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H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American
privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...
chain based in
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, with more than 340 stores throughout the U.S. state of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, as well as in northeast Mexico. The company also operates
Central Market Central Market may refer to: *Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton Fresh food markets * Adelaide Central Market, Australia * Cardiff Central Market, Wales *Central Market, Hong Kong * Central Market, Casablanca, Morocco * Riga Central ...
, an upscale organic and fine foods retailer. As of 2019, the company has a total revenue surpassing 31.2 billion. H-E-B ranked number 9 on ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' 2020 list of "America's Largest Private Companies". H-E-B was named Retailer of the Year in 2010 by ''Progressive Grocer''. Supermarket News ranks H-E-B 13th on the list of "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" by sales. Based on 2019 revenues, H-E-B is the 19th-largest
retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...
in the United States. It donates 5% of pretax profits to charity. The official mascot of H-E-B is named H-E-Buddy, an anthropomorphic brown grocery bag, with multiple grocery items being shown coming out of the top.


History

The company was founded on November 26, 1905, when Florence Butt opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store on the ground floor of her family home in
Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in, and the county seat of, Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler ...
. In 1919,
Howard Edward Butt Howard Edward Butt Sr. (April 9, 1895 – March 12, 1991) was an American businessman, and CEO of the H-E-B grocery store chain, which was founded by his mother, Florence Thornton Butt, in 1905. Early life Howard Butt was youngest of the three ...
, Florence's youngest son, took over the store upon his return from World War I. Shortly after becoming owner of his mother's small store, Howard tried four expansions into Central Texas, including one in
Junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
, all of which failed. Finally, in 1927, Howard launched a successful second store in
Del Rio, Texas Del Rio is a city and the county seat of Val Verde County in southwestern Texas, United States. The city is 152 miles west of San Antonio. As of 2020, Del Rio had a population of 34,673. History The Spanish established a small settlement south of ...
, followed by the purchase of three grocery stores in the
Lower Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...
. The initials of Howard E. Butt became the name of the store.
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, the younger son of Howard E. Butt, became president of H-E-B in 1971. As of 2019, Charles Butt is
chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of H-E-B, having grown the business from annual sales of $250 million in 1971 to $13 billion in 2006. In 2010, Craig Boyan was named H-E-B's
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
and COO. By 2018, Martin Otto, the former CFO and chief merchant, had become the COO. In 2011, the company was #12 H-E-B is the largest privately held company and largest private employer in Texas. H-E-B acquired
Favor Delivery Favor Delivery is a same-day delivery and online food ordering platform headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 2013 and was acquired by San Antonio, Texas-based regional supermarket chain H-E-B H-E-B Grocery Company, L ...
as a wholly owned subsidiary in February 2018. The details of the merger were not disclosed. In 2019, H-E-B invested millions of dollars to replace cashier stations with self-checkout kiosks or smartphone apps, at the same time that many other supermarkets (such as
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
,
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
, etc.) were shifting towards more self-checkout lanes, and app usage.


