The Fresh Market Best answer on the web
Who owns ?The Fresh Market? grocery stores and what percentages? ? This is a private company and some educated guesses based on local NC articles are fine.
Who calls the shots ? not who is in the press?
Please give the owners? contact information: address, email, phone, etc.
Any personal information about the owners is a plus.
Recent news clip about "The Fresh Market"
http://cityguide.news-press.com/fe/Shopping/Stories/040514_freshmarket.asp
Best Regards
epedia
Ray Berry , founder president of "The Fresh Market" received the "Regional Entrepreneurs of the Year" for the year 1992.
Please find the information in the website : http://www.inc.com/magazine/19921201/6146.html
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Ray Berry
Fresh Market, Greensboro, NC
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Best Regards
epedia
Please find the company details:
The Fresh Market, Inc.
3708 Lawndale Dr.
Greensboro, NC 27455
Phone: 336-282-4832
Fax: 336-282-8176
website: http://www.thefreshmarket.net
The Fresh Market operates about 40 full-service grocery stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Presidet : Ray Berry ( Age now around 63 )
COO : Brett Berry, ( Ray Berry's son )
Best Regards
epedia
As I'm sure you're aware, a private corporation is...well...private! As such, information escapes in dribs and drabs, generally as much (or as little) as the owners see fit.
As The Fresh Market has grown into a regional presence in the past decade or so, there has been an increasing amount of press coverage. In addition, however private an organization may be, there are still reporting and filing requirements that open the door, at least a bit, to some of the inside information. I've reviewed press, internet, commercial sources of company information, and government filings for The Fresh Market in response to your question, and have summarized the results below.
I was able to add considerably to the information offered in the comments by epedia-ga (who is not a Google Answers researcher, and cannot post a formal answer). I'm sure you'll find this information of interest.
Before rating this answer, however, please let me know if anything here is unclear, or if you need any additional information. Just post a Request for Clarification, and I'll be happy to assist you further.
Thanks.
pafalafa-ga
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The basic specs on The Fresh Market (which I'll refer to as TFM to simplify matters), as culled from company report services, is as follows:
THE FRESH MARKET
802 GREEN VALLEY RD # 306
GREENSBORO, NC 27408-7099
(336) 272-1338
(336) 272-5800
1,000 - 5,000 employees
Credit Rating is considered excellent
Executives are listed as:
Ray Berry, President
Mike Barry, CFO
Brett Berry, COO
William Bailey, Human Resources
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A number of newspapers and magazines have reported on TFM, either to profile the company as a whole, or to describe the operations of a local store. Several articles make clear the company is expanding beyond its traditional base in the southeast:
Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch
June 25, 2004
SPECIALTY GROCERS TO ENTER MARKET
Kroger's Fresh Fare chain, Fresh Market to compete for gourmet-foods niche
Two new upscale grocery-store chains -- both firsts for Ohio -- will try to elbow into an increasingly crowded Columbus market that includes the Hills Market, Trader Joe's and Wild Oats...
The Fresh Market, privately held and based in North Carolina, will open late this year or early 2005...Fresh Market operates 46 full-service grocery stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virgin...The Greensboro, N.C.-based chain was founded in 1982 and is starting to expand northward.
...Stores are heavy on ambience, with classical music, antiques and food samples part of the routine. Delis, meat counters and bakeries are full-service, and store clerks are available to carry out groceries..."It's like a Trader Joe's, but larger and more upscale," said George Hadler, owner of the Northwest Center...Fresh Market will occupy 22,000 square feet...
...The new entrants will go head-to-head with not only Trader Joe's and Wild Oats but also Whole Foods, the leader in the organic- and natural-grocery store segment...
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 27, 2001
Cub Foods closing its Ga. stores
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The Roanoke Times
July 23, 2004
Upscale grocer may be headed to Roanoke, Va., shopping center
...Rappaport Cos., the Vienna, Va., company that manages and leases space at Towers Shopping Center, said it was negotiating with Fresh Market, a natural-foods grocer based in Greensboro, N.C. It has targeted Fresh Market to move into a 25,000-square-foot space in the upper level of Towers..."We're interested in the area, and we're close in negotiations with the landlord," said Eric Blaesing, spokesman for Fresh Market. "We've exchanged leases. We think we have a deal there..."
