A Company is Born

Eighteen seventy-two was a booming time for the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company was emerging as “The Quiet Company” and the city's reputation as a brewing capital was growing through the rise of the Joseph Schlitz, J. Oberman and Pabst Brewing Companies. Smith, Roundy & Co. was born February 1, 1872 in Milwaukee, then a city of 115,000 people. Realizing that the days of self-sufficiency were coming to an end, William A. Smith, Judson A. Roundy and Sidney Hauxhurst bought Ball & Goodrich and opened the first Roundy wholesale grocery warehouse.

Smith retired from the company in 1878 to serve two terms as the Governor of Wisconsin. At this time, William S. Peckham took Smith’s place in the company and the name changed to Roundy, Peckham & Co.

One of the largest importing and jobbing grocery houses in the state, Roundy, Peckham & Co. sustained a large manufacturing business and owned Red Cross Coffee and Spice Mills. The company produced specialty groceries and carried an immense stock of the best items. Approximately 60 people were employed in the store and 25 sales representatives were on the road, covering Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. By 1885, Roundy, Peckham & Co. had grown enough to warrant construction of a new building at Broadway and Buffalo Streets in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

A Test of Survival

Seven years later, Roundy, Peckham & Co. experienced its first and most dramatic test of survival. On October 28, 1892, a fire in the Union Oil Company warehouse in the Third Ward killed four, injured seven and left more than 3,000 homeless. It caused $5 million in damage and destroyed a total of 440 buildings, including Roundy, Peckham & Co.

By midnight of the next day, the company's executives had bought Crombie, Miller & Co. and took possession of their new building on the corner of Milwaukee and Huron Streets. Within a week of the traumatic fire, Roundy’s was again doing business.

On October 7, 1902, founder Sidney Hauxhurst died. In December of the same year, the company was incorporated in the State of Wisconsin under the name Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Co. January 1, 1903 marked the first day of business for the newly formed company. Charles J. Dexter, a member of the firm since 1880 and a partner for 13 years, was elected as Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Co.'s first President in 1903.

In 1905, the company rebuilt on their old site and moved operations. An addition to the facility was built in 1910, housing machinery and devices to improve the business. Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Co. carried a complete line of grocery wholesale items, including canned, bottled and shelf goods, coffees and spices, cereals, dried fruits and tobaccos. They maintained a long established prestige among wholesale grocers in the Midwest due to their efficient methods, pleasant relations with customers and selection of items.

During this time, founders’ Roundy and Peckham retained a substantial interest in the new corporation, but remained inactive. Peckham died November 22, 1905, at the age of 78, and Roundy died May 5, 1907, at the age of 89.

Growth, Progress and Expansion

In 1922, steady growth and progress led to the introduction of Roundy, Peckham & Dexter's first private-label item: salt. Its success had a profound effect on the development of the company. In 1929, Dexter conceived of a new idea for promoting Roundy’s private-label items. Roundy’s Food Studio was established where speeches and demonstrations on food preparation were given. The Food Studio was immensely popular and provided invaluable help to retailers in distributing the Roundy’s label. The Food Studio remained Roundy’s primary source of private label promotion until its closing in 1937.

Roy A. Johnson was elected President of Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Co. in 1938. He accepted the position and promised to carry on the company's "family tradition" by maintaining its working ideals - "cooperation and harmony" - keys to success taught to him by Charles Dexter.

Under Johnson's direction, the company completed several mergers and acquisitions. It purchased Clark & Host Co. of Milwaukee, manufacturer of coffee, tea and spices, to supplement its large coffee department. It purchased John Hoffmann & Sons Co. of Milwaukee, a competing manufacturer of coffee, tea and spices. The company also purchased Carr Brothers, Inc. of Janesville, wholesale grocers, placing Roundy's in a predominant sales position in southwestern Wisconsin.

In January of 1953, Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Co. announced the sale of its assets to Roundy's, Inc., a new corporation owned exclusively by hundreds of successful retail grocers in Wisconsin. The new company offered its owners the perfect incentive to buy their goods there: a share in the profits. As owners, the retailers could keep wholesale prices low. This business formula led to unprecedented growth and success in following years.

