Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Group (JPG) has announced that it has acquired the 194-store Modesto, California-based grocery chain Save Mart Cos.
It did not provide the financial terms of the deal.
Save Mart operates 185 stores in California and nine in Nevada. The stores are grouped into three banners: 79 that are called Save Mart while 61 are branded Lucky and 54 are under the FoodMaxx banner.
Save Mart, founded in 1952, employs about 13,000 people. Save Mart and Lucky are full-service grocery stores while FoodMaxx is a warehouse-style discount store concept.
JPG is widely considered to be B.C.'s largest private company, with $16 billion in annual sales and about 50,000 employees, according to its website. More than 30,000 of those employees work in the company's food, beverage and pharmacy division, according to the company.
JPG's biggest and best known grocery brand is Save-On-Foods, which has more than 20,000 employees. Among the grocery chains that JPG owns are Nesters Market, Choices Markets, Meinhardt, Buy-Low Foods, Urban Fare, Nature's Fare Markets, Quality Foods, Roth's Fresh Market and PriceSmart Foods. It also owns the wine-store chain Everything Wine and has food distribution businesses among other food-related businesses.
Save Mart's executive chairman Shane Sampson is expected to report to the JPG's corporate office in Vancouver with the Save Mart executive team set to work closely with PFG counterparts to identify and opportunities and help the overall company operate more efficiently.
