WinCo Foods facts for kids
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Formerly
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Waremart (1967–1998) |
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| Private, employee-owned | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Founders | Ralph Ward and Bud Williams |
| Headquarters | Boise, Idaho, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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138 |
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Area served
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Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington |
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Key people
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Gary Piva, Chairman Grant Haag, President/CEO Nathan Tucker, COO Isaac Kimball, CFO |
| Products | Bakery, grocery, produce, delicatessen, seafood, bulk foods, snacks, health and beauty products, general merchandise |
| Services | Supermarket |
| Revenue | US$8.2 billion (2021) |
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Number of employees
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20,000 |
WinCo Foods, Inc. is a large supermarket chain in the United States. It is special because it's mostly owned by its own employees! This company started in 1967 and is based in Boise, Idaho. You can find WinCo stores in many states, including Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
WinCo Foods began as a simple, low-price store that looked like a warehouse. It was known for its great deals and big sections where you could buy food in bulk. As of 2022, WinCo has 138 stores and six large distribution centers. More than 20,000 people work for WinCo. It is one of the biggest private companies in the U.S.
How WinCo Works
WinCo Foods has its main office in Boise, Idaho. It was started in 1967. Most of the company is owned by its current and former employees. This is done through something called an employee stock ownership plan. This means employees can own a part of the company.
WinCo has several big centers where they send out products to their stores. These are located in:
- Woodburn, Oregon
- Myrtle Creek, Oregon
- Boise, Idaho
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Denton, Texas
- Modesto, California
The company keeps its prices low in a few ways. They buy products directly from the people who make them or the farmers. Their stores are also quite simple, without a lot of fancy decorations. Plus, they don't offer a service where someone bags your groceries for you. You bag them yourself! Also, WinCo stores do not take credit cards. However, you can use debit cards and WIC/EBT cards to pay.
WinCo's Story
The company first opened in Boise, Idaho, in 1967. It was called Waremart back then. Ralph Ward and Bud Williams started it as a warehouse-style grocery store. Their main goal was to offer very low prices.
In 1985, something big happened. The employees of Waremart created a plan to own parts of the company. They bought most of Waremart from the Ward family. This made the company employee-owned, which means the people who work there also own a share of the business.
By January 1991, Waremart opened a huge new store in Boise. It was about 82,000 square feet! At that time, Waremart had 16 stores across the Northwest.
Becoming WinCo Foods
In October 1998, Waremart changed its name to WinCo Foods. They made this change because people sometimes confused Waremart with other stores like Kmart and Walmart. The new name, "WinCo," is a mix of "winning company." Even with the new name, a few stores in Oregon are still called "Waremart by WinCo."
WinCo started to grow a lot in the 2000s. In early 2009, they opened their first two stores in the Spokane, Washington, area. Later that year, in October 2009, WinCo expanded into Utah. They opened stores in West Valley City and Midvale. Another store opened in Roy in 2010. WinCo had actually operated stores in Utah before, under the old Waremart name.
In January 2011, WinCo planned to open stores in Southern Nevada and Arizona. They opened stores in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, in March 2012. The first two stores in Arizona opened in April 2012, near Phoenix. The company has also opened many stores in Texas, especially around the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
In 2013, WinCo became the sponsor for a golf tournament called the WinCo Foods Portland Open.
In late 2014, WinCo announced they would open stores in the Oklahoma City metro market. They started with stores in Moore and Midwest City.
In May 2018, Grant Haag became the president and CEO of WinCo Foods.
See also
- Cub Foods
- List of companies based in Idaho
- List of supermarket chains in the United States
- Food cooperative
