Smith's Food and Drug
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| Smith's Food & Drug Stores Inc. | |
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| Type | Division of Kroger |
| Founded | 1932 (Brigham City, Utah) |
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Bakery, Dairy, Deli, Frozen foods, General grocery, Meat, Pharmacy, Produce, Seafood, Snacks, Chinese Kitchen, Cosmetics, Organic Food, Photo Lab, Non-Foods, Smiths Tix |
| Parent | Kroger |
| Website | www.smithsfoodanddrug.com |
Smith's Food and Drug, commonly known as Smith's, is a leading chain of supermarkets in the Intermountain and Southwest regions of the United States. Smith's operates over 125 stores in Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Smith's utilizes a combination food and drug center format that strives for one-stop shopping. The chain's early 1990s advertising slogan was, "The one place that takes the place of going place to place."
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginning
Smith's began in 1932 when Lorenzo J. Smith opened his first grocery store in Brigham City, Utah. When his son Dee Smith joined the business he began immediately expanding it. Through partnerships and acquisitions Dee Smith built the company until his death in 1985. Later, Dee's son Jeff Smith became Chairman and CEO of Smith's. In 1989 the company completed its initial public offering and shares of the company started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SFD. In the early-1990s, Smith's attempted a major expansion into the Southern California market which was completely unsuccessful and resulted in Smith's accumulating nearly $500 million in debt.
[edit] Acquisition by Fred Meyer and Kroger Merger
In 1997, the company was acquired by Fred Meyer of Portland, Oregon. In 1999, Fred Meyer was acquired by The Kroger Company. As a result of the Kroger-Fred Meyer merger, most Smith's Food & Drug Centers in Arizona were rebranded as Fry's Food and Drug. The Smith's Food & Drug Centers in Kingman, Lake Havasu City, and Bullhead City did not change, but remained in the Smith's Las Vegas Division.
Smith's Food and Drug is a division of The Kroger Company, Smith's maintains its corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Kroger Company is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.
[edit] Smith's Marketplace
In April 2004, Smith's assumed the Utah operations of sister chain Fred Meyer. Five Utah Fred Meyer stores were converted to the new Smith's Marketplace banner in June of that year. The other Utah Fred Meyer stores located in Ogden, West Valley City, and Sandy were closed in April of 2004. Earlier, Fred Meyer had closed a full-service store located in Orem that failed to meet expectations. Smith's Marketplaces contain a full-line food and drug store, with a full assortment of general merchandise, and Fred Meyer Jewelers.
This concept differs from Kroger's other "Marketplace" concepts in that it offers a full line of general merchandise (apparel, home, and grocery). The other "Marketplace" concepts (Fry's Marketplace, Kroger Marketplace) only carry select home items and a full assortment of grocery, with no apparel at all. The concept has not yet been expanded beyond the initial five stores. Fred Meyer Marketplace stores are also different as they carry primarily groceries with some expanded departments, usually a limited home goods department and a full home electronics department.
[edit] External links
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