Topco
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1944 |
| Headquarters | Elk Grove Village, Illinois |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Randy Skoda President & CEO |
| Products | Strategic Sourcing Services |
| Website | www.topco.com |
Topco Associates LLC is the largest American retail food GPO (Group Purchasing Organization) and the third largest private company in Illinois.[1][2]
History
On September 28, 1944, to deal with wartime shortages, a small cooperative named Food Cooperatives, Inc. was formed by a group of Wisconsin food retailers to supply its members with private label dairy products and paper goods. The products procured by this organization were sold under the Food Club and Elna labels. Some of the members of Food Cooperatives were also members of another cooperative called Top Frost Foods.[3]
In addition to supplying frozen foods to its members, Top Frost also had a quality program that set its specifications higher than those of the leading national brands. In December 1950, the two cooperatives merged. This was the beginning of Topco Associates, Inc.
On February 1, 2006 Topco announced the acquisition of BrainTree Sourcing from Ahold USA, forming a new company called TopSource LLC (as a wholly owned subsidiary of Topco Associates LLC), which is now known as Topco's Indirect Spend program.[4] The Indirect Spend program currently operates out of Quincy, Massachusetts.
In 2008, Topco partnered with Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut in a joint venture called NuVal LLC, which has developed a nutritional scoring system to help consumers make healthy food choices.[5]
Programs
Perishables
- Fresh Meat
- Branded Meat
- Produce/Floral
Center Store
- Dairy/Bakery
- Frozen
- Grocery
- HBC/GM (Health and Beauty Care/General Merchandise)
Indirect Spend
- Construction (including Facilities Management Solutions)
- Energy & Sustainability (including Utilities)
- Fuel
- HR Benefits
- Hired Services (including Professional and Financial Services)
- IT / Telecom
- Logistics and Distribution
- Marketing, Advertising and Merchandising
- Office Products and Services
- Packaging & Consumables
- Store Equipment
- Travel
- Waste Solutions
Owners
The following companies are member-owners of Topco Associates LLC.[6]
- Affiliated Foods Midwest
- Alex Lee Inc.
- Associated Grocers, Inc.
- Associated Grocers of Florida, Inc.
- Associated Grocers of the South, Inc.
- Bashas' Inc.
- Big Y Foods, Inc.
- BI-LO, LLC
- Brookshire Holdings, Inc.
- C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc.
- Centro Cuesta Nacional, C. por. A.
- Certco, Inc.
- Coborn's Incorporated
- Giant Eagle
- Golub Corporation (Price Chopper Supermarkets)
- Haggen Food & Pharmacy (Top Food and Drug)
- Harris Teeter, Inc.
- Hy-Vee, Inc.
- Imperial Distributors, Inc.
- J.H. Harvey Co., LLC
- King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc.
- K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.
- Larroc, Ltd.
- Laurel Grocery Company LLC
- Lund Food Holdings, Inc.
- Marsh Supermarkets, Inc.
- Meijer, Inc.
- Mitchell Grocery Corporation
- Oppenheimer Companies, Inc. (Golbon)
- Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company, Inc.
- Piggly Wiggly Midwest, LLC
- Pueblo Inc.
- Quick Chek Corporation
- Raley's Family of Fine Stores
- Roche Bros. Supermarkets LLC
- Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.
- Save Mart Supermarkets
- Schnuck Markets, Inc.
- Scolari's Food and Drug
- Spartan Stores, Inc.
- Stater Bros. Markets
- The Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Company
- The Grocers Supply Co., Inc.
- Tops Markets, LLC
- UniPro Foodservice, Inc.
- W. Lee Flowers and Company, Inc.
- Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.
- Weis Markets, Inc.
- Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
- Western Family
References
- ↑ Gaines, Amanda (September–October 2010). "Hear Our Voice". Retail Merchandiser. p. 4.
- ↑ Yue, Lorene (February 22, 2006). "Topco Associates buys BrainTree Sourcing". Crain's Chicago Business.
- ↑ International Directory of Company Histories. 60. St. James Press. 2004. ISBN 9781558625631. OCLC 433314819.
- ↑ "Topco Associates LLC Announces the Acquisition of BrainTree Sourcing". Business Wire (Press release). February 21, 2006.
- ↑ Marshall, Brandon (March 30, 2014). "Nutritional value point system aims to make kids eat healthier". KOTA-TV.
- ↑ http://www.topco.com