivery service’s bankruptcy.

2002

In 2002, the company changed its corporate name to Grocery Outlet, Inc.

2003

Grocery Outlet purchased 16 Yes!Less grocery stores in Texas and another in Shreveport, Louisiana from Dallas, Texas-based Fleming Cos. in January 2003.

2006

The company promoted MacGregor Read and Eric Lindberg to co-CEO in 2006.

2009

In 2009, Berkshire Partners became an investor in Grocery Outlet.

2011

In 2011, Grocery Outlet acquired the Pennsylvania-based chain Amelia's Grocery Outlet.

2014

In 2014, private equity fund Hellman & Friedman LLC agreed to partner with senior management and acquire Grocery Outlet from principal owner Berkshire Partners LLC.

2018

In December 2018, the Board of Directors appointed Eric Lindberg to Chief Executive Officer and MacGregor Read to Vice Chairman.

2019

In June 2019, Grocery Outlet went public, shares of Grocery Outlet’s common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 20, 2019, under the symbol “GO.”

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Founded
1946
Company founded
Headquarters
Emeryville, CA
Company headquarter
Founders
James Read
Company founders
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Grocery Outlet competitors

Company nameFounded dateRevenueEmployee sizeJob openings
Sprouts Farmers Market2002$7.7B35,000880
Ralphs1873$3.0B27,00068
The Fresh Market1982$1.8B13,000-
Willy Street Co-op1974$3.1M1006
Harris Teeter1960$4.5B35,0001,123
Lowes Foods1954$1.6B8,000305
Food Lion1957$20.0B88,0011
Hy-Vee1930$12.0B88,0001,765
Safeway1915$36.3B250,00118
Price Chopper Supermarkets-Market 321932$640.0M3,0006

Grocery Outlet history FAQs

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Grocery Outlet, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Grocery Outlet. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Grocery Outlet. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Grocery Outlet. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Grocery Outlet and its employees or that of Zippia.

Grocery Outlet may also be known as or be related to Cannery Sales (1946–1970) Canned Foods (1970–1987), Grocery Outlet and Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.