The stores typically are small -- about 18,000 to 20,000 square feet -- and some entice customers with soft music and the scent of specialty coffee beans..."We're like old European markets under one roof," Blaesing said. "We're not a gourmet store. We're a store with high-quality perishables."
There are two Fresh Markets in Virginia, one in Williamsburg and one in Virginia Beach. Blaesing said the privately owned grocery chain focuses on expanding in the Southeast. But several stores soon will open in the Midwest..."We look for markets with people who are generally educated and enjoy the whole shopping food experience," Blaesing said...
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News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
June 27, 2004
COOKIN' UP SOME FUN;
SOME COMPANIES REWARD EMPLOYEES WITH FUN, FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP OUT OF THE OFFICE
Once a year, The Fresh Market holds a cookout for its accounting department workers.
"It's just good to get everyone out in a casual setting instead of in the office," said Mike Barry, chief financial officer for the Greensboro-based chain of upscale grocery stores. "We definitely want to have a great work environment."
This year, the employees gathered at Country Park. The company controller grilled burgers and ribs, and employees competed for gourmet prizes by answering questions about The Fresh Market and their supervisors.
Among the secrets revealed during this year's outing...Barry doesn't know The Fresh Market pledge...No one guesses the controller's wife's name until Barry offers a hint, "Begins with M and ends with -issa."...And the company's risk manager started her career as a cheese maker for Kraft....
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St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
July 4, 2004
Arrest made in Clearwater arsons, Eckerd robbery
A Gainesville man was arrested Saturday morning in connection with an armed robbery, a kidnapping and three arsons in Pinellas County committed over the past 15 months.
Pinellas County Sheriff's officials charged Jeffery Kent Aldridge, 21, with arson involving fires at two Clearwater-based businesses in 2003...The Fresh Market at 25961 U.S. 19 N caught fire in June 2003...
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Chattanooga Times Free Press
March 27, 2004
Fresh Market moving to bigger site
Eric Blaesing of The Fresh Market says the specialty retail grocer plans to stay true to its core business when it moves to a new Chattanooga store 40 percent larger than its existing site..."This will be more in line with the stores we're building today," Mr. Blaesing said...The 18,000-square-foot store will offer customers a larger prepared foods area, an enlarged floral department and added space in the seafood and bakery departments, according to the company...
...Fresh Market, which has been in the city for 10 years, is expected to split the former Kmart space with a Hobby Lobby store...Privately held Fresh Market has 39 stores in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia and Florida. It plans to open six to eight stores annually...
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 12, 2003
'A grocery store on every corner';
Upscale markets join established chains in vying for metro Atlantans' food dollars
The antiques used as displays at Fresh Market are brimming with gourmet items, from dark chocolate and 200 types of cheese to Parmesan focaccia and H&H Bagels from New York City....Awnings hang over the meat department, wood arbors arch over the cash registers, and the Italian ceramic tiled floors that stretch underfoot give the store a cozy European market feel...The smell of cedar mingles with the aroma of freshly baked bread while classical music wafts through the chain's store in Alpharetta and the newest store in Dunwoody.
"We want shopping to be an experience," said Ken Towery, Fresh Market's vice president of operations. "It has to stimulate the eyes, smell and touch, as well as the palate. We invite shoppers to walk around and relax."
Fresh Market and other smaller niche grocers are bucking the trend of conventional chains by captivating time-pressed consumers and even slowing them down. Their theatrical lighting, attractive layouts and gourmet food tastings are designed to intrigue and entertain consumers, who often spend more dollars per visit than at conventional stores...
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Chattanooga Times Free Press
March 12, 2003
Food from friends
Grocery chain cooks up idea for cookbook
Since The Fresh Market opened at Hamilton Place in April 1994, shoppers have found it the perfect place to buy hard-to-find items. Its old-world feel is in sharp contrast to today's modern supermarkets....Recently, the grocery chain cooked up another idea by publishing a cookbook: "The Fresh Market & Friends: A Collection of Recipes From Family and Friends."
"We have a lot of customers who share recipes with us, so we put recipe cards out in the stores and asked for people to submit their favorites," said Eric Blaesing, director of community relations for Fresh Market...
