 | |
 Smart & Final headquarters in Commerce, California. | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Grocery store |
| Predecessors |
|
| Founded | 1871; 155 years ago (1871) |
| Founders | J.S. "Jim" Smart H.D. "Hildane" Final |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 253 (2022) |
Area served | California,Arizona,Nevada and northernMexico |
| Products | Food |
| Revenue |  US$3.1 billion (2022) |
| Owner | Chedraui USA formerlyBodega Latina Corporation |
Number of employees | 11,000[1] |
| Website | smartandfinal.com |
Smart & Final is a chain ofwarehouse-style food and supply stores based inCommerce, California, which developed through a series of mergers and expansions. The oldest of the combined companies,Hellman, Haas & Co., was founded in 1871 inLos Angeles. The company operates over 250 stores in theWestern United States and 15 in northwesternMexico.[2]
While Smart & Final stores target both the food-service and household markets, the company also formerly operatedSmart Foodservice Warehouse Stores (formerly known as Cash & Carry), which market to food service professionals.
The stores in Mexico are operated under a joint venture withCalimax.[3] Since 2008, Smart & Final Extra! operates in some parts of the United States. These stores contain a slightly larger footprint and larger assortment of goods.[4]
According to company information, Smart & Final traces its beginnings to 1871, when partnersHerman W. Hellman,Jacob Haas (who later became Mayor of Los Angeles), andBernard Cohn started Hellman-Haas Grocery Company on then-ruralLos Angeles Street.[5] By 1900 the company had changed its name toHaas, Baruch & Co., which decades later would be merged into what had become Smart & Final.
A separate company, Santa Ana Grocery Company, formed in 1912, mainly supplying feed and grain to local farmers. J. S. "Jim" Smart, a banker fromSaginaw, Michigan, and H. D. "Hildane" Final bought the company in 1914 and changed the name to Smart & Final Wholesale Grocers. From 1876 to 1913, Jim Smart had been involved with several wholesale grocers in the greater Saginaw area, including Lee, Cady & Smart and Smart & Symons with his brother-in-law, J. W. Symons of Symons Brothers.
By 1919, annual sales for Smart & Final had reached $10 million. During the fierce competition among expanding grocers in the 1920s, the company introduced a self-serve concept to replace reliance on clerks to fetch goods. This was called "cash and carry."[6]
In 1953, Smart & Final merged withHaas, Baruch & Co.[6]
In 1984, it was acquired by Thriftimart.[6] In June 1984, Casino USA Inc., the U.S. arm of the French supermarket retailerCasino Guichard-Perrachon & Cie acquired the 8.3% ofThriftimart, which controls Smart & Final stores.[7]
In September 1984, Smart & Final Iris, formerlyThriftimart, Inc. is acquired byCasino Guichard-Perrachon. The French retailer then began a dynamic expansion and modernization of Smart & Final stores.[7]
In 1991, it was reorganized via acorporate spin-off andinitial public offering.[8]Casino USA still owns about 53% of Smart & Final.[7]
In 1992, it announced a joint venture withCalimax to open stores in Mexico.[3]
In 1994, it opened its first store in Mexico.[9]
In 1998, it acquiredPortland, Oregon-based United Grocers Cash & Carry, which was renamedCash & Carry. These stores are concentrated in thePacific Northwest.[10]
In 2007, Smart & Final acquired 35Henry's Farmers Markets in California and Sun Harvest Markets inTexas for about $166 million.[11] In February 2007, the French supermarket retailerCasino Guichard-Perrachon S.A. announces intention to sell Smart & Final.[12]
In 2007, the company was acquired byApollo Global Management.[13][14]
In March 2010, Smart & Final announced it would expand into the Colorado market under the SmartCo Foods brand, taking over five formerAlbertsons locations in the Denver metro area with plans for dozens more stores in the coming years. SmartCo stores differed from typical Smart & Final locations in that they were significantly larger and included produce, meat, and bakery departments, as well as a large selection of natural and organic foods. In June 2010, the first SmartCo Foods store opened on Parker Road in Denver, and was said to be tailored for the Colorado market.
In November 2010, only five months after the chain's grand opening, SmartCo Foods announced that it was exiting the Denver market and closing all five of its stores. SmartCo Foods attributed its hasty exit fromDenver to poor performance chain-wide without any hope for improvement.[15] However, the withdrawal may have also been partially due to negotiations resulting in the February 2011 acquisition of theSprouts Farmers Market which had 9 locations inColorado.
In 2012,Apollo sold its stake in Smart & Final toAres Management for $975 million.[16] Smart & Final went public in 2014.[17]
In 2015, Smart & Final purchased the leases on 32 locations previously operated byHaggen.[18][19][20]
In 2019, Apollo once again acquired the chain, for $1.1 billion.[16][21]Deutsche Bank had financed the previous buyout and took a loss.[22]
On October 30, 2019, Smart & Final introduced two redesigned online shopping portals for consumers and business clients. Shoppers can see weekly specials, create grocery lists, shop by recipes, and create profiles that reflect dietary allergies or preferences. Business clients can complete online orders and apply for tax exemptions.[23]
On May 24, 2021, Mexican supermarket operatorChedraui (via its California-based Bodega Latina subsidiary) announced its intent to acquire Smart & Final from Apollo. Subsequently, Bodega Latina changed its name to Chedraui USA.[24]
Smart & Final sells products under three of its own brands:[25]