Operations

Headquartered in
downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It also serves as the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. In addition to being encircled by Loops 1604 ...
, H-E-B operates more than 300 stores in over 150 communities across Texas. As of late 2010, its operations serve approximately "55-plus" percent of the Texas market, with primary Texas markets including the Corpus Christi,
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...
,
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Laredo and
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
metro areas. The company does business in five different retail formats: general H-E-B stores, Central Market, H-E-B Plus, Mi Tienda and Joe V's Smart Shop. In 2010, the company announced plans to build 19 new stores in Texas. H-E-B opened its first store outside of Texas in 1996, a H-E-B Pantry store in
Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...
; though the expansion was, in comparison, short-lived and ultimately failed to catch on, either with planners or with the community. The H-E-B Pantry store format was discontinued in 2000, and the company closed its sole
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
store in 2003. In 2010, H-E-B offered consumers the opportunity to vote on possible designs for new stores as they expand into new communities. The company operates several manufacturing facilities in Texas, including one of the largest milk- and bread-processing plants in the Southwest. H-E-B produces many of their own-brand products, including milk,
ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...
,
bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
, snacks, and ready-cooked meats and meals. These and other private-label products are sold under various brands, including "Central Market Naturals", "Central Market Organics", "H-E-B", "H-E-Buddy", "Hill Country Fare", "H-E-B Creamy Creations" ice cream, "H-E-B Mootopia" milk, and "H-E-B Fully Cooked". Several stores include multiple-tenant operations through third-party lease arrangements. Many stores include a bank operation, cellular kiosk, and multiple nationally recognized tenants. The ''Austin Business Journal'' rated H-E-B as the largest private-sector employer in the region in 2017. In 2019, the company announced plans to build a technology center at its headquarters complex. File:HEBBuffaloMarketHoustonTX.JPG, Houston's Buffalo Market H-E-B (#51) Image:Central Market north Austin.jpg, Central Market store in central Austin Image:H-E-B Plus Laredo.jpg, H-E-B Plus store in Laredo, Texas File:HEBMiTiendaNorthHouston.JPG, Mi Tienda in northern
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
Image:Joe V's Smart Shop Houston.jpg, Joe V's Smart Shop in
Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...


Central Market

In 1994, H-E-B introduced its Central Market concept in
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
. Based in San Antonio, Central Market offers an organic and international food selection, including a European-style bakery and extensive wine and beer selections. The chain is now composed of 10 stores – three in
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, two in Austin, and one each in
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
,
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
, Plano,
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...
, and Southlake. H-E-B operates four different formats of stores that introduce general merchandise and elements of the Central Market concept: The Woodlands Market in The Woodlands in Montgomery County, Kingwood Market in the Kingwood section of Houston, and the Austin-Escarpment store in south Austin. A fourth store opened on March 22, 2008, in West Lake Hills, and in 2009, the H-E-B in Bee Caves was remodeled. H-E-B's Alon Market opened on October 17, 2008, in San Antonio. In July 2015, the Market concept was expanded as a new Spring Creek Market was opened in southern Montgomery County in
Spring, Texas Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 census. While the name "Spring" is popu ...
, on Rayford Road.


H-E-B Plus!

In 2004, the company launched three (in Austin, Corpus Christi, and
Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...
) H-E-B Plus! stores with an expanded focus on nonfood categories, such as entertainment and other general merchandise. The company added three additional locations in 2005 (Corpus Christi,
Round Rock Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...
, and
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...
). The stores offered several new departments, including Do-It-Yourself and Texas Backyard, and greatly expanded product categories in baby, card and party, cosmetics, entertainment, housewares, and toys. Several other locations were later added, including stores in
Flour Bluff Flour Bluff is a specified area of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. It is located on Encinal peninsula bordered by Corpus Christi Bay on the north, Oso Bay on the west, the Laguna Madre on the east and the King Ranch to the south. South Padre I ...
, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Burleson, Bastrop,
Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...
, Belton, Boerne, Katy, Killeen,
Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Waxahachie Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. Etymology Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...
,
New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...
, Kyle, Laredo,
Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Le ...
,
Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
, Rio Grande City,
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
,
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...
, Midland,
Pearland Pearland ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend and Harris counties. The city of Pearland is a principal city within the metropolitan statistical area. At the 2020 U.S. census, t ...
, Copperas Cove and
Hutto Hutto is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Greater Austin, Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area. The population was 27,577 at the 2020 census. Geography Hutto is located at (30.544517, −97.545198), about sev ...
.