From 1948 to 1953, Roundy's sales volume had doubled, and the company needed to expand its physical housing needs. Roundy's broke ground in 1954 for a modern and efficient 156,000 square-foot warehouse at 11300 West Burleigh.

In 1971, Midwest General Merchandise (MGM) was developed as an umbrella department for health and beauty aids and other products at a 50,000-square-foot housing facility in Butler, Wisconsin. MGM conducted business there until 1980 when Roundy's purchased A & P's facilities at 11500 West Burleigh.

On March 3, 1962, a two-car accident took the life of Roundy's President, Roy Johnson. James N. Aldrich was elected as the next President. Soon after, Roundy's consultants recommended that Vincent R. Little be hired to help nurture the community's confidence in Roundy's. In 1973, Little accepted the appointment as President of Roundy's upon Aldrich's death.

Pick 'n Save is Introduced

Gerald F. Lestina was hired in 1970 to develop a wholly-owned commercial insurance subsidiary for Roundy’s - Insurance Planners, Inc. In 1976, Lestina also established Roundy's Real Estate and Development Division, which oversaw the development of Pick 'n Save stores. Pick 'n Save Warehouse Foods, the first of its kind in Milwaukee, was opened on March 25, 1975 on Bluemound Road.

The warehouse food store was an idea that had been tried and failed in other parts of the country prior to taking root in Milwaukee. The Pick ‘n Save Warehouse Foods retail location proved to be a stepping stone for Roundy’s continued progress. Immediately, customers came by the thousands, requiring the local police department to be on constant duty just to direct traffic. It was evident by the end of the first week that Pick ‘n Save was here to stay. One month later, a second Pick ‘n Save store was opened on Teutonia Avenue.

The Growth of Operations

In 1979, Super Market Investors, Inc. was formed, offering financial assistance to qualified retailers for equipment purchases, store remodeling or debt consolidation. Roundy's merged with United Foods of Little Chute, Wisconsin in 1980 in order to expand operations geographically. This new operation became Roundy's Northern Division.

The purchase of Scot Lad Foods, Inc. in 1984 made Roundy's - already the largest wholesale food distributor in Wisconsin - a dominant force in the Midwest. Scot Lad's Lake End Sales Division was consolidated with the Spring Lake Division in Van Wert, Ohio in 1994. The Perishables Division, now called Redi-Froz Foods of South Bend, Indiana, was the Midwest's largest supplier of national and private label brands of frozen foods.

In June of 1986, the Board of Directors elected John R. Dickson, formerly an executive with Wetterau, as President and Chief Executive Officer. From 1986 until his retirement in 1995, Roundy's sales grew from $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion annually.

With the growth of the company, Roundy's internal advertising and promotion department was transformed in 1988 into Super Marketing Productions (SMP). This transformation helped develop and supervise a heavier volume of advertising services for Roundy's stores and other clients.

Also in 1988, Roundy's acquired Cardinal Foods, Inc., of Columbus, Ohio. This acquisition helped Roundy's break into the $2 billion sales plateau for the first time and significantly broadened the company's presence in Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Another strategic addition was the American Merchandising Associates (AMA), a non-food distributor with warehouses in Van Wert, Ohio and Evansville, Indiana. In May of 1989, Roundy's purchased Viking Foods in Muskegon, Michigan making Roundy's a major wholesaler there.

A recession in 1991 prompted Roundy's to introduce 26 Mor For Less stores in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan. The stores carried a limited line of meat, produce, frozen and dairy products, concentrating on generic labels and virtually no national brands.

Gerald Lestina had become President of Roundy's Milwaukee Division in 1986. In 1993 he was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Roundy's. In April 1995, Lestina was elected Chief Executive Officer, and John Dickson remained Chairman Emeritus. The period of transition was short-lived;  Dickson died in December 1995.

By the end of the 1990s, Roundy’s provided more than ten different private label lines which were comprised of over 2,000 items. The company owned a total of 18 stores nationwide. Roundy’s also served more than 900 retail stores throughout its ten divisions. By 1998, Roundy’s, Inc. was the sixth largest food wholesaler in the nation with annual sales of $2.58 billion.

Continue reading about the recent history of Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.