Spartan Foods (SPTN)

Spartan Stores was first known as Grand Rapids Wholesale Grocery Company when it formed as a food wholesale cooperative in 1917. The resilience of the company was tested early on, but by the mid-1920s, it was a firmly-established business, posting a sales volume of $800,000 and above. The company actually grew in size and sales through the Depression and World War II, emerging with $10 million in sales in 1949.

By the late 1950s, the company had changed its name to Spartan Stores, Inc. and continued growing. Spartan had spread across the state of Michigan, expanded the business through acquisitions and added new lines of products to meet the demands of consumers. The company hit its first year at $100 million in sales in 1964 and hit $1 billion less than 20 years later in 1982. By 1991, sales were at $2 billion.

In 2000, Spartan stock became publicly traded on the NASDAQ National Market. Throughout the rest of the 2000s, Spartan continued expansion, particularly in the supermarket segment, adding 53 stores during this period.

Nash Finch began as a small confectionary store in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota in 1885. The Nash brothers quickly expanded their business into wholesale fruit. By 1912, they were in the fruit growing business as well and continuing to expand. They moved the business to Minneapolis, MN, in 1919 and adopted the name The Nash Finch Company in 1921. 

After lean years during the Depression and World War II, the company hit the ground running in the 1950s, supporting the new supermarket segment while continuing to service the independent grocery market as a food distributor. Nash Finch got into the supermarket business itself in 1954 and began innovating in that market directly. By 1983, Nash Finch stock was being traded on the NASDAQ.

Nash Finch began expanding into the military sector through supplying commissaries and exchanges in 1992 and solidified that foothold with the purchase of Military Distributors of Virginia in 1995. Throughout the 90s and 2000s, Nash Finch sought to find innovative ways to serve its customers, both civilian and military.