Dive Brief:
- Family-operated grocer Buehler's, which has been under the ownership of E&H Family Group for 88 years, sold its 13 supermarkets to its employees in the form of an employee stock ownership plan — commonly abbreviated as ESOP — according to a company statement. The newly formed company will be named Buehler Fresh Foods and headed by current president and COO Dan Shanahan, who now takes the title president and CEO.
- The Wooster, Ohio-based chain was founded in 1929 by Ed and Helen Buehler and has since been run by members of the Buehler family. All 2,100 Buehler's employees will be retained, and those eligible will become part-owners.
- "Our generation of Buehlers are reaching retirement age, and we think this a better option than selling the business to outsiders," Dan Buehler, president and COO, E&H Family Group said in the company statement. "We want these supermarkets to be here serving customers and providing good jobs well into the future. There’s no one better qualified than our own employees to carry on that mission."
Dive Insight:
Independently owned Buehler's Fresh Foods stores are known in their communities for customer service, garden-fresh produce, and offering a clean and friendly grocery store atmosphere. Members of the Buehler family have run the company for four generations. And now, the family is makng its employees the owners.
This move is not likely to go unnoticed by staff, shoppers and other community members. By selling to its employees, the local Buehler's Fresh Farm neighborhood stores — and all of their respective workers — remain intact throughout the 13 communities where they're located. This undoubtedly will generate a lot of goodwill among employees and consumers. It keeps people employed. And since Buehler's deals with local suppliers and farmers to stock much of its fresh produce and local goods, it helps sustain the local economy as well.
Another small chain, Wisconsin-based Fox Bros. Piggly Wiggly, made a similar move earlier this year when the owners transferred 100% of their stake in seven stores to employees via an ESOP as well. “We value our company and our people,” owner Lori Fox told Supermarket News. “We’re proud of what we've built together. We want to pass that on and continue to provide opportunities for the people who helped us be successful.”
Publix is one of the best and biggest examples of an employee-owned grocery chain. The grocer has gained a reputation for its stellar customer service in large part because employees have a vested interest in the company’s success. On Publix's website, it says, "[Founder] George Jenkins believed in investing in others. His vision was for Publix associates to own Publix. He believed when Publix associates own the company, they in turn take care of their company and work hard to make it better."
Publix views the opportunity to own its company stock as a unique benefit for its associates, one that helps perpetuate what the firm calls the Publix culture. That culture is built around several principles, among them, invest in others, give back to the community and treat customers like royalty — important tenets with applicability across all of retailing.
A common thread generally found across employee-owned companies is long-term staff retention, which is nearly unheard of in retailing. Attracting and retaining good and knowledgeable employees is a huge industry challenge. The Employee Ownership Foundation’s 24th Annual ESOP Economic Performance Survey revealed a majority of ESOP companies showed gains in productivity, revenue, stock value and profitability, all of which benefit employees.
The combination of happy employees, community involvement, economic development and general goodwill that employee-ownership creates is worth consideration by more companies. It could be just the recipe other small grocery chains need.