WinCo Foods, Inc. is a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

, majority

employee-owned Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...

American

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

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, with retail stores in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. It was founded in 1967 as a no-frills warehouse-style store with low prices. The stores feature extensive bulk food sections. Until 1998, it operated as Waremart and

Cub Foods Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods, based in Providence, Rhode Island. History Beginnings Cub Foods was founded by Minnesota-based ...

, the latter under a

franchise agreement A franchise agreement is a legal, binding contract between a franchisor and franchisee. In the United States franchise agreements are enforced at the State level. Prior to a franchisee signing a contract, the US Federal Trade Commission regulates i ...

. However, WinCo began re-establishing Waremart Foods in 2017. , WinCo has 138

retail stores The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services ar ...

and six

distribution centers A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to co ...

, with over 20,000 employees. As of May 2022, WinCo Foods was No. 46 in

Forbes.com ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

's list of the largest privately owned companies in the United States.

Overview

WinCo Foods is based in

. It was founded in 1967, and the company is mostly owned by current and former employees through an

employee stock ownership plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...

. WinCo operates distribution centers in the following locations: *

Woodburn, Oregon Woodburn is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated in 1889, the community had been platted in 1871 after the arrival of the railroad. The city is located in the northern end of the Willamette Valley between Portland, Oregon, ...

Myrtle Creek, Oregon Myrtle Creek is a city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,481 at the 2020 census. History Myrtle Creek was named for the groves of Oregon myrtle (also known as California laurel), growing nearby. A Myrtle Creek post ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the List of cities in Texas by population, 20th-most populous city in Texas, the List of Un ...

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

The company reduces

operating expense An operating expense (opex) is an ongoing cost for running a product, business, or system. Its counterpart, a '' capital expenditure'' (capex), is the cost of developing or providing non-consumable parts for the product or system. For example, t ...

s by

purchasing Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary gr ...

directly from manufacturers and farmers, operating basic no-frills stores, and not providing a bagging service. In addition, the company does not accept credit cards for payment due to transaction fees (debit and

WIC WIC may stand for: Businesses and organizations * WIC program, the U.S. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children * Dutch West India Company, in the 17th and 18th centuries * West Island College, a system of three pr ...

/ EBT cards are accepted).

History

The company, originally called Waremart, was founded in Boise, Idaho, in 1967 by Ralph Ward and Bud Williams as a no-frills, warehouse-style grocery store focusing on low prices. In 1985, Waremart employees established an

and purchased a majority stake of Waremart from the Ward family, making the company employee-owned. In January 1991, Waremart opened an store in Boise to replace the two older Boise stores. At the time, Waremart was operating 16 stores in the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

and had reported annual sales of more than $300 million.

WinCo Foods

In October 1998, Waremart changed its name to WinCo Foods, citing confusion with retailers

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

and

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 ...

as reason for the new name. The name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "winning company". Nonetheless, three Oregon stores — those in

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, Keizer, and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

— are branded as "Waremart by WinCo". The idea that the company name is an acronym consisting of the first letters of the company's original five states of operation (Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon) is false. Michael Read, WinCo's VP of Public and Legal Affairs, called the theory "part of the folklore". In 2007, WinCo Foods accused a competing chain,

Save Mart The Save Mart Companies is an American grocery store operator founded and headquartered in Modesto, California. It owns and operates stores under the Save Mart, Lucky, and FoodMaxx brands. The stores are located in northern and central California ...

, of directing a lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group ''Tracy First'' of

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle form ...

, to oppose city approval of a WinCo store. That same year, WinCo Foods opened in

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg (formerly Black Diamond, New York Landing and New York of the Pacific) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of t ...

. In early 2009, WinCo opened its first two stores in the

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, area. In October, 2009, WinCo expanded to Utah, adding two stores in

West Valley City West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County and an inner suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Utah after Salt Lake City. The city inc ...

and Midvale. An additional Utah store opened in

Roy Roy or Roi is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origins. France In France, this family name originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings who migrated to Amigny, a commune in Manche, Normandy.. The deriva ...

on June 28, 2010. bringing the total number of stores expanded to Utah to five. WinCo previously operated stores in Utah under the Waremart banner prior to the company's name change. In January 2011, WinCo began signing leases for an expansion to Southern Nevada and Arizona. The chain opened stores in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...

, on March 4, 2012. The company's first two stores in Arizona opened on April 1, 2012, in the Phoenix area. The company opened multiple locations in Texas, primarily in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, beginning in 2014 after it completed a distribution center in the area. WinCo was named as the sponsor for the WinCo Foods Portland Open in June 2013. In late 2014, WinCo announced that it would enter the Oklahoma City metro market, starting with stores in

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

and

Midwest City Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,409, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in ...

, with plans to open two other locations. In May 2018, Grant Haag was made president and CEO of WinCo Foods. WinCo was sued in 2023 for the use of excessive force on multiple occasions in the handling of shoplifters. WinCo also faced significant criticism in the treatment of a teenage girl accused of shoplifting at their

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, store in 2017. WinCo paid a class action settlement of $3.6 million in 2023. It was alleged that WinCo stores in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, charged a hidden clean energy surcharge on non-grocery items. In October 2024, engineering firm JSA Civil filed a proposal for the first WinCo Foods location in Seattle.

References

External links

WinCo Foods official website
{{Supermarkets of the United States, state=collapsed 1967 establishments in Idaho Companies based in Boise, Idaho Employee-owned companies of the United States Privately held companies based in Idaho Retail companies established in 1967 Discount stores of the United States Supermarkets of the United States Superstores in the United States

Overview

History

WinCo Foods

See also

References

External links