QFC

History

Jack Croco began his career in the grocery business in the 1940s in Boise, Idaho, working for Albertsons. By 1950, he had become the district manager in the Northwest and was responsible for opening the first Albertson's stores in the Seattle area. Soon afterward in 1955, Croco opened his grocery store in Bellevue, called Lake Hills Thriftway.

The grocery chain that would come to be named QFC in 1963 though in 1986 he sold QFC to Seattle investment firm Sloan, Adkins & Co., which took QFC public in 1987.

Christopher A. Sinclair became the CEO in 1996; the following year, QFC purchased the Uddenberg grocery company, which operated Thriftway and Stock Market stores throughout western Washington. In late 1997, QFC was sold to Portland-based Fred Meyer, and several months later in May 1998, Kroger announced its intention to acquire Fred Meyer (and QFC), which was approved a year later. The Roosevelt store operated until 2012; it closed on May 5 to make way for the construction of the Roosevelt light rail station.

A Fred Meyer store at the Broadway Market on Seattle's Capitol Hill was replaced by a QFC in 2004.

Expansion

Over the years, QFC has expanded aggressively through acquisitions. When A&P abandoned the Seattle area in 1974, QFC took over several locations. They expanded to surrounding counties in the 1990s by acquiring and renaming Olson's Food Stores, Johnny's Food Centers, Stock Market Grocery Stores, and several Thriftway stores. Between 1990 and 1996, thirty stores were acquired from eleven independent grocery chains. Among them was Olson's Foods, a Lynnwood-based chain with twelve existing stores and four new stores in development. Reed's Super Valu in Port Hadlock and Stock Market Foods in Port Townsend were acquired in 1997, and the company also expanded into Oregon in the Portland metropolitan area.

During the tenure of CEO Stuart Sloan in the 1980s, the company branded itself as an upmarket chain and began offering more premium items. It had an initial public offering in 1987. In the mid-1990s, QFC expanded to Southern California by acquiring Hughes Family Markets (which kept its name). By the mid-1990s, many Hughes store locations were sold to Ralphs, which was soon sold to Fred Meyer, later acquired by Kroger. A new flagship store opened in downtown Kirkland in 2019, with 50,000 sqft of space. A rebrand to "the Q" was proposed in 2018 but later rejected.

Kroger proposed an acquisition of rival grocer Albertsons in 2022 that would have required the combined company to spin off locations to preserve brand competition. Among the proposed aspects of the merger was a divestment of all but five of QFC's 59 locations. The acquisition was rejected by the Federal Trade Commission in 2024, leaving QFC part of the Kroger Company.

Philanthropy and labor relations

In 1996, Stuart Sloan, former owner and chairman of QFC, promised to spend at least $1 million a year for the next eight years to overhaul one of Seattle Public Schools's most challenged schools, T.T. Minor Elementary. The funds were donated in addition to public dollars and helped to pay for uniforms, smaller class sizes and a year-round schedule, though how the funds were applied sparked controversy.

Fred Meyer and QFC workers are primarily represented by UFCW Local 3000. After the union distributed Black Lives Matter buttons in 2020, Kroger managers prohibited their use by employees. The action was found to violate federal labor law by a National Labor Relations Board judge in May 2023.

References

References

1. Gorlick, Arthur. (November 8, 1997). "QFC Grew from 4 Stores to Major Chain". [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]].
2. Ramsey, Bruce. (January 18, 1986). "QFC Grocery Stores to be Sold". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
3. Moriwaki, Lee. (November 7, 1997). "Fred Meyer to Buy QFC". [[The Seattle Times]].
4. McCall, William. (November 8, 1997). "Fred Meyer's big move shows firm's strength, stamina". Eugene Register-Guard.
5. (October 20, 1998). "Attention Shoppers: We've Been Sold — Again". The Seattle Times.
6. Dunn, Christine. (October 20, 1988). "Kroger in $12 billion deal to buy Fred Meyer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
7. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140617223623/http://www.roosiehood.com/2012/04/make-room-for-light-rail-roosevelt-qfc-closure-just-weeks-away/ Make room for light rail: Roosevelt QFC closure just weeks away] ''Roosiehood'', April 19, 2012
8. Frey, Christine. (June 15, 2004). "QFC store will replace Broadway's Fred Meyer". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
9. (November 13, 1996). "Growing QFC Will Buy 25 Supermarkets". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
10. Wieland Nogaki, Sylvia. (March 3, 1995). "QFC completes Olson's purchase after short delay". The Seattle Times.
11. P-I Staff. (May 20, 1997). "QFC Plans Expansion with Two New Food Stores Near Olympia". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
12. P-I Staff. (April 29, 1997). "Reed's Super Valu Bought by QFC; Employees to Stay". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
13. P-I Staff. (May 17, 1997). "QFC Plans to Enter Market In Portland With Two Stores". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
14. Virgin, Bill. (November 21, 1996). "QFC Buys Chain in California". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
15. (August 1, 2019). "QFC opens Kirkland Urban location, focuses on organic foods". [[Kirkland Reporter]].
16. Roberts, Paul. (December 28, 2024). "Once Seattle's grocery darling, QFC in limbo after Kroger-Albertsons merger fails". The Seattle Times.
17. Shukovsky, Paul. (May 14, 1997). "Donation to School Criticized by League". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
18. (May 16, 1997). "Rethinking Sloan's gracious gift to school". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
19. Yoon-Hendricks, Alexandra. (May 9, 2023). "Fred Meyer, QFC illegally barred BLM pins at work, judge rules". The Seattle Times.