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The Post-Standard Syracuse, NY
February 6, 2003
TOP EMPLOYEES Series: PROGRESS 2003
The Penn Traffic Co.
www.penntraffic.com
2002 highlights: Opened five stores, expanded one and remodeled 11, including the "Fresh Market" in Towne Center at Fayetteville. Fresh Market is Penn Traffic's prototype for new and remodeled stores...
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The Miami Herald
May 2, 2003
Upscale Grocer Rolls into Aventura, Fla.
To the tune of a three-piece jazz band in the parking lot, a feeding and shopping frenzy erupted in Aventura Thursday as Fresh Market opened its first Miami-Dade County grocery...The new store is part of an aggressive growth strategy adopted by the North Carolina-based chain of upscale groceries. Already open are 10 other Florida Fresh Markets, including two in Broward County and one in Boca Raton...
Brett Berry chief operating officer of Fresh Market...Berry has big plans for the company his father, Ray, began in Greensboro, N.C., in 1982. Ray Berry founded Fresh Market with a simple goal: to replicate a California open-air produce market in an East Coast grocery...
The privately held firm...had revenue of $ 250 million in 2002. Its northernmost presence is in Williamsburg, Va.; the Aventura venture is its southern outpost.
"The company I'd like to emulate is Disney," said Berry, who holds a law degree from the University of North Carolina and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania...."Our income statement is strong," he said. "Banks love us. We're young and dumb enough to think we can do anything in the future."...Berry said he was scouting for a location in Coconut Grove. He plans to open six more stores along the Eastern Seaboard in 2003, he said, and 10 next year.
...Chuck Gilmer, an analyst who tracks the $ 414 billion-a-year grocery business for the Shelby Report, said Fresh Market's expansion plans could prove successful, for its customers are known to be particularly loyal.
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Mergers and Acquisitions Journal
April 01, 2001
Organic and Fresh Food Purveyors Ripe for Acquisitions and Imitation
The $515 billion U.S. supermarket industry is going through a wave of consolidation among the mega-players like Kroger Co., Albertson's Inc., Safeway Inc., and Ahold NV. But beneath their headline transactions, there is a secondary level of dealmaking that is reshaping smaller, regional chains that have differentiated themselves from the giants by adopting a variety of retailing concepts such as fresh food, organic, and gourmet formulas...
"What you're seeing is 2% or 3% growth at the established all-purpose grocery stores," says Scott Van Winkle, a supermarket industry analyst at Adams, Harkness & Hill in Boston. He noted that the attraction in the niche concepts of food retailing is that they offer growth rates of as much as 10%...An example of the type of operator that has been mentioned as a potential acquisition target is Fresh Market Inc., which is based in Greenboro, N.C. The family-owned, 30-store chain in the Southeast has put up numbers like 9.2% growth last year, which explains the allure of the specialized approach to grocery sales.
..."We're at the nexus of gourmet and fresh foods," says President Ray Berry, who built the business over the last 19 years. The company offers high-quality meat, other specialty items, produce, and bakery goods in stores that are located in or near upscale communities...Berry's son, Fresh Market COO Brett Berry, pointed to the increasing consolidation among the major supermarkets as a development that has provided additional opportunities for niche supermarket operations..."...there is a substantial category of customers who are interested in quality and service as much as price, and who often no longer have options. We find that whenever we open a new store, people thank us for coming to their community and giving them choices that they didn't have before," he says.
With about 75 employees working in stores that average 18,400 feet, Fresh Market ties its financial performance to its high levels of service and quality, says Ray Berry....while the Berrys don't rule out the possibility of making acquisitions of their own, Ray Berry remarks that if they were to consider purchasing another operator, it might as easily be for real estate opportunities as for other strategic reasons....
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VIRGINIAN-PILOT
August 10, 1999
Gourmet Food Chain to Open Store in Virginia Beach, Va.
...Ray Berry opened the first Fresh Market in 1982, intending to develop quality service grocery stores geared toward baby boomers and their parents. Sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 33 percent, and net income has grown 48 percent, according to the company....
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Inc.
