Carter's Foods, more commonly known as Carter's, was an employee-owned

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

chain based in

Charlotte, Michigan Charlotte ( ) is a city and county seat of Eaton County, Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 9,299. Charlotte is in the central portion of the county on the boundary between Eaton Township and Carmel Township but is polit ...

, United States. Founded in 1952, Carter's grew to over 30 stores throughout Michigan's Lower Peninsula, including two in Charlotte. In 2006, the chain declared bankruptcy, with its remaining stores being

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

or sold. Until the chain's demise, Carter's Foods was the only grocery chain in Michigan to be entirely owned by its employees.

History

Carter's Foods was founded in 1952 by Theodore Carter.WZZM 13 - Grocer Carter's closes all 14 stores - Charlotte-based company files for bankruptcy
/ref> A native of Charlotte, Michigan, Theodore had been an employee of the

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinc ...

store in his hometown.Carter's Foods history
( Internet Wayback Machine archive) Carter's expanded over several decades, mainly by acquiring IGA store. IGA also was the primary supplier for Carter's. In 1999, Sperry and Hutchinson, a company known for its S&H Green Stamps, introduced an updated rewards program, S&H Greenpoints; Carter's was the first chain in Michigan to utilize Greenpoints. In 2000, Carter's Foods became 100 percent employee-owned, becoming the only supermarket chain in Michigan to be employee-owned. Citing competition from

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 in the United States and 23 other ...

and regional supercenter chain Meijer, Carter's filed for

Chapter 7 Chapter Seven refers to a seventh Chapter (books), chapter in a book. Chapter Seven, Chapter 7, or Chapter VII may also refer to: Albums * Chapter Seven (album), ''Chapter Seven'' (album), a 2013 album by Damien Leith. * Chapter VII (album), ''Ch ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 2006, after it was unable to pay several million dollars in debts to its suppliers.Traverse City ''Record-Eagle'': Carter's files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
/ref> The last Carter's stores closed in mid-2006. Several were reverted to IGA or sold to Spartan Stores,Oscoda ''Press'': "Court OKs sale of Carter’s stores"
/ref> while the remainder were shuttered.

References

{{Supermarkets of the United States Retail companies established in 1952 Retail companies disestablished in 2006 Defunct supermarkets of the United States Defunct companies based in Michigan Eaton County, Michigan Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2006 Employee-owned companies of the United States 1952 establishments in Michigan 2006 disestablishments in Michigan