Mi Tienda

In 2006, H-E-B opened Mi Tienda in
south Houston South Houston is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and Harris County, Texas, Harris County. The population was 16,153 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by the ci ...
(adjacent to Pasadena) in
greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...
– a Latino-themed store. Another Mi Tienda opened in north Houston in 2011; it is twice the size of the original location, and has of space. This second location is off of Little York and
Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, ...
/ U.S. Route 59. Mi Tienda, which means "my store" in Spanish, sells Mexican baked goods; a
tortilleria A tortilleria, or tortilla bakery is a shop that produces and sells freshly made tortillas. Tortillerias are native to Mexico and Central America, and some are being established in some areas of the United States. Tortillerias usually sell corn t ...
, where employees make tortillas; and a carniceria providing marinated cuts of chicken, beef and pork. In addition, Mi Tienda also houses the Cocina restaurant, which serves Mexican food and drinks.


Joe V's Smart Shop

In 2010, H-E-B opened ''Joe V's Smart Shop'', a brand featuring discount items modeled after discount grocer
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...
.Kaplan, David.
New H-E-B concept is discount-minded
."''
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
''. April 20, 2010. Retrieved on May 4, 2010.
The first location opened was a store located in northwest unincorporated
Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...
, near northwest
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
. The store format is smaller compared with a full-service H-E-B store but double the size of an H-E-B Pantry store. A larger, second location with a space opened in December in northeast
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Harris County, Texas. As of 2016, there are seven Joe V's stores. The "Joe V" name was based on the name of an executive of the company who was involved in the development of this store format.


True Texas BBQ

True Texas BBQ is a barbecue restaurant chain located inside select H‑E‑B stores.


Mexico

H-E-B opened its first Mexican store in 1997 in
Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is ancho ...
. It has more than 50 locations in Mexico. H-E-B crossed the $1 billion annual sales mark in Mexico in 2012.


Litigation

In the mid-1980s, local grocery chains Handy Andy and Centeno joined a lawsuit against H-E-B citing unfair pricing practices. H-E-B eventually settled the suit out of court with Centeno in 1998 for $6.5 million and with Handy Andy for an undisclosed settlement amount. H-E-B has paid $12 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the San Antonio–based grocery chain of Medicaid fraud. Since at least 2006, according to the suit, H-E-B allegedly submitted to Texas Medicaid inflated prices on thousands of claims for prescriptions it filled so the company could obtain higher reimbursements than allowed.


Charitable activity

The company gives five percent of annual pretax earnings to causes in the areas in which it operates, including education and food banks. The Excellence in Education Awards are an annual charitable program maintained by H-E-B since 2000, in which teachers, administrators and schools in Texas are recognized, with awards totaling $500,000 in contributions in 2009. H-E-B coordinated donations to relief efforts in the wake of a fertilizer plant fire and explosion in
West, Texas West is a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,531. It is named after Thomas West, the first postmaster of the city. The city is located in the north-central part of Texas, approximate ...
. The company donated $50,000 to the
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...
and launched a checkstand campaign benefiting the organization to get the community involved in the relief effort. The company said in a news release 100 percent of the donations from the campaign will support the American Red Cross's disaster relief efforts. H-E-B also activated its emergency response units, sending the H-E-B Eddie Garcia Mobile Kitchen and water tanker to West, including donations of meals and water to the victims and first responders. In the aftermath of
Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest ...
in 2017, H-E-B donated $100,000 toward relief efforts. Its campaign drive for customer contributions totaled $1,000,000. In addition, H-E-B's Mobile Kitchen and Disaster Relief Units distributed 10,000 hot meals to volunteers and victims in the affected areas in Texas. After the
Robb Elementary School shooting On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen othe ...
in
Uvalde, Texas Uvalde is a city and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, west of downtown San Antonio and east of the Mexico–United States bord ...
, on May 24, 2022, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed, H-E-B and the Butt family donated $10 million toward building a new school as founding donors. Initial participants joining the family are a Texas architectural firm, Huckabee, and a Texas general contractor, Joeris General Contractors.


References


External links

*
H-E-B
at
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Charles Butt & family profile
on ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' *
Charles Butt
on ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' 2004 List of World's Richest People * {{Authority control 1905 establishments in Texas American companies established in 1905 Butt family Companies based in San Antonio Privately held companies based in Texas Retail companies established in 1905 Supermarkets of the United States Family-owned companies of the United States