December, 1992
REGIONAL ENTREPRENEURS OF THE YEAR
Ray Berry
Fresh Market, Greensboro, NC
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There is an article on Berry and TFM here in a February 26, 2001 publication known as The Food Institute Report:
http://www.mindbranch.com/newsletters/samples/N200-0001.pdf
but (oddly) pretty much the same article is posted on a discussion board about TFM, and is attributed to the Wall Street Journal in 2002:
http://pub86.ezboard.com/femployeemessageboardfrm1.showNextMessage?topicID=280.topic
Regardless, here are some key excerpts:
...At a time when supermarket operators in the competitive southeastern U.S. market are thrilled to score 2% sales gains at stores open at least a year, the family-owned, 30-store Fresh Market Inc. is chalking up 9.2% growth...Mr. Berry's 33-year-old son Brett became chief operating officer in January after running marketing for two years...
..."If I can get what I think the company's worth three years from now, I'll sell it," says Mr. Berry, who doesn't plan to retire any time soon."But I won't sell it for what it's worth today because I'm having too much fun."
Mr. Berry, 60 years old, says the key to Fresh Market's financial performance is its commitment to service and quality...Sales totaled $193 million in 2000 and have grown 25% a year compounded since the first store opened in Greensboro in 1982...labor costs are nearly double that of large-format stores....
...Ray Berry was 39 years old, overseeing 3,600 7-Eleven stores as vice president of Southland Corp. in 1980 when he quit amicably over a management disagreement he won't detail. After turning down several jobs, Mr. Berry, and his wife, Beverly, decided to invest everything into opening a grocery focused on quality and service. After selling their Dallas home, the couple packed two cars, two children and two dogs and traveled east to find the right town to launch their dream....Mr. Berry chose the Southeast for the high returns on investment for grocers and the abundance of small store spaces being vacated by supermarkets moving to larger formats. He chose Greensboro based on a stranger's recommendation and a good site for the first store.
Raised in San Diego and having started out in food retailing as a teen, Mr. Berry borrowed ideas from stores he had seen all over the U.S...Merchandisers at headquarters select the stores' products, but managers order directly from third-party distributors. Fresh Market doesn't have the concentration of stores that would make running its own warehouses profitable...
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11 July 2001
Greensboro News & Record
FRESH MARKET TO HOLD ROOT BEER FLOAT PROMOTION
The Fresh Market will hold its seventh annual Root Beer Float promotion July 11-14 to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International...For approximately four hours each afternoon, the Fresh Market will sell root beer floats throughout the entire chain of 30 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Florida and Kentucky...
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The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
February 22, 2004
SUBSIDIUM, FRESH MARKET OFFER TASTING
...Fresh Market, 9375 Poplar in Germantown, will host an "In Store Tasting...Tickets are $20 and are available at the Fresh Market ...
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http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:_Zk8udO6JhIJ:firstpresgso.com/newsletter/100902/page04.shtml+(%22ray+berry%22+OR+%22ray+*+berry%22)+%22fresh+market%22&hl=en
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As I mentioned above, TFM files regularly with the State of North Carolina. Here are some links to, and excerpts from, their various filings:
http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/Corporations/soskb/Corp.asp?5005671
The Fresh Market, Inc.
Date Formed: 7/9/1981
Agent Name: Meschan, David F
Principal Office Address: 802 Green Valley Rd # 306
Greensboro NC 27408-7020
The actual reports filed by TFM can be viewed online at:
http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/Corporations/soskb/Filings.asp?5005671
TFM's Articles of Incorporation were filed July 9, 1981 and:
--gave the company authority to issue 100,000 shares
--Listed Directors of the Corporation:
Ray Duane Berry
William Ososki
--Listed Incorporators:
David F. Meschan
Thomas W. Sinks
J. Samuel Gentry, Jr
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On January 1, 1984, The Fresh Market filed "articles of merger" with the state. The merger was between The Fresh Market, Inc. and TFM of High Point, Inc. Both companies were headed by Ray Berry, and both listed William T. Ososki as the Secretary. The merger ups the number of shares allowed to be issued to 200,000, but also acknowledges that -- at the date of the merger -- only 37,500 shares had been issued. I suggest looking at the full document if you are interested in more details.
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The company's annual reports to the state are also available online.
