Houchens Industries is an American

employee-owned company Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...

, in business since 1917 when it began as a small

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...

operated by founder Ervin Houchens in rural

Barren County, Kentucky Barren County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,485. Its county seat is Glasgow. The county was founded on December 20, 1798, from parts of Warren and ...

. The company is headquartered in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

. The company currently operates more than 325 retail grocery, convenience, and neighborhood market stores across 14 states, through their Houchens Food Group subsidiary. Complemented by a strong foundation of diverse companies and over 15,000 employees corporate-wide, Houchens Industries is listed by Forbes as one of the largest 100% employee-owned companies in the world.

History

The company traces its beginnings to 1917, when founder Ervin Houchens opened his first store ("BG Wholesale") at the age of 19 in a shed in

Lucas, Kentucky Lucas is an unincorporated community in Barren County, Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Ill ...

. This shed, along with other historical structures, has been well preserved and is open to the public. He sold the company in 1983. The current CEO, Jimmie Gipson, started with the company in 1965, as an accountant. In 2004, Houchens acquired Food Giant, which operated mainly in the Midwest. Later that year, Houchens bought Scotty's Contracting & Stone, a large paving contractor, aggregates producer and construction company based in Bowling Green. In 2007, the company sold its Commonwealth Brands subsidiary, the fourth-largest cigarette producer in the United States, to the British company

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc), is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Mor ...

for $1.9 billion. It had acquired the company from its founder

Brad Kelley Brad Maurice Kelley (born 1956) is an American businessman who is the 7th largest landowner in the U.S., with an estimated net worth of US$2.2 billion in 2018. He founded the Commonwealth Brands tobacco company in 1991 and sold the company in 2001 ...

in 2001; it was the first time that Houchens had sold one of its acquisitions. Diversification continued in 2007 when Houchens announced that it would acquire Hilliard Lyons, a full-service

stock broker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and ...

and investment firm based in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, from

PNC Financial Services The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the D ...

. The sale was completed in March 2008. In January 2008, Houchens announced that it would acquire 14 convenience stores which sell

Shell Oil Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

products from Bowling Green businessman Jerry Browning. The stores are located in Bowling Green and surrounding towns. In April 2008, Buehler Foods of

Jasper, Indiana Jasper is a city in, and the county seat of, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 16,703 at the 2020 census making it the 48th largest city in Indiana. On November 4, 2007, Dubois County returne ...

, signed a letter of intent to sell the company to Houchens. In July 2008, Houchens acquired juice maker

Tampico Beverages Tampico Beverages is an American manufacturer of bottled fruit-flavored drinks and gelatin. It is available in the United States and more than 56 countries around the globe. Tampico Beverages is wholly owned by Houchens Industries Inc. since 200 ...

. In January 2010, White's Fresh Foods, in the

Tri-Cities, Tennessee The Tri-Cities is the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. All three cities are located in Northeast Tennessee, ...

area sold their local grocery chain to Houchens. Those stores currently operate as Price Less Foods. In January 2020, during a Board of Directors meeting, Jimmie Gipson, after nearly 55 years of service with the company, announced his retirement effective March 31, 2020. The board of directors has elected Executive Vice President Dion Houchins to succeed Jimmie as the chief executive officer and chairman of the board. In April 2021, Houchens Industries announced the acquisition of Lee Masonry Product LLC. Lee Masonry Products, Inc. was established by Ray Lee in Frankfort, Kentucky in 1963 and became a 100% employee-owned company in 2006. Lee Masonry is a manufacturer of concrete block and specialty concrete products and a distributor of clay masonry products for commercial and residential use. Through both acquisition and the addition of new production facilities, Lee Masonry has grown to operate 19 facilities in two states with over 400 employees.

Other

*The company has been completely owned by its

employee stock ownership plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...

(ESOP) since 1988. Employees select members of the board of directors and vote on the sale of any substantial assets.Bruce Schreiner
"Houchens expanding at a rapid pace: Company has evolved since Kentucky start"
''Associated Press'', December 24, 2007 *Houchens Industries sponsors the annual

Kentucky High School Athletic Association The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky high-school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following sports ...

's Girls' "Sweet 16" Basketball Championship Tournament, held annually at WKU's

E.A. Diddle Arena E. A. Diddle Arena is a 7,326-seat multi-purpose arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. The arena, built in 1963, is home to the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers men's basketball team and Lady Toppers basketball and volleyball t ...

. *Houchens also contributes heavily to the community, most notably

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

, even having acquiring naming rights to WKU's football home, Houchens Industries-L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.

References

External links

Hoovers.com factsheet
{{Supermarkets of the United States Supermarkets of the United States Tobacco companies of the United States Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States Employee-owned companies of the United States Companies based in Kentucky Retail companies established in 1918 1918 establishments in Kentucky Bowling Green, Kentucky Privately held companies based in Kentucky