Employee Ownership and Retail Food

Several major employee-owned grocery store companies were in the news in recent weeks. The New York Times led many other news outlets in coverage of Texas-based supermarket chain HEB's decision to share ownership with its employees. In the New York Times article, Hiroko Tibuchi wrote "as the plight of low-wage retail workers has gained national attention, H-E-B, a regional grocery chain and one of Texas' largest private employers, is giving 55,000 employees an equity stake in the company," noting that their stake would amount to approximately 15% of the company's equity. HEB's president Craig Boyan described the ownership plan as one way the company was resisting the "race to the bottom" in the retail field.

Another story covered the process of putting employee-owned Brookshire Brothers up for sale. The potential buyers include the grandson of the founder, private equity groups, grocery-related companies, and HEB.

Another article noted that employee-owned Publix Supermarket had been making substantial investments in acquiring real estate, increasing the percentage of its stores' locations it owns from 11% in 2006 to 23% in 2014.