The 2002 report includes the following information:
Federal Employer ID Number: 56-1311233
Principal Office Address:
802 Green Valley Rd., Suite 306
Greensboro, NC 27408
336-272-1338
Officers and there business addresses are listed as:
Ray D. Berry, President
803 Hood Place
Greensboro, NC 27408
Ralt W. Bohn, VP
3914 Hazel Land
Greensboro, NC 27408
Alan R. Martin, VP
1601 N. College Park Dr.
Greensboro, NC 27403
Bill Bailey, VP
144 Hunters Glen Dr.
Greensboro, NC 27358
Brett Matthew Berry, COO, Executive VP
802 Green Valley Rd Ste 306
Greensboro, NC 27408
There is also a 2003 report available, but it is merely a boilerplate report indicating no significant changes since the 2002 filing.
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Perusing the prior annual reports uncovers some additional information:
1991 -- lists Donald L. Nelson as a VP and Beverly J. Berry as the Secretary/Treasurer. There is also a mention of Amy M. Berry, apparently as a Director, although the listing is a bit ambiguous.
1993--Lists Robert B. Fooshee and Douglas J Porter as VP's. The Berry's -- Ray, Beverly, Brett, and Amy -- are listed as Directors.
1995--VP's are the same, but the Officers are now listed as:
Ray Berry, President
Doug Porter, Ralt Bohn, Alan Martin, as VP's.
1996--Doug Porter is gone, and Bill Bailey is listed as one of the VP's.
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That's it!
It's actually a fairly good information haul for a private company. But as I said earlier, if you need additional information on anything listed here, just let me know, and I'm at your service. After all, TFM isn't the only business out there with a focus on keeping the customer happy!
pafalafa-ga
Please find some more details about Ray berry, in "Business Journals" in the web page:
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After opening the first Fresh Market in 1980 after a career supervising 7-Eleven stores for Southland Corp., Berry has transformed his once-perceived longshot idea into a prosperous family business. His son, Brett, serves as chief operating officer. All along, growth has been funded almost entirely through store cash flow plus bank-funded debt; there are no public shareholders and no plans to go public anytime soon.
So strong has been Fresh Market's performance that Berry says he has been approached by buyers. But the 60-year-old isn't ready to sell yet, and he declined to say whether Whole Foods was one of the interested suitors. --------------------------------------------
http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2001/03/05/story3.html?t=printable
Best Regards
epedia
The owner of "The Fresh Market" is Ray Berry. I found the following details in the website : http://www.globalprovince.com/bestoftriangle.htm . --------------------------------------------------
The Fresh Market:
This gourmet store is the place to go for the best meat and vegetables in the Triangle, and decidedly the most pleasant atmosphere, putting Wellspring and the other chains to shame. It's sort of a best-kept secret, without a website, with reluctance to converse with journalists, and with somewhat obtuse locations (nothing in Chapel Hill or Durham, for instance). That said, it has 31 locations across the Southeast, with more due to open soon. Founded by Ray Berry in 1980 after a career at 7-Eleven, the Greensboro chain has expanded carefully and profitably from the start, funding itself out of cash flow. The Fresh Market. 1261 Kildarie Farms Rd., Cary, NC 27511. Telephone: 919-481-2865. Also at 400 Woodburn Rd., Raleigh, NC 27605. Telephone: 919-828-7888. The second Raleigh location is at 6661 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh, NC 27615. Telephone: 676-2939. -----------------------------------------
Also the address and phone number as:
Ray, Berry
816 Jackson St,
Gastonia, NC 28052-7505
(704) 861-8836
(or)
Ray, Berry
19837 Bowers Ln,
Broadway, VA 22815-2114
(540) 896-2801
Best Regards
epedia
Some more informations about 'Ray Berry', as found on internet. I am not too sure about the facts, but you please give a try!
1. Berry, Ray D
803 Hood Pl,
Greensboro, NC 27408-5603
(336) 275-4111
2. Mr. Ray Berry founded Southern Boiler in 1984. The company's customer base and reputation continues to grow as Southern Boiler expands into new markets and new product lines. http://www.southernboiler.com/aboutus.htm
3. Ray Berry's email : rberry@southernboiler.com
4. Berry, L
4512 Lawndale Dr,
Greensboro, NC 27455-2261
(336) 540-1970
5. Who owns ?The Fresh Market? grocery stores and what percentages?
Ans: Mr. Ray Berry, 63, founded "The Fresh Market" and sole owner of it.
6. Who calls the shots ? not who is in the press?
Ans: Mr. Brett Berry, 33, Cheif Operating Officer (COO) , son of Mr.Ray Berry, now actively runs the company.
Best regards
epedia
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