Associated Food Stores Through the Years
Reliable Food Stores Inc. opened with 34 member retailers. Donald P. Lloyd was elected as the first manager. The name was later changed to Associated Food Stores Inc. July 1: The first Associated Food Stores warehouse opened.Associated Food Stores served 87 members in Utah and Nevada
Associated Food Stores partnered with Royal Canning Company of Utah to provide canned fruits and vegetables to retailers.The Pocatello Warehouse opened.The Helena, Montana Warehouse opened.
Associated Food Stores became the first Intermountain food merchant to use television advertising. Associated Food Stores sponsored Utah Symphony Youth Concerts.
The Salt Lake Warehouse was expanded to include a dock with railroad siding. Associated Food Stores sponsored “My Favorite Story”, becoming the first food group to sponsor a television show.
A Fresh Produce department was added. A Non-Foods department was added, carrying toothpaste and razor blades. The Frozen Food department was added. Associated Food Stores serviced 380 retailers, 42 had multiple stores.
Meat and Bakery departments were added.
The Pocatello and Salt Lake Warehouses were expanded. The Frozen Foods Warehouse was built in Salt Lake City.
Associated Food Stores and Dependable Wholesale merged, bringing more than 100 stores to Associated Food Stores. A 75,000 square foot warehouse was built in Helena, Montana The Associated Food Stores logo featuring a shopper pushing a cart with an “a” in it debuted. Associated Food Stores merged with San Francisco Grocery to create the California Division.
Western Family Corporation was established as Associated Food Stores first exclusive brand. A full-scale sign and print shop was added to the advertising department. Associated Food Stores served 845 stores.
The Thriftway, Foodtown and Bestway ad groups were created. Donald P. Lloyd retired. Gill Warner became President and CEO of Associated Food Stores.
The Billings, Montana division opened. March 30: The Universal Price Code (UPC) system was selected by a committee that included Donald P. Lloyd.
The Boise Distribution Center opened. The Scanning Department started. A new warehouse was built in Salt Lake to accommodate general merchandise, insurance and store engineering. Associated Food Stores serviced 700 stores.
A 27-bay truck garage and IMC terminal was added to the Salt Lake Warehouse. The first trade show was held for the Salt Lake and Pocatello divisions. Associated Food Stores entered the Las Vegas market for the first time with three Food Giant stores.Gill Warner retired and Richard Parkinson assumed the role of President and CEO of Associated Food Stores.
The Associated Food Stores general office was built in Salt Lake. Category Management was established to determine and procure the products retailers wanted most. Macey’s became Associated Food Stores’ first corporate-owned store. Lin’s, Dan’s, Dicks and Fresh Market soon followed. The Farr West Distribution Center opened, totaling 1,000,000 square feet, or approximately 21 football fields.The Farr West Distribution Center was expanded by 56,000 square feet. Fresh Market stores opened in Utah Richard Parkinson retired from Associated Food Stores. Neal Berube succeeded him as President and CEO. The Rewards department opened, allowing retailers to offer loyalty programs to shoppers. Associated Food Stores expanded its exclusive brands offerings to include: Western Family, Full Circle, Chuck Wagon dog food, @ease, Wide Awake Coffee, Aura, b-leve, Tippy Toes, Buckley Farms and Boulder Burger. Associated Food Stores partnered with Rosie, an e-commerce company, to bring online shopping and delivery to retailers. Red Button Vintage Creamery, Birchberry Bistro and Beehive Bread were introduced as our newest exclusive brands.Associated Food Stores implemented Skip checkout in several stores, allowing guests to checkout as they shop and skip the check stand.